In the Dark Page 8

  She glanced at the TV above the bar. "Is something going on now? I haven't seen any alerts. The last tropical storm out veered north, right?"

  "Yep. Now there's a new babe on the horizon. She just reached tropical-storm status, and she's been named Dahlia, but they think she's heading north, too. They think she might reach hurricane status sometime, but that she'll be off the Carolinas by then. Still, people don't seem to be venturing out as much as usual. Thank God you bring your guests over here. Right now, frankly, you're helping me survive."

  "Don't worry. I'm sure business will pick up," she assured him.

  "I see your ex is here. It's always good for business when he shows up here. Word gets out, makes people feel like they're coming to a real 'in' place. Still, it's kind of a surprise to see him. You all right?"

  "Of course. We're still friends on a professional level," Alex said.

  "You know what I think?" Warren asked her.

  "What?"

  He leaned low against the bar. "I think he came here for you."

  "Mmm," she said. Me, and whatever excitement and treasure Alicia had in store, she thought, but she remained silent on the subject.

  Then she asked, "Warren, you know who Alicia Farr is, right? Has she been around?"

  "Nope, not that I've heard about."

  "Well, thanks."

  "Who's the blond Atlas with your ex?" Warren asked.

  "Tourist."

  "Not your typical tourist," Warren commented, wiping a bar glass dry.

  "No, I agree." She shrugged. "Thanks, Warren," she told him. The place was thatch-roofed and open, but she suddenly needed more air. She took her beer and headed outside. She walked along the attached dock, where the dive boat had pulled in, came to the end and looked out at the water, studying the Icarus.

  She wasn't docked; David had anchored her and come in by way of the dinghy. A moment's nostalgia struck her. She had really loved the Icarus, and she did feel a pang that the beautiful sailing vessel wasn't a part of her existence anymore.

  She had fair compensation in her life, she knew. Diving, here off the Florida coast, would always be a joy, no matter who was on the tour. And she had her dolphins. They might actually belong to the corporation that owned Moon Bay, but they were her babies. Shania, especially. Wounded, just treated and beginning to heal when Alex had come on board, the adolescent dolphin was her favorite—though, naturally, she'd never let the other dolphins know. But she felt as if she and Shania had gained trust and strength at the same time. She had noticed that Shania followed her sometimes. One night, sipping a drink at the Tiki Hut, she had looked up to find the dolphin, nose above the surface, watching her from the lagoon.

  And she had learned to live alone. By the end of her whirlwind one-year marriage to David, she had been alone most of the time anyway. Her choice, she reminded herself in fairness. But he never wanted to stay in one place, and she had longed to establish a real base, a real home. Too many times, he had been with a woman who shared his need for constant adventure. Like Alicia Farr. And she had let the doubts slip in and take over. When she had filed the papers and he hadn't said a single word, she had forced herself to accept the truth—she wasn't what he wanted or needed. He had Alicia, and others like her.

  He had been planning on meeting Alicia at Moon Bay. And now he suspected she was dead.

  With that thought, she dug into the canvas bag she'd brought ashore, found her cell and called the sheriff's office. She was certain she was going to have to leave a message, but Nigel Thompson's assistant put her right through.

  "Hey, Alex."

  "Hey, Nigel. I'm sorry to bother you, but…I'm concerned."

  "Of course. But listen, I checked all the ferry records. No one's missing. Everyone who checked into Moon Bay is alive and well and accounted for. And all the day-trippers and people who checked out of Moon Bay were on the ferries out. Usually there are people in their own boats who come by way of the Moon Bay marina, but not yesterday."

  "Thanks, Nigel," she murmured.

  "Alex?"

  "Yeah."

  "I don't think you're easily fooled. I sent some men out last evening to walk the grounds. But they didn't find anything."

  "Thank you, Nigel. I guess…I don't know. Thank you anyway."

  "Sure thing."

  She snapped the phone closed.

  She nearly jumped a mile when a hand fell on her shoulder. She spun around, spilling half her beer.

  It was just Jeb.

