Nancy dressed casually in light cotton pants and a cotton shirt with a wild island print over her bikini. She wished she could wear her new sandals, but she put on her sneakers instead, since she wasn’t sure what Dirk would end up showing her.
At precisely eleven o’clock, Dirk, lean and tan, showed up. Nancy greeted him, then stepped out with him into the fresh morning air.
“Ever been windsurfing?” Dirk asked, taking her hand and leading her toward a red sports car parked at the curb.
“No,” Nancy told him. “I’ve surfed and I’ve sailed, but never at the same time.” She liked his car, and she couldn’t help admitting that she also liked the feel of his hand. Bess has great taste, she thought.
“Well, then, you’ll probably catch on quickly,” Dirk said with a dimpled smile. He put the car in gear and drove quickly down the street. “It’s really terrific once you get the hang of it.” For the next ten minutes, he kept up a steady, one-sided conversation about the joys of windsurfing.
It was all very interesting, Nancy thought, but it wasn’t the information she was after. If Dirk really wanted to turn Nancy on, he’d tell her what he knew about Kim.
“Listen,” she said, finally interrupting him. “I don’t want to be rude, but you said you might be able to help me out on this case, that you might have some information for me.”
“That’s right,” Dirk answered with an easy smile. “I might. But I told you, I need to know everything you know first.”
Nancy was trying to decide what to tell him when Dirk parked the car, got out, and led her to a dock where an outboard boat loaded with two surfboards was tied. They jumped on, Dirk started the engine, and as they sped away, Nancy glanced back at the dock. Ricardo was standing there, watching them. Nancy felt a chill as she watched his figure grow smaller and smaller. What was Ricardo doing there, anyway? Had he followed her and Dirk? Were he and Dirk connected in some way?
It was impossible to talk over the buzz of the motor and the thumping of the waves as the boat plowed through the ocean, but Nancy did manage to ask Dirk where they were going. When he answered her—telling her they were headed for a small island—he leaned so close she could smell his aftershave. He reminded her of Daryl Gray, a guy she’d almost fallen for. In fact, there was a lot about Dirk that reminded her of Daryl. He was gorgeous and friendly and would be easy to fall for too, but Nancy wasn’t about to do that. She was after information, not involvement.
After twenty minutes, Dirk cut the motor and let the boat drift gently toward a sandy island dotted with palm trees. It shimmered in the sun, like a beautiful mirage.
“This is where we bring all the party-goers,” he explained. “We drop them off around midnight and pick them up a few hours later. It’s wild, sort of a big bash in the middle of nowhere.”
Nancy nodded, remembering that he worked for some kind of excursion boat. As they beached the motorboat, she asked if he liked the job.
“It’s great,” he said. “And my boss, Lila Templeton, is one fun lady. Running these parties to nowhere isn’t a job for her—she doesn’t need one. Her boat is just a big toy. Ever eat a Templeton orange?”
“Probably,” Nancy said.
“Well, every time you do, you’re putting money in Lila’s pocket. Her family owns half the citrus and sugarcane farms in Florida.”
Nancy looked around. The island really is in the middle of nowhere, she thought. “Where does the party boat go after you drop everybody off?” she asked.
“Oh, it just cruises around.” Dirk took Nancy’s hand again and smiled at her. “I’m really glad you came out with me, you know. I wanted to be alone with you the minute I laid eyes on you, Detective.”
Again Nancy noticed the warmth of his hand and the dimple alongside his mouth. Dirk Bowman was a real charmer, all right, but charm wasn’t what she was after. “You called me ‘detective,’ ” she pointed out, “so let’s do some detecting, okay?”