Chapter 32: Chapter 31

"Drink."

Bryn presses the bottle roughly to my lips. I take a long drink, needing the water but knowing I'm drugging myself. I thank her for the water, then I decide to take a chance...

"I'm worried about you guys," I say.

"Oh, you're worried about us?" Bryn says. "That's pretty funny cuz it looks like you're the one that's tied up!"

"Yeah," I go on, my voice sounding rough but audible. "I'm worried you guys could really get in shit over this. This is serious. I get that you're pissed at me and all, but this is taking it pretty far."

"Well thanks so much for your two cents," says Bryn. "Maybe we should kill you right now so we don't have to listen to your precious opinions anymore. Just shut up and drink."

I hear her starting to rip a fresh strip of duct tape off the roll to cover my mouth again. Need to keep talking.

"Plus, you guys are still my posse, you know?" I say. "Kodi? It's just us, right?"

I'm not really trying to piss her off but if I can plant a seed of doubt, maybe they'll see that what they're doing is completely insane and let me go.

"Fuck you!" Bryn yells and slaps me on the side of the head. She doesn't hit me that hard but it makes my ear ring and the pain is sharp.

"We're not your posse, bitch. We were never your fucking posse! You're a joke. We always just laughed at you! And besides, we know what we're doing, OK? We're not fucking amateurs!"

Kodi's been quiet, but this makes him laugh loudly. "Yeah we are," he says. "We're total fucking amateurs!"

"Shut up, Kodi!" Bryn says.

OK, I obviously got to her cuz she'd have never said that to Kodi otherwise. I wanted to reason with Bryn, but that doesn't seem possible. But if the two of them start fighting, maybe that could work in my favour too.

"Don't fucking tell me to shut up, Bryn!" Kodi booms at her.

I know that tone and I'm sure Bryn does too. She better backtrack right away or she's gonna have a bad time. "Sorry Kode," she says. "It's just, she gets me so mad!"

But Kodi's not done. "This whole thing was your idea and it's actually really fucked up!" he says. "Darwin's right."

"Don't say that! She's not right!" Bryn insists. "Of course she'd think that, cuz it's happening to her, but this is totally gonna work!"

"How do you know? You never did this before! And if it doesn't work, I don't fucking wanna go to jail, Bryn! You act like it's all a game, but this is really fucking serious!

"And you were totally fine with it!" Bryn says. "You were all, like, we're finally doing something cool!"

"Yeah, well maybe I'm not okay with it now. It's taking way too long and that lawyer dude could come back to his boat anytime. It's getting pretty fucking hard to see how this is gonna work out, Bryn."

"It'll work," says Bryn, not sounding as confident as she might have wanted. "Trust me. It's, like, nearly winter, so the lawyer isn't gonna be taking his boat out. Plus, the bitch's Euro-Mom won't let anything bad happen to her. She'll give us the money. It's gonna work."

"She's not rich, you know," I say. "She can't pay you."

I can't see Kodi's face, but I know he's having doubts. I can't let up. I know the roofies or whatever they put in the water are gonna kick in soon, so I decide to keep talking while I can still think clearly.

"Kodi, this isn't you." I say. "You always have a good sense about stuff. If you think there's a problem here, it's cuz there is. You know there's no way..."

I don't finish because Bryn hits me with something. I can't see what she picked up, but it's hard and pain shoots through my arm. Fuck! A frying pan or something.

"Shut up!" she shrieks. "You don't talk unless we tell you to! Understand?"

The ropes keep me from blocking her or protecting myself and she keeps pounding me on my side, my arm and my shoulder.

"Fucking bitch always thinks she's smarter than everyone!" she's yelling, emphasizing the words with swings of the blunt object.

One hit lands hard on my ribs and it feels like something cracks inside me. The pain is crazy. I'm moaning but trying hard not to cry. Another hit. She keeps going, sending shock waves of pain through me with each blow. Then I hear another sharp smack but this time I don't feel anything. This one wasn't directed at me. Bryn cries out in pain and I hear her fall to the floor.

"Stop!" Kodi's voice booms like thunder inside the boat. "This is over!" he says. "We're done."

I hear Bryn sobbing on the floor, then I hear the rustle of a plastic bag. Kodi puts something close to my face. "Here's a muffin, Darwin. Eat it," he says. "Get up, Bryn. We're going."

Bryn's still crying as they leave.

• • • •

Jello got an early morning text from C. J. and then immediately called her to explain what they were all up to. It was pretty clear she was pissed they didn't include her.

"C. J. wants to help," Jello said, looking at Teddy for approval.

"Yeah, definitely!" said Teddy.

"We need all the help we can get," said Byron.

"OK," said Jello, after finishing up with C. J. "She'll meet us here in ten."