  "Sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to startle you. I saw you go out, so I followed. Want to wander into a few shops with me? I need a tie."

  "You need a tie?"

  He grimaced. "A friend is getting married up in Palm Beach next week. I've got the makings of a suit, but I don't own a single tie."

  Her own thoughts were driving her crazy, but she couldn't think of a rational step she could take to solve any of her dilemmas. Might as well go tie shopping.

  "So…where's that new girl of yours, David?" Seth asked.

  They hadn't been there long; but Seth Granger had already consumed five or six drinks—island concoctions made with three shots each.

  David had never particularly liked the guy to begin with, and with a few drinks in him, he was pretty much completely obnoxious.

  "New girl?" David asked.

  "Alicia Farr. Fair Alicia. Since the wife threw you over after all those pictures of the two of you came out, I figured the two of you were an item. She isn't here with you, huh? I heard tell she had something up her sleeve and was going to be around these parts. Word is she learned something from that old geezer who died a while back. Danny Fuller."

  David wondered if Seth Granger was really drunk or was just pretending to be. He'd spent the day listening, waiting for one of his guests to ask the right question, make the right slip. No go. They might have been any four good old boys out for a day on the water.

  But now…

  "Sorry, Seth. Alicia and I were never an item. We team up now and then for work. We have a lot of the same interests, that's all. There's no reason for her to be at Moon Bay."

  "Actually, there was an article about her in the news a few weeks back. Of course, it was in one those supermarket tabloids, so… Anyway, the headline was something like Dying Mogul Gives Secrets to Beauty Who's a Beast. The writer seemed to think she'd been hanging on him hoping to get news on any unclaimed treasure he might know about. There was a definite suggestion that she was coming to the Keys."

  Jay Galway thumped his beer stein on the table a little too hard. "So why do you think she was headed for Moon Bay? There are two dozen islands in the Keys."

  "That's true enough," David said, eyeing John Seymore. "So you're up on the movements of Alicia Farr, too, huh?" he inquired, forcing a bit of humor into his voice.

  "I'm a wannabe, I admit," John said ruefully.

  "I know what it takes to be a SEAL," David commented. "I can't imagine you're a wannabe anything."

  "Not like me, huh?" Seth Granger demanded, giving David a slap on the back that caught him totally unaware and awakened every fighting reaction inside him.

  He checked his temper. "Hell, Granger, with your money? I doubt you're a wannabe anything, either."

  "The wannabe would be me," Jay said dryly.

  "Jay, you're running a four-star resort, and your vacations are pure adventure," David assured him.

  "Yeah, but I bust my butt for all of them—and I'm still on the fringes. But you know…I spent a lot of time with Danny Fuller. I'm sure he had a dozen treasure maps stored in his head, things he learned over the years, and Alicia had the looks—and the balls. So…"

  "Looks like we're all here looking for Alicia," Seth said. "And she's blown us all off."

  "I don't actually know her," John Seymore reminded them.

  "That's right—Seymore's just here to get warm and cuddly with the sea life," David said.

  "And your ex-wife," Seth commented.

  A tense silence
suddenly gripped the table.

  Then David's phone rang, as if on cue. "Excuse me, will you?" he said to the others. "Reception is better outside."

  He rose, flipping open the phone as he walked out, then paused in the alleyway outside the little restaurant, shaded by a huge sea grape tree.

  "Can you talk?" his caller asked.

  "You bet," David said. "I've been hoping to hear from you."

  "I spent some time at the hospital where Danny Fuller died. Seems Alicia was in on an almost daily basis. One of the nurses heard her swearing to Danny again and again that she wasn't after money, just discovery. And whatever Danny told her, it had to do with dolphins. Apparently the words dolphin and lagoon came up over and over again. And there was one more thing I think you'll find of interest." The man on the other end paused.

  "What's that?" David asked after a long silence. Dane Whitelaw didn't usually hesitate. An ex-special-forces agent, he had opened his own place in Key Largo, where he combined dive charters with a private investigation firm. Sounded a bit strange, but it seemed to work out well enough. He avoided a lot of the big city slush and came up with some truly interesting work, a lot of it to do with boats lost at sea and people who disappeared after heading out for the Caribbean.

