And as she got closer, Beth realised that she did, in fact, recognize him from the night when Jodi had met him at happy hour a couple of weeks back. He had just a touch of grey around his temples and Beth knew immediately that he was a sun lover – he had the smallest of crow’s-feet around his eyes – but standing at least six foot one, with a nice tan and classic features, he was quite handsome. Beth hoped that he was a gentleman also. Jodi needed a good man in her life.
‘There you are!’ Jodi called. ‘I was wondering if you had decided not to come after all.’
Beth looked at her watch. ‘Ah, come on, I’m not even five minutes late.’ She gave her friend a broad grin and then turned her attention to Trevor. ‘Hello, I’m Beth Harper. I know we met before – briefly.’ She threw a sideways glance at her friend. ‘But here’s to a more formal introduction.’
She extended her hand and Trevor reached out to shake it. ‘Of course. Nice to meet you too, Beth, for real this time. I’m Trevor Jeffers.’ He took back his hand and placed it around Jodi’s waist. Beth smiled, instantly liking this. ‘So,’ he continued, ‘I hear that our mission is two-fold today. To find me a sailboat to buy, and help you out with what Jodi described as some kind of treasure hunt? Forgive me, but I didn’t quite follow all the details…’
Beth grinned at her friend, more broadly this time, knowing that Jodi wasn’t trying to hide the reason that she was there and wasn’t embarrassed by her madcap antics either. No matter the hard persona that Jodi sometimes wore, Beth knew that she was deep down a real softie who cared about her friends and loved them dearly.
‘Well, it all sounds a bit mad but I’ll fill you in as best I can,’ Beth said, chatting away about the hunt and the clues as the trio started walking towards the marina where numerous sleek boats waited in the water. ‘The so-far-unnamed mastermind behind this adventure provided me with a bit of a roadmap, I suppose, via this programme. And I have been doing a bit of studying on my own in the meantime, deciding which boats to focus on. There are three that are associated with the name “Angelina”, so I figure that’s as good a place as any to start.’ Beth opened up the brochure and began to read aloud the boats she’d selected as good possibilities the evening before, circling them in pen. ‘Angelina’s Prize,Angelina Asked for It, and this one is a bit of a stretch,Devilish Angel. You two don’t have to stay with me either, you know,’ she added quickly. ‘I know you have other things to do; and I don’t mind checking this out on my own.’
But Jodi was already shaking her head. ‘Nope, not in your life, honey. I know you think that all of this is sunshine and butterflies, but there too many spots to hide a body around here for my liking. Consider me your shadow today.’
‘But I thought you were so sure that Danny planned this?’ Beth replied coyly. ‘You don’t think my own boyfriend would send me to sleep with the fishes, do you?’
Jodi raised an eyebrow. ‘I didn’t sayIthought Danny was behind this. You did. Do you still stand by that?’
Swallowing hard, Beth rolled her eyes, trying to be nonchalant. She decided to just change the subject. ‘Fine. So you’re coming with me. As long as Trevor is OK with that, too? After all, he’s the one here to do some business, and I’m playing gooseberry to your date.’
Beth gave a look over Jodi’s shoulder to where Trevor was standing, wondering if he happened to share her friend’s sentiment, but all she saw was a smile and a shrug.
‘Don’t look at me,’ he said. ‘I have nothing but time today. If Jodi says that’s the way it’s going to be, that’s the way it’s going to be.’ Beth had to appreciate his chivalrous and gentlemanly behaviour and she was liking him more and more. ‘Besides, as I’ve been to this event before, maybe I can play navigator and help you find the boats you want.’
Encouraged by this and grateful that she had someone to bounce ideas off this time, Beth followed Trevor and Jodi onto the gang planks, allowing him to lead the way to the first boat on her list of possibilities,Angelina’s Prize, a fifty-one-foot sailing boat.
As they approached the boat, Trevor became animated, ‘This is areallysharp boat – areallysharp boat,’ he exclaimed. ‘And I recognise this. It was designed by Germán Frers and is an Idylle 15.5. This is a complete cruiser too, and will hold one hundred and thirty-two gallons of fuel.’ His eyes lit up like a window shopper outside Saks. ‘And just look at those solar panels. Get a load of that.’
