had put the pieces together faster than he had. His anger at being duped made him run faster.
They took the stairs down to the dock single file. He could just make out movement on the back deck of his boat. But it wasn’t Quinn. Instead, it was a trio of men. All of them chattering in Russian. Ben suddenly had a really bad feeling. Adam already had his gun in his hand when they turned down the row housing the Seas the Day. Rich’s siren was now much closer.
But still not close enough.
A woman’s muffled scream was followed a few seconds later by a loud splash.
Quinn!
The men disembarked and were headed toward the end of the dock. Adam and Ben took cover behind one of the boats.
“Stay right where you are, gentlemen,” Rich called out over the loudspeaker in his squad car.
Apparently, the Russian’s didn’t understand English or they were just brazening it out because they continued walking. Adam fired a shot over their heads to get their attention. The two men at the back quickly returned fire while the man at the front carried on as if oblivious, calmly walking to the edge of the dock before jumping off. Rich fired off a few rounds from his rifle but the other two men followed their friend over the side. An outboard engine roared to life and suddenly the three were hurtling over the bay in two Jet Skis at a breakneck speed.
“Well, that was interesting,” Adam said.
But Ben was already heading toward his boat. He leaped onto the back deck.
“Quinn!”
Her purse was on its side on the deck.
“She’s not down here,” Adam said from the galley behind him.
Ben frantically clicked on the running lights, illuminating the water around the stern.
“There!” Adam pointed to a ripple along the surface.
Adam was still shrugging out of his boots when Ben dove in. He kicked his legs out with enough force to propel him deeper toward the sandy bottom. The lights only illuminated the water behind the boat a couple of feet. It was another three meters or so to reach the bottom. Blindly flailing his arms, he tried in vain to search the area in front of him.
She had to be there.
Another body sluiced through the water. It was Adam carrying an underwater flashlight. He arched the beam in a slow circle beneath them. Too slowly for Ben, though. His lungs were already on fire. Quinn had been under water a good two minutes longer than him. They didn’t have a moment to lose. He grabbed at the lantern just as its beam reflected off something shiny below. He kicked down deeper. A third body swam past him, following the same reflection.
Rich was already skimming the sandy bottom when he saw her.
The necklace she was wearing danced eerily above her neck as the pearl caught the lantern light. A halo of red hair spread out from her still body. Her hands and feet were tied together with the auxiliary stern anchor from the Seas the Day secured to her ankles, its weight easily pressing her to the floor of the bay. Duct tape covered her mouth. Rich was already sawing at the anchor’s ropes when Ben lifted her body and began rapidly kicking them both to the surface. Adam grabbed Ben by the midsection and within seconds, they were above the water gasping for air.
A crowd had gathered along the dock and suddenly there was a swell of voices among the outstretched hands trying to pull them out of the bay. Rich shot out of the water and grabbed onto the deck gulping lungsful of air. The EMTs reached for Quinn, but Ben was reluctant to let her go. He anxiously searched her neck for a pulse.
“Bennett, let them do their job.” Adam reached around him and hauled Quinn’s body up onto the dock where the two EMTs ripped the tape off her mouth and began resuscitating her.
A hush fell over the crowd as Ben crawled up onto the dock. Aunt Marnie wrapped a towel over his shoulders but he didn’t dare take his eyes off Quinn long enough to even wipe his face.
Breathe, he silently urged. Everyone around him seemed to be collectively holding their breath. Time stood still. When suddenly she began to choke and cough, it was almost as if the dock itself sighed with relief. He scrambled closer helping the EMTs to reassure her as she struggled against their attempts to get oxygen to her lungs.
“Ben.” She gasped