  Some of them wanted to disappear.

  Some of them were forced to do so.

  But if he needed information of any kind, David had never met anyone as capable as Dane of finding it out.

  Dane was still silent.

  "You still there?" David asked.

  "Yeah."

  "Well?"

  "Apparently, according to the old guy's night nurse, your ex-wife's name kept coming up, as well."

  "What?"

  "She said the two kept talking about an Alex McCord."

  David digested the information slowly. Finally it was Dane's turn to ask, "Hey, David, you still there?"

  "Yeah, yeah. I need another favor."

  "What's that?"

  "Look into a guy for me. If he's telling the truth at all, you should be able to dig up some stuff on him."

  "Sure. Who's the guy?"

  "An ex-navy SEAL. John Seymore."

  Jeb had his tie. Alex wasn't certain what it was going to look like when combined with a dress shirt and a jacket, but it was certainly a comment about the lifestyle he loved. Light blue dolphins leaping against a cobalt background.

  Alex had purchased one of the same ties. Reflex action, she decided. The darker color was just like David's eyes, and she used to buy all kinds of little things just because they might appeal to him.

  "Damn," she murmured as they walked back to the restaurant.

  "What?"

  "Oh…nothing. I guess I don't really want to go back in and see our…group." Nor did she want to pass the alley. She could see David. He was bare chested, wearing deep green trunks and deck shoes, leaning against the wall. He hadn't noticed them yet, because he was too deeply engrossed in a telephone conversation.

  "Our group? Oh, you mean Seth Granger," Jeb suggested.

  She shrugged. "Right. Seth." Seth was just a pain in the butt, though. Annoying to deal with, but once she was away from him, she forgot all about him.

  She really didn't want to see David. She was furious with herself for having instinctively bought the tie.

  "Just walk on by then, Alex. The boat is at the end of the dock. Wait there. I'll go in and gather up the forces. Hopefully anyone who wandered off shopping is back. And hopefully those who did more drinking than eating won't be too inebriated."

  She smiled and thanked him, then started down the dock. The sunset was coming in, and she believed with her whole heart that nothing could compare to sunset in the Florida Keys. The colors were magnificent. If there was rain on the horizon, they were darker. On a bright day like today, the night came with a riot of unparalleled pastels.

  It was her favorite time of day. Peaceful. Especially when she had a few moments alone, as she did now. The dock was empty. The other boaters docked nearby were either on shore or in their cabins. The evening was hers.

  She strolled the length of rustic wood planks and, at the end, stretched and sat, dangling her feet as she appreciated the sky and tried not to think about the corpse she had seen.

  Or the husband she had so suddenly reacquired.

  "Who's missing here?"

  David had just reentered the restaurant in time to hear Jeb Larson's question.

  "Mr. Granger," Zach called out helpfully.

  "Mr. Denham," Jeb asked, spotting David. "Have you seen Mr. Granger?"

  "Sorry, I went out to make a call. He was at the table when I left."

  Jay Galway came striding in at that moment, a bag bearing the name of a local shop in his hand. He arched an eyebrow at Jeb. "Got a problem?"

  "Just missing a diver," Jeb said, never losing his easy tone. "Mr. Granger."

  Jay seemed startled as he looked around. "He was here twenty minutes ago," he said. "David?"

  "Don't know. I was on the phone."

  "He said something about going out for a smoke," Hank Adamson called. He was standing at the end of the bar. David was certain he hadn't been there a minute ago.

  He looked around. John Seymore seemed to be among the missing, as well, but just then he came striding in from around back.

  "Excuse me, Mr. Seymore," Jeb called. "Have you seen Mr. Granger?"

  "Nope," John Seymore said.

  "Leave it to Granger."

  The words were a bare whisper of aggravation, but David was close enough to Jay Galway to hear them.

  "Well, relax…we'll find him," Jeb said, still cheerful.

  "Maybe he went shopping," Zach suggested.

