Flashback (Kendra Michaels #11)

After they left the cruiser, Lynch, Kendra, and Harley walked up Crescent Avenue to the spot where Darlene Gatwick moored her boat between charters.

“Ahoy there, Captain Gatwick,” Lynch called as they approached the boat. “Sorry to disturb you, but I decided that it was necessary that we have a little talk. I promise I won’t bother you or your guests again after I get the info I need. I’d be happy to reimburse you generously for your time.”

Darlene Gatwick was peering at him from the other side of her boat. “You’re damn pushy, Lynch,” she called out. “I told you that my clients like their privacy. Yet you come out here in that fancy cruiser and think that I’ll be impressed? Screw you.”

“I’m the one who is impressed,” Lynch said. “There aren’t many captains who have your sense of honor. I’m sure that’s why Williams chose you. He was desperate to keep his privacy intact from people who might want to damage or destroy his mission.”

“Mission? Williams told me he was no longer working with either the military or the police. He said he just wanted to have a peaceful vacation and catch a few fish.”

“Tell her, Lynch,” Kendra said quietly as she took a step forward to lean over the rail. “She might know something.”

“I believe you aren’t going to wait for me to get around to it,” he said ruefully. He waved his hand at Kendra. “May I present an employee and old friend of Todd Williams, Captain Gatwick? This is Kendra Michaels, who is very concerned about Williams and his family.”

“That’s true,” Kendra said. “And I admire the fact that you’re trying to protect him.” She hesitated and then said, “But I’m afraid it’s too late to do that now. Todd Williams is dead.”

Darlene was obviously trying to maintain a callous expression, but this seemed to hit her hard.

“He was killed in San Diego. Now all we can do is try to find the two women who trusted him with their lives. You’re one of the last people he contacted. Do you have any information about where we can find these two women?”

“Women?” Darlene repeated blankly. “His charter reservation was for three people, but I never actually saw the others. He came up here by himself. When he got here, he didn’t want the charter he’d booked with me. Instead, he wanted to rent my boat for two days. That’s not what I do, so I turned him down cold.” She was silent for a moment. “Williams is really dead? Shit. I liked him. He was a good guy. How did it happen?”

“An accident in the hills,” Lynch said. “Do you have any idea where he was going from here?”

“When I couldn’t set him up for a rental, I gave him the number of another captain who works out of Mexico and is pretty reliable. Marcus Delgado. He’s due back here tomorrow to drop off clients. He’s fairly money-hungry and I think he probably would have taken the deal if Williams offered it to him.” She scrawled a name and number on a scrap of paper and handed it to Kendra. “I hope you find those women.”

“Me too,” Kendra said. “Thank you for your help, Darlene. We appreciate it.”

“He should have told you to ask me in the beginning,” Darlene said tartly. “You can’t trust those pretty boys. I know he looks like some kind of movie star, but we women have to stick together.”

“I’ll remember that.” Kendra was trying not to smile. “Most of the time he’s okay.”

“Yeah, sure.” Darlene made a sound that might have been a distinct harrumph and stomped toward the steps. “Aren’t they all?”

“Pretty boy?” Lynch murmured.

“Definitely,” Kendra said. “She obviously calls them as she sees them.”

“In any case, I suggest we make our way back to the hotel so that I can call Delgado.”

She gazed at him curiously. “What are you going to ask him?”

“Many things. First I want to make sure that Delgado actually rented his boat to Williams when Captain Gatwick turned him down. Next, I want to know where he took Williams and the girls once he was hired. Preferably the entire route.”

“So do I,” Kendra said fervently. “It’s really our best hope of tracking them down, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” He reached out and took her hand. “Even if I can’t get hold of him now, we know he’ll be in port tomorrow. Once I contact him, we’ll be that much closer.”

She smiled. “Maybe you’re not just a pretty face after all.”

He flinched. “You really know how to hurt a guy.”

“Nonsense. I’m just following Darlene’s advice. She’s older and wiser than I am.”

“Then heaven help us…”

Lynch didn’t reach Delgado by phone, so instead they dined outdoors by the bay at Bluewater Avalon, which Kendra decided had some of the best seafood she’d eaten on the West Coast. Lynch, however, looked uneasy.

“What is it?” Kendra said. “Have you seen our friend in the cap?”