Dawn Patrol (9 page)

Delgado heaped rice onto a plate, stirred the pot again and dumped a spoonful of fish stew on top. He filled a second plate, gathered up some cutlery and picked up both plates. “Promise or not, Miss Esme, you aren't going anywhere,” he said and disappeared from the kitchen. “Not yet. Not until I figure out what to do next anyway.”

“Come on,” Kevin said, putting his palms on the edge of the doorway. He climbed up into the kitchen and quickly moved to the opposite wall.

“You can go to hell,” I heard Esme yell, and a plate smashed.

Atta girl, I thought. I was about to pull myself up when Jose came out of the trees and tackled me to the ground.

“Delgado, they're here!” Jose yelled.

I was face-first in the dirt. I struggled to get away. Jose had his hand on the back of my head, pushing my face into the sand. I stayed still for a moment, and his grip let up. I waited another moment.

“You just stay there,” Jose said.

I couldn't see which way he was facing, but I felt him shift his body slightly to one side. It took all my strength, but I managed to kick Jose off and roll over at the same time.

“So you found us,” Delgado said.

“Where are they?” Kevin demanded.

I brushed sand from my face and eyes. Jose was beside me. He didn't seem to know what to do. I pushed my hands into the sand and kicked him as hard as I could. He tumbled to the ground.

“Didn't we tell you to stay put?” I said, standing up. I stepped on his chest and launched myself through the doorway.

chapter twenty

“Put the knife down, Kevin,” Delgado said as I entered the living room.

Kevin had a fishing knife, dripping with fish guts, gripped in one hand. “Where are they?” he said.

“Kevin,” I said. But he wasn't listening. I heard rustling behind me and turned in time to grab Jose and dump him on the floor. Kevin didn't even turn around.

“Put the knife down, man,” Jose said. He rolled into the corner and pulled his legs to his chest. “Come on, this has gone far enough. Just put the knife down.”

I moved against the wall so I could keep an eye on Jose—though he didn't look like he was going anywhere.

“Kevin,” Esme said. “What are you doing? Put the knife down.”

Kevin took a step toward Delgado. “I'm only going to ask you once. Where are my parents?”

“Put the knife down, Kevin, or you'll never know.” He snapped his fingers. “I can make them disappear like that.”

Esme stood up and came around the end of the table. “Kevin, put the knife down.” A piece of cloth that must have been used as a gag hung around her neck. A length of rope dangled from her wrist.

“Don't be stupid, man. Put the knife down,” Jose said.

“Kevin,” I said.

“Kevin,” Esme said.

But he wasn't hearing us. He charged at Delgado, the knife raised. Delgado turned and put his hands up in front of his face. Kevin hit Delgado's throat with his forearm, dragged him to the ground and smacked his head. There were tears on his cheeks. His eyes were red and his lips quivered. Delgado held his hands in front of his face. “Where are they?” he shouted and smacked Delgado on the head again. “Where are they? Where are they?” Delgado turned to one side and coughed. “Just tell me where they are!”

I looked at Delgado, and I knew. I had known all along, even though I had hoped it wasn't true. I had believed as much as I could. But not as much as Kevin had. “They died, Kevin,” I said. “Right, Delgado?”

Delgado nodded, and Kevin dropped the knife. Esme grabbed it and set it on the table behind her.

“Just like in the newspaper reports, right?” I said.

Delgado nodded. Kevin rose, and Delgado scurried backward. He pulled himself to a seated position against the wall beside Jose.

“Why?” Kevin said. “Why would you give me all this…hope?”

“What was I supposed to do? I had everything tied up in that hotel. Sure, my huts are all right, but I barely keep my head above water.”

“Why didn't you ask for help?” I said. “Rather than put everyone through all of this?”

Delgado pushed himself up the wall and shook his head. “Who would believe me?”

“So you emotionally blackmailed Kevin?” I said. “With the one thing you knew he cared most about? You thought that was a better idea? How long was this going to go on for?”

“Until the hotel was finished.”

“And then what?” Esme said.

“I…I hadn't thought that far ahead.”

Kevin stood up and pulled Esme to him. He put his arm around her waist and walked toward the door. I grabbed the knife off the table and followed them.

“I'm…I'm sorry,” Delgado called. “Your father believed in that hotel. He loved Bocas. He wanted to share the island's waves with other surfers. He wanted to live here with you…”

Kevin looked at Delgado. “And that isn't going to happen. Just stay away from us, Delgado.”

“I'm sorry. I really am. But what choice did I have?”

“You could have been kind,” I said, repeating what Delgado had said to us when we had arrived.

I grabbed the lantern from the front porch and walked to the water's edge. The beach was cool and quiet. Palms swayed in the breeze as the waves rolled in, gently pushing against the shore. I held the lantern up and waved it from side to side. Kevin and Esme found our boards. I heard the rumble of an engine, and the headlight on Alana's Jet Ski flashed on and off.

“Here you go,” Esme said. She handed me my board.

“All four of us won't be able to go back on the one Jet Ski,” I said. “How about you guys wait here. I'll go in with Alana and then come back out.”

Esme looked at Kevin. He didn't seem to be with us. “You think we'll be safe?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “I'm sure you will.” I handed the knife to Kevin. “I'll be back in an hour. Okay?”

“Okay,” Esme said. She took Kevin's hand and led him down the beach. “Thanks, Luca.”

I dropped my board into the surf. The water was still warm. The clouds had parted, and the moon shone brilliantly on the water. I looked down at the sting rays and scurrying fish and paddled out into the deeper water.

“Where is everyone?” Alana asked as she helped me slide my board onto the trailer.

“Just Kevin and Esme,” I said.

