wrath of the Sea Queen (104 page)

"
Trust me. 
She
would
know," Vin stated
confidently
. 

"I'm sorry.  Of course she would, but it won't change anything. 
F
inish what you are doing there,
then come back.  She might be awake by then.  In fact, while she's resting, I
a
m going to take Salma
out for
lunch.  She
ha
s been on call all night and
needs a break.  We won't be gone more than an hour and
wi
ll be
within walking distance
.  I'm taking her to the lighthouse about a half mile up the beach.  Apela will
watch
C
a
eli until we get back
.
"

Ben
shared all the details with Vin
except what he and Salma had discovered about the poison.  Salma asked that Vin not be told about that until he returned
.  Vin finally admit
ted
that it sounded like
matters were
under control.  By the time he hung up the phone,
Vin's
strong urge to rush to C
a
eli
's side
had been quelled.

Ben quietly re-entered the room.  The lights were off, except for a small nightlight near the bathroom door.  Salma got up
from her chair
and motioned for Ben to follow her out onto the porch where they could talk.  Ben related what he learned about the incident at the levee
, then asked Salma for the prognosis on
C
a
eli
's recovery
. 

"At least now we know what's wrong with her.  I can't believe I didn't see it sooner.  Maybe I could have prevented it from getting this bad," Salma regretted that it
took
so long to discover such a serious problem.

"I don't think you were meant to know.
"

"What do
you
mean, Ben?  You don't think this was intentional?"  Salma could hardly believe that he would suggest such a thing.

"
Maybe;
those threat
ening letters
were not
idle
words.  Someone wanted to see you suffer by hurting those closest to you.  This does seem to fit the bill.  I
woul
d be neglectful not to consider the possibility," Ben reminded
Salma
about the
threat
s
.

"You must be mistaken, Ben
.  I don't think this has anything to do with me
."  Salma considered the notion, but dismissed it just as quickly.

"
I hope I'm wrong
, b
ut don't beat yourself up over this.  You had
n
o
t seen
C
a
eli
in weeks.  If you had, you probably would have sensed the change
sooner
," Ben reassured Salma.

"Ben, that's it!  I did.  I sensed something different about her
at
the hospital
on
Friday
.  I couldn't place it, but there was definitely something going on with her that day," Salma suddenly remembered.

"Well, there
i
s nothing we can do about it now.  Let's get some lunch.  You can come back with a fresh set of eyes."

After v
erifying that C
a
eli
's condition
remained
stable, Ben insisted that Salma
join h
im.  Though she was reluctant
to leave
, at first,
Salma
finally agreed.

"Apela has our cell phone numbers.  If anything changes, he
wi
ll call us.  We won't be that far away," Ben explained.

CHAPTER
24

Dr. Jacobs waited at the bar near the front of the small restaurant.  The lunch crowd
b
eg
a
n to fil
l the tables
.  Most headed to the back to sit down and enjoy their meals
;
but several
people
joined him a
t
the bar.  They were near enough for Neal to tell this was not the first drink
the
men
had
enjoyed
today.

He listened to their meaningless conversations as he sipped on a mug of beer and nibbled on a turkey sandwich.  Scott was running late
, as usual
.  He should have been here fifteen minutes ago, but then
,
Scott never could do anything exactly as planned. 

"
Don't look so glum, Uncle Neal.  I'm not that late,
"
Scott hopped onto
the barstool next to Dr. Jacobs, and a dark-haired lady sat down on the stool
to Scott's left
.

"
Where is she
?
"
  Neal was impatient to get this plan underway.  It was the best one he could think of on such short notice
;
but he didn't really trust the young men who were going to assist him.  Scott vouched for them, of course, but if they were as careless as Scott, th
en this could get out of hand
like the incident on the ship.

"
S
he is down at the old lighthouse
.
At least, that's where the tracker
i
s.  She has been there for about ten minutes. 
I would guess that s
he and the lady t
raveling
with her are
taking in the
local
scenery while her husband is laid up.

"
Good.  That
will be
perfect.  Now, who
needs an
explan
ation of
th
e
plan?
"
  Neal wondered out loud.

"
These folks here at the bar, Neal,
"
Lorrie replied
, the
first indication the dark-haired lady gave that she
was
paying attention to the exchange between
Dr. Jacobs
and Scott.

"
All of them?
"

"
Yes
.  They already
know that you are going to help them locate Dr. Erickson.  All you have to do is tell them where to find her and when to go.  They will show up, demand some sort of apology from her, and make her feel threatened.  And before you even ask, the answer is no
, they won't hurt her
.  They understand very well that they are not to harm
the good doctor
in any way.  They
are aware of the consequences they will face
if
anything happens to her
,
"
Lorrie assured him.  She put her fingers to her lips and whistled
just
loud enough to draw the attention of the eight young men sitting at the bar.

"
Is it time, Lorrie
?
"
T
he nearest one asked.

"
Almost
; l
isten to Neal.  He
wi
ll give you the information you need.  Don't screw this up.
"

"
On that note, we'll be off
, Uncle
.  Lorrie has to get back to work, and I have to
m
eet dad at the
old
airstrip
outside of town
.  I have a special welcome gift for him.
"

"
Are you sure about this?  I know you don't get along with him, but he could still be useful.  I would hate to have you regret
this three months from now,
"
Neal inquired.

"
Oh, I'm certain.  I
wi
ll grant him his last wish by taking care of his
former
captain and Eyvindr's wife. 
Dad
wanted retribution
on
both of them for sending him to prison.  Since that coincides with our plans, it won't be a problem.  Other than that, I have no remaining ties to him. 
He is another loose end that we need to tie up as soon as he makes good on the delivery
.  I have no desire to get reacquainted
.
"

Scott and Lorrie left the bar and got into a car parked out front.  Lorrie drove off
toward the hospital where Scott would pick up his car and head toward the f
ields about nine miles beyond the outskirts of town.

"
So, gentlemen,
let's
get moving, shall we?
"
Neal addressed the inebriated men at the bar.

"
Where are we going, Pops?
"

"
I am going t
o the lighthouse. 
You are going to f
inish your drinks and
follow me
in ten minutes.  You know what to do once you get there.  Raise a ruckus, but don't actually go near her.  When I fire my gun that
i
s
when
you
should
leave. 
If you don't scatter, you
wi
ll get arrested. 
Nobody will be coming to bail you out if you get caught. 
Got it?