Page 61 of Wild Tides
We clambered down the steep wooden stairs toward the dock below. Something inside urged:faster. Move. All the ugly suspicions from earlier made me forget my blisters and sore feet. We hit the landing, and I scanned the first dock, spotting nothing amiss. We surged forward, conducting the same quickstudy of the next dock and the next. In my periphery, I spotted movement two docks over, accompanied by the low growl of a boat motor.
“Over there,” I pointed, spotting a small speedboat slip away from its berth. It was too dark to see clearly, but four figures were silhouetted against the faint light cast from the moon.
It didn’t add up. Four was too many. Unless things were much more complicated than I’d suspected. A cold shiver racked my body.
Lee gripped my hand, pulling me back. “My boat’s over here.”
I glanced at him, surprised. I’d forgotten he had a berth here. He owned a small speedboat. We’d used it on the occasional trip to Lopez. It wasn’t big enough to handle the big shipping lanes on the Haro Strait side of San Juan Island, but it could get us as far as Anacortes in a pinch.
“You have your keys?”
“There’s a hidden spare for emergencies.”
This definitely qualified. Cold iced my veins, making me feel like I might crack, my movements wooden and stiff. Lee helped me from the dock and into his boat. I kicked off my shoes. My feet would be frozen, but I couldn’t manage a shifting boat deck in heels.
“Life jacket,” Lee grunted, handing me a bright orange vest.
I fought the reflex to snap back at his gruff tone. Lee was the search and rescue expert. Hypothermia was the biggest risk in the Salish Sea, but drowning wasn’t a pleasant way to die either. I tugged on the stiff vest, tightening the straps. Lee donned his own. Another time, I’d laugh at how incongruous the garish flotation devices looked against our fancy dress, but tonight, all I could think of was my friend.
Assuming Anya was the only one taken, that left three assailants. At best, we were evenly matched. But since I doubted Anya would go willingly, that meant they’d either drugged her orgotten their hands on a weapon. My money was on both. Drugs implied Dr. Underwood, which cast new light on her presence at the dance.
Had that been their purpose? To case the dance and find a moment when Anya was vulnerable and alone to abduct her? It begged the question: why? Why take her? She hadn’t been directly involved in Chaz Underwood’s takedown. If the Underwoods blamed anyone local, it’d be Lucy and Clay. They were the ones who’d snooped. Clay had called in the DEA agent. The same agent we’d met during the incident with Anya’s ex, which presented another possibility. Could it be her family? Her ex? All three?
Threads tangled and multiplied, becoming an impenetrable knot. Four people. But which four?
Owen had been picked up for attempted smuggling. Was he out of jail? As far as we’d heard, Anya’s parents remained free. The evidence Anya slipped to the FBI during her time working for her family’s business seemed to go nowhere. Or had it?
I prayed I still had enough connectivity left as Lee motored away from our slip. A quick search of Anya’s real name revealed a headline out of Detroit: local family subject of an FBI search. I swallowed, trying to ease my dry throat. At that moment, Lee kicked up the motor, catching me as I lost my footing.
“Easy now.” He gripped me tightly. “Take a seat. I’m going to catch them.”
I showed him my screen. “I’m not sure who’s taken her. If her family found out she betrayed them, they had time to travel here from Detroit. This headline about the warrants for their arrest is a few days old.”
“How did she not get a heads-up?” Lee asked grimly. “I find it difficult to believe the FBI wouldn’t reach out. Protect her somehow.”
“I have no idea. I just hope she’s okay.”
Chapter 29 – Lee
Trying to keep a cool head when I was putting Violet at risk, chasing after unknown adversaries, left me with sweat dripping down the back of my neck. The stiff wind off the water turned my neck clammy.
We couldn’t be sure Anya was in danger. Or that the figure we were following was her. But standing back wasn’t an option. If I didn’t try, Drew would never forgive me. Worse, he’d never forgive himself for not being here.
I reached for my radio. We were already too far out for reliable cell service. At this hour, my options were limited. While Channel 16 was monitored by the Coast Guard, our area wasn’t big enough to have many vessels on patrol. We might be on our own.
“Coast Guard. Coast Guard. Coast Guard. This isLast Chapter.”
I clicked off. Waiting. Hoping.
“Last Chapter, this is Coast Guard. What’s your emergency?”
“Coast Guard, this is Lee Murphy with San Juan Search and Rescue. I’m in pursuit of a boat heading east from Warbass Marina. Requesting assistance.”
“We’re about twenty minutes from your location,Last Chapter.”
I bit off a curse. Too much damn water and time between us and help. I only hoped we could catch up, then stall that long.
“There’s a boat weaving erratically ahead of us. We’re too far away to see the registration, but it looks like a probable DUI.”
