Always Ready (10 page)

“Think what could happen if they saw us. I mean. . .that guy tried to kill you.” Caddie clamped her lips shut, determined to say no more. Her heart thudded.

Aven said nothing but peered toward the boat again.

Caddie lifted her camera and focused on the man wielding the paintbrush. At that moment he straightened, and even from her distant vantage point, she could see that he was a large, muscular man.

“He’s growing his beard out,” Aven said.

As the man turned to speak to his companion, Caddie clicked a photo.

“I think I got a decent shot,” she whispered. “We can enlarge it on the computer.”

“Great.” Suddenly Aven let his binoculars drop on their strap and grabbed her wrist, tugging her downward. “He’s looking up here.”

She turned her face away and whipped her silver-toned camera behind her then crouched still behind the shrubs. After a long moment, she hissed, “Think he saw us?”

“No. But it’s a good thing we stayed behind the bushes.”

She exhaled. “Maybe we’d better leave before he looks again.”

Aven moved stealthily through the trees, and Caddie followed. They halted out of sight of the boat but farther from the pickup.

“There’s a vehicle parked on the other side of the cabin,” Aven said softly. “I’d like to get the plate number so we can be sure we’ve got the right man.”

Caddie shivered. “Take my camera and get a picture.”

“Good idea.”

She handed it to him.

“Wait here,” he said.

“Okay, but don’t take any chances.”

He darted in a crouch to the back corner of the building. For a minute and a half, he was out of sight. Caddie held her breath, listening and watching the spot where he’d disappeared.

At last he returned, racing almost silently toward her. “Got it.” He seized Caddie’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

Seven

Playing Scrabble with the Phifers Monday evening kept Caddie calm, so long as she didn’t think about Aven and their Saturday expedition to Anton Larsen Bay.

They’d spent a quiet Sunday on the base, but Aven had fidgeted all day, biding his time until he could contact his commanding officer.

“You’ll hear from Aven soon,” Jo-Lynn said, and Caddie realized she’d checked her watch again.

“Sorry. I didn’t expect him to be gone all day.”

Mark reached across the kitchen table for game tiles to replace his stock of letters. “They probably went to talk to the state police. Sometimes things like that take way longer than they should.”

Caddie nodded. She hoped Aven hadn’t involved himself in another confrontation with the bullheaded Spruce Waller.

Her cell phone trilled at five minutes after seven o’clock, and adrenaline sent her pulse rocketing.

“Hi. I wondered if I could bring your camera back to you,” Aven said.

Caddie relaxed and smiled across the kitchen table at Jo-Lynn. “Sure, but I’m not home. I’m over at Mark and Jo-Lynn’s.”

“Okay, I’ll come there.”

“Is that Aven?” Jo-Lynn jumped up. “Ask him if he ate supper.”

“Have you eaten?” Caddie asked. “Jo-Lynn has leftover lasagna.”

“Sounds good. Tell her I’ll be there in five.”

Caddie clicked her phone off. “Thanks, Jo-Lynn. He’s on his way.”

“Aw, come on,” Mark whined. “I’ve got a really good word. You’re not going to quit the game, are you?”

With a laugh, Caddie looked to Jo-Lynn. “How about it?”

“Let me put a plate in the microwave for Aven and I’ll come back.”

A short time later, Aven ravenously attacked the food while the others finished their game.

“There,” Mark crowed. “I used all my letters.” He set out tiles to spell
brown
and prodded them into place with a fingertip. “I win.”

“No, you don’t.” Jo-Lynn half rose, grabbing letter tiles from her own rack. “Caddie and I get one more turn, and I get double word score on
maw
, using your W.”

“That’s not a word.”

“Yes, it is.”

Mark scowled at her. “You’re making that up. Do we have a dictionary?”

“It’s a word,” Aven said.

“I thought it was
Ma
, M-A.”

Caddie laughed. “Maw is a different word. It means stomach, I think.”

“Yeah.” Jo-Lynn’s eyes gleamed. “Like Aven is filling his maw with lasagna.”

“Okay, I give up.” Mark shook his head, glowering at the board.

Caddie said, “Cheer up, Mark. I still can’t make any words, and I think you won after all.” They’d given her the scorekeeper’s job, and she quickly totted up the points. “Yup. Sorry, Jo-Lynn. He’s got you by two points.”

Jo-Lynn let out a sharp breath and stamped her foot. A moment later, however, she joined them all in laughter. “Okay, but I was close.”

“You were, babe. Good match.” Mark leaned over to kiss her.

Caddie shot a glance at Aven, and he winked at her. “Got any coffee, Jo-Lynn?”

Their hostess stood. “Sure. You want some, Caddie?”

“Yes, please.”

“Mark?”

“Natch.”

Jo-Lynn headed for the counter to measure the coffee.

“So, what did you find out?” Mark asked Aven. “Caddie told us you took her camera to the state police with pictures of some SUV you found out in the woods.”

“That’s not what I said.” Caddie had learned by now that Mark was expert at teasing.

“Seriously, what happened?” Mark asked.

Aven laid down his fork and wiped his mouth on his napkin. “The skipper went with me, and we talked to the same state trooper I called after our cruise the other day. They sent two men out to Waller’s cabin. Spruce Waller was there, but his brother wasn’t. And the boat had disappeared.”

“They moved it,” Mark said.

“Yeah. I wish we could have gotten them to go out there Saturday night. Clay probably took the boat back to his place at the other end of the island. But the trooper wasn’t in a hurry to rush out there again. He said he’s got bigger fish to fry.”

Caddie sighed. “I can understand that, since you didn’t have any proof to begin with that they’d committed a crime. Other than not responding when your skipper hailed the boat, I mean.”

