Chapter 9
The Stranger
Minutes after encountering my mystery woman on the beach, I pull into Gulfstream Marina.
Near the parking lot, boat charter booths line the dock entrance, advertising fishing trips and dive excursions.
Still early in the afternoon, the marina is busy.
Fishermen clean their catch while some boats launch and others return.
The small café beside the pier is filled with lunchgoers, and the neighboring seafood market brags about the freshest catch in the South.
I walk up to the booth offering offshore recreational diving.
Carter’s Drop, the Experience, takes tourists near the blue hole. You can see the reef and the entrance to the Drop, but you can’t go inside. At least you’re not supposed to.
Seeing her today lit a fire in me. Before I find her again, I have to have more to offer her than a man who has no memories and no stable job. Being part of the film crew is an opportunity to prove what I’m capable of. I know her. I’ve kissed her too many times not to.
“You certified?” The grizzled guy behind the counter asks.
“Yeah.”
“Sign the waiver. I need to see your C-card if you’re gonna dive.” The man grabs my card and pushes a form across the counter. I fill it out, making up the address information.
He flicks his eyes over the form, not giving a damn what’s on it, then slides it into a folder. “Got your own equipment?”
“No.”
“Rental gear’s over there.” He jerks his head to the right, where the docks meet a small dive shop beside a larger, recently remodeled building with older warehouses beyond it. “Prices are on the wall. The boat launches in twenty minutes. It doesn’t wait.”
Inside the shop, the equipment rental counter is covered in souvenir trinkets, postcards, and dive training brochures.
I grab a program advertising technical diving certification training.
The Maverick Key Dive Club offers contract-based certification programs upon request, subject to availability.
I read the instructors’ names: Scott and Margaret.
Call for appointment. Didn’t Sid say she was working with Scott and his team?
These might be the people she was referring to.
Shit. I’m going to need to fess up that I don’t have the cave certification yet and sell them on my skills.
After I rent the gear, I sit and wait on a bench near the charter docks. The smell of diesel mixes with the ocean’s brine. Another place that feels familiar, but I can’t reach any memories tied to it. I think of the woman, her little girl, and this potential diving job.
I’ll do this dive today and see the Drop up close. If there’s a chance to do so, I might sneak in for a glimpse inside the cavern. Only a few minutes, nothing crazy. Being able to describe the cavern interior might make my skills more believable to Scott and Sid.
Laughter rings out from the boat docked in the next slip over from the Charter.
The Adeline.
On the boat’s deck, a young blonde man is talking to an older man with dark brown hair. The older man is about my age, give or take a few years. “Clint’s getting the hang of it, boss. I bet you we’ll have him diving with us in the Drop in less than a month.”
“I agree.” The dark-haired man nods to Clint, another young guy standing at the helm, shaking his head.
“Not for me. I’ll stay topside. Thank you very much.”
“And we appreciate that,” a young, unassuming brunette says, waving a thumb between herself and a very large man with dark skin who stands beside her. “Scott always takes Jamie into the caves because he’s the skinniest. Now that you’re here, Liam and I don’t have to take turns.”
“Margaret, you know you’re my favorite, but I have to keep my eye on him. Make sure he’s working and doesn’t make excuses to get out of it,” Scott adds with a straight face.
“That’s bogus. You know his sweet talk doesn’t work on me,” she says.
“I’m right here,” Jamie says, insulted. But the way everyone jumps in and laughs over him tells me this group is tight. He continues. “Garrett’s been telling everyone who’ll listen that mapping the Drop restarts this week.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not sure about that. But we’re ready.”
Oh no. This is the Scott Sid was talking about.
“I still can’t believe you’re going to let us swim with a freaking camera crew. Not to mention babysitting them while they work. What happened to your aversion to cameras and showboating celebrities?”
“As long as they’re not assholes and keep those things out of my face, I don’t give a fuck what they do,” Scott says.
Jamie laughs. “Being a family man is really softening you up, boss. When do Maddie and Christopher get home?”
“Tomorrow morning. I’m heading over to the hospital right now to say goodnight.” Scott’s stern face loosens up. “I actually had to convince her to stay there last night, so wish me luck.”
“Tell her and the little guy I said hi. Uncle Jamie—I’m claiming the title.”
“I’ll do that,” Scott says as he gets ready to get off the boat. “Oh, by the way. I’ve been meaning to ask you. Who’s the girl?”
“What?” Jamie freezes, his voice getting stuck in his throat.
