Chapter 10
Kate was stunned by Jared’s reaction. She stared up at him in shock. “What’s the matter? I know you don’t like me prying into this, but I really think I deserve an explanation, don’t you?”
“Kate, listen to me. I’ll give you all the explanations you want, but first you’ve got to tell me what makes you think Jeff Taylor is involved in this.”
“You’re not going to like it.”
“That goes without saying. Just talk. And fast.”
Kate drew a deep breath. “I found the secret to opening the wall in the castle.”
“Where?” Jared’s expression was grim.
“In Amelia Cavendish’s diary.”
“Damn. I should have known. All right, go on. I take it you couldn’t resist going back to the castle to see if the secret worked? Never mind. Stupid question. Of course you couldn’t resist. Of course you wouldn’t think of doing the sensible thing and come to me to ask me about it.”
“Why should I ask you?” Kate shot back, stung. “Every time I’ve tried to ask you about what’s going on at the castle, you tell me to mind my own business.”
“Okay, okay, we’ll argue about this later, I can promise you that. Right now I have to know what you saw.”
“I got the wall open and I took a quick look inside. I saw some crates and cartons and the wet suit and equipment Jeff uses.”
“How do you know it was Taylor’s?”
“The wet suit was yellow and black. The same colors as the suit he wore diving the other day.” Kate frowned. “I suppose it could belong to someone else. Does the resort rent yellow-and-black suits?”
“No.” Jared released her and drove a hand through his dark hair. “What the hell is going on?”
“That’s what I’d like to know. Jared, if you’re involved in something illegal, now is the time to tell me. We’ve danced around this matter long enough.”
“I’ve already told you, it’s not illegal. But it is getting to be a damned nuisance.” He stalked to the edge of the veranda and stood gazing out into the darkness for a long moment.
“Please. What is this all about?” Kate asked.
“It’s about a favor I was doing for Max Butterfield.”
“Max? What kind of favor?”
“It’s a long story. The short version is that Max sometimes does odd jobs out here in the Pacific for the government.”
“I don’t get it. He’s a spy or something?”
“Nothing that exciting,” Jared said evenly. “Or that formal. He’s not exactly on the government payroll. He’s what you might call a stringer. He started out selling bits and pieces of information when he realized several years ago that he wasn’t ever going to get around to writing the Great American Novel. Over the years he’s had his uses, I guess.”
“But what was he doing here? Why were you helping him?”
Jared reached for his jeans. “He did me a favor a couple of years back when I needed a little muscle to get rid of some rounders who decided they were going to settle here on Amethyst. He got his buddies in the department to send some professional leaners.”
“Leaners?”
“Yeah. Leaners. You know. They lean on people.” Jared zipped his jeans and started buttoning his shirt. “They asked a lot of pointed questions about tax-filing status and things like that. Made our unwelcome guests generally uncomfortable. They leaned until the troublemakers decided to go to some other island. The long and short of it is, I owed Max and his friends.”
“And he came around to collect?”
“A couple of months ago.”
“Well?” Kate followed him as he finished dressing and stepped back into the darkened room. She grabbed her dress and held it in front of her. “What did he want?”
“The guys he sells information to wanted him to set up a trap here on the island.” Jared glanced over his shoulder, his mouth twisted wryly. “You should appreciate this part. Seems they were having trouble with some real modern-day pirates. Someone’s got a racket going using the cruise ships.”
“How?”
“They’ve been hijacking sophisticated electronics equipment from military and construction sites here in the Pacific. They use a small, fast boat or a plane to bring the stuff to remote islands where it’s stored until the guys who are running things arrive to repackage and ship the stuff to a new destination.”
“How are the cruise ships involved?”
“Max’s friends figured out who was running the first stage of the operations, but they couldn’t get a handle on the ringleader. The head man, disguised as an innocent tourist from one of the cruise ships, apparently arrives at the islands where stuff is stored. He takes care of business while everyone is souvenir shopping and then he leaves on the boat. In some cases the equipment is smuggled right on board.”
