Victor’s frown deepened. “What are you talking about?”
Antoine said nothing.
Victor pointed at Antoine’s chest. “I want to know exactly what we’re doing, or we’re going back and calling the whole thing off.”
“Look, it’s not a big deal. It’s basically the same plan we had before, only this will give us more privacy. If we’re lucky, we may even get to explore some really cool places.”
Victor held his gaze. “You still haven’t answered my question. You’ve got ten seconds to explain, or we’re going back.”
“Okay, fair enough.” Antoine faced forward and pointed at something in the distance. “That’s where we’re going.”
Victor studied the dark horizon. Just northwest of L’Ilet à Cabrit, another slightly smaller island rose out of the dark waters. He looked at Antoine. “What’s that?”
“You don’t remember?”
“Quit playing games. What is it?”
“It’s that place Olivier told us about.”
Victor’s brow furrowed. Olivier was the man who led their daily snorkeling cruises. But what place was Antoine talking about? Then it hit him. Two days before, Olivier had pointed out the small island while they were stopped at a coral reef about a mile away. He said it was privately owned, having been purchased by a wealthy man several years ago. He also said some unsettling things about its history.
Antoine studied Victor’s expression. “You remember it now, don’t you?”
“I’m not going.”
“Why not?”
“He said the place was dangerous.”
“He never said that. He said it’s deserted. The owner doesn’t even live there.”
“So you don’t remember him telling us about all the people who’ve gone missing over the years?”
Antoine smiled. “Look, he was just trying to spook everybody. He gets a kick out of that. Hundreds of people go missing around the world every day.”
“That’s different. This is a tiny island.”
“Those people were probably on L’Ilet à Cabrit. There are more people there. They probably got robbed or something.”
“No, that’s not right. Remember the case Olivier told us about, the one that took place a couple of years ago. The man who rented a boat to a group overheard them say they were going to explore the smaller island. They left around two in the afternoon and never came back. Olivier told a couple of other stories too. Want me to keep going?”
Antoine shrugged. “Like I said, there are missing people everywhere. We have them in France, in case you haven’t been paying attention.”
Victor said nothing.
After a minute of silence, Antoine looked at him. “How long have we been friends?”
“I don’t know. Ten years, maybe.”
“And have I ever gotten you into trouble before?”
“We’ve come close.”
“Three hours,” Antoine said. “That’s it. That will give us time to have a drink then look around a little. After that, we go home.”
Victor stared at him.
“If we don’t go, we’ll regret it,” Antoine added. “Don’t you remember why we planned all this in the first place? We came out here because we got tired of the same old crap.”
Victor wondered if he was being too cautious. Antoine was right — they had come out for a little excitement.
“Two hours,” Victor said. “I’ll go for two hours.”
Antoine smiled. “Deal.”
Victor held up his phone. “I’ll be watching the time.”
CHAPTER TWO
“YOU HAVE TO admit it’s beautiful,” Antoine said over the low hum of the motor.
Victor looked up from his phone. A few minutes before, their destination had looked like a featureless dark mound, but the details were slowly beginning to emerge. Just beyond the thin strip of white beach was a thick rainforest. Like most of the islands in Guadeloupe, this one’s terrain was mountainous and rugged. But Victor also noticed something else: Unlike the other islands, there were no lights at all. No sign of human presence whatsoever.
“We’re going to be the only ones out here,” Victor said.
“That’s the whole idea. We’ll have the whole place to ourselves.”
“What if there’s a problem with the boat?”
“You worry too much.” Antoine patted the console. “One of the reasons I picked this baby is because it’s relatively new. Besides, if something happens, then we’ll just call for help.”
“You make it all sound so easy.”
“That’s because it is. Now get yourself a drink and relax.”
For once, they agreed on something. A shot was just what Victor needed to take the edge off of his nerves. The whole idea of spending a couple of hours on an abandoned island gave him the creeps.
He unzipped the bag and removed the bottle of Cuervo and one of the two glasses he had taken from his parents’ kitchen. He had also packed some ice and seltzer water to mix it with, but that would have to wait. He needed a quick delivery. After pouring a small amount into the glass, he swigged it back.
Antoine smiled at him. “That a boy. Bottoms up.”
“Remember, you said two hours.”
“You’re going to have so much fun you’re going to beg me to stay.”
Victor poured another shot and tossed it down. “Don’t count on it.”
As they neared the shore, Antoine slowed the boat to a crawl then removed a flashlight from the console. After clicking it on, he shined the beam into the clear water.
“What are you doing?” Victor asked.
“Making sure we don’t hit a reef.” Antoine maneuvered around the dark masses just below the surface. About thirty yards out, he killed the engine and let the momentum carry the boat all the way into the shallows. Once they were in waist-deep water, he dropped anchor. “See how easy that was?”
“I never said we couldn’t get here.” Victor put the bottle of Cuervo in the backpack then slung it over his shoulder.
Antoine looked at his phone. “Interesting.”
“What’s wrong?”
Antoine frowned. “No signal.”
“Maybe it’s your phone,” Victor said. “Mine was working just a few minutes ago.”
“No, either we’re out of the tower’s range, or the signal is being blocked.”
Victor looked at his phone. He had no signal either.
Antoine slipped the phone into his pocket. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t matter? So now if something happens, we have no way to call for help.”
“Look, we’re here, and we’re safe. If something happens, then we’ll just get back in the boat and go home. We’ll paddle back if we have to.” Antoine opened a compartment on the starboard side of the boat and directed the flashlight beam inside. “It looks like we won’t need the phones after all.” He reached into the opening and removed two radios. After making sure they had power, he handed one to Victor. “Voila.”
Victor slipped it into his pocket. It wasn’t much, but at least they would be able to communicate if they got separated in the woods.
Antoine continued to go through the compartment. “So much stuff in here…”
“What about a gun?” Victor asked. “Now that would make me feel better.”
“No, but we do have this.” Antoine removed a large scaling knife and slid it behind his belt. “Might help us fight off all the crazed monkeys.”
“You don’t know how to use that thing.”
“It’s a knife. Everybody knows how to use a knife.”
After rummaging some more, Antoine held up what looked like a large pistol. “Well, well… look what I found.”
Victor’s eyes widened.
“It’s not what you think.” Antoine held it in the beam of his flashlight, revealing a flare gun. “If something happens, then we just fire this baby into the air, and help is on the way.”