The Sea Fox cut through the water heading straight for a huge bank of swirling purple black clouds. Rhona stood at the bow of the ship watching the waves rippling through the sapphire blue water.
" You're sure this a good idea?" asked Mike Landers, the younger of the Landers brothers.
" Look at that ass" said Nate, " you are going to say no to 5 large and an ass like that."
" But its fucking St Lucian" said Mike.
" We don't have to get off the boat" said Nate, " you are such a puss sometimes."
" Hey remember Will, he took that Puerto Rican broad out there he never came back" said Mike.
" Yah, I bet she convinced him to move back to Puerto Rico" said Nate, " you really can be such a drama queen. Oh shit look."
The two brothers watched as Rhona peeled her tank top off revealing a black and red bikini top. " I take back everything I said" said Mike, " this is going to be great."
" How long until we get to St Lucian?" Rhona called out.
" We'll be there by noon tomorrow" said Nate, " assuming the storm doesn't blow too hard."
" Wonder if she does" whispered Mike.
The brothers smiled at each other, their fears of St Lucian were definitely soothed by the beauty of their passenger. As the day progressed the seas got rougher and rougher as angry storm clouds surrounded their boat. They hadn't gotten half way to St Lucian when they cast out the storm anchor and all three fled below decks.

Lightning crackled over head as they closed the hatch. The wind howled outside as the boat began to rock back and forth. They sat in the little kitchen and started drinking beer which the brothers had in rather large quantities. It was surprisingly good beer for a couple of salty fishermen. " So boys" said Rhona, " tell me, why everybody is so scared of St Lucian?"
" We're not scared" said Mike.
" Sure, you and everybody else at the marina" said Rhona, " the place looks like a great tropical getaway."
" Getting away is the hard part" said Nate, " look we don't want to scare you off, this 500 is going to help us keep the boat another month."
" I'm a big girl" said Rhona, " I don't get scared by spook stories anymore."
Nate and Mike exchanged looks, these guys were truly frightened. Rhona wasn't sure if it was over the possibility of her asking to go back or if it was the islands themselves. " What is it?" she asked again.
" People disappear from there" said Mike, " a lot of people."
" We've known some people that have gone out there and never came back" said Nate, " let's just leave it at that."
Rhona knew there was more, probably tons more but it wasn't going to come easy. They spent the evening drinking, and telling stories. Rhona bided her time, she was looking for an opening to work St Lucian back into the conversation.
It was after midnight, the storm was still howling around the boat, rocking it back and forth with increasing force. Mike had passed out and it took Rhona and Nate several difficult tries to load him into his hammock. It was obvious he was dead to the world, now it was one on one. Rhona sat next to Nate, " Come on, tell me" said Rhona, " what is with these disappearances. I promise no matter what you say the 500 is yours."
Nate drained another beer and let it fall onto the deck. " I don't like to talk about it around my little brother" he said, the words coming out as a long sigh.
Nate sat back, " When my brother was in high school he dated this chick, she was the most beautiful chick we'd ever seen. She was way too good for Mike but somehow he got her. I was jealous, hell I was pissed at him. She was perfect."
Nate got up and walked through the small boat to a locker and pulled it open. He took out a photo album. " Melanie Perkins" he said opening the album, " the goddess of the beach."
Rhona looked at the photographs, Nate wasn't exaggerating when he said she was beautiful. Rhona felt very plain when comparing herself to Melanie. Her golden hair, big baby blue eyes, a tanned toned body that screamed beauty as loud as a body could. " It wasn't just that body" said Nate, " she was sweet, just sweet."
Rhona flipped to a page and blushed they were all nudes of Melanie. Frolicing on the beach, her hair all styled up looking sexy, the last one was her laying in a bed blowing a kiss to the camera. " That was the last picture my brother took of her, the morning after graduation" said Nate, sorrow so heavy in his voice Rhona began to feel the weight, " she was doing some modeling to make enough money to go to college. Mike was working two jobs to help, on more than one occasion they made plans about getting married. Shortly after graduation she got a modeling gig with a bikini company out on the St Lucians someplace. She left and we never saw her again."
Nate closed the photo album with an ominous thump. " Mike just about went nuts, he went out there himself, spent almost every nickel he had and three months of time searching. I had to go out there and drag him back myself. He was nearly starving and wasn't sleeping. He was a total wreck, it took almost two years for him to get better."
" Did he ever get over her?" asked Rhona.
Nate looked at his sleeping brother, " He says so, but I know better. He dates, meets chicks, but never anything serious. One night while we were out he told me he was never getting married and that Melanie was the only one for him. She ain't alone neither, we've known more than a few fisherman, treasure hunters, and vacationers that just seem to get sucked into those islands never to return. I heard once that the Attorney General of Florida was thinking about looking into it but there ain't votes or money out there so it never went anyplace. Take my advice, be careful when your there, no good comes from that place."
Nate's story ended with a thunderous boom and another crackle of lightning. " Some places may look beautiful but are evil on the inside" he said, " sleep well."
Nate got up and climbed into his hammock. He quickly fell asleep but Rhona couldn't. Partially from the violent rocking of the boat, but also from a twisted thrill that was jolting through her that maybe this missing persons assignment would turn out to be much more. Rhona hoped it wasn't but she knew she would be ready for anything.

