Good news from Anne Azel
By popular demand my well known Aliki Pateas Murder Mystery Series is now available at PD Publishing.
http://www.pdpublishing.com/azel.html
Also look for the Little Book of Big Christmas Tales coming out the fall of ‘08.

Pearls

by Anne Azel C 2007

Chapter One: Stranded

She had always been wearing pearl grey.  Grey slacks and blouse.  She was tall and her figure slim.  Her hair was such a light blond that it was almost white and she wore it cropped short. She carried a grey cane but Kate did not know if she needed it or not.  She had never seen the mysterious woman move.  Kate had seen her only twice.  Each time, she’d been standing on a balcony of a house that over looked the tropical gardens of the resort.  And on both occasions when Kate had looked up the woman had been looking boldly at her.

Kate knew her name.  It was Peri Dubois.  Madame Peri, she was called by the staff.  When they said her name there was both respect and fear in their voices.  Peri Dubois owned the resort and several other businesses on the South Pacific island of Bora Bora including a cultured pearl business and a vanilla bean plantation. 

Bora Bora is part of French Polynesia, one of the Tahitian chain that form a necklace of islands in the South Pacific.  The island is dominated by a cone shaped mountain, green in tropical vegetation.  It is ringed by a wide coral reef on which the resorts are located.  Kate had been here for two weeks and her breath was still taken away by the sheer beauty that was Bora Bora.  The ocean was a kaleidoscope of colour from soft milky green, to aqua, to deep blue.  The beaches were coral white and the tropical forest thick and lush.  The clear blue sky heightened the intensity of the colours and when the occasional rain storm blew in off the ocean the thunder of the surf was exhilarating.  At night, the skies were crystal clear and the Milky Way danced with the diamond sparkles of millions of stars.  It was more than a tropical paradise, Kate had decided, it was a beautiful dream come to life.

That dream had now turned into a nightmare.  Her husband of two weeks had deserted her leaving her with incredible debts and no job.  He had told her he was rich, a self made man who had made a fortune designing a unique piece of software for computers.  Theirs had been a whirlwind romance and her friends had been envious of her.

Rick Keynes, alias Roy Kendall, Roy Kendrick, Roger Keynes and countless other names was a con man, who preyed on young women like herself.  Rick was ruggedly handsome, fit, and intelligent.  He was a man of the world and so very, very charming.  Kate had fallen for his charm hook, line and sinker.  After a short but amazing courtship, a beautiful wedding, and two weeks in paradise, Rick Keynes had simple got on a plane and left her behind without so much as a note.

Kate, frantic, had reported him missing.  The local police had soon found out that he had taken the local flight to Tahiti and caught a connecting flight to L.A. where he had simply disappeared.  Further enquires with the police in the US had discovered that Kate was at least the fifth Mrs. Keynes. Rick had warrants for his arrest in six states on charges of assault, bigamy, kidnapping and fraud.  When she accessed her bank accounts she had discovered that Keynes had used her money, not his own as she had been led to believe, to pay for their expensive courtship and wedding.  The money that she had inherited from her parents, which Keynes was supposedly investing wisely for her, had all gone and with it so had her good for nothing husband. He’d even cashed in her plane ticket.   Now she was stranded in Bora Bora and deeply in debt to the resort.

Kate waited in the lobby to see Madame Peri Dubois.  She had been asked nicely but firmly to leave her room earlier that morning and had been presented with the bill. $52,326.19.  How had they spent so much money, she had asked?  Their suite over the water with its glass bottom lounge was $1,200 a night.  Meals had cost them around $350 dollars a day.  Then there was the bar bill, another $1000 and the excursions they had taken: the private submarine dive, the helicopter ride, deep sea fishing, wind surfing, the list went on and on. All those magical moments had now become huge debts.  Kate felt sick to her stomach and her head throbbed.

“Mrs. Keynes?  Madame Peri will see you now.  This way please,” said the beautiful Polynesian woman who wore a smart suit with the hotel’s logo on the pocket.  Kate followed the woman up the curved stairs and along the teak hall way to a bridge that arched over the hotel’s gardens to the hill on the far side.  Peri Dupois’ beautiful teak home sat on the hill.

Her guide put in the code for the lock on the gate that bared the walkway to the hotel guests and indicated that Kate should go first.  Kate heard the woman closing the gate behind them.  No one entered the private world of Madame Peri without permission.  Kate felt like she was walking the plank as she crossed the narrow bridge.

~~~

They followed a stone path that wound through beautiful gardens to the open verandah of The House as the staff called it.  Kate was asked to wait there.  A few minutes later, Peri Dupois limped out.  She leaned on her cane and one leg appeared stiff as she walked. 

“Mrs. Keynes, please sit down.”

Peri’s English was good yet it maintained that wonderful lilt of the French accent.  Kate sat obediently as she’d been told.  Peri did not sit.  She leaned against the rail and looked at Kate with interested eyes.

“First, may I express my sympathies.  I am sure this is a very trying time for you.”

“Thank you,” Kate muttered.  She looked at her hands feeling both embarrassed and worried.

“Still, I run here a business not a charity.  My bookkeeper tells me that you owe the hotel a considerable amount of money.”  Peri  hated these sort of encounters.  She had to do what was best for the hotel but that didn’t mean that she didn’t feel for those individuals, such as Kate Keynes, who found themselves in financial trouble through no fault of their own.

“Yes.”

“You can not pay?”

“No.” Kate felt the heat of embarrassment creeping up her neck.

“You have family or friends that you could ask for money?”

“I’m an orphan.  My friends would not be in a position to help me.”  Vocalizing these words made Kate realize just how alone she really was.  A wave of depression descended on her.

“You have a job back in the United States?”

“I quit when I got married.”  Kate barely got the words out.  Her lip quivered and she swallowed hard and painfully as she tried to hold her emotions in check.

“I see.  Do you have any skills?” 

“I’m a nurse.”

Peri sighed.  She was trying to find a solution for both the hotel and Kate but it was not proving easy.  “If you had a job in the United States I could arrange to garnish a per cent of your salary until the debt was paid off.  If I allow you to leave without such an arrangement there is a good chance I will never see my money.”

“I will find a way to pay you back.  If you let me go, I could get a job and arrange payments.”

Peri steeled herself.  As owner and manager of the resort, she couldn’t afford to be soft hearted when Kate owed so much money.  “I have only your word on this and you have not proven to be trustworthy.  Once you are in the United States there is little chance of me getting my money back.”

“I will pay you back.”

“Perhaps, but I do not think I wish to take the chance.”

For a few seconds there was silence while head down, Peri considered her options.  Then she looked up and met the eyes of the upset woman.

“You are in a difficult position.  I can offer you only two options.  The first is for you to refuse to pay your debt in which case my lawyers will have you charged and arrested.  I am sure this is not satisfactory to you and it would not be to me either as I still would be out the money.  The second would be for you to work here until your debt is paid off.”

Kate looked up in disbelief.  “I could do that?”

“Work here?  Oui.  But you should know, you will be working off your debt.  I will provide basic accommodations and you may eat with the staff.  For this, you will be charged a small sum as all my on site staff are.  I also realize you will need some money for basic needs, say twenty dollars a week.  At a local wage for a nurse, it will take you two years perhaps a bit more to pay off your debt.  In the meantime, you will be basically indentured labour.  I am sure neither choice is very satisfactory to you but you have been very foolish and it is the best I can offer you.  Do you accept?”

“Do I have a choice?”

Peri found herself growing impatient. “I am not forcing you. If you can think of a better solution for paying off your debt I am willing to hear it.”

“If I were to get some money and pay off the debt at sometime, could I get out of this agreement?”

“Of course.”

“Then I accept,” said Kate, feeling she had just signed away her life.

With relief that this unpleasant task was over, Peri called over the porch rail to someone out on the gardens. “Maria, you will please escort Mrs. Keynes to our accounting office so that she may sign a contract.”

“Yes, Madame Peri,” came a voice from below.

“That is all then, Mrs. Keynes.  If you can find your way out, Maria will meet you at the bridge.”

Kate nodded, too upset to speak.  She left quickly with her head down.

Behind  her, Peri Dubois frowned not sure why she had taken the steps that she had.  On the rare occasions when a guest could not pay his or her bill, Peri had taken legal action to get her money back as best she could.  A business of this size had a margin of profit designed to absorb losses to theft, breakage and unpaid bills. Although Kate’s bill was unusually high, there was no reason for Peri to have handled this case any differently than the others.  Yet she had.  There was something about this woman.  Peri had noticed her walking with her husband in the gardens on their first day here and several times after and each time Peri has stopped and watched fascinated.  Kate was beautiful in a fresh, uncomplicated way.  She was only slightly shorter than Peri and her hair was short, curly and the colour of chestnuts.

A cold dread seeped over Peri and she ground her teeth in annoyance.  She had learned her lesson with Odette and wasn’t about to make another mistake.  Kate was clearly heterosexual.  She was safe from making another error in judgement by this alone.  Peri might have been instantly attracted to the woman but it was not a relationship that was going anywhere. 

Besides, her decision had practical applications.  An American nurse on site would be reassuring to her American clients who found communicating with the French/Tahitian speaking population difficult at times.  Yes, this solution would benefit the resort and therefore was a good one even though it went against general policy.  With this argument, Peri managed to justify her actions to herself.

~ ~ ~

Kate was led to the administrative office and told to wait.  After a considerable time, she was called into an office to sign a contract.

“Hello.  My name is Piahuru. I am the day manager for the hotel.”

“How do you do?” murmured Kate, feeling drained of energy from the whole humiliating experience.

“I am well, thank you.  I am sure this is a trying time for you but I have every reason to believe that Madame Peri’s solution will work to everyone’s benefit.  Non?  I have just talked to Madame Peri.  She wishes you to work out of our first aid station.  At the moment, we have a woman trained in First Aid, Zenie.  She works for us weekdays so after hours and on weekends we have no medical personnel on site.  This will be your job, oui?”

“If this is where I am needed.  I will have to certify to work here, I imagine and I’ll also need to get a work visa.”

Piahuru waved his hand impatiently. “We will see to all these details.  You are not to concern yourself.  I will now walk with you over to our first aide post and introduce you to Zenie. She will outline your job and show you around. Come please.”

Dutifully, Kate followed Piahuru out of the office and back into the main lobby of the hotel.  The lobby was a massive two story tent supported by gigantic tree trunks.  At one end was the spiral staircase to the second floor and the main desk of teak with its dazzling wall of Mother of Pearl.  To the other end, across the stone floor with its arrangement of bamboo furniture with bright floral cushions and huge pots of tropical plants, the tent flaps were drawn back so that the sea breeze blew in with a salty fragrance.  Beyond the patio was the white coral beach of the reef, the aqua water and then rising up from the lagoon a mile away was the lush jungle peaks of the island of Bora Bora itself.

Kate hardly noticed the beauty that only a few days ago left her breathless.  Head down, she followed Piahuru, feeling as if the entire staff were watching her and talking about her situation.

They followed a stone path through gardens of tropical flowers around one of several hotel pools and then turned left as they made for a small building of bamboo and grass shaded at the edge of the forest.

Piahuru knocked.

“Please come in,” said the smiling woman who had come to the door.  Zenie was in her fifties and was a big woman.  Tall and blocky, she wore a colourful printed dress and a white lab coat.

“Zenie, may I present Kate Keynes.  Madam Peri has decided that Kate will be working with you at the First Aid station.  She will be using one of the back rooms for her bedroom for now.  I will leave you to show her around and explain your job.”

As soon as Piahuru was out of ear shot, Zenie smile dropped and she got considerably cooler.

“This is my station.”

Kate bit her lip and looked up into big, stormy eyes.  “Yes, I consider myself lucky to be working under you.  I will work hard but I know I will need a lot of instruction from you.  I know nothing of tropical diseases.  I am working off a debt. That is why Madam Peri hired me.”

Noting a basket of herbs that were being chopped one by one on the counter, Kate went on.  “I am also hoping to learn something of the local cures.  Western medicine is very good but I have always felt that much can be learned from alternative traditions.”

The smile returned to Zenie’s face.  She now knew that Kate was not there to be the boss and that she was sympathetic to some of the traditional medicines that Zenie sometimes used.

“I know much about local medicines.  I will help you.  You too can teach me, non?  We will be friends. Oui?  You are the woman I heard about whose husband left her here.  My husband was a no good too.  Always he has big ideas but he no want to work to make them happen.  All he make is babies.  I had six.  Then I throw him out.”

