Landfall: Islands in the Aftermath (The Pulse Series Book 4) (15 page)

When Grant reached the catamaran he and the girls with Artie’s help made quick work of stowing the dinghy upside down on the forward trampoline and lashing it in place. Then Larry put the helm back over and set a course to the west. They first had to sail around the western end of Green Cay and then well to the south of it, steering clear of the reefs and shoals before they could set an eastward course for the Exumas. Thinking about the dangers in these shallow waters at night just made Larry angrier because he was leaving with unfinished repairs from the accidental grounding. He hated that Russell had made him sail before the work was complete. It would cause them to have to go to the trouble to find another suitable spot to haul out again later. It was just one more thing to fuel the fury he would unleash upon the sorry asshole when he caught up with him.

“We need to keep a sharp watch,” he told Grant and Artie; as if it were something they didn’t already know. “He could be anchored or adrift most anywhere, and it would be all too easy to pass him out here at night and never know it.”

“It looks like we’re going to have good visibility,” Artie said, glancing up at the clear, starry skies. “That’s certainly a blessing.”

“Yeah, in more ways than one. Maybe he won’t screw up and hit something on a clear night like this.”

Getting Rebecca back and recovering the boat in whatever condition they found it was the goal, but if they could get it undamaged, that would be even better. Larry just hoped Russell had enough sense not to run the engine without the water pump. It would be a shame to ruin a perfectly good diesel that was well maintained and simple to keep going even in these circumstances. At least he knew about the problem with the pump, and he claimed to be experienced working on boats, so maybe that would make him think twice. The wind was favorable to take him to Staniel Cay, so if he were really going there, he wouldn’t need the engine to do it and would hopefully leave it alone.

Tara spent the rest of the night standing watch as far forward as she could go, on the catwalk platform that spanned the gap between the forward beam and the forestay. She had no interest in taking a break from her vigil for any reason and was still there nearly five hours later as the eastern horizon began to lighten with the coming of dawn.
 

Just as Larry had predicted, the breeze died down to less than ten knots after midnight, and on a close reach their boat speed stayed in the upper single digits as well. He was disappointed that they had not spotted the silhouette of a sail on the relatively bright horizon they had all night. Either Russell hadn’t stopped to rest or he had gotten far enough off course to his destination that they missed him if he did. Taking him by surprise would be best of course, since he’d already shot at them with the rifle. There was plenty of ammunition for it in the drawer under the chart table, and Larry had no doubt he would find it in his search for a joint or something to drink. If they could have spotted the boat anchored out on the banks in the dark, it might be possible to board it before he realized what was happening. Even in the daylight that tactic could work as long as he was below and asleep. But if they didn’t find him before he reached the Exumas, Larry knew things were going to be that much more difficult. The biggest factor there was going to be all the other boaters he knew would be congregated there. That entire chain was a mecca for yachts of all types and sizes anyway, and he had no doubt that many Florida and many other East Coast boaters with vessels seaworthy enough to get there would congregate in what they would consider a safe island haven.
 

After what they had already seen in the Caribbean and along the northern Gulf Coast, Larry wasn’t inclined to go sailing boldly into any of the popular Exumas anchorages, even if Russell already had. To do so without some kind or reconnoitering effort first would be putting his ship and his crew at risk of attack or ambush. And even if that were not a worry, if Russell was there and on deck when they arrived, he would surely recognize the distinctive catamaran from a distance and have ample time to prepare his defense.
 

Tara wasn’t going to like it, but Larry was determined to take the careful and smart approach even if it cost them several extra hours. With this in mind, he studied his Bahamas charts in the gradually increasing daylight and considered the options for making his landfall. The main anchorage at Staniel Cay was definitely out of the question. The sizable town ashore there probably already had its share of problems, and he had no way of knowing how the local authorities may have responded or if there were even any present at all.
 

