"Son of a biscuit."

"You realize what a can of worms we just opened, right?"

"Son of a biscuit."

KERRY SIPPED FROM the straw in her gla.s.s of iced tea, her eyes scanning over the book in her lap. She and Dar had just finished lunch, and true to her word, Dar was sprawled in the chair next to her, doing nothing more than beautifully taking up s.p.a.ce, her body splashed with sunlight.

Her mystery novel was interesting, but from time to time Kerry found herself sneaking looks at her companion. Dar's bathing suit clung to her body and outlined its sculpted lines, which held a hint 54*

of dynamic motion despite the light doze Dar was in.

She was glad to see the bruising had faded around Dar's shoulder, leaving only a faint discoloration that was hardly visible against her tan. Kerry had also noticed that despite her stubborn refusal to go to her prescribed therapy sessions, Dar had mostly stopped favoring the injured arm. Lucky thing.

Her own dislocated shoulder had taken weeks of physical therapy to ease, and she was still being careful of it when she attacked the climbing wall at the gym. Kerry shook her head in wry bemus.e.m.e.nt and returned her attention to her medieval mystery. She stretched out her bare legs and crossed them at the ankles, then looked up from her book as the sound of a boat engine broke the peaceful silence.

A small tender was coming around the corner of the island.

Kerry tipped her sungla.s.ses down and squinted, wondering if it was the same boat that had pa.s.sed them by the day before. It was about the same size, but as yet it was too far away for her to tell for certain. It was coming closer, though, and by its arc Kerry suspected its destination was the dock. She set her book down and reached over to close her fingers around Dar's wrist.

"Hm?" Dar stirred, turning her head towards Kerry. "What's up?"

Kerry pointed. "Company."

Dar pulled off her sungla.s.ses, revealing sharp blue eyes that scanned the newcomer intently, all trace of sleep gone. "Ah," she murmured. "Our curious friends."

"It is them? You can tell?"

Dar nodded. "Same ID numbers on the bow."

Kerry squinted, then turned and looked at Dar in amazement.

"You can read those?"

Her partner gave another nod and a shrug. "Yeah. It's..." Dar made a vague motion near her face, "close up stuff I have a problem with." She paused. "Sometimes."

Kerry wasn't sure if she should be more shocked by the boat, or by Dar's frank admission of her vision problems. She finally decided to deal with the boat first. "They're coming here."

"Looks like it."

"It could just be coincidence," Kerry reasoned. "Maybe they heard about the food."

"Could be," Dar agreed, settling her gla.s.ses back onto her nose and resuming her relaxed posture. "Guess we'll find out."

Kerry felt a p.r.i.c.kle of apprehension, unsure of what they might be getting into. She watched the boat come nearer and nearer, then slow as it prepared to dock several slips away from them. It occurred to her that both she and Dar were far out of their usual world, and if real trouble found them, it might not be as easy to*55 deal with as their usual day-to-day crises were. Dar, however, seemed to be completely at ease, so Kerry leaned back in her chair and opened her book, found her spot and continued to read.

The small boat docked and four people got off, three men and a woman. Two of the men continued up the docks toward the buildings, but the third man and the woman headed toward the Dixieland Yankee. Kerry kept her head down, but watched them from behind her sungla.s.ses as they approached, evaluating them.

They were dressed in sharply pressed shirts and Docker shorts, with conspicuous gold at their throats and wrists, and Kerry got an immediate impression of sophistication and money. The woman had blonde hair a few shades darker than her own, pulled back in a neat tail that exposed an elegantly made up face with high cheekbones. Carrying herself with a sense of aggressive self- possession, she was the one who was leading the way toward the boat.

The man behind her was tall, dark haired, and skinny to the point of emaciation. He had a high forehead, and he was carrying an over-the-shoulder briefcase with a satellite cell phone clipped to it.

Maybe they just want to say h.e.l.lo, Kerry reasoned. Maybe they just like the boat. Maybe- "Ahoy, there," the woman addressed them. "Excuse me."

Sounds about as friendly as an auditor with hemorrhoids. Kerry closed her book and looked over, aware of Dar's watchful alertness next to her. "Hi," she replied. "Something we can do for you?"

The woman put her hands on her slim hips and regarded Kerry.

"We're looking for some information. Maybe you could help us?"

Hm. "Sure, if we can. Would you like to come aboard?" Kerry politely replied.

They stepped onto the railing, then down onto the deck and approached the two of them. Kerry watched their eyes flick to Dar, who was to all appearances blissfully asleep. The woman returned her attention to Kerry.

"My name is Christen Mayberry," the woman stated. "This is my a.s.sociate, Juan Carlos." She paused, giving Kerry an inquiring look.

"Kerry." A sudden impulse toward reticence took hold.

"Roberts." Her ears heard the faint snort of surprise from Dar, and she smiled. "Nice to meet you."

Christen cleared her throat. "I represent a salvage consortium.

We've contracted to do some research and location work in this area.

We saw you out by the straits yesterday, and I was wondering what your interest here is."

Kerry sorted through that and felt a sense of relief. "Nothing, actually." She gave the woman a rea.s.suring smile. "We're just on vacation."

56*

"And you picked that spot at random?" the man interjected.

"No." Dar's low voice broke in. "I picked the spot because it's got a great view and nice fish." She lifted a hand and tipped her gla.s.ses down, exposing her eyes, which studied their visitors.

"No offense." Juan Carlos smiled at her. "See anything good?"

"Moray eel as tall as I am," Dar drawled softly. "And a lot of clowns."

