Dolby(39)
Author: Maryann Jordan

 

No words came forth, so she simply turned and lifted her face to the sun again, trying to still her racing heartbeat. The light was blinding, and she dropped her chin to look over the railing where the massive containers were methodically stacked. She would have found the ship fascinating if she hadn’t been in such a strange situation. As it was, she could only stare out to the side at the wide expanse of ocean as far as she could see. She had made it outside her cell, but an easy escape was not possible. But there was a certain strength in knowing she would not give up.

 

She sucked in a deep breath, her body relaxing as she allowed her mind to filter through possibilities. Who brought me here? And why? Once more, human trafficking moved through her mind, but she dismissed that. Women are herded like cattle and held in horrendous conditions, certainly not in private cells with a toilet and running water.

 

“Pitar says we go in now,” Tudora said, breaking through Marcia’s turbulent thoughts.

 

Swinging her head around, she realized Tudora was talking about the man who’d always accompanied them. “Pitar?”

 

“Pitar. My brother.”

 

Marcia wanted to ask how she and her brother could work for kidnappers, but instead asked, “You work on the ship?”

 

“Pitar does now. I am, uh… new.”

 

“So… um… what do you do on the ship besides bring me food?”

 

Tudora blushed, her gaze darting to the side. “I here for you.”

 

Here for me? More confused than ever, Marcia wasn’t able to ask any more questions before Pitar repeated his order. “Come.”

 

They retraced their steps, and she spied no one else in the hall. Once back in the closet she was being held in, she turned, determined to risk finding out more. “Why are you here for me?”

 

Tudora’s brow was crinkled. “Pitar said woman needed.”

 

Marcia’s chin jerked back, licking her dry lips.

 

Tudora nodded. “Pitar’s boss said woman was needed for angel.”

 

Before Marcia had a chance for more questions, Pitar motioned for Tudora. She turned to hurry after her brother, slipping out the door, leaving Marcia to stand in the center of the room with more questions than she’d had before.

 

Sleep came fitfully that night as the ship rocked with waves, and she could hear the wind whipping past her window. Nausea hit with the rolling, and twice she rushed to kneel over the drain under the spigot as she threw up during the night. Lying awake, she wondered how the containers managed to stay on the ship. When she finally did sleep, her dreams were filled with the horror of memories, and she woke with a sweat. Crawling from the bed, she padded to the faucet and splashed cold water on her face before lying back down.

 

A sliver of light came from the upper corner of the window, which she’d never seen before. Unable to discern what she was looking at, she stood on her tiptoes and pulled the curtain back farther, gasping at the light shining through. The wooden board that covered her window must have slipped during the night’s storm, and now she had a corner triangle of a view available. Placing her face against the glass, she could observe the light coming from the main deck of the ship with the dark sky in the background.

 

A thrill ran through her. I can see out! It was a small concession, but she’d take whatever snippet of hope she could get at this point. Not willing to miss anything, she stood on her toes for as long as she could, watching the sky grow lighter with the dawn. Shifting around slightly, she could see the tops of a few brightly colored containers on the main deck and realized that there was a small deck just outside her window. She prayed that no one would walk by and notice the skewed board. Shifting again, she watched the water in the distance as it changed color with the sunrise.

 

She sucked in a deep breath and let it slowly leave her lungs. As much as she’d appreciated walking outside yesterday, the gut-wrenching anxiety of wondering what was happening overshadowed the enjoyment. But this? This tiny peek outside that she hoped no one would notice and take from her gave her hope.

 

It was still early, but she didn’t want to be caught at the window when Tudora and Pitar came with her breakfast. She pulled the curtain over the edge just enough to cover the small gap in the wood and turned back to the center of the tiny room.

 

Dressing quickly, she stood in the middle of the room, waiting for them to appear. Since yesterday’s outing and chat, it seemed that Tudora was more comfortable and greeted her warmly as she handed the tray to Marcia. With Pitar waiting just outside the doorway, she decided to extract what information she could. “Where are we going?”

 

Tudora looked up sharply, a crinkle between her brows. “Hawaii.”

 

“Hawaii? That’s where I’m going?”

 

“Oh, no. We stop for fuel but no get off. We keep going.”

 

“Tudora! Come!” Pitar ordered, his head swinging back and forth, keeping an eye on the clinic and the hall.

 

Tudora blushed and ducked her head before darting out of the room with a quick nod, whispering, “Goodbye, Angel.”

 

Now alone, Marcia simply stared at the closed door in stunned silence before she dropped down onto her mattress, her breakfast ignored. Not even the scent of the food could tempt her out of her mind’s racing, turning over the snippets she had been exposed to. Fatigue and stress had wreaked havoc with her ability to think clearly, but now the lines between the dots started to take shape.

 

In her mind, Inspector Marley stood near the window and turned slowly, his small eyes not leaving her face. “What were you thinking yesterday, Marcia? You cannot ignore the signs in front of you.”

 

She remembered what she was pondering before Tudora had come to let her outside. The kidnappers weren’t concerned about Angela being in the house when they grabbed me. They should have been prepared for two women if they thought we were both there and they were after me.

 

“Why weren’t they prepared?” Inspector Marley asked.

 

She startled. They weren’t expecting two women! The kidnappers couldn’t have known I was at Angela’s house.

 

“And who were they expecting?” he prodded.

 

Tudora called me Angel. She gasped. “Angela… Angel. They weren’t after me! They thought they were kidnapping Angela!”

 

Inspector Marley bestowed a mustachioed nod toward her. “And now?”

 

For a few seconds, relief exploded as the air fled from her chest. Angela is safe, and they don’t want me. Once they know they have the wrong woman, they’ll… they’ll…