Free Barbara Silkstone - Wendy Darlin 01 - Wendy and the Lost Boys by Barbara Silkstone Page B

stretched his lean frame the length of the bed.
    Settling into the armchair nearest the bed, I spoke in a whisper. “Guys, think with me a minute.”
    “Why are you whispering?” Kit asked.
    “I have a feeling my room might be bugged. With all the technology Hook uses, why not one more gadget?”
    Roger sat next to Kit and leaned into the chat. “What have you got in mind?”
    “Hook refuses to put us ashore. Maybe we can solve Marni’s murder before we escape. As long as we’re stuck here, we need to find out what we can.”
    “How?” Kit asked.
    “I’ll take Jax up on her offer to teach me to fly the chopper. Maybe I can get her to open up. She’s hiding something.”
    “How do you know?” Roger said.
    “Women know these things.” I lowered my voice even more. “We’ll operate on the theory that Marni was poisoned. Roger, can you use your medic training – such as it is – to see if any of the crew has symptoms of radiation poisoning?”
    “No problem.”
    I looked at Kit. “Chef Roscoe would be the likeliest person to put poison in food. He had access. That scares the bees out of me. Makes us all vulnerable. Can you use your gourmet lingo to get close to him?”
    “I’ll try. I just won’t sample the sauces. This is so exciting, all of us working together like the A-Team, except we’re Darlin’s Dudes.”
    Roger shook his head. “I’m so humiliated.”
    I saw a smile slip onto a corner of his mouth. “No you’re not. You’re enjoying this. Now get out of my room. I shoved their muscular bodies out the door and snapped the lock. If I didn’t get some sleep, I wouldn’t be up to the task – whatever the task was. I threw myself on the smelly sheets and tried to nap.

Chapter Nineteen
    I slept through lunch. It felt good. I found Darlin’s Dudes ready for dinner on the upper deck. We waited for Jaxbee to join us. Unfortunately Hook came with her.
    Roscoe set out plates of pasta with tiny shrimp. We waited until Hook swallowed the first few mouthfuls. He didn’t keel over. The Dudes and I exchanged all-clear winks and dove into our dinner. I was starving.
    Jaxbee sat next to me with Kit beside her.
    “I’ve thought about those helicopter lessons. I’d like to give it a try as long as you’re still willing,” I said.
    “Good. It’ll be fun. Dale can take the bridge while I hold classes.”
    I excused myself, claiming a headache. I just didn’t feel like being sociable. I carried a doggy bag of shrimp for Tinkerbelle. She was all over me when I got to my room. I put the food in a tiny dish and filled her water bowl. The pup inhaled the shrimp almost without chewing. I spread some towels on the floor, knowing she’d be sick during the night.
    Two deaths on one yacht had my paranoia strings humming. After checking my suite for lurkers and listeners, I wedged a chair against the door. Carrying my blanket and pillows I went into the bathroom, locked that door, and climbed into the tub.
    Sometime during the night, Tink started to whimper and scratch at the door. I let her in and we huddled together till daybreak.

Chapter Twenty
    The next morning, after I returned from walking Tinkerbelle, there was a banging on the door of my suite. As I ran from the bathroom to the door, it occurred to me that my stateroom was larger than my entire condo in Miami.
    It was Jaxbee. “Hi, student! Are you ready?” she said. “It’s time for me to do my recon, and you can have a helicopter lesson at the same time.”
    “Recon?”
    “I go up and scout the seas. See if we’re being followed,” she smiled.
    “Okay. Let me drop Tink with Kit. He can dog-sit.”
    I grabbed the dog and my sunglasses and followed Jaxbee. She stepped across the corridor, banged on Kit’s door, passed the dog to him, and said, “Here, hold this.” The pup covered his bewildered face with kisses.
    Jaxbee led the way to the helideck. Standing there I was hit with a wave of vertigo. It was either nerves or I’d become