Immediately, Jello, Byron and Uncle Joe started debating what to do next. Byron wanted to keep combing the downtown streets. They didn't know where Kodi and his buddies spent their nights, but wherever it was, he reasoned, they'd be coming out soon to panhandle or do whatever they do all day.

"We can keep an eye on them from a distance and see where they go," he said. "Maybe they'll lead us to Darwin!"

Uncle Joe was saying that they'd be a lot sharper if they got some rest, so he was all for heading home to take a nap. Jello, meanwhile, started formulating a complicated plan that involved Teddy's mom in Finland phoning Kodi while they all somehow listened in with the apparent goal of trying to trick Kodi into revealing some key detail of his scheme.

"We do an online call with Neea, then dial him in," he said. "Then Joe breaks into the call, pretends he's a cop and tells Kodi we've located his phone..."

It sounded like Uncle Joe was warming up to the idea, but Teddy was only half-listening because it seemed farfetched. Kodi would never tell them where he was holding Darwin, plus, who knows what he'd do to her if they made him panic? Teddy felt like they were getting nowhere, plus he was still irritated about Peter's attitude. How could that guy have made it all about himself when Darwin was actually in real danger? How selfish could you get? She could die and all he cared about was his goddamn credit cards.

Teddy desperately wanted to figure out where Darwin was and get her back home safely, but his mind kept drifting back to that conversation with Peter Cavil. It was like there was something trying to get his attention that was lost in all of the thoughts, doubts and worries whirling around in his head. He needed to clear his mind. Like Ukki, he needed to go ice-fishing...

In the front seat of the car, while the others argued, Teddy closed his eyes, took a deep, slow breath and let his mind drift...

Darwin...

Kodi...

Kodi and his friends beat up a drunk guy...

Not targeted, just a random guy getting out of a Mercedes, obviously piss-drunk... of course they took his money...

Just a coincidence that he turned out to be Neea's boss, whether Uncle Joe thought so or not, but for Kodi it was an opportunity...

Peter Cavil... Smug and selfish, thought the world owed him everything. Such a relief when Neea stopped dating him. No more awkward dinners with Peter, no more going out on his stupid sailboat...

His boat... Peter barely even knew how to sail. He nearly hit another boat coming out of the marina...

His boat...

"The boat!" Teddy shouted suddenly.

"God you scared me!" said Jello.

"What boat?" said Byron. "Were you even listening?"

"Peter's boat, obviously! Joe, drive to the marina! Wharf Street! Go!"

"Dude, we're gonna call Kodi," said Jello. "Didn't you hear the plan?"

"No," said Teddy. "We need to go to the marina now!"

"OK, Ted," said Joe, pulling away from the curb. "Uh, why we going to the marina?"

"Peter's boat! That's where Darwin is! She's on his goddamn boat!" said Teddy, shaking his head at the fact that he hadn't thought of it sooner.

"You think Peter had something to do with this?" said Uncle Joe.

"No, not at all! But they took Peter's keys! On his keychain he would have had a key to get onto the dock at the marina, and another one to get into his boat. I remember the keys from when he took us on his boat. They've got his keys!"

"I don't get it," said Byron, hanging on as the Toyota's tires squealed around a corner. "How would they even know he had a boat? They just had a bunch of keys. It's not like one of them said 'boat' on it."

"Or maybe it did?" said Uncle Joe.

"Seems like the type to label his keys," said Jello.

"He was at the marina when they jumped him," said Teddy. "Wouldn't it kinda figure that he'd have a boat? Or, I don't know, maybe they'd seen him there before. Who knows?"

"You think they jumped Peter to get the keys to his boat?" said Byron.

"Anything's possible," said Teddy. "But maybe they just thought about the boat after they had his keys. However it happened, I'm, like, ninety-percent sure that's where Darwin is. That's the unexpected place!"

"OK..." said Byron, obviously not convinced.

"The unexpected place! You're a genius, T," said Jello, texting C. J. about the change in plans. "Darwin's totally on that boat!"

Uncle Joe turned off Rockland Avenue onto Cook Street. The sun was fully up now and shining through gaps in the buildings to the east.

"I guess it's the best theory we have," he said.

• • • •

Hurts to breathe. Why? Oh right, got hit by a car.

Wait, no...

Ugh, my head throbs when I move. Can't see and I can hardly move. I try to think but my mind's being pulled away like a helium balloon.

I think I hear someone coming but the sounds are all breaking apart. Was I asleep? Where am I? Why can't I see anything?

"Hey," says the voice. Is it Teddy? I really want it to be Teddy. I try calling to him but the word just comes out like "Tehhhhhh" then keeps going even after I'm sure I stopped.

"Darwin!" he says.

Now I'm just moaning but he hears me.

"Oh man," he says. "Fuck!... This is so fucked up..."

