Fatal Tide Read Free Page B

Melis?”
    “How long has he been gone?”
    “An hour maybe. Took off right after he talked to you.”
    “Where was he going?”
    “Southeast, toward the Greek Islands.”
    She moved toward the dock. “Come on, let’s go.”
    He jumped to his feet. “Where?”
    “I’m going to rent a speedboat and go after the idiot. I may need someone to run it while I look out for the Last Home .”
    “It’s still daylight.” He tried to catch up with her. “We’ve got a chance.”
    “No chance about it. We’re going to find him.”
     
    They caught up with the Last Home just before darkness fell. The two-masted schooner looked like a ship from another age in the soft light. Melis had always told Phil that the ship reminded her of pictures of the Flying Dutchman, and in the hazy golden twilight it appeared even more mystical.
    And, like the Dutchman, deserted.
    She felt a ripple of fear. No, it couldn’t be deserted. Phil had to be belowdeck.
    “Spooky, huh?” Gary said as he gunned the motorboat toward the ship. “He’s turned the engines off. What the hell is he doing?”
    “Maybe he’s having trouble. He deserves it. Getting rid of his crew and taking off like—” She broke off to steady her voice. “Get as close as you can. I’m going to board her.”
    “I don’t think he’s going to roll out the welcome mat.” Gary squinted at the ship. “He didn’t want you here, Melis. He didn’t want any of us on this trip.”
    “Too bad. I can’t help what he wants. You know Phil sometimes doesn’t make the best choices. He sees what he wants to see and then goes full speed ahead. I can’t let—There he is!”
    Phil had appeared from below and was frowning as he gazed at them over the expanse of water.
    “Phil, dammit, what are you doing?” she shouted. “I’m coming aboard.”
    Phil shook his head. “Something’s wrong with the ship. The engine just stopped. I can’t be sure—”
    “What’s wrong?”
    “I should have known. I should have been more careful.”
    “You’re talking crazy.”
    “And I don’t have time to talk anymore. I have to go and see if I can find where he— Go home, Melis. Take care of the dolphins. It’s important that you do your job.”
    “We need to talk. I’m not going to—” She was talking to air. Phil had turned and gone back down below.
    “Get me closer.”
    “He won’t let you board her, Melis.”
    “Yes, he will. Even if I have to hang on to the anchor all the way to—”
    The Last Home exploded into a thousand fiery pieces.
    Phil!
    “No!” She didn’t realize she’d screamed the word in an agony of rejection. The ship was burning, half of it gone. “Get closer! We have to—”
    Another explosion.
    Pain.
    Her head was splintering, exploding like the ship.
    Darkness.

Chapter Two
    S T. C ATHERINE ’ S H OSPITAL
A THENS, G REECE

    “Melis Nemid has a concussion,” Wilson said. “One of Lontana’s crew brought her here after the explosion. The doctors think she’s going to be fine, but she’s been unconscious for the last twenty-four hours.”
    “I want to see her.” Kelby moved down the hall. “Get me permission.”
    “Maybe you didn’t hear me. She’s out, Jed.”
    “I want to be there when she wakes up. I have to be the first one to talk to her.”
    “This hospital is pretty strict. And you’re not family. They may not want to let you in her room until after she becomes conscious.”
    “Get them to do it. I don’t care if you have to give a big enough bribe to buy the hospital. And check back with the coast guard and see if they’ve located Lontana’s body yet. Then go find the man who brought Lontana’s daughter here and pump him. I want to know everything there is to know about what happened to Lontana and the Last Home . What room is she in?”
    “Twenty-one.” He hesitated. “Jed, she’s just lost her father. For God’s sake, what’s the hurry?”
    The urgency was that for the first time in years Kelby had been given