Read Online Fatal Disclosure by Sandra Robbins - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sandra Robbins
Tags: Suspense
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doors away from her, and her growing panic subsided. He had promised he would take care of her. Her body relaxed, and her heartbeat slowed. She pulled the pillow from over her head, pounded it with her fist and laid her head on it. A tranquil calm filled her, and she drifted into a peaceful sleep.
* * *
Mark had seen the sun rise many times during his life, but he didn’t think he’d ever seen anything as beautiful as dawn breaking across Pamlico Sound. The sun first appeared like a tiny speck on the dark horizon, but within three minutes, its golden rays had radiated across the sky in a kaleidoscope of colors that announced a new day had arrived.
He sat hunched in the rigid-hulled boat Scott steered as they navigated the coastal shoreline. All around he heard the sounds of an awakening island. He spied several fishing boats on the horizon and knew they were carrying tourists out to deeper water for a day of deep-sea fishing. Gulls circled overhead, and in the distance he could see others perched on pilings along the coastline. Mark closed his eyes and inhaled the smell of the sea.
“Are you asleep?” Betsy’s teasing voice brought him out of his daydreams.
“No, just enjoying the peaceful morning. You’ve been so busy snapping pictures, I didn’t think you even knew Scott and I were with you.”
She laughed and stretched her arms over her head. “I knew you were here. Your snoring gave you away.”
“Don’t pay any attention to her, Mark,” Scott said. “Betsy’s in her own world out here. She loves to watch the birds we have on Ocracoke. On days I’m working she even comes out here and sits in one of the duck blinds to snap her photographs.”
Mark pointed to a small box-like structure on stilts anchored in the water some distance from them. “Is that a blind over there?”
Betsy nodded. “Yeah, that’s a stake blind.” She handed Mark the binoculars she’d brought along. “Take a closer look at it and you can see the ladder where hunters tie their boats before they climb inside. They can stay in there for hours and hunt. I like to sit inside and photograph the ducks and geese feeding, but I don’t come out during hunting season much. It upsets me too much to see all the beautiful birds that are killed.”
“Hey, Betsy,” Scott called out. “Why don’t we show Mark the other place you like to hang out in for your photo shoots?”
“Fine with me.”
Betsy took the camera from around her neck and put it back in its case as Scott turned the boat in a circle. The boat skimmed the water’s surface as they headed out into deeper water. The early morning sun sparkled on Betsy’s hair, wet from the saltwater spray, and excitement gleamed in her eyes.
She looked so different this morning from the girl he’d first met in Memphis. Back then, she was a young college student who had her sights set on an art career in the city. Now she was all grown up, happy and secure in her life as a painter of landscapes and wildlife on the island she loved. This woman at home on the water and along the salt marshes of Ocracoke bore little resemblance to the girl he’d known, and he liked this new and improved Betsy.
Shading her eyes with her hand, she squinted in the sun that now beat down on their heads and scanned the horizon. After about five minutes she pointed straight ahead. “There’s one, Scott.”
Her brother slowed the boat and let it drift for a minute or so before he came to a stop. The boat, its engine idling, bobbed up and down on the peaceful water. Mark looked all around but could see nothing except water in all directions.
He turned to Betsy and frowned. “What do you want to show me?”
Grinning, she threw her legs over the side of the boat and hopped in the water. To his surprise, she didn’t sink. Instead she stood, the water lapping at her ankles, and laughed. She crooked her finger and motioned for him to join her. “Come on in. You won’t drown.”
He turned to Scott, who
* * *
Mark had seen the sun rise many times during his life, but he didn’t think he’d ever seen anything as beautiful as dawn breaking across Pamlico Sound. The sun first appeared like a tiny speck on the dark horizon, but within three minutes, its golden rays had radiated across the sky in a kaleidoscope of colors that announced a new day had arrived.
He sat hunched in the rigid-hulled boat Scott steered as they navigated the coastal shoreline. All around he heard the sounds of an awakening island. He spied several fishing boats on the horizon and knew they were carrying tourists out to deeper water for a day of deep-sea fishing. Gulls circled overhead, and in the distance he could see others perched on pilings along the coastline. Mark closed his eyes and inhaled the smell of the sea.
“Are you asleep?” Betsy’s teasing voice brought him out of his daydreams.
“No, just enjoying the peaceful morning. You’ve been so busy snapping pictures, I didn’t think you even knew Scott and I were with you.”
She laughed and stretched her arms over her head. “I knew you were here. Your snoring gave you away.”
“Don’t pay any attention to her, Mark,” Scott said. “Betsy’s in her own world out here. She loves to watch the birds we have on Ocracoke. On days I’m working she even comes out here and sits in one of the duck blinds to snap her photographs.”
Mark pointed to a small box-like structure on stilts anchored in the water some distance from them. “Is that a blind over there?”
Betsy nodded. “Yeah, that’s a stake blind.” She handed Mark the binoculars she’d brought along. “Take a closer look at it and you can see the ladder where hunters tie their boats before they climb inside. They can stay in there for hours and hunt. I like to sit inside and photograph the ducks and geese feeding, but I don’t come out during hunting season much. It upsets me too much to see all the beautiful birds that are killed.”
“Hey, Betsy,” Scott called out. “Why don’t we show Mark the other place you like to hang out in for your photo shoots?”
“Fine with me.”
Betsy took the camera from around her neck and put it back in its case as Scott turned the boat in a circle. The boat skimmed the water’s surface as they headed out into deeper water. The early morning sun sparkled on Betsy’s hair, wet from the saltwater spray, and excitement gleamed in her eyes.
She looked so different this morning from the girl he’d first met in Memphis. Back then, she was a young college student who had her sights set on an art career in the city. Now she was all grown up, happy and secure in her life as a painter of landscapes and wildlife on the island she loved. This woman at home on the water and along the salt marshes of Ocracoke bore little resemblance to the girl he’d known, and he liked this new and improved Betsy.
Shading her eyes with her hand, she squinted in the sun that now beat down on their heads and scanned the horizon. After about five minutes she pointed straight ahead. “There’s one, Scott.”
Her brother slowed the boat and let it drift for a minute or so before he came to a stop. The boat, its engine idling, bobbed up and down on the peaceful water. Mark looked all around but could see nothing except water in all directions.
He turned to Betsy and frowned. “What do you want to show me?”
Grinning, she threw her legs over the side of the boat and hopped in the water. To his surprise, she didn’t sink. Instead she stood, the water lapping at her ankles, and laughed. She crooked her finger and motioned for him to join her. “Come on in. You won’t drown.”
He turned to Scott, who
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