“Here’s hoping it works,” Laura said, touching the button. How she had hated that water proof case when she first put it on.
The screen was so bright it lit them up like a torch, making Laura aware of how quickly that darkness was descending.
“Come on, signal,” she said, biting her lip.
“There’s a bar! There’s a bar!” Tex squeezed her shoulders and they bounced in excitement until the slosh of cool saltwater reminded them how precarious their vessel was. “Can you call your friend at the resort? I don’t know the resort’s number by memory, but having Bastian come get us will be faster than trying to get the Civil Guard out here to find us. Bastian can tow us back.”
With shaking hands, Laura pulled Fred from the contacts and dialed.
It rang, while the sun finished its swandive and its last rays faded at last.
It disconnected without giving Laura a chance to leave a voicemail, and she looked in distress at the low battery warning that popped up. “Let me text him,” she said desperately, putting the phone into battery saving mode.
She stalled, looking at the text window. “Lost at sea,” she finally typed. “Boat exploded. Contact Bastian.”
Her life had certainly taken a surreal turn.
After a moment of thought, she added, “He’s the lifeguard.” She added the emoticon of a dragon impulsively.
The phone registered them as sent, then viewed, and Laura waited, tensely, for the reply.
Nothing happened.
The bar of signal flickered out and then returned.
She let the screen go to sleep to save the battery life, and settled into Tex’s careful embrace. The dark water lapped around them, and the bow of the boat dipped and ebbed in the swells that even Laura’s night vision could barely make out.
Chapter 24
As far as being lost at sea went, Tex thought that things could have been worse.
It was a warm night, and they seemed fairly stable on the shard of decking that had survived the explosion. After a short time, the moon, half full, rose to cast a silver-blue sheen over everything.
“I don’t think Fred is going to answer,” Laura said, puzzled. “I… guess I should call the… what are they called here? Is it 9-1-1?”
“It’s 9-1-1,” Tex assured her. “And they have an English support line. It’s the Civil Guard, they have a coast guard division. Are you sure he saw it? The Mr. Shifter final awards are tonight, so maybe he didn’t hear the phone ring.”
Laura shrugged under his arm. “The phone says he did. I don’t know why it would say he had, if he hadn’t.” She opened the phone to show him, and nearly dropped it as the sliver of boat took an unexpected lurch.
She squeaked and grabbed it hard, and Tex watched the line of texts spin backwards as her finger slid across the touchscreen. She started to scroll forward again, and slowed down, reading the backchat.
“What is it?” Tex asked, feeling her stiffen.
“This… this conversation. Fred and Jenny.” Laura’s voice caught in her throat.
Tex tried to guess why it was making her sound so strangled. “Were they having an affair?”
“Ew, no! He was a friend of our dad’s! But…”
She let her breath out in a rush and sucked it back in. “He knew that Jenny was planning to use my car, and that she wouldn’t be at work that morning. She texted and let him know, and even said he’d be by to pick up a package before she left. I slept through all that… but… he knew. He knew I wasn’t Jenny. This whole time, he’s known I wasn’t Jenny.”
“That’s a little… odd,” Tex agreed.
“He could have tampered with my car,” Laura said softly. “He’s good with electronics, I bet he could have done something to make it go off that curve and look like an accident. He could have rigged at bomb on my laptop, too. And the boat.”
Tex had to unclench his fists, consumed with protective rage. “Why would he want you dead?”
Laura gave a hiccup of laughter and shrugged. “He’s the closest thing to family we have. Had. I thought we could trust him. I was this close to telling him who I was, about a hundred times on this trip. The only reason I hadn’t is that I was afraid he would be terrible about keeping a secret, he’s so trusting and honest.” She snorted. “I guess he was better