Dar snorted. "You only say that because I saved your b.u.t.t in Paris."
The waitress returned with Dar and Kerry"s drinks. She took in the table arrangement without blinking, then caught Kerry"s eye.
"Get you something to eat?"
Kerry glanced over the small menu. "Can you get us two bowls of the stew, two baked yams, and some of this?" She pointed to the bread.
"Sure." The woman smiled at her, then took the menu and disappeared into the crowd. Kerry turned her attention back to the table, interested to hear Jacob"s version of what had happened. She noticed furtive glances from the younger pair, and she returned the looks with mild amus.e.m.e.nt. Another thing to add to her coincidence list-one of the people the pirates chose to attack just happened to be an old colleague of Dar"s. What were the odds of that, really? Certainly, ILS had a huge employee base, and they were a worldwide organization, but sheesh!
Jacob rested his arms on the table. "It was like something out of a really bad movie of the week."
134*
"Been there, done that," Kerry murmured under her breath.
"We were out off the big reef just north of here, fishing," Jacob went on. "It was getting on to dark, so we were about to pack it in and come in to dock, when this big, racy boat came up to us."
"Black?" Dar hazarded.
"No." Jacob shook his head with a frown. "White with blue trim, why?"
"Just curious."
"Anyway, I figured they needed some help, or their radio was out, you know."
"Sure." Kerry nodded. "You want to help people if you can."
"Right," Jacob said. "So I let "em pull up and tie on, and next thing I know, the d.a.m.n b.a.s.t.a.r.ds..." He glanced up. "Pardon me, ladies." He gave them an apologetic look and then returned his attention to Dar. "d.a.m.n b.a.s.t.a.r.ds jumped on board and pulled out guns!"
Dar affected a surprised look. "Guns? For what? What did they want?"
"Everything," Rachel muttered. "And boy, were they obnoxious about it." She shook her head. "They scared Todd"s mother, pushed us around. It was awful."
Kerry gave her a sympathetic look. "I bet it was. That"s just lousy."
"Wouldn"t have been so tough without those guns. They were just punks," Todd added.
His tone was sullen, and it was obvious, at least to Kerry, that his pride had taken a beating. "Did they say anything to you? Who were they?"
Jacob took up the story. "Didn"t say. Just told us they were taking the boat, and left us on a sandbar with a handheld radio and nothing else." He shook his head in disgust. "Punks. Todd"s right.
They were just two-bit Johnnies with a couple of rifles."
"They took your boat?" Kerry asked.
"And everything on it," Jacob agreed wryly. "Did I feel like a jacka.s.s? You betcha." He sighed, picking up his drink and draining it. "Good thing there was a marine patrol that came by about a half hour, forty five minutes later, and rescued us before the tide came in." "Wow," Kerry murmured.
"Did they say what they were doing it for, Jake?" Dar asked.
"Just for money, or what?"
The older man shook his head again. "Didn"t say a word, Dar.
Just told us to get off the boat, that they were taking it. No reason- no ifs, ands, or buts."
At that moment, the waitress returned with a large tray. She set down food for both tables, and the conversation ceased while*135 everyone got their plates.
Dar pulled her plate over and inspected the bowl nestled beside a steaming baked yam that smelled of vanilla and nutmeg.
The waitress put a basket of hot bread in the middle of their table, and then set down another round of drinks for Jacob"s party. Dar held up her own gla.s.s, and indicated Kerry"s, and the woman took them with a smile as she retreated back toward the kitchen.
"So," Dar took a piece of the bread and dunked it into the stew, then bit a piece off and chewed, "what"d the cops say?"
"Bah." Jacob waved a hand in disgust. "The usual. Asking us a million questions, telling us how shocked they were, that this never happens, blah, blah, blah."
Kerry looked up and met Dar"s eyes. One of her pale brows lifted.
"They did, huh?" Dar murmured. "Let me guess. They told you to just file a claim as quickly as you can with your insurance, and they"d do their best to find the boat before it left the island, right?"
Jacob looked at her with honest surprise as Todd blurted, "Yes, that"s right. How"d you know?"
Dar"s eyes narrowed and a faintly unpleasant smile appeared on her face. "Let"s just call it a hunch," she said. "So, what"s your plan now? You going to head back to the States?"
Jacob was cutting into a steak, and he put his knife down before he answered. "Nah. Figured as long as we were here, we might as well stick around for a few days, get some fun out of the whole d.a.m.n thing." He patted his wife"s hand. "Give Minnie here a chance to get over all the nastiness."
"It was dreadful," his wife agreed softly. "Ms. Roberts, you can"t imagine how awful it was. Those men were acting like it was one big game to them, like we were just toys."
Kerry forked pieces of meat out of her stew and ate them as she listened, turning the new information over in her mind. The meal was very good, and she followed Dar"s example in dunking the hot, herb-infused bread into its broth. Jacob and his family seemed to be relaxing a little, and she guessed that after a few days, the horror of what had happened would probably fade.
The pirates, though seemingly scary, had effected their plan in a quick, efficient manner. They hadn"t risked keeping the family on board; they"d just found a convenient spot and simply taken them off, retaining possession of the boat and all its contents. She suspected they"d taken the vessel around to some sheltered cove to rummage through it at their leisure. Quick, efficient, and practiced.
It was obvious to Kerry that they"d done the deed before, and had their routine down pat. From Dar"s earlier comment, she suspected her lover had come to the same conclusion. She wondered if there was anything they could actually do about it.
136*
"Jake, you didn"t keep a maintenance log on your boat, did you?" Dar asked suddenly.
Everyone looked at her curiously.
