“Maybe he doesn’t know they’re criminals,” Mick pointed out.
“It just doesn’t sound like Theo,” Zoe insisted stubbornly. “I don’t know what he was doing on Dragonisi, but he’s never been interested in snorkeling before. I think you’re wrong,” she told Nancy, raising her chin.
Not wanting to argue with Zoe, Nancy let the subject drop. But if Theo wasn’t a snorkeling fan, what was he doing with that group of divers?
After dinner the group walked along the waterfront to one of Chora’s discos, which featured a circular dance floor and a live band.
The walls seemed to throb with the loud drumbeat of rock music as Nancy took her seat at the table. Within minutes George and Kevin were among the young people on the crowded dance floor. Two tables were taken up by a soccer team from Germany, and a few of the guys came over to talk to Zoe and Bess.
Nancy and Mick had danced through half a dozen rock songs when Nancy decided she needed a breath of fresh air. She and Mick made their way out to a small garden terrace. Zoe was already there, she saw, drinking a soda.
“Trying to escape the party animals?” Nancy teased, trying to ease the tension that had cropped up between Zoe and her over Theo.
Zoe nodded. “Just for a moment. It’s such a beautiful night.”
As a light breeze ruffled her hair, Nancy had to agree. The sweet scent of jasmine filled the air, and the moon cast a milky glow over the mulberry trees along the patio.
“Looks like there’s a full moon tonight,” Mick observed, staring up at the bright disk that lit up the island.
“A good night for sleuthing.” Nancy hesitated, looking at Zoe, before adding, “I’ll bet I’d be able to find my way around Theo’s boat without a flashlight.”
Mick’s flashing eyes told Nancy that he seconded the idea. Zoe was a little hesitant, but in the end she agreed. “As long as you let me come along,” she insisted. “If we run into trouble, I might be able to talk our way out of it.”
Nancy followed Zoe out through a back door that led to a narrow lane. “The marina is just a few blocks away, and we won’t be gone long,” Zoe said. “I don’t think the others will miss us.”
Although cafés along the waterfront were alive with customers, the harborside marina was quiet. Nancy soon spotted the Sea Star bobbing gently in its slip. The boat looked dark and deserted.
“It’ll go faster if we split up,” Nancy suggested as they approached the boat.
Mick nodded. “I’ll check out the cabin below. You two can cover the main deck.”
As Mick disappeared into the tiny cabin, Nancy and Zoe searched the aft deck. Zoe found that the bench seats below the orange cushions opened up. Inside were life jackets, extra rope, and two flare guns for use in an emergency.
Then they moved to the deck in front of the cabin, where they checked the cabinet below the steering column and found a flashlight and a tackle box.
“Hey,” Mick called softly from the doorway of the cabin. “Check this out.” He held up a weathered book with entries scrawled on the pages.
Zoe took the book and leafed through it. “It’s the ship’s log,” she explained.
“Does it say anything about Theo’s trips to Dragonisi?” Nancy asked.
Zoe nodded. “He’s been traveling to Dragonisi a lot—nearly every day. But it doesn’t say what he’s doing there.”
Bringing supplies to criminals? thought Nancy. The people from the cave would need food, fresh water, and news from the outside. Was Theo their tie to the rest of the world?
After Zoe explained the log entries, Mick went belowdeck to replace the book. He had just reappeared on the deck, when Nancy heard footsteps on the dock.
“Get down!” she whispered urgently.
Mick hunched on the right side of the cabin while Nancy and Zoe squeezed behind the steering column. Peering around, Nancy saw Theo walking along the dock toward his boat. A ring of keys jingled in one hand.
“It’s Theo!” Nancy reported.
Zoe sank back against the boat’s control panel. “The one person I don’t want to try to explain this to. Nancy, don’t let him find me here, please!”