Kara Lennox - Reluctant Partners

He explained the situation to the patient emergency operator. Reece put some money on the table for the breakfast they would never eat, and they took off. It looked as if Allie was staying close to the coast. They could follow along the coast road in their car and maintain visual contact until the Coast Guard could catch up with her.

“I knew she was up to no good,” Cooper said as they ran to his BMW. “She probably realized the jig was up once we took a good look at those financials. I’ll bet there’s evidence she was skimming the profits, embezzling. She’s probably been socking it all away in a Swiss bank account, and now she’s going to sell the boat to some black-market boat dealer who’ll use it to run drugs, and Allie will be on the first plane to Brazil.”

“That’s a very interesting scenario you’ve worked out,” Reece commented as Cooper drove like a maniac to the main road that paralleled the coast.

“Can you see her?”

“Yes. Slow down. You know, she’s not moving very fast for a woman with a hot boat. And why wouldn’t she set a course farther out from shore?”

“Not all criminals are smart.”

They followed along, sometimes pulling to the side of the road to let the Dragonfly catch up with them, sometimes zooming ahead when waterfront structures blocked their view.

“Allie doesn’t strike me as stupid,” Reece said.

“Yeah, well…you know, I was almost starting to like her. I was starting to feel bad about evicting her from the boat. I was actually starting to wonder if maybe Johnny had misled her, made her promises so she wouldn’t leave him. Just goes to show how gullible I am. She almost had me with her devoted-employee act.”

“I think I see a Coast Guard cutter.”

“Really? That was fast.” Cooper had mixed feelings about seeing Allie dragged off in handcuffs. She was a heckuva sailor. He’d been looking forward to sailing with her until their court date. Well, he’d have to learn as he went.

“They’re still pretty far away,” Reece said, “but they’re heading straight for the Dragonfly .”

Cooper had to keep his eyes on the congested roadway, so he relied on Reece to report everything. “What’s the Dragonfly doing?”

“Just putting along at about three knots. Looks like maybe she’s heading into that little cove up ahead. There’s a big sign-Sinclair Marine.”

“Maybe it’s a chop shop for boats. They’ll take off the name and the serial numbers and replace ’em with-oh, no.”

“What?”

“The sign, underneath Sinclair Marine. What does it say?”

Reece squinted. “Fiberglass Boat Repair, Dry Dock.”

A terrible suspicion occurred to Cooper. “Did I tell you about hitting the rock yesterday?”

ALLIE WAVED TO THE COAST GUARD cutter to let them know she was okay. They probably could see the boat listed to one side and had come to check on her.

“ Dragonfly . This is the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Good Lord. They were calling to her on a bullhorn. What was wrong with the radio?

She waved again and smiled, since she could see one officer had binoculars trained on her.

“Cut your engines and prepare to be boarded.”

What? She complied immediately. She never messed with the Coast Guard.

The cutter pulled alongside her and two stern-looking officers leaped aboard with their weapons drawn.

“All parties on deck now . Keep your hands where we can see them.”

“It’s just me,” Allie called from the bridge. “I’m coming down the ladder. I don’t have any weapons, promise.”

The two officers met her as she descended. “We have a report this boat has been stolen.”

Cooper. “Hmm. Well, since I am the owner of the boat-you’ll find it registered to me-I hardly think that’s true. I am, however, in violation of a court order. The ownership is in dispute and I’m not supposed to sail it on my own. But it’s an emergency. As you can probably tell, the boat is taking on water and I’m headed into Sinclair Marine for repairs. I left a message for Cooper Remington on his cell phone.

“Cooper Remington,” she repeated. “That is who made the stolen-boat report, right?”

The officers both took a step back, giving her some space. “Have a seat,” one of them said. “I’ll be right back.”

He stepped off to confer with his captain.

“See that man on the dock?” Allie said to the other officer, pointing toward shore. “That’s Mr. Sinclair. He’s expecting me.” She waved to him, and he waved back.

The other officer returned. “Apparently there’s been a misunderstanding. We’ll escort you in.”

Yeah, now that she was a hundred feet from her destination.

She wasn’t too surprised to see Cooper and Reece standing on the dock waiting for her as she pulled the Dragonfly into a slip where a hoist would haul her out of the water.

“I’ll need to gather a few things,” she called to Otis, who had guided her in. “Just keep her from sinking until I can pack up. How long till you can get to her?”

Otis Sinclair was a portly old man whose family had owned this business for three generations. He did the best work and charged the fairest price of anyone in these parts. Consequently he was always booked.

He gave her a worried look as he chomped on his unlit cigar. “Be a week, at least.”

She groaned. A week with no work, and that was assuming the repairs would be routine. But she had an even worse problem. With the Dragonfly in dry dock, she had no home.

She quickly gathered up a few clothes and toiletries and stuffed them into a backpack. She also unloaded what little perishable food was left in the fridge and put it in a couple of plastic grocery sacks. At least she wouldn’t starve for a day or two.

By the time she disembarked, one of the Coast Guard officers was in serious discussion with the Remington boys. Good. She hoped he gave them hell for jumping to conclusions and wasting the Coast Guard’s time.

When he saw her, the officer broke away from his conversation and offered her a dazzling smile. “Ms. Bateman. Sorry to have inconvenienced you. My name’s Jimmy, and if you need anything you don’t hesitate to call.” He handed her a card.

Behind him, Cooper rolled his eyes.

The officer rejoined his boat and took off, and Allie sauntered up to her nemesis. “Check your voicemail lately?”

At least he had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Um, yeah. Sorry about that.”

“Is that all you have to say? ‘Sorry about that’? First you knock a hole in my boat, and then you try to have me arrested, and that’s the best you can do?”

“I’ll pay for the repairs.”

“I’m counting on that.” Otherwise she would have to make an insurance claim, and that took time.

“It was an honest mistake.”

“You actually thought I was stealing my own boat!”

“He thought you were going to sell it to a drug dealer,” Reece added, looking like he was about to burst out laughing.

Cooper shot him a scathing look. “You’re not helping. Look, Allie, let me make it up to you. Can I buy you breakfast?”

Like that would solve anything when she was homeless? “You can give me a ride to the Bella Motel,” she said. It was kind of a dive, but it was the cheapest digs in Port Clara and they rented by the week. “I need to establish a base of operations and start calling the customers who are booked for the next seven days-at least-and try to reschedule or find them an alternative charter service.”

“I’ll help you make calls,” he offered as he took her backpack from her as well as the bag of food. “Why don’t you stay at the Sunsetter?”

“Because I can’t afford the Sunsetter,” she said pointedly.