into her thoughts again as she moved down the road. Uncle Senior’s wasn’t too far from Marine World, so it was easy to walk to whenever she got a craving for the treats. It was both a blessing and a curse. This morning she wished she had driven; she was certain that someone was watching her.
KK took a long, deep breath and forced herself not to turn around. She was probably being paranoid. There was no way she was actually being followed. That kind of stuff only happens in movies. If she turned around, she was just feeding that paranoia.
Even as she told herself that, she still felt eyes on her back, and it made her skin prickle. Finally, she couldn’t help it, she turned as surreptitiously as she could, trying not to draw attention to the fact that she was looking behind her.
The crowd behind her was surprisingly large, grouped in their own clusters as they made their way to their destinations. None of them seemed to be paying her the least bit of attention, though.
She did a second take, this time looking closer, and her attention honed in on a man in a ball cap that was drawn down over the top half of his face. The bottom half was obscured in shadow, making it hard to pinpoint any identifiable features. Goosebumps crept up her skin as she looked at him.
Because the man looked an awful lot like the man from the audience yesterday.
She couldn’t be certain, not from this distance and not with the cap, and she didn’t want to get close enough to find out. She didn’t know if the man was following her, but she had a sneaking suspicion her gut was right, and her gut was telling her to move as quickly as possible.
Every so often on the ten-minute walk from Uncle Senior’s to Marine World, she would glance behind her, searching the crowd for the man in the hat. The first two times she did this, he was there. The third, he had vanished, as if he’d gone onto one of the side streets. That didn’t stop her from continuing to glance around for him. He never showed up again, which somehow only made her more uneasy.
You’re making things up, KK told herself as she looked one more time before unlocking and pushing open the doors to the employee’s entrance at Marine World.
She put the malasadas in the break room for everyone else to enjoy, then strolled toward the changing room, her mind still racing with unpleasant thoughts. She needed to clear her head.
Minutes later, she had changed into her wetsuit and was climbing the metal stairs to the overhang on Jasper’s tank. He was still separated from the others. Corey and Carey, who had been a duo their entire lives, might not take kindly to a newcomer. She would have to introduce them more slowly.
Jasper looked up at her, clicking hello. The clicks and chatters amplified, growing more excited when she dipped her feet into the water. He dove beneath the surface as she slipped into the tank. A moment later, he remerged right next to her, shooting air from his blow hole directly onto her.
KK laughed, smiling. “Hey buddy,” she cooed, petting him on the head before swimming toward his favorite ball. “How are you doing today?”
Jasper chirruped back at her as if he were answering the question. His attention, however, was fixed on the ball in her hand, waiting eagerly for the play to begin. When she threw the ball, however, she overshot, and it landed outside of the tank and on the concrete floor, slowly rolling away. The calf turned to look at her, giving a look that could only be described as scolding.
“Sorry,” KK sighed. “Been a bit of a rough day. My head isn’t screwed on straight.”
Jasper swam toward her, nuzzling against her to comfort her. His dark eyes looked up at her with concern as he chittered.
“I’ll be alright,” she whispered, stroking him gently. His skin was silky smooth and her fingers glided along it. “Things just need to simmer down a bit is all. This whole poacher thing really has me freaked out, and it’s hard for me to know what to do, you know? I don’t want any more animals to die and it feels like I’m on my own. Even if the Coast Guard tries and helps, it still feels like it’s up to me.”
There was a soft thump as something hit the water. She glanced up to see the white ball bouncing up and down with the movement of the ripples it had created.
“Everything okay?” Deborah asked as she came up to the metal stand. She was in her wet suit, but she sat cross-legged on the edge of the fake rocks that made up the overhang.
“Thanks for grabbing this. I didn’t feel like getting out of the water yet. As for if everything is alright, that depends,” KK answered, swimming toward the ball. “How much did you hear?”
“Enough to know you’re worried,” Deborah pointed out. KK tossed the ball to Jasper, who swam after it eagerly, before turning back to her employee. She was startled by the obvious concern on the petite woman’s face, her almond eyes narrowed in worry. It was touching. Deborah didn’t show it often, but she had a soft side to her that contrasted with her sometimes standoffish nature.
“Just frustrated,” sighed KK. “Police won’t help, and I called the coast guard earlier. They’re too busy with other things to be of much use. And the Sanctuary is taking longer than it should to get open, and as much as I love Jasper he still hasn’t really acclimated to anyone but me. Tim a little bit but not as much as I would like. It’s just a lot.”
“Things will come around,” Deborah assured her. “And you’ve done really good work with Jasper. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he gets used to the rest of us.”
“You should try and train him a bit while I’m here,” KK suggested. “Maybe that will help encourage him. I love the guy but he needs to learn to listen to you guys as well.”
Deborah hesitates, but at the look on KK’s face, her features soften a bit.
“Alright,” she breathed.
KK clambered out of the water. Jasper followed after her, the white ball in his mouth, looking almost offended that she had cut their playtime short.
“Jasper,” Deborah called, and Jasper turned to look at her. “Can you do some jumps for me?”
Deborah made the ‘jump’ gesture that KK had taught him. But instead of heading to the center of the tank and jumping into the air, he stayed exactly where he was, ball still in his mouth, staring at Deborah.
“Come on, please?” Deborah asked, making the motion again. “There’s a fish in it for you if you do.”
Again, Jasper just stared at her. He glanced over at KK who stayed motionless as she tried to let Deborah take control of the situation. Eventually, to her relief, he swam to the center of the tank and dove down. However, instead of jumping like he’d been asked, he simply stayed submerged, swimming contentedly, blatantly ignoring Deborah’s repeated attempts to coax him into performing. It went on for a solid five minutes, during which Tim appeared and watched from the side of the tank, clearly biting his tongue and trying not to laugh.