“No parents?”

“No parents.” I climbed on behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “Can I use the Jet Ski to come back for them?”

“Hmm,” she said, turning and presenting her lips. “For a price.” I kissed her and held her tightly. “Was Delgado there?”

“Yeah. And Jose. Apparently they worked together on this.”

“It sounds like it's a mess.”

“It is,” I said.

She gunned the Jet Ski, and we skipped out away from the breakers. “Anyway, if they're both here, then there's no one to stop us from grabbing Delgado's boat and coming back. It would be safer than the Jet Ski.”

I kissed the back of her head. “Thank you,” I said.

“Hey,” she said. “What did I say? Anything for you.”

chapter twenty-one

“Pass me that hammer,” Kevin said. It was three weeks later, and we were hammering nails into the hotel's walls to hang paintings. Every painting was of the ocean. The beauty and power of the ocean was present in every room.

“How many more of these do we have left to hang?” I asked.

“This is the last one,” Kevin said.

“No, it isn't,” Esme said. “There's still one left to hang in the manager's room.”

Kevin hammered a nail into the wall and hung another painting. “That room is going to get its own special treatment,” he said, winking at Esme.

“Oh, is it now?” she said.

“Oh, it is,” Kevin said crossing the room and bringing Esme into his arms.

We had decided to stay at the hotel to help Kevin complete his parents' dream. My parents weren't big on the idea of my staying in Panama, especially after everything that had happened. But Esme's dad was coming down early next week to help us get the hotel up and running.

Kevin hired locals to finish the construction. Delgado had “sold” the hotel to Kevin for nothing. And Kevin, in turn, had decided not to report Delgado to the police. The hotel would be operational in another month, six weeks at the most. And the locals, now involved in the building and, eventually, running of the hotel, were supportive of it. Kevin also had plans to give part of the hotel's annual profits to the village.

“Let's take a break,” Kevin said.

I straightened the painting and followed them out to the beach. We walked the length of the pier to the dock, where there were twenty big chairs with cushions and side tables and a giant canopy for shade.

“It's almost done,” I said, settling into a chair with a sigh.

“Yeah,” Kevin said. “Can you imagine this place with people in it? Like, packed?”

“With surfers?” Esme said. “I don't want to imagine.” She leaned against the railing. “Maybe filled with families. You know, kids and everything.”

“You wouldn't know what to do with kids,” Kevin said, laughing. Esme gave him a quick punch on the shoulder.

“Kids? You teach them to surf,” Alana shouted. She stepped onto the pier in a floppy T-shirt and white shorts.

“No way,” I said. “You want to turn the next generation into a bunch of useless beach bums?”

Alana settled into the chair beside me. She had decided to stick around too. Her original plan to take a year off after graduation and travel with her boyfriend had shifted dramatically. Now, she said, she was going to stay in one place with her real boyfriend.

Alana looked at me. “Those five guys— I totally forget their names—the five we hired the other day?”

“Don't ask me. You set it up,” I said.

“Well, the five guys who are supposed to come and do the concrete deck are coming tomorrow,” she said.

“That's what they said yesterday,” Kevin said.

She shrugged. “Busy guys, I guess.”

Kevin laughed. “It'll all get done in time,” he said, leaning over the railing beside Esme.

“And then what?” Esme said.

“Then we open Fallbrook Resort.” He turned to face us. “Man, that has a nice ring to it.”

“Your mom would love it,” Esme said.

“She would,” Kevin said. “My dad too. He always wanted me to go into business with him. I thought it would be super boring and, you know, corporate.”

“Corporate?” I asked. “What does that even mean?”

He laughed. “Business-guy like.”

Staying in Panama wasn't the worst idea in the world. I had options, of course. I had done well at high school and could apply to colleges, if I wanted. But for now, there was something appealing about island life. It was slow and steady and pleasant. And we were doing something to contribute to the community.

“Shrimp bake tonight?” Alana said. She had taken on the role of cook.

“Sounds perfect,” I said.

Kevin wrapped an arm around Esme and looked back out at the water. He raised his head suddenly, like a dog who had heard a whistle. “Smell that?” he said.

I sniffed at the hot, heavy air. “What?”

“That's the smell of waves coming in.” He closed his eyes. “Yes. Listen.”

We all closed our eyes. I could hear birds in the trees, music from the village, the clicking sway of the palms. But nothing else. Not right away.

Then I heard it.

Beneath everything was the gentle lull of the ocean. The sleek, beautiful sound of approaching waves.

“Oh yeah,” I said.

“You hear it?” Kevin said.

“Yeah. I hear it,” I said.

Alana grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Me too. Ten-footers I'd say.”

“At least,” Esme said. “I'd say up to twelve.”

“No way. Those are easily fifteen feet,” I said. “Twenty maybe.”

“Monsters,” Kevin said.

I opened my eyes. He was grinning at me.

“Want to go surfing?” he asked.

I smiled. “I thought you'd never ask.”

Acknowledgments

Thanks go out to the usual suspects: Megan, Luca and Alex for making everything better; Christi Howes for her ninja-like editing abilities; the Paterson clan, Rebecca Van Vlasselaer, and the people of Bocas del Toro for an amazing time in Panama; as well as Luca and Kevin for lending their names.

Jeff Ross grew up near Collingwood, Ontario, where he learned to ski, snowboard, skateboard and injure himself in fantastic and unique ways.
Dawn Patrol
is his third novel in the Orca Sports series—all of which feature sports that involve standing sideways on a board. Jeff teaches English and Scriptwriting for Television and Animation at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario. He is humored on a daily basis by his wife and two sons. Visit
www.jeffrossbooks.com
for more information.