“I meant, how’d this happen?”
“No moon. Gonna watch a movie with my laptop. On deck. But the rear lights—too bright. Shit. I lit a candle.”
“This wasn’t caused by a candle.”
“I’d just lit the thing, and someone showed up on the finger dock, headed my way.”
Patty moved in closer. Her face twisted into a question mark. “Looking like what?”
Ridge’s eyes opened fully. His heart thumped. “That’s the thing…hulk of a guy, huge shoulders, in a black wetsuit and diving mask. At first, figured it’s the diver who cleaned boat bottoms in the marina. But he never works at night. And anyway, this guy… huge…carrying one of those four-foot bodyboards. Like the ones near my dock box.”
“What’d he say?”
“Nothing. Just hauled off and smashed the board in my face. Like a firecracker flashing in my head. Must have blacked out. Next thing, I’m sprawled on the boat deck, near the rear door. He jumped on me. Shined a flashlight in my eyes.”
For the first time, Patty smiled. “No damn manners these days.”
Ridge grimaced. Damn, it hurt. “Remind me to sue his butt.”
Nodding, Patty said, “Did you see his face?”
“Couldn’t see. Wiped my eyes, and my hand came back bloody. Then the son of a bitch lowered his head into my face and yelled, ‘We’re watching you. Drop the fuckin’ new case. Now.’”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“No. Just flipped me over, yanked me up and flung me from the boat. Shoot—he could have just asked to use the board.”
“Right. What did you do next?”
“I swam back…underwater…came up beneath the stern near the props. The only flat area under the boat. Used the swim step as an air pocket. Then, worked my way underwater to where you found me. See anyone?”
“We were on night patrol, in the outlet, passing your dock. Saw the fire erupt, and got on it right away. But didn’t see a soul, not a soul, til you.”
“Anything left of the boat?”
Patty’s straightened up to look over at his boat. “Looks like the fire’s out, stern’s a mess.”
“Anyone else hurt?”
“Eric—there you go, frettin’ about other people. Let’s worry about you.”
Ridge tried to sit up. Patty’s face filled his vision. “Was anyone else hurt?”
Patty rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No.”
Ridge lowered himself. Head back on the dock. “Got people counting on me. Gotta get back.”
“We’ll get you back. Just keep talking.”
He turned his head and looked directly in her eyes. “How the hell did my head get torn apart by a lousy plastic bodyboard?”
“That one I can answer. Found the front part of the board in the water. Looks like it was the see-through bubble; the one you look through to see under water. Brittle. Curved outward. Must have shattered and sliced your skin where the board hit. It’s nasty Eric. Lotta blood. Stay awake. Keep pressure on it.”
Ridge pushed harder on the compress and shut his eyes. His mind slipped to never seeing his wife again. Or his daughter.
“You alright?” Patty’s voice sounded far away, pulling him back from his thoughts.
“Never better. How we gonna catch this bastard?”
“You nailed that huge oil company dumping pollutants offshore.”
Ridge tried to grin. “Yeah. A lotta luck. And your testimony.”
“Sure. But you nailed ’em. You’ll get this guy too, before he beats and bullies someone else.”
Ridge forced his eyelids up, about halfway. Looking through lashes at Patty, he mumbled, “Bullies—why I became a lawyer. To take ’em down.”
“Damn right,” she said.
Ridge struggled with the need to shut his eyes. Things got dark, murky. Murkier. He thought about family. Friends. Then, in what seemed seconds, he gazed over at Patty’s hazy outline. She was standing now. Looking toward the parking lot.
“The paramedic’s here. Thank God. You’re pale, so damn pale. Stay with me.”
CHAPTER 2
