Deep Waters

to him that, in spite of a Me lived in some unusual places, he had never actually been inside a women's room. There was an alien quality to the experience that meshed surprisingly well with the other elements of the bizarre underwater world in which he was moving.
    "Maybe we should take you to the doctor." Charity dampened a clean paper towel to sponge off his mouth.
    "Hell, no. It's just a cut lip." Elias winced as she gently touched the wet towel to the small wound. "No real damage."
    "You're lucky you didn't lose a tooth. I saw the way you handled those two thugs last night. I doubt if either of them laid a finger on you. So why on earth did you let that man beat on you today?"
    "I wasn't stupid about it." He felt oddly defensive. "I went with the punches. I've still got all my teeth, and my nose isn't broken."
    "If that was an example of rolling with the punches, I'd hate to see you do something really dumb like stand still and let him use you for a punching bag." She finished cleaning his mouth and dropped the towel in the sink. "Who was he, anyway?"
    "What makes you think I know him?"
    "Don't give me that." She reached into the small first-aid kit she had found beneath the counter. "You deliberately took that punishment. You didn't even try to fight back. There has to be a reason."
    "Justin Keyworth. Garrick Keyworth's son."
    Charity stilled, a small bottle of antiseptic in hand. She met his eyes in the mirror. "I see. He blames you for what his father tried to do?"
    "Yes."
    "And you blame yourself." She swung around to face him. "So you let him pound on you. Is that the kind of basic psychology taught by the Way of Water?"
    "Tal Kek Chara isn't big on modern psychological theory." He grimaced as she dabbed the antiseptic on his lip. "That hurts."
    "I doubt if it hurts as much as getting punched in the first place. Hold still."
    "I sense I'm losing some of your feminine compassion and sympathy here."
    "The problem that you've got with Garrick Key-worth isn't going to get settled this easily, Elias." She taped a Band-Aid carefully in place. When she was finished, she studied him with a soul-deep concern that somehow pierced the strange atmosphere that surrounded him.
    He knew she was right, and he fought the knowledge with the old tried-and-true weapons. He stepped back into himself and drew the invisible defenses of Tal Kek Chara around him.
    "None of this has anything to do with you, Charity. I don't need or want your advice. I'll handle it in my own way."
    Her soft mouth tightened. "I'm sure you will." She turned back to the sink and began to repack the first-aid kit.
    He was suddenly furious. "Does this mean I'm not invited to dinner tonight?"
    "I'm afraid not," she said coolly. "I won't be home this evening. The regular meeting of the town council is scheduled for tonight. I plan to attend. I'm sure the mayor and the council members will have come up with yet another plan to get their hands on Crazy Otis Landing."
    "They can't do a damn thing. I own the pier, remember?"
    "Yes, but you're an enigmatic, mysterious, unpredictable stranger in these parts." She closed the first-aid kit and started toward the door. "No one knows what your plans are or how long you intend to hang around town. Who can predict what you'll do if the council comes up with an offer to buy the landing?"
    "You know I'm not going to sell the pier."
    "Do I?" She gave him a brittle smile as she paused with her hand on the door knob. "I almost forgot, you were supposed to see Hank Tybern this morning. What did he do about Rick Swinton?"
    "Nothing."
    "Nothing? But he should have arrested him or something."
    "That would have been a little difficult under the circumstances. Swinton has disappeared."
    "What? Tybern let him get away? That's inexcusable. Why didn't the chief move more quickly last night? What's so hard about finding Swinton, even if he has left town? That motor home of his should be easy to spot on the highway. It's too big to just vanish."
    Her outrage gave Elias a small measure of satisfaction. "Apparently Swinton came to the same conclusion. He's gone, but Ms motor home is still parked out at the campground. Tybern figures he probably caught a ride back to Seattle with one of the departing Voyagers."
    * * *

    The after-work crowd gathered in the comfortably dingy shadows of the Cove Tavern was sparse. In addition to himself and his stalwart band of rescuers, Elias counted only a half-dozen other people. One of them, he noticed,