PREDATOR ISLAND (Sea Lab Book 2)

CHAPTER 38

As Dr. Graham confiscated the woman's pistol and stuffed it behind his back, Jake felt such a relief to find out the doctor had a hidden weapon. It was surprising. And what the doctor did was shocking, but his actions saved them all. After he and Sarah survived the whirlpool in the lagoon, he didn't think things could get any worse, then the pirate couple showed up. He still couldn't believe they found them. Since they'd been on the island, Jake knew it was a possibility the husband and wife duo would come after them. However, he had no idea how they knew where they were going? But they did have the map to begin with, and obviously, they took a picture of it, or made a photocopy of it. Jake doubted they'd sell it without making a copy first, especially if their intent was to track them down after letting them do all the hard work.

Suddenly, light dawned on Dylan's face. He turned to the woman. "Why didn't Marlon radio us? The captain of our yacht. Why didn't he warn us that you and your husband were coming?"

"Why do you think?" The woman flashed a hardened gaze as the doctor led her toward the caldera's blast hole.

Savannah charged forward. "What did you do?"

"Keep your distance, for your own good." Dr. Graham held up a hand. "I have to get rid of her because if I don't, sooner or later, it'll come back to haunt us."

"But you don't have to kill her?" Sarah said.

"And if I hadn't killed her partner, what do you think would've happened?"

"What are you going to do?" The woman's cheeks burned red as realization set in. "No...please. I promise I won't try anything."

"What did you do to Marlon?" Dylan asked, his face awash with unbelief.

This time the woman remained quiet, her harshness faded, replaced by fear.

"Surely, we can figure something out?" Jake said, feeling like Graham was taking this too far. Self defense was one thing, but outright murder was another thing altogether. Regardless, the doctor had killed without hesitation. What did that say about him? "For starters, we could tie her up and leave her here?"

"With what?" Graham replied, eyes bulging. "Vines from a tree? I don't think that would work."

"I won't do anything, I promise," the woman said. "Please, someone help me?"

"What did you do to Marlon?" Dylan asked again.

"It's the hole or I shoot you. Take your pick," Graham said.

Jake put a hand on the doctor's shoulder. His eyes grew wider, and a little on the wild side.

Jake swallowed. "What do you think she might do? We have the upper hand now."

"She might steal a gun from us and shoot us in our sleep. We have at least one more night in the jungle."

With that sobering thought, Jake's gaze turned to Sarah.

She shrugged. "We can't just kill her. We're not that kind of people."

The woman broke free and ran, but Graham shot her in the thigh. "I told you I'd bloody shoot you." He strode over—amidst a flurry of surprised gasps—and dragged her across the muddy bed of the drained lagoon, and slung her toward the hole. Seeing the stone plug still half covered the opening, the woman clung to it to keep from falling in, scratching and clawing at the edges. But Graham stepped on her fingers and gave her a nudge with his boot. "Cheerio," he said as she plunged into the water inside the dormant volcanic chamber.

The splash came a few seconds later. Like tiny echoes from the mouth of a bottle, they heard the woman's desperate cries.

"Now, that's that." Dr. Graham lowered to a knee and returned the little gun to an ankle holster. "What? Why all the stares? I didn't kill her." He opened his palms like he was innocent of any transgression. "I just threw her in a volcano."

"It wasn't necessary," Rachel said, shaking and rubbing her arms. "She was a human being. A person."

"Yes, it was necessary," Savannah replied to Jake's surprise. "The doctor's right. If he hadn't killed the man, he would have killed all of us eventually. And if he hadn't made the woman walk the plank, she would have come back to bite us in the end."

"Everyone," Dylan said, a hand on his forehead. His fingers found their way to his brow where he rubbed his eyes. "Let's calm down and take a step back. I don't like the doctor's methods, but we have to remember that one of those two may have killed Marlon. I still can't believe it. I can't wrap my mind around it." He paused for a few seconds, gathering himself. "And I for one am not sorry they got what was coming to them."

Tony put his arm around Rachel. "I don't like it either, but he's probably right."

"Of course, I'm right," Dr. Graham said. "We have to keep in mind that this is a treasure hunt. A 160 million dollar hunt. And people have killed for a lot less."

Jake felt an uneasiness settle over him. None of this felt right. It was all wrong.

"Look." Dylan shouldered his backpack. "We've been through a lot, and this was a very unfortunate turn of events. The honest truth is we can't help Marlon now. If he was still alive somehow, clinging to life, we'd never be able to reach him in time. But we're oh-so close to discovering Captain Bennett's treasure. We just need to get on with it and forget this ever happened."

"Easy for you to say," Rachel replied.

"No, it's not easy, but we have to do what we have to do. So how about it Dr. Graham? Where's this waterfall?"

"The grandest fall veils the darkest heart," Savannah said.

"Ah yes, I love the sound of what I hope is the last clue. It's quite poetic."

"Where is this waterfall?" Tony asked. Jake thought he looked eager to get on with the hunt, as much as Rachel looked like she wanted to get away from the hole and the woman's cries.

Jake only wanted to get away from the body with the bullet hole between its eyes.

"I believe the waterfall in question is the Yglesia Waterfall," Dr. Graham said. "Southeast of our current location. If you'll check your store bought map, you'll see it."

Savannah rifled through her backpack and found it. "There it is. I think we can make it before nightfall."

"What are we waiting for then?" Dylan said. "Let's get moving."

As they left the caldera lagoon behind, Jake began to think more about what lay ahead of them. They had to trek down the mountain and descend the cliff face to get to the valley floor below. After that, there was a journey back into the jungle, back to the river and on to the waterfall before the sun went down.

The thought of night brought with it the thought of the feline predator.

"So Doctor," Jake said as they began hiking down the mountain. "You've been on this island for two months, and you've learned how to evade the big cat. You've been vague when sharing how you managed to do so. I have a question? But first let me lay some groundwork."

"Go ahead."

"We've journeyed across the island during the day without once running into this fierce creature. Then nightfalls and the cat manages to find us. But fortunately for us, we're able to escape as the sun rises. Interestingly enough, today we've yet to run into the animal again. But I have a feeling that will change when night comes."

"What's your question?" Dr. Graham asked. "What are you getting at?"

"Well," Jake replied. "Why does the creature only come out at night? Is it nocturnal? Or is there something about it's biology that prohibits it from coming out during the day? I noticed that as the sun rose, the cat acted like it couldn't see us. Why is that?"

"You're very perceptive." Graham grinned smartly. "It is just as you said. That's why we better find a good place to hide when darkness descends on this very beautiful and quite deadly island."