Jacob finished chewing and swallowed, wiping his mouth hastily. "Well, not me, no, but my captain did, I betcha. Why?" he asked. "Hey, speaking of-you flew out here, didn"cha?"
Dar shook her head. "No. We"re docked out in the marina. Did your captain keep the log on the boat, or back at home?"
"Boy, you better be careful," Jacob said. "Don"t you be going out far around here, Dar. I"d sure hate to have what happened to us happen to you."
Kerry had to m.u.f.fle a smile at the irony. "We"re always very careful," she said.
Jacob shook his head. "Well, anyway, I think Rick kept the log with his gear, and I can"t be sure if he left that on sh.o.r.e or not," he said. "Why, Dar?"
"If he"s got part numbers, and the pirates try to sell the boat, it can be tracked," Dar remarked mildly. "Might take a while, but-"
"That"s a great idea," Todd burst out enthusiastically. "Then we can find those creeps!" He turned to his father. "I bet Rick has that book. We should give it to the police."
"Now, Todd-"
"We can"t let those guys just get away with this, Dad!" the young man protested. "That"s what they all want us to do, just go away, and lick our wounds, and forget about it. No way!" He slapped his muscular hand on the table.
"Todd!" Minnie frowned at her son.
"He"s right," Dar interjected. She waited until all of them looked at her in surprise. "It is what they want. You"re not the first victims, and I"m betting you won"t be the last." She rested her forearms on the table. "So, if you do have that log, it"ll help. But don"t give it to the cops."
They stared at her in shock for a long moment after she finished speaking. "Not the first?" Jacob said hesitantly.
"No." Kerry took up the conversational ball, giving Dar a chance to eat. "There"ve been a number of hijackings around here recently, but no one wants to talk about it because it would scare people off," she explained. "I think that Dar thinks..." she glanced at her lover, "it may be a local gang doing it."
Dar nodded.
"Well." Jacob looked aghast. "Son of a b.i.t.c.h."
"Look," Todd leaned closer to Dar, "whatever you think of doing to maybe stop them, count me in. We need to do something,"
he said. "I"m gonna call Rick as soon as we"re done in here, and I"ll see if he"s got that book."
"Do you really think..." Minnie spoke up hesitantly. "Perhaps*137 the authorities would be better to deal with this, wouldn"t they?"
"You heard her. They"re probably in on it." Todd stood up.
"I"m so mad, I gotta go kick something. C"mon, Rach." He held a hand out and a.s.sisted his fiancee to her feet. "Let"s go."
The two young people threaded their way out of the restaurant, disappearing into the crowd.
"d.a.m.n hothead." Minnie"s brother Richard spoke for the first time, removing his face from his beer mug. "What in h.e.l.l"s got into that kid, Jacob?"
Jacob shook his head, still visibly upset. "Dar, I can"t believe the people here know this is going on and they just let people keep coming in. That"s...that"s..."
"Piracy," Dar supplied succinctly. "Yeah, well, maybe the cops aren"t in on it, maybe they just don"t want the tourist boat rocked, but something doesn"t smell right to me about the whole thing."
She finished up the last bit of her stew, wiping the bottom of the bowl with a bit of bread and munching it.
"We don"t want any trouble," Richard muttered "I think we should just leave and go the h.e.l.l home." He looked around. "This place gives me the creeps anyway."
"That"s "cause you can"t cope with any place that doesn"t have slot machines in the bathroom," Jacob snorted. "Just relax, would you?" He turned to Dar. "Listen, Dar, he"s right about one thing.
We"re not looking for trouble here. If the local cops don"t want to stir things up, neither do I."
Dar leaned her chin on her fist and regarded him.
"Dar, don"t give me that look," Jacob sighed. "I know what you"re thinking."
Dar"s eyebrows lifted visibly.
"I"m not a crusader. Never was," the man stated. "I"ve got my family here, and if that"s the deal and this is all a scam, then I"m willing to do my part and go file my claim and let "em have it.
d.a.m.n thing leaked anyhow."
"d.a.m.n right," Richard agreed. "Minnie doesn"t need any more trouble, either."
Minnie looked profoundly relieved.
Dar rolled her eyes toward Kerry and they exchanged looks.
"That"s okay." Kerry gave them a gentle smile. "We understand."
Jacob relaxed a little. "It"s not that I think it"s right," he stated.
"Of course not," Kerry said. "It"s better you leave it for Dar and me to handle."
Jacob blinked at her. "Come again?"
"We"ll take care of the pirates. No need for you to get involved.
After all, you"ve been through a lot, and I"m sure you just want some time to rest."
Minnie leaned forward a little. "Honey, those men are dangerous."
138*
"Life is, sometimes." Kerry smiled kindly at her. "But Dar and I have a knack for getting through things." She looked up as the waitress returned. "Sometimes you just gotta go for it. Can I get two of the Island Volcano sundaes and another rum punch?"
"Sure." The waitress beamed at her. She glanced at Dar.
"Anything for you, ma"am?"
"I think one of those sundaes is mine," Dar replied dryly.
Kerry grinned and then returned her attention to Jacob.
"Anyway, don"t you worry about a thing. We can handle this on our own."
"Now, wait a minute," Jacob protested.
Kerry held up a hand. "No, no-we understand completely."
She sucked the rest of her rum punch down to the bottom, feeling the beginnings of a mild buzz. It surprised her, and she tried to figure out how many beers were the equivalent of one of the punches. Two? Three? Yikes. That means I"ve already drunk as much alcohol as there is in six beers. Maybe I should pa.s.s on the next rum punch.
"Well, now, you listen, Dar," Jacob was saying.
Was it six?