Chapter 13 #2
Holly’s brow furrowed. “Which could be why they’re now hoping to flush you two out since no bodies were found with the flipped boat.”
“So, what’s next?” Joe asked.
“Should we come out of hiding?” Evangeline asked.
“No,” Holly and Simon said as one.
Holly shook her head. “They’ve been playing me to get to you...in case you were still alive. Let’s keep them in the dark and let us see if we can get to Dr. Jeffries.”
“Isn’t it too dangerous to talk to Jeffries?” Bastian asked. “That fixer, Reznik, might take the opportunity to grab Holly.”
“I need to do this,” Holly said. “We’ll be extra careful and check things out before we try to make contact.”
Madam Gautier, who’d been silent for much of the discussion, said, “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“Madam, you should stay here with Bastian and Evangeline,” Simon said. “Joe will keep you safe.”
“And who will keep you safe?” the Voodoo queen asked.
Simon let out a deep breath. “We’ll be careful and ask for help if we need it from my team. And we’ll get back up from the sheriff’s department if things blow out of proportion.”
Madam Gautier approached Simon. She reached around her neck and untied a leather strap with a small red velvet bag attached. “You must take this gris-gris bag. It will protect you and bring you luck.”
Simon took the gift. “I don’t need luck,” he said. “Holly should wear this.” He held the gris-gris bag out to Holly.
She shook her head. “She gave it to you.”
“But I already have a lucky charm.” He pulled the rabbit’s foot out of his pocket.
“A very good friend gave it to me. I’ve kept it with me since.
” He didn’t tell them that the lucky rabbit’s foot hadn’t proved lucky for his friend.
They didn’t need to know that. And he didn’t believe a gris-gris back or a lucky rabbit’s foot really provided any luck.
Madam Gautier stared at him for a long moment, her eyes narrowed. “You aren’t ready to believe.” She nodded to Holly. “Wear it. It will keep you safe.”
“Yes, Mémère.” Holly turned around so that Simon could tie the necklace around her neck. When he was finished, he leaned close and whispered, “Think you can get us back to the houseboat without your grandmother’s help?”
She smiled up at him. “Yes.”
He straightened and said, “We’ll get going. I’d like to check out the Jeffries’ place at night, though we’ll likely not try to make contact until daylight. I don’t want to risk being shot for intruding in the middle of the night.”
“You won’t be staying at the houseboat, will you?” Madam Gautier asked.
“No, we’ll sleep at the boarding house,” Holly said. She hugged her mother and father. “I’m still angry that you let me believe you were dead, but I’m happy that you aren’t. I love you both so much.”
“And we love you, too.” Her mother kissed her cheek.
“Love you, baby girl,” her father said and kissed her forehead. “I hope we can put this all behind us soon and live a normal life.” He slipped an arm around his wife’s waist.
Joe walked them through the corridor and out onto the dock. “I’ll keep them safe.”
“Keep them here, even if you have to sit on them,” Holly said.
Simon shook Joe’s hand. “Thank you.”
Simon stepped into the boat and held out a hand to help Holly in. Simon sat on the bench in the middle.
Holly took the seat at the rear, pulled the cord to start the little engine and waited while the fake island hill parted, and starlight shone down on the dark water.
She drove the little boat into the weeping willow branches and out the other side.
“Did that just happen?” Holly said softly, though loud enough to be heard over the engine.
Simon glanced back. “Your parents are alive.”
She nodded, starlight reflecting off the tears in her eyes. “How can I be so happy and so mad at the same time?” She gave a laugh that sounded more like a sob.
“Be happy, Holly. They were only trying to protect you.”
“Yeah. I get that. I just hate that I spent so many months grieving when I could’ve helped.”
“Can’t change the past. But we can help them now.”
She nodded and focused on the channels ahead.
Simon’s head was on a swivel, maintaining a three-hundred-sixty-degree vigil.
The revelations exposed in Joe’s bunker were staggering.
The people involved, if caught, had a lot to lose, financially and politically.
If Holly or her parents were caught, they had even more to lose. They could lose their lives.
Simon was beginning to think he needed to ask Remy for that backup. He’d do that as soon as he got back to shore. They’d go straight to the boat factory and hope Remy was still there. If not, they’d go to Remy’s house.
He needed to get another cell phone ASAP. How the hell could he request backup without a way to make that call?”
They made it back to the dock where the houseboat was moored, shrouded in darkness. They should have left a light on.
But no matter, they weren’t staying.
Holly cut the engine and let the skiff float the rest of the way. After listening to the motor's constant hum, the silence seemed almost deafening. Not even the cicadas and frogs dared break the quiet.
Simon secured the line to a piling on the dock and stepped out of the boat. He reached down and gripped Holly’s hand, helping her up onto the dock and into his embrace.
She wrapped her arms around him and rested her forehead against his chest. “I’m scared.”
He tightened his hold.
“Not for me,” she said. “But for them.”
“I’m worried as well.” He lifted her chin and brushed his lips across hers. “I just need one thing from inside the houseboat, then we can head out. Do you need anything?”
“My toothbrush,” she said.
“We have extras at the boarding house. I just want to grab my bag.” Simon led the way across the gangway, intent on getting inside and grabbing his handgun out of his go-bag.
He hadn’t carried it up to that point but was convinced he should.
The people they were dealing with were greedy and ruthless.
He'd feel better if he was armed.
He slipped the key into the lock and pushed the door open.
A light blinked on.
Simon froze. A man stood in front of him holding a gun in his hand. With his hand still on the door, Simon jerked it closed and yelled, “Holly, run!”
“Too late,” a voice said behind him.
He turned to find Solberg’s fixer with his hand hanging onto Holly’s hair, a gun pressed to her temple. “Make any stupid moves, and I’ll blow her head off.”