Kate laughed.  It felt good to laugh.  She might be virtually a prisoner here but working with Zenie would be fun.  For the rest of the afternoon, Kate stayed with Zenie around the well stocked First Aid Centre learning the ropes and unpacking her bags in one of the two very small rooms at the back.  Each room held two cots for any ailing guest who needed to lie down while being treated or who was waiting for the sea or air ambulance to arrive.   Kate used one of the cots as a dresser as there was no other furniture in the room and the other would be her bed.  It was a far cry from the beautiful suite over the ocean that she’d shared with Rick but it was much better than jail.  She was also allowed to help Zenie  prepare a herb salve for sunburn.

It was just before Zenie was getting ready to leave for the day that she pointed out the large, dark stain on the wood floor. 

“That is blood.  Always I scrub any blood clean but this stain would not come out.  Never!  It was here I found Madame Peri eight years ago.  She had crawled here from out of the sea.  A shark had eaten her.”

“Oh no!  I saw that she used a cane and walked with a limp but I wasn’t aware what happened.”

“It is a very bad story.  I will not be telling it in the dark.  It will draw evil spirits.  Tomorrow, when I come, I will tell you.  Now I just warn you never to step on that stain after dark.  Madame Peri’s grandmother, they say, was a witch.  The power of the ancient ones runs in her veins.  That is why the shark could not digest her.”

Kate felt a shiver go down her back despite the fact that she didn’t believe in such things.  Zenie believed and Kate felt her fear. 

After Zenie left, Kate sat up reading a book until midnight in case any guest might need medical attention.  Then she placed the sign on the door that she had made during the day, before getting ready for bed.   It read Twenty-four hour First Aid.  Knock for service after hours. All evening she had avoided walking over the huge stain on the wood floor.   Not because she believed in evil spirits, but if Zenie asked, she wanted to be able to say that she had followed her advice.  Now, ready for bed, she bent over and touched the offending stain wondering how anyone could have been bleeding so profusely and have survived.

After the raw emotion of the last few days, Kate found it hard to sleep.  She tossed and turned finding the little room hot and stuffy even with the screened windows.  She had just seen the arms of her clock reach two when she first heard the soft sound.  Thump, thump. Thump, thump.  Kate froze and held her breath not sure why she felt threatened by the noise.  Thump. Thump.  She eased herself quietly from her cot and looked out her bedroom window.  Nothing.  The jungle beyond with its pandanus and coconut palms, kapok, and breadfruit trees seemed still in the moonlight. 

Then from behind her she heard the gentle  rattle of the clinic’s doorknob.  A chill of fear waved down her body.  Once again came the soft rattle.   Kate tiptoed out of her little room.  The main room of the clinic was bathed in moonlight making the stain on the floor stand out like a dark abscess on the blond timber boards.  Heart pounding, she carefully skirted the horrible stain and tiptoed over to look out the front window.  Nothing.

~ ~ ~

Next morning, Zenie found Kate nursing a cup of coffee as she stood looking out the window.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

Kate started and turned to see Zenie unpacking her substantial bag of the items she felt she needed for the day.  Out came a comb, a book, two coconuts, a wood cross and a dried, smoked fish.

“I had a disturbing night,” Kate stated.

Zenie looked up. 

“You tell me about it, non?”

So Kate did as the two of them got on with the morning cleaning.  In between, they treated a boy with scraped knees, a woman who had got a very nasty sun burn the day before and a couple with rummy tummies from eating some cooked goat they had bought in the market that morning.

“I know I just let my imagination run away from me and there was probably no reason to be scared but still I’m sure there was someone at the door last night,” Kate concluded.

Zenie didn’t say anything.   She went on with cleaning up the supply cupboard. 

“It was nothing right?”

“It was the shark woman’s soul.  Madame Peri.”

“What?”

“It walks free at night.  Others have seen it or heard it dragging that leg that still inside the shark’s mouth.”

Kate sank into the chair.  “Maybe you’d better tell me the whole story so I understand.”

Zenie got out the two coconuts that she had been chilling in the fridge all morning and expertly cracked around the head of the coconut to break off the top.  She placed a straw inside and passed it to Kate so she could drink the cool milk while she prepared the second one for herself.  The fresh, cold coconut milk tasted wonderful after a hot morning’s work.

“Madame Peri was born here on this chain islands as were her mother and her grandmother and her great grandmother and so on.  Her grandfather was an America sailor stationed here during the war.  Her grandmother was one of the daughters of the Tongan royal house who ran away with this American sailor from Cape Cod and came here to live.  Pomare was her name and she had the sight.  People from all around came to consult her about their problems.  Always she would help them but they knew they’d better pay because she was a spirit woman and one of the royal line.  Much power this woman had.

“Now Madame Peri’s grandmother Pomare  had only one daughter too and she marry a wealthy French business man who owned the cultured pearl farm and a hotel.  Her name was Ohipa but the French called her Olivia.  She was a great beauty.  She died when Peri was born.  So many years now in this family it has been the only daughter of an only daughter, non?  The power of the spirits is strong in them.”

“I see,” said Kate, as she scraped the coconut flesh from the shell to eat with the smoked fish as Zenie had showed her.

“Now, Madame Peri likes the woman.  We islands see no problem with this.  In our culture, you are what you are.  If a man wants to wear a dress and do women’s work, no problem.  If a woman wants another woman no problem either.”

“Madame Peri is a lesbian?”  Kate asked for clarification.

“Oui.  Eight years ago, she has a partner, Odette Bondy.  Very beautiful she is.  A French model and photographer.  One day, they take the Dubois yacht out and anchor on the reef.  Odette said she wanted to get pictures of the sharks.  So Peri stands on the back deck and throws chub into the water to bring the sharks close.  Many come and the water boils with them.  Then, some say, Odette pushed Peri in and a big shark eats her!”

Kate had forgotten about her coconut and smoked fish lunch as she listened to an animated Zenie tell her story. 

“A shark bit her?”

“It ate her whole.  Peri did not know this but Odette was not really interested in her at all.  Non, she had the aventure - the affair with Peri’s father who was a silly old man to fall for a young woman.  Some say, Odette wanted Peri out of the way so she can marry the rich, old man, non.”

“That’s attempted murder!”

“Oui.  But Peri is no ordinary woman.  The shark stomach can not harm a spirit woman.  The spirit of the shark and the woman became one.  Peri grabs the shark’s back bone and forces it to swim close to the hotel.  Then she pulls the shark inside out so she can escape.  But the spirit of the shark holds onto her leg and rips it to pieces.  Still she swims to shore and drags herself to this hut.”

But she couldn’t have swum all that way so badly hurt in shark infested waters.  It’s not possible.”

“Maybe, maybe not but I see with my own eyes this bloody trail from the water and it is I who find Madame Peri lying here near death.  There was no boat.  She had crawled from the sea.”

“My God.  But what happened to Odette and the boat?”

“No one knows.  She was never seen again.  That night, while Madame Peri fights for her life her father dies in a house fire.  Burnt to death by his desires.”

“Oh that’s awful.  Awful.”

“There are bad spirits here, Kate.  Bad spirts.  I bring you this cross to wear.  It will keep you safe at night.  But you must be very careful not to step on the stain, non?”

“I won’t, Zenie.  I promise.  And thank you for bringing me the cross.”  Kate slipped it on.  “I’m sure it will protect me from any bad spirits that might be about.”  Kate didn’t really believe the myth that Zenie had told her but she was grateful for the woman’s concern and kindness and was happy to wear the cross for her.

~ ~ ~

Like the day before, Kate left the clinic open after Zenie left.  She treated a man who had cut his foot on a shell and a woman who had a migraine.  She was in the process of cleaning up for the day when she heard quite a commotion down by the pool.  Her French was not strong but she heard an American voice say something about a bad heart.   Grabbing the hotel’s portable defibrillator, and her medical kit just in case, she ran and pushed through the crowd.

“I’m the duty nurse.  Please let me through. ”

A woman held a man in her arms. “He’s got a bad heart,” she sobbed, as tears rolled down her face.  The man was pale but still breathing shallowly.

She looked around the crowd and saw the pool boy looking worried and lost.  “Tautu, go and get the oxygen tank from the main office.”

“Oui.”

While she waited, Kate listened to his heart with her stethoscope.  The heart was racing and the beat was uncoordinated.  Dangerous arrhythmia, Kate concluded.  She gnawed on her lip.  If she used the AED she could perhaps regulate his heart beat and save his life.  But if her quick diagnosis was wrong, she could bring on a fatal heart attack.

“Has he taken any medication?”

“Digitalis this morning but he’s been complaining all day that his heart was racing and he felt dizzy.  He wanted to just sit by the pool and relax.  Then all of a sudden, he tried to get up and passed out on the ground.”

The man was going grey and his lips were turning blue.  Kate opened up the defibrillator and ordered everyone to stand clear.  Then she put the pads to the man’s chest and gave him a jolt.  Again she listened to his heart.  The beat was slowing and becoming more regular.   With a sigh of relief, she slipped an oxygen mask over the man’s face and adjusted the flow.

By now, the night manager, Monsieur Pana, had arrived.   Kate addressed him.  “I think we need to call the water ambulance to take him to the mainland, Sir. Let them know that it’s a serious heart problem and that the air ambulance from Tahiti should be standing by.”

“Oui.  I will do this immediately.”

Kate stayed with her patient and monitored his condition.  While she waited, she tried to reassure his wife and also wrote up her observations and treatment for the paramedics that would arrive on the water ambulance.

By the time that the man had been put on a stretch and taken to the ambulance boat, it was passed seven and the sun was starting to set.  Kate felt tired, grimy and hungry.  She gathered up her gear and headed back to the First Aid hut.  Placing the closed for thirty minutes sign on the door, she stripped and stepped into the shower to freshen up.  Drying herself with one of the clinic towels, she made her way to her little bedroom and slipped into fresh underwear, a t-shirt and some shorts.  As she did so, a rather determined knock came on the door.

Now what?  Kate wondered, as she made her way across the room and opened the door.  On the other side was Marie, the assistant manager who had escorted her to Peri Dubois’s house just the other day.  It seemed like weeks ago already.

“I keep knocking but you did not answer.”

“I was having a shower.  I didn’t hear you knock until I was getting dressed.  How can I help you, Marie?”

“Madame Peri wishes you to come.  I will escort you.”

“I really need to clean up here and write up a report on today’s incident while the event is still fresh in my mind,” Kate protested.  “And my hair is still wet.”

She saw fear in Marie’s eyes. “Please.  You must come.  It is as Madame Peri wishes.  Some of the female staff are sick.”

“Sick.  Well, why didn’t you say so?   Can you tell me their symptoms, Marie, so I can bring some medicine with me?

“Some have headaches and are dizzy some have been vomiting.  They feel very bad.”

“Any fever?”

“I don’t think so.”

Kate gathered some supplies and followed Marie to one of the dorms used by the on site staff.

“I must go.  We are short staffed now.  Kate, they are young.  I would not want them to lose their jobs.”  Marie hurried off before Kate could ask anymore questions.  Surely, the dreaded Madame Peri wouldn’t fire the girls for being sick, Kate wondered, as she stepped up into the dorm.

The dorm was one room with a communal washroom and showers at the end.  Six metal beds lined each side of the room with a standing closet separating each bed.  Of the twelve beds, five were occupied with sick women. 

It didn’t take Kate long to discover that the young women had been to a beach party with some friends before going on duty and had simply had too much to drink.  Marie had been afraid to tell Peri Dubois for fear the girls would lose their jobs.  She had passed the problem on to Kate.  

Kate made sure that none were in danger.

“Please, Madame.  You will not tell Madame Peri.  We will lose our jobs.”

Kate shook her head.  “You five have been very foolish.  I will put in my report that you are suffering from tummy upsets that you got at a beach picnic.  But if I hear of this sort of behaviour again.  I will have to report you.  Is that understood?”

“Oui, merci, merci,” the girls chorused.

Kate made sure everyone was comfortable and got them all glasses of  water to drink for during the night.  She left some medication to help with their hang-overs in the morning and told them to report to her if they were not on the road to recovery by tomorrow afternoon.  Then she reported to the front desk to let Marie know that the girls would recover and that the problem was upset tummies from something they digested at a picnic.  Marie smiled her thanks and said that she would phone Madame Peri and let her know.

Exhausted, Kate made her way back to her station and flopped on the bed.  She didn’t wake until the early hours of the morning when she again heard the thump, thump. Thump, thump.  She lay holding her breath and straining to hear.  There it was again the gentle turning of the door knob.

Had she locked the door?  She couldn’t remember.  Fear clutched her heart but the door held.  Thump, thump.  Thump, thump.  Then silence again.

Kate was too afraid and tired to undress.  She wrapped a sheet around her and drifted off to sleep  just as the sun started to rise.

