Of Dolphins and Desires

Chapter 5

5

Courtney awoke the next morning feeling stiff and not well rested. Climbing from beneath her sheet, she padded into the bathroom and thought briefly about showering in the dark. With a sigh, she flicked on the switch and diverted her gaze from the mirror.

While running the shower until hot water made it to the second floor, she took her clothes from the night before, carried them into her bedroom, and tossed them onto the floor of her closet and closed the door. She turned and strode resolutely back to the bathroom and the promise of a shower that would wash away the night’s restlessness.

Stepping beneath the spray, she relaxed her shoulders and allowed the heat to revive what the fitful night did not. Courtney globbed on the conditioner to make it easier to comb out her mass of hair and thought about what she needed to accomplish that day. There was the transcribing to be done from her recording two days before. She should send an e-mail to her supervising professor and let him know how close she was to meeting her deadline. With her mind full of details, she turned off the water and wrung out her hair.

The Professor. Perhaps she should do a search, just to see if he really is on faculty at UW. There were some things she observed that were incongruent with her experience of university instructors, such as the calluses on his hands, what he knew about the traffic of narcotics, and the fact that when he ran down the beach to catch up with her, he wasn’t even winded.

Pulling a faded concert T-shirt over her head and the cut-off shorts from yesterday over her legs, she moved barefooted across the hall to the room she used as an office. It was bright with a wall of windows that faced the water. The wooden floor was polished smooth and more than halfway covered with various large rugs. There were scattered chairs that didn’t match, and stacks of books and files and papers in the corners and along the walls. The two filing cabinets were full and sported precarious stacks of files on top that had been taken out, but not returned to their place inside the drawers. A few green plants stretched up from their pots on the floor to peek over the windowsill, and one thriving philodendron hung right in the middle of one window. Tucking one leg under her on the expensive upholstered office chair, she pulled herself up to the antique maple desk, also covered in fire kindling, and booted up her computer. Leaning over to dig through her bag, she grabbed her recorder that she took with her when she worked with the dolphins. Perching her glasses on her nose and headphones over her ears, she settled in for her morning session.

Two hours later, Maria brought up a cup of tea, warm tortillas, and two eggs smothered in salsa. Setting the plate on top of Courtney’s notebook next to her computer was the only way to break her concentration.

Switching off the recorder and removing the headphones and glasses, Courtney smiled at Maria. “Gracias, Maria. I’m starved.” As she ate, she noticed Maria hanging around, straightening papers and trying to organize Courtney’s already organized piles. “Is something wrong, Maria?”

“No, no está bien,” Maria stopped touching things, and Courtney relaxed. “Professor Perkins, he es nice, hmm?”

Courtney swallowed. “Uh, I guess.”

“He seems strong, and is handsome, no?” She looked at Courtney with raised brows.

“Uh, sure.”

“He has a good job at University?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Then he would make a good husband for you, mija,” Maria looked pleased with herself that she had made this match.

Courtney choked on her tortilla and took a gulp of tea, which only burned her throat as she swallowed. She coughed a bit, and Maria stepped next to her to pat her, hard, on the back. Courtney waved her away.

“We’ve been through this, Maria. I’m not looking for a husband. And I’m sure, as ‘strong and handsome’ as Professor Perkins is, he has a girlfriend back in Seattle.”

“Maybe he has a woman, maybe no. But you looked so beautiful last night, I’m sure he noticed.” She went back to straightening the piles of papers and file folders.

Courtney put her hand on top of the stack to halt Maria’s fussing. “I’m so grateful I have you watching out for me. Professor Perkins will be here only a short time. Maria, I promise, when the time is right, I’ll find a husband.” She tipped her head to the side, imploring Maria to understand that just because there was an attractive man at dinner last night didn’t mean she’d be getting married next week. A hot guy who knew about drops, yet didn’t share any of what he knew about animal behavior, she thought.

Maria smiled and leaned over to kiss the top of Courtney’s head. “I just want you to be happy.”

“You just want niños to spoil,” Courtney corrected her.

Maria chuckled and nodded, then left Courtney to finish her breakfast.

