The sky was still dark blue, with the sun close to making an appearance on the horizon. Nick and Shiralise Kaber sat on the boat. Shiralise zipped up Nick's wetsuit.
"Give me twenty minutes unless a boat comes by," Nick ordered.
Shiralise nodded and watched her father rip a strip of material from his shirt. He handed her the shirt, and she stuffed the rest of his clothes into a bag for him. Nick dumped a rubber sandal in the water. He took the bag off Shiralise and tied it to his waist. He held a handful of strips of material from his shirt.
"See you up there."
Shiralise nodded and splashed herself with water. Nick pulled on a snorkel and flippers and edged off the boat into the water.
The sky had turned a lighter blue. Seabirds were squawking and circling above. Jenna pulled Nick up into the boat. He ripped off the snorkel and flippers and unzipped the wetsuit. He snatched the oars off Jenna and started rowing in silence. Jenna watched the oars break the surface of the river.
Jenna and Nick hopped out of the boat and pulled it up onto the riverbank. She'd borrowed Travis' 4WD, which was parked further up the sandy path. They loaded the boat onto the trailer and tied it down. Nick pulled on a t-shirt and cap. He was now wearing shorts. He dumped the wetsuit and bag of clothes into the back of the car. He and Jenna jumped in the car and Nick reversed out to the road. There were no other cars in sight.
It was daylight. Nick and Jenna walked through the bush, ending up at Vivian Kaber's Maleny property. They jogged down the driveway towards the first shed. Jenna followed Nick in. He had a sports bag up there. He stripped to his swimmers and hosed himself off. Jenna passed him a towel. As he dried his face, Jenna pulled a rifle out from behind a surfboard that was leaning up against the wall. She cocked it. Nick looked at the gun pointed at his head. He threw Jenna a look of contempt.
"Put that down before you shoot yourself."
"Get in the hole." Jenna nodded at the trapdoor that led to the old underground storage room.
"What?" Nick snarled.
"Travis took me to the rifle range." Jenna aimed the gun at his forehead. "He says I'm a good shot.
"God, you have issues." Nick glared at her.
"Not as many as you're about to have."
YOU ARE READING
Underground
Mystery / Thriller"I had been back in the country for forty-six hours, returning home from New York City for my twin brother's wedding. Now I was sitting in a police station, giving a statement to my future sister-in-law, after finding the dead body of local business...
