Perri O’Shaughnessy - Breach Of Promise

Before Nina could ask if the comment had some hidden double meaning only a literature major could figure out, he said, “We’re almost at the entrance to the Bay. Get those binocs up.”

And there it was, a boat with the figure of a woman at the helm. “It’s Genevieve,” she said, handing over the binoculars so Paul could look.

“What’s she doing over there? That’s not the way into Emerald Bay,” he said, and for the first time Nina realized that the irritation in his voice, his absorption, probably masked a certain amount of fear. Paul didn’t spend all his time messing with boats either, she reminded herself. An equivalent to her five-minute lesson with Matt probably constituted the bulk of his boat lore.

But he had never failed her, had he?

They tried to hail Genevieve, but in the wind, she could not hear them.

“Damn and blast!” said Paul. “She didn’t even look this way. She’s headed straight out to the middle of the lake. Is she trying to get to the other side? Where on God’s blue water is she going so fast?”

“We can’t catch up to her, now. Her boat’s in better shape than this old rattletrap. Anyway, she’s alone, Paul. She’s okay. I don’t even see Winston.”

“Don’t knock Matt’s boat. You don’t want her taking offense. We’ve got a long way to go. And we don’t know what’s going on. It’s possible Winston’s in that boat somewhere. Now let’s just give her a little gas“-he pushed the throttle-”and we’ll just see who’s a rattletrap.”

He got the boat up to top speed, which wasn’t fast enough to overtake Genevieve, but felt very fast to Nina. Holding on to the windscreen with one hand, she stood up and waved the paper bag in the wind. Genevieve’s boat rumbled purposefully ahead, jumping and dipping in the waves, sometimes heaving to one side or the other, looking dangerously unstable. At one point she turned her head, and Nina saw her lips moving, as if she was saying something, but she continued at full speed, apparently blinded by her resolve. Then, suddenly, about four miles out from land, she shut the engine off and bent over out of sight.

“What’s she doing?” Paul said, adjusting the motor down, trying to close the gap between them without running into the other boat.

“I can’t see her.”

When they were as close as possible, he cut the engine down to low. The noise made no impression in the wind, apparently, because the next thing they knew, a startled Genevieve almost fell over at the sight of them.

“What the hell!” she called to them. “Where’d you come from?” She had a somnolent Winston caught by the arm, and as they watched, she propped him against one of the seats. He was sitting on the deck of the boat, eyes closed.

They pulled in next to Genevieve, and Paul kept the engine running, so that he could move away quickly if the wind pushed them in too close.

“We need to talk to you, Genevieve,” said Nina.

“You followed me out here to talk to me? Must be awfully important. What’s happened?”

“What’s the matter with Winston?” Paul said.

“Oh, man,” Genevieve said. “Winston. He’s drunk. God. He’s a maniac. He took it in mind to drive this dang boat all the way across the lake! I told him it was too late in the day, but he was beyond listening.”

“But you’re driving,” Nina said.

“Just for the past few minutes. He was so determined. Shouting at me. Jesus, I never saw him like this before,” she said. “He just now passed out.”

“What are you doing here with him?”

“After I finished up at work, I realized I had some time before I had to leave. You probably noticed Winston and I…” She flushed. “Well, we didn’t agree about how things ought to be between us. I wanted to keep seeing him… he thought we needed to make a clean break. So I wanted to talk to him. It seemed like a perfect, intimate little opportunity. I knew he was kayaking so I rented this boat, and surprised him on the island with a picnic I picked up at Cecil’s on the way out of town.

“We laid out a blanket on the island. We were celebrating with champagne, but I hardly drank anything. Turns out, he’s a mean drunk,” Genevieve said, and she started to dab at her face with her sleeve. Her light hair streamed out behind her in lank strips. “You can’t tell someone like that what to do. I guess he was drinking before I arrived. A little of the champagne and he was over the top. Then he practically forced me. We got on the boat. I wanted to go back, but he had this cockeyed idea… it was easier to give in. And then, just a minute ago, he finally passed out. I was just going to sit him up so he wouldn’t vomit and choke on it or something. Then I figured I’d head back.”

“Genevieve,” Paul said. “Would you toss the floats onto the side of your boat? You know, the ones you put down to protect the boat when you dock.”

“Why?”

“Did Winston say why he wanted to go out into the middle of the lake?” Nina asked. Winston was completely passed out, obviously not a danger at the moment.

“No,” said Genevieve. “He was way beyond reason, just pushing and demanding. I was afraid…” She was half-shouting over the wind.

“Genevieve, listen,” Nina said. She explained as quickly as she could what they thought the microphone they had found in Winston’s office meant. “It’s just possible he wanted you out here where no one would find you. If there was an accident.” The Andreadore pitched, and Nina reached for the windshield to prevent herself from falling.

“That’s ridiculous!” Genevieve said. “You’ve lost your marbles! How can you think that of him?”

“There may be an explanation. But you have to look at the facts. If Winston eavesdropped on the jury, there’s also the possibility… the remote possibility he has something to do with the death of Clifford Wright.”

“I… I don’t know what to say. I’m just flabbergasted. After all he did for you! And he would never intentionally hurt me. He cares about me.”

“Nevertheless,” said Paul implacably. “Why don’t you ride back with Nina. I’ll take Winston.”

“No,” said Genevieve. “I’ll take him back. He’s out cold. Even if what you’ve said is true, and I think it’s the biggest hunk of wet cow dung I ever met, I’m in no danger now. Tell you what. I’ll head back to the dock. You two could help me by goin’ back for his kayak.”

“Forget the kayak!” Paul exploded.

They argued back and forth for a few minutes as the sky continued to lower until the clouds nearly touched Nina’s shoulders, and the fading afternoon was darkening by the minute.

Genevieve finally clinched it. “How are you going to feel when he wakes up, huh? He’ll have a perfectly reasonable explanation for everything, and then he’s going to want to snatch you bald-headed for leaving his kayak behind!” She was very upset, and had slipped into her most exaggerated Southern accent.

“Paul, the island is only a few minutes out of the way. We could get his kayak,” Nina said.

Paul quit haggling. Pulling the Andreadore swiftly up beside Genevieve’s speedboat, he motioned to Nina to take over the helm, perched on the edge of the boat, and leaped before Genevieve had time to react, arms akimbo and legs flailing over a five foot stretch of lake, landing with a curse inside the other boat. He stood up and took Genevieve’s arm. “You be a good girl and get the hell out of this boat,” he said, guiding her over to the edge. “Nina, come in closer.”

Nina obeyed, moving gingerly in. Ignoring her noisy protests, Paul lifted Genevieve neatly into the Andreadore.

“I’ll go back for the kayak. We’ll meet you two at Richardson’s landing in twenty minutes. You two start back. Meanwhile, Genevieve, got any rope on this rig?”