The question hung in the air between them.
“Well,” said Nick, “let’s go find out.”
“Okay,” said Jo. “How are we going to do that?”
“We’re going back to St. Simon’s,” said Nick, firmly. North had won out over South.
Jo seemed surprised byhis decision. “Back?”
“Yes. We’ll go back. Pete won’t think to look for us there. We can get into an area where I can use my phone, and we’ll call. One way or the other, we’ll get it straightened out.”
Jo sagged with relief. “Thank you,” she said.
Nick could see tears welling up in her eyes again. He turned away and started talking quickly. “Okay, I’m going to teach you how to use this intercom. That way, we can communicate with each other when you’re below.”
“Do you think I should go back down there?” asked Jo. “I thought Pete was long gone.”
“I think he is too, but you never know. And besides,” Nick winked at her. “I’m hungry. You can make me some lunch.”
Jo was surprised by how her stomach flipped over at the lazy grin that crossed Nick’s face. “Yeah, sure,” she said, feeling a blush creep up her neck.
Nick didn’t know why Jo’s face was turning red, but it was better than her crying. “See this button here,” he said, and he proceeded to explain the intercom. “Now let’s go below, and see how it works from down there.”
“You mean you don’t know?” said Jo, flashing Nick a grin that made him suck in his breath.
Wow! he thought. She really needed to smile more often.
“Listen up, you,” said Nick. “I haven’t really needed an intercom, have I, being the only one on the boat and all.”
“I guess not,” said Jo. She climbed down the ladder and went below.
Nick followed her and went over to the panel of switches and gauges. “Here,” he said.
“Oh, this looks challenging,” said Jo, sarcastically, although there was humor in her voice. She pressed a button marked ‘Talk’.
“Hello out there,” she said.
“I guess we’d know better if you were doing the right thing if there was someone on the other end of it,” said Nick. “I’ll go back up.”
He moved past Jo, putting a hand on her waist as he went by, moving her slightly out of the way…and slightly out of her mind.
The intercom wasn’t hard to figure out…just press the button and talk…The mechanics were very simple, but the conversation was not. After the initial, ‘testing, testing, are you there, Nick?’ and the ‘yeah, I’m here,’ there was a silence while each tried to think of something witty to say. Neither could, and then they both pushed the TALK button at the same time which produced a little jolt of feedback. There was more silence followed finally by, “Okay, Captain, what do you want for lunch?”
Jo waited by the intercom for Nick’s response. He didn’t seem to be answering.
“Sandwiches work for me,” said a voice at her ear.
Jo jumped and turned, right into Nick.
“Oh, you startled me,” she said.
“I brought down the water bottles,” explained Nick. “I thought I’d get a refill. While you’re making lunch, I’ll get us underway again. Then you can bring the sandwiches topside. Does that sound like a plan?”
“It sounds like a great plan,” said Jo. “The faster we can get back, the happier I’ll be. I want to know…”
Nick nodded and went back to the bridge. He started the engines and pulled up the anchor. He headed around the island slowly and then into the inlet. He passed several boats, but he didn’t recognize any of them. When he pulled back into the waterway, he turned north.
The scenery was beautiful, and the traffic wasn’t heavy. Nick enjoyed the sun on his face and the breeze through his hair. He loved the water. It was his place.
“Mon capitaine?” said Jo, over the intercom.
“Oui, mon…” Nick stopped there. That was about the limit of his French. “Oui?” he repeated.
“Le lunch,” said Jo, in a heavy French accent, “she is servi.”
“Can you bring it up here?” asked Nick.
“Sure can,” said Jo, dropping the French. “What do you want to drink?”
“There’s Coke in the fridge,” said Nick. “I’ll take one of those.”
“Okey dokey,” said Jo.
The thought that Pete was long gone seemed to take the pressure off Jo, Nick saw. She was much more carefree. She smiled a lot more, and her posture was more relaxed. They laughed and talked about other things than murder and mayhem while they ate their lunch. Periodically, Nick checked his cell phone to see if he could place a call. They weren’t too far from St. Simon’s Island when the screen finally lit up with a connection.
“Okay, first things first,” said Nick. “Hand me the guidebook.”
Jo passed the book over, and Nick quickly looked up the number for the Golden Isles Marina. He called the number and made a reservation for that night. Then he passed the cell phone to Jo.
“Call Mickey’s number,” he said.
Jo took the phone and punched in the number. She waited through several rings and then flipped the phone shut. “It went to her voice mail,” she said sadly.
Nick watched her shoulders slump. “Do you know her office number?” he said.
Jo nodded. “Sure, I do.”
“Then call there,” said Nick.
Jo took a deep breath and punched in the number. She talked for a few minutes and then said, “Okay, thanks” and hung up.
Nick looked at her expectantly.
“She’s on vacation,” said Jo. “She hasn’t been seen since Thursday. Her vacation started Friday.”
“Friday was the day you guys boarded the boat,” said Nick.
“Yes,” said Jo, “the night she was supposedly working late.”
“What about calling her family?” suggested Nick.
Jo sighed. “I don’t want to do that. I keep hoping I’m wrong, that there’s some reasonable explanation. I don’t want to panic them for no reason.”
Nick nodded. Yeah, that wouldn’t be cool. “Okay,” he said, “give me back the phone, and come here.”
Jo moved beside him. Nick took the phone from her and said, “Drive the boat while I make a call.”
He moved away from the wheel and Jo moved in.
“I don’t have to know anything special to do this, do I?” she asked.
“Just keep it in the middle of the waterway,” said Nick. “You’ll be fine.”
He punched in some numbers on the phone.
“Hey, Bernie. It’s Nick…yeah, yeah, I’m fine…having a great time…yeah, the boat’s great; I love her…no, I haven’t decided that yet…I’ve had a few ideas…I’ll know the right name when I hear it…Listen, Bernie, I want you to check on something for me.”
Jo listened as Nick handed off the situation to his assistant. He wanted Bernie to check on the whereabouts of Mickey…Michelle…Here Nick looked over at Jo and she said, “Lassiter.”
“…Michelle Lassiter. She lives at…”
Jo provided the personal details and Nick passed them over to Bernie. He explained the situation briefly, leaving out the more insane-sounding parts, just telling him that Jo was out of touch with her friend and was worried.
Bernie took down all the information and said he’d see what he could do and he’d get back to Nick with a report this evening one way or another. Then he said that the whole ‘traveling alone thing’ didn’t seem to have lasted very long.
Nick laughed and said, “Yeah, well…” and then flipped the phone shut.
“There that’s done,” he said. “Now, we wait.”
Jo moved out of his way, giving him access to the wheel again. She stood beside him, staring out over the water. “At least, now waiting has a purpose,” she said, “if you know what I mean.”
Nick nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Hey, look! There’s the end of the island. We’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Great,” said Jo, picking up the tray. “I’ll go tidy up. Then I’ll come back and help you dock her.”
“Cool,” said Nick, turning the boat into the channel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The clerk at the marina hung up the phone. Then he picked it up again and dialed a number.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Man, it’s Tony…from the Golden Isles. Say, I was just wondering…you know that boat you wanted me to call you about this morning?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, would it be worth another fifty to you to know where she is?”
“It certainly would. You know where she is right now?”
“Well, I know that the guy just called and booked a berth for tonight.”
“Where?”
“Here. At the Golden Isles.”
“Son of a bitch!”
“You want I should book you a berth too, Mr. Crofton?”
“Yeah, Tony, I do. I’ll see you later.”
Pete spun the wheel on the Sunset Voyager and swung her around…heading north.
