Deep in Death: A Shelby Nichols Adventure (15 page)

Chapter 7

“What?” I felt the blood drain from my head. “What do you mean? He was on a yacht? What happened?”

She shook her head. “The only thing my boss knows at this point is there was some kind of a party on the yacht…and it went down from an explosion. Apparently several people made it off, but others are missing. I guess the rescue operation is still underway so it’s too early to have a list of names.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay.” This was awful, but I had to believe that Uncle Joey and Ramos had survived. They were smarter than to let themselves get blown up, right? They’d survived worse things, hadn’t they? Just then my phone rang, and my heart skipped a beat. Maybe it was him or Ramos telling me they were okay.

“Hello?”

“Shelby! It’s Jackie. Something terrible has happened,” she sobbed. “Kate called. There was an explosion on the boat. She doesn’t know where Joe is. I need to know…Joe told me about you…that you have premonitions. I need to know if he’s okay. Can you come to the house?”

“Yes. Yes, of course. I’ll be right there.” My throat closed into a tight lump. Hearing Jackie’s frantic voice made it all real. If Kate had called and didn’t know where Uncle Joey was, did that mean he was really dead?

I glanced at Billie. Her brows were drawn together in concern and she was thinking I seemed almost a little too upset if Manetto didn’t mean anything to me. Who had just called me? Where was I going? I cleared my throat and swallowed. “I’ve got to go.”

“Who was that?” she asked.

“I’ll… tell you later,” I answered, knowing she would never let it go unless I gave her a promise of some kind, even if it was a promise I didn’t intend to keep. Without waiting for a response, I hurried out of the tavern and jumped into my car.

I drove to Uncle Joey’s place in a daze, still not believing it had happened. If it had…and they were dead…tears gathered in my eyes, but I blinked them away. I wasn’t ready to believe Uncle Joey or Ramos was dead. Not yet. The Passinis had planned this. Their plan all along must have been to get Uncle Joey to sign the merger and then kill him. I didn’t think for one minute the explosion could have been an accident, but if Kate was still alive, did that mean she was on their side? It wouldn’t be the first time she had double-crossed Uncle Joey.

I turned into the driveway and my stomach clenched. What was I going to tell Jackie? She thought I had premonitions, so I had to tell her something. Even if it wasn’t the truth, I knew I had to tell her Uncle Joey was still alive. No way could I tell her he was dead. He couldn’t be dead.

The walk to the front door seemed to take forever, but was also too short once I got there. Before I could ring the bell, the door flew open and Jackie grabbed me. She held onto me like I was a life boat and she was a sinking ship.

“It’ll be okay,” I murmured, patting her on the back, and my eyes filling with tears. “It’s okay,” I said over and over. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

Her breath caught and she stepped back. “You are? You’re sure he’s fine?” Hope brightened her tear-filled eyes.

I nodded and smiled, wiping away my own tears. “Yes…pretty sure. Let’s go inside.”

She swallowed and stepped aside as I walked past, closing the door behind me. I followed her down the hall and into a comfortable sitting room. “Thank you so much for coming,” she began. “I was going crazy here by myself.”

“When did you find out?”

“Kate called to tell me, just before I called you. She said she’d call me back as soon as she knew more, but she hasn’t called yet.”

“Did Kate say what happened?” I asked.

“She sounded out of breath, and she was shivering, like she’d just been pulled out of the water. She said the yacht was anchored near the docks, not too far from shore. Then there was a big explosion, and the boat started to sink. Alec helped her get into a lifeboat, but she couldn’t find Joe and Ramos in the confusion.”

“Did she see them after the explosion?”

“I don’t know. She wasn’t making a lot of sense.”

“She was probably in shock,” I said, knowing firsthand how that felt. “But if she saw Uncle Joey and Ramos after the explosion, that means there’s a good chance they got off the yacht before it sank, especially if they could swim to shore. They might be on the beach somewhere.”

“Is that what your premonitions are telling you?” Jackie asked, sounding desperate.

