Page 30 of Controlled Chaos

Chapter 17

The young woman’sbrows dipped. There was a skull and bones tattoo on her arm. “I didn’t steal your stuff, lady. I don’t even know you.”

I rose. “Normally, I’d be second-guessing whether I picked the right person, considering there are a ton of people on this island.” I sighed and tossed the napkin across the table. “Your mistake was opening the paper stashed in the suitcase. Those imaginary bees can be annoying.”

I gestured to the paper. “If you want them to go away, you can open that note when I leave the building. That should be far enough away for the symbol to work on you. Not a minute before.”

The girl’s scowl deepened and one of the directors glanced in our direction. “Return my things. This is the only time I’m going to ask.”

The girl rose from her seat. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. When she stood, she was a good four inches over my five-foot-six stature. This chick wouldn’t even be able to wear my clothes. She towered over me and probably intimidated a lot of people. Watching her swat away at imaginary bugs, I couldn’t hide my smirk.

“I didn’t take your things,” she growled out.

“If you didn’t, then you know who did,” I said and spun on my heels.

I walked across the room where Porter was waiting for me. He took my hand as I approached, and we headed outside. “What was all that about?”

“We were discussing my favorite pair of jeans,” I answered. “And if I’m lucky, they may be returned soon.”

“Really? Was she the one that took them? If so, we should tell Thaddeus.”

“Not yet,” I said. “So where are we headed?”

Porter dangled the keys in his clutches. “We have wheels. I’m going to show you around the island so we can get a feel for what happened to Katerina when she arrived.”

“Fabulous.” I grinned and slid into the golf cart, which had wheels that looked like they could go off-road. All of the people I’d met so far reminded me of those in a cult, watching and whispering among themselves. Several watched us until we pulled out of view.

He drove the same route we’d taken when we arrived, passing the area that had been torn down to make way for the new building.

“So why did you join the FBI?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “But I was a bit surprised by the intense background check they did on me. Thaddeus said agents visited the island to talk to him about my youth.”

“Your drug issue didn’t ruin your prospects?”

“I would have thought so, but I’d put in the time and haven’t relapsed, and my mother claimed that Thaddeus gave me a glowing review. I’m not sure what part of that put me over the top,” he answered. “I’d like to think that it was my problem-solving skills that did it.”

I mulled his answer over. Maybe what put him over the top had more to do with his abilities than anything else. I’d bet money that someone, somewhere knew something before they gave him the green light and offered him the job.

“What about you?” he asked, glancing in my direction as he pulled up to the dock where the ferry had dropped us off. “Why did you join my brother-in-law’s team?”

“George Fillpot offered excitement and adventure, but really, I joined just to get away from my brothers,” I said, climbing out of the golf cart.

“They can’t be that bad.” Porter chuckled as he followed me down the dock.

“They are.”

The sun glaring off the water was blinding. The cool breeze from the ocean tickled my skin through the lightweight fabric. I used my hand to shield my eyes, wishing I’d brought a pair of sunglasses.

The water wasn’t Caribbean blue, where you could see all the way to the seafloor, and it wasn’t even like Florida water with a pretty bluish-green color. This stuff was dark and gloomy where the waves were beating against the pier.

“Does the water always look like mud?” I asked when he reached my side.

“Only on this side of the island,” Porter answered. “Most patients arrive via a ferry that makes a single trip a day at two in the afternoon. If you miss it, you’re screwed unless, of course, Thaddeus will let you use the helicopter or his personal plane. He’s never come close to telling me yes, so this is practically the only way onto the island.”

I turned my gaze out to sea. In the distance, I could see the shore and the skyline of the buildings beyond. It would be too far to swim, assuming the person trying would ever make it out past the waves. The draw of freedom so close and yet so far away had probably taken a life or two.

“Are you sure Katerina didn’t try swimming to shore and just get eaten by a shark or something. It might explain why you only found a few body parts. I don’t think the currents would have carried her body all the way back to the mainland, but have you checked the tide and water current calculations?”

---