“And you weren’t even sure the second man working on the boat Saturday was the brother, were you?” Mark asked.

“Caddie’s pictures say it was. The trooper ID’d Clay Waller from the photos.”

“Even from so far away?” Caddie asked.

Aven nodded. “He said you did a great job with your telephoto.”

Jo-Lynn brought them all mugs of coffee. “Well, quit looking so glum, all of you. The boys came home for an extra three days, and I’m not complaining.”

“I’m not either,” Mark told her, “but we have to report back to the ship tomorrow morning. What about you, Caddie?”

She pulled out a smile that she didn’t feel. “I’ve been assigned to light duty on shore starting tomorrow.”

Aven gazed at her over his coffee mug. “For how long?”

“I’m not sure. I saw the doctor again this afternoon. He thinks a couple of weeks. Then, if the cast is off the next time the
Wintergreen
goes out, I’ll be aboard.”

“Don’t worry, Aven. I’ll keep an eye on her.” Jo-Lynn resumed her seat and smiled over at him. “Caddie and I can hang out while you guys are at sea.”

“All right,” Aven said, watching Caddie keenly. “I guess that’s better than sitting around doing nothing.”

“Watch it!” Jo-Lynn grabbed her spoon and drew her arm back as though about to attack him. “I may not be in uniform, but I do
not
‘do nothing’ all day.”

Aven laughed and turned to Caddie. “Let me drive you home?”

Caddie felt her face warm. “Thanks.”

Mark’s face clouded up in mock disgust. “She only lives two hundred feet away, for crying out loud.”

“Yeah, and the sun will stay out until midnight,” Jo-Lynn added.

“A lot can happen on a two-hundred-foot walk,” Aven said sternly. “You just never know. I think she needs an escort.” Under the table, his hand found Caddie’s and he squeezed her fingers.

“Now that you mention it,” she said, smiling at Jo-Lynn, “we should probably head out. The
Milroy
’s crew has to report early.”

“Eh, we’re used to it,” Mark said.

“I think Caddie’s right. We’d better skedaddle.” Aven shoved back his chair. “Thanks for the lasagna.”

The evening shone as bright as midday, and Caddie felt conspicuous as Aven walked her from his truck to her door a few minutes later. “Thanks for bringing my camera back.”

He held the case out, and she took it with her good hand. “You’re welcome. Thanks for getting those pictures. We saw your bear pictures, too. Couldn’t help it, going through to retrieve the ones of the Wallers.”

“That’s okay.”

Aven nodded. “Your shots of the bears are really good.”

“Thanks.”

“What are you going to do with them?”

“I don’t know. Send copies to my brother and sister. Maybe make a Christmas card. I just like photographing wildlife.” She held the camera against her side with her cast while fumbling in her pocket with her other hand for her door key.

“Well, I think you should sell them.”

“What?” She jerked her chin up and stared into his eyes. “They can’t be
that
good.”

“Sure they can. They’re every bit as good as the pictures they have in the tourist brochures.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. A lot of people would think so. It’s a gift. My sister Robyn took about a thousand pictures of her dogs before she got any good enough to put on a brochure advertising the kennel and the sled race my family sponsors every year.”

Caddie studied his face. The dark shadows under his eyes reinforced his serious tone. “Thanks. A lot.”

Aven reached for the key ring she held. “Let me open this for you.”

She surrendered the ring, and he slid her door key into the lock. “There.” He stooped toward her and brushed her lips with his.

A sense of joy and loss swept over Caddie. Aven would be out two weeks this time. What if she’d been deployed again when he returned? They could go on missing each other in port for months.

She wanted to put her arms around him and cling to him, but even if she dared, the stupid cast would prevent that. She looked up at him and tried to think of the appropriate words for this uncertain parting.

“Caddie. . .”

“Yes?”

His jaw muscles tightened. He looked away for a moment, inhaling deeply. When his gaze returned to hers, she sensed that he’d reached a decision.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“Besides the Waller brothers?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” She tried to divine from his sober expression what it could be. Nothing good or he wouldn’t carry that air of dread and reluctance. “Do you want to come in?”

He exhaled. “Thanks. I promise I won’t stay long.”

She opened the door and led him inside. “Have a seat.” She settled on the sofa she’d inherited from the last tenants.

He sat beside her and leaned forward, clasping his hands between his knees.

She waited.

After a moment, he took a deep breath, but still said nothing.

“Aven, what is it?”

He jumped up and walked to the window, where he stood looking out at the parking area. “Look, there’s something. . .it’s nothing bad, really, but I figured I should tell you. If you found out from someone else. . .” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “Caddie, I wasn’t trying to keep it from you.”

Her stomach lurched. A dozen possibilities raced through her mind. He couldn’t be married. Could he? Maybe he was being transferred out soon. Or perhaps he merely struggled with a way to let her down. But if that was the case, then why had he kissed her—sort of?

She stood and walked over to stand near him. “Please tell me what’s wrong.”

He turned and pulled his shoulders back. “It’s about my father. I didn’t realize it at first, but when I talked to Robyn, she made the connection. If it bothers you, I’m very sorry. I don’t want to upset you. But I don’t want to take this relationship any further until you know.”

Know what?
She blinked and pulled in a breath but couldn’t say a word. Was his father a criminal?

Aven took her elbow gently and steered her back toward the couch. “Let’s sit down.”

She complied, shooting off a quick plea to heaven for serenity, no matter what. “Okay,” she said when they were seated again. “There’s something about your dad. You can tell me. Please.”

He licked his lips and nodded. “Okay. See, when you told me your father was in the Coast Guard, I should have realized he was Captain Gregory Lyle. Wasn’t he?”