Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Emma’s eyes flooded with tears. She brushed them away with the back of her hand, hoping to clear her vision and get her sights on her ex. Even with how furious she was at him; she didn’t want him to die. Not like this.
Watching to her left, between the boat and the shore, Jonathan bounced up, breaking the surface of the water, then slipped out of her sight again. She kept her gaze glued to where she’d last seen him. Nothing. A few more beats. Nothing. The beats went on for a couple of minutes. Then nothing.
No. No. No.
Cap turned the boat in the opposite direction, away from where she’d last seen Jonathan. Then he straightened out.
He leaned toward her.
“Keep your eyes forward. You need to concentrate on finding the bag,” Cap said, then added, “I’m sorry, Emma.”
A hollow the size of the Grand Canyon opened in her chest. She cried.
A hard hand clamped down on her shoulder. “Eyes forward, Missy. Find this bag. You’re the one who tossed it. You’ll be next,” the Colombian threatened.
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
The Colombian released her.
Cap reached for her hand and held it as he steered the boat, watched the fish finder screen, and scanned the water for the bag.
His grip was solid and warm. It made her feel secure, but she knew her fate, and it wasn’t good. It grounded her, even if it didn’t change her odds.
She needed to find this bag.
Minutes passed. Cap angled the boat closer to shore. Noisy seagulls flew overhead. The air smelled mildewy, growing stronger the closer they got to shore. It’s funny how everyone in Door County wanted to live on the water, despite the horrid smell. The breathtaking views outweighed the stench.
Now that she had enough sense about her to watch for landmarks on the shore, she focused on the beach to see where she was, to see where they’d been in case she’d need to know that for any reason.
More importantly, she could see on the screen to Cap’s right that their path was being recorded.
She’d trust the equipment more than her own confused brain at this point.
The display showed the grid pattern Cap already established, so she knew he knew where Jonathan had gone in. Maybe knowing that would help…she swallowed hard…help them recover him later.
Still, she returned her gaze to the shore and noted the tall trees, short trees, and the houses and cottages.
She burned it all into her memory. The last place she saw Jonathan. She never wanted it to come to this.
There was a little chatter on the radio among the other captains, but the volume was low. Had Cap done that by design?
Cap’s hand tightened around hers, and he leaned toward the windshield.
Emma followed suit to find a boat fast approaching. It was gunmetal gray and threw a large wake behind it.
The Colombian guy leaned forward and peered through the windshield.
He pointed, “Who is that?”
Cap’s eyes were fixed on the approaching boat. “Sturgeon Bay Police boat.”
“It’s coming right at us,” the Colombian said.
“I see that.”
“Fuck! We can’t be here when that boat gets here.”
“I don’t know what you want me to do about it. We’ve no chance of outrunning them,” Cap said flatly.
“We’re out,” barked the ringleader.
He jumped down from the upper deck onto the lower deck and motioned sharply toward the cigarette boat. It pulled closer, and the two Colombians leaped aboard it.
“Oh my God, what about Carly? What are they going to do with her?” Emma squeaked out.
Cap squeezed her hand.
“We’re keeping your friend here. If that bag turns up, we want it. The bag for your friend. Keep your mouths shut with the cops, and your friend lives.”
“How will I contact you?” Cap asked steadily.
How could he be so calm?
The Columbian pointed at her.
“We have her number from Jonathan. You’ll be hearing from us.”
Carly screamed, “No, no, no!”
Emma climbed down the ladder.
“Carly, Carly, Carly. No, I’m so sorry.”
The cigarette boat roared away, Carly aboard.
Gone.
Emma’s heart constricted.
Jonathan was probably dead. Would she lose her friend, too?
The police boat closed in.
Emma scrambled down the ladder, jumped up and down as she waved her arms wildly. Then she pointed to the cigarette boat.
“Them, chase them!” she yelled, but the police boat didn’t change course.
Couldn’t they hear her?
The police boat slowed and pulled up next to them.
A tall man with short, salt and pepper hair stepped over to the side of the boat. His dark pants and polo shirt bore the Sturgeon Bay Police logo. Beneath the logo, it read Chief Mertz. His jaw muscles looked tense, his eyes sharp.
“Chief. The men who just fled are drug dealers. They abducted one of my passengers. They’re threatening to kill her unless we find their bag of drugs.” Cap said calmly.
“We’re not supposed to say anything,” Emma squeaked out in a panicked pitch so high she hardly recognized her own voice.
The chief’s intense gaze flicked to her and then back to Cap.
“I figured as much when they sped away. The Coast Guard has already been alerted. Our priority was you and your passengers,” he said before he glanced over his shoulder to the driver of their boat. “Dan, let the Coast Guard know they’ve abducted a passenger. Miss…”
“Brown, Emma Brown.”