A short distance to the south there was a better option. Bitter Guana Cay was uninhabited (at least in normal times, though maybe not now) and there was a semi-protected anchorage near the beach on the west side. He felt okay about sailing there, but would approach with caution and an eye out for the masts of other vessels that might already be there. If he could find someplace reasonably remote to secure the boat, he had an idea of what he would do next to find Russell and the
Sarah J.
It was going to take a little bit of work to get ready, and he was certain too he would catch some flak from Artie and the rest of the crew, not to mention Tara, when he laid out his plan. He already knew how Artie felt about splitting up, but dammit, sometimes these things just couldn’t be helped.

Nineteen

W
HEN
R
EBECCA
FIRST
REALIZED
something strange was going on, she thought it was some kind of a joke. She had been reading in her bunk to pass the time while her mom and the others worked on the catamaran, and the last thing she expected was to see the weird guy that had been living on the island suddenly aboard their boat. When he closed the hatch over her head, she was sure that he was just messing with her and that he would open it right back up. But when she asked him what he was doing, he said he was going for a sail. That didn’t make a bit of sense because she knew there was still a lot of work to be done on the other boat before they could go anywhere.
 

She tried pushing the hatch up but he was standing on it and wouldn’t budge. He wouldn’t move either, even when she yelled at him to get off of it and open it up. When she tried to open the door and go out into the main cabin, she discovered that it wouldn’t open either. Pushing on it with all her might, Rebecca was able to open it about an inch; just enough to discover that it was lashed shut with rope. When she turned back to the hatch, he was still standing on it and pulling a length of rope back and forth over the top of it to lash it shut as well. Why he would keep doing this after she told him to stop, and why he didn’t want her to get out of her cabin, she did not understand. If it were a game, some of the others would be in on it too, but when she called out to Casey and Jessica and Grant to see if any of them were aboard with him, no one answered.
 

Despite that, she was still convinced it had to be some kind of joke until she heard the clanking of the anchor windlass over her cabin at the bow. She could see enough through the hatch to see Russell bent over it, working away with the long handle to crank in the rode. The slow rattle of chain falling down the hawse pipe and piling up in the chain locker was unmistakable proof that he was weighing anchor. Had her mom or Captain Larry really asked him to move the boat closer to the beach or something? Was he just doing that and having a little fun at her expense by joking around in the process? It was possible, but he had said going
sailing
, not just moving the boat. She didn’t believe for a minute that her mom would let a stranger like him take the
Sarah J.
out for a sail, especially not with her alone on board with him. She felt the boat slowly moving forward in the direction of the anchor and tried desperately to see what was going on.
 

There were two small port lights in her cabin, one on the starboard side and one to port. She could see out of both of them, but since they were so small her field of view was limited to what was directly abeam of the boat on either side. Since the boat was being pulled up to the anchor, which was dead to windward and away from the island, she couldn’t see in the direction of the beach where her mom had landed the dinghy. All she could see was open water to starboard and the far end of the island to port.

She tried kicking the door to see if she could break her way out but the rope he’d tied it shut with gave enough with each blow to absorb most of the impact. She knew it was a solid door and she could see enough of the rope to know it was the good kind, the same kind used for all the running rigging that controlled the sails. There was no way the rope was going to break and she didn’t have anything in her cabin with which to cut it. If she had her shoes she thought she might be able to break the wood itself, but she’d left them on the cabin sole on the other side of the door and kicking it with her bare feet was too painful to keep up for long.

When the sound of the windlass stopped and all the chain was aboard, she could hear Russell running back and forth across the deck, working to get the sails up. A few minutes later, she heard the sails flapping in the wind and felt the boat heel over and begin moving. He really was taking the boat sailing, but where to and why? Her yelling of these questions got her no answers, but she could hear the sound of water rushing past the hull as the boat picked up speed.
 

The next thing she heard was the sudden crack of a rifle fired from so close that it made her ears ring. She knew then that something really bad was happening. Russell was stealing the
Sarah J.
and her mom and some of the others on the island must have seen what was going on. Now he was shooting at them!

