The captain relaxed a notch. “It’s just administrative stuff, though.

The base is clean.”

“For now,” Kerry agreed quietly. “Doesn’t it bother you that stuff was going on?”

Taylor dusted a bit of lint off his shoulder. “Do we know it really was?” he countered. “That informant of yours could have been lying.”

Kerry shrugged. “Why?”

“To get someone in trouble. Maybe they’re the ones involved in some funny business, and they thought bringing in drugs would shift the attention,” the JAG officer replied reasonably. “C’mon, Ms. Stuart—

do you honestly think we’ve got an entire smuggling operation going on at a Navy base? Low-grade black market, yeah, I can buy that. But drugs?”

Well. Kerry thought about it. It was possible, she guessed. They hadn’t seen any of the smuggling, just the evidence the chief had brought over. “What about that telecommunications gear that was ripped out?”

The captain chuckled. “You know, I was thinking about that. You know what I bet happened? I bet someone in some office somewhere had a requisition to yank it out, or some wire got crossed, and an order was cut, and that’s why no one knew about it. Doesn’t that happen in your company sometimes?”

True. “Sometimes,” Kerry agreed, “but not often.”

“Well,” Taylor stood up, “I’m going to file my preliminary report to the general. I think we overreacted a little bit here. Comes from putting civilians into a situation they don’t really understand, I think.”

Kerry’s eyes took on a perceptibly cold glint. “You do that,” she told the captain with deceptive pleasantness. “By the way, Captain?”

He had turned to leave, but now he paused and glanced back.

“Yes?”

“Where did you go hide Saturday?” Kerry inquired. “I had count of 308 Melissa Good everyone who was with us, and I lost you after we went into the computer center.” She held up a clipboard. “I need to know for my...report.”

His face became a mask. “You must be mistaken, Ms. Stuart. I was there the whole time.” He turned and walked out, settling his hat squarely on the top of his head as he went through the door.

“Ooh.” Kerry slowly let out a breath, and crossed her arms. “You little pinheaded starch-butt.”

“Ms. Kerry?” Mayte asked uncertainly, as she stuck her head around the corner of the door. “Did you say something?”

“Not to you.” Kerry sat down and sucked down a big mouthful of her tea. “Mayte, do you have a number for General Easton? If you don’t, I bet María does.”

“I will get it,” her assistant promised, disappearing quickly.

Kerry chewed her lip, then put her cup down and punched the speakerphone button, hitting the top speed dial on her console. It rang twice, then was answered. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Dar’s voice sounded alert and faintly amused. “I was just thinking of you.”

Kerry felt her train of thought gently derail and move off onto a siding somewhere. “Were you? How come?”

“Underwear,” Dar replied succinctly.

It wasn’t the response Kerry was expecting. “Excuse me?”

“I’m doing laundry.”

“Oh.” Kerry’s brow creased. “You didn’t have to, Dar. I’d have done it tonight.” She knew her lover hated doing laundry and avoided it whenever possible, sending everything she could get her hands on to the island’s cleaners.

Except things like underwear, of course. Kerry smiled to herself as she took a sip of tea.

“Mom thinks yours are cute.”

The mouthful of tea was expelled across the desk’s surface, narrowly missing her keyboard. “What?” Kerry wiped her forearm across her mouth. “Paladar! Why are you showing your mother my underwear?”

Dar chuckled softly. “You sound so cute when you’re flustered.”

“I’m not flustered! I’m flabbergasted! Two very different emotions!” Kerry said. “And you didn’t answer me!”

“Relax,” her lover replied. “She’s just helping me do laundry. It’s tough with one arm.”

Kerry covered her eyes with one hand. “Oh.” She exhaled, then paused in thought. “So Mom came by, huh?”

“Mm,” Dar answered.

“Everything okay?” Kerry asked guardedly.

“Very much so,” the surprising answer came back. “We had a talk.”

The pleasure was evident in Dar’s tone. “It’s great.”


Red Sky At Morning 309

“Oh yeah?” Kerry felt a smile cross her face. “Wow. That’s really good to hear, Dar.”

“Yeah.” Dar let out a happy little sigh. “So, what’s up there?”

Plans suddenly got sidetracked, and Kerry concentrated on the job at hand. “Ah. I had a visit from Captain Butter-wouldn’t-melt-between-my-butt-cheeks.”

Dar snorted in laughter.

“He’s already putting together his version of a story to make everything look like nothing,” Kerry said seriously. “If we don’t have something in that box, Dar, we really don’t have much.”

