Romance on the Edge 01 - Hooked

good alibi.” His lips tightened. “All this went down about the time Peter fell overboard. Unless Aidan had help, like his father or uncle.”
    “While I can’t see Aidan as a party to this, I wouldn’t put it past Cranky or Crafty.”
    “What would they have to gain?”
    “Cranky wouldn’t have to gain anything. He just likes to make life miserable for people. Crafty, on the other hand, would have an agenda. He always has an agenda.”
    “What would his agenda be?”
    “I don’t know. You’d have to ask him. No one understands how that man’s mind works.”
    “What history is there between you and Kendrick?”
    “Kendrick’s a son of bitch. He likes it when bad things happen to good people. He likes it even more if he’s the cause of it.”
    “What would he have against you or your family?”
    “Listen, the only one who has something against Kendrick would be me.”
    “Why you?”
    “Do we have to start in with the questions again?”
    “That’s the only way I get answers. If it bugs you, start volunteering information.”
    “I come out here every year to fish. That’s all I want to do. I don’t get involved in the politics between the set netters and the drifters, or jump through the hoops the cannery makes you jump through every year. I just fish.”
    “Whether you like it or not, you’ve caught someone’s attention and they want to stop you from fishing. The smallest amount of information might be the lead we need to put an end to this before someone gets killed.”
    She regarded him for a minute and then came to a decision. “Look into the sinking of the Mystic .”

C HAPTER T WENTY- O NE
    Sonya boarded the Double Dippin’ after making sure Peter would be fine, and entered the pilot house. “Wes,” Sonya greeted on a whisper. “How’s the head?”
    “Pounding.” Wes lay on the bunk with an instant cold pack on the top of his head. He’d draped a sock over his eyes to cut out the light. She hoped it was clean. He lifted the toe of the sock, and looked at her out of one eye. “You look as bad as I feel.”
    “We’re quite the pair.” And here she’d thought her wounds seemed better today.
    “For Halloween maybe.”
    “I’m so sorry, Wes.”
    “Don’t. What happened today isn’t your fault. For all we know Margaret’s pissed someone off.”
    Sonya chuckled. Grams would be the least likely to offend anyone. Wes couldn’t be hurt too bad if he was making jokes. Either that or he was dying and putting up a good front. “Maybe these will make you feel better.” She uncapped the lid to the plastic container full of Monster Mug-ups.
    “They would if you have milk to go with them, and not the powdered stuff?”
    She pulled a carton out of the bag she’d carried on board. “I stopped at the General Store.”
    “Now, you’re talking. It’s been way too long since we’ve had fresh milk.”
    “I can’t vouch for the freshness, only that the milk hasn’t passed its expiration date. We’d better hurry and drink it.” Sonya fetched two paper cups from the cabinet next to the mini fridge, and poured milk into each of them.
    Wes gingerly sat up and she passed a cup to him. She hitched a seat beside him, and placed the container of cookies between them.
    “I’d thought Peter had scarfed down the last of these.”
    “This is my secret stash.”
    He bit into one and moaned with pleasure. “Almost makes getting beamed in the head worth it.” He winced as he moved his head too fast. “Almost.”
    “Garrett told me what he thinks happened. What do you think?”
    He was quiet for a long while. Sonya waited. She knew from experience when something really mattered, Wes took his time. He finished his cookie, washed it down with a gulp of milk and then reached for another. “I think Peter’s right, and we need to be armed.”
    That was the last thing she thought Wes would say. He didn’t like guns. Even when a bear ventured too close to camp, his last resort was to shoot at it. Scaring it away with loud noises, throwing rocks—that sort of thing was more his style. Never guns. It told her more than words could how shaken he was over what had happened.
    “I’m really sorry, Wes. I never thought my decision to drift would bring about all these problems. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t think someone would go far enough to hurt one of us.”
    He squeezed her knee. “I’ve been thinking and I believe whoever is causing us trouble would have done so with