Chapter Three: A Perilous Party

Corrine struggled frantically with her ropes, her thoughts on Sasha. Was the woman right? The sharks were drawn to blood in the water and Sasha had taken an incredible blow before she pitched head over heels into the water. Corrine had known Sasha was a strong swimmer, she'd proven it well enough earlier that day. She had to do something and continued to struggle against the ropes. She looked down at the sheathed knife still strapped to her leg. It may well have been in Siberia for all the good it could do there!

Sasha, of course, was very much alive, and conscious. She had drawn in some air before hitting the water, then brought herself slowly to the surface, more or less under the boat on the port side diametrically away from the point where she had hit the water. Her lungs were aching, but she broke the surface softly so as to not draw any attention. She had no doubts these women would tie Corrine up, but she needed a way to even the odds a bit. Cutting a hole in the inflatable as her foes hopped into the raft would do the trick! She drew up her leg, reached for her knife and discovered it had fallen out of its sheath during her less than graceful plummet.

She swam toward the stern of the boat, where she could keep hidden and breathe at the same time. There was a chance that one of the women would stay aboard and start the engines, but Sasha thought it was remote. Sure enough, she heard the unholy trio laughing and giggling as they came topside. Two of them at least. Another, possibly the ringleader admonished her companions. The platform blocked specific voices, but the leader's voice sounded familiar. One thing that seemed certain, it was less likely the Yorkshire's were involved, since they liked to take a more hands on approach to such things. Sasha took a deep breath, ducked under the surface, and swam away from the boat, staying below until she heard the raft's outboard start up. She then resurfaced and swam back towards the boat. She stayed in the water until she was sure the raft was returned to its mother craft.

Once aboard, she didn't even bother to dry off. She picked up a spare diving knife and went to the cabin, where a greatly relieved Corrine was still fighting her bonds. Sasha pulled off the tape as quickly as possible. It stung, but at least it was off. "Sorry I took so long." Sasha said as she slit the ropes confining Corrine's wrists "but I wanted to make sure our Bikini Bandits were safely on their own boat."

"Why do you call them that?" Corrine asked as she cut her own ankles loose.

"Something I heard about in a Criminology class. In the early eighties, a group of women pulled off a series of robberies in and around Miami. Same M.O.: masks, bikinis, and shorts. Four would go into the bank or store and the fifth would drive the getaway vehicle."

"No matter what, we have to go ashore and get my air tank fixed." Corrine said

Sasha thought for a bit, "Come on let's dry off and head to shore." she said.

After changing into their land outfits, the detectives returned to shore where they had a whole batch of things to do. Fortunately, the boat rental agent knew where Corrine replace the severed air hose, but it would not be ready until the following afternoon. They also asked if three women had rented a boat from him. The man said two had "blonde hair."

"Did you get their names?" Corrine asked.

"One. It was a strange name. Northern. Something like that."

"Was there another woman with them?"

"They had a companion, but she kept away. She had a very large hat, which hid her hair."

“Dollar says it's Bianca Yorkshire.” Corrine quipped.

That seemed to be about all that would be useful. The boat had been returned, but they had left without getting their deposit refunded, which struck the man as odd at the time. The two detectives then went to the local police, who were understandably dubious. On they way back to the resort, they tried to figure out the name. Jack had told them the nuances of determining a name's origins "Northern." Sasha said "I'll bet its NOREN."

“But that doesn't make sense, why would Dr. Noren want to attack the people she's hired to get to the airplane?” Corrine asked

“It's probably an assumed name to throw people off-track.” Sasha replied,”But somehow I have my doubts the Yorkshires are involved in this.”

“Why's that?”

“The Yorkshires are always so brazen in what they do. Since we tangled with them last, I doubt they'd be able to resist the urge to rub our noses in it after all this time.”

"Okay, so we got boarded by Bikini Bandits, working for an as yet unnamed third party." Corrine said.

"And since they have now moved up from petty mugging to boat piracy, I'd say we were probably getting too close to that plane's location.”

After a quick lunch, they returned to their bungalow where they found an envelope slid underneath the door. "We've been invited to a party being thrown by Dr. Wells and the owner of the resort." Sasha commented.

"Any reason why?" Corrine asked as she undressed for the shower as she still had some salt water residue in her hair.

"It doesn't say, just the time- 8 til late." Sasha replied

Corrine took a very quick shower and wrapped herself in a robe. Sasha needs the shower more than I do, she reasoned, seeing as she was in the water for a longer period of time.

Sasha emerged from the shower minutes later.

"How's the noggin?" Corrine asked.

"I'll live." she replied

“That's twice now. You must have a solid steel skull.”

Sasha giggled,”Comes with the territory, I guess.”

