Chapter 7:

A Close call

"I can't believe that they would arrest Jacob! He loved Christine!" Annetka said.

"Which is exactly why Jacob wouldn't kill her, and why we are going to prove it," Katrina said.

"Oh! I almost forgot. Katie, I have a letter for you from someone special," Amy said.

"Who?" Katie's eyes lit up like a little girl who has just received a doll for Christmas.

"Oh, a certain someone, but you can't have it until we get to the bay."

"Amy, that's awful," Annetka said.

"I know, but it's fun to make her wait," Amy said with a grin, "So, Kat, what do we have to go on?"

"Not much I'm afraid. I'm going on a hunch that Sarah gave..."

"Who's Sarah?" Annetka asked.

"Sarah is a friend of mine that works with Steve. Anyway, Sarah said that there is a boat docked on the island in the middle of the bay. She's guessing that the boat is the Dolphin; the boat that Christine was last seen near," Katrina explained.

"So we're supposed to go out there and risk the fact that there might be some thugs that want to kill anyone who gets near the boat to search it, and we're doing this to prove that Jacob didn't kill Christine," Amy said.

"Right," Katie replied.

"I can tell that you're just thrilled with the idea, Amy," Annetka laughed.

"I can hardly contain my excitement," Amy replied as she glared at Katrina. To which Katie replied with only a sweet smile.

After an hour long drive, the girls finally reached the bay around eleven o'clock. As they got out of the car, Amy held the note that she had promised Katie out to her friend.

"Here, Kitty. Come and get it, Kitty. Good girl," Amy said.

"Meow," Katie said sarcastically.

As soon as she had opened the note, Katrina blushed; from anger or embarrassment neither Amy nor Annetka could tell, but both girls knew who the note was from.

Dear 'Trina,

I am sorry that my first day at work finds you gone. I do hope that you have a wonderful day, and I hope you will be careful. Trina, I have so much to tell you; especially about my new friend Joy. She's so wonderful! I hope you will forgive me for not writing to you sooner, I was spending a lot of time with Joy. I know you understand. I'll see you later, By the way, America is so much better than you described it, and your uncle is a great chap. See you later. Yours Forever, Peter

Katrina had tried for a long time to ignore her feelings for Peter. He teased her so often, and she wanted to make people think that she was bothered by it. This was true, but Katie knew that deep down, she loved every minute of it. In all actuality, Katie was falling in love with Peter all over again. She had to beat him at his own game though. She would hold out just a little longer, and maybe Peter would come back pleading for forgiveness. Katrina wouldn't admit her feelings to anyone, at least not yet. She wasn't quite sure if she was even ready to admit them to herself at this point.

Katie placed the letter in the car, and tried to concentrate on what she had to do. The three girls rented a small motor boat and rode out to the island, which sat in the middle of the bay.

As they began to walk along the shore something caught Amy's attention.

"Look!" she said, "There's the boat, and it is the Dolphin!"

"I want a closer look. Are you two coming?" Katie asked, as she ran towards the boat.

"Are you nuts?" Annetka asked her friend as she pulled Katrina back, "You have now idea what or who is on that boat."

"Which is exactly why I want to go look," Katie replied matter-of-factly. She pulled away from Annetka, and continued walking toward the boat.

"Curiosity killed Kat," Amy shouted after her friend.

"Satisfaction brought me back!" Katie shouted over her shoulder.

As the girls crept up to the boat, they realized that the only way to get onto it would be to enter from the water, and up the ladder hanging from the side.

"Are you two up for a swim?" Annetka asked.

"Without our swimsuits?" Amy asked.

"It's not that bad. We can leave our bags and essentials on the shore somewhere," Katie said.

"You really have lost your mind, and gone into a mystery mode," Amy said as she reluctantly placed her things with Annetka's and Katrina's on the shore.

Katie ignored her friend, plunged into the warm bay water, and swam to the boat. She was soon joined by her friends.

"I'm going up," Katrina whispered.

"You can't go up there alone!" Amy hissed.

