NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS
After hauling Sarah and Ben Porter's shot-up craft to the marina, Jake contacted the Royal Police in Nassau and told them about the attack at sea. When he informed the officer who took his call that someone had murdered Sarah's assistant, the man's voice deepened with authority and ordered them to wait at the dock until they arrived. It took the police thirty minutes to cross the bay bridge and make it to the pier where Sarah, Tony, and Jake waited. Officials loaded Ben's body into the back of a 1950s hearse and took him to the morgue.
Upon arrival at Central Division Headquarters, Jake peered up in amazement from the rear window of the squad car at the two-story house. It was bright yellow and reminded him more of a place where someone's grandmother might live than a police station. Emergency lights flashed with the three of them hunched together in the back of the blue cruiser. The driver let them out and they followed the chief inspector up the front porch. Other buildings crowded the house, and another structure connected to it in the back, likely offices and jail space.
The chief inspector, Reginald Cortez, turned to them as he entered the station. "My superior, the chief superintendent, is not available during night hours, but I assure you we will handle the incident with the utmost care."
The lead investigator appeared to be a mix of African and Hispanic descent. He led them up a flight of creaky hardwood stairs and into the waiting room. "I'll make the phone calls to the United States to verify your credentials and return soon."
Jake sat in a chair, placed his elbows on the metal table in the center of the room, and felt a cold chill run through his body. He guessed they had used the drab confines in the past to probe the criminal minds of thieves, murderers, and drug lords. The interrogation chamber had one tiny window, no decorations and the gray walls that boxed them in seriously needed a paint job. The smell of old dust seeped up from the wood floors, forcing him to fight back a sneeze.
Tony sat on one side of the beat-up table while Sarah took the chair facing the door, where they expected Inspector Cortez to enter any minute.
Jake made eye contact with Tony and then glanced at Sarah. He tried to be discreet, but found himself more attracted to her now than six months ago. Maybe it had been too long since he last saw her? Her hair, loose from the ponytail, showed the aftereffects of being bound. She wasn't wearing make-up, and it didn't matter. She possessed a clear complexion and sapphire blue eyes similar to the water surrounding the Caribbean Islands.
He saw something deep in those eyes. She still loved him, but the bottom line was, he betrayed her trust and broke her heart.
Jake leaned back in the chair, remembering the day she walked into the director's office and took her place at the conference table for the first time. Back then, she had recently completed her doctorate at the University of South Alabama while working at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Mobile. Tonight, as much as he hated to admit it, she probably was smarter than him. But was she more determined?
Tony cleared his throat and broke Jake's spellbound stare with his ex. "Maybe we should discuss the attack while we wait."
"That might be a good idea," Jake said.
Sarah gave Tony her attention as if a dividing wall were between her and Jake. She drummed her fingers on the tabletop, something she did regularly without thinking. "Where do we start?"
"I'm sorry about your field assistant?" Jake said.
Sarah's fingertips ceased in mid-beat. She turned her head but stopped short of looking his way. "His name was Ben."
"The obvious question is, why would someone try to kill you?"
"I don't have a clue. You know why the special ops director assigned us to Paradise Island. Why do you think someone wanted to kill us?"
"Maybe they wanted to stop your work, cover up something. They didn't come for us because they didn't know we were with Sea Lab. Maybe they've polluted the water and didn't want you to expose them."
"The water shows no sign of toxins of any kind," Tony said.
"Of any known kind. What if they're introducing something new to the ecosystem that we can't detect yet?"
Sarah still refused to look at Jake. "Possible, but not likely. We've inspected the coral reef for three days, took water samples and found no irregularities or poisons at all. Salinity is normal, so is pH. To make a long story short, the reef is healthy. The best it's been in years."
Jake noted her reply was right on, professional, as always. "What about the monster fish I encountered? A freak of nature. Reminded me of a mutant barracuda."
"A barracuda?" she said, finally meeting his gaze while letting the corners of her lips curl into a mocking smile.
"I said that's what it looked like."
"Whatever attacked you was not a barracuda. It couldn't be. Barracudas seldom grow over six feet long and are slender. They use their lean body in quick bursts of speed to catch prey. They're not agile creatures."
"Neither was the fish that nearly took my head off."
