Unfamiliar Waters Page 9

  “What are these bags for?” Jules asked, pointing to the gray duffels at Phyllis’s feet.

  “I have some things to tell you.” She motioned for them to sit. “You both deserve to know the truth. I probably should have told you a long time ago and figured out how to get you off this island.”

  Garrett stayed close to her in case she made any move to hurt Nigel or Jules, but she seemed gentle with both of them.

  “What is it?” Jules shifted to sit right next to her.

  Phyllis put an arm around Jules and turned to Nigel. “Do you remember when your parents died?”

  Nigel and Jules nodded.

  “You were so young and small, and I always wanted a boy just like you,” she said to Jules and then swallowed and looked at Garrett.

  “You need to tell them everything,” he said, kneeling down. Garrett wished he knew what she was going to say so he could prepare them. “They deserve to know.”

  “Know what?” Nigel asked, taking Jules’s hand as tension built around them.

  Garrett gave Phyllis a “you tell them or I will” look.

  “That day I met you at your house, there was another man,” she said with a nod. “His name was Hilliard and he is your uncle, your father’s brother. I also told you that I was your aunt, but that was a lie. Is a lie. I’m not your aunt.”

  Nigel and Jules tensed, and Jules pulled away.

  “I was hired by your uncle to pose as your aunt, his sister.” She raised her gaze again.

  “The truth, Phyllis,” Garrett said, and then turned to Nigel and Jules. “It’s been denied to both of you for a long time, and you deserve to know what’s really been going on so you can decide what you want to do.”

  “I know.” She hung her head as Nigel slid away from her and moved next to Garrett. Garrett put an arm around Nigel’s waist as Jules sat holding Nigel’s other hand.

  “Just tell us,” Nigel said firmly.

  “Your uncle hired me and Fairfield to bring you here and watch over you. This island is his and so is the house. I was supposed to pose as your aunt and Fairfield as our caretaker. But his real job was to make sure neither of you found out what was really happening.”

  “Who is this uncle?” Garrett asked.

  Phyllis held her breath for a second and then blew it out. “Hilliard Huntington Montague.”

  Garrett’s legs nearly fell out from under him. “As in HM Consulting, HM Finance, HM Hotels, Hilliard Montague?”

  “Yes,” Phyllis answered, and both boys looked to him for answers.

  “He’s one of the richest men in the country,” Garrett supplied, and Phyllis nodded slowly.

  “I think you all need to listen closely.” She cleared her throat, and Garrett shifted away slightly with the boys, leaving Phyllis alone, with the bags separating them. That seemed to work for Nigel and Jules, and Garrett wasn’t going to change that. He held Nigel as tightly as he could, just to let him know he wasn’t alone as the foundations of his entire world and everything he thought he knew crumbled from under him.

  “Just tell us!” Jules snapped, and Nigel tugged him closer. It felt as though they were drawing strength from him, and Garrett let them. He’d already determined that he’d be there for both of them.

  “I don’t know the details—your uncle didn’t tell them to me—but I believe from what I’ve been able to piece together over the years that your father was a brilliant man. He took what was a small family fortune and built it into a huge number of successful businesses. He was a visionary. When he died, he left everything to the two of you. Your uncle was to act as trustee until Nigel turned twenty-one. Then he was to come into his inheritance.”

  Garrett swore under his breath. “He wanted to remain in control of everything. So Hilliard set all of you up here?”

  “Yes. No kids, no interference with what he wanted to do. He had control of billions, and with them out of the way, things would stay that way. It was my job to make sure Jules and Nigel stayed on the island and were oblivious to the outside world. It seemed to be working.” She sniffed. “We gave both of you the run of the island, and you seemed happy. That was all I wanted.”

  “You were hired and paid all these years?” Nigel asked, hurt ringing in his voice.

  “Yes. But you have to believe me. I care for both of you.”

  Jules scoffed the way only a teenager could. “You’re full of crap.”