“When a cruise ship arrives, an island like Amethyst is temporarily swamped with strangers,” Kate said slowly. “It would be easy for someone to conduct some illegal activity and then leave with no one the wiser.”
“Max and his pals arranged to sucker these pirates into using the hidden dock inside the castle as a temporary storage facility for the illegal shipments. They fell for it. Tomorrow when the ship arrives the boss man is supposed to hit the island and head for the castle where Max and some of his buddies are going to be waiting for him.” Jared was at the door.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“To find Max. As far as I know the government people are coming in on a private plane tomorrow. There shouldn’t be anyone hanging around that castle now. But apparently someone is. Jeff Taylor, if you’re right about what you saw.”
“You’re going to tell Max something’s happening there?”
“Right. This is his operation. He should know why Taylor is involved in this. I want an explanation. I don’t like being kept in the dark.”
“I know exactly how you feel.”
Jared gritted his teeth. “I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?” He was halfway out the door but he halted abruptly and looked back at her, his eyes intent. “Kate, listen to me. I may be busy for a while. I don’t know what’s going on or what’s going to happen next. But if I’m not back in an hour, I want you to call Sam Finley on Ruby, you understand? The number’s in the card file on my desk.”
Kate was feeling more uneasy by the second. “It would take him a long time to get here.”
“With any luck we won’t need him at all. Max probably knows what’s going on and has everything under control.”
“You don’t believe that or you wouldn’t be acting like this. Jared, I’m worried.”
Jared came swiftly back into the room and caught hold of her arms. He pulled her close and kissed her hard. When he raised his head, his silvery eyes were gleaming. “Just stay put and try not to get into any more trouble, okay? I should be back soon.”
“I don’t like this. Not one bit.”
He flashed her a brief grin. “Look at it this way, if you hadn’t gotten so curious, we’d still be out there fooling around on the veranda at this very moment. Any way you slice it, it’s all your fault.”
“Don’t you dare blame this on me.”
“Why not? Things were so calm and peaceful around here until you showed up. Nothing’s been the same since you hit the island.” Jared headed back to the door. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Jared, wait, I’m not sure this is the right—”
But it was too late. He was gone, closing the door firmly behind him.
Kate dressed slowly, her mind churning. She didn’t like any of this, and most especially she had not cared for the gleam in Jared’s eyes as he had walked out the door. There was enough pirate in him to enjoy this whole thing, she decided, even if he was one of the good guys.
And of course he was one of the good guys, she reflected, aware of a definite sense of relief. Her pirates might walk close to the line at times, but they always managed to redeem themselves. They adhered to their own codes of honor. When the chips were down, you could count on them.
When she had pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt she went to stand out on the veranda. Her insides were knotted with tension. She wondered if Max was in the bar as usual and if Jared was talking to him at that very moment. Would they head for the castle? Would Max try to contact his superiors? Or would he and Jared try to take matters into their own hands?
That last possibility sent a jolt of alarm through Kate. She could just see Jared doing something like that. And if Max was in the business of dealing with modern-day pirates, he’d probably go right along with the whole stupid idea.
At the very least, they’d go up to the castle to check out the diving equipment and see what else they could find.
Kate’s uneasiness grew. There was always the possibility that Jeff Taylor was at the castle himself by now. If Max and Jared walked in on him, there could be real trouble. Unless, of course, Jeff, too, was one of the good guys. But who would know until it was too late?
Kate came to a decision and headed for the door. The sensible, logical thing to do was call Sam Finley at once. Just in case.
She made her way quickly through the gardens to Jared’s house where she found the lights on and the door unlocked. No one ever bothered to lock doors on Amethyst, she had learned. She let herself into the hall.
“David? Beth? Anybody home?”
“Wanna bet?”
Kate went into the kitchen. “You the only one here, Jolly?”
