Page 41 of Forged in Secrets

The rows of boats crowded the narrow strip of water between the Texas mainland and island, bobbing pleasantly in the light breeze. Though the weather was perfect this afternoon, Ben assumed that the location of the marina served to protect the watercraft from storms out on the open ocean.

“Found it!” Grace said triumphantly, pointing to a compact but luxurious-looking sailboat. There was a small ramp attached to it so that it was easy to climb aboard, but unfortunately, a metal gate blocked the way. Ben leaned around it as best he could, trying to get a better look.

No one was on the deck that he could see, and he doubted that Jade was lurking in the cabin.

“Whoa,” Ben said, running his eyes over the slick hull and shining wooden deck. It definitely looked more expensive than any of the other boats bobbing near it.

Grace walked toward the back. “The Lumeneer II,” she announced, wrinkling her nose. “Weird spelling. Shouldn’t it be Lumineer?”

“How do you figure?”

“I don’t know. I thought maybe it was named after the band.”

“Then wouldn't it be Lumineers?”

Grace gave him a funny look. “Hold on. How do you even know who they are? You hate folk music.’”

“That’s not true! I like authentic folk music just fine. Like, I don’t know, ‘Down by the Riverside’ or something.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows, waiting.

“Okay, fine,” he laughed. “Asher forced me to listen to that one popular one they have and it grew on me. But if you tell him that, I’ll kill you.”

“That hey-ho one?”

Before he could answer, Grace started to sing the chorus, and though she hit only about half the notes, it was one of the sweetest sounds he’d ever heard. Especially considering the subject matter of the song.

He cleared his throat.

“Anyway,” he said, “I’d love to see why Jade came here that night and had a key for this gate.”

He rattled the lock against the metal, noticing that it bore the same anchor logo as the keys the young woman had carried.

Grace raised a hand to her brow and looked along the row of watercraft. The place was quiet, with only a couple people visible on the decks of their boats, and none of them nearby.

“We could swim over and see if there’s a ladder or something on the other side,” Ben suggested.

“You’re gonna brave the potential sharks?” Grace said with a shudder.

“I’m kidding,” he said with a grin. “But I was more concerned about the witnesses.”

Just then, they heard the sound of a metal gate opening.

They turned and watched as a group of college kids climbed on board a medium-sized fishing boat a few slips down, with the two boys in the rear hauling a truly massive cooler onto the sleek wooden deck.

“Hey, guys, can I talk to you for a second before youtake off?” Grace called out to them, already rushing down the dock.

Ben hurried to follow her. Without really thinking about what he was doing, he said a silent prayer that these kids would be more helpful than the rest they’d spoken to.

Maybe Grace’s faith was starting to rub off on him. In any case, a little Divine intervention would be great right about now. So far, their investigation had resulted in a lot of questions and not very many answers.

“No hurry,” one of the girls on the boat called down to them. “Come on up.”

Ben waited behind Grace as she climbed carefully up the boat’s ladder.

“No rush, guys,” the girl repeated once they’d clambered on board, pushing her bright red sunglasses onto the top of her pale blonde head. “It takes us a bit to get this old lady ready to sail. What can we do for you?”

Ben’s chest relaxed as the girl and her friends introduced themselves pleasantly. Were it not for the Louisiana State baseball caps they all wore, he would have assumed they were locals.

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