Chapter 37

The birds stopped chirping, and the wind in the branches stilled as if the world and all its creatures waited for JD’s next shocking revelation. The air was charged with something indefinable, and ordinary, everyday sounds took on an ominous note.

“Are you saying Dad fell overboard, and you rescued him?” Athena’s headache ramped up. Following JD’s rambling story was like sinking into quicksand. The more he revealed, the more confusing the story. “What happened? Did the catamaran capsize?”

“William told me that he and Anna were so wrapped up in their argument they didn’t pay attention to the wind and ocean currents. They got caught up in Deadman’s Banks.”

She sucked in a breath. Everyone who lived on the islands in the Salish Sea feared Deadman’s Banks where massive volumes of water squeezed between the headlands and were expelled in fierce spouts. If an unwary sailor sailed too close to the treacherous rocky shoals, they risked being swept against the rocks by the force of the dangerous riptides.

She shivered as she recalled the tales her father told her of the many sailors over the years who’d drowned in those unforgiving waters. “Dad wouldn’t have risked the Banks. Not in a vessel he didn’t know.” Her father had been a cautious sailor. He never took unnecessary risks. “He knew better.”

JD tightened his mouth into a thin line. “He was mighty upset. Who could blame him after what he’d just learned? By the time he realized where they were it was too late. The waves caught them, and the boat capsized.” He fumbled for the beer bottle and upended it over his open mouth, sucking back the dregs.

She shifted on her chair, wishing she were anywhere but where she was. All too vividly she visualized her parents’ terror as their boat overturned, throwing them into the freezing waters of the North Pacific. “Go…go on.” She hardly recognized the thin squeak of her voice.

“They weren’t wearin’ life jackets. When William surfaced, he treaded water, fighting the undertow, but he couldn’t see your mother.”

The sun disappeared behind a cloud, and she shivered in the sudden chill. What was taking Russ so long? She needed his calm, reassuring presence with a bone-deep ache. “What happened, JD?”

“William tried—” His face crumpled, and he faltered as a sob shook him. “He tried to reach Anna, but he’d hit his head on somethin’ when the boat capsized, and he was hurt bad.” He smoothed the palm of his hand over his greasy hair. “A wave caught him, and he was washed farther away. It…it was gettin’ dark, and…and…” He buried his face in his weathered hands.

She struggled to digest his horrifying tale. “What about my mother? Was she okay?” But she knew she wasn’t. She’d never seen her mother again after that fateful sailing trip.

He fixed bloodshot eyes on her. “He tried to save her. I believe that. God knows he loved her. He’d forgive her no matter what she’d done. But the current was too strong, and he—” His throat worked. “The first I knew they were in trouble was when they were late gettin’ back. I had a feelin’ somethin’ was up.

“I launched your parents’ ketch so I could run a search grid, but—” He stopped and stared into the darkening forest, his throat working.

Her brain felt like it was stuffed with gauze, as she fought to make sense of his unbelievable tale. Her parents drowned? Impossible. Even if the seas were rough and the currents strong, they were both good swimmers.

He tossed the empty beer bottle at the can but missed, and the bottle crashed on the hard-packed ground and broke. “I need whiskey. Where the hell’s that man of yours?”

“Tell me the rest.” Her voice was wooden.

His eyes narrowed. “You sure you can handle it? You’re lookin’ a mite peaked.”

“Just tell me.”

“I found William, but there was nothin’ I could do. He’d lost too much blood.” He pinned a beseeching gaze on her. “I think he was hangin’ on just so he could make me promise I’d save your mom. I left him there on the boat and searched for hours.” He forked his fingers through his gray, stringy hair. “By the time I found her, it was too late.” He winced and pressed his swollen knuckles into his lower back. “Her body washed up on shore later that night.”

She couldn’t speak, could barely think. Terrifying images of her parents struggling against the cold ocean currents and finally losing their battle assailed her. She shuddered, swallowing back nausea.

The rumble of a well-tuned car engine filled the twilight, and Russ drove into the yard.

Otis barked and raced across the weed-filled lawn, greeting Russ as if he’d been gone for weeks instead of an hour.

Russ climbed out of the car and petted Otis. He stepped around the excited beast and approached the porch, a bottle in his hand. “Your directions weren’t great, JD. I ended up on an old logging road before I realized I was lost. Luckily, someone came by and—” He stopped. His gaze fixed on her. “What happened?”

A lump filled her throat, and tears pricked her eyes. She gripped her chair tightly, so she didn’t run into his arms and dissolve in tears.

JD lurched out of his chair. “I gotta take a piss.” He stumbled across the deck and disappeared inside the trailer.

The slamming of the screen door released her from her stupor, and she shot from her chair and into Russ’s arms, almost knocking him off the porch. The tears she’d been holding back burst free.

He held her tight. “What’s going on? What happened?”

The awful words spilled out. “My…my parents…they’re dead.” She backed out of his arms and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

He set the whiskey bottle on the table and sat down, patting the chair beside him. “Tell me what JD said.”

She stumbled over to the chair and collapsed. Inhaling a breath, she recounted the shocking tale.

The fine lines at the corners of his mouth grooved deeper, and by the time she was finished, his face was a thundercloud. “I’m so sorry. I know this wasn’t what you wanted to hear.” He brought his lips to hers and kissed her, tender, close-mouthed.

She shrugged out of his embrace. His sympathy would be her undoing. As it was, she was barely holding on to her sanity.

The screen door banged open, and JD plodded across the deck. His gaze went straight to the bottle on the table. He rubbed his hands together and licked his lips. “Got the good stuff, I see.” He cackled and reached for the bottle.

Russ shot to his feet and gripped JD’s arm, stopping him. “No way, old man. You’re not getting another drink until we’re done.”

“What the hell you talkin’ about? I told her everything I know. What more do you want?”

Russ tightened his grip. “I’m not convinced you’re telling the truth.”

JD scrubbed his gnarly hand through his hair until the thin strands stood up in greasy gray clumps. “Of course I am, I—”

“What happened to the Silver Shadow?” One final squeeze and Russ released his hold on JD. “How come the catamaran was never found?”

JD rubbed his arm and averted his gaze. “I dunno. I guess the hull was crushed against the rocks. Deadman’s Banks will pulverize any vessel. All that’d be left would be bits and pieces, and those would wash away in the currents.”