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第105章

璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第105章

小说: 璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将 字数: 每页3500字

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He remembered what he‘d once been。 He remembered all the things that he had survived; amazed that he had done so。 And perhaps the worst torment of all was that he didn‘t understand what had gone wrong。 Sure; he knew what had happened; but those things had all been on the outside; and somehow his understanding had gotten lost; leaving him alive and confused and without purpose。 He was on autopilot。 He knew that; but not where fate was taking him。
She didn‘t try to talk; whoever she was; and that was just as well; Kelly told himself; though he sensed that there was something he ought to know。 The realization came as a surprise。 It was instinctual; and he‘d always trusted his instincts; the warning chill on his neck and forearms。 He looked around at the traffic and Kelly saw no particular danger other than cars with too much engine under the hood and not enough brains behind the wheel。 His eyes scanned carefully and found nothing。 But the warning didn‘t go away; and Kelly found himself checking the mirror for no good reason; while his left hand wandered down between his legs and found the checkered grips of the Colt automatic that hung hidden under the seat。 His hand was stroking the weapon before he realized it。
Now what the hell did you do that for? Kelly pulled his hand back and shook his head with a grimace of frustration。 But he did keep checking the mirror … just the normal watch on traffic; he lied to himself for the next twenty minutes。
The boatyard was a swarm of activity。 The three…day weekend; of course。 Cars were zipping about too fast for the small and badly paved parking lot; each driver trying to evade the Friday rush that each was; of course; helping to create。 At least here the Scout came into its own。 The high ground clearance and visibility gave Kelly an advantage as he maneuvered to Springer‘s transom; and he looped around to back up to the slip he‘d left six hours before。 It was a relief; to crank up the windows and lock the car。 His adventure on the highways was over; and the safety of the trackless water beckoned。
Springer was a diesel…powered motor yacht; forty…one feet long; custom built but similar in her lines and internal arrangements to a Pacemaker Coho。 She was not especially pretty; but she had two sizable cabins; and the midships salon could be converted easily into a third。 Her diesels were large but not supercharged; because Kelly preferred a large fortable engine to a small straining one。 He had a high…quality marine radar; every sort of munications gear that he could legally use; and navigation aids normally reserved for offshore fishermen。 The fiberglass hull was immaculate; and there was not a speck of rust on the chromed rails; though he had defiberately done without the topside varnish that most yacht…owners cherished because it wasn‘t worth the maintenance time。 Springer was a workboat; or was supposed to be。
Kelly and his guest alighted from the car。 He opened the cargo door and started carrying the cartons aboard。 The young lady; he saw; had the good sense to stay out of the way。
‘Yo; Kelly!‘ a voice called from the flying bridge。
‘Yeah; Ed; what was it?‘
‘Bad gauge。 The generator brushes were a little worn; and I replaced them; but I think it was the gauge。 Replaced that; too。‘ Ed Murdock; the yard‘s chief mechanic; started down; and spotted the girl as he began to step off the ladder。 Murdock tripped on the last step and nearly landed flat on his face in surprise。 The mechanic‘s face evaluated the girl quickly and approvingly。
‘Anything else?‘ Kelly asked pointedly。
‘Topped off the tanks。 The engines are warm;‘ Murdock said; turning back to his customer。 ‘It‘s all on your bill。‘
‘Okay; thanks; Ed。‘
‘Oh; Chip told me to tell you; somebody else made an offer in case you ever want to sell …‘
Kelly cut him off。 ‘No chance; Ed。‘
‘She‘s a jewel; Kelly;‘ Murdock said as he gathered his tools and walked away smiling; pleased with himself for the double entendre。
It took several seconds for Kelly to catch that one。 It evoked a belated grunt of semi…amusement as he loaded the last of the groceries into the salon。
‘What do I do?‘ the girl asked。 She‘d just been standing there; and Kelly had the impression that she was trembling a little and trying to hide it。
‘Just take a seat topside;‘ Kelly said; pointing to the flying bridge。 ‘It‘ll take me a few minutes to get things started。‘
‘Okay。‘ She beamed a smile at him guaranteed to melt ice; as though she knew exactly what one of his needs was。
