Part 32 (2/2)

”Okay, so if we're not crusading, and me sticking my head underwater isn't a really good idea, what did you have in mind for today?” Kerry asked after a few minutes of peaceful munching.

”Shopping?”

A nice quiet stroll through some of the eclectic shops of St. Thomas?

Dar suddenly found that appealing, if for no other reason than that it provided an activity they could do that wouldn't compromise Kerry's health. ”All right,” she agreed. ”When we're done with breakfast, I'll run up and tell Bud and Charlie so long, and we'll head out.”

”Ooh...you're letting me take you shopping on your birthday.

You're in so much trouble, Paladar,” Kerry chortled, crunching a piece of bacon between her teeth. ”I'm going to spoil you to within an inch of your life.”

”Uh oh.” Dar covered her eyes. ”What have I gotten myself into?”

”Heh.”*195 DAR STROLLED UP the beach toward Bud and Charlie's place, feeling mellow and a little lazy after her favorite treat, despite the threat of shopping hanging over her head. The island was very quiet-only a few seagulls noted her presence as she climbed up the slope to the restaurant. She stepped up onto the porch and peered inside the screened door.

Inside, the restaurant was silent and still-chairs were upended on tables, and the floor mats piled near the door. It was still very early, though, so Dar didn't consider that unusual. She pulled the iron handle experimentally, a little surprised when the door readily opened towards her. ”h.e.l.lo?”

Her voice echoed in the empty room, but there was no answer to her call. With a slight shrug, Dar entered and crossed the wooden floor, pus.h.i.+ng the kitchen hatch open and peeking inside.

The place was also empty-pots hanging spotless and empty on ceiling hooks, and stoves standing cold and barren. Dar crossed through the somewhat cramped s.p.a.ce and through the doors in the back, finding herself in a small corridor with closed rooms to either side. She knew Bud and Charlie lived in the back of the restaurant, and now, suddenly, it occurred to her that maybe they'd closed the restaurant for the holiday and were sleeping in.

”Whoops.” She ducked back inside the kitchen, looking around until she found an ordering pad with a pencil tied to it. She picked it up and bent her head over it, writing for a few minutes before she studied the results, then tore the top page off the pad. Leaving the pad where she'd found it, Dar went to the inside door and stuck the note on it, facing in toward the inner rooms. Anyone coming into the kitchen would see it, and she felt reasonably sure either Bud or Charlie would do just that sometime that morning.

She regarded the note with a touch of bemus.e.m.e.nt, remembering certain rainy days when she and Kerry had played hooky from work. Okay, maybe sometime this afternoon. With a smile, she turned and walked back through the restaurant and out the back door.

Chapter.

Eighteen.

KERRY REGARDED THE charming streets of Charlotte Amalie with a grin, enjoying the colors and the displays of local handicrafts. She wore a pair of dark, mid-length shorts with more pockets than was really safe, and a crisp white s.h.i.+rt tucked into them, and she felt properly touristy and ready to shop.

Dar ambled along next to her, sporting snug-fitting, black bicycle shorts and a bright red muscle T-s.h.i.+rt. With her sungla.s.ses, and her dark hair tied back in a tail, she looked like a walking advertis.e.m.e.nt for a bad att.i.tude.

Kerry loved it. She kept catching people looking at Dar, who strode through the crowd with an air of cool disregard. She had on a light backpack, which contained the laptop and their cell phones, since the marina wasn't what Dar considered very secure, and the straps pulled the fabric of the s.h.i.+rt taut against her muscular body.

Very butch. Kerry's grin wrinkled her nose, and she suppressed a chuckle.

”What's so funny?” Dar inquired, peering at her from over the tops of her wraparound sungla.s.ses.

”Nothing,” Kerry a.s.sured her. ”This place is so cute.” She indicated the market. ”Want to see if we can pick up some of those straw baskets? I think your mom would like them for her painting stuff.”

Dar regarded the stacked wares. ”Lead on,”she replied. ”Hey, maybe I can pick up a pair of pearl earrings while we're here.”

Okay. Kerry linked arms with her. Not so butch. ”How about some of those nice miniature seash.e.l.l ones? They'd look pretty on you.”

”Think so?”

”Absolutely.”

AFTER A TOUGH afternoon's shopping, they ended up in a little outdoor cafe on the street overlooking the harbor. Dar's backpack had gotten heavier by several packets, and Kerry had a*197 woven hemp bag resting at her feet. ”This is nice,” Dar commented, sipping from a cup of fragrant cappuccino. The breeze was coming insh.o.r.e, and she stretched out her long legs and enjoyed it.

Kerry had both hands clasped around a cup of hot tea. ”It sure is,” she agreed. ”Hey, you want to spend the night up there at that Blackbeard's Castle? It looked really cute.”

Dar tipped her head back and looked up at the hill above them.

”Yeah.” She smiled. ”That did look like a fun place. Sure.” She turned back to look at Kerry, spotting the imperfectly masked sigh.

”Running out of steam?”

Darn. Kerry cleared her throat. ”My bug is still bugging me, I guess,” she admitted.

”To the inn with you, then.” Dar put some money down on the table and extended her hand. ”Let's grab a cab and get us a room up on that there hill.” She caught a motion out of the corner of her eye, but as she turned to look, several men brushed by and distracted her, and by the time she refocused on the spot, there was nothing there.

Probably just the waiter, Dar considered, shouldering her pack and pus.h.i.+ng in her chair. She pulled out her cell and checked it.

Seeing no activity, her brow creased. ”Don't tell me they're still in bed.”

”Huh?” Kerry c.o.c.ked her head.

”I asked Bud to give me a shout when he got up. I need to ask him something,” Dar explained. ”He hasn't called.”

”I thought they didn't have a phone,” Kerry commented as they walked along the street toward the crossroad. ”That's what they told Bob.”

”That's what he told Bob,” Dar repeated wryly. ”They've got a cell. They just don't like using it. They pay by the minute.” She shook her head, then looked up a number in her cell's memory and dialed it. It rang several times, and then politely informed her that the cellular customer she was trying to reach was unavailable. Dar closed the phone. ”Probably has it turned off.”

”What did you want to ask him?” Kerry inquired, as they stopped and she lifted a hand to hail a cab. Incredibly, the car slowed and pulled over, its driver sticking his head out and regarding them with a very cheerful expression. ”Hi,” Kerry greeted him. ”We'd like to go up to the castle.”

”Anywhere you lovely ladies want to go, I take you,” the man replied immediately. ”Come, come.”

”Thanks.” Kerry eased the back door open. ”I think,” she added, under her breath.

Dar merely pushed her sungla.s.ses up a little and followed. As she closed the door behind her, she caught something in the corner 198*

of her eye again, and this time turned quickly to see what it was.

Nothing. The street corner behind her was empty. Dar frowned and faced forward, crossing her arms over the pack she'd taken off her back and wondering if the rum smoothie she'd drunk at the last shopping stop was making her see things. Or imagine them.

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