Rebel Island Read Online Free PDF Page A

picked up the ball-peen hammer. “How…what the hell—”
    “Who else knew about this radio, Alex?”
    “Nobody! I mean, just me and the staff.”
    I thought about that. I thought about fingerprints. Whoever had shattered the radio had left the hammer behind, which meant he was either sloppy and rushed or unconcerned about being identified. Either way, I didn’t like it.
    “Alex, when Longoria arrived on the island, did he come alone?”
    “I—I don’t know. I told you, Chris checked him in.”
    “It’s your hotel. A small hotel. But you don’t know?”
    Alex stared at the window. Outside the storm was a blur of gray and black, like ink coming to a boil. “Look…Longoria wanted a first-floor room, away from the other guests. He wanted a private exit. That’s what Chris said.”
    “There were handcuffs on the bed.”
    “Tres—”
    “Longoria was a U.S. Marshal. Was he, by chance, transporting a fugitive?”
    Alex stared miserably at the radio. It was hard to believe he was the same person I used to be afraid of as a kid—the same Alex Huff who had pointed a knife at my face.
    “Longoria came in late last night,” he said. “A charter boat brought him in from Rockport. Chris arranged it. I had nothing to do with it.”
    “And?”
    “And I didn’t see him come in. I don’t know if he was alone, Tres. I didn’t want to know.”
    Lightning gilded the windows silver. The whole tower seemed to sway beneath me.
    “We need to find Chris,” I said. “We’ll talk in the parlor.”
    “You’re not going to tell the other guests?” Alex looked horrified.
    “That we might be stuck on this island with a fugitive who just murdered a U.S. Marshal? Yeah, Alex, I kind of think they need to know that.”

6
    To get away from the old man, Chase pulled his friends into an unused bedroom.
    “Well?” he said. “What the hell do we do now?”
    Markie rubbed his chin. He was a big guy, usually good in bad situations, but even he looked shaken. “That was a cop. Did you know he was a cop?”
    “How was I supposed to know?”
    “We’ve got to get out of here.” Ty’s face was pasty. He seemed to be having trouble swallowing.
    “Nobody’s going anywhere,” Chase told him.
    “Listen to the storm, man,” Ty insisted. “There’s no way we can do this.”
    “We will,” Chase said. “We’ve got no choice.”
    Markie and Ty said nothing. They knew damn well he was right.
    Chase had done his best to pretend the murder didn’t bother him. It was critical that the other guests believe the three of them were just stupid college guys. But he couldn’t shake the image of the bullet hole in the marshal’s chest. He couldn’t help thinking it was a warning. If this weekend didn’t go right, he could end up just like that.
    He studied Markie’s face, trying to gauge his loyalty. They’d been friends, if you could call it that, for almost three years now. But what they would have to do this weekend…things like that could strain loyalties, make business relationships unravel. Chase would have to watch his back. And Ty—shit, the guy was a basket case. Chase shouldn’t have brought him along, but he didn’t trust Ty to stay quiet otherwise. He wanted the bastard where he could keep an eye on him.
    Chase had worked his way up from nothing. He’d gotten himself into college. He supported his whole fucking family back home. He’d learned how to make a lot of money and deal with hard people. He wasn’t going to let anyone mess up his plans.
    “All right, look,” he said, trying to sound calm. “It’s got to happen tonight. I don’t give a crap about the storm. We’ve got no choice.”
    Markie looked like he wanted to say something, but then changed his mind. He nodded.
    “Come on, Chase,” Ty pleaded. “You know I can’t—I can’t stand this much longer. You know how I get.”
    “You’re
gonna
stand it.” Chase pointed a finger at Ty’s face like the barrel of a gun. “You’re gonna help