Her Private Dic

TEN

Josh rattled the chain securing the gates at Key Biscayne Marina before he pivoted and walked back to his car. He'd have been shocked if the gates were unlocked, but he never assumed anything.

"I told you we didn't have to leave so Goddamn early," Hazen grumbled as he settled back into the Accord to wait.

He smiled as he pulled his coffee from the center cup holder. He'd learned this morning that Hazen wasn't a morning person. "Yeah, okay, but I told you last night that we needed to be here before the boats go out."

"I know, but four-fucking-thirty should only come once a day."

He couldn't stop his snicker. "I don't know why you're bitching. I was up before that," he teased as he sipped from his cup.

"Yeah, well, I didn't know you were a masochist when I hired you."

"It was your idea to come. Most clients skip this part of the job."

She sipped from her cup. "Maybe next time I'll listen when you ask me if I'm sure want to do something."

He grinned as he stared out of the windshield. "If you want to try to get some sleep, I'll wake you when they unlock the gates."

"No," she murmured. "I wouldn't want you to think less of me than you already do after I went to sleep on the stakeout last night."

He started to protest, but then he saw her smile before she turned to look out of her side window. "Don't worry about it. You're just getting started. I had three tours in the Marines to teach me patience."

He smiled when she grunted and sipped her coffee. Despite her words, she was sleeping when a man arrived and unlocked the gates blocking foot traffic to the marina. He watched as the man unlocked the padlocked chain before opening the two wide gates and latching them to a pair of posts with a short chain to prevent them from swinging shut. Smiling in anticipation of her reaction, he touched her on the leg as the man worked.

"Hazen?"

"What?" she murmured.

"The gates are open."

She was quiet for a moment. "Shit. Did I go to sleep?"

"Yeah," he said quietly, trying, but failing, to stop his smile.

"Goddammit. For how long?"

"Not long. About thirty minutes."

"Shit..." she breathed as she scrubbed at her eyes and yawned.

Snickering as she rubbed her eyes, he opened his door. "Let's go."

She was a little slower getting out of the car as she struggled awake, but after a moment, she appeared. The moment her door shut, he locked his car. She followed him as he hurried through the gates, giving chase to the man.

"Excuse me!" Josh called. The man stopped, and turned to face them.

"You looking for a charter?" the weathered man asked as they approached.

"Maybe, but information first. We're looking for her brother. His wallet was found near here. Have you seen this man?" Josh asked, handing the man one of the pictures of Koda.

The man looked at it briefly before handing it back. "Can't say that I have, but there's a lot of people coming and going out of here. How long has he been gone?"

"About a week," Hazen said. "He didn't report for duty a week ago today."

"He's AWOL?"

"Yes, but I think he's in trouble. It's not like him to do something like this."

"He's in a tough spot. If he's not in trouble, he's gonna be. "

"Yeah. Talk about your mixed emotions."

"Well, good luck with your search. A lot of captains will be straggling in here over the next hour or so. Maybe one of them saw your brother."

"Thank you for your time, Captain," Josh said, offering the man his hand.

The man shook Josh's hand before he turned and continued down the jetty before boarding a pristine white and red boat about halfway down on the left.

"Lot of boats," she said softly while looking around.

"That's good. The more people, the better the chance someone saw him."

"That's what I like about you... your positive attitude."

-oOo-

Hazen's feet were tired and her back hurt from standing still, not to mention she was tired of people telling them they haven't seen Koda. They'd been showing Koda's picture to everyone who'd passed for almost three hours. Most were pleasant, but a few were just assholes. She watched as Josh chatted up another man, acting like he was having a good time and could do this all day. Maybe he was having a good time and could this all day, but she was feeling discouraged.

"I might have seen him. You say a week ago?" Hazen started paying attention as man's words penetrated her thoughts.

"That's right... give or take a day," Josh replied.

The man appeared to be in his seventies, and was weather beaten like many of the captains they'd spoken to, but he spoke with authority and confidence.

"I can't be sure, but I was getting ready to go out when these four guys walked up to the boat berthed next to me. Pleasant enough guys, but this guy," the man said, thumping the photo with a finger, "was acting strange."

"Strange? How?" Hazen as ked

"Like he was sick or something. His head was down, and he had his hands in his pockets. I remember thinking he looked like I felt when I had the flu back in the winter. I felt sorry for the poor bastard. Nothing worse than being on a boat when you're already sick."

