Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is chapter thirty-four of "Ride the Wind II: Justice Unbound." I didn't mean to take three weeks to get it out. I had a bad case of writer's block. This chapter features the return of Dial and Harry. I am so glad to bring them back after such a long absence. It won't be much longer before Dial is busted for his crime. I can't wait to show his downfall. Stay tuned for chapter thirty-five.

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Chapter 34: Partners Conversing

Northwest Adventure Park bristled with activity. Harry waited next to his blue BMW at the aquatic theater. The car appeared to be new with the exception of scratches under the door handle of the driver's side. Its top could be lowered by pressing a button. The bumper contained a slight dent in it. Three European starlings scurried past the car.

Harry looked at the statue. He remembered when Dial told him about the other statues that had stood outside the entrance over the years. He thought they looked magnificent in the pictures his partner showed him. He considered the orca statue to be his favorite. He wondered how big of a hit Willy could've been had the children not stressed him out with their banging on the glass. He was aware that sound traveled far and wide underwater. He knew that it reached the orca and antagonized him.

His thoughts shifted to Lilli. He was looking forward to seeing her meet her new orca companion. He hoped it would go off without a hitch. He actually didn't want Jane and Izzy to leave, but he knew business was business. He was just as determined as Dial was to get more money rolling in. He knew the best way to do that was with another orca. He was eager to see Lilli and the orca mate and have calves if her new companion was male.

Harry snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a vehicle approaching. He looked ahead to see Dial driving toward him in his black Toyota. The car looked very new, though it did have bird poop in the upper right-hand corner of the windshield. The top was down, thanks to a button that could lower it. The door behind the driver's contained tiny scratches here and there. Dial parked next to his partner's car. He turned off the engine and got out. He walked toward Harry, who smiled at him.

"Hello, sir," Harry greeted with much warmth.

"Hello yourself, Harry," Dial answered as he stopped before him. "You doing all right?"

"Sure," Harry said, nodding fast. "What about you?"

"I am doing just fine," Dial said, happiness radiating from his face. "You remember me telling you about the aquariums I called about their orcas last night earlier this morning?"

"Yes, I do," Harry admitted truthfully.

"Well, I got a call from the Rockford Aquarium in Rockford, New Jersey. They told me they were willing to sell me their lone male orca for a hefty price," Dial said, chuckling in much eagerness.

"That is great," Harry yelled, happiness radiating from his face. "Ten-year-old Ian will be the perfect companion for Lilli."

"I told them I needed to find a new home for Jane and Izzy before I could take him. They were totally fine with that," Dial said with pride.

"Cool," Harry said.

"Mm-hmm," Dial agreed with a nod.

"In the wild, male orcas usually don't sexually mature until they are in their teens. In captivity, they often sexually mature between the ages of ten and thirteen," Harry pointed out matter-of-factly. "That means we could see a calf swimming with Ian and Lilli in the next few years."

"Yeah," Dial commented, a big smirk crossing his lips. "That will bring in even more money for us."

"I know the trainers will complain about the tank being too small for three orcas, but who cares? Many female orcas have had calves in small tanks. They did just fine," Harry said and blew a raspberry.

"If the calf can't nurse from Lilli, then it can be bottle-fed. This was first attempted with Corky's fourth calf at Marineland of the Pacific in 1982," Dial said and licked his lips. "Her name was Kiva. It worked like a charm. However, Kiva died days after being removed from her mother, who got too rough with her during playtime."

Harry ran his hand over his face. He remembered reading about Kiva in an online article about Marineland of the Pacific three months before he became Dial's partner. He admired the trainers for taking action after attempts to bottle-feed Corky's first two calves ended in failure. He knew she would be thirty-one years old had she not died at six weeks old. He and Dial headed over to the statue. He ran his hand over the first dolphin.

"It's hard to believe it's been twenty years since Willy was here," Harry said in amazement.

"Yeah," Dial said and emitted an angry huff. "Jesse's busting Willy out of here could've ruined my business."

"But it didn't," Harry responded comfortingly. "It still operated very smoothly."

"It did cost a lot of money to get water pumped out of the underwater observation area. It cost even more money to get the tank expanded and another side pool added on. Then again, it was worth it," Dial whispered, sighing in relief.

Harry chuckled. "It sure was. You purchased four dolphins and announced the new dolphin show. It brought in tons of money in almost immediately."

"Everyone loves bottlenose dolphins," Dial said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "They enjoy wowing audiences with their incredible acrobats, especially front flips and tailwalking."

"Some dolphins can go as high thirty feet in a single jump!" Harry exclaimed and laughed in much delight.

"That is high," Dial said, looking up at the sky. He turned back to him. "If dolphins had wings, they'd fly."

"You hoped dolphin calves would be swimming around when Odin and Hopper were here. They mated with Jane and Izzy many times, but the ladies never got pregnant," Harry said sadly.

"Unfortunately," Dial murmured, giving a shrug. "It is possible Jane and Izzy were sterile. The same could be said for Odin and Hopper."

"Yep," Harry agreed.

Dial snorted to himself. "It doesn't matter now. We have Lilli."

Harry stretched his arms above his head while letting out a long yawn. He smacked his lips before putting them at his sides. He and Dial listened to the screams of people on the rides.

"Gosh. Those people are having a blast," Harry commented honestly.

"No denying that," Dial agreed and took his hands out of his pockets. He clasped them together. "Every ticket sold is money in our pockets."

"Lots of money!" Harry blurted out and pumped his fist.

"Imagine if life were like movies. People would fall down when bricks hit them in the head," Dial said and made a funny noise.

"They would be dazed, but they would get up like nothing happened," Harry said, a laugh coming out of his mouth.

Dial cleared his throat. "Of course, real life doesn't operate that way. A brick to the head can kill you."

Harry rubbed his nose. "Anything can. Even falling out of bed can result in injury or death."

Dial raised his eyebrows. He remembered his mother, Jana, falling out of bed and breaking her right arm when he was just fourteen years old. He rode with her to the hospital. He was glad she was all right, though her arm would take six to eight weeks to heal. However, he was angry when his father, John, didn't show up until six hours later. He heard his usual excuses for not coming right away. He lost his temper and yelled at him about his uncaring attitude toward his wife. He ran his tongue all over the inside of his mouth.

"Overhearing Jesse talk about Willy living wild and free always makes me feel ill," Dial muttered with a disgusted shudder. "I just want to punch him, so he will shut the hell up."

"I don't blame you," Harry said in much sympathy. "That orca cost you a lot of money due to his refusal to perform."

"It made Wade and me angry. Still, I wanted to make things work with Willy. I thought Jesse would be the one to turn him into a top-notch performer," Dial commented and stroked his goatee. "Willy excelled at the audition Jesse and Rae put together for Wade and me. We couldn't believe Jesse had trained him to do all those behaviors in a short amount of time."

"With help from Rae, of course!" Harry yelled and clapped twice.

"That's right," Dial agreed and emitted an irritated scoff. "If only those brats didn't ruin everything."

"I hate to say this, but Jesse was right that you should've roped off the observation area," Harry murmured seriously.

"I know, but then parents would've complained about it," Dial said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head in disbelief. "I would've been damned if I did. I would've been damned if I didn't."

"That's the way the world is," Harry said, letting out a heavy sigh. "No matter what you do, someone won't be happy."

Dial looked at his watch. He let out a long whistle before turning to Harry, who furrowed his brow. He jerked his thumb in the direction of the entrance.

"Let's go observe our cetaceans' medical examination before the day slips away," Dial suggested.

"Sure," Harry said with much eagerness. He and his partner started talking about Lilli as they headed inside.