Barry sat in the deck chair, one hand holding the broad-brimmed hat on his head and the other gripping a tall gin Collins as he watched Heidi in a skimpy bikini handle the helm with practised ease. The balance of his embezzled stash had been transferred with surprising ease, right from the boat, into the joint account and the briefcase was secured in Heidi's personal safe below decks.

He had no doubt that her threats would be fulfilled if he presented any problems; the demonstration wiped that right out of his head. The sun felt warm on his bare legs and arms, giving him a sensation of worry free relaxation, and he almost lost track of the fact that he was effectively a prisoner on the boat.

His captor was every man's dream, no doubt, but Barry felt a definite loss of control over his life. He wondered if Doris had missed him or if she was still making lists, or taking brownies to the ladies guild and clucking on about her lot in life.

"Would you like to steer for a while, Barry?" Her voice came musically on the breeze.

He looked around, still seeing nothing but water and shrugged.

"Where to?"

"Just keep it on the same course."

"Course to where, Heidi? Dammnit all, if we're going to be partners in this getaway, I should at least know where we're going."

"Santa Catalina, Barry. And if we like, any of the other Channel Islands."

"Why there?"

"Because we can for one. And it's small, mostly tourist and far enough away from the mainland to give us a breather. The boat doesn't have unlimited range."

"You have this all worked out, don't you?" He joined her by the helm, setting his drink in the holder on the console.

"I told you, Barry, I like to be in control."

"So why suddenly are you giving me control of the boat?"

She put his hand on the wheel and stepped behind him. "I'm not, Barry, I'll still be in control."

He felt her hands slide around his waist, and he gripped the wheel with all his strength, praying that with his eyes jammed shut, he could stay the course.

ööööö

Benlow banged down the phone in disgust. Planes had to file flight plans. Trains had schedules to follow - hell, even cars were partially controlled by traffic constraints. Boats? Shit, boats could just pick up and leave and go wherever the hell they liked. He knew that wasn't entirely true, they had to register at each port they entered, but the fact that Heidi van Rugel just sailed off into the sunset left him with an entire Pacific Ocean to search.

He called his contact at the Coast Guard and pleaded for a workup of possible destinations for the Iron Tulip based on its size, engines and fuel capacity. Two hours later his return call netted him the only obvious places and although it narrowed Benlow's search, it still covered a hell of a territory.

Through a process of logic and guesswork, he settled on the obvious—Avalon on Santa Catalina. A call to the law enforcement agency on the island gave him a less than thrilling contact in Detective Morris Uplander, newly promoted and sounding more than eager for some action.

Benlow did his begging act with his Captain, and after listening to a string of abusive threats about wasting department budgets and time, he received his permission and made arrangements to fly by helicopter to the island and meet with Uplander. He would defer as much as necessary, if only to keep things calm and professional.

The man striding across the small landing site looked like a squarer version of a young Mickey Rooney. Benlow crouched and clutched his travel bag as he scurried from beneath the helicopter blades and met his host hand-to-hand with a vigorous, pumping handshake.

"Detective Morris Uplander," he shouted over the noise of the craft's lift-off.

"Allen Benlow." They turned and jogged toward a waiting, unmarked car, Morris indicating the rear while he jumped into the front.

"This is Officer Rich, my driver." Morris said over his shoulder as they settled inside.

My driver? Benlow met the young man's eyes in the mirror and saw them roll upward. Apparently Morris Uplander was not his driver's cup of tea.

He muttered hi, and turned to look out the window as the car sped off the tarmac and onto a smoothly paved road bracketed by tall trees.

"I began a search of all the marinas as soon as you rang off. So far only three have had new boats checking in."

Pleasantly impressed, Allen waited then asked, "And did you find the Iron Tulip?"

"Thought I'd best wait until you arrived before taking it any further. Figured we'd need to set up a proper chain of command first."

Allen saw the eyes in the mirror crease into a smile, and he sighed, knowing exactly what the driver was thinking. Leaning back in the seat, he stated his official position to Uplander, conceding that it was his call since he, Benlow was clearly out of his jurisdiction.

"Great! Swell! Okay! We should probably start with the closest one and check it out. Officer Rich, Carol's Cove."

Allen actually expected him to hold up a hand and toss it forward, ala John Wayne. Obviously there would be no opportunity to orient himself or even hit the washroom. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, catching once again the smiling eyes of Officer Rich in the rearview mirror.

ööööö

Safe Harbour Marina lay nestled on the windward side of the island in a cove shaped like a seahorse if viewed from the air. Many of the island residents preferred this side, away from the bevy of tourist boats that besieged the resort town of Avalon on a regular basis.

The charges for accommodation were steeper, but then so were the amenities and the security, particularly in the area of privacy. Heidi made arrangements for a slot near the tail of the seahorse, deeper inland. It included all the utilities, even internet connections were available.

She paid for a week's stay in advance plus a deposit for the utilities, and steered the Iron Tulip through the rows of yachts, cruisers, sailboats and even some small but powerful outboards, to a secluded slot at the end of the line.

Barry stepped off onto the trot and slipped the mooring lines over the bollards as directed, then helped position the gangplank as Heidi lowered it on the winch. An elderly couple sitting a couple of slots away on the trot behind a sixty-foot cruiser, eyed them with suspicion when Heidi debarked in her bikini that looked like it was made of wet Kleenex, and went to the utility hook-up.

With professional ease she hooked up the water and the power then turned and studied the other boats nearby, satisfied that they were reasonably removed from too close a proximity.

"Hungry, Mr. Stein?"

"Time is it?"

"Lunch time, if you are hungry." She paraded back up the plank with Barry in tow, and down the trot the elderly woman punched her husband angrily on the arm.

"We are paid for a week so you can just sit back and relax and enjoy our private little refuge."

"What'd it cost for a week?"

"Mr. Stein, cost is something we felt was unimportant to just living, remember?" She stepped down into the galley and began singing California Dreaming ala the Mommas and Pappas.

He looked around at the low hills and high trees surrounding the harbour and sighed. Was this what he really intended? Somehow he thought there would be more going on, maybe Vegas would have been a better destination. Action, bright lights, he thought, and then reminded himself that he'd probably had more action already than he'd bargained for.

The singing stopped and Heidi called his name to come for lunch. He went below and found a seat on the side bench in the lounge. She had prepared salad, cold meats, fresh croissants and a large jug of Sangria.

"Eat Mr. Stein. We need to keep your strength up." Her eyes twinkled with mischief.

"What, already I'm not strong enough?" He poured a glass full of Sangria and leaned back, swallowing half. His arm was feeling stronger under the sling.

"Maybe I should have said stamina."

"Maybe you should just watch out for your own performance." He was getting tired of her condescending remarks and behaviour. "Some things have to change in this relationship, Heidi. I'm not just a toy along for the ride, I'm a full partner. Actually I'm more than a partner, it was all my money to begin with."

Heidi chewed her sandwich in silence, watching him as he huffed and puffed. Aah, Mr. Stein. Along for the ride is exactly what you are. He kept on all through the meal, and she stayed silent, letting him have his moment and then when the meal was over and the table cleared, she came back into the lounge, took his glass from his hand and set it aside.

"Now we watch my performance, Mr. Stein."