"We'll all go up," said Annetka.

"Here we go again. You two are always dragging me into things that I never volunteered to do," Amy sighed.

Katie, being the most adventurous of the group, scrambled up the ladder first. When she was sure that the cost was clear, she turned and helped her friends up the side of the boat.

"I'm going to check the back of the boat, while you two check the front. I'll be right back," Amy said.

"Now look who's getting brave," Katie said to Annetka.

A few minutes later however, Annetka and Katrina had a sickening feeling well up inside of them when the heard two gun shots followed by a bone chilling scream. The girls tried to get back to where their friend was, but they were stopped by two men dressed in all black.

Annetka charged one of the men, knocking him on his back, and Katie took the other man down easily with defense moves that Steve had taught her. As the man fell backwards, he hit his head on the railing, knocking himself unconscious.

"That's one way to do it," Annetka said in amazement. She had successfully tied her attacker up, and was checking on Amy.

"How is she?" Katrina asked.

"She's been shot in the stomach and the leg. We've got to get her to the hospital."

"Listen, at the front of the boat, there's a loading ramp that we must have missed earlier. Take her down that way, and call 9-1-1."

"Aren't you coming?" Amy asked weakly.

"I have a little more exploring to do. I'll be down in a minute," Katie replied.

Katie crept into the cabin of the boat, and began searching through the drawers and cupboards. She found a pocket book calendar, with unusual notes in it, placed the book in her pocket, and continued her search.

When she opened the last drawer, she dug under a few papers, and found a handkerchief, soaked in blood, wrapped around a knife. She placed the object in a water tight bag along with the journal, and left the cabin.

Katie stopped and took the calendar back out to look at it. There were several appointments written down, none of which grabbed Kat's attention. Katrina was about to close the book when she spotted a date written and Christine's name written next to it. After examining the note closer, Katie's eyes widened in surprise.

9/20 - Meet Christine at Moral Bay (receive payment)

9/21 - talk over "plans" for the big bang theory with team

9/22 - secure shipment/ pick up Christine for date

(Christine found out about the plan. She knows too much. This

Problem must be solved soon!)

9/23 - Let Jacob and Christine borrow boat

9/24 - 12:30 pick up boat/ take care of problem

Katie turned the corner to join her friends, and show them what she had found. What could these notes mean? Was Christine dating another man, and found out something that placed her life on the line? "Someone is defiantly hiding something," Katie thought, "Besides; our welcome committee wouldn't have been so hospitable if they weren't trying to cover something up."

Suddenly, Kat was stopped by a man dressed in all black. "Who are you, and what do you have in your hand?" he asked.

"I might ask you what you're doing with these things on your boat," Katie challenged.

"That's none of your business."

"If I told you that I was working with the police on an investigation, would that make it my business?" Katie replied, as she showed the man her ID identifying her as a police consultant.

"Get off of the boat."

"Oh, so you must be the owner. Nice to meet you," Katie replied sarcastically.

"No, I'm not. Who gave you permission to be here?"

"I have the warrant," Katrina replied as she showed the search warrant," Christine Matthews was found dead out here about one o'clock this morning. She was last seen on this boat."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Now, if you're done, get off my boat."

"I thought you said you didn't own the boat."

"I don't, but I'm borrowing it from a friend. It's mine for now."

"Taking it to hide any evidence?" Katrina paused, and the man said nothing.

"It's a shame," she continued, "I thought that Jacob loved her. My guess is that he was framed for her murder. Maybe she found out something that put her in danger. My guess is that someone's hiding something." Katie watched the man's face for a reaction as she spoke, but his face was unreadable.

"You'd better leave now," the man said.

Katie turned and began to walk away, but as she did the man pulled out a gun, and aimed. "You know too much," he said.

Katie turned and saw the gun aimed at her. She tried to run, but the man was quick, and pulled the trigger before she could get away.

Katie screamed in agony as she hit the deck. The man came lunging at her, yet somehow, Katie was able to take him down. After a short tussle on the deck, Katrina got up and dashed toward the side of the boat. As she attempted to jump, her attacker rushed forward and grabbed her arm.

