He followed the course that Pete had set, moving slowly up the Waterway. The fog had lifted, but it was a damp, chilly day, and there weren’t many boats out. Besides, Nick wasn’t sure how he could signal anyone without Pete seeing. Pete had told him to keep both hands on the wheel at all times.
The Sunset Voyager was close behind Nick and a little to the right. The occasional glance over his right shoulder showed Nick that Pete was watching him. Nick wondered if he could somehow switch the radio to the emergency channel and send out a Mayday call.
Nick looked down at the charts. Ironically, the course Pete had set him would take Nick back to Jekyll Island, where he and Jo had hidden out the day before. Nick remembered how isolated it was, and it didn’t comfort him.
Nick began to make small movements. He reached over to adjust the chart. Then he put his hands back on the wheel and didn’t do anything for an entire mile. Then he bent down quickly and grabbed a bottle of water. He was back up at the helm and twisting the top off the bottle when the radio squawked.
“Don’t do that again. Keep your hands on the wheel.”
Nick looked over his shoulder at Pete and waved the water bottle. He shrugged and took a long swallow. Then he placed the bottle carefully in the holder beside the wheel. Every minute or so, he reached out and took a sip of water.
A mile later on, he let go of the wheel and raised his arms over his head. He swiveled his neck in a deep stretch, then moved his arms out to his side and down. Then he put his hands back on the wheel. His cell phone was now out of his pocket and sitting on the captain’s chair behind him.
After another mile, he picked up the handset. “I’m going to sit down,” he said.
“Fine,” said Pete, “just don’t try anything funny.”
“Such as…?” queried Nick, with more bravado than he felt.
He reached down and pulled the lever that let the captain’s chair slide up to the wheel. He locked the chair in place and sat down. He put his hands on the wheel. His cell phone was now in his lap.
Over the next mile, Nick lifted his hands from the wheel constantly. He used one to smooth out the chart. Then he drank some more water. Then he ran a hand through his hair. Then he dialed 911.
Nick tried not to look down at the phone. He looked at the shoreline. He looked at the chart. He looked at the Sunset Voyager. He looked at the phone.
No connection.
Shit! They were in the Dead Zone.
Okay, thought Nick, so be it! But we’ll be out of it soon, and then I’ll just have to hit redial to get help.
A few more hand movements and the cell phone was back in his pocket.
They were approaching Jekyll Island. This was as far as Pete had given instructions. Nick throttled back to idle and sat in the middle of the Waterway. The Sunset Voyager came up along side.
“Keep going,” shouted Pete.
“Where to?” called Nick.
“Go through this bay and then into the Cumberland River. That’s the main Waterway route. Do you see that?”
Nick looked at the chart and then nodded at Pete.
“Head towards Cabin Bluff,” said Pete.
Nick checked his chart. There wasn’t much in the way of civilization between the opening of the river and the town of Cabin Bluff. At that town, the river bent and there was even less population between there and the Crooked River. Below that was the King’s Bay Naval Sub Base so there might be some patrol boats or something out there. Nick knew Pete wasn’t stupid. He knew as well as Nick what was on the chart. No, Nick figured whatever Pete was planning, he would do it between Cabin Bluff and the Crooked River. Nick looked at the map again. Maybe at Delaroche Creek. That was the only river in the area south of Cabin Bluff large enough to take their boats.
Nick looked up at the sky. He figured by the time they got wherever they were going, it would be getting dark. The knowledge did not comfort him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Nick was right not to be comforted. Pete planned to get them to an isolated part of the river. Then he was going to kill them and sink the Lenore. He looked over his shoulder at Jo.
“What are you looking at, Asshole?” she sneered.
“I was going to offer you something to eat,” said Pete, amiably, “but I can see you’re all tied up at the moment.”
“Fuck you,” said Jo.
Pete began to laugh. Poor Jo. Feisty to the last. He chuckled to himself and looked over at the Lenore. Nick was continuing to behave himself. Pete sure hoped that Nick and Jo had bonded over the last couple of days. If the Backstreet Boy was smart, he’d push that throttle forward and take off. Pete knew that, and so did Jo. Pete wondered if Nick knew that he wasn’t going to save Jo. He was going to end up dead as well.
After Pete gave Nick the latest set of instructions, he got himself a sandwich from the cooler and turned his thoughts to his predicament with the Fayetteville police and Mickey’s body.
“I hope you choke,” snarled Jo.
Pete turned on her. “What are you trying to do, Jo? Make me so mad I’ll kill you now. Why? So that Nicky Boy can get away? It isn’t going to happen so why don’t you just SHUT THE FUCK UP!!” Pete screamed the last words into her face.
Jo pushed herself back into the bench as far as she could. Just past Pete’s angry face, Jo could see Nick turn and look at them. He held up a cell phone and nodded at her. He rolled his finger in a circle, as if to say, ‘keep going’.
Pete followed her gaze and turned to the Lenore. But all he saw was the back of Nick’s head and his hands on the wheel.
