this voyage. Why you ask?”
“No reason. Just curious. I decided when I signed up for this summer trip to learn as much as I could about the people and cultures I encountered.”
“Good for you. Now head back to your quarters so that you will be rested when we make berth in Somalia.”
She realized Fridjtof was done with her and was on his way somewhere else.
“Good night,” she said, walking down the stairs to the corridor that led to her room.
She thought of just letting it go, but that didn’t seem like a good idea. She’d watched CNN and Sky TV. She’d seen all the news reports about the pirates that operated in this area and Laz talking to those armed men alarmed her.
The one thing that didn’t quite make sense to her was the fact that everything she’d seen or read about the piracy here in the Indian Ocean had indicated that the perpetrators were Somali. And Laz was definitely American.
She started back toward the gangway, but stopped when two of the men she’d seen on deck came down. They turned right without seeing her. She stayed where she was for a minute and then followed them.
This was silly.
She was a doctor, not a detective. But she’d been around people long enough to be able to read danger when she saw it. And she knew something about this situation just wasn’t right.
She started to go after them but then stopped. What was she going to do? They had weapons and she had none. Was she just borrowing trouble?
Maybe the men were just crew members…like a security staff to keep them safe. But if that were the case, why had Laz asked her to leave when the men came on board?
Maybe she was looking for something more than this really was, she thought. She didn’t follow the men. No matter how many bicycle circuits of her neighborhood she’d made as a preteen, she hadn’t been Nancy Drew then and she wasn’t about to become a girl detective now.
She heard the sound of voices in the galley and recognized them as two of the other members of her group. She entered the dining area, where a long table was bolted to the floor with two solid teak benches on either side.
Bob Dickerson and Franny Milanese sat close together quietly talking. They had both been on this trip before and were well aware of what was in store for their group.
“Hello, Daphne. Restless?” Bob asked. He stood as she entered the room.
She smiled to herself, touched by his old-fashioned manners. Bob was the leader of their team. His experience was a given and he was very good at putting their group at ease. Of the five of them he was the one they all seemed to look toward as the leader. “A little. I was talking to the captain up on deck.”
“You shouldn’t be on deck at night,” Franny said.
“So I’ve heard.”
“Pirates operate in this area and it’s too dangerous.”
“If they spot foreigners they will target this ship,” Bob said.
“If they target this ship it will be because it’s a tanker and its cargo is worth more money each day. Besides, everyone in the crew is foreign,” said Daphne.
“That is true,” Franny said. “But foreign—European or American—hostages fetch more money.”
“I didn’t realize that,” she said. “I’m sorry. I should have stayed down here, but it feels so closed off.”
“Yes, it does,” Bob agreed. “You’ll have a little more freedom when we arrive in Somalia.”
“I’m looking forward to that. And doing work for people who need us. I haven’t done this since I was in my first-year residency.”
Bob smiled at her. “We are so glad you decided to join us this summer. What made you change your mind?”
She shrugged. She didn’t want to talk about her personal life with Bob or Franny. “The timing seemed right. Can I ask you both about the Captain?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“When I was on deck we heard an engine approaching and he told me to come downstairs. I did but waited to see if he would need help, and…”
She wasn’t sure if she should say any more. What could Franny or Bob do to help the situation?
“Did he?”
“No. He knew the men who came on board. But he was speaking to them quietly and…they were all armed.”
Bob stood up. “I’ll go up there and see what’s going on. Daphne, you go with Franny back to our quarters. Make sure all of our group is awake. If there is a situation I want everyone ready to move.”
“Move? Move where?” she asked.
“Out of harm’s way,” Bob said.
Franny led the way out of the galley. “Do you want me to come with you, Bob?”
He shook his head.
“No, stay with the others. I think that if there are too many of us—”
“My husband—ex-husband—is a Senator. I’m pretty good in tense situations.”
“I know that, Daphne. But in this part of the world sometimes just the fact that you are a woman will work against you.”
She nodded. There was a lot of truth to what Bob was saying. She followed Franny down the lit hallway to the bunks where the rest of their team was. Rudy was already waiting for them. When she entered they were all awake and waiting.
“What’s going on? I heard a speedboat approaching on the port side.” Rudy asked.
Rudy was a nurse with their group who had been working for the last few years in South America. He said he was ready for a change of locale and had signed up to go to Africa with this group after rebels in the South American jungle had killed his girlfriend of eight years.
“I don’t like this,” he said.
“No one does. Do we have any weapons with us?” Jerry asked.
“Bob always carries a handgun in his med bag,” Franny said.
She left them to go and retrieve it.
“Where is Bob?”
“I…was up on deck and overheard the captain talking to some men. Bob went to investigate.”
“Fucking hell,” Jerry said. “I was hoping for a little adventure on this trip but not this much.”
She shook her head. Jerry was her age and from California. He was fit and tan and according to Franny was on wife number four. Daphne knew Jerry by reputation only. He was an excellent surgeon, but she’d heard he was a bit of an asshole when he
