Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (12 page)

“I’m fin
ished.
I’ll keep in touch.” Larry
gathered his map and headed out.

“F
or those of you
w
ho
w
ish to help,” Martin said.
“I
’ll
place t
w
o spotters in each boat, that
w
ay both sides of
the river can be checked simultan
eously.
”
Most of the bridal party gathered round.

Sara
, another bridesmaid,
said, “I go
t seasick
yesterday
, but I can man the phone or do anything on land.”

“As you kno
w
from yesterday,
I’m no good on the
w
ater
,
in it fine, but not on it,” Tim said
, making a jest at his o
w
n expense
.
“
Any job on land
will
do.”

“No
w
onder you didn’t go fishing
w
ith Rod,” one of the groomsmen teased.

“Yeah,” another added, “Tim’s only value on a fis
hing trip is adding
chum.”
A fe
w
members of the bridal party laughed.

Mary spoke up, “I take anyone
w
ho’s
will
ing to help
w
ith the
cooking and the
kitchen duties.”

T
he break in the tension appeared to help those gathered in the living room.

Before Larry
left the room
, Taylor stopped him.
“Could I speak to you?”

“Sure
, honey
.”

“Let’s go in the library
.
”

Jeff started to
join the group surrounding her father
.

“Aren’t you coming
w
ith us?”

“Sure.”
He reversed directions.

Once inside
the room, Taylor shut the door.
“Mr. Larry.
”
A name
she’d called him
forever.
“Yesterday,
w
hen
w
e sa
w
the cooler, the entire area
w
a
s full of alligators,
big ones.
The only time I’ve s
een that many together
before
w
as
w
hen I
visit
ed
a ‘gator-farm in St. Augustine.”

He nodded.
“I
w
as on the team that retrieved the ice chest
, so I sa
w
them
.
I’d heard rumors about someone feed
ing
‘gators,
but didn’t kno
w
w
here or
w
ho. Still don’t kno
w
w
ho, but I discovered
w
here. Normal
behavior for
‘gators
is to
sink into the
w
ater
w
hen humans approach.
T
hey prefer raccoons, small deer,
crabs, and
w
ounded animals. But if they’re fed, t
hey forget
their fear and look at
humans as a source of
food.
Although it’s against the la
w
, someone has been feeding them.
” He shook his head in disgust.
“
W
e’ll probably have to remove
all those
‘gators. They’re too dangerous to be left.”

“In other
w
ords, you’ll have to kill them,” Taylor said
, quietly
.

“Yes.”
His face and body la
nguage sho
w
ed his frustration. “T
hey aren’t endangered any l
onger, but. . .” He hesitated
.
“
I hate to kill any animal
.
They’re God’s creatures. I
f
man
w
ould leave them alone and give them their o
w
n space,
w
e could avoid killing.
”

She sent him a soft smile and
bobbed
her head in understanding.
“Daddy told me that years ago you fought to have la
w
s passed to save
the alligators.
From the numbers I sa
w
, they’re thriving.
”

“Yes, Taylor I did
fight for them and yes, the numbers sho
w
the program
w
orks
.
Did you kno
w
,” he said,
w
arming to his subject. “
W
e
tried
initially
to sepa
rate the
problem makers and
relocate them, but
‘gators
have
a
homing instinct
.” He shook his head. “They
will
come back to
the area
they
w
e
re born
, even if that
spot
no longer exist
s
.”

She touched the arm of this gentle man
. “You mean if human development has replace
d their river or pond bank,
”
she added.

He
w
aggled his head
.
“
W
ish
w
e could someho
w
teach them to stay a
w
ay.
”

She s
w
allo
w
ed deeply.
“
After you trap them
,
will
y
ou dissect
…
?
” She grabbed the back of an upholstered chair.
Her knees
w
eakened. S
he s
w
allo
w
ed hard. Tears formed in her eyes, but she
blinked
them back
.
Taylor sensed Jeff moving beside her. A moment later, he
placed his
left arm around her
w
aist and covered her right hand
w
ith
h
is
, giving her external support as
w
ell as internal
.
             

Larry cleared his throat
and avoided
her eyes. “It’s a State requirement.
Each ‘gator
must be analyzed and documented.
”

Although
his voice almost sounded normal
,
Taylor
heard the undercurrent of nervousness and concern
.
She appreciated his
w
orrying about her and
w
ith Jeff’s physical support,
she said
,
“Thank you, Mr. Larry.”

He stepped around
the chair and gave her
cheek a peck.
“
W
e’ll find him alive,
Taylor.
He kno
w
s these
w
aters.
W
e’ll find him. You have my promise.
” He gave her an encouraging smile.
“I
f you’ll excuse me, I
must
check
w
ith my searchers.”
He placed his ball cap on,
dipped his head
to
w
ard her,
and left.

Taylor t
w
isted
around and gripped Jeff
’s arms
. “Damn. Damn. Damn. I’ll kill that man
w
hen I see him. I s
w
ear I
will
.”
Fury filled her
w
ords, yet
w
orry filled her being.

A second later, she
shifted a
w
ay
. She fro
w
ned. “Instead of being lost, could he have run a
w
ay?”

“
W
hoa. You
’
r
e
upset, rightfully so. But, let’s be logical. First,
w
e found his cooler. Since
w
e did, he obviously
w
ent out on the river.
W
hy the ice chest
w
ashed up on the bank,
w
e don’t kno
w
,
yet. Ho
w
ever,
Rod didn’t run a
w
ay. Yes, he did a stupid thing by going fishing in bad
w
eather, but he loved you and
w
ould never leave you.”

She
w
anted
to hear these
w
ords,
w
anted
the
m to be true, but
w
as Jeff
saying this to ease her anger and grief?
“Ho
w
do you kno
w
?”

He
gazed
directly at face, a
s if
forcing her to keep her attention on him.
“
Rod has al
w
ays desire
d
you.
I can’t tell you ho
w
often he
told
me.
He added
that
Beaufort
held everything he ever
required
;
fishing, crabbing, hunting, golf, position in the community
,
his business,
and most important,
and
the gal he loved
.
W
hy thro
w
all that
a
w
ay?
W
hy
start a ne
w
life some
w
here else? He had established himself here. His business’
and social
connections
,
important
w
hen
one is a developer and investment counselor,
are here. And most important
of all
, the
w
oman he
adores
.”

“He
said this?” S
he search
ed
his face fo
r any sign of untruth
.

Jeff nodded. “
Too m
any times
to count
.
W
hen I moved a
w
ay, he called me a fool for l
eaving my net
w
ork. He added
it took too long to develop these associates.”

Taylor stood silently, considering his
w
ords
, crav
ing them to be true
.
“Y
ou
’re
sure?”
“Totally,”
he replied, shaking his head yes
,
w
hile h
is eyes
stayed
on hers.

She felt her spirits lift.
“I
best
check the horses, but thanks for sharing.” She kissed his cheek lightly and raced
w
ith a lighter step to
w
ard the barn.