Landfall: Islands in the Aftermath (The Pulse Series Book 4) (17 page)

A
RTIE
WAS
SURPRISED
THAT
his brother would consider splitting up yet again, but when he explained his reasoning, he had to admit it made sense. Larry didn’t want to go boldly sailing into the crowded anchorages of the Exumas for two reasons: One, there was no telling what kind of reaction they’d get from the people on the other boats already there. And two, if he were indeed anchored in one of those places, Russell would easily recognize the unusual Wharram catamaran approaching, even from a distance. What he had in mind would be a lot stealthier, but it would take a little more time to implement.

They had dropped the anchor close to a gorgeous deserted beach at a place called Bitter Guana Cay. It was not really an anchorage, especially in bad weather, nor was it deep enough for most cruising boats to approach. But it was a secluded spot to secure the catamaran and allow them to keep a low profile while they worked. And it was still close enough to Staniel Cay to make the next part of the plan feasible.
 

What Larry had in mind involved Tara’s beautiful, handmade wooden sailing dinghy—the same one they used in their unsuccessful attempt to catch up to the
Sarah J.
when they discovered Russell leaving. When Artie reminded him that the sail and other parts of the rig for it were still aboard Tara’s yacht, which of course was why they couldn’t use them when they tried to catch Russell, Larry said it didn’t matter.

“The dinghy already has a built-in centerboard. That’s the hardest part to improvise. An oar lashed to the gunwale for steering can replace the rudder, and I’ll step the
Casey Nicole’s
spinnaker pole for a mast and use the storm jib for a sail. It should sail just fine like that.”
 

“But won’t it still be just as risky as sailing into those anchorages in the big boat? What’s the point?” Tara asked.

“No. For one, a dinghy won’t attract as much attention as a new cruising boat coming into a harbor. People who see it may think it’s just someone off another boat that’s already there or maybe someone who lives on the island or one of the nearby cays. The main thing is that if Russell is there and sees it approach, he won’t recognize it until it’s too late, especially since it will be coming in under sail.”

“You’re going to need someone to go with you then, in case he is there. You know he’s armed. It’s not worth trying to take him alone,” Grant said. “I’ll go.”

“No, you need to stay here with Artie and help him look out for the
Casey Nicole
. This boat is all we have left until we find the
Sarah J.
All of you need to stay here. There’s no room in the dinghy anyway, especially trying to sail it. I’ll need to move my weight around for ballast. It’ll be better if I go alone. I’ll be well armed. Don’t worry.”
 

“You’re not going without me,” Tara said. “It’s my dinghy, my boat and my daughter. Everything that matters to me in my life is at stake.
I’m
going!”
 

Artie didn’t see how Larry could argue with that if he insisted on going through with this plan. He hated to see the two of them leave, but he could certainly understand why Tara wouldn’t want to stay here on the catamaran when Larry might be so close to finding Rebecca and her parents’ boat.
 

“Look, I’m not talking about taking on this guy from the dinghy. I just want to do some scouting around and see if he’s even here. The dinghy can skim over the sandbars and take shortcuts. I can cover a lot of ground and find out if he stopped here or not. If he did, I’ll come back immediately and then we’ll make a plan to take him out before he knows we’re here. Maybe we’ll sail up onto him where he’s anchored in the middle of the night and take him totally off guard. I don’t know yet. All I know is that it’s essential to do some scouting first.
 

“And Tara, it is precisely because it
is
your daughter and your boat at stake that I don’t want you to go. I know that if we see him, you’re not going to want to wait or to come back for help.
Please!
Just let me do this my way. I won’t be gone long, and if am gone longer than a few hours, then you all can do what you like and come look for yourself.”

“In that case then, take me,” Jessica said. “I’ll do whatever you say if we see him. I just don’t want to be stuck here waiting. You might need some help, even if you think you don’t.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Jessica! Why would you get to go instead of me? If you think it’s hard for you to sit here waiting, imagine what it’s like for me. That’s my
daughter
with that lunatic!”

