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Authors: Mike Sherer

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BOOK: Night Tide
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closely.!Wink!bucked!and!rolled!on!the!other!side!of!the!saloon,!

trying!to!get!to!her.!I!rushed!to!her!side.!!

!

“Reyna?”!

!

She! lifted! her! head! and! opened! her! eyes! blearily,! slowly!

focusing!on!my!face.!

!

“This!really!hurts,”!she!said.!!

!

She!closed!her!eyes!and!her!head!thudded!onto!her!arm.!

!

Her! left! side! was! covered! in! blood.! I! pushed! and! pawed!

and! prodded,! looking! for! the! entry! wound.! Suddenly,! I! heard!

grunts!and!whimpers.!I!turned.!The!grunts!were!coming!from!

Wink.! He! jerked! his! head,! motioning! me! over! to! him.! The!

whimpers,!I!realized,!were!coming!from!me.!

!

“She’s!hurt,!Wink.”!

!

He!nodded!vigorously,!grunting!louder.!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

413&

!

I!scooted!over!to!him,!grasped!one!end!of!the!strip!of!tape!

over! his! mouth! and! yanked.! He! flinched,! but! didn’t! make! a!

sound.!

!

“Galley.”!He!nodded!to!the!side.!“Knife!in!the!top!drawer.”!

!

I!rose!up!on!my!knees,!found!the!knife!and!sawed!through!

the!tape!around!his!ankles.!He!sat!up!and!turned!so!I!could!free!

his! hands.! He! brought! them! around! in! front! of! his! chest! and!

rubbed!his!wrists!to!get!the!circulation!going.!I!got!to!my!feet!

and! saw! mile6distant! shoreline! scrolling! past! the! windows.!

Startled!we!were!still!underway,!it!took!me!a!few!moments!to!

figure! out! how! to! throttle! down,! shift! into! neutral! and! shut!

down!the!engine.!The!boat!settled!and!drifted,!the!silence!oddly!

discomfiting.!

!

Wink!kneeled!next!to!Reyna.!!

!

“Left! arm’s! a! mess,”! he! said,! “but! she! doesn’t! seem! hurt!

otherwise.! She’s! lost! a! lot! of! blood.! I’ll! get! a! tourniquet! on! it,!

but!we!need!to!get!her!back!to!shore!pretty!quick.!Think!you!

can!pilot!while!I!take!care!of!this?”!

!

I! nodded.! Turning! back! to! the! helm,! I! reversed! what! I’d!

just! done,! turning! over! the! big! twin! diesel! engines,! moving!

both! shift! levers! into! forward! and! slowly! easing! the! throttles!

up.!I!spun!the!wheel!and!turned!the!boat!around!until!the!bow!

pointed!toward!Coupeville,!then!I!opened!up!the!throttles!even!

more.! The! only! sound! in! the! next! five! minutes! was! the! loud!

drone! of! the! engines.! Wink! finished! what! he! could! for! Reyna!

and!got!up.!He!stood!next!to!me!and!stared!out!the!windscreen.!

!

For! a! brief! moment,! I! saw! a! glimpse! of! the! two! of! us! as!

we’d! once! been! in! the! summers! aboard! his! boat! in! Centralia.!

We!were!both!a!hell!of!a!long!way!from!that!place.!

!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

414&

!

!

Chapter&56
&

!

!

The! shoreline! sparkled! with! the! pulsing! lights! of!

emergency!vehicles!parked!on!the!quay!above!the!pier.!A!small!

crowd!of!early!risers!had!gathered!at!the!foot!of!the!long!wharf!

just! below! them,! gazing! curiously! out! at! the! dock! as! Wink!

adroitly!maneuvered!the!trawler!into!its!former!slot.!I!jumped!

down! to! the! dock! and! made! the! boat! fast.! A! small! knot! of!

people! milled! on! the! dock,! watching! me,! not! offering! to! help,!

possibly! dissuaded! by! the! presence! of! two! sheriff’s! deputies!

standing!with!casual!attentiveness,!hands!on!holsters.!!

!

“Sanders!”!

!

I! turned.! Two! medics! bent! over! a! seated! figure! huddled!

under!a!blanket.!The!man!struggled!to!get!up,!the!medics!trying!

to!restrain!him.!He!pushed!away!the!hand!on!his!shoulder!and!

rose!to!his!feet.!In!obvious!pain,!he!drew!closer,!the!question!in!

his!eyes!outweighing!it.!!

