Chapter 24

The group headed back into the office to talk with Joe, passing several other boats on the way. Coming out of the marina store, a woman was on her way out with several bags of ice. Max stepped up and held the door for her.

"Thank you!" she sang in a cheery voice.

"Yes, Ma'am," Max answered.

Jennifer stepped up to the desk, "Thank you for calling us today, Joe. Please keep us informed of anything else you see, or if you see Jonathan at all."

"Of course, Ms. Edwards. And I look forward to seeing you and Mr. Hart once all of this," he waved his hand in the air at nothing in particular, "is all settled."

"Thank you, Joe."

The Lieutenant stepped up, "Nothing else going on out of the ordinary, Joe?"

"Nah. I have the Duncan kids fixing their boat for a trip, but otherwise, it's pretty quiet."

Lieutenant Gillis handed him a card, "If anything changes, give me a call."

"Yes, sir!"

Stepping back outside, Jennifer turned to the Lieutenant. "I think we need to have a chat with Kimberly."

"About what? Sending a guy to look for papers isn't a crime."

"Papers I have? Papers she didn't even ask me about?"

"Look, I know you want to find him. So do I, but that isn't criminal activity."

***

The longer Jonathan was awake, the more he was able to gain his sea legs, and the less the rocking of the boat bothered him. It probably helped that the chloroform was working its way out of his system.

Whenever the woman stepped back out, Jonathan tried to search for something to help free him. It took several tries to get up and several more to work out a system to be able to pull out drawers and look in them without making much noise.

He was able to find what he was looking for in the third drawer from the top, in the back was an older filet knife. It would be thin enough to hide behind the seat when the woman came in, so long as he didn't cut himself trying to pick it up after she left.

***

Max, Stephen, and Jennifer arrived at the Hart Industries building a little after one. Stepping off the elevator on Jonathan's floor, they noticed it was tranquil, almost eerie, and Kimberly was not at her desk.

"Shoot." Jennifer turned to the men, "Maybe she's at lunch?" She walked around to the back of her desk, hoping to get a better look at the woman's calendar. Maybe that would give them some kind of insight, but it showed nothing other than what appeared to be work-related appointments and Jonathan's schedule. She was about to walk away when something caught her eye. "Max?"

"Yeah, Ms. Edwards?"

"How well do you know Kimberly?"

"I mean, she's been around for several years, but nothing personal."

"She's seemed nice, and like she's had Jonathan's best interest at heart the time I worked with her," Stephen interjected.

Jennifer picked up a photo frame, "Do you know these people, Max?" She turned it around so he could see the photo.

"Um. That's her kids. I kind of remember asking her about it," Stephen told his daughter.

"Does this look like that lady at the marina to you?"

Max shook his head, "It sure could be." He stepped up to get a closer look at the photo. "You know… those guys sure look familiar to me…"

"Hi. Can I help you?" came a voice from behind them. Max turned around to see who was speaking to them. "Oh, Max, Mr. Edwards, nice to see you again. Ms. Edwards, I didn't see you. Were you able to find Jonathan?"

"Not yet, Kimberly." Jennifer gave her a half-smile and then asked, "Hey, Kimberly, why did you ask Stanley to go to Jonathan's sailboat today?"

"Stanley? I haven't talked to Stanley all day."

She looked at Max, then remembered the frame in her hand, "Hey, who are these people?"

Kimberly smiled at her, "Those are my kids. That's Sam, Ben, and Rachel Duncan. You know, sometimes Rachel helps out around here. Mr. Hart's so good to us!" She grinned at the group.

"Duncan? Not Ray?" Max asked.

"No. When their father left, I went back to my maiden name. The kids kept his."

Jennifer tried to remain calm, "Uh, Max, Pa," she looked at her watch, "ha… Look at the time. We need to get to that next appointment…"

"What appoint…" Max started to ask when Jennifer grabbed his arm.

"Come along, Max," as she nearly pulled them from the office.

***

Jonathan had been working at the ropes on his wrists with the knife. It was a bit too dull, so the progress was slow, and the blade seemed to be doing more damage to his arms than the restraints. Mostly that was the tip of the knife scratching him, though it was enough to begin to draw blood.

The door at the top of the stairs opened again, and the woman came down. Jonathan dropped the knife and pushed it back into the seat.

"Are we leaving? You guys seem to be very busy," Jonathan tried to make something of a conversation with the woman.

"If my brothers can get this stupid boat of my father's working. Yes, we will be leaving."

"You are having trouble?"

"Apparently, the engine is old and not wanting to run. I told them to fix it, but they didn't get it done before they grabbed you."

"Why did they do that?"

"Well, it wouldn't do any good to grab you after you were married to that woman, now would it. Then I wouldn't be able to get you to marry me."

"No, I guess not." He smiled at her. "Are they getting close?"

About that time, Sam stuck his head in the doorway, "Hey, I think we need spark plugs. I just sent Ben."

***

They pulled up to the marina and headed straight for the office. "Joe!" Jennifer called.

