Dead in the Water (2 page)

“
I've pointed out the gators on all the canals around here. I can't see why you think they'll look any different from an airboat.”

“
Maybe we can get real close. I got my cameras with me.” Winston held up his duffel bag. In his other hand, he carried another duffel. They both looked heavy.

“
How many cameras have you got in there?”

“
Enough to get some great pictures. And I've got snacks, water and several sweaters if it gets too cold. I've got to look out for my ladies.”

“
It's an airboat ride, not a weekend cruise.” I chuckled and unlocked the door to my car, then moved the seat forward so Darlene and Madeleine could get into the back. After a round of intense barbecuing last year, during which my little red Miata had suffered irreparable burn damage, I replaced her with a blue Mustang convertible.

Darlene looked at the small backseat with skepticism but she struggled into it and dropped the huge purse she carried on the floor. Winston hung back a moment before he got in.

“
C'mere a moment, Eve,” he said.

He took my arm, and we walked a few feet from the car.

“
I know you were surprised I called you after all these years and I'm sorry, but things came up.” He seemed about to explain, but instead he simply shrugged, as if embarrassed. “I won't fail you again.”

“
You didn't fail me.” I touched his arm and leaned into him with a half hug.

“
Anyway, you know how important family is, don't you?”

I nodded, thinking of the loss of my parents and how my grandmother and Winston made me feel I was still loved and had family to take care of me.

“
Family comes first. Don't forget that.”

I looked toward the car, seeing Madeleine's dismal expression at being cooped up in the back seat with Darlene.

“
Madeleine's like a sister to you, isn't she?” he said. “Sometimes family is more than blood relatives. It's those we love.”

“
Sure. I know. I'm just glad I have you in my life again.”

The serious look on his face was replaced by one of happiness. “Now, let's go get us some gators.”

He threw his two duffel bags on the floor on the passenger's side and folded himself into the seat. Twisting around, he winked at Darlene.

“
I guess there's no room back there for these with that purse of yours, huh?” he said.

“
I could put some of those bags in the trunk,” I said.

“
Nope. We're good.” Winston positioned his feet next to the bags and slammed the door.

Despite the wind blowing cold and hard out of the north, the Mustang held the road well as I maneuvered her around the curves leading to the airboat facility.

“
We could wait until tomorrow to do this. It's so windy today they may decide not to operate.” I wasn't keen on riding one of those machines anyway and certainly not in this weather.

“
No, today is fine. I called ahead to make sure they were running.” Winston's tone was firm, but there was almost a note of desperation in it.

“
You gals wimps?” Darlene seemed as keen on the ride as Winston, an attitude I found odd since she'd pronounced every gator I'd pointed out “ugh, so ugly.” What did she think we'd find in the swamp? Gators wearing lipstick, mascara, and blush?

“
Absolutely not.” Madeleine shook her head. “We love this weather. We get far too much sun, heat, and humidity down here. This is a pleasant change.”

I caught Madeleine's eye in the rearview mirror. Maybe she was planning to push Darlene off the boat. I shook the idea from my head. Madeleine was too polite for that, and I knew it. Maybe
I'd
push Darlene off the boat. Or was that little talk I had with Winston all about how he considered her family and so should I? I re-adjusted my attitude toward her. If he liked her then I'd try to tolerate the woman.

Only a few cars were parked at the airboat landing. We purchased our tickets inside the building, where they also sold fruits and vegetables and displayed small alligators in an aquarium. The man behind the counter was short and skinny with the face of a weasel, an unfriendly sort until he got a look at Madeleine. Her flaming red hair, small stature, and feminine clothes made her look like a fairy queen. The girl never failed to draw men to her, as they say, like moths to a flame, at least until they got burned. Madeleine's dating history was heavily punctuated with unfortunate mishaps. The vegetable, fruit and baby gator guy pointed us down a path leading to the dock where a boat was tied up fifty yards from where we stood. He offered to show us the way.

“
We don't want the little lady to get lost.” He looked directly at Madeleine and waggled his bushy eyebrows.

“
This is it, right?” I pointed to the well-worn dirt path. He nodded. “And that's the boat, right?” He nodded again. “I think we'll manage. You can keep an eye on us, and if we stray, go ahead and call the emergency search and rescue.”

He gave me a dark look and returned to unpacking strawberries.

At the landing, we settled ourselves on the airboat's bench seats. It wasn't a private boat, so we were glad to be the first to arrive and claim the choice seats. Winston sat in the outer seat with me on the bench ahead and put the two duffel bags on the floor in front of his feet. Darlene pulled a paisley-print scarf over her teased-to-submission and lacquered hair and settled in beside Winston. He put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him. Madeleine sat beside me in the front. Neither Madeleine nor Darlene wanted an outside seat, so this seemed the best arrangement. Wimps in the middle, the brave ones inches away from the water and whatever chose to live in it.
Maybe I should rethink my seat.

Two couples from Montreal took the unoccupied seats, one couple in front of us and the other next to us. A teenage boy and girl belonging to the first couple took the seats in the far front. There was room for two more riders next to the kids, but no one showed up.

The airboat pilot seemed friendly enough, but like his partner who sold us the tickets, he took one look at Madeleine and got friendlier, directing most of his attention to her, helping her to put on her ear protectors to muffle the sound.

“
I think I can do it myself.”

He ignored her and leaned over the couple next to us to clap them on her ears. “Don't want the little lady to hurt her hearing now, do we?”

In this part of Florida attractive women of normal or shorter height are always “little ladies.” Close to six feet without my preferred footwear, I've never been called anything but “hey you, lady.” Men rarely offered me help with anything, but I thought I'd test this theory.

