I took the wallet from him.
“I’ve been a little out of my head the past few days,” he said. “You should be glad that Mr. White came up with such a sensible plan. But please, Mr. McKnight, remember everything he said. The Indians are already dead. There’s nothing else you can do. So please don’t disappoint me. Don’t make me come find all of you.”
I kept sitting there, thinking it through. If I play along, I buy us some time, at least. Enough time to do what? I don’t even know yet. But at least we have a chance to think of something.
“We’d like to get back before it’s dark,” he said. “So I’ll say goodbye now. I’ll talk to you in forty-eight hours. Please don’t make it forty-nine.”
I got up, still holding the pad against my cheek. I jumped over the rail, right into the water. It was up to my waist. I went to the jet ski, cursing myself that I hadn’t kept the gun. I could have hidden it in the front compartment, taken it out right now, and shot both of them.
But no. Even as I thought that, I heard Corvo starting his motor and then pulling away. As I turned, I saw them leaving the inlet, then gunning as they hit the open water. It seemed like Mr. White was looking back at me, but it was hard to tell with the sunglasses. He certainly didn’t wave.
I climbed onto the jet ski and started it. If Corvo circles the island now, I thought, then this will all be a moot point. White would gun them all down and then they’d come back and finish me off, too. I went out into the open water and turned around the north end of the island, wondering exactly what I’d see.
One boat. Not two.
I pulled up alongside the boat and grabbed on to the gunwale. As I pulled myself up onto the deck, I saw Buck on the bench in the galley, holding his head in his hands. Vinnie was still lying on the floor. The zip ties had been cut from his hands and ankles. He was untied from the table post. But his eyes weren’t open. At that moment, he honestly looked more dead than alive. Lou was sitting on the other bench, watching his son.
“We have to get him somewhere for help,” he said. “As soon as possible.”
Then he looked at my face.
“What happened?” he said. “You’re bleeding bad.”
I ignored him, trying the key in the ignition. The engine sputtered once and then came to life. I pulled up the anchor and turned us out of the inlet. The jet ski would have to stay right where it was.
When we were in the open water, I pushed the throttle all the way forward. It wasn’t a cigarette boat, but it would have to do.
“Just stay alive,” Lou said, holding Vinnie’s hand. “We finally found you, but you have to stay alive.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
A wind had picked up, out of the southwest. The waves were getting higher. I drove that fishing boat back toward Beaver Island, pushing it hard through the waves. Buck stumbled up from the cabin and sat in the seat next to me. Lou remained down below with Vinnie.
“What happened to your face?” he said to me. Then he answered his own question. “You got cut.”
“I’ll be all right.”
“Do you want me to drive? You should be keeping pressure on it.”
“Just sit there.” I could already feel the emotions rising. A mixture of relief that we had gotten away alive and worry about Vinnie’s condition, wound through with a bright thread of anger at the man sitting to my left. The time would come when we would have it out, but I knew it was best to wait.
“I’m so sorry, Alex. This is all my fault.”
“It sure as hell is. If he dies, it’s all on you.”
So much for waiting.
“I just went for a ride with them. One ride to the airport. They paid me a thousand dollars to sit in the backseat and tell them where the trails were.”
I took a breath and counted to three. I didn’t get the chance to see how well that worked, because that’s when Vinnie started to come to. He pushed Lou away from him, throwing a weak punch like his muscles were still trying to fight off the men who were putting him on this boat.
“It’s all right,” Lou said, wrapping up his arms, his whole upper body. “You’re okay now, Vinnie. Take it easy.”
Vinnie shook his head and opened his eyes. His father would be the first person he’d see, and I couldn’t even imagine how disorienting that would be. Waking up and seeing a face you hadn’t seen in thirty years.
“Lou, come here,” I said.
He looked up at me.
“Just take the wheel,” I said. “For one minute.”
He looked back down at his son, then he stood and came to the captain’s chair. I got up and he took my place. Buck had his eyes down. He was rubbing at the red marks on his wrists, and I’d never seen him look so small.
I found a half-full plastic bottle of water in one of the rear compartments, God knows how old and normally the last thing in the world you’d want to drink. But I opened it and I gave it to Vinnie as I bent down next to him.
“What the hell happened?” he said.
“You got knocked out. Do you remember?”
“Not really, no. I was at the house with Buck. Then we were about to go outside and…”
He shook his head like his eyes were going out of focus.
“Sit still a minute,” I said. “Let me see your eyes.”
I held his chin and looked at each pupil. They were dilated, but they weren’t unequal. One of the more serious concussion signs I’d been trained to look for, long ago.
“What happened to your face?” he said.
“A little disagreement. Nothing to worry about right now.”
“I’m still not seeing right,” he said, blinking his eyes. “It’s like tunnel vision.”
“It’s okay. We’re gonna take you somewhere. Right now.”
“Where’s Buck?”
“He’s right there. In the chair. He’s okay.”
“Who’s that man driving the boat?”
I looked back up at Lou. I met his eyes and he nodded.
“That’s your father,” I said. “That’s Louis LeBlanc.”
He squinted and tried to focus. “That’s impossible.”
“It’s him, Vinnie. It’s your father. He came out here to help find you.”
Vinnie blew out a breath and started to sway a little bit.
“This light is killing me,” he said, holding up a hand to shield his eyes.
“Get in here,” I said, helping him to back up a few more feet, until he was fully inside the cabin. He half lay down on the cushion, still shaking his head and blinking.
“How did you find us?” he said.
“We got lucky. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Alex, I want to know. Tell me how you found us. Those people brought us to the island. Those people who Buck thought were going to help us. They put us on the boat and they… They took us. I should have called you when I had the chance. God, my head hurts.”
“Stop talking,” I said. “Just shut up and close your eyes.”
Lou called to me. I left Vinnie lying there and went up to the wheel.
“We’re getting close,” he said. “I don’t see any docks anywhere.”
“Take us north. We should probably go right to the main dock. If there’s a medical center on the island, I’m sure it’s close to that.”
“They’re going to ask questions,” Buck said.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear what you said,” I said low into Buck’s ear. “Would you like to repeat it?”
“No. Never mind.”
I stared him down for a few seconds. Then I took the wheel again while Lou went down to watch Vinnie.
I circled the island on the north end. The shoreline stayed rough and rocky all the way around. The sun was finally starting to go down on this, officially one of the longest days of my life. I felt my own vision start to waver a little bit, just a product of sheer exhaustion. That and the aftereffects of the adrenaline, now that that hard part was over. We just had to get Vinnie to a doctor. Then I could collapse completely.