“Yes.” I nodded. “Either that, or someone else helped them off.” Of course, I had no idea, but it could be true. “Let’s see if we can get through to Kate again. Do you have her number?”

“Um…it’s on my phone.” Jackie picked up her cell, but her fingers were shaking and she couldn’t get the numbers right.

“Can I try?” I asked. With a grateful sigh she handed the phone to me and I quickly brought up Kate’s cell number and pushed call. It rang several times before it went to voice mail. I left a message that I was with Jackie and to call us back right away.

After I disconnected, Jackie reached for the phone. “I haven’t tried Joe’s cell phone yet. Maybe I should do that.”

“Oh…yes, that’s a good idea.” I handed it over and watched as she pushed in his number. She held it to her ear, and we both listened with baited breath, hoping he would answer. It went to voice-mail and Jackie’s face crumpled, but she left a tender message for him to call her, telling him how much she loved him and he’d better not be dead. She disconnected, then pushed in another number. From her thoughts, I knew it was Ramos’ cell.

The same process repeated without him picking up, and she left another message, only this time it wasn’t so sweet. “Damn it Ramos!! You or Joe better call me or you’re in deep shit!” She clicked the phone off and sent it spinning across the coffee table, then glanced at me. “That felt good.”

“I’m sure it did.” I smiled, wishing I could yell at them too. “How could they let this happen?”

“I know!” Jackie agreed. “This is horrible. How could they do this to me? If you weren’t here, I don’t know what I’d do. I’d probably go crazy. I hate this. I hate waiting around for the phone to ring.”

She took a deep breath and began pacing back and forth across the floor like a caged animal. “Joe did tell me something before he left. He said if I heard any bad news not to worry, he had plans in place that should keep him safe. But then he ruined it by telling me that if anything did happen to him, he made sure in his will that I’d be well provided for. Damn that man! What am I supposed to think?”

I was saved from answering by the phone ringing. Jackie dove for it and I held my breath as she answered. I knew from her thoughts that it wasn’t Uncle Joey or Ramos, and my shoulders sagged. She hung up and explained it was Ricky. Then the phone began to ring again. This time it was David Berardini saying that he and his wife were coming right over.

Jackie sighed and flopped onto the couch, drained and exhausted. “I guess the news is out. Everyone’s coming over to wait for word.”

“Yeah? That’s good. It means you won’t be alone.” At her stricken expression, I quickly continued. “While you wait for Uncle Joey to call. Which I’m sure he’ll be doing any time now.” Jackie stared at me with disbelief in her eyes. She wondered if I was the real deal or not? Just then it sure didn’t sound like it.

“Can I get you anything?” I asked. “Like a drink or something to eat?”

“Yes,” she said, nodding absently. “I think some wine would be good. It’s in the kitchen.”

“Great. I’ll be right back.” I hurried out, glad for something useful to do that would hopefully take her mind off me. I found the kitchen without too much trouble, and after checking the cupboards, found a bottle of Cabernet and poured a generous amount into a glass. By the time I returned, David, his wife, their son Nick, and Ricky had all arrived.

Jackie gratefully took the wine and almost drained the glass. She was thinking she could have used something stronger, but needed to keep her wits about her when Joe called. I perked up to hear that. At least she was being positive.

“You all need to know,” Jackie announced. “That Shelby said Joe was going to be fine.” She glanced at me and smiled. “So even though things look bad, there’s nothing to worry about. You all know how much Joe trusts Shelby.”

They all turned their gazes to me. Everyone but David’s wife comprehended that Jackie was talking about my premonitions, and their relief hit me like a tidal wave. I managed a weak smile and a nod, but they still waited for me to say something.

I swallowed, hoping I could phrase my response so that it didn’t sound like I was lying through my teeth. “That’s right, and you know Uncle Joey. He’s been in lots worse situations before and he always manages to come out of them just fine. This is no different. In fact, he knew the Passinis were planning something, so I’m sure he was ready for it.”

“Shelby’s right,” Ricky added. “We have to believe in the boss.”