“The girl who’s been keeping you up at night for weeks.”
The blonde man coughs, all his easy humor replaced with a red face.
“We can measure the bags under your eyes with a ruler. Combine that with your above-average work performance and a suspiciously optimistic worldview. It’s a dead giveaway. We’re making wagers about her identity.”
“You don’t know her.” Jamie rushes off and gets busy doing something at the back of the boat.
Scott laughs and steps off the ladder. “Let me know when I get to meet her, Jamie… if I haven’t already.” The rest of the crew onboard laughs.
Scott heads in my direction, scrolling on his phone, walking past the skipper and dive guide who are preparing the charter boat for customers.
I stand and get ready to head over there for the dive.
When Scott gets right next to me, he glances my way. Then he stops, whirls around, and gapes.
“What the fuck?” he mutters under his breath and continues to stare at me with wide eyes. I’m not sure what he wants, so I stare back in silence.
“Who are you?” he demands.
“Elliot.”
“Elliot?” His forehead wrinkles, and he eases closer to me. “You look exactly like…” His face pinches in confusion. “Did you know Nathan Carter?”
“The archaeologist? No, I just moved to Maverick Key. I’m from Miami.”
“You look exactly like Nathan Carter. But you can’t be him because he’s dead. Who are you?” he asks again.
Where is he going with this? Now, all the people on his boat are staring at me in shock.
“I don’t know who I am.” I hate how small my voice sounds, and who the hell does this guy think he is, anyway. “Who the hell are you?”
He lets out a short, amused laugh. “Scott Rickter. Sorry. It’s just that you… Didn’t you just tell me you were Elliot?”
“Elliot’s the name I took at the hospital. I have retrograde amnesia.”
A flash of recognition crosses his face. He’s staring at the leather band around my neck. Or the shell pendant. His breath hitches, and his fixed hazel eyes flicker with a rim of tears in the corners.
“How long have you had amnesia?” he asks in a shaky voice.
“Almost seven years.”
Silence.
“The fuck,” he mumbles.
I jerk when he puts his hands on my shoulders and he pulls me into a hug. A hard hug. His serious expression softens into a joyful one.
“I don’t know how the hell this is possible, but what the fuck!”
“You know me?”
“Yes, man. I know you. I’m your brother-in-law. Damn.” He squeezes me again, and all the people from his boat have circled around us, their faces covered with excitement. Unnerved by their attention, I stumble. Scott helps me catch my fall. “Hey, you’re good.”
I catch my breath. He lifts a hand and motions to the spectators to move back to give us room. “You must have a million questions. But let’s start with something simple. Where are you staying?” he asks breathlessly.
I give him the address of the Driftwood Inn and my cell number. He stares at me, puzzled.
“I’m the new housekeeper. I’m supposed to move into the inn tonight. I’ve been staying at the Cooper Motel.”
“Ah, well, is there anywhere you need to be right now?”
I’d forgotten about the charter, and it’s already gone. “Nowhere.”
“Then let’s go see your sister.”
In the truck, I try to think while Scott drives.
I’m Nathan Carter. Maddie is my sister, and Maverick Key really is my home.
What am I feeling right now?
Happy? I think so. I’m restless in my seat, and there’s only so many times I can run my fingers through my hair to keep my hands busy.
And as much as I’m trying to control my hammering heart.
I can’t. My sister’s in the hospital because she’s had a baby.
I’m about to meet her for the first time, along with my little nephew, Christopher.
I’m curious and excited, but I know I should feel something more specific and deeper.
Confusion. Definitely confusion. What happened to me? This Mark guy that supposedly confessed to killing me… what did he do to me? Obviously, I’m not dead. Why would he confess to killing me if I weren’t dead? Why did he do it?
Can I walk in and ask for my life back? Can I become Nathan Carter now that I know that’s who I am?
And Fear. Oh yeah. It’s strong. But I have an uncomfortable relationship with fear. The stronger it gets, the more I want to fight it.
I think of the diver with a confident smile in the Carter’s Drop brochure. How the hell can I be him?
“Anything you want to know right now?” Scott asks, interrupting my thoughts.
“Are you the Scott who’s working with Sid to film the Drop?” He jerks his head to the right to look at me.
“Huh?”
“She’s going to ask you if I can join her crew. I’d like you to say yes.”
I hate hospitals. The harsh odor of bleach and Pine-Sol burns the back of my throat, and the empty halls buzz with mechanical sounds and hushed, clinical chatter.