Jack Beale 00 - Dangerous Shoals

innocent of the fact that they weren’t alone, that someone was listening to every word they said.
    * * *
    Kurt sat back and with more of a malevolent sneer than a smile, he said to himself, “Patience. He’s here … soon.”

CHAPTER 36
    THE NEXT MORNING , Jack called Tom.
    “You’re shitting me. You were out in the middle of the ocean and he found you?” Tom was incredulous. “So Max was right. She did see him.”
    “Yeah. I feel bad that I doubted her when she first told me.”
    “Who knew? Don’t beat yourself up over it too badly. Max didn’t hurt him, did she?” he asked with a chuckle in his voice.
    “Nah. She yelled a bit and there were some tears. The whole visit didn’t last more than thirty minutes, although it felt like forever.”
    “So, tell me again what he said,” said Tom.
    “Jack, who are you talking to? What felt like forever?” Max’s voice startled him. He hadn’t heard her get up.
    Turning his head toward the sound of her voice, he placed his hand over the phone. “Tom,” Jack responded before turning back to the call.
    Max went into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Cat immediately jumped up from Jack’s lap and went to greet her. After the obligatory good morning mrow and leg rubs, accented with loud purring, she jumped up onto the table by the couch and began rubbing up against the lamp.
    “Stop that Cat,” said Max as she shooed Cat away from the lamp.
    Cat jumped onto the floor, turned, stared right at Max, and sassed her with a very pointed “Mrowh.”
    Max stared back and stuck her tongue out at Cat before saying, “Don’t you sass me. You know you shouldn’t be doing that.”
    Cat merely turned her back to Max in triumph and walked off with her tail in the air.
    “Yes, Tom. We’ll be careful. Let’s hope we can find this Kurt.”
    He hung up the phone.
    “Mornin’ Max,” said Jack.
    “You called Tom?”
    “You were sleeping so peacefully. I’ve been awake since four A.M. thinking about what Daniel told us, so as soon as it seemed reasonable, I called him. Frankly, I’m worried about that Kurt character. Who knows exactly what he knows or what he’ll do to get what he wants. I feel better with Tom looking for him.”
    Max sat and snuggled against Jack. “What are we gonna do?”
    “What can we do? Be careful. I don’t think we should tell anyone about what happened yesterday on the boat. I just feel that anyone we tell will be at risk. And then, we wait to see if Daniel contacts us again. I’m assuming that he will because after all his talk, he didn’t leave that disc he mentioned. In the meantime, maybe Tom will find Kurt.”
    “I guess. He was really scared wasn’t he?”
    “He was.”
    * * *
    “Fuckin’ cat.” Kurt thought to himself. Then, in a hoarse whisper, he said, “So he told you about me. Danny boy, your time is coming, but for now, thanks for the warning.” He smiled as he placed the headphones on the bed.

CHAPTER 37
    AS DAYS PASSED they once again settled back into their daily routines. There had been no more sightings of either Kurt or Daniel. It became a classic case of out of sight, out of mind. If they did talk about it, it was in hushed whispers, in the dark of night, huddled together under the covers of their bed like two kids telling ghost stories when they should have been asleep.
    Their friends noticed how inseparable they had become. The common assumption was that they were going through a period of intense lust. Sly smiles and furtive glances became the norm as their friends afforded them what could best be described as public privacy. Those days turned into weeks, and the whole incident began to take on a dreamlike quality. They knew it had happened, but it didn’t feel as though it had.
    “Max, I’m back,” Jack called out one evening. The only response was Cat’s Mrowh as she ran down the stairs to greet him.
    “Hey Cat, what’s up? Where’s Max?” he said as he bent to scratch her head. She purred as she weaved around his legs and rubbed up against him. “Ah, your happy dance.” Jack said. “Do you want to go out?”
    “Mrowh.” She moved toward the door. He reached for the knob and as he opened the door the phone upstairs began to ring.
    “Gotta go,” he said to Cat as she dashed out. He pulled the door shut and bounded up the stairs. As the sound of the third ring faded, Jack grabbed the phone. He was hoping that it was Max. “Hello,” he exhaled.
    Then, before he could say anything