  "Yep, maybe," Jeb said, and tousled the boy's hair.

  "You know," David said quietly to Jay, "they can take the dive boat on back. We can wait for him."

  Jay cast him a glance that spoke volumes about his dislike for the man, but all he said was, "We can wait a few minutes."

  Alex stared at the lights as they played over the water. The lapping sound of the sea as it gently butted against dozens of hulls and the wood of the dock pilings was lulling. The little ripples below her were growing darker, but still, there was a rainbow of hues, purple, deepest aqua, a blue so dark it was almost ebony.

  She frowned, watching as something drifted out from beneath the end of the dock where she sat.

  At first, she was merely puzzled. What on earth…?

  Then her blood ran cold. She leaped to her feet, staring down. Her jaw dropped, and she clenched her throat to scream…caught the sound, started to turn, stopped again.

  No. This body wasn't disappearing.

  And so she went with her first instinct and began to scream as loudly as she could.

  "We all have to wait here for just one guy?" one of the divers complained.

  "My Mom will be getting worried," Zach said.

  "Don't worry, you can use my phone," David assured the teen, handing it to him. "Don't you have a cell phone?" he asked the boy.

  Zach grinned. "You bet. But Mom wouldn't let me take it on the boat. Said I might lose it overboard. She doesn't dive," he said, as if that explained everything about his mother.

  "Leave it to Seth Granger," Jay said, and this time, he was clearly audible. "Go ahead," he instructed Jeb. "You and the captain and Alex get our crew back. David has said he doesn't mind waiting for Granger." He turned to David. "You're sure?" he asked.

  "Sure. We'll wait," he said, and he hoped to hell it wasn't going to be long. Now, more than ever, he didn't want Alex out of his sight.

  The others rose, stretched and started to file out.

  And that was when they heard the scream.

  Somehow, the instant he heard it, David knew they weren't going to have to wait for Granger after all.

  Chapter 6

  Everyone came running.

  Alex wasn't thrilled about that, but after her last experience, she'd had to sound an alarm—she wasn't letting
this body drift away. Before the others came pounding down the dock, though, she dived in. Though the man was floating face downward and sure as hell looked dead, she wasn't taking any chances.

  The water right by the dock was far from the pristine blue expanse featured in tourist ads. She rose from a misty darkness to grab hold of the man's floating arm.

  With a jolt, she realized it was Seth Granger.

  By then the others had arrived. David was in the lead and instantly jumped into the water to join her. He was stronger and was easily able to maneuver the body. John Seymore, with Jeb at his side, reached down as David pushed Seth upward; between them, they quickly got Seth Granger lying on the dock, and, despite the obvious futility, Jeb dutifully attempted resuscitation. Alex heard someone on a cell phone, telling a 911 operator what had happened. By the time she and David had both been fished out of the water and were standing on the dock, sirens were blaring.

  Jeb, youthful and determined, kept at his task, helped by John, but Seth was clearly beyond help.

  He still reeked of alcohol.

  Two med techs came racing down the dock, and when they reached Seth Granger, Jeb and John stepped aside. The men from Fire Rescue looked at one another briefly, then took over where John and Jeb had left off.

  "Anyone know how long he's been in the water?" one of them.

  "Couldn't be more than twenty minutes," John Seymore said. "He was definitely inside twenty minutes ago."

  "Let's get him in the ambulance, set up a line…give him a few jolts," one of the med techs said. In seconds, another team was down the dock with a stretcher, and the body was taken to the waiting ambulance.

  Then the sheriff arrived. He didn't stop the ambulance, but he looked at Seth Granger as he was taken away, and Alex noted the imperceptible shake of his head. He took a deep breath and turned to the assembled crowd.

  "What happened?" Nigel Thompson demanded.

  "Well, he was drinking too hard and too fast, that's for sure," Hank Adamson commented.

  "We were at a table together," Jay told Nigel. He pointed around. "Seth, John, Hank, David and myself.

  David's phone rang, and he decided to take it outside. I needed to pick up a few things, so I headed down the street, and then…" He looked at the other two who had shared the table.