"And how big was it?"
"I haven't said yet." Jake hesitated, unsure if he wanted to give an answer which he knew would be absurd, so he underestimated its size. "I don't know, eleven or twelve feet long, maybe bigger."
Sarah shook her head and frowned. "Not a barracuda. They don't target humans as prey, and they're not that big. Could have been a shark?"
"I know what a shark looks like, and this thing wasn't close." Jake took the time to go into detail about his underwater adventure, including his brush with death. When finished with the narrative, he found it hard to believe his own story.
"So," Tony summed things up, "we've established that a gigantic mystery fish with razor-sharp teeth and an uncanny hunger for metal pipes attacked you."
Jake felt fire in his deep green eyes, spurred by Tony's flippant assessment, but he held his peace. "We could revisit the wreck I discovered. It might be the missing link we're looking for."
"I hate to admit it," Sarah said. "But that sounds like the best idea I've heard so far." She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to add something sarcastic to the remark, but the chief inspector interrupted her.
Cortez entered the room in a decorated uniform of dark slacks, a white top, and a multicolored bar pinned above his shirt pocket, which identified his rank. He removed his military style hat and tucked it under his arm. He didn't bother to shut the door behind him, which made Jake believe the inspector had made the contacts state side and intended to let them go.
"We could not reach your special operations director, a Mrs. O'Donnell," Inspector Cortez said in accented English.
"Her name is Catherine O'Donnell," Sarah said. "And she's not married."
"Indeed." The inspector stared at her. He seemed to study her body language with a careful eye. "But we talked to her assistant. She confirmed your assignment involving the coral reef. However, we could not track the attacking vessel. I am afraid the assassins who murdered your friend have been successful in fleeing the area. We will, of course, follow any leads as far as we can."
"Are we free to go?" Jake asked.
"You are," Inspector Cortez said. "If something happens in the case, we'll be in contact. Officials from Sea Lab International will arrive on the island in the next few days to claim the body of Benjamin Porter."
The inspector noticed Sarah's solemn reaction to the announcement.
"I am sorry for your loss, Ms. Lawson. I would like to inform you that we are grateful for the work your organization contributes to The Bahamas. Likewise, we will not forget your efforts here on Paradise Island and Nassau, either." He straightened and returned his hat to his head. "An officer will transport the three of you back to the marina. So, if you will excuse me."
Inspector Cortez left the room without further comment. Jake rose first, followed by Tony and Sarah.
The officer who chauffeured them to the police headquarters dropped them off in the marina's parking lot and departed without so much as a goodbye.
Jake watched the taillights of the squad car disappear into the night. As they neared a row of vehicles, he slowed and held out a hand. "You wouldn't be driving a dark blue Ford Explorer, would you?"
"How did you know?" Sarah said.
"A lucky guess." He pointed at the SUV. Someone had knocked out the driver's side window and left the hood cracked.
Sarah made a beeline to the vehicle. Careful to avoid the shattered glass, she got in and tried the key. The engine didn't crank.
"I see your problem," Tony said, raising the hood. "The battery's gone."
"Seriously?" Jake replied.
"Yeah, the ole swipe the battery routine works every time."
Jake rolled his eyes and wagged his head. "They knew which vehicle belonged to you, Sarah. They also knew about your assignment and it's my guess they know where you're staying. Maybe you should come with us? We're checked in at the Atlantis Resort."
"You're kidding me," she said. "Did you get the director to approve it?"
"Where else were we going to stay? Besides, he doesn't know about it yet."
"He will in the morning."
"Look, he'll forgive and forget when he finds out we saved you. He doesn't hold grudges like some people I know."
"He doesn't do things that need forgiveness."
Tony waved a hand. "Hello? Could you two dial it back a notch? Arguing won't get us anywhere. Listen Sarah, it's packed with people, so I doubt the gunmen will try anything there. We can blend in. We'll be safe."
"After we get some rest, we can check out the cage trap tomorrow," Jake added.
When she didn't seem convinced, he pointed to a vehicle several spaces down from her SUV. "We have a ride. It's a rental."
Sarah followed his finger to a canary yellow Jeep Wrangler. "The beach house Ben and I rented is located back in Nassau. I need some clothes and my laptop, and then we can go wherever you want."