"Could he have been nervous? Shy maybe?" she asked, her excitement clear in her voice.

"I suppose. Not much to be nervous or shy about around here though."

"That the agoraphobia!" she said as she grabbed Josh's arm.

"Agoraphobia? What's that?"

Josh extended his hand. "Josh Stallard. May we talk to you?"

"Charlie Fellows," the man said, grasping Josh's hand. "Sure. Follow me."

Josh and Hazen followed Charlie down to his boat, berthed near the end of the jetty on the right side.

"Do you always berth down here on the end?" Josh asked as they stepped aboard a sparkling, teal and white, 75-foot dive boat.

"Yeah. My berth is reserved. People know me and know where I berth, so I don't have to compete too much for the walk-up traffic."

"Captain Fellows..." Josh began.

"Just call me Charlie. I had enough of that rank shit in the Navy."

"Okay, Charlie," Josh said with a grin. "This is Hazen Allen. Her brother went missing about a week ago. He serves on the Pennsylvania, and he didn't report for duty."

"He serves on a boomer? Not like those guys to go apeshit."

"I know. We tracked him to here, where someone found his wallet."

"You said he has agoraphobia? What's that?"

"The fear of the unknown. Strange places. Stuff like that. Koda, that's my brother, he isn't crippled with it, but he wouldn't like being here since he's never been here before and there's a lot of activity. The way you described him, all hunched up, hands in his pockets, staring at the ground, that's how he acts when he's uncomfortable."

Charlie seemed to think it over. "Yeah, that pretty much describes how he was acting. So, if he didn't want to be here, what's he doing here, and AWOL to boot?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Josh said.

"Are you with the Navy or a cop?"

"Neither. A private investigator hired by her to find her brother," he said with a jerk of his head to Hazen.

"You're a private investigator? Like that Magnum PI dude?"

Josh grinned. "Yeah, just like him... except I drive a Honda and I live in an apartment in Virginia. Any idea where they might have gone?"

Charlie nodded once. "Oddly enough, I do. They boarded the boat right next to us and I followed them out. I talked to them a little as I we got ready to get underway. They said they worked for some outfit testing a new type of sounding device. I was interested until I found out it was more for surveying and dredging than anything else."

"Sounding device?" Hazen asked.

"Yeah. It's kind of like the sonar on the sub your brother serves on."

"Oh my God! Koda is a sonar guy, technician, whatever they call them!"

Josh looked at her. "What the hell? Koda went AWOL for a

job

?"

"He wouldn't do that! Something else is going on, I just know it!"

Josh turned back to Charlie. "You say you know which way they went?"

"More or less. We both turned down toward the keys. I do a lot of charter dives on the wrecks there. They went farther out, but yeah, I know, more or less, where they went."

Josh looked at Hazen. "Let's do it," she said without hesitation.

"Are you available for charter?" Josh asked.

"When?"

"Right now."

"Just the two of you? For the day? It'll be expensive."

"Name your price. I'll have the cash as soon as I can get to a bank."

Charlie grinned. "I normally get eleven hundred for a day trip with two dives. But since we're going to be cruising, I'll do it for eight hundred, but you have to buy the fuel."

"Done. Will you take a credit card or a check, or tell me where the nearest Bank of America branch is?"

Charlie chuckled. "For you, Hazen wasn't it, I'll take a check. You'll pay for the fuel when we get back. The marina will take your credit card."

Hazen dug in her purse a moment before pulling out her checkbook. "Who do I make it out too?"

"She's a real go getter isn't she?" Charlie said, smiling at Josh. "Fellows Charters."

"You have no idea," Josh grinned, turning his back to her so she'd have something to write on.

-oOo-

Less than ten minutes after Hazen handed Charlie her check, they were slowly puttering out to open water on the

Jolly Fellows

. Once out of the speed restricted zone, Charlie opened the boat up and they begin to pound south along the Florida coast. She was nearly giddy. She didn't know what Koda had gotten mixed up in, but just knowing he was probably alive sent her emotions soaring, especially when Charlie invited her and Josh to ride with him on the flybridge, offering her a breathtaking view of the coast and ocean. As Josh and Charlie talked about the boat's engines, horsepower, speed, and other details she couldn't care less about, she watched the boat traffic and enjoyed the wind in her face.