~ ~ ~

It was late on the morning before Kate woke.  She showered quickly, changed into fresh clothes and went in search of Zenie.  She was anxious to find out of there had been any word on the man who she had given First Aid to yesterday.   She found Zenie standing by the front steps of the clinic talking to a beautiful little girl.  The child would be about seven.  She had red hair and big grey eyes.

“Ah, you are awake,” called Zenie seeing Kate at the door.

“I’m so sorry, Zenie.  You should have called me.  It was a busy night last night.”

“So I have heard.  Kate, this is Marau.”

“Hello Marau.  How are you this morning.”

“I am well thank you.  You do not need to worry.  The man who had the heart attack yesterday is doing well.  The five girls though that drank too much are not feeling so good today,” the child smiled.

“Oh.”  Kate was totally taken back by the information that the small child knew.  She wasn’t sure what to say.

Zenie watched the exchange with interested eyes, then turned back to the small child.

“Now here is the medicine your mother wanted.  You take it right to her now.”

“Yes, Zenie, I will.  It was nice meeting you Kate. I will see you again soon.”

Kate smiled although she felt strangely unnerved by this small child.  “It was nice meeting you Marau.”

Kate watched Marau run off with the bag of medicine that Zenie had given her.

“Who is that child?”

“The spirit of the shark and the woman became one. That is the shark child - her hair the colour of her mother’s blood and her eyes the colour of the shark’s skin.   Peri’s daughter.”

“What?  But, Zenie, that is not possible!”

“Yet there is no other father.  Did you not see for yourself?  A beautiful child.  An intelligent child.  One who sees into our souls and knows all.  On the Cook Islands there are many, ancient stories of people who can talk to sharks and even change into a shark.”

Kate bit her lip and shivered despite the heat of the day.  She didn’t know what to think about the wild stories that Zenie had told her but she meant to know the truth.

That night, Kate set her alarm for one in the morning.  Each time she had heard the strange noise outside, it had been around two.  This time she was going to be up and ready.  She dressed in khaki jeans and a t-shirt and slipped out into the cool, early morning darkness.  A bench in a small alcove of bushes made and excellent place to hide.  Kate pulled up her legs and wrapped her arms around them for warmth as she quietly waited.  Some time later, she heard the soft sound off in the distance, thump, thump, thump, thump.  Kate’s heart pounded with anticipation and her nerves tingled with excitement.  She peered intently into the dark. 

Something slivered over her foot and she leapt up and gave a sharp gasp.  A lizard.  Had she been heard?  She listened.  No sound.  She relaxed back on the bench and waited.  Then cold, icy fingers touched her arm.  With a cry of freight, Kate leapt up and ran for the hut, slamming the door behind her.  What the hell had that been?  Calming herself, she looked out of the window.  Between the trees, Kate could see a dark shadow moving with an uneven gait on the beach.  Then the shape moved out into the lagoon and disappeared beneath the dark waters.

~ ~ ~

The days passed into weeks.  Kate worked long hours.  She opened the clinic at eight and closed it at midnight although she remained on call all night long.  Officially, she was on duty from when Zenie left to the following morning but with nowhere to go and nothing to do, she got up and helped Zenie.  Lying in bed only led to painful memories or worse horrible nightmares.  She was better working.  Zenie had become her one trusted friend and confident.  She wasn’t sure how she could have gone on if it hadn’t been for Zenie’s practical wisdom and funny common sense.

When she got depressed or cried, Zenie was always there to drag her out of her doldrums.  “Why are you crying?  Your old man was no good.  You be glad that he has gone.  Here you are living in paradise with a roof over your head and good food.  Now you stop your crying.  Everything is going to be okay, Non?  And Zenie would wrap a big arm around her and sing softly until Kate felt better.

Kate had to admit that if she had to be made a fool of and deserted by a no good husband, she’d couldn’t have been left in a more beautiful spot.  The view was magnificent, the weather perfect and the guests generally polite and relaxed.  Her job, over looking the one man who’d had a heart attack, had been well within her abilities.  Her room was basic but clean and private and the  food the hotel provided for the staff in their canteen was good.  There was lots of fruit, rice and fish with any bread and desserts left over from the guests buffet from the day before. 

But Kate found it hard to eat.  She was stranded miles from home and deeply in debt to a stranger.  She had little money and could only speak French hesitantly and with a limited vocabulary.  And then there was the whole mystery of Peri Dubois and her shark child. 

Not that she believed in Zenie’s wild stories.  She didn’t.  She now had a pretty good idea what the noise was.  It was Peri Dubois walking the ground in the small hours of the morning when no one was around. He cane and metal brace making a rhythmic thump, thump as she walked.  It was her who had slipped into the waters for a swim when no one was around to see her and it was her whose cold, fingers had touched her arm.

At least, that is what Kate had made herself believe.  Kate had not ventured out again in the early hours.  She was embarrassed at running away and wasn’t sure she could explain her actions to Peri Dubois.  No, better to avoid the woman.  Better not to know the secrets of the Dubois family. She was in enough trouble as it was.  Still, she’d lay awake despite how tired she was until she heard the foot steps, the rattle of the doorknob and then silence. 

Over the weeks, Kate grew gaunt and exhausted from grief and stress.  Several times, when she had been heading over to the staff canteen for a meal, she’d noticed Peri Dubois on her balcony watching her.  It was unnerving.  Kate had taken to skipping meals or going at irregular hours.  As she hurried along to the canteen, she would look up at the balcony.  Sometimes, her eyes would met Peri’s and she would feel almost an electrifying jolt as their eyes met.  Other times, the balcony would be empty and Kate would feel an irrational sense of disappointment despite her desire to avoid Peri Dubois.

Kate had been at her job for almost two months when Marie came running into the First Aid hut one evening looking panic stricken.

“Come quickly!  Come quickly!  Madame Peri needs you immediately.  It is Marau.  She was eating dinner and suddenly she could not breath.  Hurry!”           

Kate grabbed her medical kit and ran after the frightened assistant.  They ran through the gardens and up a path that led to the Dubois house.  The security gate was open and Marie led Kate through the lower hall of the house and up the stairs to the dining room.

Peri Dubois sat awkwardly on the floor.  Her damaged leg out straight and her other curled up under the small frame of her daughter. Tears rolled silently down her face as she whispered softly to her daughter. Marau was grey and struggling to breath.

“She was eating dinner?”

“Oui.”

“Did she choke on something?”

“Non.  She complained that she felt funny and that her throat was closing in.  Then she started to gasp for breath and fell from her chair.”

Kate was grateful that despite Peri Dubois’s obvious distress she was able to respond clearly. 

“Marie, have the desk send over the oxygen tank just in case.”

“Oui.”

“Does she have any food allergies?”

“I do not think so.”

“Did she eat anything different tonight?”

“Oui.  I have hired an Indonesian chief and he prepared a special meal for us.”

Kate nodded and took out the snake bite kit form her medical bag.

“She has been bitten by a snake?”

“No.  I think she is in anaphylaxis shock.  A severe food reaction.  Possibly peanuts.  The adrenalin in the needle will help her recover if that is what has happened.  It won’t do her any harm if I’m wrong other than giving her the shakes and a bad headache.  Can I give her the needle?”

“Oui.  Vite.”

Kate gave the small child the shot just as Marie arrived rolling in the oxygen tank.  Kate adjusted the oxygen flow of the tank and put the mask on the small child’s face.  Her head was right next to Peri Dubois’s.  She could smell the exotic woman’s perfume - spicy and sweet.  Their hands touched and Kate nearly jumped with the impact.  Peri Dubois didn’t seem to notice.  Her focus was totally on her child.

Already, Marau was breathing easier and her colour was returning.  Kate smiled reassuringly at the little girl.

“You are going to be okay now, Hon.”

Kate got up and went to smell the food.  Peanut sauce as she had thought.  It might not be the source of Marau’s attack but it a likely suspect.  She turned back to her patient and removed the oxygen mask. 

“You want to try and stand up now, Marau.  Moving around a bit will help you feel a little better.

Don’t worry if a leg or arm suddenly starts to shake.  It’s just a side effect of the drug and will soon disappear.  Marie, could you take Marau for a walk into the other room and back?”

“Oui Kate.  Come on Marau.  You’ll feel better soon.”

Once they had left, Kate turned her attentions to the woman on the floor.

“Let me help you up.”

She saw Peri Dubois’s jaw tighten in anger but after a second of hesitation she nodded and Kate helped the woman to her feet.  Peri DuBois was remarkable fit despite her crippled leg.  Kate could feel the warm muscle next to her own as she wrapped an arm around her employer and pulled her up.  Once she was sure the woman had her balance, she picked up Peri Dubois’s cane and handed it to her just as Marie and Marau came back into the room.  Marau ran to her mom and held on to her tightly.  Peri Dubois bent and whispered something softly into her child’s ear.  It brought a smile to the child’s face.

Peri Dubois looked up.

“Thank you Marie.  You helped save Marau’s life.  I am deeply grateful. There will be an extra something in your pay pack this week for your efforts on behalf of my daughter. You may go now.”

“Oui, Madame Peri.”

Kate knelt and started to pack up her medical kit.

“You will not go.  I need you here to care for Marau.  Tonight, you can sleep in Marau’s room.  Tomorrow, you will move your things up here and I will have a room ready for you.”

Clearly, Kate was not going to be thanked only ordered.  She controlled her annoyance with effort.

“That really isn’t necessary Madame Peri.  Marau will be fine now.  I suggest that you have her tested as soon as possible for food allergies.  If she does have them, she should be taught to use and carry and epi-pen with her at all times.”

“I said you will stay.  There will be no argument.  You work for me.”

Kate swallowed hard and forced back the tears.  She was in an impossible position.  Until she could pay back her debt, Peri Dubois controlled her life.  She was essentially indentured labour.  Dubois could make any reasonable request and Kate would be obliged to accept.  Although an over reaction, it was not an unreasonable request for Peri Dubois to ask her to be a personal nurse to her child and live in her house.  It was a beautiful home and much better than the small room in the back of the First Aid Clinic.  Yet, she had to admit that she was not comfortable being there so close to Peri Dubois and her child.

She had slept in Marau’s room on a cot that the resort had provided that night.  She had been told, no ordered, to pack a night bag and to return to The House before eleven.  Madame Peri had shown her to her daughter’s room and left.

Kate had quietly got ready for bed so as not to wake Marau.  She’d laid awake for a very long time too wound-up to sleep.  The strange noises started about 12:30 that night.  Low voices came from Peri Dubois’s quarters.   Then moans and groans and the occasional thump.  Close to two, a door opened and down the hall came the steady thump, thump of Peri Dubois’s step.  The bedroom knob turned.  Kate pretended she was asleep.  The door opened slowly.  Then closed softly.  Kate was asleep before the footsteps returned.

Breakfast was surprisingly fun.  Marau had to tell Kate all about the book she was reading.

“So is there a door in the back of your closet that leads to another world?”

“No, I checked.  Maman came with me just in case but we didn’t find anything did we Maman?

“I’m afraid not and I was so looking forward to talking to the lion.”

“Well, maybe next time,” Kate smiled.

Marie came to take Marau on the ferry to the school on the mainland and Kate followed them out saying good bye to Marau in the beach before she headed over to the clinic to join Zenie.

Chapter Two: Into the Belly of the Beast

“Where have you been?” called Zenie, when she saw Kate walking up the path.

“I stayed up at The House last night.”

“Non!  I had heard this but I did not want to believe it.  Are you okay?  Did anything happen?”

Kate decided to keep some of the events of the night to herself.  Instead, she related just the story of how Marau had gone into anaphylaxis shock.

“Madame Peri was very upset and insisted that I stay in Marau’s room last night.  Marau slept soundly and I got some sleep although it’s always hard to sleep in a strange place.  I had breakfast with Madame Peri and Marau on their balcony this morning.  It was all very pleasant.”

“Madame Peri is very good to us all but she is so powerful and that child, Marau, has the eye like her great grandmother.  Strange things happen.  I fear for you.”

“Now Zenie, don’t let your imagination run wild.  As you said, Madame Peri is very good to her people.  I will still be able to help you down here at the clinic.  I just have to have meals with Marau and spend nights up there.  Everything will be fine.”  Kate sound far more confident than she felt.  She was worried and yes, a little scared about living up at The House.

The day wore on with all the usual first aid issues that occur at resorts when tourists leave their common sense at home.  Most of their patients were suffering from sun burn or minor cuts and bruises.  When it was time for Zenie to leave, she gave Kate a big hug.

“You are like one of my daughters.  I will pray for you.  Wear your cross and stay away from Madame Peri at night when the shark calls for her.”

