Free Dead in the Water by Robin Stevenson Page B

meet her eyes. “Look,” he said. He hesitated, clearing his throat. “Look,you guys got yourselves into this situation. I did my best to keep you away, didn’t I? I warned you not to interfere.”
    I tried to catch Olivia’s eyes. She looked at me, her eyes shiny with tears. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
    I shook my head, trying to tell her it wasn’t her fault. Play for time, I thought, wishing she could read my mind. Keep them talking.
    She seemed to have the same idea. “Patrick...you don’t really want to do this, do you? I mean, you’re not a killer.”
    â€œPatrick is a lot smarter than you. He knows when to butt out.” Victor laughed. “Besides, we keep him supplied with more than abalone.”
    Drugs, I thought. I’d been right about Victor being high. I’d bet if we had a chance to look around the boat a bit more, we’d find some bags of white powder hidden away. If these guys were dealing drugs too, they had one more reason to avoid being caught.
    I desperately needed to breathe. I was starting to feel dizzy and sitting here, half-suffocating, was unbearable. I tried not tomove but I couldn’t help it. I jerked forward, and my hands slipped off the VHF .
    There was a loud burst of static, and everyone froze for a second. Keith lunged forward and threw me off the bench onto the cockpit floor. I lay there, unable to move, unable to breathe, staring up at Olivia and hoping she could tell somehow that I was in real trouble.
    â€œWhat the hell?” Keith hissed. “Did you turn this on? Because it’s not gonna do you much good with your mouth taped shut.”
    â€œTie up the girl,” Victor said. “We can just dump them both overboard.”
    Keith pulled Olivia to her feet, yanked her arms behind her back and wrapped them with duct tape. This is it, I thought hopelessly. We were both going to be killed, and there was nothing I could do about it. I was as helpless as the damn abalone.
    â€œYou can’t dump them here,” Patrick pointed out. “There’ll be a search, and if they find them tied up...”
    I couldn’t believe he was talking about it so calmly.
    â€œHe’s right,” Keith said. “It’d be better if it looked like they died of natural causes.” His face lit up. “Or an overdose.”
    Victor nodded, a satisfied smirk curling his lips. “That’s perfect. Everyone will think they just snuck away from the sailboat to get high.” He headed into the cabin.
    Keith followed him, turning to talk to Patrick over his shoulder. “Keep an eye on them. We’ll just get the stuff.”
    My mouth was full of blood and I kept swallowing, terrified that I was going to choke. I wondered if my parents would believe that I’d overdosed. They knew I didn’t use drugs. But maybe they’d just figure I hadn’t been honest with them. It wasn’t like we were all that close. I wished I had a chance to tell them...to tell them...Everything was starting to go black.
    â€œLook,” Patrick said, “I’m sorry about this. I mean, I never wanted you guys to get hurt but...”
    Then I heard another voice. “Get in the cabin,” it said. I twisted my head around and struggled to see. Without my glasses,everything was a blur, but I could see Patrick standing by the cabin door. “He’s got a gun,” he yelled and dove into the cabin.
    I heard the cabin door slamming shut behind him. A gun? Who? Nothing made sense. Then cold water was dripping all over me, and someone was ripping the duct tape off my mouth. I took a loud heaving gulp of air, and another and another. My chest hurt, but it was the best feeling ever.
    â€œCome on, man,” Joey said. “Get up.” He was standing over me, soaking wet. I’d never in my life been so glad to see anyone.
    â€œWhat...what...,” I gasped, trying to stand, my hands