“MOM!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, as the shooting continued. She counted five shots before it stopped but she kept up her screaming until he answered.
 

“Nobody got shot!” he yelled back at her. “They turned around and went back to the beach. Just chill out and relax. I’m not going to shoot anybody and I’m not going to hurt you!”
 

Rebecca didn’t know whether to believe him or not. She had her faced pressed to the port light and now Russell had changed course enough that she could see. The dinghy was drifting several hundred yards from the island and she could see there were three people in it, one she was sure was her mom. She watched as one of them began rowing and saw it moving slowly back towards the beach. She couldn’t be sure, but it didn’t look like any of them were hurt. She had not heard any other shots other than the five Russell had fired, and was kind of surprised no one had shot back at him. She thought that maybe Larry and whoever was in the dinghy with him and her mom didn’t have a gun with him or that they were simply too far away. Whatever the reason, it was too late now, and it was obvious that they weren’t going to be able to catch up to the
Sarah J.
She knew the catamaran was in no condition to sail and she wondered what was going to happen to her now if Russell didn’t turn around and take her back to the island. She assumed he was taking the boat because he wanted to get off the island after all that time he was stuck there, and he didn’t want to go to Florida with Larry, but why was he taking her with him? Was it just because she was already on board? Did he think he needed her for a hostage or something? Or did he have something even worse in mind for her?

Rebecca had not paid much attention to Russell since he’d surprised them all by walking to their end of the island that morning. He’d been hanging around the catamaran ever since, but he’d not been aboard the
Sarah J.
, nor did he seem all that interested in it. She knew he was getting on Larry’s nerves and that he’d been bothering Jessica with his constant leering at her. Grant had put him in his place over that and Larry had said no to his continued pestering as he begged to join them as part of the crew when they eventually left to go wherever they were going. Even though Rebecca had little interaction with him, from what she had seen and what her mother and Casey and Jessica said, Russell was a stoner and a drunk looking to get by doing as little as possible. Her mom said he didn’t get that way just since the blackout either. It was a way of life for him and probably all he’d ever done.
 

Larry offered to take him to Florida, but that wasn’t good enough. So now he’d stolen her grandpa’s boat and taken her along for the ride. She kicked the door again as hard as she could in frustration, wincing at the shock of the impact transmitted through her bare heel. She wasn’t going to be able to get out of there on her own, and he continued to ignore her pleading to let her out. Rebecca yelled so much it hurt her throat, then she curled up and began to sob.

Why were so many bad things happening to her?
All she’d wanted to do was simply stay home in Gulfport and go to school with her friends like every other normal person she knew. Why did the lights and phones and everything else go out and make them have to leave home on a stupid sailboat? When they met Larry and the others on the catamaran, it was even worse, because he convinced her mom they had to sail all the way to the Bahamas to find someplace safe. She had wanted off the boat so bad she’d convinced herself it wasn’t worth living any more if life was going to be like that.

But she’d made a terrible mistake. Leaving the boat and being out there on the dark, scary ocean at night was a lot different than she thought it would be. She was floating on the kayak, and though she wanted to drown, she couldn’t bring herself to slip over the side and let it happen. It was going to be all together too slow and too frightening. So she clung to the tiny plastic boat even after the wind tore the paddle out of her hands and the hours passed by with no end to the terrible night in sight.
 

Captain Larry had found her in spite of the conditions and after her rescue he gave her renewed hope and convinced her that life
was
worth living after all. But now this had happened despite what he said. He’d been wrong about it being safe in the Bahamas because now after all she’d been through, she was taken captive by a stranger who lied to Captain Larry and her mom and everybody else. There was no telling where he was taking her and no telling what he would do next. He would probably kill her if she didn’t do everything he told her to, and there was no way she would because she knew what that would probably be. She’d rather kill herself than let that happen, even though she’d promised herself she would never think that way again after her failed attempt to drown in the Gulf.