Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 "Saladin!" Dan screamed as his head popped above the water's surface. Saladin was paddling, his wet fur matted to his face. He was all eyes, as if they'd grown twice their normal size. He seemed frightened to death. "Dan… swim to shore!" cried Amy. She was to his right, treading water. "I see it. We're not that far!" "Saladin!" Dan repeated. "For heaven's sake, let the cat go!" Alistair cried out. "It's only an animal!" Lightning flashed nearby, and Dan could hear a tree branch crack. Dan could see two shapes converging toward him, large and small. One was the boat, tacking left and right as Nellie strained to see him over the

steering wheel. The other was Alistair, swimming with slow, even strokes, somehow managing to keep hold of his cane. Dan swam faster. He did not want to be grabbed in the water by anyone. Not before reaching Saladin. "Gotcha!" As he grabbed the Mau and drew him close, Saladin yelped and scratched. "Easy, now…" A wave slapped his face. He let himself rise with it, trying not to swallow. Trying not to let go of Saladin. Where was the shore? On the downwash of the wave, Dan looked desperately around for some sense of direction. Through the rain he could see a small flashing light. He began swimming, holding tight to Saladin. Alistair was soon by Dan's side. "Good, Daniel!" he cried. "Mrrrrrooooowwwwwrr!" Saladin whined. Amy was just ahead of him. The boat had stalled. Nellie and Arif were now by the railing, arguing in two different languages. Nellie was

strapping on a life jacket and preparing to jump. A wave broke over Dan's head and he gulped seawater. He could feel it filling up his lungs. Swimming with one hand was exhausting, even with a life jacket. The spray from the sea's surface blinded him…. And then his head bashed into Amy's knee. "REEOOOW!" screeched Saladin. Dan's feet dropped— and he felt sand beneath him. Saladin shivered, his chest pounding fast and hard. Dan stood, cradling the Mau in his arms. He glanced behind him for the police boat but could see nothing through the fog and rain. Swimming against the rough surf, Nellie shouted, "I'm at your back!" "Are you okay?" Amy asked Dan. Dan nodded. "I'm good. Thanks. Saladin, too." As he watched Nellie stand in the shallows, a white light from the shore momentarily blinded him. Dan shielded Saladin's eyes as the light traveled to Amy, then Nellie. Finally, it settled on Alistair.

A hand came out of the mist, grabbing Dan and pulling him onto the sand. A couple of others reached out for Nellie and Amy. "Itu dia!" a voice called out. Alistair's voice, muffled but agitated, came through the pattering of the rain. "I beg your pardon, officers, unhand me! This is a mistake!" "Ikuti kami!" the voice snapped back. Dan turned to see one of the cops slapping a pair of handcuffs on Alistair and dragging him toward a van. Dan shook loose and ran toward them. "Stay back, Dan!" Alistair shouted over his shoulder. "Isabel must have pinned the fire on me! I may be able to turn this to our advantage— but only if you don't make trouble! I can handle this." "But— but they can't do this!" Dan shouted back. One of the cops turned toward Dan. Glorp. Dan swallowed his next words of protest. He sheltered Saladin in his chest and shrank back.

"Dan, stand still," Nellie commanded. "Both of you, be safe!" Out of the corner of his eye, Dan could see the boat floating just offshore. Arif was still aboard, talking quietly into his cell phone. The cop glowered at each of them and began pointing. "Tetap di situ! You, you, you, you… stay!" Then, barking a command, he shoved Alistair into the van and shut the door. He slid into the driver's seat, and the van slipped away into the fog. "It's a trumped-up charge," Nellie said. "It can't stick. He'll be out in no time." "Why would Isabel pin it on him?" Amy asked. Dan nodded, shifting the pet carrier from his right hand to his left. "We were the ones she wanted to kill. It doesn't make sense." "I guess he took the hit for you," Nellie said. "You owe him, big-time." Amy's shoes squished loudly as they all trudged

into town from the dock. The rain had stopped as suddenly as it had started, and the late morning had a crisp feeling. After Alistair had been carted away, they'd retrieved their stuff from the boat, but everything was drenched—except for Dan's computer, which he had wrapped in plastic, in true Dan style. Alistair had been on Amy's mind a lot, but she didn't want to admit what she was thinking— that it wouldn't bother her a bit if he were jailed in Indonesia for a long, long time. Owe him? For all Amy knew, Alistair could have staged the whole thing. To slip away again. We gave him the clue. We trusted him. How did he do it? And how did they end up trusting a guy… A guy who was at our house the night of the fire and didn't do a thing to stop it. "We don't owe him anything," Amy growled. Dan looked at her, startled. "Hey, Alistair was ready to die for us last night." "I think he's up to something," Amy said, "and Isabel may still be after us." The sun hit her eyes. It was peeking through trees now, dappling the