The bird cracked a sunflower seed and studied her as if she were a specimen under glass. Kate gave his head a quick scratch and headed for Jared’s study. The phone numbers were filed on a neat little series of cards, right where he had said they would be. Without hesitation she looked up Sam Finley’s number and dialed it.
There was no answer.
Kate slowly replaced the receiver and wondered what to do next. She was getting an unshakable feeling that Jared and Max were walking into trouble. It was ridiculous to allow herself to get too nervous. Max, at least, was supposedly a professional at this sort of thing. And Jared was surely not totally devoid of common sense. But she could still picture the gleam of suppressed excitement in his eyes. Kate found herself staring at the Hawthorne dagger in the glass case.
It occurred to her that Jared had gone merrily off unarmed tonight. The dagger wasn’t much of a weapon by contemporary standards, but it would have been better than nothing.
Without giving herself time to think about it, Kate opened the case, picked up the dagger and stuck it into her jeans, under her shirt. The old metal lay cold and hard against her skin. She felt a bit melodramatic, but she didn’t hesitate. Her mind was made up now. She had to do something. She went to the desk and rummaged around until she found a small flashlight and then she headed for the door.
Her first stop was the lounge, but as she suspected, neither Max nor Jared was there. That only confirmed her feeling that they had both gone to the castle to see what was happening. She reminded herself that Max was apparently a pro, but that didn’t kill the uneasiness she was feeling. The fact that Jeff Taylor was nowhere around did not make her feel the least bit better.
“Evening, Kate. How are you tonight?” The colonel nodded from the bar where he was busy pouring drinks for the throng.
“Fine, Colonel. Seen Jared?”
“He was in here a while ago, looking for Max. Haven’t seen him since. Thought he’d be with you.”
“He was earlier.” Kate debated saying anything else and then decided Jared would not thank her for blabbing to the entire bar about what was supposed to be some sort of top-secret operation. “Tell him I’m looking for him if you see him,” she said lamely and hurried back outside.
There was nothing else to do except go on up to the castle herself and see what was happening. If she didn’t, she’d go crazy with worry.
The walk along the torch-lit path toward the beach was not too bad. But when she turned off the main trail to follow the dark path to the castle, chills shot all the way down her spine.
It seemed to take forever to reach her destination. When the tower finally loomed into view, a dark mass of stone silhouetted against a dark sky, she breathed a sigh of relief.
There was no sign of light showing through the narrow windows, but that did not tell her much. She walked quickly through the shadowed courtyard and slipped into the main hall.
It was darker than midnight inside. For a moment she stood in the doorway, listening intently. When she detected no sound at all she finally switched on the small flashlight and went over to the circular staircase.
She started down the steps with great caution. The black stairwell seemed bottomless and because of the way it twisted as it wound downward she could not see more than a few paces ahead, even with the light.
She was on the bottom step when she heard the smallest of sounds and then it was too late. A rough male arm coiled around her throat, dragging her off the step and back into the dungeon hallway. The flashlight clattered to the floor.
Frantically Kate lashed back with her foot. She was rewarded by a muffled oath.
“Hell, not again,” Jared muttered in her ear. He sounded thoroughly disgusted. “I should have guessed.” He relaxed his grip only slightly. “Hush. Not a sound. Not one sound.”
Kate nodded quickly, the rush of adrenaline making her stomach queasy. Jared must have felt the motion of her head. Either that or he assumed she had the sense to keep quiet. He grabbed the flashlight and switched it off. Then she felt his hand close tightly around her wrist and she was being dragged deeper into the darkness behind the steps.
Kate stumbled along until Jared stopped without any warning. She immediately collided with him.
“Did you see anything at all when you came in?” Jared’s mouth was next to her ear.
“No. Nothing. Can we talk in here?”
“Yes, but keep your voice down.”
“I suppose it would be asking too much to turn on the flashlight again?”
“Definitely.” He shifted slightly beside her but remained invisible in the pitch darkness. “What the hell are you doing here or is that a dumb question?”