Kate laughed.  “I’ll be fine Zenie but I will follow everything you say as best I can so you don’t worry.”

Zenie left reluctantly and with many backward glaces.  Kate knew that she would be telling the other workers quite a story as they travelled back to the mainland on the hotel ferry.

At six, Kate closed up the First Aid clinic and left a note on the door telling people they could contact the nurse at the main desk if they needed assistant.  She had stocked her first aid bag well and felt prepared if someone needed her during the night.  Then squaring her shoulders, she headed up to her new quarters in The House.

To her surprise, she found that Peri Dubois was not there.  Instead the house keeper, Miranda was babysitting Marau.

“Bonjour Marau.  Bonjour Miranda.  How are you today?”

“Bonjour Kate.  We are fine.  Now that you are here.  I will leave.  Madame Peri is on the mainland and will not be back until after dinner.  The kitchen staff will serve the meal in the diningroom at eight.  Madame Peri requests that you see that Marau does her homework.”

So now she was a babysitter too. “Oui.  I’ll see that she does that.  Au revoir, Miranda.  Come on Marau, you’d better get started on that homework.  You wouldn’t want to disappoint your mom.”

“It is so easy.  I do not like having to do it.  But Maman said I must.”

Kate got the small child organized and sat with her while she did her homework.  Marau was reading several grades ahead of her age group and was doing well in math at her grade level.  Kate could understand why the child found her school work less than challenging. When Marau was finished, they played a game of snakes and ladders until it was Marau’s bedtime.  Marau was a good kid and talkative.

“Maman took me for allergy tests this morning.  We flew to Tahiti and back.  They put little needles in my back to see how I would react to things.  I am allergic to peanuts just like you said I might be.  Also a little bit to milk.  I have never liked milk.  Maman had to delay an important meeting to take me so she had to work tonight.”

“Well, I’m glad Madame Peri was so quick to get you tested.  Did the doctor give you an epi-pen and show you how to use it?”

“Yes.  We keep one in the diningroom now, one at the front desk and both mom and I carry one.  Maman is having all the senior staff trained in how to use one.  See, here is mine in my pocket.  Next time I have a problem, I want to give my own needle.  Maman and I have practised on an orange.”

Kate smiled at Peri Dubois’s over reaction.  She was a caring mother, if overly cautious, but then she’d had a very nasty scare.

Kate sent Marau off to get showered and into bed.  Then she let the small child read her book for twenty minutes before she turned the light out.  This was not turning out to be the job that she had planned on at all.

It was coming up to eleven when Kate heard the uneven gait of Peri Dubois coming up the walk.  She went first to her daughter’s room and then came on to where Kate sat on the balcony.

“Marau does not usually go to bed so willingly.”

Kate smiled.  “She must have been on her best behaviour.”

“I didn’t have time to personally let you know of my plans.  I will hire a nanny to care for Marau when I am not around.  In the past, I have relied on the hotel babysitting service.  I’m not comfortable with doing so now.”

“Marau is in no real danger.  She is smart and responsible for a little girl and I understand the hotel staff are being trained to use an epi-pen.  That is an excellent idea to protect guests with allergies too.”

The response is sharp.  “I know what is best for my daughter.”

“Oui, Madame Peri.  I will leave you alone now.  Bonne nuit.”

~ ~ ~

Peri watched her go seeing the hurt and bewilderment in her eyes.  She did not enjoy being so abrupt with Kate Madison as she was now calling herself having gone back to her maiden name. Kate had saved her daughter’s life and for that she would always be grateful.  Peri had tried to repay the pretty nurse by reducing Kate’s debt by half.  She had not told Kate this.  She needed to keep a wall of coldness between her and Kate to protect herself and her daughter.  There was no other way.

She limped out on the balcony and looked over the garden to the sea.  Once again she could hear Odette’s voice and see the aqua water around her turn red with her own blood.  Once again she could smell the wet ashes of her father’s home and feel the bitterness of betrayal. 

No one would ever again have her trust or her heart.  She would see to that.  Nor would anyone ever come between her and her love for Marau as Odette had come between her father and her.  She was the shark woman.  Always moving, never sleeping and always alone.

~ ~ ~

One in the morning and Kate was still awake.  She lay stiff and frightened in her bed.  Straining her ears to hear the noises that were coming from down the hall even though she didn’t want to.  Voices.  She couldn’t hear the words.  Movement, bangs and rattles too.  Worse still moans.  Painful groans and gasps.  What was going on in Dubois’s private chambers?  Who else was in there? 

Then the noise stopped as suddenly as it had started.  Dubois’s door opened and closed and the soft thump, thump came down the hallway stopping first at Marau’s door and then coming past Kate’s.  The shark woman was on her nightly hunt.  

A sudden thought made Kate shivered in fear.  What if Odette Bondy had not escaped? What if she was imprisoned in the shark woman’s quarters?

That thought haunted Kate all night.  She made a plan and in the morning after breakfast with the Dubois family she walked as usual towards the clinic.  Once she was out of sight she doubled back and took the garden path that led to the back entrance of The House.  Nervously, she slipped in her pass card that had been given to her that first night she had stayed in Marau’s room and slipped through the gate.

I have a perfect right to be here, she reassured herself to calm her beating heart.  She entered the house and listened intently then headed to the wing that housed her room and the suites of Marau and Peri Dubois. 

She listened again, her eyes darting left and right for any sign of life.  Then quietly, she passed her own door and that of Marau’s to reach the end of the corridor that led to Peri’s suite.  She slowly tied the handle.  It was locked.  She listened at the door.  Nothing.  Looking around again, she knocked gently and whispered close to the door then listened again.  No response.  Once more she tried.  Nothing.

Thump, thump. The telling sound came from somewhere in the house behind her.  Kate darted for her door and was just in the process of opening it trembling with fear when Peri Dubois came around the corner.

“What are you doing here?”

“I forgot something and came back for it.”

Peri Dubois looked sceptical.   Her eyes shifted down the hall then back to Kate.  “What did you forget?”

“My medical bag.  I pack it ready for any first aid call I might have to go to during the night.  I don’t like to leave it in my room because it does contain drugs.”

Dubois nodded.  “Tomorrow, is Saturday.  I have promised to take Marau swimming.  You will come.  Meet us at the docks at ten and wear a swim suit.”

“Oui, Madam Peri.”

Their eyes met.  Kate wondered if Dubois could hear the fear in her voice or see the sweat on her lip that would reveal her stress at lying. 

“Aren’t you going to get your bag?”

“Yes, yes, I am.”  Nervously, Kate entered her room and picked up the bag that she had left that morning on her bed as an excuse should she be caught back in the house. Thank God she had.  She didn’t think she would want to face an angry Peri Dubois. 

Her boss waited at the bedroom door for her, watching her every move and stood in the hall silently as Kate took her leave.  What was behind that locked door?  And why had Peri Dubois returned to the house?

~ ~ ~

Peri watched Kate walk quickly down the hall.  Kate was lying.  She had tried to get into Peri Dubois’s rooms.  Peri had watched her on the security screens that monitored the house and grounds.  At first, she had assumed that Kate was after pearls and was going to rob her quarters.  Her desertion by her husband could have been an elaborate plot to get Kate on the inside.            She was about to reach for the phone to call security when she heard Kate knock and whisper, Is there anyone in there?  Do you need help?  What was she doing?  Why would she think someone was in her quarters and needing help?  Who was Kate Madison and what was she up to?

Peri went out onto the balcony and watched Kate as she nearly ran through the garden heading for the pool and on to the clinic.  At the moment, she needed Kate to protect her daughter.  But she would advertize for a nurse to be with Marau and then Kate could go back to living in the clinic until she had worked off her debt.  Peri turned and limped back into the house.

~ ~ ~

“Non!  What are you saying to me?  You can not spend another night up there.  These bangs and moans, they are the work of the devil.”

Kate, shaken badly from her experience had told Zenie everything as the two of them brewed up a batch of Zenie’s famous sunburn treatment.

“No.  It’s not the work of the devil.  Peri isn’t evil.  You should see her when she is alone with Marau.  This morning she was pretending to be a character in a book that Marau is reading and was wearing the maid’s dust mop around her neck so she would look more like a lion.  She can be - funny, creative, loving - just nice.”

“No one who works for Madam Peri would accuse her of not being good.  But that does not change the fact that she is the shark woman.  What you think those noises are if they are not the devil?”

“I’m not sure.  Last night, I scared myself into believing she might be holding someone prisoner in there.  I mean no one knows really what happened to Odette Bondy do they?  That’s why I went back this morning to check.  I listened at the door.  Knocked.  Called out.  No one answered.  But something weird was going on last night.”

Saturday found Kate waiting on the dock by nine thirty.  She had not slept well.  Again last night the moans, groans and voices had come from Peri Dubois’s quarters.  At breakfast, Marau filled in the silence that would have existed between the two women with the excited talk of a child determined to show her new friend all her special spots.

“Maman?  Can we show Kate the reef?  I want her to swim with the sting rays and see the sharks and the wonderful coloured fish.  Can we have a picnic?  Will we go to the pearl farm?”

Peri smiled at her daughter.  “All this in one day?”

“Please, Madman.”

“We shall see what the ocean is like and do as much as we can.  Now I have some work to do and you have promised to clean your room this morning.  I will walk Kate part of the way to her clinic.”

The message was clear.  Kate was not to be left alone in the house.  Meekly, she got her swim bag that she had prepared the night before and walked beside Madame Peri through the garden.

She thought it would be difficult to keep pace with Peri Dubois’s uneven gait but she found they walked well together.  The path was narrow for two and their bodies were close.  Peri stopped at one point and took Kate by the shoulders turning her around and pointing into the bush.   

“Do you see the frog?”

“No.”  Kate was acutely aware of Peri’s scent and the warmth of her body at her back.  It was both disconcerting and appealing. 

“Over there on the tree trunk just above the red of the Flame Plant.”

“Oh my!  I didn’t see it at all.  Its so perfectly camouflaged.  It’s amazing.”

For a few seconds, they stood there looking at the tree frog.  Later, Kate would realize with a shock that it hadn’t been about the frog at all.  It had been about them.  About being close.  Was she attracted to a woman?  No, she couldn’t be. 

She thought about her relationship with Rick.  He had been her first.  He had been kind and attentive but had she really enjoyed their love making?  No.  It had relieved her physical need but not her emotional want.  They’d had fun planning a wedding and having a marvellous honeymoon but what would have held their marriage together after all the excitement?  Nothing.  Over looking the fact that Rick had been a con man preying on women with money, the marriage would never have worked over the long run.  There was no spark.  No passion.

Rick had never been committed to her emotionally and she now realized that she had not been committed either.  Rick seemed like a good catch.  He’d been charming and fun and led everyone to believe he was wealthy too.  Her friends had been envious of her good fortune and had encouraged the relationship.  She had been dazed by her good luck.  It was time to marry and Rick had seemed perfect.  When she thought about it, she had simply followed the pattern that society had expected of her.  She’d got an education, found a job and lived independently for a few years and then had married to start a family.  It was the right thing to do.  Wasn’t it?

Unwillingly, her thoughts returned to Peri Dubois.  The feel of her surprisingly strong body as Kate had helped her to her feet the night Marau had been ill.  The radiant warmth of her and the spicy scent of her perfume as Peri stood close pointing out the frog.  With shock, she had to admit that she’d felt a powerful sexual charge from those brief encounters. 

Was she a lesbian and had never realized it? She thought back.  There had been a female teacher of whom she’d had a hero worship as a young teen.  And there had been a fellow nursing student that she had wanted as a close friend.  She had been very disappointed when she found out the woman was involved with another woman.  The new understanding of her feelings left her feeling totally unnerved.

So preoccupied with her thoughts was she that Zenie asked her if anything was the matter.

“No nothing.  I’m going with Madam Peri and her daughter out to the reef today.  I guess I feel nervous about that.”

Zenie crossed herself.  “I will pray for you.  Be on your guard.”

Kate forced a laugh.  “I’ll be fine.”

But would she?  She had known women and men who were gay.  She certainly sympathized with their fight to be accepted by society and to live normal lives.  She had been proud when Canada took the step to allow gay marriages.  It seemed the right thing to do.  But was she a lesbian?  That was a very hard idea to accept.  Did she want to be different?  Could she help not being?  Was she able to suppress those feelings and live a so called normal life?  Would she want to? 

She was in a very confused and agitated state as she carried her swim bag down to the docks to wait for Madam Peri and her child.