Back on land, Annetka lowered Amy gently to the ground. She quickly dialed 9-1-1 and told them what had happened. No sooner had she hung up the phone that the girls heard Katie's first scream.

"Katie!" Annetka screamed.

"Anya, you have to go help her," Amy coughed, "I'll be all right."

"I can't leave you, Amy," Annetka replied.

"Hey, I'm a doctor. I can take care of myself!" Amy shot back.

When the girls heard another scream and a splash, Amy urged Annetka to go help Katie. Annetka ran back onto the boat, but before she could get very far, she heard a voice.

"You there! Stop."

She turned and stared at the man who spoke to her. He had a gun pointed at her head, and he wasn't afraid to kill her. He had a scar above his right eye that continued down his cheek. His dark brown eyes sent a cold stare into Annetka's body. He had dark curly hair, and he was clean shaven. Annetka tried to remember every detail about the man's face.

Her thoughts were quickly brought back to the present as she heard him cock his pistol. He took aim, and fired. Annetka ducked, and the bullet grazed her forehead close to her right eye. She tried to run, but he took aim again and lodged a bullet in her collar bone. Somehow she managed to reach the side of the boat.

"Don't you dare jump!" the man said.

With out missing a beat, Annetka plunged into the water, and reached for Katie who was struggling to stay afloat. The two girls managed to make it to shore, and barely got out of the way, as their attackers started up the boat, and sped away.

"Katie, are you okay?" Amy asked.

"Oh sure," Katie said sarcastically while trying to hide the pain, "but we've got to get out of here."

"Katie, hold still. I want to look at that wound," Annetka said.

"Which one? I smacked my head on the side of the boat, and that thug shot me in the shoulder. You really need to lie still and rest yourself."

"I'll take care of Annetka, love," replied Amanda, who had just arrived with the paramedics.

"Amanda, how did you get here?" Katie asked.

"Steve called Jesse, and warned him that you and the girls were investigating. When we got the call from the paramedics, I insisted that Jesse bring me along, and here I am."

Katie ordinarily would have been barking orders to help her friends. She never would have dreamed that she would be the patient. She was in so much pain, however, and was so tired that she lay still allowing Amanda to bark orders for her.

As the pain began to become stronger, Katrina began to slip into unconsciousness. She heard voices for a while, but they grew softer by the minute as she closed her eyes in agony. Katrina didn't remember much after that. Two days later, she woke up in a hospital bed at Community General.

Katie had learned to tell who was coming down the hallway of the hospital by how they walked. She was sure that she heard her uncle coming, and called out to him.

In a minute, Mark stuck his head in the door, and smiled. "Well, my little princes is awake now. How are you feeling?" he asked.

"My shoulder feels like it's shattered, and the room is spinning. I'm not complaining or anything, because I feel great," Katie said with a sarcastic grin.

"Well, it's not really that bad. You're healing up fine. Knowing you, you'll be back to work in a few days or so."

"That long?" Katie teased.

"Well, if you're up to it, I was going to take you home tomorrow."

"Let me guess. Amy and Annetka are both at home already."

"Well, they asked to get up."

"That's an understatement!" Katie laughed, "Knowing them, they were probably begging to get out of bed, Uncle Mark."

"Well..."

"Enough said."

Within an hour, it was arranged that Katie would go home the next day, and finish recovering. Unfortunately, she wasn't a very good patient as was typical of most Sloans. Katie hated lying in bed and being waited on.

Steve stayed home with her, and tried to make her comfortable, but he knew how difficult it was to lie still. Occasionally, he would allow her to get out of bed, and that was a secret that they kept between the two of them.

One afternoon, Steve asked, "Katie, what were you thinking?"

"What?"

"You really shouldn't have gone on that boat without a Police officer with you. You weren't armed, you could have been killed, and..."

"Oh, that. Well, honestly, I wasn't thinking," Katie interrupted.

"Obviously."