Setting her eggs aside, she launched her browser and typed “Edward Perkins” into her address line and waited. A moment later, the man she would be diving with tomorrow popped up on her screen. She read the bio, and it all seemed to check out. When she clicked on the hyperlink to be taken to the articles he had written, her screen went blank. Hitting her back button, she tried again. Still nothing. Her thoughts were interrupted by her father’s voice from the bottom of the stairs.

“There you are,” he said when she appeared at the top step. “I have a meeting in Sacramento this evening, then I’ll be flying to D.C. at the end of the week. Keep me updated on your project.”

“You can’t stay? I hoped we could finish our discussion—” she stopped when her father reached into his jacket pocket to answer his cell phone. He held up a finger to her to wait, and after listening a moment, lowered the phone.

“I have to get to the airstrip.” Placing the phone back at his ear, he picked up his briefcase that rested on the floor at his feet and walked out the front door to the limo that would drive him to the small, private airstrip where he sometimes landed when the military base, the only real airport in Ensenada, was busy.

Courtney scowled at the closed door and empty foyer. Going back to her desk, she picked up her plate and ate while she paced. Keep him informed? Well, maybe she wouldn’t. Maybe she’d demand to see him in person if he wanted to know about her progress. She sopped up the rest of the salsa with the last bite of tortilla, set her plate down with one hand and picked up her tea with the other. Making her way around chairs and stacks of books on the floor, she came to stand in front of a window. She sipped and looked to her right where there was a portrait of her mother that hung over the fireplace. On the mantel beneath it was a picture from her father’s first election. Her mother beamed next to him, and Courtney stood in front of them both, a timid smile on her face. She wouldn’t demand her father see her in person. But maybe she’ll be a few days late with her updates.

Logan rubbed his eyes, then winced at the grittiness. He’d take a quick shower, a combat nap, then see a florist about some flowers. He powered down his laptop and stowed it in his duffel. Flicking the drapes aside, he saw his Tahoe where he’d left it, and that it would be another hot, humid day on the Mexican Coast.

Stripping out of the rest of his tux, he switched on the harsh bathroom lights. Checking the tub for cockroaches, he turned on the water. Looking down, he traced his scar from the surgery months ago that placed screws in his leg to keep it together. The railroad tracks left from the staples that he knew would continue to fade over time started an inch above his knee and wrapped around the outside of his thigh, for a total length of just over twelve inches. He sighed and stepped in under the spray.

The dinner party last night was a success. He confirmed what they’d guessed about the General being on the take. And about the Senator being a self-serving bureaucrat. Then there was Courtney Swanson.

According to her file, she had a near-perfect score on her SAT’s and graduated in three and half years from Purdue with a dual major in Information Technology and Biology. She then enrolled at UC Davis for her Masters in Communication and Animal Behavior right after her graduation from Purdue, and now Ms. Swanson was finishing her Ph.D. in Marine Biology through the program run by Scripps at UC San Diego. There was something about intelligent women that made his heart race. Of course, her incredible curves and long legs didn’t hurt, either. Women like her should come with a warning sign. It should go against nature to have brains and a body that wouldn’t quit. And it was thoughts of what that red dress barely concealed that had him in the same state of arousal as last night. He turned the hot water off and the cold on full, then turned around to rinse his hair and have the icy water cool his heated back. That’s when he saw it.

Up in the corner, legs poised like it was out for a stroll, Logan guessed it was maybe three feet from him. He reached behind him to shut off the water, not taking his eyes from his enemy lest he pay for that mistake. Reaching out to grab a towel, he pulled it into the shower and draped it around his hips. Slowly, he pushed the curtain aside and stepped out. Letting loose his pent up breath, he grabbed another towel, wadded it up, and threw it at the wolf spider that was staring him down from its perch where the wall met the ceiling. Towel and spider landed in the tub. He turned on the water until the towel was soaked and water stood in the bottom of the tub. Cranking off the spray and closing the door behind him, he flicked back the bedspread and sheet to see if he had any more unwanted visitors. When only white cotton stared back at him, he lay down and threw his arm over his eyes. He hated spiders.