~ ~ ~

For Peri things had not been much better.  She had tried to work but her thoughts had kept going back to walking beside Kate on the way to work.  It had felt right.  The frog she had spied on the tree truck had given her an excuse to touch Kate.  She had enjoyed the feel of Kate’s form nestled against her own and the softness of her hair next to her face as she pointed out the frog over Kate’s shoulder.  It had been a weak, pathetic act of need.  She had acted impulsively.  Had she thought for a moment she would have resisted. 

What was she thinking?  Since Odette, she had carefully and successfully avoided any attachments.  Why was this woman different?  No matter what the reason, she needed to get a grip on her emotions.  Involvement was not for her.  No one, not her mother who had left her at birth, her father who had rejected her or her lover who had betrayed her had loved her.  She was the lone woman, the shark, and would remain so.  Besides, to make a pass at a straight woman and an employee was just totally foolhardy.  She could end up being sued for harassment.  No, she must do everything she could to keep Kate at arms length.

Peri gave up the pretense of working and went back to her home.  She changed into white slacks and a resort t-shirt and then went to find Marau in her room.  They gathered the things they would need for the day and had a porter carry it down to the yacht.  Hand in hand, she walked with her daughter down to the dock her face set with determination.

~ ~ ~

Kate had expected that they would take one of the resort’s outboard boats with the colourful canvas tops and bench seats.  They ferried guests back and forth from the reef resort to the island of Bora Bora.  Instead, Kate was led to a forty-five foot yacht.  The ship, for that is what it seemed to Kate, was equipped with a beautiful lounge of bamboo furniture, a flying bridge for observation, a wheel house, a full galley, several bedrooms and a luxurious central cockpit.  The yacht’s tender swinging from its derricks on the stern seemed like a big enough boat to Kate.

L’Explorateur was simply a magnificent ship and for the first time Kate became aware of just how wealthy Peri Dubois really was.  Aboard the yacht there was a crew of four, a cook, maid, pilot and deck hand. 

They climbed aboard and Marau immediately climbed up to the flying bridge to watch as the crew cast off and head out into the lagoon.  Kate found herself alone with Peri Dubois in the midship cockpit.  There were a few seconds of awkward silence.

“Would you like to take the tour of l'Explorateur?”  Peri finally asked.

“Yes, I’d like that.  I’ve never been on a ship before.”

Peri laughed.  “This is hardly a ship but it is a reasonable sized yacht.  I bought it second hand from a retired businessman who decided that Manhattan suited him better than a yacht in the South Pacific.”

They made their way towards the bow.  Passing the navigation centre with its impressive array of technology and the well equipped galley, going through the main cabin and on past the head and storage closets to the two small bedrooms that filled the bow of the yacht.  Then Peri led her back to the stern of the yacht and showed her the master bedroom with its wrap around stern windows, double bed and private bath.   It was lovely but Kate felt on a razor’s edge being in there with Peri.

What if Peri used the opportunity to touch her?  How would she react?  Her body tingled with excitement and fear.  She was aroused just being in Peri’s quarters.  She wondered how many women had. 

Then the touch on her shoulder.  Kate turned and looked up into Peri’s face.  For a minute nothing was said.  Kate could feel her heart thumping and her desire had pooled into a pain of need.  This had never happened to her before.  Never.  And it was both exciting and terrifying all at once.

Peri went to say something.  Then stopped.  Instead, she took a step closer and took Kate by her shoulders.  Kate leaned into Peri’s body resting her head against Peri’s chest.  She could hear the steady beat of the mysterious woman’s heart.  Peri’s arms moved around her.   Long, gentle fingers explored the contours of her back.  Kate shuddered with desire and looked up into grey, passionate eyes.

Peri’s head lowered.  Their first kiss was tender and gentle.  Kate ran her arms up Peri’s chest and wrapped them around the taller woman’s neck.  The kiss became needy, demanding.  Kate had wondered if this moment came if she would pull away realizing that it was all wrong.  Instead, she melted like butter next to a hot knife.  It was definitely right. A need far greater than she had ever felt  consumed her.  All she wanted was to be loved by this woman. To feel the release that she knew she had never felt before.

Peri’s hand’s felt her breasts and Kate gasped with excitement.  She was pushed back against the bulkhead and Peri kissed her mouth, her face her neck and finally her breasts.

“Stop,” Kate whispered.

Peri did so immediately.  Stepping back but looking at Kate with eyes filled with want.

“I...I’ve never-”

“But you do want to.”

“Yes.  I just need time.  I ...I’m confused.”

Peri’s face was expressionless. “Very well.   Shall we go back on deck?  Marau will be wondering where we have gone.”

“Yes.  Yes, of course.”

Hurriedly, Kate straightened her clothes and stumbled out of Peri’s state room and up the ladder to the cockpit once again.

~ ~ ~

Peri followed much slower.  Lifting her braced leg one step at a time up the teak steps and trying to come to terms with what had happened.  Hadn’t she just decided not an hour ago that this woman was taboo?  Hadn’t she realized that getting involved with this woman was dangerous?  Then why had she succumb at the first touch?

On deck, she saw that Kate had retreated to the flying bridge and was letting Mararu point out all the sights to her.  Peri smiled.  It was not a warm smile but that of a predator.  Kate might have not been with a woman before but Peri had felt her want.  She would not give her heart to this woman.  She had no heart left to give but there was no harm in an affair as long as they both knew the rules.   After all, not quite four months ago, Kate had promised to love, honour and obey her husband.  It hadn’t taken her long to get over him.  It had been Kate who had come on to her.

When she had touched Kate’s arm she had merely wanted to show Kate the built in sound system in her stateroom.  But Kate had turned into her arms and the look that had passed between them had been all about desire.  Peri could not resist.  Since the first day she had seen Kate, she had wanted the woman.  Now having touched the softness of Kate’s skin and tasted the sweetness of her lips, Peri wanted more. 

She sat in the corner of the cockpit watching Kate above her.  Her eyes focussed on Kate’s breasts, her tight, round bottom and the shape of her crotch.  She wandered what it would be like to claim this woman and knew immediately that it would be wonderful.

Kate looked down and saw Peri undressing her with her eyes.  She didn’t blush or look away as Peri thought she might.  Instead, she looked back, drinking in Peri’s long legs and firm body with curiosity and desire in her eyes.  Peri smiled and Kate smiled back.  This wasn’t over.

~ ~ ~

It had been a day of wonder for Kate.  The yacht had anchored off the reef and they had taken the tender into the shallows where they had snorkel dived.  Below Kate had been an underwater paradise of beautiful castles of coral and colourful fish of all shapes and sizes.  It had been amazing to see. 

In the water, Peri was like a fish moving freely and gracefully through the current with her daughter close at her side.  On deck, it had been a different matter.  Peri had removed her slacks to reveal an expensive knee brace and a scar that told the story of a grisly attack.  Hundreds of teeth marks formed an oval shaped scar over her knee and up her thigh.  Above the knee the muscle tissue was particularly mangled and a deep hollow ran for several inches where flesh was torn out.  A surgical scar over the top of her knee indicated that she’d had knee surgery.  Kate wondered if she had and artificial joint.  Peri had removed her brace and with little difficulty had hopped down the ladder and into the water.  Marau had dived off the gunwales and joined her.  Much more cautiously, Kate had joined them, the scar on Peri’s body a good reminder that the ocean was an unforgiving place.

Once in the water though she forgot all her fears so taken was she with the beauty around her.  It was only reluctantly that Kate followed Peri and Marau back to the yacht.  The small child had wrapped her arms around her mom’s neck and was riding her back through the waves.  Kate was envious of that intimate contact.

What was she thinking?  Hadn’t she just got married only months before?  Okay, he’d been a jerk and walked out on her but hadn’t she loved him?  She thought she had.  Hadn’t she enjoyed the sex?  She’d thought she’d had.  But Peri’s touch had awakened something in her far more powerful than she had ever imagined.  She was like a moth drawn to a flame.  She suspected that Peri hid a dark secret and yet she couldn’t help but want more of the woman.  She was playing with fire and she should be afraid to be burnt but she wasn’t.  It would be a wonderful pain.

Next, they had taken the outboard tender to a spot where the water was shallow and the bottom white sand.  There Peri had slipped into the water and held a small bait-fish in her hand.  Within a few minutes, she was surrounded by stingrays.  Huge grey bat like fish swam over her body trying to get the fish.  Their dangerous barbed tails trailing up her form.  Marua squealed with delight and Kate, although apprehensive, was mesmerized.  Peri gave up the fish and the when the stingrays had backed off she held up her hands and Marau slipped into her arms.  Once again, Perri took a small fish from the bait bucket and the stingrays returned allowing Marau to feel them as they swam around the mother and daughter.

Then it was Kate’s turn.  Marau scrambled up the ladder and Kate nervously slipped into the shoulder deep water.  Peri wrapped an arm around Kate and held their bodies close together.  The thrill of their naked skin touching almost made Kate come right there.

Peri gave her some brief instructions. “Try not to make any sudden moves.  Do not touch their tails and avoid their mouths that can suck.  You can touch them though.  Are you ready?”

“Oui.”

Marau passed Perri a small fish and a few seconds later they were surrounded by the magnificent beasts.  They moved smooth and gracefully around them, slipping up and around their bodies.   Peri took her hand and together they reached out and touched the wonderful creatures.  The darker grey of their backs felt like fine sandpaper but their bellies felt as soft as silk.  The fish released for the stingrays to take, they climbed the ladder once more.

“It is so much fun, non?” asked Marau.

“It is.  I could never have imagined swimming with such wonderful creatures.  Thank you, Marau for bringing me.”

Marau smiled and gave her a big hug. “But the best is yet to come.  You’ll see.”

Peri had by now pulled herself up the ladder and swung herself onto the seat by the motor.  She started up the engine and they headed back through the aqua lagoon water to l’Explorateur.  On deck a wonderful meal of salads and cold lobster waited for them with a pitcher of tea ice.

Marau chatted away about fish she had seen and laughed with her mother about adventures they’d had in the past.  Kate smiled.  It was clear, the mother and daughter had a close and very deep bond. 

“So while my back was turned, the Little Coconut here, spots a bloom or smack of Portugese Man-of-War and swam straight toward them.”

“I thought they were very beautiful.  I didn’t know then that they could sting.  I was just a child,” said the seven year old indignantly.  She turned to Kate to explain.  “You are supposed to call them all jellies not jellyfish because not all are fish.  The Man-of-War isn’t really a jellyfish.  Is that not so, Maman?”

“Oui.  They are jellies and you swam right for them.  I just managed to grab your foot and pull you back before you entered the smack.  Marau knows no fear.”

“But the ocean is wonderful, Maman.  I know better now than to swim near Man-of-War.  Maman got stung.  They used hot water to get the venom off and then rubbed meat tenderizer on her arm.  Didn’t they mom?”

“Oui.”

“Meat tenderizer?”

“Oui, it helps to soften the muscle again.”

“Are we going to swim with the sharks, Maman?”

“I see no reason why not.”

“What?”

“They are very powerful,” Marau explained.

“They also bite.”

“Non!  That is not true, is it Maman?”

Kate raised an eyebrow and looked at Peri.  Would Peri tell her the story of how she had been attacked.

Peri winked at her daughter.  “I think Kate has been told the story of the shark woman.”

Kate blushed and the mother and daughter laughed.

“Well, weren’t you bit by a shark?”

“Oui.  I had thrown chub into the water and the sharks were feeding.  I fell in and a shark bit me.  As soon as it realized that I was not chub, he spit me out and I was able to pull myself back up on the diving platform.”

“It didn’t swallow you whole?”  Kate asked in mock disappointment, smiling now herself.

“Oh you have heard that one.  I’m afraid not.  There are about 200 shark attacks a year.  Most of those are accidents.  The shark sees a splash in the water and thinks a fish is in trouble or a human steps on a shark in the sand. Only about five people a year actually die from a shark attack.  We taste bad, I think.  Still they are wild, dangerous hunters and it would be foolish not to treat them with respect.  Is this not so, Marau?”

“Yes, Maman.  Nature must always be treated with respect.”

An hour later, Kate watched from the runabout with her heart pounding with fear as Peri swam out with a bucket of chub and stood waist deep on a pile of coral.  She didn’t like this at all.  A shark could easily swim by and grab Peri.  The fear must have shown in her face.

“Do not worry.  Maman knows what to do.  Remember to hold onto the anchor rope.  Do not swim away,” instructed Marau seriously.

“Oui.”

Pierre, the deck hand, had come with them when they left L’Explorateur after lunch.  He slipped into the water and then reached his hands out for Marau.  Kate followed.  They formed a group along the anchor line. Pierre carefully holding Marau close to him. 