"Well, that's great then." Christen's att.i.tude suddenly shifted.

"You going to be around long? Maybe we can do dinner. We're new around here and we don't know many people." She leaned against the back railing. "The locals are pretty tough nuts to crack."

Kerry and Dar exchanged quick glances. "We'll be around for a few days, yes," Kerry replied. "I'm sure we can get together."

"Great." Christen smiled. "Nice to meet you, Kerry." Her eyes shifted to Dar questioningly.

"This is my partner, Dar," Kerry supplied. "Nice to meet you, too." "We will be seeing you around, I'm sure," Juan said. "This is a lovely boat you have."

"Thanks," Dar replied. "What's your consortium salvaging? I didn't think there was anything around here worth going after."

Juan looked at Christen. "It's a private commission," Christen said. "We can't really discuss it." She took Juan's elbow. "We'll drop by later to set a date for dinner. Let's go, Juan." Christen and Juan turned and jumped off the boat, then strolled down the dock together.

Dar and Kerry watched them go, and then looked at each other.

"What the heck was that all about?" Kerry asked.

"I don't know." Dar sat up and rested her elbows on her knees, studying Kerry. She gave a half grin. "What was that name change all about?"

Kerry nibbled her lower lip.

"I'm not objecting," Dar said. "Just a little surprised."

Kerry crossed one ankle over her knee and rubbed a bit of sand off her skin. "You know," she finally said, "I'm not really sure why I did that." Her head tilted to one side, and she peered at Dar with sheepish honesty. "Let me think about it for a while."

"Sure." Dar nodded. "As for our visitors... I don't know what their game is, but now I'm wishing we'd brought the laptops with us."

"To find out who they are?"

"Yeah."

Kerry drummed her fingers on arm of the chair. "Well, I guess we'll just have to ferret that out the old fashioned way," she said.

"You don't think they're going to be a problem, do you?"

"Nah." Dar shook her head. "Just some gold diggers. We might*57 not hear from them again, now that they know we're not after whatever they're looking for." Dar put her gla.s.ses back on and resumed her comfortable position.

"That's true." Kerry tucked her knees up under her chin and wrapped her arms around them, gazing out at the sea thoughtfully.

"They were a little weird, though."

"Mm."

"Preppy," Kerry added. "I don't know, Dar. They just didn't seem like sea types. You know what I mean."

Dar opened one eye. "Maybe they're the business end," she suggested. "The money people."

Kerry pursed her lips. "I just didn't like them."

"Well," Dar captured her hand and squeezed it, "I've always trusted your people judgment," she said. "Why don't we-"

"Hey, Dar!"

Dar sat up as they heard footsteps approaching rapidly. Rufus was running down the docks toward them. "Hey," Dar greeted.

He stopped short of the boat. "C'n I come on board?"

Dar waved him over. "Sure."

The boy grinned and scrambled onto the boat, looking around wide-eyed as he walked across the stern deck. "Wow."

"Nice, huh?" Dar stood up. "Want to see inside?"

"Sure!" Rufus followed her eagerly as she opened the door, looking up at her in awe as he walked under her arm. "Boy, Dar, you got a lot of muscles!"

Kerry m.u.f.fled a giggle as she caught the look of bemused consternation on her partner's face.

"Yeah, I sure do," Dar replied. "That's kinda weird for a girl, huh?"

"Yeah." Rufus nodded solemnly. "But it's really cool. Can you wra.s.sle a gator?"

Dar chuckled. "C'mon."

They disappeared inside, leaving Kerry to resume her quiet pondering. She leaned back in her chair and exhaled. "What the h.e.l.l is going on with you, Kerrison?" She rested her head against her fist and looked inside herself for an answer.

Finally, she lifted her eyes and exhaled, nodding a few times.

Had her family had so enraged and disgusted her, Kerry mused, that a part of her wanted to just leave them behind? Maybe that same part thought that using Dar's last name instead of her own would rid her of the nightmares.

Is that good or bad? Kerry wasn't sure. It hadn't seemed to bother Dar, though. In fact, Kerry suspected Dar kinda liked the theft of her surname. With a thoughtful frown, she picked up the strong golden chain on her neck and regarded the ring through which it was threaded. She and Dar both wore their commitment 58*

rings the same way, and now she studied the inscription on hers carefully.

Forever.

Kerry smiled and pushed herself to her feet, shaking her head as she walked toward the cabin. A motion caught her eye and she turned to watch a much smaller boat, just a motored skiff, pull up to the dock and tie on.

The motor died, and a tall, grizzle-haired man with a husky build got out. He was dressed in faded, patched fatigues and a black tank top, and he adjusted a blue cap as he paused on the dock.

His eyes fell on their boat, and he turned and examined it carefully from bow to stern. Then he pivoted on his heel and headed up toward the buildings, walking with a determined, powerful stride.

"You know," Kerry leaned on the edge of the cabin door, "if I were the gambling type, I'd bet that guy's name is Bud." She watched as the man pa.s.sed Christen and Juan coming back the other way, brushing by them without a word. The two continued back to their boat, but not without a look in Kerry's direction. "This is starting to look squicky."

"Did you say something, Ker?" Dar appeared at her elbow.

"I'm just going to kick the engines on and give Rufus the ride I promised him."

"Sounds like a great idea." Kerry patted her on the side. "I'll untie us." She jumped onto the dock and set them free, aware of being watched from across the way.

Something is definitely going on. Kerry suspected that sooner or later they'd be finding out what it was.

Chapter.