"Hi, Ms. Edwards. Back already."

"Yeah. Hey, have those Duncan kids left yet?"

"Um, I don't think so. Why?"

"What slip are they in?"

"Um… H 35, about ten down from Mr. H. Why?"

"Would you call Lieutenant Gillis and have him come right back?"

"Sure." Jennifer and Max headed out of the building before he could get his last word in, "Why?"

***

As the three approached the boat, they could not see the kids anywhere. Deciding their best options was to sneak on board, Jennifer, Max, and Stephen worked their way on as quietly as possible. Jennifer opened the door to the cabin and started down the stairs. "Jonathan!" He had dropped the knife, then looked up when he heard his name called.

"You are the best thing I've seen all day," he smiled.

"Oh, Jonathan, let's get you out of here." She reached Jonathan and worked the knots on his ropes free. "Jonathan, you're bleeding."

"I'll be fine. Let's go."

The four started back up the stairs. Just as Jonathan climbed out of the cabin, they heard the click of someone loading the chamber of a gun. Sam and Rachel were walking in their direction from the front of the boat. "This is a bit of a jam," Rachel said. "I really only wanted Mr. Hart. Now, look. You three have made a mess of this whole thing. You know, I sent that Stanley guy to your boat, hoping that would create enough confusion, and keep you off of our trail. I should have known he wouldn't do a good enough job."

"Hey, you didn't tell me how many to buy..." Ben called as he came climbing back onto the boat. It was enough of a distraction for Jonathan to charge Sam, knocking them both into the ocean water below. Stephen, being closest to Ben, landed a punch on his chin, knocking him back onto the dock. At the same time, Jennifer lunged at Rachel, knocking her to the deck. Max, seeing the pistol Sam dropped when Jonathan hit him, picked it up and held it on Rachel. Lieutenant Gillis and his men ran up just in time to keep anyone else from gaining the upper hand.

A couple of officers helped pull Jonathan and Sam out of the ocean and cuffed Sam. "That water is cold! I'm freezing!" Jonathan said through chattering teeth.

"Let's get you home, in some dry clothes, and I'll fix some hot tea."

"Tea? I'd rather have hot chocolate," Jonathan pouted.

"Hot Chocolate it is!" Jennifer smiled, moving him towards the car.

***

Once the group arrived, they discovered Suzanne had made soup and salad for dinner. Jonathan grabbed a quick, warm shower before they ate. Together, they recalled the entire mess for Suzanne's benefit.

After dinner, Jonathan and Jennifer had hot chocolate and hot tea by the fire in the living room, while the others cleaned up.

"Darling," Jennifer started. "I have a bit of a confession for you."

"Oh?" he questioned as he took a sip.

"Yes. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't know how you would react. However, not knowing where you were today made me realize you can't make the best decisions if you don't have all the information."

"Ok…"

"So, I need to let you know I ran into Elliot Manning when I was on the weekend with my mother. He questioned me about getting back together with him, and he got rather forceful when I told him no." Jonathan's eyebrows raised over the edge of his hot chocolate mug. "Momma and I had him removed from the building, but he was pretty angry. So when I saw that card from him, I thought…"

Jonathan put the pieces together and finished her thought, "You thought it was Elliot's doing that I was missing."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm sorry you had such a scare." He took her hands in his. "Please, don't hold information back because you are afraid of my reaction. I only want to protect you. I can't if you don't trust me."

"Deal." She reached her hand out and shook his.

"You are adorable," he told her as he leaned in to kiss her.

He stood up and helped her to her feet. "Let's get these mugs back to the kitchen before they finish the rest of the dishes. It's late, I really should be going," Jonathan said as he wrapped his arms around her and leaned down to kiss Jennifer again.

"I know it is. But I just got you back, and I'm not ready to let you go. Stay with me for a little while." Jennifer pulled back, searching his eyes, pleading with him. "Please."

"All right. For a little while," Jonathan relented. They set the mugs down on the mantle and walked to the couch. Jennifer snuggled into the crook of his arm, and he tenderly placed a kiss on the top of her head.

A few minutes later, Max, Suzanne, and Stephen walked into the living room from the kitchen, to find the couple asleep on the couch. Suzanne grabbed the mugs and turned to Max, "Do you happen to know where any spare blankets are?"

"I believe I do," Max answered cheerfully.

"Would you grab one for me?" she asked, and he took the mugs from her, then disappeared back into the kitchen. She turned to Stephen, "Head on upstairs, Darling. I will be with you, rapidement." Then she reached up and kissed his cheek.

"Se dépêcher, Darling," he said as he turned toward the stairs.

Suzanne grinned at her husband as he walked away from her. "I love it when you speak French, mon amour."

Max quickly returned with a large blanket. "Here you go, Mrs. Edwards."

"Please, Max. Suzanne," she corrected him. "Here, take this end." They walked to the other side of the couch, and gently pulled the blanket over Jonathan and Jennifer, not wanting to wake them. "Rest well, mes amours."