Orchid Blues (Holly Barker 2)

Ham lay on his side, staring at the boat. He lay that way for better than half an hour, then he saw a movement in the boat, and a figure sat up. There, in the moonlight, was Holly.

"Oh, shit," Ham said aloud.

Holly was on one of the boat's seats now.

Ham stood up and waved her off. "Get out of here,"

he whispered loudly. "Go on, get out." He hoped his voice would carry over the water. Then he saw her arm go back, and she threw something. It arced high, then fell into the water, about ten yards out. Ham immediately marked the spot, taking a reference line from the corner of the bunkhouse through the spot where he stood. He bent down, found a good-sized rock and marked his position with it.

"Get out of here," he whispered hoarsely, waving her off.

She moved forward in the dinghy again, keeping low, and slowly, the dinghy turned and started moving toward the eastern shore of the lake.

Ham lay down again and pulled the blanket over himself.

When he woke up, the sun was rising and he was sore all over. It had been a long time since he had slept on the ground, and it didn't agree with his aging bones. He stood up and looked out at the lake. The dinghy was gone, to his relief, and a northerly breeze had sprung up. He heard a door behind him slam.

"You awake?" Jimmy called out.

"Yeah."

Jimmy came down to the water's edge and stood beside Ham. "What happened to the dinghy?"

"A breeze came up during the night," Ham replied. "I guess it blew away."

"Was there anything fishy about it?"

"Nah, it was just an empty dinghy. Somebody didn't tie it up good, I guess."

"I guess. You want some breakfast?"

"In a minute; I'm just enjoying the sunrise." Jimmy left him there, and Ham kept looking out at the lake. He saw Holly paddle away.

Holly and Harry stopped at a roadside restaurant west of Orchid Beach and were having breakfast.

"How the hell is Ham going to get the phone, if you threw it in the lake?" Harry asked.

"I didn't throw it in the lake on purpose, Harry," Holly replied. "I was in an awkward position in the dinghy, and it didn't go as far as it was supposed to. Don't worry, Ham will get it. I saw him mark the position, and it won't be hard to find. The water's probably only three or four feet deep there."

"You almost got your ass caught, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't. Somebody in the barracks woke up and came outside. Ham dealt with it. I waited until he was back inside for half an hour before I got out of there. And the wind helped me get back."

"You know how much that telephone cost?" Harry demanded.

"No, and neither do you, Harry. Now get off my back and eat your breakfast."

Harry took out his new, scrambled cell phone and called the house. "What's up?" he asked, when Eddie answered.

"Nothing all night. I guess they slept soundly. There are people in the house now, so I guess they're having breakfast."

"We'll be back in an hour or so." Harry punched off and hinted to Holly. "You're sure the phone won't get wet?"

"Harry, it was in a sealed plastic bag. Now shut up about it and eat your breakfast."

"I don't suppose you thought to check the signal strength on the phone."

"I did, and it was dodgy-only two bars on the display."