When Peri saw they were in place, she started to throw chub from the bucket.  Within less than a minute, five black finned sharks knifed through the water and started to eat the bait.  Wearing snorkels and face masks, the three observers watched in awe as the powerful and magnificent fish swam past opening their mouths like huge canyons as they grabbed the pieces of fish.    They moved swiftly with the minium of movement, darting in and out.  They were creatures that had reached their evolutionary level of perfection millions of years ago and had barely changed since.  Nearly two metres long, they were massive, graceful hunters.

When the chub was gone, the sharks swam off disinterested and they all returned to the runabout.  Regardless of what she had learned about sharks, Kate was relieved when they were all safely back in the boat.

“Wasn’t that great?” Marau asked, eyes sparkling.

“Yes, it was.  But I think it will take me awhile to feel comfortable swimming in the ocean.  I’m used to city swimming pools.”

Marau laughed and the crewman took the three woman back to l’Explorateur.   Kate looked over at Peri.  The day had cost her.  Kate could see the strain in her face and the tightening of her jaw.  When Peri thought no one was looking she would gently massage her mangled leg. 

They pulled up to the diving platform of l’Explorateur and took turns climbing up the ladder onto the stern deck.  Peri came last and slowly.  By the time she reached the deck, Kate had a lounge chair ready for her and a chilled glass of ice tea.  Then she took Marau to play hide and seek.  Peri sat watching as the two ran about laughing and in the case of Marau squealing with delight.  It made Peri smile.  Kate and Marua got on well together.  Marau needed someone with whom she could rough house. She was an active child and her mother was partially lame.

They sailed back to the hotel dock just as the sun was setting.  Tired or not, Peri set the example of responsibility for Marau by helping her gather all their equipment, clean it and put it back in the plastic container they used for storage.  With Kate’s help, they soon had it done.  The crew would see that the container was brought up to The House later.  Marau skipped ahead along the path while Kate walked slowly beside Peri who leaned heavily on her cane.

“You over did it today and are in pain.”

“A little.  Marau enjoys days like this very much.”

“Yes.  She swims like a fish.”

“She has been about water all her life but I worry that she has no fear.  I do not want her to be afraid, but I have tried to warn her to be a little more cautious.  She lives on a reef and she lives at a hotel where many sorts of people come and go.  She needs to think before she acts.”

“Yes.  I’m sure when she swam into the smack of jellyfish you were beside yourself.”

“Oh yes.  But she was young then.  Only five.  She is more aware of the ocean’s dangers now.”

“Why don’t you have a hot shower and then if you want I could massage some of that soreness out?”

Peri stopped and looked down at Kate with a cheeky smile on her lips.  “That sounds like an invitation.”

Kate raised an eyebrow.  “It wasn’t.  I’m a nurse.  You are someone in pain who needs my assistance.”

“You do not want me to kiss you again?”

“Yes - No.  I mean, I don’t know.  I’m attracted to you Peri but I’ve never been involved with a woman.  I’ve never even considered it.  I don’t know anything about you.   Damn it, I was just married three months ago.  I’m pretty confused.”

“Understand, that being my employee isn’t part of this equation.  You may do as you like and it will not effect our agreement.  You have my word on this.  As for your marriage, you seem to have got over him quickly.  But I am not looking for commitment just a sexual relationship, please understand that.”

A number of emotions ran through Kate.  She was relieved that Peri didn’t feel that sexual favours were part of her job description.  They certainly were not.   She was angry that Peri felt her marriage vows had meant so little to her.  They had meant a lot at the time.  She was still dealing with the pain of betrayal.  Mostly,  she was disappointed and hurt that Peri didn’t feel the emotional attraction that she did.  It was just sex to her.  Kate couldn’t live with that.

“The failure of my marriage is a personal grief and not one I choose to share,” she responded stiffly.  “I’m not a person who would be interested in casual sex, Madam Peri.  I think what happened today had better not go any farther.”

Peri looked confused but responded quietly. “As you wish.”

They continued their walk in silence yet the sexual tension and attraction was still there between them.  This was not over and no matter what they said, in their hearts they knew this.

~ ~ ~

The weeks passed into months.  Kate continued to have breakfast and dinner with the Dubois and to work at the clinic during the day.  She was on call at night as well and on weekends she would often accompany the Dubois’ on day trips.  On these occasions, Marau was always full of life and fun.  Peri Dubois, on the other hand, although treating Kate fairly, acted very formally with her.  She had not teased or touched her since the first day on the l’Explorateur.

Marau was different.  She had taken to coming to the clinic after getting off the ferry that brought her back from school each day.  Declaring that she was far too old to go to the hotel babysitting service until her mom came home from work.  She would help Zenie and Kate cleaning up at the end of the day and then Kate would play a game with her before dinner.  The woman and child had become good friends.

The strange noises from Peri Dubois’ room continued each night.  Most nights too, Peri Dubois would take her nightly walk through the resort stopping to swim in the lagoon.  Kate, often watched her from the balcony.  She had not tried to get into Peri’s quarters again.  It hadn’t taken her long to realize that Peri Dubois had caught her in the act because there were surveillance cameras throughout the house.  She thought she had located most of them but she couldn’t afford to take the chance.  Already, Peri must know she had tried to get into her suite and also knew she had lied about it.  She wondered why she had not been confronted with the evidence.

Despite the beauty and friendliness of Bora Bora, the first few month’s had been tough as she came to terms with the fact that she had married a gigolo who didn’t love her and who had used up her savings and then left.  That betrayal had been devastating.  But since the encounter on l’Explorateur the emotional pain she carried had grown worse.  She was now confused about her orientation, plagued by doubts and hurt by Peri Dubois’ attitude. 

More than that, she was confused about her own feelings.  She found she ached to be near Perri Dubois.  That her body wanted desperately to feel Peri’s touch.  She knew Peri Dubois did not care for her beyond a sexual encounter and yet she couldn’t control how she felt about the mysterious woman.  Even knowing that there was something not quite right going on at The House, she couldn’t help being attracted to Peri.  That Peri did not return that attraction left her both relieved and hurt.  She continued to lose weight and to sleep badly. 

“I am worried,” declared Zenie one day.

“About what?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.  Look at you.  You are all skin and bones and the black has shaded your eyes.  You are not well.”

“I’m okay, really Zenie.  This has just been a very difficult six months for me.  I love Bora Bora and working here at the clinic but...well you know.”

“Yes.  I know.  You have fallen in love with the shark woman.”

“What?  That’s nonsense.  Really Zenie.”

“I am not blind.  I see.  You come alive when she is near and when she is not you are like a fallen branch.  Did I not warn you?”

“Zenie, Peri Dubois was not swallowed by a shark.  And Marua was conceived artificially in Hawaii.  Peri wanted to give her father the grandchild he always wanted.  She had wanted a child but she also hoped a child would help her get on better terms with her father.”

“How do you know this?”

“Peri told me.  She didn’t know she was pregnant when she was bit by the shark.  They checked when she was in the hospital.  Naturally, she was  terrified that anything might have happen to her baby.”

“She told you this?”

“Yes.”

“What about the strange noises?  Do you still hear them?”

“Yes.”

“What are they?”

“I don’t know.  There are surveillance cameras in the house.  I can’t check.”

“You are in love.  I think for the first time.  And look with who you have fallen in love.  It is making you sick.  I am very worried about you.”

“Zenie, I have never thought of myself as being a lesbian.  I have never had a relationship with a woman before coming here.  I can’t deal with this and the betrayal of my husband and the loss of my money and all the other issues.”  Much to her embarrassment she burst into tears.  Zenie held her as she had often done before.

“I’m sorry Zenie.  I always seem to be crying on your shoulder.  I just can’t cope with it all.”

“I know, Little One.  I know.  You just cry that pain out.  Zenie is here to help make it better.”

~ ~ ~

And she had.  Instead of getting on the resort ferry boat to go back to the mainland at the end of the day, she had headed first to the resort office and asked to speak to Madman Peri.  She only had to wait a few minutes before she was ushered in by Maria.

“Zenie,” said Peri, making the effort to get up from her chair and shake the woman’s hand.  “It is not very often I see you in here.  Please be seated.  How can I help you?”

“One of your staff is not well and I think you can help.”

“Of course.  Who is it?  You know Dubois enterprises cares about the welfare of our staff.”

“This I know and for this reason I have come to talk to you about, Kate Madison.”

Peri’s heart skipped a beat.  “Kate?  She’s ill?”

Zenie was glad to see that Peri was genuinely alarmed.  There was feeling for Kate in this woman.  “Of course, she is ill.  Has she not had a no good husband walk out on her?  Is she not trapped in a foreign country even one as beautiful as Bora Bora.  Is she not pennyless?  And now you have her working at The House so she must work night and day, non?”

“I hardly think having breakfast and dinner at my home can be considered over work.”

“But it is.  She must work at the clinic with me and be on call all night and be there for little Marua while all the time she is so unhappy and can not eat.”

“I didn’t realize there was a problem.”

Zenie’s face showed her disgust. “How could you not see how skinny she has become or the black under her eyes?  How could you not notice how little she eats?”

Peri blushed.  She wasn’t used to being corrected.  “I provide good meals.  I can’t force her to eat or to be happy under my roof.”

“You should take her out to dinner.”

Peri sighed and leaned back in her seat. “Kate has made it quite clear that she’d rather not know me on a social level.”

Zenie’s eyes sparkled.  “Ah, so you have tried to get to know Kate better.”

“Kate Madison is a married woman.  She is not interested in me,” Peri responded stiffly.

“Maybe.  Maybe not.  She needs a night out.”

For a few seconds, Peri played with her pen in thought.  “I will ask her.  Is there anything else I can do to help?”

“I will see.  Thank you Madam Peri for seeing me. I will keep you informed.”

“Thank you,” Peri smiled, realizing that she had been neatly played by Zenie.

After, Zenie left, Peri sat for a long time wondering how she could make this happen. Taking Kate out was easy enough there were a number of fine French restaurants.  It was how to resist Kate that was the problem.  It was hard enough now.  Having Kate in the house had been - difficult and yet she couldn’t imagine not having her there.  She looked forward to seeing her and Marau adored her.  She had planned to get a full time babysitter for Marau and a nurse but she had kept putting it off.  She knew the reason she did so was because she would have no excuse to keep Kate at the house anymore.

Now she was being asked to spend an evening with Kate Madison.  Could she and maintain the wall of formality that she had placed between them since that day on the l’Explorateur?  She wasn’t sure.  And what had Zenie said?  Maybe Kate was interested in her.  If anyone would know it would be Zenie.  She was the hub of all the gossip and knowledge  at the resort.  Was Zenie trying to tell her something?

The phone rang and Peri reached for it. It was the office at the pearl farm calling.  They had good news.  Very good news.  Peri knew now what she would do.

Chapter Three:  Pearls

“Precious stones are forged in the heat and pressure of our active planet but the pearl is different.  It develops layer after layer for years within a living organism.  In a way, it is birthed not created.  A pearl stands for purity, loyalty and trust.  Yet many have died diving for them or been murdered in order to obtain them.  There is, I think, a drop of blood in the history of each pearl.  They are part romance and part adventure and they are very, very beautiful.”

The waiter had quietly served a small salad of fresh greens, tangerine bits, and almonds coated in caramelized sugar and fresh black pepper. It was served with a raspberry vinegarette.   It was simply heavenly.  They had a chilled glass of Dubonet with it.

Earlier, Peri had walked down to the clinic and asked if Kate would join her for dinner and an evening of celebration.  Marua was to be babysat by Maria, Peri had explained and they would take one of the resort ferries to the mainland of dinner. 

Kate had been delighted.  She had taken some time in preparing and had slipped into a long red dress that she knew fit her well and was very becoming on her.  It was a little more roomy than she would have liked because she had lost so much weight but with her tan, she knew she could turn eyes in this outfit.  Peri had wore a grey pant suit as she always did but this one was cut in the line of a tux and the silk blouse she wore with it must have cost her a fortune.  They had taken the boat to the mainland.

As they sat side by side near the bow, Peri had explained that today she had got a call to say that they had found the last pearl that was needed to make a necklace.  At the dock, they disembarked.

Peri’s grey Maserati MC12 Cora waited for them.  Kate felt exhilarated as Peri  drove them along the coastal road to a beautiful restaurant situated over the water.

“But doesn’t your company make many necklaces in the course of a year for your store?”

“Of course.  Each necklace and setting is chosen with the value of the pearl in mind.  There are five basic qualities to a pearl.  It’s size, shape, lustre, colour and how few blemishes it has.  When a necklace is made, the jewellers will try to match the pearls as closely as possible.  The closer the match the more expensive the set.”