Jo tried frantically to think of something to say that would get Pete to talk to her and look at her but not make him so mad he’d hurt her.
“You’re not going to get away with it,” she said finally, trying to keep her voice steady.
Pete turned and sneered at her.
“You’re not as smart as you think you are,” continued Jo. “I’m sure you’ve made a mistake. There’ll be some kind of proof back home.”
Pete pointed the gun at her. “Well, you’re never going to know, are you?”
Then Pete stopped talking. He cocked his head to one side and stared at Jo. Suddenly, the corner of his mouth turned up in a sneer. Then he put his head back and laughed out loud. “You know what, Jo? I am going to get away with it. Want to know why?”
Jo didn’t know what she’d said or done, but somehow she’d given Pete an idea. And it wasn’t a good one for her, she could see that. Jo wanted to look past Pete to see what Nick was doing, but the dark-haired man blocked her view. She didn’t want to obviously look past Pete. She didn’t want him to turn around.
“Sure, Pete, tell me why,” she said.
“Because I didn’t kill her,” said Pete, “you did.”
“What?” Jo was dumbfounded. “What are you talking about?”
Pete laughed. It was an evil sound. “Yeah, Jo. You killed her. Not me. Now shut up. I’m thinking.”
Pete turned back to the wheel. He looked over at the Lenore. Nick still stood at the helm. He only had one hand on the wheel. Pete reached for the radio handset to tell him to get both hands on the wheel, but before he could, Nick brought his left hand up and scratched his head and then placed it on the wheel. Pete put the handset back.
Jo killed Mickey.
Pete smiled to himself. Yeah, that was the ticket. Jo killed Mickey. Turn the scenario around and make Jo the villain.
Pete ran over the story in his head. He took Mickey out to dinner. Mickey told him that she wasn’t sure she wanted Jo to go along on the trip. She’d been a little weird lately. Mickey thought her relationship with Pete was making Jo jealous. She was going to call her when she got home and…
No, that didn’t work. It didn’t explain how Mickey got back to the restaurant.
Okay, how about this? Pete and Mickey are at the restaurant for dinner. There was no way to change that, thought Pete. That was an indisputable fact with witnesses to corroborate it. Okay, Mickey says that Jo’s been weird, and she doesn’t want her to go on the trip, and she’s going to tell her that…when Jo gets to the restaurant.
That’s good, thought Pete. Yeah, Jo was going to come to the restaurant. But…but…but she calls… yeah, she calls Mickey and says she’s running late. They arrange to meet at the bar down the street from the restaurant. Because he wants to go over the final details of the trip and then get a good night’s sleep, Pete goes home. The same way it had really happened. He walked.
Pete turned and looked over his shoulder at Jo.
“What?”
“How’s your car running, Jo?” asked Pete.
Jo's eyebrows went up. “Fine. Why?”
“Just asking,” said Pete, laughing.
It was perfect. And he didn’t have to know anything about the women. He wouldn’t mention the ‘Mickey thought Jo was acting weird’ part until the cops dragged it out of him. All he knew was that he had dinner with Mickey and walked home. Mickey was staying to meet Jo for a drink. Pete was to pick up Jo and then Mickey the next day. He got to Jo’s house, and she told him that Mickey was delayed by work and they should go on without her. She’d meet them later. Jo had Mickey’s luggage right there to prove it.
So it was Jo who said that Mickey was delayed.
Not Pete.
And it was Jo who pretended to talk to Mickey on the phone but always when Pete was busy driving the boat. And it was Jo who was acting all weird the first day, all jittery and stuff…and throwing up on the side of the road.
So it was Jo who killed Mickey.
Pete turned around again and smiled at Jo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“911 Emergency.”
“My name is Nick Carter. I’m on the Lenore, a boat heading down the Cumberland River toward Cabin Bluff. I am under attack from another boat, the Sunset Voyager.”
“Sir, you have contacted the Cabin Bluff police department. You should contact the Coast Guard, using channel 16 on your radio.”
“I can’t do that. He’s monitoring that channel. He has my…” Nick paused, searching for the right word to define his relationship with Jo. “…girlfriend on his boat. He’s holding a gun to her head.”
“I can give you the number for the Coast Guard, sir.”
“I don’t have time, Ma’am. I only have a few seconds. Please, listen to me. His name is Peter Crofton. He’s a murder suspect in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Could you please send us some help?”
“Sir, can you give me your exact location. I can pass it on to the Coast Guard.”
“We’re on the Cumberland River. I told you that.” Nick gave the co-ordinates. “He’s going to kill us both. Please…please help us.”
“I’ll call the Coast Guard for you right away, Sir!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Nick flipped his phone shut and dropped it onto his lap. Then he raised his hand and scratched his head before replacing his hand on the wheel.
A few minutes later, the radio squawked.
Nick picked up the handset, and his heart sank as he listened to Pete tell him to turn into the Brickhill River. They weren’t going to Cabin Bluff after all.