  “No. I do care. That’s why I’m here.” Phyllis turned to look out to sea. “Fairfield was getting nervous because you’d been spending a lot of time away from the house, and then there were rumors in the village that you had met someone.” She sighed, then turned to Garrett. “He was in the village, and someone mentioned that they’d met you. Fairfield has friends there who report back to him on occasion. Anyway, he started getting edgy and worried that you had talked to Nigel and that you might have figured out what was going on. He called Hilliard….”

  Garrett turned to Jules and Nigel. “Your uncle sent two men to kill you. Neither of you had been seen in years, so he probably thought he could do whatever he wanted. It wasn’t likely there would be any questions, and I suspect neither of you would have been found.”

  “Is that why you sent us here?” Nigel asked, as shook up as Garrett had seen anyone in all his years in law enforcement.

  “Yes. I had to know that both of you were safe no matter what.”

  “Where are they?” Jules asked. That kid had one hell of a backbone.

  “He shot them and Fairfield. They’re tied up in the house,” Phyllis said. “He went to great lengths to protect both of you. And he even saved me.”

  Garrett was still deciding if that was a good decision or not.

  “He also destroyed the satellite phone that Fairfield and I used to communicate with your uncle.”

  “What do we do now?” Nigel asked as both he and Jules turned to Garrett.

  “That’s up to you. The men have a boat. It’s on the other side of the island. I don’t want them to be able to use it to get away if they get loose.”

  Nigel stood. “I’ll take the launch they used and remove the spark plugs so they can’t go anywhere. I can get over there fast, since I know the island better than you do.”

  “Do you know how to do that?” Garrett asked.

  Nigel rolled his eyes. “I read a lot of books. I know how engines work.”

  “Okay. While you’re gone, we’ll transfer what Phyllis grabbed for both of you and the supplies to the sailboat.”

  “Then we leave?” Jules asked, glancing between him and Nigel, who thought a few minutes.

  “Yes. We leave the island. Help Garrett get our things on board, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Nigel turned and hurried away, waving before disappearing down the path.

  Garrett watched him go, unable to take his gaze away until Nigel disappeared. Then he picked up the two bags and carted them over to the rubber dinghy. “Let’s get this on board and stowed. Somewhere above the rock ledge, Nigel keeps a bag of camping gear. Do you know where it is?” he asked Jules, not so much because he needed it, but because he wanted to give him something to do.

  “Yes. He took me camping here. I know where he keeps it.” Jules raced away and over the rockfall.

  Garrett turned back to Phyllis, whose shoulders slumped and eyes drooped a little.

  “They don’t understand what I did for them,” she whispered.

  “I think it’s what you did to them that they are going to have a hard time forgiving.” Garrett set the food and other supplies on the dinghy and pushed it into the small waves. “Come on. You need to help me get this to the boat.” He put her to work with a paddle.

  Once at the sailboat, Garrett loaded everything they’d brought and put it away while Phyllis sat on the deck. He didn’t trust her and wasn’t likely to in the future. Garrett didn’t want to leave her alone, but it was quickly becoming apparent that he had to. The dinghy was only going to hold three people at most. Thankfully Nig
el and Jules weren’t big guys.

  He did lock the wheel in place and take the trolling engine keys with him as well before heading back to the beach. Garrett was still nervous about leaving her on the boat alone, but it was unavoidable.

  Jules met him at the beach with the camping gear, and they loaded the dinghy.

  “I’m sorry you have to go through all this,” Garrett said, and Jules shrugged. What the hell did he say to someone when their world had been completely flipped on its ear? He decided to try a different topic. “Nigel told me about the turtles. I wish I could have seen them.”

  Jules lifted his gaze, some of the misery in his eyes fading. “It was so amazing. They hatched and all hurried to the water. I stood out of the way and watched them go. I wanted to keep one, but that wouldn’t be fair to them. They all need to grow and have a chance to get big in the sea and maybe come back.” He sat down, staring at the sand. “I hoped that maybe one of them would come back and lay eggs here and I could find another nest….”