“
What about me?” I held my ear protectors out to him.

“
You'll be fine.” He continued to adjust Madeleine's, and I held my breath just as I'm sure Madeleine did. Whenever it came to men and Madeleine, something bad always happened. The last time a man took an interest in her, my car blew up. I'm not saying it was her fault, but things seemed to always go awry when she was around.

I sighed in relief as he stepped back and checked the red containers of gasoline on the dock. He shook his head, added gas to the boat, then flipped open his cell. I couldn't hear what he said, but the call was brief. Good. I was anxious to get going. I was cold enough just sitting here in the boat. I couldn't imagine what it was going to feel like flying down the canal with that wind whipping at my face. I wanted the ride to be over before it began.

The pilot took his high seat behind the passengers. The boat leaped forward with much rattling, roaring, and shaking. He increased the speed, and the roaring grew louder as we flew out to the main waterway. Soon we were cruising down the wide expanse of the canal surrounding the Big Lake, its waters on the other side of the high berm to our left. The vibrating was so strong that I thought I'd chip teeth if I clenched my mouth closed. Mouth open, I risked bugs flying in.

I was surprised at the number of boats on the canal—other airboats, canoes, bass boats—heading toward the locks and the lake beyond. Even a few kayaks. As chilly as the air was, I hated to think what it would be like if a person went overboard into the water. Instant hypothermia.

Winston tapped me on my shoulder. I turned to look at him.

“
Having fun?” The skin around his eyes crinkled with humor as he grinned at me.

He'd turned his cap around so that the wind couldn't catch the bill and flip it into the water. I pulled the hoodie on my sweatshirt up over my head and tied it under my chin.

“
Uh, sure.” I smiled back.

The cold wind rushed at us, flattening my face and making my eyes water. If there was anything to see, the tears in my eyes obscured the view. The boat raced through the water, swaying back and forth over the surface, making me worry it might swerve and capsize. Once I got used to the rocking from side to side, I settled back to enjoy the ride, noisy as it was. Abruptly the boat slowed and we pulled up to the shoreline; then, as suddenly as we'd lost speed, we took off again.

“
Hey,” the pilot called, “nothing here. We'll go into the swamp and chase us some gators there.”

Oh goodie
, I thought.
Here's where we get lost
.

As we sped down a small waterway, the vegetation on either side closed in around us. The pilot took an abrupt turn to the left and almost mowed down two kids fishing in a small motorboat.

The pilot cut the engine. “Hey, get the hell out of the way.” The wake from the airboat washed toward their tiny craft and rocked it.

“
Damn Indians. They think they own these swamps. Always in the way.” He shook his fist at them.

“
Well, they really do own this land, don't they? Isn't it part of the Miccosukee Tribal Territory?” I didn't like the pilot's arrogant attitude. The kids weren't in anyone's way. They were just fishing.

He gave me a dark look and revved the engine. We headed back across open water with reeds and swamp grass, then into a small canal.

We slowed, and the pilot again shouted, “Hey!” The boat headed toward the bank—dense with cattails, reeds and fallen logs—then nosed into land. Before us, not six feet away, was an alligator. It didn't move, merely lay there eyeing us. The pilot stepped down from his seat and onto the front of the boat. He grabbed an overhead branch and shook it. The gator opened its mouth and hissed. Close encounters of the reptile kind. We all jumped. Cameras snapped pictures. The captain reached for Madeleine's camera and got a close-up. She smiled her gratitude and her friendliness seemed to stir his need to show off. He grabbed the knife that was in a sheath at his belt and brandished it as if he was about to take on the creature. Some of us oohed. I yawned.

“
You're not going to hurt that alligator, are you?” Madeleine's eyes flashed a mixture of anger and concern.

“
No, ma'am, little lady.”

Oh, for heaven's ….

“
Sir, you need to get back in the boat.”

Distracted by the scene of our macho pilot entertaining both us and the alligator, no one noticed Winston step off the boat onto the shore and wander back into the overgrown island.

“
Sir,” the pilot called again, “Come back here.”

“
Uncle Winston!” I said.

“
Oh, let him go. He's just curious.” Darlene grabbed my shoulder as if to restrain me from getting off with him.

“
Did you miss something here? That's an alligator right in front of us, and I'm sure it has friends and relatives out there.” I called Winston's name once more.

“
Go get him.” Madeleine looked up at the pilot as if he was an action hero.

“
I'm right here.” Winston appeared once more out of the thicket of brush and stepped back onto the airboat, settling into his seat. “Nothing much out there, and it's too thick to walk far.”

The pilot gave Winston a stern look. “Don't do that again, sir. If you want to help, grab that pole and give us a shove off. The boat don't have reverse.”

Winston complied, the engine started again, and we were off for another alligator sighting. I turned my head to look back at where we had been, wondering how that gator felt about airboats invading its sanctuary. I caught a spot of red just to the right of where we'd seen the gator, but before I could crane my neck for a better view, we turned a bend and started across a watery area, chasing mud hens as we flew across the surface. When I looked down I could tell the swamp was only inches deep here. Water flew at us and deposited leaves and other debris on our faces and in our hair. I pulled a small caterpillar off Madeleine's sleeve. Looking down, I spotted a few of the crawly critters on my shirt.

Okay, we got up close and intrusive with a gator. That should be enough.

Three more gator sightings and a few more races at the poor mud hens and we turned back toward the dock.

“
Hey.”

Hey yourself
, I wanted to yell at our pilot. He said something I did not understand, but Madeleine translated for me.