wrath of the Sea Queen (113 page)

"Thanks, Salma. 
I
f it's all the same to you, I
would prefer not to wait. 
What's the news
on C
a
eli
?"

"
I will tell you w
hen you get back,
Mr. Impatient
. 
Trust that she is getting better. 
This is not the proper time or place
to get into
such
a discussion
. 
Go on
now
.  They are waiting on you,
"
Salma replied.

"Here.  Take my truck and keep an eye on Max for me.  I
wi
ll ride along with Vin and keep him company.  I will
try to keep him out of trouble.  He seems to be diving into it at every turn today
," Apela
had been standing a few feet away waiting for Vin to reach a decision.  He
volunteered
his vehicle to Ben and Salma
with a joking elbow in Vin's side
.
  He tossed his truck keys to Ben and joined Vin
as he climbed
in
to
the back of the
waiting
ambulance.

From inside his gray
truck,
Dr. Jacobs watched
the
group
across the parking lot
.  He did not have a good view from where he sat, but he thought he saw Dr. Erickson
tending
the man
he shot
.  When the man finally got up and walked away
,
Dr. Jacobs assumed that his aim
was
not as true as
presumed
. 

His first ploy to earn Dr. Erickson's friendship
had
failed
. 
Waiting
out the incident with her until the sheriff arrived
did not turn out to be the
bonding moment
he anticipated
.  Unfortunately,
Neal
underestimated
Dr. Erickson's
husband. 
He
was
not as receptive
,
and
much more
suspicious
,
than
the doctor
.
 
Ben's
unexpected
presence completely
negated
Neal's chance of
sharing
that moment
with Salma
.

Neal
adapt
ed
and
quickly changed tactics. 
When
Dr. Erickson's friend
s arrived
,
he
decided to eliminate
the
one
who
got out of the truck
. 
By this, Neal
hoped t
o begin
isolat
ing
Salma
and perhaps push her deeper into
her work and closer to him as a
supportive
colleague.  However,
this attempt
also failed
, making t
he
entire
test run a
bust
. 
Perhaps tomorrow's plan would fare better. 
Neal
would have to be more aggressive, but once he had a chance to explain it to her,
he
had no doubt
that
Dr. Erickson would understand
the
necess
ity of
tak
ing
such drastic measures to
gain
her compliance.  It was essential that she cooperate. 
Neal put the
truck
in gear and drove off.

CHAPTER
27

W
hen they returned from the lighthouse
,
Salma
found Max and C
a
eli sitting on the beach. 
Apparently, C
a
eli
could
not stand on her own and Max had been trying, unsuccessfully, to help her get out of the water.  After Ben accomplished that task and returned C
a
eli to her room,
Salma
immediately reconnected
C
a
eli
to the IV
.
  C
a
eli's begging for
Salma not to
knock her out a
gain
went unheeded
as Salma
maneuvered around to
plunge a small syringe into C
a
eli's
IV
.

C
a
eli
was exhausted
, but refused to admit that she needed sleep
. 
Her thoughts were focused on
Vin. 
She wanted to go to the hospital and see
him
, but
Ben, Salma, and even Max,
adamantly refused her request.  C
a
eli could not win this battle.

She asked if she could phone Vin, but Salma did not think he would be placed in a room
with a phone
, and cell phones were prohibited in the hospital.  C
a
eli was disappoin
ted, but she did not give up.  Since she could not do much else
, C
a
eli lay on the bed and attempted to call Vin
through their link
.  Unfortunately,
the medicine took over
more
quickly
than
she
anticipated
. 
C
a
eli
fell asleep almost
as soon as she closed her eyes.  She
slept
,
unmoving
,
for
two hours.

While C
a
eli drifted off to
sl
e
ep,
Salma
watched the clear liquid flowing into
her
left arm at a steady rate.  Once
she
verified that everything was working to her satisfaction,
Salma
and Ben left the room
.  Max crept in from the porch and sat quietly in the chair beside the bed
with his legs pulled up in front of him.  He laid his head on his knees
in the dimly lit quarters
and
watched C
a
eli
sleep.  Max wo
ndered why she kept a
rguing with
the Sea Queen.
  He did not understand why
C
a
eli
had not simply told the Sea Queen her decision.

"
She does
n
o
t understand, Max.
"

"Why not
, Uncle Michael
?"

"
She has not
been well
.  The sickness and the medicine do not let her
think clearly. 
The Sea Queen is
taking advantage of that and
trying to keep her confused so that she will not figure it out
before it's too late
. 
C
a
eli
does not
yet
fully understand what she needs to do.
"

"I can tell her what to do.  I can help her," Max whispered.

"
No, you cannot.  C
a
eli has to figure it out herself.  Otherwise, it will not be her decision. 
If it is not
her decision it will not work. 
But,
when she gets better, C
a
eli
can help you if you let her,
" Michael told the boy.

"She can?  How?"  Max turned and looked up over his shoulder at Michael in wide-eyed wonder.

"
When she was a little girl, not much older than you,
C
a
eli
also
met the man in black.
"

"
She did? 
Did he try to steal pretty C
a
eli
,
too?"
  Max's eyes widened in alarm.