"About this party, I was wondering about whether or not we should go."

“The socialite and Hollywood trend-setter nervous about a party?” Sasha teased.

Corrine threw a damp towel at her,” I'm serious. As I said those women are working for a third party who has yet to reveal themselves.”

“And I can't think of better way to draw them out.” Sasha replied with a grin.

“You mean bait.” Corrine said. Sasha nodded.

"We're both land bound until your air-hose gets replaced, anyway. We might pick something up. Just keep your eyes peeled."

Percival Yorkshire watched the road through his binoculars. Sure enough, a blue Jeep drove toward his sprawling new home with that girl detective at the wheel, her diminutive actress friend beside her. Although he had found the cat and mouse game galling, he knew the value of patience as well and it was finally paying off. And that P.I. was overdue for a payback.

He continued to observe the jeep as it stopped at the gate and the occupants showed their invitation. It drove up to a spot where some other vehicles were parked and pulled into an open spot. He was disappointed in the choice of clothing the two wore. The detective had chosen a black one piece swimsuit and awhite cotton skirt, while Corrine had also chosen khaki shorts, but with a green one-piece suit. You couldn't have everything.

She was a member of the Mexican Federal Police, but she kept that secret from Mr. Yorkshire. Also the fact she spoke and understood English quite well. Percival and Bianca Yorkshire were well-known to local law enforcement for a sundry crimes, bu their apparent attempt to go legitimate came as a shock. They had come into some money on their last caper and had been using it to buy up tracts of land all over the Central America and the small islands off the coast- including a resort, which Percival seemed quite keen to remain close to.

She detested the Yorkshires deeply, but kept up appearances. They owned this spectacular home at the highest point of the island, yet spent little time there. Their activities, both here and abroad, were illegal but because evidence was lacking, nothing was done about it. Then there the minor things, such as her attire. She did not mind the scanty bikini, but to wear one and not be allowed to take a refreshing dip in the pool was too much! What she hated most of all, trivial as it may seem in the scheme of things were these ridiculous shoes with the 3 inch heels. One could break an ankle in those!

Corrine and Sasha came up to a table where beverages were being served. They each selected a Coke. As they moved along, a familiar voice called out "So we meet again."

They turned and saw the two men from the docks.

"Perhaps we should introduce ourselves" the fellow with the Latin looks said, though his accent suggested Midwest, most likely Chicago. "I am Tony Lopez and this is Bobby Sullivan."

"I'm Sasha Cohen and this is Corrine Ricce. " Sasha said. "What are you doing here?"

"We got invited, same as you." Sullivan replied.

"We didn't see you two out at sea."

"That's because we'd just come in from fishing."

"I saw no evidence of it."

"We keep our rods out of sight when not in used."

Sasha wondered if this was another double entendre, so she shot back "They probably don't work properly."

She and Corrine went elsewhere and soon encountered a man with sandy hair and dressed in a sport shirt and gray Dockers. behind him was a an attractive Mexican girl in three inch heels and with a blouse open to reveal a floral print bikini, "Ah its a pleasure to meet two such lovely young ladies." he said warmly. "I trust you are enjoying yourselves."

Corrine spoke "We are. Mister-?"

"Please, call me Ted."

As they walked along, they noticed the swimming pool.

"Looks good." Sasha commented as she finished her drink "I wonder if its okay to go in?"

As if to answer her question, a couple emerged from a cabana and dove into the pool. "Looks that way." Corrine said. "But I have to go to the little girl's room."

After obtaining the desired information, the duo answered nature's call then, returned downstairs. As they were about to emerge from the house two large, bare chested and well muscled men blocked their way out. "Excuse us, please." Sasha said. Two more musclemen approached from behind and without a word, each grabbed a sleuth and clamped a large, powerful hand over his captive's mouth. Sasha and Corrine struggled frantically, but to no avail. They were caught in iron grips. Corrine got a good look at the forearms of her captor. Each one was bigger than both her thighs put together!

The first two thugs each grabbed a girl by the ankles and the twosome was carried upstairs to a bedroom furthest from the party

The bed was made and even had an extra blanket draped over the footrest. Heavy curtains were closed over the windows, and the dresser had a good sized piece of cloth draped over it. The floor had extremely deep piled carpeting and the walls? As unbelievable as it seemed, they had been completely covered foam rubber!

The girls were allowed to stand, and faced each other. Almost simultaneously, their wrists were bound behind them by strands of rope. A thug took two bandannas and formed them into cravats, then tied a knot in each at dead center. Corrine and Sasha were then cleave gagged and finally, their ankles were tied. One of the thugs then lifted each girl and put her on the bed. Once the prisoners were in place, their captors left without a word, locking the door behind them.