Page 42 of Shark Cove

“I just think Mr. William’s in the middle of whatever’s going on, and I want to check him out,” Malia whispered. A nearby dog burst into barking. Malia jumped, crashing into Blake and clutching his hand tighter. “Let’s hurry.”

The marina was a small area of densely packed slips adjacent to a long stone jetty that blocked the surf and sea. A small, worn park facility, studded with palms, was rendered spooky by darkness. A tiny breeze strummed the lines of the tied-up boats, and the strange squeaks and moans of metal, wood and fiberglass rubbing against each other made Malia squeeze Blake’s hand again. The floating traffic areas between the moored boats looked open and vulnerable.

“Everything seems so different at night.” Malia hung back as Blake set foot on the dock. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.”

“Too late now. We have to find where the boat is tied up,” Blake whispered.

They walked as quickly and quietly as they could up and down the aisles of boats, scanning the sides and sterns for names. Most of the craft were completely dark, but a few still had security lights on. “Look for a big yacht,” Malia whispered.

“Still don’t see anyMoonlit Mermaid.”

Finally, near the end of the last row, they spotted her. At least fifteen feet in height from up off the dock, the yacht was almost too big to tie up. Malia and Blake both jumped when a harsh voice yelled at them from the ship. “What are you doing out here? This is a private area!”

Malia clutched Blake. The nervous tremble in her voice was authentic as she called, “We’re looking for friends. We heard there was a party on a boat out here?”

“No party. You kids get lost!”

Malia gasped at the sight of security lights gleaming on a rifle in the arms of a man clad in black on the deck of theMermaid.

She turned and ran, and Blake wasn’t far behind. They clattered down the planking toward shore. Malia ran into the park and ducked behind the small cinder block bathroom. Her heart was thundering like a taiko drum as Blake joined her in the shadow.

“You’re really fast when you want to be,” Blake said. “You should go out for track.”

“Did you see the gun that guy was carrying?”

“Yeah.”

“An armed guard? Seriously, on Maui? Leonard William is hiding something!”

“And I think we’ve established that we aren’t going to be getting aboard that boat anytime soon,” Blake said.

“I know. But we should wait a little, see if anything else happens. Do you think they can see us over here?”

“Doubtful. Even less likely that we can see anything going on over there.”

That seemed to be negated as the yacht suddenly lit up with floodlights.

Once their eyes had adjusted to the bright halogen lamps, Malia recognized Regina William’s silver-blonde hair moving down the dock. Camille’s dad walked by her side, his white mane backlit.

Malia frowned; Camille had said the two hated each other.

“Just a couple of kids,” they heard Leonard say, amplified by the surface of the harbor’s water. “You can stay, Regina.”

“No, I have to get home.” Regina William’s voice sounded strained. He walked her to the end of the dock, the guard following with his gun, and then Leonard William did something unexpected: he leaned down to kiss his ex-wife’s cheek.

“Hang in there,” he told her. “Matthew will walk you to your car.”

Malia and Blake shrank into the dark against the back of the bathroom’s wall as Regina William, followed by the armed man, passed by. Leonard returned to the yacht, while Ms. William walked to the parking lot and got into her SUV.

Malia and Blake stayed frozen until the guard who’d followed her went back to theMermaid,his footsteps hollow thunder on the wood of the dock.

The bright lights went out.

Only then did the two hurry away. Back in Blake’s car, Malia put her hand over her heart, only now settling back to normal. “That was way too close.”

“Agreed.”

“Don’t you think it’s weird that Camille’s parents are together? From what Camille told me, they hate each other. Like, really hate each other. And then he kissed her on the cheek!”

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