!

“Taylor?”!His!eyebrows!arched.!

!

“Dead,”!I!said.!!

!

The!deputies!stiffened!to!attention!like!Dobermans!behind!

a!chain!link!fence.!I!tipped!my!head!toward!one.!

!

“You! in! charge! here?”! I! said! to! Drucker,! my! voice! low!

enough!not!to!be!overheard.!

!

He!squared!his!shoulders.!“I’ll!take!responsibility.”!

!

“You!okay?!How’d!you…?”!

!

He! shrugged! and! winced! from! the! pain! the! movement!

caused.!“Kevlar!vest!saved!me.!Don’t!think!Taylor!knew!I!was!

wearing! it.! Asshole! never! did! like! following! procedure.!

Neighboring!boater!heard!all!the!commotion!and!fished!me!out!

of!the!water.”!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

415&

!

I! nodded! and! looked! past! him.! Waving! at! the! medics,! I!

called!them!over.!

!

“There’s! a! badly! wounded! naval! officer! on! board,”! I! told!

them.!“Unless!you!think!this!guy’s!gonna!die!any!second,!she’s!

your!priority.”!

!

One! of! them! hustled! back! to! grab! a! medical! kit! and! they!

both!climbed!aboard.!Wink!came!out!of!the!cabin!and!let!them!

pass,!then!joined!us!on!the!dock.!Drucker!nodded!at!him.!

!

“I!owe!you,!Langford.!More!than!just!an!apology.”!

!

For! a! moment! Wink! looked! as! if! he! might! deck! him.! He!

gave!a!weary!shrug.!

!

“Forgive!and!forget,”!he!said!simply.!

!

Drucker!shook!his!head,!unwilling!to!let!it!go.!“Officially,!I!

can’t!advise!you.!But!there!are!groups!that!will!help!you!get!a!

substantial!settlement!from!Uncle!Sam!for!what’s!been!done!to!

you.”!

!

“I’ve!got!enough!money,!special!agent.”!

!

“Maybe!a!measure!of!moral!restitution,!then.!Give!you!your!

good!name!back?”!

!

“Maybe.”!

!

Drucker! considered! him! for! a! moment,! then! turned! and!

walked!up!to!one!of!the!deputies.!I!watched!them!confer.!!

!

“What!now?”!I!said.!

!

Wink! stepped! up! next! to! me,! gaze! facing! the! same!

direction!as!mine.!“Don’t!know!yet.!Big!world!out!there.”!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

416&

!

!

Chapter&57&

!

!

A!figure!sat!on!the!steps!of!the!house!where!I!live,!lounging!

in!the!early!morning!sun,!not!hunching.!He!had!clipped!grizzled!

hair,!not!tangled!blond!locks.!As!tired!as!I!was!from!driving!my!

paper!route,!there!was!little!chance!I’d!mistake!him!for!Cole.!Or!

for! Keely.! He! leaned! back,! resting! on! one! elbow! and! watched!

me! silently! as! I! came! up! the! walk.! I! stood! in! front! of! him,!

waiting.!He!rose!slowly!and!walked!past!me,!then!stopped.!

!

“Come!on,”!he!said.!“Let’s!get!some!coffee.”!

!

I!hesitated.!“It’s!been!a!long!night,!Charlie.!I’m!beat.!Can’t!

this!wait?”!

!

Wordlessly,!he!walked!to!the!Toyota!sitting!at!the!curb!and!

got! in! the! passenger! seat! without! waiting! for! an! invitation.! I!

followed! slowly! and! climbed! behind! the! wheel.! We! drove! to!

our!usual!spot!in!silence.!!

!

Inside,!when!we’d!both!settled!into!a!booth!and!a!waitress!

had!come!by!to!fill!the!mugs!already!on!the!table,!he!rested!his!

elbows! on! the! table! and! cradled! his! coffee! in! both! hands.! He!

stared!into!the!mug!as!if!the!brown!liquid!held!his!fortune.!

!

