Page 24 of Murder Island
When he got close to shore, he shut off the engine and tossed a line to a girl on the dock. Then he grabbed on to a wooden ladder and climbed out of the boat.
Everybody in the hut quieted down as he walked up the beach toward us.
He was in his thirties, wearing a white tropical suit. I felt a small flutter of hope. A detective? A lawyer?
Whoever he was, he suddenly looked like my best chance of staying alive.
When he reached the open side of the shed, the elders stood up. Everybody else in the room gave a nod of respect. Good sign, I thought. The man stepped in and took a long look at the bloody cutlass on the table. Then he walked over and stopped right in front of me. He folded his hands over his belt.
“Hello,” he said. “My name is Aaron Vail.”
“You speak English! Thank God! Who are you? Who sent you?”
“Never mind who sent me. I’m a local island magistrate. I deal with the indigenous populations, distributing aid, resolving disputes, making sure justice is done.”
“You know these people? Tell them I’m innocent! Get me out of these chains!”
He looked around the hut, then back at me. “You mean so you can look for the real killer? Like O.J.?”
He spoke slowly and precisely, like he had all the time in the world. I was getting a strange feeling in my gut. Then he smiled. A sick, unsettling smile. The same smile I’d seen from the assassins in Chicago. That’s the moment I knew thateverybodyon the island wanted me dead.
Including him.
Vail turned to the elders and spoke a few quick phrasesin their language. The elders nodded slowly and muttered to one another.
I twisted against the chains. “What did you say? What did you tell them?”
Vail turned back toward me and leaned in close. “I warned them to keep you properly restrained.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the spittle off my face. “I informed them that you have a history of escapes, Doctor Savage.”
CHAPTER 28
KIRA WAS TIED to a pipe that ran up the inside wall of the yacht’s glass-enclosed bridge. Her brain was sharper now, and she was taking everything in. The small dark-haired woman had tied the knots while the pale man with the captain’s braids on his jacket stood by and watched.
“Tie her tight,” he said. “She’s drugged, but she’s still dangerous.”
“Who are you?” Kira asked. “Where’s Doc?” She could feel the slight slur in her words.
The captain ignored her. Instead, he tapped his young assistant on the back. “Lial,” he said. “Time to go.”
“Wait! Not yet!” the young woman said, looking straight at Kira. “Let me do the interrogation.” Her eyes were dark and cold.
“No,” the captain replied. “Your ride is waiting.”
It was clear that the young woman didn’t want to leave, but it didn’t seem like she had a choice. Kira looked out through the window toward the stern of the ship. The rotors on the chopper that had brought her were still spinning, and two men were waiting near the cockpit door.
The young woman stepped back. She stared at the captain for a few seconds, then looked back at Kira. Then she grabbed a backpack and walked out the door. Kira could hear her footsteps as she descended a metal stairway to the deck.
As soon as she left, the pale man stepped forward to test the ropes around Kira’s torso. She could feel his knuckles against her ribs as he tugged.
“Don’t worry. She did a professional job,” said Kira. “Lial. That was her name, right? Algerian?”
“Good guess, Ms. Sunlight.” He stepped back.
“I observed that she never usedyourname.”
The man leaned against the console and folded his arms. Slight as he was, he had a definite air of command. Kira could tell that he was accustomed to making decisions and giving orders.
“My name is Cal Savage,” he said. “Cal Savage the Fourth.”