“And like I was trying to say,” Larry interrupted, “it’s precisely
because
it’s your daughter that I’d rather you wait here. It’s too emotional for you and there’s no way you’re going to be able to keep your cool. Especially with me in the same boat with you. We already know how that worked out before.”
 

“It wasn’t because
I
was the asshole,” Tara glared back at him in disgust.
 

“We’re wasting time arguing about this. I’ve got to get the rig set up if I’m gonna do this. But you’re right. It
is
your dinghy. If you don’t want me to take it I won’t. And you can come up with your own plan. But that’s the best I’ve got. Now please, let’s just work together on this, okay?”

“He’s right, Tara,” Artie said. “Let’s just help him make it happen and we’ll find Rebecca. You can count on it.” Artie could feel her pain just by looking at her. He knew exactly what she was going through, although he knew it was probably even worse for her than it had been for him. He would do all he could to help her through it. All of them would. But he knew too that if they failed to find her daughter in time there would be little any of them could do for her. He couldn’t let himself think about that though. He agreed with Artie that it would be better if she waited on the catamaran with them. He and Casey would help her through the anxiety somehow, and hopefully, Larry would return soon with good news and they could move into action.
 

Finally, she relented; persuaded by all of them that Larry’s plan was the best anyone could come up with. Larry also stressed that anything could happen out there and that her chances of getting Rebecca back were better if she stayed on the boat with the rest of the group. With Scully missing, she was also the most experienced sailor among them after Larry, and would be her daughter’s best hope if something happened to him.
 

Larry set to work and as always, Artie was amazed at his brother’s knowledge of all things nautical and his ingenuity when it came to repairing, rigging and sailing boats. With just what he had on board, he converted the 10-foot dinghy to a simple sloop, with a steering oar lashed to the stern quarter, Viking style. Artie knew the boat was already designed to sail, and that the centerboard that was already there made the job easier, but still… his brother had put all this together in little over an hour. When he was ready to go, Tara still expressed her doubts.

“Look, it’s not like I’m going to be gone long. I’ll be back this afternoon. The dinghy should be pretty fast when the breeze picks up later this morning. I can cover a lot of ground and find out quick if he’s here or not.”
 

“If you’re
not
back this afternoon, I’m not waiting,” she said. “If I stay here on the
Casey Nicole,
I want it understood that if you’re not aboard,
I
say when and where she sails.”
 

Artie nodded when she looked at him, and so did Casey, Grant and Jessica.
 

“Fine by me,” Larry said. “That’s exactly why I want you to wait. You’ll be the skipper if I don’t come back. But don’t get any ideas that’s going to happen, because I
will
be back. And way before dark too!”
 

“What about me?” Jessica asked. “There’s no reason for every single one of us to stay here. Let me go with you. Then you’ll have another set of eyes to look for him. Please?”

“He said there wasn’t enough room,” Grant said.
 

“I don’t need a lot of room. I’ll stay in the front out of the way when you have to tack. I’m not going to be doing anything but looking for Tara’s boat.”

“Okay, fine,” Larry said. “Fill up a couple of water bottles and I’ll grab my binoculars and the shotgun. We need to get going though. The morning’s already half over.”
 

Tara didn’t try to argue anymore and Artie figured it was because she was satisfied knowing that if Larry and Jessica weren’t back soon, she would be able to make the call as to when they would go on without them in the catamaran. Artie was a little surprised that Larry agreed to let Jessica go, but he was also glad his brother wasn’t going alone and he figured it would probably do Jessica good to get off the boat for a while. Everyone aboard could sense the tension over the Jessica and Grant situation, and Artie began to get the feeling Jessica didn’t want to be around Casey or Grant any more than she had to right now. He didn’t know exactly what happened on the beach that night when Grant shoved Russell, but something was said that caused a visible change in Jessica’s mood.
 