The storm didn't break until early in the morning and Rhona was finally able to fall asleep for a few precious hours before the sun came up waking her up. Rhona got up and walked out from the cabin which was filled with the stench of last nights beer drinking. She had shed her shorts and was now wearing just her bikini and tennis shoes. " Morning" said Nate.
" How are we doing?" she asked.
" We'll make it to St Lucian by late this afternoon" said Mike, " we have the tides with us."
Rhona decided to spend the day reading a book on the bow of the ship. She got comfortable and instead of reading spent the day watching the sea rush past. She never once opened her book.

At 3:40 in the afternoon Rhona first spotted the St Lucian Islands. They looked no more different than the Channel Islands back home, just the skies were a lot bluer and the islands a different shade of green. The islands became bigger and bigger with each moment as did Rhona's excitement. There was only so much information you could get from a dossier, seeing it in person was much more exciting.
The boat slowly rounded the island and the city came into view. The city of St Lucian was very much as Rhona expected, white washed buildings with bright red Spanish tile roofs. But several of the roofs were covered in blue tarps and the white washed buildings were still supported by lumber and more blue tarps, evidence of the two hurricanes that tore through the islands last fall. The marina that was inside the harbor was larger than the town itself. There were great big yachts that looked more like floating mansions than ships. The little boat Rhona came in on was instantly dwarfed by them. The ship pulled into the first open dock and came to a stop. Rhona gathered up her suitcase and gave Nate and Mike a thousand dollars. " Thanks guys" she said.
Nate and Mike's eyes were all a glow, the next two months worth of boat payments were covered with a little extra beer money to boot. " Thanks" said Nate, " if you need a ride home, don't hesitate to give us a call."
Nate handed Rhona a flyer advertising Deep Sea Fishing Adventures but it had their phone number at the bottom. " No problem" she said, " see you around."
Rhona watched as the boat quickly backed out and started to flee the islands as fast as possible. She watched them disappear among the huge yachts before turning and walking down the dock for town.
Rhona left the dock and started up the narrow winding streets of the city. The city was quiet, the Spring Breakers were all gone and the summer tourists had yet to invade so there was a peaceful sleepiness that hung about the town which was so much different from hectic speeding London. It was very refreshing to be able to casually walk down the street without worrying about being trampled under foot for not walking fast enough.

Rhona followed the twisting turning streets until she came to a large square in the center of town. At one end of the square was the capital building built like all the others in a Mediterranean style. It wasn't hard to find, it was the second largest building on the island towering six stories above the other two and three level buildings of the rest of the city. The only building larger was the Catholic Church at the other end of the square from the capital building. Its spires reached high into the air, almost up to the heavens.
She walked up the steps of the capital building and went inside. Sitting at the front desk was an old man who looked older than the islands themselves fast asleep at his post. Security must not be a top priority around here Rhona guess, but then they probably weren't high on the terrorist hit list. Rhona walked for the old man but was intercepted by a young smart looking man in a suit. " Ms Trevelyan?" he asked.
" Yes" said Rhona, feeling slightly underdressed to the man in his suit.
" Ms Wellman is waiting" he said.
He led her up all five flights of stairs to the sixth floor and to the office of Dorothy Wellman. She was led into a good sized office that was full of bright sun light from the many large windows and skylights giving the room a warm comfortable glow. Sitting behind the large mahogany desk was the president of the St Lucian Islans Dorothy Wellman.

