Page 50 of Strangers She Knows

He extricated himself from the truck, and sounded as hopeful as she felt when he said, “My God. Do you suppose…?” He ran out.

Kellen and Rae followed. As the helicopter descended on a blast of air, Kellen absentmindedly began doing her finger exercises.

Like a hummingbird alighting on a limb, the helicopter settled on the edge of the lawn. The engine throttled back, the roar diminished, and the door opened to allow one of the Coasties to jump down. He surveyed Max, Kellen and Rae and as if he had every right, he asked, “Who are you?”

“We’re the Di Lucas. We’re living on the island for the summer,” Max said. “My family owns it.”

“Sure, I recognize you. I served with a couple of Di Lucas in San Diego.” He offered his hand. “Chief Petty Officer Juan Deung. Call me Juan.”

“Yes, we Di Lucas are a prolific and similar bunch.” Max shook hands with him.

As Max introduced Kellen and Rae, Juan offered his hand to them, too, and kept talking a mile a minute. “The Conkles used to have a radio for emergency use, but Dylan got loaded, called in and claimed there were pirates raiding the island. We arrived full force. That cost your family a bunch of money, and Jamie Conkle smashed the radio and refuses to get it fixed. So when we’re in the area, we come by to check on them, make sure they’re okay.”

“You just missed Jamie.” Kellen gestured down the hill.

“That’s fine,” Juan said in heartfelt relief. “She always lectures us about wasting the earth’s resources flying the helicopter. And because the helicopter blades might harm rare birds. It’s not like we’re out for a joy ride, you know? Some guy and his yacht have disappeared in this area. No sign of him yet, and there’s a storm out there in the Pacific churning away. Have you heard about the storm?”

“We don’t hear about much here,” Max said.

“Big storm, a typhoon right now, and some forecast models are predicting the steering currents could send it our way. No one’s getting excited yet. Except the TV weather people, because they love possible disasters. But it’s California. July storms are unlikely.”

“El Niño. Or La Niña,” Max said. “I can never can remember which is which.”

Kellen looked around at the golden landscape. “A storm wouldn’t be all bad. It’s been a dry year. We sure could use the rain.”

“I don’t suppose you’ve heard, but we’ve had some massive fires all over California.” Abruptly, Juan got to the point. “So…spending the summer here, huh? Why’s that?”

Max turned to Rae. “Why don’t you go talk to the pilot? I’ll bet he’s an interesting guy.”

“She,” Juan said.

Max stared hard into the helicopter, at the tinted windows that reflected the sun. “I see! Erroneous assumption. I’ll betshe’seven a more interestingwoman.”

“Really, Dad.” Rae ran over to the helicopter’s open door and within a few moments of hard talking, she had been invited inside.

“While on duty, we’re not supposed to let kids in, so please keep that quiet. Now, what did you want to tell me you didn’t want her to know?” Juan was one observant guy.

Max and Kellen exchanged glances.

Kellen took a step back.

Max would do the talking. “We’re on the island because we’re having trouble with a stalker.”

“Must be quite a stalker for you to come out this far.”

“She’s an escaped convict, a serial killer.”

Juan’s eyes narrowed. “Female serial killer? Not too many of those. Is this the one we’re supposed to keep an eye out for?”

“Mara Philippi. One and the same.”

“Bad news. Did you know she’s killed people all over the US? When she does, she cuts off their hands and collects them as souvenirs?” Juan looked right at Kellen. “She dehydrates them.”

“We did know,” Max said. “We knew her before she went to prison.”

“Lucky you.” Juan was impressed. “Did you know after she escaped from federal prison, she had one guy exhumed so she could cut off his hands? Some kind of revenge thing.” Juan made a choking sound.

It wasn’t as if any of this was news to Kellen, but—she tried not to think about it. Now, in the face of Juan’s incredulous recitation, she began to feel frightened.

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