“We’ll need a description of your friend. Hair and eye color, height, weight, and clothes.”
“Her name is Carly Stimpson, five-foot-ten, one-hundred-and-thirty-pounds, blonde, blue eyes.”
“Clothes?”
Emma couldn’t seem to remember. The stress scrambled her brain. Think Emma.
“She’s wearing a red bikini top with matching red shorts.”
She heard the driver of the police boat relay that information over his handheld radio.
His voice was deep, and his tone was serious.
He looked about the same age as the chief but not as tall, less than six feet.
The man’s bright blue gaze met hers, offering empathy.
His brown hair was cut military style. She’d bet he’d served. Army, maybe Marines.
The policewoman, dressed the same as the men in navy pants with a police-logoed polo, secured a couple of bumpers between the two boats and then looked at Cap.
“Dad knew something was up when you made that comment about my promotion and that I was what you needed right now. Smart.”
“I’m glad he picked up on that. I had to come up with something clever since there was a gun pointed at Emma.”
The chief surveyed the deck. “Who else do we have on the boat here?”
“My first mate, Preston. He needs medical attention,” Cap said.
“Not knowing, I dispatched an ambulance and squad. They’ll be here shortly, so we need to get to one of those docks,” the chief said as he pointed to shore.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
Emma felt relieved for Preston but worried about Carly.
“And the rest?” the chief asked.
“Shaken,” Morgan said.
“Yes,” Hailey echoed.
“And you’re okay?” the chief asked Cap.
“Fine. Just a couple of bruises from an altercation. But…” Cap said and paused as he bounced his gaze between the chief and her.
“The Colombians threw one of my passengers, a man, overboard. His hands were bound, and he was beaten pretty badly. He was their courier.”
Cap paused again.
“It’s been a while since he was sighted.”
Emma choked back a sob, but not before a part of it squeaked out of her.
Chief Mertz nodded. “Dan, call that in to the Coast Guard.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Cap said grimly.
Emma looked at Cap. Yes, it was unfortunate, but that seemed like an odd comment for him to make, especially with that grim tone. What didn’t she know?
“Yeah,” the chief replied.
“What does that mean?” Emma asked.
The chief’s light brown eyes softened. “It means that the Coast Guard will redirect to this location because of the missing person in the water.”
“Oh, no! What about Carly?”
Cap’s gaze hit the deck.
“Can they do that?” Morgan excitedly questioned.
Cap lifted his gaze slowly and fixed it on her.
“A man overboard trumps a kidnapping victim,” he said solemnly.
Her heart sank. Poor Carly. This was all her fault. She knew it. She was fully responsible for whatever happened to her friend.
“Emma, who is this man to you?” the chief asked, pulling her out of the horrific thoughts of what may become of her friend.
“My ex-fiancé. Jonathan Milbourne.”
“Did you know about the drug drop?”
Suddenly, she felt so much shame just for knowing him, and her gaze hit the surface of the deck.
“No. I thought he was a commercial real estate lender.”
“Chief, the ambulance pulled up to the dock,” the policewoman said from the other boat as she pointed to the shore.
“I’ll bring us in,” Cap said.
Cap docked quickly. Two EMTs rushed aboard and secured Preston. Their grim expressions made Emma’s stomach twist.
The EMTs, Cap, and the chief lifted Preston off the boat, onto the dock, and then into the ambulance.
“I hope he’ll be okay,” Emma whispered.
The chief looked at her but didn’t comment.
She turned to Cap. “What about Jonathan?” she choked out her question while suppressing her sob.
Cap looked at the chief.
“Where did you last see him, and how long has it been?” Chief Mertz asked.
Cap pointed to a spot in the water. “It’s been at least forty-five minutes.”
Cap scanned the water, then the shoreline. His face scrunched up.
“What?” Chief Mertz asked.
“At one point, when I looked back, I would have sworn I glimpsed a kayak. I don’t know for sure. There was a lot going on. I was hoping he would still be out here so we could talk to him. Ask if he saw Jonathan.”
Emma ran her gaze over the water and shoreline. She didn’t see anybody.
“Probably almost every cabin and house along the shore has a kayak, so it’ll take some time to go door-to-door. And who knows, if there was a kayaker, it doesn’t mean they have a place on the shoreline.”
“I’ll contact the sheriff’s department and ask that they do a shore search. The Coast Guard should be here shortly, and the tri-county dive team is being assembled. We’ll run a grid pattern until they get here, just in case.”
Just in case.
Though the chief said those words, his tone did not convey confidence that Jonathan would be found alive. Only a fool would think this was something other than a recovery mission.