“Why do you think I’m here? I tried to call Sam Finley and there was no answer. I went to the lounge and there was no sign of you, Max or Jeff Taylor. All in all, I figured things might be getting just a teensy bit out of control, so I thought I’d come see what was happening.” Kate paused to catch her breath. “Jared, what is happening? This is getting scary.”
“You were right. Things have gotten just a bit out of control. I couldn’t find Max in the bar, so I decided to check out the castle myself. He was waiting for me.”
“What do you mean? Max is here? Then why are we sneaking around alone in the dark like this?”
“Max was waiting for me with a gun,” Jared explained patiently. “What’s more, the fat little bastard took away mine and put me into the dungeon cell. Damned embarrassing.”
“He took away your gun?” Kate’s voice rose on a squeak. “You had a gun with you? Where did you get it?”
“I picked it up from the house before I came up here, of course. Where do you think I got it? Amethyst is a long way from the nearest 911 operator. Out here we have to look after ourselves.”
“And a fine job you seem to be doing.”
“Don’t start nagging now. Save it for later, okay?”
“Okay, okay. I’m trying to put this together. I take it Max has turned renegade or something?”
“Or something. Looks like he’s decided to quit nickel and diming the government and go for the big time. He’s involved with the pirates.”
Kate was shaken. “You’re lucky he didn’t kill you.”
“He plans to. But he wants to do it at sea so he doesn’t have to worry about anyone finding the body and linking him to this mess. I was put into one of the cells to wait until they’re ready to move the cargo. I was going to get shipped out along with the electronics.”
“Oh, Lord,” Kate whispered. “He was going to kill you. How did you get out of the dungeon?”
“Roger Hawthorne was a cautious man. He’d lived through enough mutinies to know enough to plan ahead. He considered the possibility that he might someday be forced to occupy his own dungeon so he designed a way out that only he knew. He put the information into his journal. I discovered the secret years ago after I started reading the books he’d left behind.”
Kate was dazed. “I can’t believe this. Max a traitor and potential murderer.”
“You know, I never really felt a lot of warmth for old Butterfield, but I figured since his supervisors trusted him, there was no reason I shouldn’t. Just goes to show—in case anybody ever doubted it—that the government is as good at making mistakes as everyone else.”
“Better, probably. Poor old Butterfield. I suppose there’s no predicting what the trauma of never getting his novel into print will do to a writer’s mind,” Kate said soberly.
“Don’t be an idiot. Max never even got the damned book written.” Jared was silent for a moment, obviously deep in thought.
“What about Jeff Taylor’s wet suit? Why was it in the hidden chamber earlier today?”
“Max was kind enough to fill me in on that. He said Taylor has been making regular visits to the chamber. There’s an underwater entrance through a lava tunnel. He could come here any time and not risk being seen.”
“That explains why he liked to dive alone.”
“Right. Seems he was doing some last-minute work on those crates this afternoon and wanted to consult with Max about some details. He was in a hurry and didn’t want to take the time to get back into his gear and swim out around the point and into the cove. He just left his stuff here and went down the path. It was safe enough on a one-shot basis. No one noticed him, but it’s damned lucky you didn’t happen to be coming up the path at the same time he was going back to the resort.”
“Yes. Isn’t it, though.” Kate’s fingers trembled.
“Your being here changes things. I was going to wait for Max and Taylor to return, but now I think our best bet is to get back to the resort and try to track down some assistance from Ruby. Sam is over there somewhere. I’ll start calling around until I find him.”
“Good idea. Let’s get out of here.” Kate put out a hand to find the wall.
“This way.” Jared took hold of her arm and guided her through the darkness back to the tiny room at the foot of the stone stairs.
Kate was fumbling with the first step when she felt him go very still behind her. He tugged on her arm and she obediently stopped.
Then she heard the footsteps ringing on the stone above. Adrenaline flooded her veins all over again.