“Mm.” Dar sounded serious now, too. “Open it up, then.”

Kerry took a deep breath and carefully asked the question she’d been avoiding. “I’ll need the algorithm codes. Do you have them?” She crossed her fingers and toes and bit her lower lip as she waited for the answer.

“Sure,” Dar replied easily. “My birthday, offset, your birthday.” A pause. “In hex.”

Kerry’s eyes popped open and she stared across her office with a look of chagrin. “Oh, you’re kidding.”

“No,” her lover replied. “Those are a bitch to memorize, Kerry, and it’s not like I had a pad and pencil handy. I picked something I knew I’d remember.”

Duh. Kerry almost laughed. I should have known. She gazed up at her ceiling. “Okay, listen, I think I’d rather wait until you got back here to do it. We can hold them off that long.”

“You sure?” Dar asked. “Yeah, on second thought, let’s give them a chance to think they’re home free. Then they’ll relax a little.”

“Right,” Kerry said. “Is Mom staying for dinner?”

There was a muffled noise, a low buzz of conversation, then Dar’s voice came back. “If you pick up Captain Crab’s Takeaway Seal.”

“You got it,” Kerry snickered. “One bucket, coming up.” She hung up and leaned back, a dozen thoughts zooming through her head.

One remained. “Oh, crap.” Kerry winced. “I hope it wasn’t the pink ones.”

THE BOAT WAS rocking gently on the tide as Kerry made her way along the dock. It was very quiet, and she didn’t see anyone around, even after she stepped up onto the gangway and crossed onto the boat’s white deck. “Hello?” she called out, looking around for Andrew.

“Dad?”

Silence. Kerry ducked down and stuck her head inside the cabin. It was quiet down there as well; the worktable, covered in painting supplies, sitting mutely near the windows. “Dad?”

Still nothing. Kerry stood up and walked across the stern deck, which had comfortable looking bench seats on either side and a storage 310 Melissa Good locker in the center that doubled as a table.

“Huh.” She walked over and leaned on the railing, peering down into the dark blue-green water. “Maybe he went to the dock shop.” She watched a sea grape float by, lulled by its peaceful bobbing.

Then the water heaved and a hand surged up to grab the railing between hers, scaring the living daylights out of her.

“Yah!” Kerry squealed, jerking back and scrambling away from the railing. “Jesus!”

Andrew peered through the metal bars at her and the curious expression on her face. “Hold on t’yer shorts, kumquat. I sure ain’t the good Lord.”

Kerry sat down on the center console, and put a hand on her chest.

“Wow,” she laughed weakly. “You got me.”

The ex-SEAL pulled himself up and climbed over the railing, the boat’s deck rocking a little under his weight. He was dressed in a half wetsuit and his minimal diving rig, which he shed as he ambled over to where Kerry was sitting. “Didn’t mean to scare you, Kerry,” he apologized. “Just wasn’t sure what that shadow was looking over my rail.” He knelt beside her and put a damp hand on her knee. “You all right?”

Kerry felt her heart rate start to slow, and she ran a hand through her hair. “Yeah,” she said. “Boy, a dolphin’s got nothing on you.”

Andrew chuckled. “Long as you don’t smack me in the snout with no mackerel.” He cocked his head at her. “Didn’t ’spect visitors t’day.”

Kerry abruptly remembered her task. “Ah.” She folded her arms, holding her news close and cherishing it. “Do you know where your wife is?”

Andrew’s grizzled brows creased in puzzlement, and he glanced around at the empty deck. “Figgered she went down to the shops,” he hazarded. “Why? You know different?”

“Mm-hmm,” Kerry nodded. “She’s at our place.”

“Ah see.” Andrew seemed to relax as he stood up and walked over to the padded bench, picking up a towel and tousling his short-cropped hair dry. “Dar need something?” He peeked at her from behind a corner of the terrycloth.

“No. They were just spending some time together.” A gentle twinkle entered Kerry’s eyes.

A big grin spread across the ex-SEAL’s face. “For real?”

Kerry nodded.

“Hot damn!” A chortle of joy escaped. “C’mere!”

He held out his arms and Kerry scrambled over and threw herself into them, not minding the wetness one tiny bit. She felt the laughter as they hugged each other. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said as they released each other. “I called Dar, and she sounded so happy.”

Andrew shook his head in amazement. “Damn, that’s good to hear,” he breathed. “I knew things were getting easier, but I never Red Sky At Morning 311

figured it would go this fast.”

“Me, either,” Kerry admitted. “They’re both pretty stubborn.”