This doesn't sound like Teddy. He comes over to where I'm lying down. Am I in a bed? Where is this place? I'm such an idiot. Why don't I know where I am!

"Listen up. They're letting you go, OK? You're gonna get out of here. The drugs'll wear off and then..."

He's tugging at some ropes that are around me. Why are there ropes?

"There," he says, "you're untied."

Teddy-not-Teddy starts pulling at my head.

"Hey!" I say, trying to twist away from him.

He pulls something off that was over my eyes. I open my eyes a little but the light is blinding so I close them tight again.

"We can't live here," I say.

"What?" he says. "Shhh."

"It stinks."

I blink and try to look around but still can't see much.

"Shhh," he says again. "Don't get up until you're feeling better, then get out of here, OK? I gotta go now, but you're OK, Darwin. You're gonna be OK..."

He starts to leave. My eyes adjust a bit to the light and my scrambled brain starts to make sense of things. I can see now that it isn't Teddy and, no, we aren't looking at an apartment to rent. This is the boat I've been on and I'm not tied up anymore.

"Jewels," I say.

Jewels turns and looks back into the cabin, nods at me and then goes.

• • • •

Jello spotted C. J. walking quickly along the sidewalk as they approached the entrance to the marina on Wharf Street. Uncle Joe stopped the car and she hopped in back, sliding across Jello into the middle. Teddy noticed a young guy in a jean jacket heading up Wharf Street away from the marina. Could that be Kodi or one of his friends? Was he coming from Peter's boat? Uncle Joe turned onto the ramp down to the marina parking lot.

"Why the marina?" C. J. asked, out of breath.

"Cuz Teddy figured out that's where Darwin is," said Jello.

"Possibly is," Uncle Joe corrected, as he whipped the car into a space near the gate that led to the docks.

"Why here, Ted?" C. J. asked.

"It's complicated," said Teddy, as they hurried toward the gate, "and I could be totally wrong..."

"The gate's locked," said Uncle Joe. "I'll have to go talk to someone inside. Hopefully someone's working the desk."

Teddy scanned the boats in the marina. Which one was Peter's and was Darwin really on it? If she was there, was Kodi there with her? And others too? What if they were to call Peter's phone as Jello suggested and try talking to him? Could they reason with him? Maybe better not to call, but to surprise him instead? Would he fight them? God, did he have a weapon?

The police. If he called the police and explained why they thought Darwin was on Peter's boat, would they believe him? Would they send down a car to check it out? Teddy didn't think he could convince them.

Byron, Jello and C. J. were checking out the gate to the marina docks. "Can we climb over it?" Jello asked.

"Not with all that barbed wire," said Byron. "What about going around it?"

"Not without falling in the water," said C. J.

"Let's wait for the key," said Jello.

"Can't get the key," said Uncle Joe, coming back from the office. "He thinks I'm a psycho. Really need that investigator's license..."

"Should we call the cops?" said C. J. "If they come down here they'll be able to get the key."

"We could," said Teddy, "but we'd have to convince them on my hunch about Darwin being on the boat."

"What if this Kodi guy and his friends are on the boat?" said Uncle Joe.

"We can handle them!" said Jello.

"We'll have the element of surprise," said Byron.

"No," said Uncle Joe. "We shouldn't try to handle it ourselves. We should get the police down here. But yeah, they might not come down based on a hunch. We need something more. I asked the guy at the desk if they've seen any suspicious-looking people coming and going, but he just shrugged."

"I saw a guy when we were coming in. Up on Wharf Street walking away from here," Teddy said. "I think he might have been one of Kodi's friends."

"Same dude you chased?" asked Jello.

"No," Teddy said. "Different one."

"There's a security cam," C. J. said, pointing at a camera mounted on a lamp post and aimed toward the gate and docks. "It could show us who's been on the dock."

"Sure," said Byron, "but how can we get them to show us the video?"

"I dunno," said C. J. "Maybe we can..."

"Look!" Jello shouted suddenly, pointing toward one of the outer docks. Someone was walking, or stumbling, along a dock that ran parallel to the shore. There were boats in the way so he didn't have a clear view, but Teddy was sure it was her.

"It's her!" he said.

"Darwin!" shouted C. J. loudly.

She didn't look over. She was walking unsteadily and heading away from the main dock that led to shore. She was going the wrong way.

"Darwin! Daaarrwiinn!!" C. J., Teddy, Byron, Jello and Uncle Joe all started shouting.

• • • •

Light is still too bright for my eyes... and my head is pounding... feel like I might throw up again. Fuck those guys and the drugs... I have no idea where I'm going but I don't even care. Just glad to be off that boat. Never setting foot on another one...

Sweet Jewels undid my ropes and took off my blindfold... Maybe he did it on his own or maybe Kodi sent him back to do it, I don't know... Bryn... I think she wanted to kill me.