"How are you doing?" Josh murmured into her ear as the powerful boat stormed across the water.

"Great! Just knowing Koda's alive makes me want to scream. I can't believe we're actually going to find him!"

"I thought you believed that all along?"

She smiled. "I think I was just trying to convince myself, but why would they drag him all the way down here, and out to sea, just to kill him. No. Koda's alive. Now we just have to find this boat."

"The ocean is a big place."

"Yeah, and if I have to search every square inch of it, I will. Don't be a party pooper."

Josh snickered. She was more vibrant and alive than he'd ever seen her, and her enthusiasm was infecting him. "I'll help. We'll look until we find him, okay?"

"I knew I could count on you."

-oOo-

"We're going to have to go back soon," Charlie said after more than six hours of zigging this way and that, following up on every large radar contact.

"So soon?" Hazen asked, trying to hide her disappointment. She'd thought she was hiring the boat for the entire day.

"It's not the time, it's the fuel. Those Detroit's are exactly the most fuel-efficient things in the world. There's one more contact we can check out, but then we'll have to head back or we'll have to swim home. If you want to come out again tomorrow, we can. We won't do so much weaving since we've checked all the likely contacts between here and Key Biscayne. We'll be able to go farther out tomorrow."

"Oh... okay," she said, feeling less like she was being cheated.

They rode for another ten minutes, the

Jolly Fellows

roaring by a much larger ship anchored in place. "That's it!" Charlie said, never slowing or changing course.

"What is?" Josh asked.

"See that 40-footer tied off to the dredger? I'm pretty sure that's the boat. I can't be sure unless I get closer, but if I do that it's going to raise some suspicions."

"Just keep going. Is there a wreck near here where we can stop without raising any eyebrows?"

Charlie punched up some coordinates on the boat's GPS. "Yeah, about seven miles on."

"Let's stop there and watch for a while."

"Seven miles!" Hazen said. "That's not very close."

"Close as we can get... besides, seven miles at sea isn't like seven miles inland," Charlie said as he adjusted their course slightly.

After what seemed like a long time to her, Charlie pulled the throttles back and the

Jolly Fellows

engines dropped from their muted roar to a barely audible burble before falling silent.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Got some glasses?" Josh asked.

Charlie handed Josh a pair of heavy binoculars before turning to the ladder. "Got to get rid of some of that coffee," he said as he skimmed down the ladder, barely touching the treads. A short time later he reappeared, coming up the ladder with a beer in his hand. "You guys want something to drink? You need to stay hydrated."

She grinned that he was lecturing them on staying hydrated while he drank a beer. "See anything?"

"No. We're too far away to be able to see much. But they're certainly busy over there."

"Busy?" Charlie asked, setting his beer on the control console before taking the glasses from Josh.

He watched through the glasses for a long moment before handing them back to Josh. "I wonder..." Charlie mumbled as he stepped to the control panel and punched at the GPS. "I wonder if they've found another wreck? They're not over any known wreck."

"A shipwreck?" she asked.

"Oh yeah. The place is littered with them. Especially Spanish ships. A lot of ships went down around here in 1733, in a hurricane. Part of the Spanish plate fleet. Fucking treasure hunters." Josh looked at Charlie in confusion. "They changed the laws in the late eighties," Charlie explained. "Now you can't salvage a wreck if you find one. The damned treasure hunters were digging up the whole fucking ocean. Not only were they dredging up a lot of history, but they were also ruining it for everyone else. I bring charters out here to dive on these wrecks. If they dig them all up and haul the stuff away, I have nothing for my customers to see except fish. I bet those bastards have found one and are salvaging it right now."

"Why would they need Koda for that?" she asked.

"A guy that's good at reading sonar can tell them where to salvage. Saves a lot of time and money. And the Navy... they have the best operators in the world."

"I'll be damned," Josh growled as the pieces finally fell into palace. Now the only question was... was Koda here of his own free will or not?

"We should report them!" Hazen exclaimed.

"We need some proof. If they were over a known wreck that might be enough to get someone out here to look, but as far as anyone knows, they're squatting over an empty section of ocean. No law against that."

"Let's hang around for a while. Can you put out some drive markers or something so it looks like we're diving? Then we'll head back in. How close can we come to the ship without raising suspicion if we just motor by?"