Dorothy was young, young as Rhona which was extremely surprising that a girl so young would be president of a country. She was blonde, with big green eyes that seemed to exude friendliness, her smile was made up of 32 perfect ivory white teeth that seemed to say trust me I'm a politician as she smiled at Rhona. She was dressed in casual sundress which made Rhona feel more comfortable. " Welcome Ms Trevelyan" she said shaking Rhona's hand, " I'm Dorothy Wellman and I am very glad you are here."
" I'm glad to be of assistance" said Rhona, " have you had any more information about the missing girls?"
" Nothing concrete, we have a very small police force here and with Spring Break they were all trying to control the unruly crowds" said Dorothy explaining the situation like she was in trouble and Rhona was a disapproving parent, " but since Spring Break concluded I put one of my best men on the case. He should be arriving here from Diamond Quay any moment."
Rhona nodded, Dorothy was very nervous, guess it isn't everyday you meet a secret agent. " He should be here soon" said Dorothy.
" You seem young to be president of an entire country" said Rhona, trying to make small talk.
" Yes, well I graduated from Yale with a degree in political science. I spent my Spring Breaks down here so I thought why not it would be a funny joke to put on my law school entrance application" she said, " the joke was on me when I won."
Dorothy seemed to relax, she leaned back in her chair and motioned out the window. " For the last three years I have been president of an entire country. Not bad for a hick girl from Kansas" she said, " we have had some troubles with those two hurricanes that ripped through here but with summer around the corner and Spring Break again a financial success we will be able to complete the last few repairs we need."
The doors of the office opened and an incredibly handsome man entered. " This is Inspector Gregory Lawson, one of our finest detectives" said Dorothy, " Greg this is our help from Enterprise International, Agent Rhona Trevelyan."
"Hello" he said in a warm confidant voice.
" Hello" Rhona replied, shaking his strong hand.
" I just returned from Diamond Quay, as I thought the locals didn't remember any of them, but what can be expected with all the college kids" he said, " but we had four islands left to search."
" Been on the case long?" asked Rhona.
" Just yesterday, we had a mild incident at one of the local beach spots" he said, " took just four days to sort through the mess."
" Any thoughts?" asked Rhona.
" This happens a lot down here" said Dorothy, " they always pop up after a couple of days."
" But so far we haven't found them" said Greg, " but with the way people come and go around here, it isn't all that unusual for people to be here one day and gone the next. With all the private docks and little coves all over the place it is almost impossible to keep track of everybody around, I'd bet that any given day only half the people actually pass through customs here, and that is being generous."
" But we have to make sure nothing has happened" said Dorothy, " and keep it hushed up."
" But of course" said Rhona, " it has been a long trip for me, I would like to be taken to my hotel room so I can freshen up before going to the girl's beach house."
" Certainly, I can take you" said Greg, " please follow me."
Rhona followed Greg down the marble stairs and out of the rear of the capital building into a parking lot. They climbed into an old Black Jeep Wrangler and drove away.

The Jeep drove out of town and down a narrow two lane road. On one side was a glittering sand beach and sapphire blue water, on the other was dense vegetation that almost looked like an impenetrable green wall. " We decided to give you a beach house" said Greg, " it will give you a little more room to operate."
" Thank you" said Rhona, " I'm sure it will be beautiful."
Rhona clamped her mouth shut, she couldn't believe she just said that, that was the most unprofessional thing she could have said. No, she told herself, I want you to pull over so we can have sex in this Jeep would probably be more unprofessional. He was a hunk, thick head of black hair, sharp hazel eyes, well tanned, nice buff, but not too buff body. He felt like she was a freshman in high school again with a big crush on a senior boy.
Greg pulled down a small road that led into the deep jungle. The Jeep came out on a tranquil beach with three beautiful beach houses separated far enough apart to give one another privacy but yet be close enough so you didn't feel isolated. Greg pulled up to the middle beach house and Rhona smiled at her new residence. " This is excellent" she said, " give me a few minutes and I will be right out."
" No problem" he said, " I am here to be your tour guide."
Rhona grabbed her luggage and the key from Greg. She walked up the steps to the porch that wrapped around 3/4s of the gorgeous beach house. Rhona raced up the stairs and tossed her bags on the bed. She unzipped her suitcase and drew her Walther P99 out. She slipped it into her pocket and flipped her cell phone open. She saw a small message from Sir Malcolm.

No New Information on Missing Girls. Best of Luck.

It was time to send another to the boss.

Reached St Lucian, Starting My Investigation I Will Report In Again After Preliminary Investigation Of The Girls' Beach House.

Rhona flipped her phone close and left the beach house. She was really excited to start her investigation. She climbed into the Jeep. " Ready?" he asked.
" Absolutely" she said.