Unspeakable by Kevin O'Brien Page A

boat, pretty close to the shore. It looked like he was scoping the place out.”
    â€œWhen did you see this?”
    â€œAbout ten minutes ago. But the boat sailed away shortly after I switched off the light in my bedroom. I have a weird feeling this guy is watching my room in particular. The boat was there last night, too.”
    â€œWas it there at the same time last night?”
    Collin nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t give it much thought. But then I saw it again tonight. . . .”
    Sitting back, Ian drummed his fingers along the side of the steering wheel. “I don’t think it’s connected to this other matter. Maybe it’s one of those damn paparazzi. Still, I’ll make sure someone follows it up.”
    â€œWhat’s this ‘other matter’?” Collin asked. “Is it the reason you’re on alert?”
    Ian said nothing and sipped his Coke.
    â€œC’mon, I won’t blab that you told me. We’re friends.”
    â€œThat’s just the thing, Collin,” he sighed. “We aren’t friends. I’m here to protect you and your grandparents. You shouldn’t be coming out here and talking to me until one or two in the morning. You don’t do that with any of the other detectives—”
    â€œThat’s because they’re jerks.”
    â€œWell, you lied to me,” Ian frowned. “You said your grandfather was fine with these midnight bull sessions. Last night, he pulled your little trick with the intercom and heard us talking. This morning, your grandfather got on the phone with my boss in Seattle. Then my boss got on the horn with me, and he gave me an earful—”
    â€œIan, I’m sorry. . . .”
    â€œMaking matters worse,” he continued, gazing past the windshield, “the other detectives on this watch know about it now, and I’m getting all sorts of flak for fraternizing with a surveillance subject. I won’t even go into all the crap they’re insinuating. Anyway, you’re a great kid. But I think from now on, you ought to leave me alone to do my job.”
    Collin stared at him. “So—I’m a ‘surveillance subject . ’ You just admitted it. You guys aren’t here to protect me. You’re here to watch me—to make sure I don’t kill anybody else.”
    â€œOh, for God’s sake,” Ian growled. He turned toward him. “You are not a suspect, Collin. How many times do I have to tell you? We’re about ninety-nine percent sure the killings were drug-related. Okay?”
    Collin didn’t say anything.
    â€œYou wanted to know about the alert?” Ian asked. “Fine, I’ll tell you. I’m already up to my neck in trouble anyway, what the hell. The main suspect in the murders is this scumbag drug dealer named Leon Badger. He has a regular posse working with him. We think they killed Chance over some stupid drug-turf issue. That’s what we’re getting from our sources. We’ve been trying to locate Badger and his gang for the last three weeks, but they’ve been one step ahead of us all the way. Obviously they know the heat’s on, and they’ve been in hiding. Only this morning, a couple of Badger’s guys were spotted in the Seattle ferry terminal—minutes before the Bainbridge Island ferry loaded up. Unfortunately, we lost the guys at the terminal. We’re not sure if they boarded or not. So that was the alert, Collin.”
    Wide-eyed, Collin stared at him. “Do you—do you think one of them could have been the guy I saw on the boat?”
    Ian seemed to mull it over for a moment. “It’s doubtful. The last ferry left Bainbridge a few minutes ago. If they were here last night at this time, and again tonight, they wouldn’t be traveling by ferry. No, I’m not sure who you saw, but I’ll try to find out. Maybe it’s our old friend Rick—though I haven’t seen him in a