Chapter 8

Shafts of sunlight penetrated the blue-green ocean and reflected off of the rose-colored coral. Schools of fish, in every color imaginable, darted through an underwater kingdom of coral reefs and volcanic rock formations.

This was nothing like Bayport Cove, Joe thought as he swam through a sea arch. This place was simply amazing. If not for a murder investigation, Joe could have spent all day exploring the reefs. However, he had a job to do and returned his attention to the task at hand, sweeping the magnetometer over the sandy ocean floor.

Frank followed behind with the net bag and markers. For nearly two hours the brothers had searched in vain. They'd covered a lot of sea floor and had left several markers along the way. Frank checked his water-proof watch and realized they'd soon be out of air. He signaled Joe that it was time to surface.

Joe retracted the magnetometer's handle and adjusted the air valve on his BC jacket. With a slight kick of his fins he began to slowly ascend. A few feet away, Frank did the same.

Joe broke through the surface of the water first, shook his head, and pushed up his goggles. Frank emerged nearby and together they breast-stroked the short distance to the shore. Wearily, they climbed out of the ocean, removed their fins, and carefully picked their way over the volcanic rock and through the sand to their towels laying in the shade of the palm trees.

Joe doffed his gear and collapsed on a towel. "It was beautiful down there, bro, and I worked up one helluva an appetite. Not to mention, I'm tired … and disappointed we didn't find what we were looking for."

Frank removed his gear, sat on a towel, and used another to wipe the salty water from his face and hair. "Yeah, me too. But don't get too comfortable. This is only a break."

"Ughhh," Joe groaned, but he wasn't surprised, he'd figured as much. He knew Frank wouldn't give up searching for the murder weapon that easily. "What are we going to do about lunch? I can't keep going without food."

Frank retrieved his cell phone from a water-proof pocket of his BC jacket. It instantly chirped and momentarily startled him. "It's Nancy," he told Joe then spoke into the phone, "Hey, what's up?"

When Frank ended the call, he said, "She's bringing us lunch."

Joe's eyes popped open and his fist pumped the air. "Yay, I love that woman!"

"Me, too," Frank said and the brothers collapsed into laughter. They were both happy food was on the way. This would save them time and trouble.

Twenty minutes later Nancy, dressed in shorts, a dark pink tank top and sandals, trudged across the sand. Her handbag was flung over one shoulder and in her hand she carried a large paper bag by its rope handles. Her feet sank into the hot sand causing her to continually stop and shake her feet.

Sandals were definitely not the best choice of footwear for the beach, she thought and gave her right foot another frustrated shake. Then she spied the lifeless bodies of Frank and Joe sprawled on their towels. The guys had peeled off their wetsuits and laid them on volcanic rocks to dry.

Nancy stopped between the two prone men, dressed only in swim shorts. She took a moment to admire the view. Neither man moved. Neither man had noticed her arrival.

She cleared her throat. "Ahem. Well, if this isn't lying down on the job, I don't know what is."

Both brothers struggled into sitting positions and rubbed their eyes.

Joe yawned and ran his hands back and forth through his damp hair. "What'd you bring us, Nan?"

"He means 'thanks,'" Frank said, smiling up at Nancy.

Nancy lowered herself next to Frank and sat on his towel.

"No problem," Nancy said. Her eyes swept over the hard planes of Frank's muscular chest before she reached into the bag. "I figured we all needed lunch. This way we can talk about the case while we eat. I have club sandwiches, chips, and water."

She passed food and water bottles to each brother.

Joe dug into his double-decker sandwich immediately. "Mmm, mmm, mmm, this hits the spot." Between bites, he mumbled, "Thanks, Nan."

"You're welcome." Nancy ripped open a bag of chips, ate one, and told the brothers what she'd learned at the police station. She ended with, "So, I think Detective Lau will share information with us. I promised we'd do the same. I did tell him about your dive and the search for the weapon. He seemed interested."

Joe took a long pull from his water bottle. "Let's hope we find it." He glanced at Frank and decided not to say anything about the bet between Frank and the guard.

Frank stole some of Nancy's chips and said, "Joe and I aren't finished for the day. We need fresh air tanks though before we can continue the search. What are your plans for the afternoon, Nan?"

"I'm going to follow that trail or what we thought was a trail." She pointed at the volcanic outcrop. "You know, where the man disappeared last night. Maybe I can find something. You never know, he may have dropped something." She shrugged. "It's a long shot, but what do we have to loose?"

