Page 74 of The Sailor

“Marit. She left for work this morning at the usual time, but I just talked to Eliot, and she never made it to the Wave Rider. Or at least, she wasn’t there when he and his son arrived. I’m headed there now, but I have a very bad feeling about this, Linc.”

“I’m on my way. It’ll take me a bit to get there, but I’m coming, bro,” Linc assured him. “I’ll call Knox and Chad on my way in. What do you think happened?”

“Pearson,” Zach said succinctly.

Linc swore long and hard on the other end. Then, after a short pause, “Fucking idiot!” He sighed. “But I think you’re right. Wherever he is, that’s where we’ll find Marit. I’ll send Knox to his house.”

“He won’t be there,” Zach told his brother, as he walked the route through the streets of Rockville that Marit usually took to get to work. “His boat isn’t at the dock.”

“Shit. Okay. Who do we know with a boat?” Linc asked.

“Off the top of my head . . . no one personally, but Eliot does. I’ll see who he can get together once I get to the docks.”

“Keep me updated. We’re comin’, Zach. Marit’s as tough as nails. She can handle Pearson.”

“She’s only five-two,” Zach whispered, feeling sick. “It wouldn’t take much to overwhelm her. To render her unconscious and take her somewhere.”

“Be that as it may, if he managed to get the upper hand and took her somewhere, that means she’s alive. If he wanted to kill her outright, he could’ve done it at the docks before taking off in his boat. So, that means he wants something from her . . . and I highly doubt it’s anything sexual. He can’t stand her.”

His brother’s words weren’t reassuring. Zach took a deep breath, but it didn’t help. His mouth watered uncontrollably, and he had to stop walking abruptly. Leaning over, he puked up the breakfast he’d eaten with Marit not that long ago.

“Damn drunk tourists,” someone murmured a little too loudly from nearby. But Zach didn’t give a shit if everyone thought he was hungover and puking his guts out from drinking too much. The thought of Marit being taken, possibly sexually assaulted, was more painful than anything he’d ever experienced in his life. Standing for days on end on the steel floor of a galley in an aircraft carrier wasn’t as painful as this.

“You all right?” Linc asked.

“No,” Zach said. “You and I both know rape isn’t about liking someone. It’s about control. And Pearson definitely feels as if he has no control when it comes to Marit. He’d want to put her in her place; what better way to do that than to take her somewhere, assault her to show her who’s boss, then throw her body overboard?”

“Stop it,” Linc ordered. “Wipe those thoughts from your head right this second. Get to the dock. Talk to Eliot, but more importantly, see what you can see. I like old man Sullivan, but if he’s not thinking anything bad happened to Marit, he might miss even obvious clues. I’ll have the cops meet you at the boat. See if Eliot can get in touch with any of his friends, so they can be on the lookout for Pearson’s boat. We’re gonna find her, Zach.”

“Yeah.” It was about all Zach could say. Nausea still swam through him, but he didn’t have time to get sick again. He needed to get to the Wave Rider. See if he could find any trace of the woman he loved.

The fear and nausea slowly morphed into determination and anger. How dare Pearson touch Marit! Zach was positive it was him. Why the man thought he was so much better than anyone, let alone Marit, Zach had no idea.

There were countless examples in this world that made him wonder why people couldn’t mind their own damn business. His own parents had reminded him to do that very thing more times than he could remember. When he tattled on one of his brothers, mind your own business; when he came home from school and tried to tell his dad about something a classmate had done, mind your own business; when he’d caught Knox smooching his girlfriend out at the lobster swing, mind your own business.

The world would be a better place if everyone would simply mind their own fucking business! Marit was a damn good lobsterwoman. And businesswoman. And friend. She’d do just about anything for Eliot and Jonah. Give someone the shirt off her back. It didn’t matter what she had—or didn’t have—between her legs. As long as she could do her job, that was enough. It should be enough.

But for people like Pearson, it would never be enough. He was of the mind that men should be in charge and women should know their place. And in his eyes, their place was at home, barefoot and pregnant.

Screw that. Zach had known too many female sailors who were excellent at their jobs to ever feel as if any job could only be done by just one gender.

As expected, Zach saw no sign of Marit on his way to the docks. People smiled and said good morning to him as he passed, but he barely heard them. All his concentration was on finding Marit.

He was practically jogging by the time he got to the parking lot for the harbor. He made a beeline for the berth where the Wave Rider was moored—but something made him stop and turn back around to face the long dock.

His gaze swept the area, trying to figure out what he’d seen in his periphery. What made him stop. Then he saw it. Glass on the dock.

Looking up, he saw a light atop a pole. A broken light. It could’ve been broken for days . . . but no. He had a feeling it wasn’t. More so, his gut said it had something to do with Marit’s disappearance.

If that light was out, it would’ve been very dark down by these boats at the hour when Marit arrived at work. The only other light coming from the parking area itself, at least until she got on board the Wave Rider and flicked on the boat’s lights.

Spinning, he continued toward where Eliot was standing inside the Wave Rider. The man was frowning. “No luck?” he asked, stating the obvious.

“No,” Zach said. “My brother is calling the police, they should be here soon. We know people in town, but with Pearson’s boat missing, I have a feeling that’s where Marit is. He took her, Eliot, and I need help from people with boats to find her.” Zach was aware his tone was pleading, that he sounded desperate, but he was out of his league here. Even though he’d made his career and home on the water, he didn’t know the fishermen in this area like he should.

He had no doubt Knox would get in touch with the Coast Guard, and they’d also be on the lookout, but the longer it took to mobilize people, the more time Pearson had to do something horrific to Marit. While he was talking to the cops, explaining why he thought Marit had been abducted by Lucas Pearson, he needed others to actively start looking for the woman he loved.

Eliot straightened. “I know people with boats. Lots of them. Lobstermen who are even right now out on the water. I’ll call them. Tell them what’s happening. Tell them to be on the lookout for the Men At Work.”