Chances (Mystic Nights #1)(46)
He just hoped he could keep that promise. For Aliya. For their baby, if she was truly pregnant as she suspected.
Both men shook their heads and hung up their phones. “That was Julia. She’s a friend and her gynecologist. She said she talked to her this morning. Aliya made an appointment with her this afternoon for later during the week, and said she took a home pregnancy test. She is pregnant,” Joseph said.
Blackness settled in him like a curtain. The guilt ate at his heart. His rashness had put both her and their child in danger. When they made the final turn onto the road that led to the parking area by the harbor, they saw Aliya’s car, and Peter’s.
Jonathan felt ill. He glanced at the dock, but did not know which boat was Peter’s. He prayed they were still in the cabin, and that he could get to her in time. But when Tom spoke next, his fears grew tenfold.
“His boat is gone, sir. It’s called Proud Penny. I don’t see her.”
“Let’s go to the cabin. See if we can find any clues. Call the police. And the harbor master,” he ground out as Sigmund made yet another sharp turn. “We need to find out where he’s going. Where he’s taking her? We also need a boat.”
Chapter 21
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A quick scan of the cabin, which Tom had gotten them into hastily, revealed nothing. A beefy shoulder to the flimsy door really did work. Especially if you were the size of a line backer.
Joseph went straight to the computer, and began to fiddle with the history. He pulled up the last few pages Peter was looking at. “He ordered his boat fueled and lots of extra fuel to be put on deck an hour ago. He also was on several sites that I can’t access without passwords, looks like bank sites for the Bahamas.” He got quiet as he pulled up some other pages. Jonathan and Tom came up behind him. “Yes, the Bahamas. Here are some maps, seems he sent the coordinates to his navigation system on the boat.”
“I need that boat.” Jonathan slammed his fist into the wall. He didn’t even feel the pain.
“I will call the coast guard.” Joseph murmured. “These search histories are over an hour old.”
“Fuck, we can’t wait that long. I need a boat now,” Jonathan demanded again, looking to Tom while rubbing his fist that cracked the plaster on the wall of the old fishing cottage.
“We can see the harbor master. See if we can rent something. Start at least until the coast guard comes in.” Jonathan was already hustling out the door before Tom even finished with his suggestion.
They jumped into the vehicle, Sigmund given the order, and flew the quarter mile to the old man’s office at the beginning of the pier.
“Yeah, I filled it myself.” The old man rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “He ordered it on line, and I did it right away. I filled all the reserve tanks, and the extra fuel would definitely take him where you think he’s headed, especially if he uses wind power too.”
“You got a boat for us? And someone to captain it? It’s an emergency?”
“I guess I can go. I was heading out for the day and tomorrow’s my day off.”
Jonathan was immediately grateful. “Then let’s go.” He felt deep down inside his bones that time was running out. Time he didn’t have.
His heart sank at the captain’s next words. “I’ve got to fuel it though. It’ll take me about fifteen minutes at the least.”
“Hurry. Please.” He was desperate. The harbor master headed out, and Jonathan began to pace. Joseph and Tom exchanged looks, and both knew if they didn’t get going soon all might be lost. And that meant Jonathan, too.
Chapter 22
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By the time Captain Matthews, the harbor master, finished fueling his boat, the coast guard had radioed in that they would arrive within twenty minutes. Though it wasn’t easy, Joseph convinced his impatient and on edge brother to wait for their assistance. The Coast Guard cutter would be faster than the captain’s boat anyhow. A water transfer later would only delay them. They headed back to Peter’s cabin to await the police.
The Coast Guard would not only have a faster boat, but more resources and equipment than the captain’s vessel and would be a wiser choice. They would need as much help as they could get to deal with Peter when they caught up to him. And they would, Jonathan told himself. If the man felt cornered, he could do something drastic. But the waiting was still killing him.
The police arrived at the cabin just as they did. And they came up with the same conclusions that Joseph had. One of the officers spoke up. “See, he sent himself the coordinates from this PC to his navigation system on the Penny. He is heading to Nassau. And yup, we have a hit on some wire transfers between accounts in New Providence. Two accounts. Don’t know how much he got. We don’t have passwords, but we can work on that. With kidnapping now a charge, the FBI can put pressure on them to release the information. I’m not sure you will be able to recover the funds though. That will be tricky.”
“I don’t care about the f*cking money.” And he didn’t. It was Aliya he cared about, and their baby. Jonathan was pacing. By now it had been nearly two hours since the harbor master estimated that Peter had fled. And the Coast Guard was running late. They should have arrived five minutes ago.
Behind him, another officer looking through a closet called over to his superiors. “Found a safe. It’s open. His passport is gone. But, Aliya’s purse is inside.”