What could be wrong? His eyesight adjusted to the lower light levels, and he searched around the anchorage. Nothing appeared out of place. Just fish, coral, and sand. He dove a little deeper and examined a bit of artificial reef made from tires. Nothing.
He gave up and swam back to the boat, where he climbed the ladder and dropped into a chair. He yanked out his mouthpiece. “I don’t know why he’s upset. I didn’t find anything down there.”
“I’ve been watching him,” Tyrone said. “He keeps touching the starboard side of the boat. Did you look on the hull to see if anything’s there?”
“No.” Joe leaned over the side of the boat and ran his hand down as far as he could, but it wasn’t far enough. “I’ll go back down.” He fitted his mouthpiece back into place and adjusted his mask, then dropped back into the water.
Under the boat it was darker, so he pulled out his flashlight and turned it on to make a careful examination of the boat’s hull. For good measure he ran his hand along the surface too. His fingers touched something stuck to the hull, and he focused the beam for a closer look.
A small bomb had been strapped to the starboard side near the stern.
Without waiting to see if there was a timer, he shot to the surface. “Get off the boat now! Bomb!”
Tyrone’s eyes went wide, and he dove overboard. Danielle dove off the other side, and all three of them swam away from the boat.
He felt the explosion before he heard it. A wave lifted him and a second later, the boom blasted. Debris rained down on his head, and he ducked under the water. Something struck the back of his head, his vision started to go black, and he sank deeper into the water.
He felt a hard nudge at his cheek and reached out blindly. His fingers found Simon’s sleek, muscular body, and he grabbed hold while the sea lion towed him to the surface, where he drank in the sweetest air on earth.
He gasped and floated in the water for a moment until he found the strength to call out for his team. “Tyrone, Danielle!” He saw no other heads bobbing amid the scattered debris of the boat, but he yelled again.
He still had on his dive gear, so he put his mouthpiece on and prepared to dive to look for them.
“Here!” Tyrone’s deep voice came from his right.
Joe turned that way and found Tyrone clinging to a wooden piece of what used to be a cabinet. Joe swam to his side. Blood matted Tyrone’s hair from a scalp wound.
“I haven’t seen Danielle,” Tyrone said, panting from the exertion.
His slurred voice alarmed Joe, and he spat out his mouthpiece. “We need to get you some medical attention.”
But how? He had no way of calling for anyone, but he prayed someone on the base had seen the explosion and would send out help.
He cupped his hands to his mouth. “Danielle!”
He had to find her. She had a husband and two little girls waiting for her at home. “Simon, find Danielle.”
The sea lion barked, then dove under the water. Joe grabbed the mouthpiece and put it on, then followed Simon. The animal zoomed down to the artificial coral reef, and Joe saw her floating in the water. He kicked harder and prayed she was still alive. He grabbed her arm and turned her over, then slid his octopus mouthpiece in her mouth.
Breathe.
Even as he waited for her to take a breath, he kicked with her to the surface. His head broke the waves, and he lifted her up so her face was above the water. She still wasn’t breathing, so he turned her so he could give her mouth-to-mouth, but the movement caused her head to roll, and she gasped and coughed.
Her eyes opened, and she vomited up seawater.
“That’s it,” he said. “Get it up.”
They’d all survived but just barely. Who had targeted them—and why? Could the diver who had ditched bomb materials yesterday have been planning to do this?
* * *
If news about last night’s murder got to Aunt Genevieve, there’d be trouble.
Torie sat with her father in a quiet corner of the Grand Dining Room near the fireplace. White plantation shutters blocked the bright sunlight, and this corner by a large tree was in shadow. The double-clothed tables muffled the tinkle of silverware, and the thick patterned carpet allowed the servers to walk noiselessly from table to table.
There weren’t many people here this early, and she could only pray no one mentioned seeing her with Anton Bergstrom. Torie knew hotel gossip well enough to be certain staff would talk about how her father had been there and had comforted her. They’d all take it in the sleaziest way possible, and she wasn’t sure how to handle the inevitable questions.
She took a sip of her coffee laced with cream. “I think I should stay at my cottage tonight.”
“Absolutely not. Whoever is stalking you is brazen, Torie. I went to my room after dinner at seven, and I didn’t hear a peep from your room. Whoever killed Bella waltzed right in there without a thought for being caught.”
Her dad wore a tropical shirt and khaki pants again today, and she liked seeing him dressed so casually. Did he plan to stay on vacation this whole trip? She suspected once the bank board meeting started, he’d be in a gray pinstripe Armani suit again, just to make sure the other members took note of his opinions. He was representing the service industry on the board, and his reputation was important.
She put down her coffee cup. “Maybe they were dressed as an employee.”
“It doesn’t matter how they dressed! The fact is he managed to get inside that room and kill Bella without any sound of a struggle. I think you need to go back to Scottsdale, Torie. I don’t want you in danger.”
“I’m not going to leave, Dad.” She folded her arms over her chest. He would not change her mind. “You were watching TV, and it was loud when I heard it. Maybe there was more noise than you realized.”
“I’d only turned it on half an hour before you came in.”
“We don’t know when Bella died.”
“True enough.”
She stared at him for a long minute and took in the lines around his eyes and mouth. When had he aged like that? He was sixty, but he’d always looked younger than his years. Today he seemed older, tired and defeated. Worry for her probably. He was slim and rather unimpressive with his paler coloring and mild manner. Except in a boardroom where he had legendary negotiating skills. An opponent could agree to something he’d never intended, then the next day wonder how it happened.
She forked up a bit of her omelet and ate it. “You realize what people are saying now, don’t you?”
“About what?”
“The door between our rooms was open. They’re assuming we’re having an affair.”
His eyes widened. “I’m thirty years older than you!”
“You’re a rich and powerful man. Lots of guys your age take up with younger women.”
“I’m not the sort of man who needs a bauble on my arm.”
She stared into his blue eyes. “Why did you never remarry, Dad? You must have had plenty of opportunity over the years. Mom’s been gone eighteen years.”
He moved restlessly. “I’ve always been wary of anyone with an agenda. And too many women who flirt only want what my money and position will bring. They never look past the name to really see me.”
“That’s exactly how I feel! I didn’t know you had the same fears. Matthew and I didn’t have any real emotion between us. He wanted to be part of the Bergstrom family.”