“Interesting that you’re paying for it.”
“It’s international waters, so the company won’t cover it,” she said. “And I think that’s just wrong too.”
“It’s very wrong,” he said.
She looked again at Jonesy as she walked back into her room. “Do we just leave him out there?”
“I would,” he said, “unless you know which room was his.”
“It’s down about six doors,” she said. She thought about it and then said, “Let me get dressed real quick.”
He turned around and gathered up his laptop, then put it all away. By the time he was done, she was dressed. They stepped out and found Jonesy still collapsed on the ground. Troy walked over, checked for a pulse, and picked him up. “Which room is his?”
She led him down the hallway and opened it up, and Troy walked in and dumped Jonesy unceremoniously onto the bunk.
When they headed back out, he said, “I need to wash up though.”
She stepped into the bathroom, showed him where he could wash up, and waited for him. Then together, they headed back to the dining area.
“I hope you’re not coming back to this place,” he said, his tone dark.
She looked at him and smiled. “Quite protective, aren’t you?”
“Obviously, under the circumstances, but I also care,” he said. “The environment here is not healthy for any woman, much less one I’m starting to really care about.”
She reached over, slipped her fingers in his, and said, “Thank you. That’s one of the nicest things anybody has said to me in a long time.”
He chuckled and said, “Well, from what I’ve seen around here, the bar hasn’t been very high.”
She giggled and punched him in the arm.
Just as they walked into the dining area, something delicious smelling came from the oven. She walked over to the counter to see what Denny had made. It looked like bear claws.
“Yum. Those look lovely, Denny,” she said warmly.
He smiled. “When I’m stressed, upset, depressed, or whatever, I find baking soothes my soul.”
“Well, I hate to say it,” she said, “but I really hope you’re upset a little more often.”
He stopped for a moment, then realized what she meant and burst out laughing.
As she walked over to get some coffee, she noted the rest of the dining area was empty. Pouring two coffees, and taking the treats Denny offered, she walked to the small table by the window, where she and Troy sat down.
Chapter 13
“It is really pleasant in here when it’s empty,” Berkley whispered. “I know the others will arrive soon, but it’s quite nice right now to sit and relax and to do something halfway normal.”
Denny walked over with the coffee carafe. “Romance is in the air, I see.”
“Maybe,” she admitted. “Let’s just say, we’re happy to get to know each other at the moment.”
“Take the moments when you can,” he said. “They are over too damn fast.”
“Denny, I’m sorry about your history,” she said. “I’ve always been a plain talker. Please don’t feel you have to hide your past from us. Clearly you’ve turned your life around and should be really proud of that.”
He stopped, looked at her in surprise, and then slowly nodded. “Thank you,” he said. “Not many people know.”
She shrugged. “I don’t think it matters to a whole lot of people. We’ve got enough ugliness going on here right now.”
“Which is why I figured everybody would be pointing the finger at me,” he said. “I’m a convicted felon and all.”
“That doesn’t mean that you killed anybody here,” she said, “or that you were involved in the rapes.”
“I wasn’t,” he said, his tone sincere.
She believed him.
“Got no truck with anybody who was either. I got into a bad spot with gangs and ended up in a real ugly scenario. I got caught for it and paid my price,” he said, “but I’ve been clear ever since.”
“Right,” she said, “I’m not sure there’s anything else we can do here.”
“Well, you can find out who the hell is killing those men,” he said. “I’m pretty damn sure it’s all related to the rapes though.”
“Got it,” she said. “The trouble is, whoever it is, why would they also do the sabotage?”
“I was thinking about that,” he said. “They’re amateur jobs, if you think about it.”
At that, Troy froze and looked at him. “You’re right because, if they wanted to take out the whole rig, they could have. If they had gone down onto the platforms, a couple C-4 discharges would have done massive damage—especially if they’d hit the drills too.”
Denny nodded. “That’s what I mean. So an amateur job means somebody who’s causing trouble but doesn’t really know how to do maximum damage.”
“And who would that be?”
“It could be any of them,” he said. “Anybody here now but hopefully not Winslow and Chucky. I’d hate to see them involved. It just wouldn’t make sense.”
“Me too,” she said. “Hopefully they aren’t.”
“I can’t see it. They’ve seen too much over the years, and I think they just want to leave this time and not come back. They are really looking forward to retiring.”
“What about Jonesy? Or Idiot.”
He laughed at that. “Jonesy. He’s always just Jonesy. I think it’s the drugs in his system. They’re supposed to do drug testing on the crew, and somehow he got free and clear this last time around. It must have killed him to stay off long enough to test clean, but he’s definitely on drugs. I’ve seen the science.”
She thought about it and said, “I don’t know the science.”
“Highs and lows,” he said. “Too happy, too shiny-eyed, and then down.”
“I get it,” Troy said, “but you’re right. These are supposed to be drug-free zones.”
“Which just means it’s underground, but it’s always there,” Denny said. He walked back to his coffeepot and replaced the carafe. “You guys eat up and enjoy. The rest of them will be up here soon enough.”
“We could hope they will be,” Troy said. “It looks like the storm has abated.”
“Maybe you guys can all get out of here today,” Denny said. “Me, I’ll stay if I can.”
“Why?”
“This is home for me,” he said. “When the next crew comes in, they’ll still need food, and I’ll be here, waiting for them.” And, with that, he added, “I’ll take a short nap and come back before the rest of the crew expects a real breakfast.”
As soon as he left, she looked at Troy. “I don’t think Denny is involved in this.”
“I don’t either,” Troy said quietly. “Like he said, this is his home. It hurts him to see people abusing it. He knows what bad is, and, in comparison, this is pretty good. He doesn’t want anything to ruin it.”