Jared was already tugging her back down the stairs. She felt him moving about in the darkness and then she heard the faint groan from deep inside the stones. She whirled around, but could see nothing. The cool rush of air and the soft sound of water told her the wall was now open.
Jared pushed Kate in front of him, urging her into the hidden cavern. She moved cautiously, relying on his knowledge of the place.
A moment later she felt the rough lava wall beneath her extended palm. Jared pushed her down until she was crouching behind an outcropping of rock.
“Don’t move,” he breathed into her ear. “With any luck no one will see you in the shadows.”
She knew then that he was going to try to surprise whoever was coming down the staircase. “Jared, wait.” She caught his hand while she yanked the dagger out of her jeans. “Here.”
His hand closed swiftly around the hilt of the dagger. “You, my love, truly were meant to be a pirate’s lady.”
He moved away from her and Kate huddled into herself. After a moment it seemed to her she heard a faint, whispering sound near the edge of the quay, as if a body were sliding into the water, but she could not be certain.
An instant later she heard the footsteps on the staircase and then a beam from a flashlight darted into the room. It slid rapidly over the stone wharf, but did not come close to her hiding place.
Kate held her breath as a familiar figure walked swiftly into the cavern, calling out commandingly.
“Butterfield? You in here?” Jeff Taylor’s voice reverberated off the cavern walls. “What’s going on? Why did you open the wall before I got here? So help me, if you think you’re going to get away with pulling a fast one on me the way you did on your government people, you’re crazy. Nobody cheats me, Max baby. Nobody at all.”
The beam of the flashlight bobbed eerily about in the darkness, but it did not find Jared or Kate. It did, however, reveal the small cabin cruiser tied up at the quay near the pile of crates and cartons.
Taylor scanned the interior of the boat and then, apparently satisfied that it was empty, he propped the flashlight on one box and began loading crates into the cruiser.
That was when Jared staged his reappearance. Kate had to admit it was done in a suitably dramatic fashion, just like a scene out of one of her novels.
He came up out of the water only inches away from Jeff Taylor’s foot. Jared had the dagger between his teeth so that his hands remained free and in the glow of the flashlight he looked incredibly dangerous. His dark hair streamed back from his forehead and his teeth flashed around the handle of the knife. In that moment he was every savage buccaneer Kate had ever created.
At the last instant Jeff Taylor sensed what was happening. He tried to jump back out of reach, simultaneously grabbing for the gun in his shoulder holster.
But he was too late. Jared had already wrapped one hand around Taylor’s ankle. He jerked the man off his feet and into the water. The gun sank beneath the dark surface.
The struggle in the water was short and merciless. Even as Kate darted forward from her hiding place, Jared was subduing Taylor. By the time she reached the edge of the quay and turned the flashlight beam on the two thrashing men, she saw that Jared had the dagger’s point firmly lodged near Taylor’s throat. Taylor stopped struggling.
“Stand back,” Jared ordered as he pulled an unresisting Taylor out of the water. “Bring me that yellow nylon line sitting in the stern of the cruiser.”
Kate did as she was instructed and watched in fascination as Jared neatly bound his captive with a lot of very businesslike nautical knots.
“You’re a fool, Hawthorne.” Taylor looked up at Jared with furious, sullen eyes. “You should have stayed out of this.”
“Tell me about it.” Jared stepped back, satisfied with his knots.
“Now what?” Kate asked.
“Now you go back to the resort and try calling Sam again.”
She didn’t like the expression in his eyes. “What about you?”
“I’ll go find Max Butterfield,” Jared said. The glow of the flashlight rendered his face in stark, chilling lines.
“No need to come looking for me, Jared.” Max Butterfield spoke from the shadows of the open wall. Another flashlight beam penetrated the darkness. “I’m right here. Together with my insurance policy, of course. No, don’t bother reaching for that old dagger. Leave it right where it is or someone will get hurt.” He motioned with the gun in his hand.
“Dad.” David stood at Max’s side, held fast by Butterfield’s grip on his arm. The boy’s eyes were huge in the shadows. “What’s going on? Max said you wanted to see me right away. He said you were in trouble. Are you and Kate okay?”
