With her last conscious effort, Charlotte pressed her palms against the inside edge of the pool and pushed forward.
She slid into the water like a penguin. She heard Corentine fall in with her, knocking her deeper into the pool.
She’d broken free of Corentine’s pressure, but she needed to break the surface of the water. Her foot touched the bottom of the shallow pool and she pushed up, reaching for the sky.
Corentine clung to her leg, an anchor.
It’s too late. Too—
She felt the side of the pool brush her fingertips. Curling her fingers around the bull-nosed tiles, she heaved upward, lights exploding in the darkness behind her open and unseeing eyes.
Where’s the surface?
Her head broke the water and she gulped air, oxygen mixed with rain making her cough.
“Freeze, get away from her!” Snookie’s voice rose above the roar of the hurricane.
She saw a commotion behind her and felt Corentine grab her shirt. The pull threatened to drag her back under and she fought to keep her head above water.
A hand appeared in front of her.
She looked up into a familiar face.
Seamus.
Reaching for her.
He grabbed her wrists and hefted her out of the pool with one mighty haul.
“You’re okay, darlin’,” she heard him say as he wrapped his arms around her.
She couldn’t stop coughing.
Through watery eyes she saw Declan jerking Corentine out of the pool. He’d been the commotion. He’d jumped into the water to pull the woman from her.
Behind him, Snookie leaned on her knees where the patio door once stood, her gun pointed at Corentine. She must have crawled to the doorway, and Seamus had surely returned her weapon to free his hands.
Ambulance sirens wailed in the distance.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Charlotte hauled another chunk of blackened drywall from her house. Declan had agreed to help her fix her fried home and, so far, they made a good team. He broke away the charred remains and she walked them to the dumpster they’d rented for the job. He hadn’t wanted to start on things so soon. He wanted her to take a day to rest after her ordeal in the pool, but the last thing she wanted was to dwell on how close she’d come to drowning.
It turned out any dirty job was a joy when you could breathe.
The ambulance had come in time to save Snookie. Declan and Seamus watched over Corentine until the police arrived. Charlotte almost wished she’d had time to explain to the cops that it wasn’t Corentine’s fault Jamie used her.
But then, she did try to kill them.
Jamie’s frame job had the woman convinced she’d been exposed and she’d dipped back into her murderous past to hunt the two people she thought responsible – Declan and Charlotte.
Corentine might never serve time for her original murders, thanks to her witness protection contract, but she’d definitely serve time for trying to kill them. Maybe attempted murder nullified her original deal. Charlotte was no lawyer, but it seemed to her not killing anyone must have been a condition.
Charlotte squinted into the sun as a noisy mocking jay flew by. The skies had turned blue again, the hurricane having passed without claiming a victim.
Other than Jamie’s.
Declan appeared at her side carrying a burned door.
“What happen to my helper?” he asked, tossing the door into the dumpster.
Charlotte smiled. “Sorry. Easily distracted. Hey, I meant to ask you, did Snookie look familiar to you?”
He shook his head as he fished in his pocket and retrieved his phone. “No. Why?”
She sighed. “No reason. Something about her nose. She just seemed really familiar for some reason.”
“Nope. Didn’t ring a bell. Hey, did I tell you I got a text from Stephanie?”
“Just now?”
“Right after everything went nuts back at the house. I never had a chance to show you.”
Charlotte felt a flash of hope. “Did she find Jamie?”
“Not exactly.” He held up his phone and she peered at the text on the screen.
Went with Mom. Late.
Charlotte gaped. “Late? What does that mean?”
“It’s short for later.”
“No, I know that, I mean why? And where did they go?”
He shrugged. “I guess her mother made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.”
Charlotte frowned. As much as she hoped to capture Jamie again, she couldn’t say she wasn’t thrilled to see them both go.
“Hey, Charlotte,” called a familiar voice.
Charlotte turned to watch Mariska wandered across the street toward them.
“You two are doing that by yourselves?” she asked.
Charlotte gasped at Mariska’s appearance. Dark bags circled her eyes, as if she’d lost in the third round of a boxing match. Her hair curled in every direction except the one it should.
“You look terrible,” she said before she could edit herself.
Mariska nodded. “Bob and I volunteered at the nursing home for the storm. We didn’t sleep a wink.”
“Why? The hurricane kept you up?”
Mariska huffed. “Not the hurricane outside. The hurricane inside. Those old people are lunatics. Promise me you’ll never let me get like that.”
Charlotte chuckled.
“I think it’s a little late for that.
THE END
Get the Next Pineapple Port Mystery on Amazon!
Other Books by Amy Vansant
Pineapple Port Mysteries
Funny, clean mysteries full of unforgettable characters
Kilty Urban Fantasy - Romantic Comedy/Thrillers
Funny, suspenseful thrillers with a touch of romance & fantasy
Slightly Romantic Comedies
Classic romantic romps
The Magicatory
Middle-grade fantasy
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy Vansant is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author who writes with an unique blend of thrills, romance and humor.
She has rocked water aerobics at a fifty-five plus community, but has yet to play bingo. She’s