“I see.  So this pearl will finish a well matched set?”

“Oui.  They are large, perfectly round pearls and the rarest rose in colour.  Their lustre is deep and nearly unmarked by any blemishes.  It has taken twelve years to make this necklace.”

“Twelve years!”

“Oui. From a small irritant that enters into the tissue of an oyster or mollusk, a pearl will grow as nacre is secreted over time to build up layers around the foreign substance.  For a large pearl, this process could take twenty years.  A pearl is part crystalline and part organic substances.  It is the sea’s treasure.  Once, they were found only in the wild.  Now almost all pearls are cultured.  In the late 19^th century the great Kokichi Mikimoto of Japan developed a method to insert several irritants into mollusk or oysters so that pearls could be farmed.  But still, what happens inside the shell is random and takes years to develop. One never knows what is inside until the shell is opened.  Perhaps it is a treasure, perhaps it is not.   Every pearl is different, therefore, to find enough pearls all the same to make a perfect necklace is very rare.”

Their salad had been cleared and the waiter had brought an appetizer of Portobella mushrooms cooked in fresh butter and cream with just a hint of garlic.  The wine that was served was a Gewurztraminer from Alsace. Kate’s taste buds were in ecstasy.

“Then this is a night to celebrate.  Congratulations Madam Peri.”

“Peri.”

“Peri.” Kate smiled. “So if I was to buy a pearl, how would I know it was real and not plastic or whether it was natural or cultured?”

“Plastic is just a cheap imitation of the real thing.  It lacks the colour, weight and quality of pearls.  The easiest ways to check if you have real pearls are to run the pearls gently against your front teeth or rub two pearls together. A real pearl will feel rough while a synthetic imitation would feel smooth.  If you buy a pearl today chances are it is cultured.  Natural pearls are very rare and usually not of the same quality.  The only way to tell if a pearl is natural or cultured is to x-ray it and see what is inside.”

The appetizer finished, an egg-shaped, tangy, mango sherbet was served to clean their palettes in cut-glass egg cups.  Kate sighed.  “Thank you for sharing all this with me.”

Peri smiled. “You are welcome.”

Peri’s handsome face became beautiful when she smiled, Kate thought.

The main course was red snapper served on a bed of lemon rice with sauteed vegetables.  The wine was a German Reisling, fresh and clear. 

They walked then along the restaurant’s docks and stood by the railing watching the night sky.  The Milky Way shown with the pin picks of  millions of stars and the waves washed gently around the pilings bringing with it a gentle, warm breeze and the scent of tropical flowers and the sea.   Peri made sure there was a safe distance between them but they talked and laughed easily mellowed by the wine, good food and the beauty of the night.

Later, they went back and had a tropical, fruit flan and finished it off with a plate of French cheeses and cognac.  Kate was not used to eating and drinking so much and she felt quite light headed.  Their meal, eaten slowly, had taken most of the evening so it was passed midnight when Peri drove them to her pearl store.

It was an elegant place nestled among palm trees close to the beach.  As they drove up two uniformed guards came out of the darkness.  Seeing that it was Madam Peri’s car, they relaxed and each opened a door for the two women.

“Bon soir, Madam Peri.”

“Bon soir, Tiotim and Henri.  You are both well, I hope.”

“We are, thank you Madamn.”

“Bon.  You will please open the side gate for us and then lock it again.”

“Yes, Madam Peri.”

The fresh air rather than clearing Kate’s head had made her acutely aware that she had drunk and eaten too much.   Inside the gate, a path led through a garden of tropical flowers and over bridges and docks.  In the water below, the oysters and mollusks were attached to strings row after row.  Seeing that Kate was a little unsteady on her feet, Peri took her arm and showed her how the beds were set up with six shells to each string.

“We are able then to lift them out and check their condition and clean their shells.  This maintains a healthy population and reduces the chance of any foreign body getting in that  we don’t want in the shell.  Each string is dated so we know when and if we want to harvest the pearls.”

They moved on and Peri opened the door to the pearl factory using a code.  They entered a large area with metal security gates down each side.  Within were areas were the pearls were sorted and cleaned by apprentices.   On the other side, the master craftspeople, would drill and string the pearls adding the clasps and get them ready for display.

“In the past, we had about ten per cent of our pearls that we sold to other companies whose standards were not as high as ours.  They were pearls with uneven colour, too many blemishes or irregular shapes.  Now we have started a laser etching process.  These poorer quality pearls are etched with patterns making them quite charming.   Parents often buy them for their children or as gifts as they are quite reasonable in price.”

Peri gave Kate an etched pearl and a magnifying glass so she could see the beautiful and intricate work of the engraver.

“This is wonderful,” Kate smiled.

Peri took one of the rings that had been finished and stood on a wood rack waiting for packaging.  She signed a receipt and then took Kate’s right hand and slipped the ring into place.

“A souvenir of your evening.”

“Peri, I can’t take this.  The wonder meal and evening was enough.  This is beautiful.”

“Then it should be worn by someone beautiful.  I must insist.  It gives me pleasure.  And when guests ask where you got the uniquely etched pearl ring, you can send them to my company, non?”

“Oui.  Merci.”

“You are welcome.”

Peri took a step back putting some space between them and let go of Kate’s hand.  There was a second of awkward silence and then Peri managed to pull herself together.

“Please come this way.  I will turn on the lights in the main display room and you can see some of our pearl jewellery.”

Again, Kate waited while Peri used a code to open the locked, metal door and disarm the alarm system before switching on the lights.  The glass cases of the show room were tasteful and the displays of jewellery beautiful.  Pearls set in gold, silver and copper in beautiful art forms graced the silk cushions on which they were nestled or were draped over colourful and intriguing pieces of coral or driftwood.  There was simply some amazing pieces.  Kate noted that there were no prices on the jewellery at the main counter.  I guess if you have to ask, you can’t afford it, Kate mussed.

While Kate was looking around, Peri opened a wall safe and brought out a blue velvet box.  She placed it on the counter in front of Kate and opened it.  Inside was a string of rose pearls so beautiful in their uniformity of shape, size and colour that Kate gasped in delight.

“Oh Peri, this was worth waiting for twelve years to celebrate.  It is simply breathtaking.”

Peri smiled with pride. “Merci.  I am very pleased with it.  All ready there are several buyers interested in it.”

“It must be very expensive.”

“Oui.  If there is no bidding war, it will sell for $50,000 American dollars.”

“Oh my God.  Put it away, Peri.  It makes me nervous just looking at it.”

Peri looked thoughtful as she closed the box and put it away in the safe.  She came from behind the counter and took Kate’s arm. 

“I thought we might have a coffee out on the terrace and watch the sunrise if you would like?”

“Sunrise.  How late is it?”

“It is very early.  Only four o’clock.”

“But I need to get some sleep before work.”

“No work today.  Zenie will not be expecting you.  Come.”

Kate, feeling now sleepy and very mellow followed Peri through what must be her office.  It certainly was magnificent with its cherry wood deck, Persian rug and panelled walls.  They went through a back door onto a private balcony over looking the sea.  Kate curled up on a double lounge and looked out over the lagoon while Peri busied herself at a small bar making coffee and putting together a plate of sugar cookies. She brought the tray over and sat it on a teak table by the lounge.  Kate was dozing.  She looked incredibly beautiful, soft and vulnerable.

Peri leaned over and kissed her feeling Kate’s soft lips starting to respond.  Kate raised an arm and pulled Peri down to her.

They both knew it was wrong but desire easily dominates over sense when the hour is late and the wine good.  Kate moaned at the feel of Peri’s hard, lean body over her.  She opened her lips and felt Peri’s tongue stroking her own.  Desire ached between her legs.  It had never been like this with Rick.  This was a sweet fever flowing through her being.

They undressed each other slowly.  Taking the time to savour each revealed moment.  Kissing, feeling, exploring.  When Peri finally lowered her naked form on Kate’s the rush of excitement brought a gasp from her lips.  Kate followed Peri’s lead, still unsure about this new and exciting love making.  She realized now only a woman knew how to really please a woman and Peri was an expert.  The Tahitian slipped down Kate’s body teasing and tantalizing her senses until Kate’s nibbles were swollen, hard and sore with need.  Peri slipped farther and did things with her tongue that had Kate breathless as she arched her body into a climax coming on Peri’s lips.

Peri slid up her form once again leaving a trail of kisses and claimed Kate’s mouth.  Kate could taste her own excitement on Peri’s lips.  She ran her hands along Peri’s form.  She felt hard muscle beneath the softest, warm skin.  Peri’s breast were full in her hand and her hard nipples under Kate’s finger’s felt wonderful.  Kate liked what it was doing to Peri.  Now as the dawn broke and the first rays of light touched their bodies, Kate could see the desire in Peri’s eyes.

“Mon amour, I want to enter you. To be one with you,” Peri whispered.

“Oui.”

Kate felt Peri’s long, strong fingers parting her sex and entering her being. The moment was electrifying.  The steady movement like the tidal waves below made Kate wild with desire.  She reached and found Peri’s sex warm and wet with need and moved her hand over her lover’s most sensitive places.  Together they came and exhausted they slept in each other arms naked and sated.

Kate woke to find Peri naked beside her.

“Bonjour Kate,” she whispered and kissed Kate gently.

Kate froze.  She was naked.  It was bright daylight.  They were outside and she’d made mad love with Peri Dubois last night.

“What is the matter?”

Kate looked around frantically for her clothes as she tried to disentangle herself from Peri’s long form her head pounding as she tried to organize her thoughts through a mind suffering from lack of sleep and a bit of a hangover. 

“This isn’t right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Peri!  You know what I mean.  I...I’m married.  You’re a woman.  You don’t love me.  You want sex.  You are my boss.  I owe you money.  This is all wrong!”  Tears rolled down Kate’s face as she sat on the edge of the bed and tried to get into her bra with shaking hands.

Peri reached out and fastened the hooks for her and then swung around so she sat naked and not the least bit intimidated beside her.

She took Kate in her arms.  “Do you regret last night?”

“No.  It was wonderful.  You were wonderful.”

“Then?”

“It can’t happen again Peri.  It can’t.  I can’t take anymore heartache.  And I can’t be an employee and your lover too.  And what about Marau?  We can’t.”

Peri fought for control. “If that is what you wish.  I too had a wonderful evening.  But I will respect your wishes, Kate.  There is a washroom off my office if you wish to wash and dress.  This balcony is quite private.  You do not need to worry.  Please, let us end this beautiful encounter not with tears but with companionship.  If you will allow me to, I will arrange for us to have breakfast here and then we will drive back to the boat and make our way to the resort.  Is this agreeable?”

Kate looked up into a handsome faced framed by a visa of sea.  She leaned forward and kissed Peri.  “Thank you.  Thank you for last night and thank you for understanding.  She gathered up her things and left the balcony.

Peri swore under her breath and hurled a coffee cup out to sea.  She didn’t understand.  They’d had a wonderful evening together and their love making had felt like a bonding that had touched their souls and now Kate wanted to end it all.  What did you expect Peri Dubois?  No one can love you.  You are the shark woman.

By the time Kate had returned to the balcony, Peri was dressed and had arranged for a breakfast to be delivered.  She excused herself to freshen up and left Kate standing on the balcony looking sadly out to sea.

Their European breakfast of fresh rolls, pawpaw and coffee was a bitter-sweet affair.  When it was over, they left and Peri drove them back to the boat.  Kate tried not to blush as the pilot cast off and they sat in their crumpled evening wear in the back of the boat.

Peri looked moodily out to sea and then turned and met Kate’s eyes.

“I need to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

“You tried to break into my quarters and lied about it.  I thought at first you wanted to steal pearls but then you asked if anyone needed help.  Why?”

Kate blushed.  “I hear moans, groans and sometimes voices at night coming from your quarters.  I thought someone might be in trouble.”

Peri’s jaw tightened.  When she spoke her voice was a hiss of anger laced with bitter sarcasm. 

“So you thought I was holding someone?  Torturing them?  Perhaps my last lover who pushed me to the sharks?  I am the shark woman, am I not?  The one who sold her soul to the beast to survive.  Do you want nothing to do with me because in your mind I am more the predator than the lover?  Do you think I will chain you up in my quarters and force myself on you each night?”

Kate glanced at the pilot to see if he’d over heard. “Peri stop.  You wanted honesty.  What goes on in your quarters at night?  What happened to Odette?”

The reply was icy. “That is not your concern.”

Tears pricked Kate’s eyes.  “And that is the problem.  With you there always has to be a wall that no one can get beyond.  You offer only sex not love.  You offer romance but not commitment.  You have chosen to be the lone shark, Peri Dubois.”