"What did you find out with what I found though?"

"Well, after handwriting analysis, finding the owner of the boat, and piecing together what you found, we figured that a man named Richard Maxwell has a lot to do with Christine's murder."

"Who is the owner?"

"An innocent citizen. The boat was stolen."

"Tell me more about this Maxwell."

"He was seeing Christine on what he calls a friendship basis, but I'd call it dating. Anyway, the book you found is his, the knife is his, and has his finger prints all over it, and the handkerchief is his too. Although he denies any of this, he has something that he's planning. Christine obviously found out about it, and someone thought that dangerous, so they her."

"So, do you have enough information to prove Jacob innocent?"

"I'm pretty sure that we do. I just want to know what it is that Maxwell's planning."
"You'll figure it out."

"The only thing that confuses me is that there has to be another person helping with this."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, some of the handwriting was different, and a few prints didn't match up."

"So now we have two people in on this murder," Katie said.

"At least two."

"I just wish I could help."

With her family's help, Katrina did heal quickly, and she was back to work within a week of the attack. Her friends on the other hand were not aloud to come back to work for a while longer, and Katie wondered how she had ever worked at the hospital before she knew them. She deeply missed them, and found herself constantly longing to talk to each of her friends throughout the day. She had to rely on her one true friend; the Lord Jesus Christ.

One evening, as she sat in her room thinking about all that had happened that day, she began to pray for her friends: "Lord Jesus, I thank you for your love, and the strength that you have given me day by day. I ask that you would be with Amy and Annetka. I know that Amy is one of your children, but I don't think that Annetka is. Lord, please give me the boldness to witness to her. Please forgive me for not doing so already. Please heal them both, and bring them back to work soon. I ask for your protection for my family and me. Particularly Steve as he goes to work from day to day. Thank you, Lord, for all that you have done for me, and will continue to do. In Jesus' name, Amen."

That night, sleep just wouldn't come easily to Katie as she lay in bed. She was worried about her friends, and she hoped that they would be back at work the next day. She missed them so much.

The next day, Katie searched for her friends in the staff meeting, but didn't see them. She found Amanda after the meeting, and asked where Amy was.

"I'm sorry, Katie. I felt that she needed to stay at home one more day. She wasn't too happy, but I made sure that she wasn't going anywhere. She figured that you would be here though, and sent this note."

Katie's heart sank as Amanda handed her the letter. She had so much to tell her friend, but that would just have to wait. After asking around, Katrina found that Annetka too, had stayed home.

Katie placed her letter into her pocket and hurried off to work. She would have to read it later. Now, she had patients to attend to, surgeries to assist in, and paperwork to fill out. It wasn't until after lunch that Katrina was able to find enough time to read the note from Amy.

Katie decided that she would read her note from Amy outside in the new courtyard that had just been completed at Community General. Katie found her favorite spot, and sat down to read. She was so happy to receive a note from her friend. She had a thousand questions for her, and Katie hoped that a few of them would be answered by this letter.

First of all, how was she feeling? Was she doing better? Would she be at work the next day? And what about Annetka, would she come tomorrow too? Was she being taken care of? Did either of the girls need anything? Could she help them somehow?

Katrina felt responsible for her friends' injuries, although she knew that really, she had no control over it. The fact that bothered her was that she had said that nothing would go wrong at the bay, and it seemed that everything did.

Katrina sighed as she carefully opened the envelope, and slid the beautiful stationary out of it. She smiled and thought, "Amy never will write to anyone on anything less then a piece of pretty stationary. Why, I don't know, but it's nice to see that someone takes the time to use good paper for a letter. It's nice that someone takes the time to write a letter for that matter."

As her eyes scanned the letter's contents, a puzzled look came into Katie's eyes. She set the letter aside for a moment, and thought about what her friend had written. Could this tie into the murder at Moral Bay somehow? Could the man Amy had spoken about be in connection with the mystery, even be the murderer himself? "This is interesting information," Katie thought to herself, as she picked up the letter and read it a third time, "Amy, you could have really found something."