“At least five or six, maybe twice that.”
“Call your friend,” he said.
* * *
“We shouldn’t have let them go together,” Finn said. He was enjoying a pulled pork barbecue sandwich drenched in smoky-sweet sauce. He wiped some sauce off his chin and buried his face into the sandwich for another bite.
“A little late for that,” said Maybeck, wolfing down a buttery piece of corn bread in three bites. He chased it with a glass of ice-cold milk. He made a deep-throated groan of appreciation that attracted the attention of three girls at a nearby table. Maybeck smiled at them, and all three giggled.
Finn hated him.
“They’re probably out sunning on the beach,” Maybeck said. “Pass the SPF.”
“They wouldn’t do that.”
“A beach can do funny things to people. Especially girls. They like showing off their swimsuits. They never admit it, but if they didn’t, why would they wear bikinis and string bikinis instead of one-piece Speedos?”
“You really do have a one-track mind.”
“You want to talk about the propane?” Maybeck asked. “Has to be the OTs.”
“The guy shut it off, right? Game over.”
“Since when? This is the OTs. The game is never over.”
“You said he’s going to report it.”
“Yes, and they’ll remove the tank. I’m sure of it,” Maybeck said.
“So? What’s the problem?”
“What if it’s a diversion? Or what if it’s only one small part of their plan?”
“Which is?”
“How should I know? You’re the one telling me there’s an unscheduled Beach Blanket Barbecue planned for tonight. You think that’s coincidence? No? Well, neither do I. And I don’t happen to believe that by taking one propane tank out of the mangroves, that’s the end of it. Since when?”
“So they were planning to start a fire. What’s that tell us?”
“A distraction, a diversion, maybe. Maybe the girls stumbled onto someone messing with the tubes out there. Maybe they were led into a trap.”
“How does Tia Dalma fit in?”
“We’ve got to watch her,” Maybeck said. “She’s got to be the key. Maybe she’s the one running things, not Maleficent. Maybe the Green Machine’s not even on the ship.”
“Then why the video?”
“To throw us off. To have us chasing her when we should be chasing Tia Dalma. She’s a major player. Voodoo mama extraordinaire. She eats black magic for breakfast.”
Finn felt the chills. He put down the sandwich. “Nice move, Terrance. You just ruined my appetite.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Yeah. I get it.” He pushed his tray away. “The girls.”
“The party gives us more time to find them. How weird is that?” Maybeck said. “Since when do the OTs help us out?”
Finn sat forward. “Brilliant,” he said.
“Consider the source,” Maybeck said. Then he asked shyly, “What’s brilliant?”
“The OTs don’t have them. If they did, if that had been part of the plan, they wouldn’t give us extra time to find them.”
“Okay…”
“Meaning they’re either spying on those two girls, hunkered down somewhere and hoping to learn more, or—”
“Or?”
“Not or. And. And they’re waiting for us to show up and be a distraction and free them.”
“You’re dreaming,” Maybeck said.
“Then you explain it,” Finn said.
“I don’t have to explain it. We don’t know what’s going on, so we don’t have to explain. If I had to explain it, I’d say walk the beach looking for a pair of Cast Members stretched out on beach towels. I’m telling you: they’re girls, man. It’s a beach. A nice beach at that.”
“You give them no credit. They’re out there somewhere and they need us.”
“Have you been to the doctor lately? I think you have a hero complex that needs removing.” Maybeck paused. “Maleficent or Tia Dalma is allowing mosquitoes to breed. Fire plays into it somehow—maybe the fire was supposed to push the mosquitoes toward the beach when the time comes. I’ve got to follow up with my new BFF Tim, because he’s a bug guy. He doesn’t have a clue about the OTs.”
“We both have to be super careful,” Finn said. “No one else goes missing.”
* * *
When Philby entered the third of the seven unoccupied staterooms vacated by cancellation, he saw much of the same he’d seen in the first two: an empty room, a made bed, clean windows looking out into the dazzling sunshine of late afternoon on Castaway Cay. As he’d done previously, he stood stock-still before leaving the room and moving on with Storey Ming to the next vacancy. He used the heightened senses made possible by 2.0 for one last scan of the premises.