"Pretty close, why?"

"I want to get a name off the ship and see what I can find out."

Charlie smiled, obviously relishing the idea of ruining someone's day. "I think we can do that."

-oOo-

The sun was low in the sky as Charlie backed the

Jolly Fellows

into its berth. Hazen had spent nearly three thousand dollars for the boat and fuel, but she was on cloud nine. On their return trip to the marina, they'd gotten the dredger's location data from Charlie. She and Josh were going to find out what they could about the dredger and report their suspected illegal activities to the state of Florida. With any luck, Koda would be free in a couple of days.

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you Captain Charlie," Hazen said, shaking his hand warmly before giving him a hug. "Thank you so much for your help."

Charlie grinned and looked slightly embarrassed. "I almost hate to take your money. Almost."

She giggled. Her family could afford it, and if it got Koda back, it was worth every penny she'd spent.

"Thank you, Charlie. I'll be in touch and let you know what we find," Josh said, also shaking Charlie's hand.

"If they're salvaging illegally, I hope you bust their asses."

"We're going to try."

Not wanting to embarrass him, she waited until they were at Josh's car before she leapt into his arms and kissed him lustily. "I knew we'd find him! I knew it!"

He accepted her kiss, holding her to his chest, gently swinging her back and forth as she squirmed in excitement and delight. "I never had any doubts," he said with exaggerated bravado.

"Uh-huh," she grunted before kissing him again. "Put me down!" she demanded while kicking her feet. "We're celebrating! Anywhere you want to go! Dinner is on me!"

He snickered. "All our dinners have been on you. "

"Okay, mister smarty pants, but this time you get to pick the place."

"How about that Cuban place again? I really liked it, and now that I know a little more about Cuban food, I'd like to try it again."

"Ooh!" she purred. "Great idea! They had a dance floor, and it's close to the hotel. We can go to the hotel, change, have dinner, and do some dancing," she said while moving to the salsa playing in her head.

He suddenly felt hot and flustered. "I don't know about the dancing," he murmured.

"Oh yes we are! You know how now. We'll keep it simple."

"Dancing in your room is a lot different than dancing in a crowd. "

"You're right... it's more fun dancing with other people around. Well, normally," she said with smile. "I had pretty good time in my room that night."

He grinned as he opened her door. "Yeah. So did I."

.

.

.

ELEVEN

"I didn't bring anything to wear for dancing," Hazen complained as she looked over her meager selection. The hotel had done their laundry today, but she had no dresses with her at all.

"Fine. We'll skip the dancing," Josh murmured as he stepped in close behind her and pulled her backwards into his chest.

She'd showered first, but her indecision over what to wear had delayed her getting dressed long enough for him to finish his shower. She was dressed in black bra and panties, Josh in his grey stretch boxers, as he pulled her back into his chest and kissed the back of her neck.

"Oh, no! You promised!"

"Did not," he murmured as he kissed down her neck, his hands slowly caressing her stomach just above her panties.

She sighed, enjoying the caress of his lips. "Stop it," she breathed. "We'll never get out of here of you keep that up."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No," she sighed as she tipped her head to the side to give his lips more room to roam despite her protests, "but I'm hungry."

"So am I," he rumbled as he cupped her breasts and began to gently massage them through her bra.

She groaned softly, his touch almost enough to change her mind about the dancing. "I mean for food, " she whispered.

"Oh."

"Stop!" she growled, her tone reproachful while spinning out of his embrace when he gently tweaked a nipple, but her smile put lie to her tone. "You're getting me all hot and bothered!"

"Then my plan is working perfectly," he slurred like a villain as he reached for her.

She twisted out of his reach. "Not now! Later... but you'd better be able to make good on the promises you're making. Dinner and dancing first, then something a little more... intimate... later. Deal?"

"Is that my only option?" he asked with a small smile, his voice back to normal.

"Yes."

"I guess I'm okay with it then."

She grinned. "Can I look through your stuff?"

"I guess. Why?"

"I told you. I don't have anything to wear dancing."

"And my clothes will help you... how?"

"Have a little faith." She looked through the clothes he'd brought with him. He had a much more varied selection, including a couple of dress shirts. She pulled out a butter yellow one and handed it to him before picking up a white one and holding it herself. "I'm going to borrow this, okay?"