Beth glanced at Jodi, wondering what she thought of her boyfriend’s excitement towards boats, but her friend wasn’t giving anything away. She merely looked at Trevor with happiness all over her face and Beth had to smile. Jodi was smitten.
‘Well… brilliant,’ Beth said, having no idea what Trevor was talking about. ‘Am I allowed to go on board?’
‘Oh, yeah. All of these are open to explore today. Come on, let’s go below deck,’ he said as he helped the two women aboard.
Having quickly sought out the owner of the boat, Trevor launched into picking the man’s brain over amp alternators, watt inverters and suchlike, all things that Beth and Jodi had no knowledge of or interest in. Instead, the pair looked for anything that might tieAngelina’s Prizeto the clue.
‘So what do you think we are looking for?’ Jodi asked, taking in the stark interior of the boat. While well appointed, there was very little to personalise the craft – and absolutely nothing to indicate this was the right boat.
Beth pursed her lips, feeling helpless. ‘Honestly, I have no idea what I am supposed to be looking for – I just feel like I’ll know it when I see it. Come on, this isn’t it.’
As Beth climbed back up onto the boat’s deck, she distinctly heard Jodi mutter the words, ‘wild-goose chase’ under her breath, but decided to ignore that.
Following a pointed look from Jodi, Trevor quickly finished his conversation with the boat’s owner, and directed his charges to the next boat on the list,Angelina Asked for It. Beth was impressed at his willingness to help, but it was plain that he was in his element around boats, to say nothing of his adoration of her friend. It was wonderful to see.
But they had little luck with this boat either. Despite learning from the owner that the watercraft was a Gulfstar Sailmaster with a ‘centre cockpit and the ability to sleep ten people’ – as well as the reason behind the naming of the boat (apparently Angelina, a debutante heiress and the owner’s ex-wife did indeed ‘ask for it’ after she decided to have an affair with the pool boy and did not insist on an iron-clad pre-nup before walking down the aisle), Beth quickly decided that this definitely was not the boat that she was looking for. In fact, the living space of the craft was bedecked top to bottom in NASCAR memorabilia, and she doubted that her secret admirer was trying to point her to the movieTalladega Nights.
As they made their way over toDevilish Angel,Beth had to admit that at this point she wasn’t feeling hopeful about that one either, as the name had only a tentative connection to ‘Angelina’ in the clue. And the moment that they approached the area where the sailing boat had been listed as being berthed, Beth was sure.Devilish Angelhad nothing to do with her quest. Indeed, the slip where they were supposed to find it was empty, the owner of the boat having apparently changed his mind about attending.
A stiff breeze hit Beth in the face and sprayed salt water against her cheek as she looked out towards the harbour, disappointed and trying to figure out her next move.
‘So what now?’ Jodi asked, putting a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder.
Beth shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I mean, I guessed that I was looking for a boat that was tied to the name Angelina. Like inRomancing the Stone. And I re-watched the movie ending – the bit with the boat – at least three times to commit the boat in question to memory and see if there’s anything like it here today, but nothing.’ She looked at Jodi, and then at Trevor. ‘I’m just not sure where to go from here. I honestly don’t know what I’m supposed to be looking for.’
The trio started walking back to the boardwalk of the marina, passing boat after boat. Beth kept her eyes to the ground, trying to work over everything in her head and figure out the riddle that her secret admirer (if that’s who it was) was trying to tell her. There had to be a connection here at today’s exhibition. There just had to be. After all, the messenger had delivered this part of the clue right to her door, even though Beth had already figured out how to access the expo on her own.
She justhadto be onto something. But what?
‘Ha,’ said Trevor from behind while she and Jodi walked ahead of him. ‘That’s a great name.’ Both women looked up to where he was pointing at the exact same time and focused in on the words inscribed on the side of a sailing boat. No, this was more than just a sailing boat – this was a yacht. It had three sails, easily spanned over sixty feet and was so blindingly white it compared to the colour of fresh alpine snow.