They stepped down into the dinghy and Artie held the bow painter while Larry fiddled around making final adjustments to his improvised rigging; then he cast them off. The storm jib for the
Casey Nicole
was cut from heavier material than what would be ideal for a dinghy sail, but the wind had picked up again to better than 10 knots so the little boat moved away at a good clip even with the overweight canvas. Larry and Jessica waved back to them as the breeze carried them north, skirting along the edge of the rocks close to the shore of the desolate island.
 

“It looks like it’s working pretty good,” Grant said, as they watched the dinghy sail away.

“Of course it is. Uncle Larry is an expert when it comes to sailboats. But you know that by now.”
 

“I think that once again, he had the right idea. No one is going to pay much attention to a small boat like that, and if Russell is there he’ll never make the connection if he sees it sailing instead of being rowed. He’s going to find her, Tara. We’re going to get Rebecca back and your boat too, I’m sure of it. Russell won’t dream that we could have followed him here so soon. He’ll be totally off guard for at least another day or two.”

“Maybe so,” Tara said. “But what if he isn’t even here? What if he went somewhere else instead? The guy was crazy. That was obvious from talking to him just the little I did. Somebody like that is capable of doing anything.”

“Yeah, but like Larry said, the wind has a lot to do with his choices, and from where he started, he didn’t have many. The Exumas were the logical destination,” Grant offered.

Tara didn’t look convinced. Artie and Casey put their arms around her. They all watched until Larry and Jessica disappeared around the north end of the island and were gone from sight.
 

“Let’s cook something and eat,” Artie said. “We have to keep our energy up. When they get back we’re probably going to be getting underway immediately.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Casey said. “I’ll make some coffee too. We’re getting low, but I could use some this morning after staying up all night.”

Twenty-two

R
USSELL
WENT
BELOW
AND
made his way forward to the forepeak cabin in which the girl was secured. He untied the multiple half-hitches in the Dacron line he’d passed through the latch, keeping his weight against the outward opening door until he was finished.

“Okay, I’m going to open this door. You can use the head, and you can even come up on deck if you want. But I’m warning you; if you try anything stupid you will wish you hadn’t. I don’t care if you
are
a girl. I’ll knock the crap out of you if you test me. Do you understand what I’m saying? I’m
not
playing games!”
 

“I understand,” the girl answered through the door. “I’m not going to try anything. I’ve just got to get out of here.”

Russell stepped back and opened the door halfway. Rebecca was sitting on the edge of the V-berth, glaring back at him as soon as she saw his face in the darkened cabin. It was natural that she was unhappy with him right now, but he was sure she would get over it and be in a better mood eventually.
 

“I’ll be waiting right out here until you’re done in there,” he said, indicting the head. “Then, if you want to come up on deck, you can come. If you don’t, you can go back to your cabin again. I’ve got my hands full with sailing this boat and you’re going to have to stay where I can see you or stay locked up, your choice.”
 

“I already
told
you, I’m not stupid! I’m not going to do anything! Just let me go to the bathroom and I’ll come up on deck.”
 

Russell waited until she came out, then he restarted the engine for another run of perhaps an hour to make some headway before it got too hot again. He had stashed the rifle in one of the cockpit lockers and secured it with the padlock that was on the latch. The key that had been hanging from a hook on the bulkhead over the Nav station was in his pocket now. He didn’t expect to need the rifle in a hurry out here, and he sure didn’t want her to get her hands on it while he was messing with sails or something, because it was loaded and ready to use. He didn’t know what she was capable of, but he knew she was plenty pissed off and it wasn’t worth taking a chance.
 

It was only a couple of hours until dawn now, but he was wired and didn’t feel sleepy at all, especially now that she was on deck and he had someone to talk to. He was thrilled that she seemed to be breaking so soon, already making the transition from trying to kick the door down and screaming to sitting there quietly just a few feet away from him in the cockpit. He was happy to give her a little freedom because he figured it would help convince here that they were going to get along just fine and everything was going to work out for the better in the end.