are you now?”
“Right where we’ve been. Waiting.”
“I’ll be there soon.”
“Really soon,” Lee said.
Keith hung up, contemplating the situation. He hesitated, then dialed Beth’s number again. She had been attacked. And then there was the skull on her desk. That had to mean something, as well.
Why the hell couldn’t he just find the connection?
He closed his eyes for a moment. There was money in this, big money. Maybe Mike was right. Money often meant corruption.
He called the house number, determined to tell her at least some of what was going on, and to hell with the consequences. The machine came on.
“Beth, I know you’re angry. You have a right to be. But I’m worried about you. Jake can’t stay there forever. Listen. I think that you were followed today, from Nick’s to the club. A couple left right in your wake. That was why I followed you. A couple, Beth. It might have been Brad and Sandy, in disguise. If they’re the pirates, they’re dangerous.” He paused. “Guilty of murder. Jake has to go home sooner or later. You need to stay with someone.”
“What’s happening?” she picked up and demanded. “Why did you leave, then, and come back so worried and determined?”
“I had a meeting, that was all. I said I’d be back. Put Jake on the phone, if you just want to fight with me. Please. Honestly, if I knew what was happening, I’d tell you,” he said bitterly.
He heard her sound of frustration. “Listen, Beth, I’ll explain everything to you as soon as I can, I promise. For now…please, pack a few things and go with Jake to his place.” He was quiet. “I’m not leaving until I see you go with him.”
“All right.” She hung up on him.
He remained where he was, tense, pondering his next move. Then his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and realized 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