That seemed to break the tension and everyone began asking questions at once. Nick came to my side, his brows drawn low and his gaze hard. We’d spent some time together in Orlando, and he’d seen me win a poker match with my premonitions. Still, he was a little skeptical. “So…is this another one of your premonitions? Or are you just saying this to help Jackie.” He’d seen my hesitation and shifty eyes. That meant I was probably lying.

“Listen Nick,” I whispered. “I’m doing my best here. I’m just as shook up as the rest of you. All I know is I have a feeling it will be all right, and I’m going with it. If I’m wrong, we’ll know soon enough, but I sure hope not.”

His lips twisted, but he accepted my explanation with a short nod. “Good to know.”

The shrill tone of the phone ringing froze everyone in their places. With all eyes focused on Jackie, she quickly answered, then held out her arm toward David, who reached out to steady her.

“Are you sure?” she asked. There was a long pause before she spoke, but from her thoughts, I knew it was Kate and the news wasn’t good. “Yes. I think that’s a good idea. Shelby? Well, she’s here…” Jackie glanced at me while she continued to listen. “Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll call you when I have the information.”

She lowered the phone and leaned against David, who helped her to a chair. After sitting, she took deep breaths to compose herself, then closing her eyes, she began. “That was Kate. They’re still searching the area, and they’ve rescued a few people, but right now Joe and Ramos are officially missing.” She glanced at me, struggling to hold back the tears that filled her eyes. “She wants me to get on the next flight out, and she wants Shelby to come with me.”

Now everyone turned their gazes to me. “Uh…me? Are you sure?”

“Yes. I don’t know why, but she said it was important that you be there. Will you come?”

I nodded. “Um…sure. Of course.”

Jackie closed her eyes and sighed. “Good. Thank you Shelby.”

“I’ll check the flights and book them,” David offered, taking out his phone.

“Thanks.” Jackie wiped the tears from her cheeks. “While you do that, I need to call Miguel. He needs to know what’s happening, and I don’t want him to hear this from anyone else.”

She went into Uncle Joey’s office for privacy and I sat down on the couch. I knew Kate wanted me there because I could figure out what had happened by listening to Julia or Jon. I wasn’t sure how that was supposed to help, since we already figured that they’d planned the whole thing. Still, it would be nice to know what was going on. I still couldn’t believe that Uncle Joey and Ramos were dead…I just couldn’t, but if I found out the Passinis had done something to make sure Uncle Joey and Ramos didn’t survive, I might want to shoot them myself. 

“Okay…you’re all booked,” David said. “I’ve got you on the eight-twenty flight to Seattle. Ricky will pick you up at six-thirty.”

“Okay. I’d better go home and get packed. Tell Jackie I’ll see her in the morning.”

It was nearly midnight when I pulled the car into the garage, and I hoped Chris wasn’t too upset with me that I hadn’t called. Then I realized that if he’d gone with Uncle Joey, he could be dead or missing too. I found him sound asleep in bed. The bedside lamp was on and his hair was tousled with his face half turned into the pillow. He must have sensed me watching because he stirred, moving his arm and flopping to his back. His eyes fluttered open and he glanced at me in confusion.

“What time is it?” he asked. 

I threw myself into his arms. “Oh Chris! You’ll never believe what’s happened.”

The breath whooshed out of him and he made a strangled sound. “You’re…cho..king…me.”

I loosened my arms and rolled off his stomach onto my side of the bed. He grunted, and with blinking eyes, pushed himself into a sitting position. As soon as he was settled, I flung my arms around his waist and laid my head against the crook of his neck.

“What’s going on?” he asked, pulling me tight.

“Uncle Joey and Ramos are missing….and they might be dead.” As I told him how I’d found out from Billie that the yacht they were on had blown up, and how Jackie had called minutes later to ask me to come over, tears filled my eyes, and my voice shook. I blinked them away, hoping Chris wouldn’t notice how upset I was. “I think the Passinis must have planned the whole thing.”

“But what did Jackie want?” Chris asked.

“I guess Uncle Joey told her I had premonitions, so she wanted to know if he was still alive.”