“Maybe he’s tired,” KK said encouragingly, but she knew that wasn’t it.
“Let Tim try,” Deborah said, more than a little annoyed. “I’ve got to get ready for a class, anyway.”
“Tim, you’re up,” KK said.
Tim nodded, then hopped up to the overhang. Jasper, who had reemerged and was currently playing with the ball, stopped and looked at Tim with a similar look that he had given Deborah.
“Hey, Jasper,” Tim crooned. “Good to see you again. Let’s show off your tail-walk.”
It was a smart move. Tail-walking was Jasper’s favorite trick. There was something about scooting across the water on his tail that he seemed to love. If he was going to listen to a command, that would be it.
At first, Jasper just stared at Tim. After Tim made a circular motion with his hands for the third time, Jasper finally listened, though not without a fair amount of what was unmistakably sass.
He’s like a teenager, KK thought, and giggled.
Tim was at least more successful than Deborah, though that wasn’t saying much. Jasper listened about a fifth of the time, and when he didn’t feel like listening to Tim’s commands, he simply swam and played with his ball and did as he pleased.
“Is that the new dolphin?” A slightly nasally, female voice called. KK closed her eyes in mild annoyance before turning to look at the newcomer, a stunning, dark-skinned woman with bright blue eyes.
“Hi Peggi,” KK waved. “I didn’t realize you were coming in today.
“I was in the area and wanted to see if Tim wanted to grab lunch,” Peggi replied, yawning. She watched her boyfriend as he waved idly.
“I can take a break in a few minutes,” he said. “Just let me finish his training session. Oh, and I need to get a picture. My followers love this little guy since he has such a great story.”
Peggi smirked in part fondness, part exasperation at her boyfriend as he turned to continue working with Jasper. “I heard that that dolphin is a real pain to work with.”
KK turned wide eyes at Tim, who raised his hands rapidly.
“I said he was still getting acclimated,” he insisted. “Nothing about him being a pain. I like him.”
Jasper clicked, then rolled over several times, mistaking Tony’s attempts at placating KK as a command.
“He’s cute,” Peggi cooed, walking up to the side of the tank and watching Jasper roll around. “I’m sorry about his fin. Is he getting better?”
KK was about to answer when Tony appeared. He was in his wetsuit, damp hair dripping into his face. Even KK couldn’t deny the fact that there was something about a wetsuit that really, really suited him.
“How’s the other rescue guy doing?” KK asked. They’d come across an emaciated dolphin trapped in a fisher’s net a couple of months ago, and they had brought him to take care of him before releasing him back into the ocean. Since he’d only ever known ocean life, neither KK nor her parents thought he should stay longer than necessary.
“Pretty good,” Tony surmised. “I think he’ll be able to be released in a week or so, though we’ll need to make sure he hasn’t gotten too used to humans.”
“We’ll worry about that if it becomes an issue,” KK stated. “In the meantime, I think he’ll be alright.”
“It must be sooo difficult taking care of dolphins like that,” Peggi pouted, who’d been blatantly looking Tony up and down during the exchange. “I don’t know how you do it.”
If Tony even noticed the fluttering eyelashes or the ‘come hither’ look Peggi was giving him, he didn’t acknowledge it. Instead, he just shrugged.
“It’s hard work, and KK is definitely a slave driver.” He winked at KK to show he was joking. “But it’s worth it.”
“I’ll bet working with dolphins is a great workout,” Peggi winked. “You look like you are in really good shape.”
She can’t be serious, KK thought. She glanced over at Tim, who didn’t seem to notice at all that his long-term girlfriend was blatantly flirting with another guy right in front of him. It would be funny if it weren’t also a bit bewildering.
But again, Tony seemed completely oblivious to the attention. “It’s definitely kept me in shape,” he agreed. “And working here is definitely the most fun I’ve ever had at a job.”
As KK was debating whether or not to step in and save Tony from Peggi’s blatant advances, Tim hopped down from the tank, phone in hand as he tapped the screen.
“I got some great photos. People are going to love it.” He barely glanced up from his phone as he spoke. “Do you mind if I take off a bit early for lunch since Peggi’s here?”
Peggi seemed to realize that her boyfriend was finished and stepped away from Tony and sauntered over to Tim, linking arms with him while doing her best to stay dry.
“Sure,” KK replied. “If you bring something back, I’ll pay you for it.”
“On it.”
When Tim and Peggi were gone, KK turned toward Tony. “Did you not see any of that?” she asked.
Tony blinked, head tilting as he pushed the damp hair plastered to his forehead away from his face. “See any of what?”
“Never mind.”
“I actually came looking for you,” he said. “I saw the malasadas in the kitchen and guessed you were the one that brought them. You only do that when you’re in a really bad mood.”
“You’re not wrong,” KK admitted, looking over at the tank. Jasper was swimming gracefully, but when he saw her looking at him, he stopped, swimming over to the glass and pressing his nose against it before swimming in lazy circles near where they were standing as if trying to be near her and give her some comfort.
“Well, I got some decent news this morning,” Tony added. “When I reported the dead dolphin, I mentioned to the people who came to take care of it about the poachers. They actually had heard about it because the Coast Guard told them to keep an eye out. It sounds like the Coast Guard actually knows who one of them is. They haven’t caught him yet, but it sounds at least like the investigation is moving forward.”
KK let out a long sigh. It wasn’t the best news it could be, but it wasn’t terrible either. At least it was something. If they identified one, then there was a chance they could find out the rest.
“Right,” she said, nodding briefly as she mulled it over. “It’s a start, at least.”
“Don’t worry.” Tony put a hand on her shoulder. “They’ll catch the rest of them. I’m sure of it.”
“They better.” Her grin was almost feral. “Because if they don’t, then I will.”