Drea struggled frantically with her ropes, her thoughts on escape and on Anne. Was the woman right? But how? The sharks had ignored them, so why would they attack now? Drea had known Anne since high school and regarded the latter as more than just a colleague or partner. They'd swum relays together for their schools, been sorority sisters - roommates even. She had to do something and continued to struggle against the bindings. She 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!

Anne, of course, was very much alive, and conscious. She had drawn in some air before hitting the water, but it still wasn't enough. She calmly relaxed and allowed herself to float to the surface. Her lungs were aching, but she broke the surface just in time to see the back of a head disappear. She had no doubts these women would tie Drea up, but she needed a way to leaven 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 -she remembered she'd taken the sheathed knife off with the rest of her gear.

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 Anne 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 repremander's voice sounded familiar. She 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 her knife and went to the cabin, where a greatly relieved Drea was still fighting her bonds. Anne pulled off the tape as quickly as possible. It stung, but at least it was off. "Sorry I took so long." Anne said as she slit the ropes confining Drea's wrists "but I wanted to make sure the Bikini Bandits were safely on their own boat."

"Why do you call them that?" Drea 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 tank fixed." Drea said

"And report what happened to Jack."

"Both today and last night? He'll be down here in nothing flat if we tell him that."

Anne thought for a bit, then decided Drea was right. "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 Drea replace the severed airhose, 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 "They had the blonde hair, like you do" he pointed to Drea.

"Did you get their names?" Drea asked.

"One. It was a strange name. Not Ingles. Noquest. Something like that."

"Was there another woman with them?"

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

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 "Noquest." Anne said "I'll bet its Norquist."

"Okay, so we got boarded by a memeber of the Swedish Bikini Team." Drea said. "It doesn't tell us why."

"Since our bandit friends have now moved up to piracy, I'd say it has to do with that plane load of goodies down there."

After a quick lunch, they returned to their hut, where they found an envelope slid underneath the door. "It would appear we have been invited at random to a party hosted by the owner of this resort." Anne commented.

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

"Just that we got picked." Drea spent just enough time in the shower to get herself good and wet. She emerged from the shower after about a minute or so and wrapped herself in a robe. Anne needs the shower more than I do, she reasoned, seeing as she was in the water for a longer period of time.

While Anne was in the shower, Drea called Jack's office.

"Hi Drea." He said "Met any hunks yet?"

"JACK!" Drea said defensively, then calmed down while he laughed. She knew he was teasing, but she was not about to admit it wasn't as much of a joking as Jack thought it to be.

"All kidding aside, what happened?" Drea gave him a summary of what had happened. As she finished, Anne emerged from the shower. Drea put her on the line.

"How's the noggin?" he asked.

"I'll live." she replied

"About this party."

"Yeah we're wondering about whether or not we should go."

"I don't see why not. You're both land bound until Drea's hose gets replaced, anyway. You might pick something up. I haven't heard from Dr. Flynn so far today, and I won't get a chance to speak with the pilots until tomorrow morning. Keep your eyes peeled."

"Will do. My love to Sharon and Mike."

Ted Stoneman watched the road through his binoculars. Sure enough, a Jeep drove toward his sprawling home with that Mac Clarey girl at the wheel. He knew full well Anne's surname was Thorne but as far as he was concerned, she was Jack Mac Clarey's flesh and blood and thus had to pay for it. 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 Mac Clarey girl had chosen a pink one piece swimsuit and white cotton shorts, while the Rodgers girl had also chosen white shorts, but with a dark blue competition-style suit. Both wore sneakers, at which Stoneman shrugged. You couldn't have everything.

She was a member of the Mexican Federal Police, but she kept that secret from Stoneman. Also the fact she spoke and understood English quite well. His family had not been well-to-do, but his older brother had bought and maintained a large hotel chain without ever having worked in any type job that would pay the kind of money needed to buy such a thing. This brother had somehow gone afoul of the tax laws in the United States, been involved in the abduction of a well-known writer and died under mysterious circumstances after leaving the country. It was rumored that the elder Stoneman had many illicit activities which his younger brother now controlled.

She detested the man deeply. He owned this spectacular home at the highest point of the island, yet he spent little time there. His activities, both here and in his own country, were illegal but because evidence was supposedly lacking, nothing was done about it. Then there the minor things, such as her attire. She did not mind the scanty swimsuit, but to wear one and not be allowed to take a refreshing dip in the pool was too much! She supposed he needed make a pretense of virility to his Mexican friends, but had made no sexual advances toward her. What she hated most of all, trivial as it may seem in the scheme of things were these ridiculous shoes with the 75 millimeter heels. One could break an ankle with those!

Drea and Anne came up to a table where beverages were being served. The each selected a Diet 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 Anne Thorne and this is Drea Rodgers. " Anne 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."

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

She and Drea went elsewhere and soon encountered a man about Jack's age, 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."

Drea spoke "We are. Mister-?"

"Please, call me Ted."

"I'm Drea and this is Anne. I hope your friend here is not bothered by you complimenting us."

"Ah, but Pilar here neither speaks nor understands English."

Drea paid Pilar a compliment in Spanish, and the girl looked downward and said "Muches gracias."

Stoneman excused himself and Pilar followed. "Pretty good selection of guys so far." Drea said.

"Remember why we're here." Anne reminded her

"Live a little. You and Jason aren't even engaged, let alone married."

"I'll tell you what, any guy who treats me like he does Pilar would get a swift kick in the balls."

"Yeah he could use a few lessons in manners."

As they walked along, they noticed the swimming pool.

"Looks good." Anne comment 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." Drea said. "But I have to go to the john."

After obtaining the desired information, the duo answered nature's call then, returned downstairs. As the were about to emerge from the house two large, bare chested and well muscled men blocked their way out. "Excuse us, please." Anne 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. Anne and Drea struggled frantically, but to no avail. They were caught in iron grips. Worse their struggles encouraged their captors to grope! Drea 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 an Associate by the ankles and the twosome was carried upstairs to the 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 with cork!

The girls were allowed to stand, and faced each other. Almost simultaneously, their wrists were bound by stands of rope. Each watched as a thug formed a took a bandanna and formed it into a cravat, then tied two knots at dead center. Drea and Anne were then cleave gagged and finally, their ankles were tied. One of the thugs then lifted up the edge of the blanket, which almost touched the floor. Anne was made to lie on the floor then rolled underneath the bed, followed by Drea. Once the prisoners were in place, the blanket was replaced and the captors left without a word.

(END OF CHAPTER THREE)