Free Fatal Tide by Iris Johansen Page B

a perceptive woman you are.”
    And what an intriguing man he was, she thought. But that was okay. It didn’t surprise her that Kelby’s friend had sharp edges. Like to like. And she didn’t have to solve any puzzles right now. All she had to do was make it through Maria’s funeral and try to give some small comfort to her mother.
    Hold tight. Don’t free the grief and fury. Take one step at a time.
     
    “The Nemid woman attended the secretary’s funeral today,” Pennig said as soon as Archer picked up the phone. “There was no chance to get to her. Kelby was with her every minute, and she was surrounded by police and mourners.”
    “You kept your distance?”
    “Of course I did. She saw me in Athens. The bitch stared right at me. She could recognize me.”
    “That’s because you were clumsy. You should have been more careful.”
    “I was careful. I don’t know how she knew I was behind her.”
    “Instinct. It’s a quality you’re short on, Pennig. But you have other talents I admire. It’s those talents that I’ve tried to nurture. Though I was a little disappointed that you failed with Mulan after all I’ve taught you.”
    “I almost had her,” Pennig said quickly. “And she wasn’t easy. Sometimes the women are tougher.”
    “But you assured me she was broken or I’d never have let her phone Melis Nemid. That was a serious lack of judgment on your part.”
    “It won’t happen again.”
    “I know it won’t. Because I won’t permit it.”
    Pennig felt a ripple of anxiety that he quickly suppressed. “Do you want me to stay here? I don’t know how close I can get to her.”
    “Stay there for a little while. You never know when opportunity will knock. In the meantime I want you to find out everything you can about Kelby and any associates. Including his telephone number and where his boat is docked. Join me in Miami in two days if it’s a no-go there in Nassau. And don’t let anyone see you, dammit. Did your contacts in Miami find the two men I told you to line up?”
    “Yes, two Miami locals, Cobb and Dansk. Small-time, but they’ll do for surveillance of the island.”
    “I hope they won’t be necessary. I’d be exceedingly pleased if you were able to get to Melis Nemid there in Nassau.”
    Pennig was silent a moment. “And what do we do if I can’t?”
    “Why, I find a way to stab Melis Nemid where it hurts the most,” Archer said gently. “And I promise you that I won’t be as inefficient as you were with Carolyn Mulan.”
     
    So quick, Melis thought as she watched Carolyn’s ashes drift into the sea. Her final remains disappeared beneath the waves in seconds.
    Just in that short span, the last vestige of a life was gone. But she had left so much behind. Melis took the silver whistle Carolyn had given her, kissed it, and threw it into the sea.
    “What was that?” Kelby asked.
    “Carolyn gave it to me for luck when I brought the dolphins home.” She swallowed. “It was too pretty to use, but I always carried it with me.”
    “Don’t you want to keep it?”
    She shook her head. “I want her to have it. She’d know what it meant to me.”
    “Bastards.”
    She turned to see Ben Drake, Carolyn’s ex-husband, standing beside her, staring over the rail of the cruiser into the water. His eyes were bloodshot and moist with unshed tears.
    “Sons of bitches. Why the hell would anyone—” He turned away and pushed his way through the crowd to the other side of the cruiser.
    “You were right, he’s taking it bad.” Kelby gazed around the deck at the mourners. “She had a lot of friends.”
    “If they’d let everyone on board who wanted to come, they’d have sunk the ship.” Melis looked back at the water. “She was very special.”
    “It’s pretty clear everyone thought so.” Several minutes passed and the cruiser had turned around and was going back to dock before he spoke again. “What now?” Kelby asked quietly. “You said everything was on hold until the