she had hit Redial. “Beth?”
“It’s Jake. She’s coming back to my place.”
“Thanks.”
“She still won’t agree to filing a police report. I’ve tried everything but brute force,” Jake told him.
“Just keep her safe, huh?”
“You bet,” Jake assured him.
Keith remained where he was. He expected a long wait, but it was no more than ten minutes before Jake and Beth appeared. She locked the house but didn’t glance his way. Jake gave him a wave as he got into the passenger seat of her car.
Despite Jake’s presence, Keith followed. He pulled out his phone and dialed when he realized she was going in the direction of Nick’s.
Lee answered. “I’ll be there in about another ten minutes,” Keith told him. “You can bring the tender and get me at the dock at Nick’s.”
“Great. Glad you’ve had your entertainment for the night,” Lee said sarcastically.
Keith hung up.
He waited in the car while Beth parked at Nick’s, grabbed her overnight bag and headed toward the rear with Jake. Then he followed.
The place was jumping. It was a Saturday night. Nothing could go wrong with that many people around.
Please, God, he thought. Let that be the truth.
He saw Ashley, her youngest child in her arms, making her way through the tables to meet Beth and Jake.
Once they were all together, Keith circumvented the busy patio and headed out to the pier.
He heard the motor of the tender soon after. Lee had come. The stare he gave Keith spoke volumes.
“No involvements,” Lee muttered with disgust. “Yeah, like hell. We came in for information. Not for your entertainment.”
“Let’s just go,” Keith said.
“Hell, yeah. Let’s just go. Eye on the prize, pal.”
Keith swung on him. “Hey, swallow this, pal. Fuck you. The prize has changed.”
IF NOTHING ELSE, it had probably been the longest, most eventful day of Beth’s life. By the time she reached the privacy of Ashley and Jake’s place, in an ell off the restaurant, she was so keyed up she was ready to scream—and not at all sure of where to start.
“You lied to me,” she told Ashley.
“I’m not at liberty—” Ashley began.
“I’ve already explained that,” Jake said, staring at Beth. “Over and over again.”
“Oh, come on. You know I would never say anything to anyone else if you told me not to. What the hell is going on here? I can’t imagine that you’ve become buddy-buddy with some kind of criminal, but he keeps denying that he’s a cop.” Beth stared from Ashley to Jake.
“Shh,” Ashley pleaded. “You’ll wake the kids.”
She let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to make your lives any harder, but—”
She broke off, wincing.
But Amber had been threatened. And Keith’s words on the phone had hit disturbingly close to home. She had noticed the couple herself. She just hadn’t realized they had followed her.
They had probably been following her all day, before staking out her house. She had to pray they hadn’t waited around to follow her here.
She stood very still and stared at Jake. “I need someone off duty to keep an eye on my niece,” she said softly. “And I mean now. That’s the only reason I agreed to come here. You two can help me. I need Amber protected.”
“Amber?”
She nodded. “Jake, you’ve got cop friends coming out of the woodwork. I can pay, but I want Amber protected. Without Ben knowing. I don’t want him doing anything stupid.” She was angry; her decision was made.
“Does someone want to explain exactly what’s going on?” Ashley demanded.
“Beth was attacked,” Jake said.
Ashley gasped.
“Threatened is more like it,” Beth said.
“Keith showed up, they ran off.”
“And you didn’t call the police?” Ashley asked incredulously.
Beth groaned.
“I told her she should have called the police immediately,” Jake said sternly. “So did Keith.”
“They threatened Amber,” she said. “And I’m not filing a report of any kind. I mean it. I’m not taking any chances. I want you to help me with this.”
“Keith saw a couple here today, while you two were together today. They followed Beth when she left. I’m willing to bet they’re the same two who are suspected of pirating the missing boats.”
“Here?” Ashley said. “Beth, do you think it might have been them?”
“I don’t know for sure, but it’s starting to sound likely. And, oh yeah. I found a skull on my desk today, but the cop I called seemed to think I was a paranoid lunatic, so if you don’t mind, I’m not speaking officially to any more police today. I think that someone got into my office, then followed me. The official cop couldn’t see that. Okay? Wait! I don’t care if it’s not okay. You lied to me, Ashley. You said you didn’t know him.”
Ashley glanced guiltily at the floor.
“And if he’s not a cop, what the hell is he?” Beth demanded, still angry.
“We don’t have the right—” Jake began.
“Oh, Jake! What do you think Beth is going to do—post it on the Internet?” Ashley demanded impatiently. “He’s not a cop. In fact—”
“Don’t even try to tell me he’s a scuba instructor,” Beth snapped.
“Well, actually,” Jake said, “he is.”
Before Beth could literally scream with aggravation, Ashley spoke, explaining, “He’s with a company that specializes in dive rescues and retrievals, salvage and maritime crimes.”
Beth stared at her friends, perplexed. “Why couldn’t you tell me that?”
“Because we don’t know what he’s doing,” Jake said impatiently. Then he hesitated. “They contract their services to the government. He could be working for the feds or the state. When I see him, I don’t ask. Whatever he’s doing this time, it’s important that people don’t know who he is. He often works undercover. So when he doesn’t tell me what he’s doing, I respect his position and don’t ask. I don’t want to jeopardize his work—or his life.”
Beth stared at him, shaking her head. “Why wouldn’t he tell me? Why wouldn’t he trust me?”
Jake shook his head. “Beth, when you’re undercover, you tell no one. You pray that you don’t run into the people who know you. And if you do, you pray they keep their mouths shut.”
“Who on earth would I say anything to?” Beth protested.
Jake shook his head. “You wouldn’t say anything on purpose, Beth, but what if you accidentally let something slip to Ben? They’ve already threatened Amber.”
“Get someone out there now, Jake,” Beth demanded hotly, then added a soft “Please.”
“All right.”
He went away to arrange it, leaving her with Ashley. Beth still felt angry.
“You could have