Deep Waters

to steady her.
    "Quiet," he whispered into her ear.
    Charity shoved hair out of her eyes and leaned around him to see what had brought him to a sudden stop. She recognized Rick Swinton's maroon and white motor home parked in the last line of RVs.
    "Change your mind?" she asked hopefully.
    "No. Someone else got there first."
    Charity stared at the darkened windows. "Are you sure?"
    "Watch that rear window."
    She studied the dark glass. A dim light shone briefly against the drawn curtains and then vanished. A moment later it reappeared for a few seconds. Charity swallowed.
    "Flashlight?" she whispered.
    "Yes."
    "But it can't be Swinton. He's down on the beach with the others. We saw him join the crowd a few minutes ago."
    "Right. Besides, Swinton wouldn't be using a flashlight in his own motor home."
    Charity felt her mouth drop open. She closed it hurriedly. "My God. Someone else is in there doing just what you planned to do."
    "It'll be interesting to see who comes out of there." Elias shifted position and pulled Charity into the small space between a trailer and a large camper.
    She winced when her knee struck the trailer hitch. "Damn."
    "Quiet. Whoever is in there is leaving." He eased her deeper into the shadows.
    The door of the motor home squeaked as it opened. A figure in a hooded coat appeared and quickly went down the two steps to the ground. Charity tried to make out the face of the intruder, but the hood and the foggy darkness combined to make identification impossible.
    The figure turned and hurried down the lane between two rows of RVs. The route would take the intruder straight past the spot where Charity and Elias stood.
    Elias pressed Charity against the side of the trailer. She realized that he was using his body to shield her in case the fleeing figure glanced back into the shadows.
    She stood on tiptoe to see over the barrier of Elias's arm and managed to catch another glimpse of the cloaked figure. There was something in the way the intruder moved that told her she was watching a woman flee the scene.
    Elias waited a long moment before he shifted to release Charity. "Curiouser and curiouser."
    "You can say that again." Charity was violently aware of her own pulse. "I wonder who she was."
    "I have a feeling that Swinton has all kinds of enemies. I'd better get in and out before someone else shows up to take a look around." Elias stepped away. "Wait here."
    "You're not going in there alone."
    "I need you outside to keep watch." That sounded reasonable. Charity couldn't think of a good counterargument. "Well, what should I do if I see someone?"
    "Knock once on the outside wall of the motor home." Elias took one last look around the fog-shrouded scene as he removed a pencil-slim flashlight from the pocket of his jacket. "I'll be right back."
    "If you don't come out of there in five minutes, I'll come in and drag you out."
    Elias's teeth flashed briefly in the darkness. "Okay." He moved toward the door of the motor home.
    Charity leaned around the corner to watch as he went up the steps and let himself inside.
    A chilling silence descended when Elias disappeared. It seemed to Charity that the fog grew heavier. She told herself that was a good thing because it helped conceal Elias's shockingly illegal activities.
    The chants from the beach intensified. The drums and flute played louder. The shouts and laughter of the watching teenagers drifted across the campground. There was no sound from inside Swinton's motor home. No light was visible at the windows. Whatever Elias was doing, he was doing with great discretion. Charity shivered, partly from the chill and partly from increasing anxiety. The oppressive sense of impending danger thickened together with the fog.
    Down below on the beach, the drummer went into a lengthy riff that carried clearly up the side of the bluff. The throbbing, pulsating chants of the excited Voyagers echoed loudly. Someone honked a horn. The teenagers' raucous laughter grew more strident. Charity heard the snap and pop of firecrackers.
    After what seemed hours, the motor home door cracked open. Relief washed through Charity when she saw Elias jump lightly to the ground. He came toward her, moving with swift, silent grace. "Come on, let's get out of here." He took her arm. She didn't argue. "You were in there forever. Did you find anything?"
    "Maybe."
    She glanced at him as he hurried her through the maze of silent recreational vehicles. "What's that supposed to mean?"
    "I got