“I do not need to be judged by you.  Mon Deu!  Do not talk to me about commitment.  Your marriage vows didn’t last very long.”

Kate paled and turned away.  How could she have given herself to this cold, nasty woman?

At the dock, Kate hopped out quickly with a hurried thank you and good bye and nearly ran back to the clinic.  Peri stood on the dock and watched her go and then taking up her cane she limped back to The House.

Zenie was not there yet.  Kate sat in her old room and worked to get her emotions under control.  When she knew Peri would be having breakfast with Marau, she slipped up to The House and changed quietly in her room then headed back down to the clinic.  Zenie was sitting outside the clinic writing up reports when she arrived.

She looked up and her smile turned to a look of concern.

“I see sorrow.  Why is this?”

Kate sighed and sat down on the bench beside her Tahitian friend.  She took a deep breath to settle her emotions and then with a shaky voice she told Zenie about her wonderful evening and how it had ended so badly.

Zenie nodded.  “I thought you were ready.  You were not.  As for Madam Peri, she is a fool.  You are right she hides behind a wall.  I blame her father.”

“Her father?  Because he stole her girlfriend?”

“No, because he never loved her.  He blamed her for the loss of his wife in childbirth.  Have we not all heard him say it should have been the child who died not the mother.  I think he wanted Odette  to hurt Peri.”

“That is awful.”

“Madam Peri has had a privileged but a sad life.  Always she was alone.  It is not surprising that it is the shark that is her family.”

“Zenie, Peri isn’t a shark.  She’s just, well hurt.”

“So have you been.  You are my friend.  I do not like this.  We need to know what is going on in Madam Peri’s house.  Non?” 

Chapter Four:  The Dark Side of Paradise

Kate walked around the private gardens of Madam Peri with Marau tagging along.  Marau had arrived at the clinic right after school and had insisted that Kate tell her all about her evening out with her mother.  Kate had obliged leaving the more personal aspects of the evening out and showed her the ring that Peri had given her.

“It is a good ring, Kate.  It is pretty.”

“Thank you.  It was very nice of your mother.”

“I wish I’d been allowed to come too.”

“Maybe some other time,” Kate smiled.

“I will have to ask Maman to take me to see the necklace.  It must be very beautiful.”

“It is.”

“Maman told me that different people like different colours of pearls.  The Japanese only want the very whitest and the Australians like the creams and yellows.  And North Americans like the black pearls.”

“Really.”

“Look Kate, there is a butterfly.”

They walked around talking and looking at the gardens.  Kate measured off the house with her steps and looked at the windows careful.  There were few windows uncovered at the back of the house where Peri’s quarters were.  It was also a much bigger area than Kate had realized.  As they came around the corner a beautiful woman came out a back door and walked down the path.

“Bonjour Eiaha.  How are you today?”

“Bonjour Marau.  I am fine.  And how are you?”

“I got a gold star for my math today. That’s my third.”

“Well done,” the beautiful Tahitian smiled.

“Eiaha, this is Kate.  She lives with us now because of my allergies.”

“Hello Kate.  I had heard about you.”

“Hello Eiaha.”

They shook hands and then Eiaha gave Marau a quick hug before she left to catch her ferry to the mainland.

“Does Eiaha work at the house too?” Kate asked casually, although her heart was pounding.

“She is Maman friend.”

Kate could tell by Marau’s tone of voice that Eiaha was not a topic that the usually talkative Marau wished to discussed so she changed the subject.  They played hid and seek in the garden before they needed to head up to The House so that Marau could do her homework .

Kate looked up and met Peri’s eyes.  She had been standing on the balcony watching them play in the garden.  How long have you been there, Peri?  Did you see me meet Eiaha?  What secrets do you have hidden in the other side of the house?

Dinner was a strained affair.  Fortunately, Marau kept the conversation going recounting her day at school and telling Peri of how they had played in the garden.  The tension between the two women was just relaxing a bit when Marau entered waters that were clearly muddied by emotion.

“We met Eiaha, Maman.  I introduced her to Kate.”

Peri’s eyes darted to Kate’s.  Kate studiously drank her coffee as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

“I see and what did Eiaha have to say?”

“Nothing.  She just went down to catch the boat.”

Peri seemed to relax. “How about you and I take the runabout to the mainland and I will show you the pearl necklace?”

“Please Maman.  Is Kate coming too?”

“I think Kate has things she needs to do.”

Having been dismissed, Kate went to her room and lay on her bed.  Who was Eiaha?  Was Peri involved with her?  What was Peri hiding?  

Tears rolled down Kate’s face.  For the first time, Kate whispered the words that her heart had known for sometime.  “I love you, Peri.”

The words were lost in a flood of tears.  The thought that Peri had someone else was just too much to bear. 

Breakfast was a quiet affair.  Marua was tired and cranky because she’d been up too late the night before.  She and her mother had gone to see the pearl and then had visited friends before heading back to the resort on the reef.  Peri was tense and sullen.  Kate excused herself as soon as she could and with relief headed down to the clinic.

“Who is Eiaha?” Kate demanded before she had even properly greeted Zenie.

“Why you want to know of that woman?” sniffed Zenie, indignantly.

“Because according to Marau, she is Peri’s friend and she has access to Peri’s private quarters.”

“We should make more sunburn cream today.”

“Zenie?”

The big woman sighed and seemed to deflate with defeat.  “Eiaha was not a good woman.  We don’t speak of her.”

“Not a good - She’s a prostitute?”

Zenie nodded. 

Kate paled and sunk into a chair.  “Oh.”

“It is nothing.  People have needs.”

Kate shook her head too emotionally shocked to deal with this revelation.  “Let’s make the sunburn cream.”

Kate got through the day with great difficulty.  She felt used.  Worse, she felt that she had once again been the victim of lies and was disgusted with herself.  She wasn’t sure she could stand to listen to the sounds that came from Peri’s quarters each night now she had a pretty good idea what was going on in there.  It made her feel sick to think about it.  How could she have thought that she was in love with Peri?  How could this sort of betrayal have happened to her again?

Dinner was an ordeal.  Peri and her daughter talked about their day.  They had taken the commuter flight to Tahiti and had shopped for new shoes for Marua and her first watch.

“See my watch, Kate.  I got it because I reached the goal that Maman and I had set to get three gold stars in math in a row.  I am happy to get the watch because I have wanted one for a long time but I’m also happy that I am doing better in my math.”

“It is a beautiful watch, Marau.  You should feel very proud that you worked so hard to meet your goals.”

“Maman said that goals are important to be successful.  But Zenie told me that your successes are the spice in your life. I think this is true.  I feel very good because I have done so well.”

“Then you have learned an important lesson, Marau.  I’m very proud of you,” smiled Peri.

“Maman, can I be excused to go show Maria my watch before she leaves?”

“Of course.”

When Marua left the room, Peri’s eyes met Kate’s for the first time.

“Would you have coffee with me on the balcony?”

“No.  No, I don’t think I would feel right doing that.”

Peri’s face tightened. “Why?”

“I learned from Zenie that Eiraha is a call girl.”

“She was, yes.”

“And she is now your mistress?”

Peri rose slowly like a thunder cloud growing on the horizon.  “I can think of nothing I have done that would warrant your compulsive need to always jump to the worst possible opinion of me.  Quite the opposite in fact.  I have gone out of my way to treat you very well.  I think I am getting a little fed up with your attitude.”

Kate stood and faced Peri.  “I slept with you.  I think I have a right to expect some explanation for why a call girl would be leaving by the back door of your house today.”

“You made it quite clear yesterday morning that you did not wish to continue a relationship with me.  I do not feel I owe you an explanation.”

“Damn it, Peri!  Why must you always put up walls between us?”

“Perhaps because I don’t feel I can trust someone who rips off my company, tries to break into my quarters and is always thinking the worst of me.”

“I’m also the person who works twenty-four hour days to pay your company back.. Who saved your daughter’s life. Who was concerned that someone in this house might need my help and who has trusted you enough to sleep with you.”

Peri had the decency to blush.  “I am grateful for your efforts.”

“Then explain.”

“I won’t.”

They stared at each other with angry eyes.  Neither prepared to give.  Then the maid came in to clear the table and Peri picked up her coffee and went out onto the balcony alone.  Kate headed down to the clinic needing to be as far away from Peri as possible.

~ ~ ~

Some days later, Kate had locked the clinic for the day and had turned to see a scene that made her blood run cold.  It was like watching a TV.  The man had Marua by the arm and was leading her down the path towards the docks.  Kate could tell the little girl was afraid but didn’t know what to do.  Kate was after them in a split second. 

“Let her go!”  Kate yelled as she drew near.  The man turned and smiled.  It was Rick.  He’d shaved his beard and dyed his hair but it was Rick.  “What are you doing back here?  Let her go.”  Then she saw the gun under the beach towel and froze.

“Kate.  I’ve missed you.  Do come along with us.  I’m sure the child would be reassured by your company.”

Bravely, Kate moved closer and wrapped her arms around Marua.  “Let her go Rick.”

“Walk with us.  Do not make a scene.  I would be very sad to have to kill my beautiful wife.”

“Bastard.”

“Really Kate, not in front of the child.”

Kate kept an arm around Marua as they walked close together to a waiting boat.  Rick gestured at them to go below.  Kate went first and then lifted the terrified child down and away from her husband.  He followed them down.

“There is some duct tape on the navigational desk.  Bind the kid’s wrists and ankles and tape her mouth shout.”

“That isn’t necessary.”

Rick raised his gun. “Do it.”

Kate picked the small child up and placed her on the bench seat and then got the tape.

“Don’t you worry Marau.  This won’t hurt.  Everything is going to be okay.  You’ll see.”  Carefully, and with lots of reassurance, Kate taped Marau as she was told.  Then she gave the child a reassuring hug and stood.

“There.  Now the small, defenceless child can’t hurt you.  Do you feel braver?”

“Dear me, is this the polite, charming young woman I married?  I think you need a lesson in manners.”  Rick lashed out so quickly that Kate didn’t have time to react at all.  The barrel of the gun caught her on the temple and pain exploded behind her eyes.  The second blow caught her shoulder as she crumbled to the sole of the boat.  Several kicks to her stomach left her senseless and gasping for breath.

Rick smiled.  Then climbed up the steps to the aft cockpit and closed and locked the hatch before

starting the engine and casting off.

~ ~ ~

Peri punched in the code of the combination lock on her private quarters.  She stepped inside and looked around.  The first room was her gym.  She exercised every night to help strengthen her damaged leg and to keep up her body tone.  She must remember not to moan and grunt so loudly she thought as she walked on.  It seemed to put all sorts of wild ideas in Kate’s head.

Farther on was a small lounge area that led out onto a private garden.  A woman sat there reading a book.  Peri slipped into the lawn chair beside her and leaned over and kissed her forehead.

“Hello Odette.  I’m glad to see you out enjoying some fresh air.  Would you like to go out tonight?”

“No.”

“Okay.  Are you enjoying the book I got you?”

“Yes.”

“Good.  I - Sorry.  I need to answer my cell phone.  I’ll be back in a minute.”  Peri moved  out into the garden and flipped her phone open.

“Oui?”

“Madam Peri.  Was Kate and her husband to take Marau off the island?”

“What?  No!  What is her husband doing here?”

“I don’t know.  I just observed the three of them heading down the beach path to the docks.  They got on a cruiser and just pulled out.  I have called security to stand by on l’Explorateur.  Should I call the police?”

Peri’s voice was steel cold.  “Yes.  Report a kidnapping.  I am on my way.” She turned and looked at where Odette sat watching her. “Kate and her husband have kidnapped Marau.  I’ll be gone for a while.”  She limped quickly into her room and from her closet got down a box containing her Berretta 92F.  She jammed in the clip , stuck it in her jacket pocket and picking up a heavy cane limped quickly out of her quarters towards the main office.

Peri stood watching the security video of her frightened daughter being led to the boat by Kate and her husband.  Her jaw tightened in anger.  Without a word, she turned and slammed out of the office heading for her yacht.

The crew and security personnel started to cast off as Peri stepped on the deck.

“Get the radar up and operating.  Chances are they are heading for the big island.  They have about a half hour head start.  We should easily be able to over take them in the open water.  I want full speed.  They have my daughter.”

“Oui Madam Peri.”  The crew moved quickly and efficiently to get their craft under way and through the narrow passage in the reef to the open sea. 

Peri watched her security personnel check their weapons.  Their eyes stern and focussed.

“The first