“Still too dangerous with the lightning, because, look here—no rubber-covered oxygen tanks. Just plain old metal ones.” He’d moved on to open a different tub and was shining his flashlight into it. “And three BCs—mouthpieces—too. That means probably at least three divers.”
“I wonder what they’re doing. I mean, obviously they’re diving in the lake, and it seems like they’re—whoever they are—using the lighthouse as a base, or at least a place to store their equipment. But why bother? What’s the big secret?”
Before Oscar could reply, she heard something behind them that made her blood run cold.
Spinning around so quickly she bumped into her companion, Teddy saw a man and a woman standing in the doorway. They were outlined by the sun, but she was certain she didn’t know them.
“What’s the big secret? I could tell you,” said the man. “But then I’d have to kill you.”
Teddy’s heart plummeted and her knees nearly gave out.
Because he sounded dead serious.
Seventeen
No.
That was the only thought that lodged itself in Oscar’s mind:No.
There was no bloody way these people—whoever they were—were going to do anything to take Teddy from him.
Somehow, he managed to keep his head clear and his thoughts smooth as he faced what was surely the most dangerous moment of his life. Without looking, he reached for and took Teddy’s hand. It was freezing.
“Who are you?” he said, even as he measured the situation.
The man looked vaguely familiar, but Oscar was certain he’d never seen the woman before. Both of them appeared solid and fit, but that didn’t bother him.
It was the gun the female was holding that made his blood turn to ice.
“We tried to get you out of here,” she said, stepping into the room. “You had your chance. But just like stubborn, nosy Stuart Millore, you just wouldn’t leave.”
“Stuart Millore?” Teddy’s voice sounded a little creaky to Oscar, but as she spoke more, it gained strength. “So what did you do about him? Did you push him off the lighthouse?”
The man shrugged as the woman laughed. “Like I said, he got too nosy. And he started asking questions. He’d see us when we came to do the yard work—you think the lawn mows itself? Or those flowers just sprang up from out of nowhere?”
“That must be how you rigged up the recording of the scream,” Teddy said. “Because you were here working on the yard, and if anyone saw you, you had the perfect excuse.”
“That’s right. Been doing the landscape work for this place and others managed by the rental agency for years now. That kept us free for our nighttime work.”
“You’re talking too much, Misty,” interrupted her companion. “Let’s get this done.”
Oscar felt Teddy tense against him, and his heart skipped a beat. Whatever they were here to do, he suspected it didn’t bode well for him and Teddy.
“I say we shoot ’em and lock ’em in here,” the man said. “No one will find ’em for weeks—if then.”
Misty frowned. “I don’t want to see the mess every time we come in here to get our things. Plus—duh—obvious murder.” Her eyes narrowed. “I liked the way we did it with the other guy. Looked like an accident.”
“Three people falling from the top of a lighthouse? That might raise a little suspicion,” Teddy said, and Oscar squeezed her hand.
Did shewantto get shot, for crying out loud?
“She’s got a point, Rob,” Misty said. “Still, I don’t want a big fucking mess in here. We’ve got stuff to store.”
“But there’s a big storm coming,” Rob said. “Another one. A nasty lightning strike would be—what do they call it? An act of God?” He laughed, and it made the hair on Oscar’s neck stand on end. “The lovebirds climbed up to the top of the lighthouse to watch the storm roll in—sooooo romantic—andoopsie, they get struck by lightning. There’s a lot of metal up there.” He looked at Oscar with cold eyes. “And that lighthouse is a big old beacon in the middle of nowhere, just waiting to attract a bolt of lightning.”
“Good plan. What’ll we do with them till then?” Misty asked, apparently in agreement with the idea and having no qualms talking about Oscar and Teddy as if they were inanimate objects.
“Just leave ’em here.” Rob glanced toward the interior of the room.
