wrath of the Sea Queen (240 page)

"
Ok, Ben. 
For now, I
wi
ll
stay out of it
, as long as you tell me what's going on.  Why don't you start by telling me what you know about that social worker?
"
  Salma conceded as she reached out and took Ben's hand.

Ben sighed, a huge weight lifting from his shoulders.  He
did
not want to argue with Salma, but
neither would
he back down
on this issue
.  He loved
Salma
too much to see her in harm's way again, especially not when he
could
prevent it.  Ben was relieved that she
finally
agreed.

"
Vicki?  I don't really know anything about her.  She just looked familiar,
"
Ben tried to avoid this subject.

"
Ben, you
're
a terrible liar.  Your words may be true, but you aren't telling me everything.  Come on, if I'm going to keep my end of this deal, you are going to have to do better than that,
"
Salma said with a slight smile.

"
Very well
;
t
h
e
lady
is not
exactly
who she claims to be.  I don't know why she is after Max, but it can't be good,
"
Ben treaded carefully around the edges of the subject, hoping Salma would let it pass.

"
How do you know who she is?
"
  Salma was not going to let him
s
kirt the issue.  She wanted a full explanation.

"
Vicki is the client who called Vin the day C
a
eli came back from New York.  She's the reason I had to pick C
a
eli up at the airport,
"
Ben explained.

"
So
this lady
has the same name.  Are you sure it's
the same lady
? 
How do you know what she looks like?
"
  Salma persisted.

"
I don't suppose I could ask you to drop this, can I
? 
No, I didn't think so. 
I
ha
ve seen a photo of
Vicki
.  It was in C
a
eli's room earlier this week.  In fact, I
discovered
it the same day that C
a
eli lost her baby.  I asked Vin about it, and he told me who she was,
"
Ben continued.

"
And?
"
  Salma persisted.

"
Vicki is no longer Vin's client.  He
dropped
her
th
e
same day she called him
," Ben continued his evasion.

"
W
hy would
Vin
have a photo of her in his hotel room?"

"He didn't. 
C
a
eli
had them
. 
They were
in an envelope
on her suitcase. 
That’s when
Vin explained the situation to
me. 
The photo
s
are
how I know what
Vicki
looks like and why I know she is not who she claims to be.
"

"
Ben, what exactly
did you see
in those
photo
s
?
"
  Salma could not imagine Vin doing anything to hurt C
a
eli.

"
Please
,
let that go, Salma.  It was not what you might think, but it was Vicki's unsuccessful attempt to
drive a wedge
between Vin and C
a
eli.  I don't know why she
i
s here
now or what she wants with Max
, but I am trying to figure it out
before Vin and C
a
eli return
,
"
Ben concluded.

"
Ok
.  I
don't need to know the
specific
details
. 
Besides,
Maku will probably find out more about her than either of us.  What will you do about Scott?
"

"
I don't know yet,
"
Ben answered candidly.

"
Well, maybe there is a way that I can help and
still
stay out of danger,
"
Salma offered.

Ben
glanced
over at her with a puzzled look on his face.

"
I woul
d love to hear your idea,
D
oll.
"

"
I
believe, now that I
ha
ve touched the Book
of Elements
directly
, that I
can
use my gift to
locate
it
.  I expect Scott will have it with him, wherever he is.
"

"
Salma, you’re a genius!
"

The
re were two large windows in the
seldom-used storeroom
.  Each
offered a
clear
view
,
one
of the shoreline and the
other of the
street.  Lorrie show
ed
him this room the last time they were here.  Th
is is where th
ey
had
s
tashed
the
supplies for their return visit.  Scott
didn't know
where Lorrie was now, but assumed, since
it was well beyond
the prearranged
rendezvous
time
, that she
must have
met
with trouble.  Having no idea how long she would be delayed
, Scott watched
and waited
from his hiding place in the hotel attic as Vin paced the shore in front of the cave, heedless of the rain
and crashing waves
. 

Unlike his uncle Neal or that madma
n, Antonius, Scott knew when to
cut his losses
and
when to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity
. 
He
had been
seriously
considering giving up on C
a
eli's blood after Salma refused to help him.  Knowing that Eyvindr was here protecting her made it much more trouble than it would be worth. 
Even if he
could get to C
a
eli,
Eyvindr
would pursue him relentlessly.  Scott
had
heard rumors of the punishment
Vin
inflicted on Kent for hurting C
a
eli.  He did not want to have to constantly look over his shoulder, living in fear of a similar fate.  As long as Vin lived, Scott
was certain
that would be
his fate
.  Therefore, Scott had to rethink his plan.

N
o one seemed to know
C
a
eli
's whereabouts at the moment
.  However, Scott knew that Salma was downstairs
. 
Vin
was
present
ing
Scott
with an opportunity t
o
o good to
let
pass.  Alone on the beach and focus
ed
on his missing wife, Vin left himself exposed.  I
f
Scott
could take h
im
out, t
hat would keep everyone distracted for a while and perhaps draw Dr. Erickson's husband away long enough for Scott to re
capture
her.

If he still wanted to use the book,
which he did, then
Scott was going to need Dr. Erickson
,
after all
.  Thankfully, his original plan misfired, and Salma
was freed from her potentially lethal captivity
.  Scott
had
watched
as
the doctor's
husband br
ought
her back to the hotel, injured, but alive.  There was still a good chance that Scott could
salvage part of his
original
goal
.  All he needed to do was get
the doctor
alone
. 
Without Vin to worry about, Scott would be able to go after C
a
eli at his leisure
.  He would
again
us
e
her aunt as bait.  And, s
ince no one except Vin knew that Scott was here
at the hotel
, he might be able to
pull this off
.