“Look,! I’ve! never! been! much! good! at! thank6yous! or!

apologies,”!he!said.!“I!just!wanted!you!to!know!that!if!you!ever!

want! to! talk! about! what! happened! up! there! you! can! call! me,!

okay?”!

!

I! watched! him! for! a! moment,! then! looked! away! and!

rubbed!my!chin.!

!

“Okay,”!I!said!quietly.!

!

He!looked!at!me!then,!eyebrows!climbing!up!his!forehead.!

“That’s!it?”!

!

“What!do!you!want!me!to!say,!Charlie?”!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

417&

!

“I!don’t!know.!Nothing,!I!guess.”!He!dropped!his!gaze!to!the!

tabletop,!looking!pensive.!

!

“Sarah’s!still!pretty!upset,”!he!said!a!moment!later.!

!

“Doesn’t!surprise!me.!Kind!of!a!shock!to!discover!what!you!

thought!you!knew!about!your!parents!was!all!a!lie.”!

!

His!face!colored.!

!

“You!seem!to!be!taking!it!okay,”!I!said.!

!

He! shrugged.! “They’ve! gotta! take! responsibility! for! what!

they!did.”!A!pause,!then,!“Your!friend!okay?”!

!

I!didn’t!know!if!he!meant!Wink!or!Reyna.!I!guessed!Wink.!

“Better!than!okay,!I’d!say.!For!the!first!time!in!a!long!time.”!

!

Wink! had! his! good! name! back,! which! was! all! he’d! really!

wanted.!But!he’d!also!struck!a!deal!with!SIU!to!share!the!patent!

and!royalties!that!might!result!from!commercial!development!

of!the!technology!in!Kwan!Ji’s!notebook.!He!was!smart!enough!

to!build!on!Kwan’s!research.!!

!

Silence!fell!over!the!table.!It!began!to!make!me!feel!itchy.!

The!events!on!Whidbey!were!two!weeks!behind!me,!but!I!still!

felt!exhausted!and!listless!most!days.!All!that!death,!especially!

my! part! in! it,! had! taken! an! emotional! toll.! I’d! be! working!

through!it!for!a!long!time,!maybe!even!consulting!Jeri!privately,!

not!just!at!group!meetings.!And!there!was!the!nagging!question!

of! Reyna.! ONI! had! reclaimed! her,! spirited! her! back! to! D.C.! to!

recuperate!at!Walter!Reed!Medical!Center.!I!hadn’t!heard!from!

her!and!didn’t!know!how!to!get!in!touch.!Worse,!I!didn’t!know!

where!I!stood!with!her,!what!I!wanted!with!her,!what!was!even!

possible!between!people!on!different!coasts.!!

!

I!needed!sleep,!not!coffee.!I!pushed!it!away!and!stared!at!

Charlie!until!his!eyes!met!mine.!

!

“I! appreciate! your! offer,”! I! said.! “I! may! take! you! up! on! it!

someday.!You!already!know!most!of!it!from!the!reports.!I’ll!tell!

you! this! much:! I! learned! a! couple! of! things.! I! learned! that!

people!aren’t!motivated!by!causes,!or!religion,!or!politics.!None!

of! that! matters.! It’s! all! bullshit.! It! all! comes! down! to! what!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

418&

people!themselves!want,!what!individuals!want.!Money,!power,!

sex…”!

!

I! shook! my! head! and! looked! out! the! window! at! the!

sunshine! spreading! across! the! buildings! on! the! other! side! of!

the!street.!I!thought!about!the!waste!and!destruction!Baines’s!

ego! had! caused.! He’d! killed! two! members! of! his! own! family!

pursuing…!what?!I!didn’t!know!anymore.!

!

“What!else!did!you!learn?”!Charlie!prodded.!“You!said!two!

things.”!

!

How! could! I! explain! what! friendship! meant! to! me?! Or!

loyalty?!Or!what!the!fear!of!losing!a!friend!ends!up!costing?!!

!

The! past! had! caught! up! with! all! of! us—Clayt! and! Connie,!

Charlie! and! Sarah,! Baines! and! his! family,! Wink! and! me.! What!

we’d! done! with! the! opportunity! when! it! had! made! all! the!

difference.!

!

I!gave!another!headshake!and!smiled!at!him.!

!

“Nothing,”!I!said.!

!

Night&Tide
—Sherer&

BOOK: Night Tide
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