Wilmington, NC 05 - Murder On The ICW

ultimate motivator, and within minutes I had the lower pin out.
    I moved upward to the top hinge. I am five-five and was able to reach and remove the top hinge easily. Then, using the screwdriver with the longest, thinnest blade, I inserted the blade between the door panels and prized the outer panel open. Plenty of space for we three slim women to squeeze through and out into the empty companionway.
    Melanie was helping Crystal off the bed. Crystal was gesturing frantically, trying to communicate something to Melanie. Staggering to her feet, she lumbered into the bathroom.
    "What a time to have to go," Melanie complained bitterly.
    But Crystal had something else in mind. Through the open door we watched as she picked up a large size vinyl make-up bag and dumped the contents into the sink bowl. On unsteady legs, she wobbled back into the stateroom and knelt in front of one of the lower built-in cabinets. She opened the door, and inside there was the door to a safe.
    Crystal knew the combination. She spun the dial -- left, then right, then left again -- grasped the handle and pulled the thick door open. Money, stacks of money filled the safe. She stuffed bundles of bills into her make-up bag until it could hold no more.
    Then she gave us a look. She was ready.
    About the same time, the boat stopped moving. The parade part of the festival was over. Now the fireworks would start. And they began immediately with a pop, pop, pop.
    "Come on," I called. "With the boat at anchor, he doesn't need to stay on the fly bridge. He'll be back down here and who knows what he'll do to us. I just hope the boat is hemmed in so he can't set sail into open waters where he'll have us alone."
    One by one we passed through the opening in the door into the companionway.
    "The sport deck," Crystal said. Only it came out of her mouth sounding like, "Ta spor da." She winced when she spoke. She had more courage than I had given her credit for.
    The sport deck was located aft on this level but access to it was blocked by the engine room.
    We ran single-file through the companionway, up the stairway, and into the salon. We fled through it to the sliding glass doors. Pulling them open, we stepped onto the aft deck. Melanie had the good sense to slide the door shut after us.
    Out here the lights from the boats and the fireworks were bright, and reflecting off the water as they did, there was plenty of light to see around us. We were surrounded by boats with large parties of revelers on the open decks.
    I nudged Melanie. "Look!" I cried. The nearest boat was the Hot Momma. Jon! And Cam. I waved to them but they were staring up into the sky at the exploding fireworks as was everyone else.
    We raced down the outside stairway to the sport deck. This was the deck used for fishing and water skiing.
    "We're going to swim to that boat," I yelled to Crystal and pointed to the Hot Momma.
    The water would be cold but the distance was short. We'd be sure to attract attention and get the help we needed.
    Melanie counted to three and dived off the sport deck into the water. I followed and hoped Crystal would jump too. If she did not, there wasn't much we could do about it.
    The water around us began to roil. What? It took a second for me to realize that bullets were striking the water around us. And then Melanie was screaming and grabbing her arm.
    I swam alongside her. "I'm hit," she cried. "My arm."
    "Roll onto your back," I said. " Float, and I'll tow you."
    I wrapped an arm under her chin and towed her along my right side as I stroked the water with my free arm and kicked with both feet. We were closing the distance between the Crystal Lynn and the Hot Momma.
    As with a soldier in heated battle, for me everything seemed to be happening in slow motion and all my senses were heightened. I was aware of the chill of the water, of its brackish smell, the fireworks popping above us in the sky, the lights from the boats shimmering on the inky water.
    I heard Jon's cry. I looked up and saw him pointing to the Crystal Lynne. I looked too. Crystal had not jumped into the water. She and David were struggling over something. At first I thought it was the vinyl bag with the money but I had seen Crystal tuck that into her waist band. No, they were struggling over the gun.
    There were more popping noises that seemed to be distinct from the fireworks. After that, both Crystal and David fell to the floor of the sport deck and disappeared from view.
    By then Jon and Cam had