wrath of the Sea Queen (108 page)

However, the person banging on the door
did
not call out.  He
did
not identif
y
himself or even ask if there was anyone inside.  Just then, Ben heard more sounds in the parking lot.  As he looked out the window again, two more vehicles pulled up.  Several people jumped out of the back of a
red
truck and more got out of the back of a black van.  Many of them appeared to be intoxicated
as they stumbled toward the lighthouse
.

They all
seemed to have a single purpose
. 
S
everal shouts could
now
be heard.

"
Come out, Dr. Erickson!
"

"
We know you're in there.
"

The banging at the door became more insistent.

"
Dr. Erickson, please.  If you're in there, let me in.  It's Dr. Jacobs.
"

"
Ben, we've go
t to let him in,
"
Salma replied in alarm.

"
Ok, but you stay up here.
"
  Ben dropped the backpack, continued to the bottom of the steps, and opened the door
only
far enough to admit the lone man
.  

Dr. Jacobs rushed inside with a harried look on his face.  Ben locked the door behind him and moved to intercept
him
as he headed toward the stairwell where Salma waited.

"
Oh! 
Mr. Erickson
! 
I'm glad you
a
re here.  Your wife's in danger.  We've got to get her out of here,
"
Dr. Jacobs seemed to recover from the
shock of the
unexpected
appearance of the imposing man before him. 

"
What's going on?  How did you know we were here?
"
  Ben replied sternly.

"
I found out from o
ne of the locals.  He is part of the group protesting the conference.  He recognized
your wife
when she stepped out by
the lighthouse railing.  He and a six pack were
on the beach below. 
Th
e
man
came into a diner in town
,
not too far from here
,
to
round up
some of his buddies.  They thought it would be a good idea to come out here and
call
Dr. Erickson into
account
.  They want to make her publicly denounce her work, and then hav
e the sheriff throw her in jail,
"
Neal explained.

"
How exactly do you know all this?
"
  Ben insisted.

"
I
was
at the
bar
having lunch and overheard them
talking
. 
They were not at all shy about their plans. 
While they were having a few beers to supplement their courage, I slipped out to warn Dr. Erickson.  I hop
ed
to get here ahead of them to avoid the scene outside.  I brought my cell phone just in case.
"

"
Why didn't you call the sheriff
from the bar
to let him know what was happening?  He could
ha
ve arrested them.  Why come
out here at all
?
"
  Ben still wasn't satisfied with the man's answer.  Something
about this man
did not sit well with Ben
.  On the surface, it sounded like he was offering his help, but Ben's instincts told him otherwise.  However, he could
n
o
t
dwell
on it.  His first concern was Salma's safety,
not only
from this man
, but also
from the people outside. 

"
Never mind.  Can you call the sheriff now?  See if he can do something about this?  We should be safe enough in here until he arrives.
"

"
Sure. 
L
et me find a place where I can get a signal.  The metal in this building is interfering…
"
  Dr. Jacobs moved toward the stairwell again, but Ben placed his arm across to clasp the rail on the other side, stopping
Neal
at the bottom.

"
Salma, why don't you come down here with me now?  I think Dr. Jacobs is going to head up top to see if he can get better
reception
.
"
  Ben kept himself firmly positioned between Salma and Dr. Jacobs.  She grabbed the backpack and started down the steps.  Once Salma reached the bottom and
stood
behind him, Ben allowed Dr. Jacobs to move up the stairs,
though he
kept a close eye on him as he climbed.

As soon as
Neal
was out of earshot, Salma whispered to Ben.  She wanted to know what he was thinking.  Ben wanted to focus on a soluti
on to the problem, so he only
gave her
a brief
synopsis
of his theory
.

"
I don't know how, but I think Dr. Jacobs is following you
, and
I
believe
that he set this up.  He let these protestors know where you were so that he could rush in ahead of them and rescue you. 
Only
,
t
here were two problems with his plan.  Drunken men can't keep to a schedule
.  T
hey arrived quicker than he expected.  And
your doctor friend
didn't count on me being here.  In fact, I don't think he expect
ed
me to join you on this trip at all. 
After I
got
shot, I guess he
did
n't expect me to be up and about. 
He was genuinely surprised t
o see me
.  Now
,
I
a
m very glad that
Vin and
I came
down
early
.  I don't want to think about what might have happened if you and C
a
eli
were
here alone.
"

Of course,
it was
already
too late.  Ben
's
angry
simmered just
from thinking about those very possibilities.
  It also gave Ben a better understanding of Vin's overprotective
ness of
C
a
eli. 
Trouble did have a way of following the
ir
women. 
The thought of anyone threatening
, much less harming,
Salma made Ben want to shelter her from the world.
  He completely understood Vin's viewpoint now.

"
What are we going to do, Ben?
"
  Salma knew better than to questions Ben's instincts.  He had proven his
well-honed perception
many times.
 

"
I doubt
Dr. Jacobs
is going up there to call the sheriff.  Even if he does, there is no way to be sure if we are going to get the help we need.  I can only think of one person I trust
who
i
s capable of getting us out of here
safely
. 
We can't get cell phone reception unless we go up
there
with
Dr. Jacobs
, and I
woul
d rather not
do that.  I want you to stay clear of him
. 
Salma, c
an you call
to Vin
?
"

"
Yes.
"

She leaned back against the wall, closed her eyes, and tried to focus on Vin. 
T
he shouts of the
protestor
s
outside
kept interrupting
her
thoughts, and now they were banging on the door
, too
. 

"
Ben, the noise is too distracting.  I can't focus.
"

"
Come here
,
Doll
.
"
  Ben pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her.  He laid her head against his chest
to block
out
the noise in one ear
, covering her other ear with his hand.  S
alma
closed her eyes again.  This time she succeeded, and Vin responded
immediately
.

"
Maku, I need your help
!
  Can you drive me to the lighthouse
right
now?  My friends called and there is some kind of
trouble
.  I need to get over t
here
and lend a hand
," Vin asked the big man.

"Sure.  Let's go.
"
  They hopped into Maku's white truck and sped toward the lighthouse.