Frank swallowed the last of his sandwich and reached for his water. "It can't hurt to look."

"After that," Nancy said, "I have a meeting with Mrs. Mansville. She and her husband were with Mr. Airedale when he was checking things for the fashion show. I'm hoping Mrs. Mansville can tell me more about Gwen or at least give me her impressions of Gwen. The more we know about Gwen the better chance we have of figuring out who would've wanted to kill her."

"I agree." Frank rubbed the back of his neck and checked his watch. "Dang, its one thirty. Joe and I need to get those tanks if we're going to get two more hours of searching in."

"I'll help you get the tanks," Nancy said. "I'm not meeting Mrs. Mansville until three. She's at a Hula dance demo right now with the wives' club."

"Wives' club?" Joe frowned and pushed off his towel. He offered Nancy a hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Yeah," Nancy said, brushing sand off her shorts. "That's what she called it, the wives' club. I intend to find out who exactly the wives are and question all of them. If I'm lucky, one of them might have known Gwen before she married Mr. Airedale. One of them might even have been good friends with Gwen."

Frank grabbed his t-shirt. "I'll keep my fingers crossed that you uncover something."

He pulled the shirt over his head to Nancy's great disappointment. There goes the view, she thought wistfully.

The trio collected their trash and disposed of it in a nearby bin. Joe stayed behind with the gear while Nancy and Frank hurried off to get fresh tanks. By the time they returned Joe had donned his wetsuit and was slipping on his BC jacket.

"Looks like my brother's ready to go," Frank said.

"Time's a wasting," Joe said and took the air tank Frank handed him.

Nancy laid the tank she'd been carrying on the sand. "I need to start searching that trail. I'll see you guys later. Good luck with the search."

"Hey!" Frank caught Nancy by the wrist and gently pulled her to him. He nuzzled her neck and whispered, "How 'bout a kiss for luck?"

Nancy smiled, rose on her toes, and kissed him.

Joe cleared his throat rather loudly. "Hey, this might be a first. I'm ready before my brother."

Frank was quick with a comeback, "This just means you're not slowing me down for once, bro."

Joe groaned and finished putting on his gear.

Frank kissed Nancy again and stepped back. "See you later."

Nancy waved good-bye to the brothers and headed off for the trail. Her cheeks were aglow and there was an extra bounce in her step.

# # # #

Forty-five minutes later Nancy trudged through the hotel's main entrance. Beads of sweat lined her brow. Her trip through the hot sand had gained her nothing. She'd wandered around trying to make sense of the area, but quickly realized there was no trail. The mysterious man must have had a flashlight. How else could he have navigated that debris and plant filled terrain at night?

Nancy stepped into an elevator. The killer didn't just stumble upon that area. He had prior knowledge. He must have discovered it earlier in the day. He'd also made plans to dispose of the murder weapon .. late at night, on an isolated section of beach where he thought no one would be.

Yes, she thought as she exited the elevator, he'd planned this murder from the start. Planned it quite carefully and since he'd gotten rid of the weapon, Gwen Airedale was probably his one and only intended victim.

An image of Gwen Airedale floated in Nancy's mind. Who were you, Gwen, and why did someone kill you?

Nancy opened the door to her hotel room. She had ten minutes before her meeting with Mrs. Mansville. A quick rinse of her face and a new coat of lip gloss refreshed her. Nancy grabbed her cell phone and was pleasantly surprised to find a message from Bess.

Hi Nan,

Sorry I couldn't meet with you & the Hardys for lunch. I've been incredibly busy! Wow! Never knew how much work had to be done before a fashion show. I'm learning a lot and I have a surprise for you & the Hardys! I'll tell you all about it tonight at dinner.

See you at 5,

Bess

Nancy slid her phone into her handbag and hurried to the Maui Bar and Lounge for her meeting. She was quite delighted that Bess had a surprise waiting for her and the Hardys.

"I wonder what it could be?"

A/N: To Smithy: ah, yes. And this is why I deleted this story and never reposted it. The mistakes. Actually, at one point I started editing this story and "Past & Present Danger" with the idea of making the characters older and giving them military backgrounds. That proved to be quite tedious and I abandoned both stories and removed them from this site. I started over and wrote "Meet Me at Midnight." I posted that story and I should've left things there. At some point I reposted "Past & Present Danger" and again should've left things alone. However, when you requested this story I decided to check my editing and repost it. As you can see, my editing leaves much to be desired. :)

With all that said, I wish to Thank those who have left a review. Thanks for sticking with the story.