  “You can probably come back here again when you’re older if you like.” Garrett wanted to provide some sort of comfort, but he didn’t know Jules, and the teenager wrapped his arms around himself, turning to stare at where the beach ended and dense greenery began. Garrett knew he was waiting for Nigel. He sat on the sand next to him. “I know you don’t know me, but I’m a police officer. I was down here on vacation and ended up in the cove as shelter from the recent storm.”

  “I remember that,” Jules said.

  “I met your brother the following morning, and he showed me his collection and we talked… a lot.” Garrett smiled. “I’m going to need you to trust me. I won’t hurt you, no matter what.”

  “Do you like my brother? I saw the way you looked at him. It’s the same way the boys look at the girls in the village.” Jules didn’t seem to mind or be concerned, and his tone was the same as most teenagers would use to ask about their favorite flavor of ice cream.

  “Yes, I do. And I want to make sure you’re both safe, and the best way to do that is to get out of here.” Garrett sighed. “I shot three men and tied them up at the house. Phyllis told me that if they don’t call in—and they can’t now—your uncle will send more men to find out what’s going on. And when he does, I want all of us to be long gone.”

  Jules nodded. “Where are we going?”

  “First to Martinique to get more supplies.” Garrett swore under his breath. Jules and Nigel were going to need travel documents and proof of citizenship if he was going to be able to get them into the US. He had been so intent on getting them all to safety that he hadn’t asked about things like that. “Once we get somewhere safe, I will call my superiors in the police department, and they will help get us what we need to get back into the country.” He certainly hoped so. “Is that okay?”

  Jules turned to him like he was speaking gibberish. “You’re asking me?”

  “Yes. That’s my plan. I want to help, but I’m not going to force you.” Garrett really hoped Jules decided to go with him, but he wasn’t going to kidnap him the way his uncle had. “I’m taking Phyllis as well. She is going to have to help by telling her side of the story.”

  “Will she be in trouble?” Jules asked.

  “She might. But that isn’t up to me. If she helps us, that will help her.” It was the best he could do. Right then, he had to get both Jules and Nigel to safety.

  “This is my home. But—” Jules paused as Nigel stepped out from the trees.

  “How did it go?” Garrett asked him.

  “They aren’t going anywhere, and I hid their dinghy. If they get loose, they’ll have to swim, and that’s going to hurt.” Nigel tossed Garrett the spark plugs. “Dead in the water.” Then he went over and hugged Jules. “Are you okay?”

  Jules nodded. “Garrett was asking me what I wanted to do, and I don’t know.”

  Nigel sighed. “Garrett asks a lot of questions, but it’s because he wants to know, not because he’s trying to find out where you are or everything you’ve been doing like Fairfield always did.” He glanced out at the sailboat. “We both used to think that we were cared about and….” He sighed, holding his brother tighter. “Garrett is a good man, I believe that.”

  “We’ll go, then.” Jules pulled back. “He said we need to get away, so let’s do that.” He hefted the last of the bags and put them in the dinghy. It was a little heavy, but they paddled out to the sailboat and got on board and got everything stowed. Then Garrett started the engine and, with Nigel’s help, pulled up the anchor, and they glided out of the cove and into open water.

  Chapter 7

  GARRETT LOVED being on the water with the sails up, just the sound of the wind rushing past. There was nothing like sailing—he was one with the air and sea. Cruising under motor power always seemed choppy, but sailboats cut through the waves and seemed closer to the water, a part of it, so they gave a smoother ride.

  Nigel and Jules sat on the deck, sharing the shade. They had been under sail for a few hours, and Garrett’s GPS indicated they had another hour’s journey before reaching Martinique. Then Garret could find a place to berth and figure out where to go from there.

  “Where are we going to sleep?” Jules asked after a while. It was the first question Garrett had gotten from either of them since they set sail. They’d talked between them, but not to him or Phyllis. Probably with good reason.