OK, I'm fading... Concentrate... This is a dock. I got off the boat and I'm on a dock. A dock must lead to shore, right?

What? I hear someone shouting my name! I try to focus. Who is it? Kodi and Bryn? Oh God, are they coming back? Have to get away...

Fuck!

Tripped... I'm in the water! I don't know how... Hit my head on something... Swallowed a lot...

Salty... Ugh, don't throw up... Trying to swim but it's like I forgot how...

Where'd the dock go?

• • • •

"She fell in!" C. J. screamed.

Teddy was already racing toward the water. The fence around the gate only continued for ten feet or so on either side. Beyond that, it was just a six-foot drop to the water. He ran around the end of the fence, shedding his jacket as he went, and dove in.

The cold was shocking but he kept his arms and legs moving. He surfaced and shook the water away from his eyes. It was still early morning. Orange light from the rising sun glinted off boat windows and water but it was hard to make out much else. He knew he had to get under, over or around one dock and a bunch of boats before he even got close to Darwin. Should he try to get up onto the dock and find her from there or just stay in the water? He could hear the others yelling from the shore, but couldn't tell what they were saying.

Straight ahead of him was a motorboat, about twenty feet long. He swam around the front of it, ducking under the bow. The dock beyond it didn't seem to have much clearance above the water, but going around it would take too long. He took a deep breath and dove down.

Opening his eyes under water, he saw only murky grey. He kicked hard and surged forward hoping he didn't run straight into a thick wooden piling. Without looking up he could tell that he was in the shadow of the dock. Still a way to go.

Teddy's clothes and shoes were slowing him down but there was nothing he could do about that now. He saw the shadow of another boat beyond the dock. It looked huge. He'd have to go under that too. God, how long has Darwin been in the water? He swam as hard as he could. His arm hit something hard and he realized he was too close to the hull of the big boat. He angled downward, his breath running out. A few more kicks... Finally, he could come up for air.

When he did, he heard shouts from behind him but he couldn't hear anything at all ahead of him. No one calling for help. No one splashing in the water.

"Darwin?" he called out.

Teddy looked around frantically, trying to orient what he was seeing now with what he remembered when Darwin fell in. Was it here or was there another dock to swim under? Damn, what was everyone shouting? One of his shoes was loose. He kicked it off and used his toes to pry off the other one.

Better. He swam on the surface toward a sailboat. Was it Peter's? No, too big... Darwin should be beyond that boat and the next dock.

He got close to it and was about to swim under but remembered that sailboats have deep keels. He went around it, took a deep breath then dove down to get under another section of dock. This one was narrower. Just a few strong kicks and he was past it.

He came to the surface again. His arms were aching but he had to be getting close. He scanned the water in every direction but saw nothing.

"Darwin?" he called again.

Where was she? Had she gone under?

Then finally, a voice.

"Teddy?"

She said it so calmly he thought she must already be a ghost hovering over him, talking into his ear. He pushed on. He had to be close but he still couldn't see Darwin splashing or flailing in the water. Then he saw her.

She was floating on her back, slowly moving her arms and legs to keep her face above water. She was looking up toward the sky.

"That's you, right?" she said.

"Yeah," he said, gasping. "It's me."

He heard sirens. Two or more. The police were on their way. Maybe an ambulance too, he thought.

"I fell in," said Darwin, turning toward him.

He was so relieved to see her face.

"You did great," he said, swimming up beside her. "You must be so cold."

"Yeah," she said.

He moved behind her and put one arm around her chest and used the other arm to sidestroke the two of them toward the dock. The cold, the exhaustion, and all of the fear and worry left him as he felt Darwin's living, breathing body against his.

With difficulty, they managed to get up onto the dock, Teddy pulling himself up with the mooring rope of a boat, then lifting Darwin until she could get a handhold. He helped her climb up onto the dock then scrambled up holding onto the rope, his seawater-soaked clothes weighing him down, before he was finally able to heave himself onto the dock, completely exhausted.

Teddy got to his feet, dripping wet, and helped Darwin stand. He was barefoot. He'd kicked off his shoes in the water somewhere and his socks had disappeared too. He looked at Darwin and she looked up at him.

"Are you OK?" he asked. She nodded.

She was drenched and pale and had bruises on her face. Her eyes were red and when she looked at him she seemed to look right through him as if she didn't know where to focus. They must have drugged her, Teddy thought. She was out of it and moving slowly, but it was so good to see her. He kissed her on the forehead, then wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"You're safe now," he said.

Darwin hugged him back.

"So are you," she said.

They made their way along the dock and as they got closer to shore they heard the metal gate squeak open. Two police officers were coming toward them, with Uncle Joe, Jello, Byron and C. J. close behind.

____________________

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— D.B.