The Woman In the Bar by Cathryn Grant

Author:Cathryn Grant [Grant, Cathryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Suspense, American Suspense, psychological thriller, sociopath, killer, Vigilante
Published: 2017-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

36

Hamilton Island

Tess sat on the upper deck of the boat that would carry them fifty miles out to the Reef. The boat felt small for a vessel that would lose sight of land for hours at a time. It had an enclosed lower deck with seating for up to forty passengers, and a central storage area containing oxygen tanks, flippers, and stinger suits. There were two toilets in what were little more than closets. The boat was open to the rear with large picture windows on either side. Forward from that was a cabin with a built-in table where lunch was served.

The controls were on the upper deck in a covered area. Behind that, the boat was open with a waist-high railing and bench seating. There were about twenty-five people seated below, including an extended family of eight. Only Tess and six others had chosen to enjoy the two-hour ride on the upper deck. It baffled her that most wanted to remain enclosed below, inhaling the odors of too much skin and moist human breath.

Tess wanted to breathe in every splash of the waves and shift in the clouds. She wanted to feel the boat rising and falling over large swells. Alex had been right, damn her. Tess’s entire psyche was being cleansed by the limitless stretch of ocean and sky, the confident movement of the boat through the water.

She leaned back and tipped her face up, closing her eyes for a moment. Forty-five minutes out, they’d lost sight of land. She’d taken a cruise once, but the lack of land mass hadn’t seemed as edgy on board a ship as large as a resort. In this relatively small boat, they were bobbing alone, with minimal resources, in the middle of an endless sea. There was only enough to keep them alive for twenty-four hours at best. No place to sleep, a single meal, some bottled water. There was nothing anywhere but open sea. If something happened to the boat…She imagined how it would feel to be adrift after a shipwreck or a plane crash, tens of thousands of creatures lurking out of sight below the surface and birds drifting overhead, watching.

She twisted on the bench, gazing out across the water, hoping to see a whale, or at least a few dolphins. The sky was thick with pale gray clouds, but even if it rained, she planned to remain on the open deck. She’d be wet one way or the other, so what did it matter? She was only going below to get her food when they served lunch.

A man with blonde hair, wearing swim trunks and a sleeveless gray tank, his feet bare, appeared at the top of the narrow stairs that led to the upper deck. He walked to the opposite side of the boat and leaned against the railing, gazing out at the water for a few minutes. Finally, he turned and took a seat near the center on a bench facing Tess. “G’day, beauty. What brings you down under?”

She grimaced.

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