  “We have a few hours of light, so we’ll find a sheltered cove or a town with a marina.” He was hoping to stay off the grid as much as possible, putting as much distance as he could between them and danger. “How long before someone becomes suspicious?” Garrett asked Phyllis.

  “They are already. It will take time to get someone to the island, but I’m willing to bet Hilliard has already sent someone down. Fairfield would have called in to report on anything that happened, and when Hilliard doesn’t hear anything….”

  “And he’s going to expect us to make for Martinique simply because it’s close. As long as the weather holds, we’re going to keep going. Try for Dominica and see if we have any luck.” The more Garrett thought about it, the more he realized he should steer clear of Martinique if at all possible. With Hilliard’s land belonging to Martinique, it was likely he had connections there. The skies were clear and nearly cloudless, so that boded well for them. Garrett turned to Jules. “As for sleeping, I thought you and Nigel could take the main bed. The table folds down for Phyllis, and I can try to find some other space to sleep.” He intended to stay on deck and keep a watch. If someone was after them, Garrett had no intention of being taken by surprise. “Is that okay?”

  Jules nodded and pulled his legs up to his chest, hugging them with his arms. Nigel and Jules had lost everything they thought they knew… their home, even parts of themselves. The history they’d thought they had, had turned out to be a lie. How did anyone come back from that?

  “There’s the island.” Jules pointed.

  “Yup. I think we’re going to stay on the west side of it to help remain in calmer waters. If we have to, we can go to a harbor, but for now, I think we’ll just pass her by. I’m afraid your uncle will have contacts and influence there.” Garrett steered offshore, and they continued on. The wind was steady, and as darkness fell, he turned on the running lights and kept going. He knew he was taking a chance by passing Martinique, but it was a measured risk. “Nigel,” he called softly, “can you take the wheel?”

  Nigel came over and sat next to him.

  “Just hold the wheel. See that light right over there? Just keep it to starboard and stay as straight on as you can. I’m going to get the beds made up and everyone else settled.” He let Nigel take hold and went below.

  It took him half an hour to get all the beds made up. “This is for you and Nigel. Just pull the curtain if you want some privacy. Phyllis, this is for you. It’s a little cramped….”

  “I’ll be fine. Thank you.” She lay down, and Jules followed him topside.

  Garrett took
the wheel again and made a slight course correction, following the GPS. “Those lights are on Martinique, and we’re going to pass the north end of the island soon.” He sat and held the wheel, the sails full of wind, the seas rolling slightly. It was a perfect night. “I’d suggest that both of you get some sleep. There is going to be a lot to do tomorrow.” He said good night to Jules, who went back below, and then kissed Nigel good night.

  “Thank you for everything,” Nigel whispered, then joined Jules below.

  That left Garrett alone with the sea and wind, and he steered the sailboat, leaving the island behind them. No other darkness is like the dark in the middle of the sea with a new moon. Just the stars to point the way and the GPS screen for company. Granted, the distance to the island wasn’t that great.

  He sat quietly for a long while, enjoying the night, with no sounds coming from below. He guessed everyone was asleep, and he wished he and Nigel were curled up together on that bed.

  “Garrett.” The cabin door opened and Nigel came around to sit next to him.

  “Couldn’t sleep?”

  He shook his head. “Jules is a kicker. He always moves a lot at night, so I thought I’d give him a chance to settle down.” Nigel leaned against him, and Garrett put an arm around his shoulders as they slid through the night.

  Eventually Nigel fell asleep. Garrett held him as lights shone on the horizon. Initially he wasn’t sure he was seeing correctly, but more joined the first, signaling Dominica approaching on the horizon. He consulted the manual and radioed ahead. The harbor in Roseau answered, and he followed the directions to a berth. Gently he settled Nigel on the bench seat, tied up the boat, and went to deal with the business at hand.

  He returned from the harbormaster’s office an hour later with his berth paid for. Nigel was still asleep on the bench, curled up, using a chair cushion as a pillow. Garrett gently encircled him with his arms, carefully helping him below, and placed Nigel in the bed after scooting his bed-hog brother over.