Kelly walked aft to his cabin; pleased at least that he kept his boat tidy。 The master…cabin head was also neat; and he found himself staring into the mirror and asking; ‘Okay; now what the fuck are you going to do?‘
There was no immediate answer; but mon decency told him to wash up。 Two minutes later he entered the salon。 He checked to see that the grocery cartons were secure; then went topside。 
‘I; uh; forgot to ask you something …‘ he began。 
‘Pam;‘ she said; extending her hand。 ‘What‘s yours?‘ 
‘Kelly;‘ he replied; nonplussed yet again。 
‘Where we going; Mr Kelly?‘
‘Just Kelly;‘ he corrected her; keeping his distance for the moment。 Pam just nodded and smiled again。 
‘Okay; Kelly; where to?‘ 
‘I own a little island about thirty …‘ 
‘You own an island?‘ Her eyes went wide。 
‘That‘s right。‘ Actually; he just leased it; and that had been a fact long enough that Kelly didn‘t find it the least bit remarkable。
‘Let‘ go!‘ she said with enthusiasm; looking back at the shore。
Kelly laughed out loud。 ‘Okay; let‘s do that!‘ 
He flipped on the bilge blowers。 Springer had diesel engines; and he didn‘t really have to worry about fumes building up; but for all his recently acquired slovenliness; Kelly was a seaman; and his life on the water followed a strict routine; which meant observing all the safety rules that had been written in the blood of less careful men。 After the prescribed two minutes; he punched the button to start the port…side; then the starboard…side diesel。 Both of the big Detroit Diesel engines caught at once; rumbling to impressive life as Kelly checked the gauges。 Everything looked fine。
He left the flying bridge to slip his mooring lines; then came back and eased the throttles forward to take his boat out of the slip; checking tide and wind … there was not much of either at the moment … and looking for other boats。 Kelly advanced the port throttle a notch farther as he turned the wheel; allowing Springer to pivot all the more quickly in the narrow channel; and then he was pointed straight out。 He advanced the starboard throttle next; bringing his cruiser to a mannerly five knots as he headed past the ranks of motor and sail yachts。 Pam was looking around at the boats; too; mainly aft; and her eyes fixed on the parking lot for a long couple of seconds before she looked forward again; her body relaxing more as she did so。
‘You know anything about boats?‘ Kelly asked。
‘Not much;‘ she admitted; and for the first time he noticed her accent。
‘Where you from?‘
‘Texas。 How about you?‘
‘Indianapolis; originally; but it‘s been a while。‘
‘What‘s this?‘ she asked。 Her hands reached out to touch the tattoo on his forearm。
‘It‘s from one of the places I‘ve been;‘ he said。 ‘Not a very nice place。‘
‘Oh; over there。‘ She understood。
";That‘s the place。‘ Kelly nodded matter…of…factly。 They were out of the yacht basin now; and he advanced the throttles yet again。
‘What did you do there?‘
‘Nothing to talk to a lady about;‘ Kelly replied; looking around from a half…standing position。
‘What makes you think I‘m a lady?‘ she asked。
It caught him short; but he was getting used to it by now。 He‘d also found that talking to a girl; no matter what the subject; was something that he needed to do。 For the first time he answered her smile with one of his own。
‘Well; it wouldn‘t be very nice of me if I assumed that you weren‘t。‘
‘I wondered how long it would be before you smiled。‘ You have a very nice smile; her tone told him。
How‘s six months grab you? he almost said。 Instead he laughed; mainly at himself。 That was something else he needed to do。
‘I‘m sorry。 Guess I haven‘t been very good pany。‘ He turned to look at her again and saw understanding in her eyes。 Just a quiet look; very human and feminine; but it shook Kelly。 He could feel it happen; and ignored the part of his consciousness that told him that it was something he‘d needed badly for months。 That was something he didn‘t‘ need to hear; especially from himself。 Loneliness was bad enough without reflection on its misery。 Her hand reached out yet again; ostensibly to stroke the tattoo; but that wasn‘t what it was all about。 It was amazing how warm her touch was; even under a hot afternoon sun。 Perhaps it was a measure of just how cold his life had bee。
But he had a boat to navigate。 There was a freighter about a thousand yards ahead。 Kelly was now at full cruising power; and the trim tabs at the stem had automatically engaged; bringing the boat to an efficient planing angle as her speed came to eighteen knots。 The ride was smooth until they got into the merchant ship‘s wake。 Then Springer started pitching; up 

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