“As you can see, my boy, they’re just fine,” Max said. “For now, at any rate. Although I am saddened to see that my rather inept friend has not fared so well. You always were a trifle too precipitous, Taylor. You’re an excellent planner, but you lack creativity.”
Kate felt something very cold squeeze her stomach and she could only imagine how Jared must be feeling as he realized his son was now a hostage. The carefully controlled tension in him lapped at her in waves.
“Let David go, Max.” Jared gazed unwaveringly at Butterfield. His voice was very quiet. “You don’t need him. Get in the cruiser and go. No one will stop you.”
“Now we both know it’s not quite that simple, Hawthorne.” Max sounded mildly regretful. He glanced at Kate and shook his head. “A pity about your curiosity, my dear. This entire matter could have been handled far more neatly if you had not gotten involved. Now I fear it will be rather messy. But a writer’s life is filled with ups and downs, is it not?”
“Your life has definitely gotten a lot more messy than most,” Kate said. “What made you decide to turn traitor?”
“Such a dramatic turn of phrase, my dear. I don’t quite see it that way. Remember our little philosophical discussion at poolside concerning fate? I believe I mentioned then that once in a while one is given a golden opportunity to reshape one’s destiny. I have been handed such an opportunity and have decided to take it.”
“You really believe your own bull, Max?” Jared asked conversationally.
“Dad?” David tried to pull free of Max’s grip and looked up angrily when he was not released. “Hey, Max. Let me go. Come on, let go of me.”
“Not yet, David, my boy. I’m afraid I need you to ensure your father’s good behavior.” Max looked at Kate, paying little attention to his small hostage. “And also that of Ms Inskip. Come along, boy.” He started to drag David toward the cruiser, motioning with the gun to urge Jared and Kate out of the way.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” David started to struggle.
“Behave yourself, boy, or I’ll put a bullet through your father right now. Do you understand?” Max jerked David forward.
David looked at Jared, his small face taut with fear. “Dad?”
“Don’t fight him, son,” Jared said, his voice calm. “Just go along quietly, okay?”
“But, Dad, I don’t want to go with Max.” David was near tears as he was dragged toward the boat.
“Everything’s going to be all right. When this is all over, you and Kate can practice some of those things she taught you. Remember what you learned from her?”
David blinked a couple of times and the tears were halted. He glanced at Kate and she could see awareness dawning in his eyes. She nodded reassuringly.
“You might even want to start practicing right away, Dave,” Jared said.
“Yeah,” said David, gathering himself.
“This is all very touching,” Max Butterfield said as he started to step into the boat, “but I’m afraid we really don’t have time for these sentimental farewells. Jared, go open the sea wall. Come along, David.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” David announced in the distinctly stubborn accents only a nine-year-old can manage.
“Of course you are.”
“Wanna bet?” David lashed out without warning, slamming the sole of his right foot squarely against Max’s kneecap.
For the next few seconds, everything happened very quickly. Max yelled in pain and surprise and lost his balance. He clutched his knee and then flailed wildly for his balance. He missed the boat and toppled with slow grandeur into the black water.
David ran straight to his father. Jared caught him close in a short, fierce hug. “You are a hell of a kid, you know that?”
“It was Kate’s trick,” David reminded him.
“Kate is a hell of a woman. And I am one hell of a lucky man.” Jared gently pushed the boy toward Kate, who held him tightly to her. Then he walked over to the edge of the quay and stood looking down at Max, who was bobbing about and sputtering seawater.
“Jared, we’ve been friends for a long time.” Max splashed toward the stone wall. “I ask that you consider our long acquaintanceship before you do anything rash. Consider also the cash involved here.”
“I have considered it, Max. I considered it while I was locked in that dungeon cell. And I considered it very closely when you threatened Kate and my son. And after due consideration I have decided I never did like you all that much, anyway.”