by Matt Lincoln
That was a lot more detail than I was suspecting from someone who claimed, “I didn’t get a good look at the person.” I looked out from where I was and tried to imagine the scene. Yeah, a car would block a lot of the parking lot, as narrow as it was. So much for trying to get more info on that. I switched back to legal matters. “So, what exactly did Emiko take, and what was she threatening you all with?”
Verity nodded shakily. “Oh, um, she said that she copied all of our emails and every inter-office communique. She already has access to all the financial records and the client accounts. I believe that she had been making copies of everything since this began. The investigation part, I mean.”
I nodded, understanding what she meant.
She continued, “So then, um, when Weir called us all in today, he said that we all needed to get on the same page and consult legal representation as a whole, not individually. He said that he had information that we were all going to be charged by the end of the week and that we should provide a united front.” Verity was watching Weir as she spoke about him from across the room. “I agreed, but I told him that my dad had hired you.”
“And how did they take that?” I was curious to know if that was what led to any of the stuff Emiko was threatening.
“Weir seemed upset, but that’s when Emiko told us what she’d done. And what she was planning on doing. I’m not sure why, but she acted like it was all Weir’s fault. That he was the main one they were going to be after.” Verity shook her head, and I got the impression that she wouldn’t believe anything bad about her boss, Weir.
“Has there been bad blood between Emiko and Weir before now?” I asked. There could be a bigger motive than I saw right now.
“No. Dallis is the only one any of us have had a problem with. She’s just so abrasive and rude. Not to the customers, or me, really, but to everyone else. She’s got a nasty attitude about everything.” Verity cast a very cruel glare in the other woman’s direction.
I knew that there had been some office growing pains early on. George had mentioned it in the emails and calls he’d sent me about his daughter’s job here in Miami. I didn’t pick up anything out of the ordinary, though. Different personalities bred conflict quite often. Everyone knew that.
“So, if Emiko was going to turn over all of this evidence or whatever, who was she giving it to?” I really could use a lead on that front. “Did she mention a name of a company, a law firm, or anything like that?” At least that would be somewhere for me to start from.
“No,” Verity admitted. “She just said something about the authorities and all of us getting what we deserved.” That made Verity shiver and her eyes tear up.
I tried to piece this together. I still didn’t see what Arwa’s assault had to do with Emiko’s threats of turning on the rest of them. Unless… maybe they were in this together? Maybe it was a trick to throw the detectives off and make those involved even more suspicious of one another. Or maybe I was reaching for something that wasn’t there. All of it, or none of it, could be true. I had no way of knowing at the moment.
About an hour later, Verity was allowed to leave, and I called in a cab for both of us. Once we got inside the vehicle, I cautioned her. “As your legal counsel, I don’t think that you should go back to work, Verity. It’s too volatile, and now, with this event, it could become a hostile work environment for you.”
“I know,” she agreed. “I should probably just clear out my little desk space and wait for the fallout at my apartment. But I don’t want to give up on them, on any of it, until I absolutely have to.” She sounded believable and altruistic, but I was wondering if it didn’t have more to do with a certain boss-man more than anything else.
“I’m sure that you’ll make the best decision for you,” I replied as neutrally as possible. “But please, tread very carefully and take a little time to consider your options.” I couldn’t flat out tell her not to go back, after all. Even though I really, really wanted to. “What happened here this evening might speed things up, and if we’re lucky, this will make the truth come out all the faster.”
I was entering my cheerleading phase of the case. I had to keep my client’s morale up and also keep them focused more on the goal of a favorable outcome. I could certainly use a break in the evidence part of her case right about now. But until they filed charges, I could only guess at how best to work for her.
I was glad when we got to her place, and I could see her safely back home. Now, I had to decide if I should head back to Jake’s or if I should get back to my own hotel room and get to work. I knew what I wanted to do, and that was the opposite of what I should do. Sometimes, I hated being a responsible professional. So, I begrudgingly texted Jake to let him know that I would be working for the rest of the night. I sent him a little smiley kissing face sticker and told the driver where my hotel was located. It kind of sucked, but Verity and George were counting on me. And that was enough of a motivation to send me back to the hotel alone.
18
Jake
I was at the marina first thing the next morning, ready and willing to get the next leg of the diving mission underway. I got Wraith prepared and fueled up before I even saw Xavier head my way from his yacht. I felt a little bad for not being available for Doc’s medical exam of Declan Speirs yesterday afternoon, but Rosa had emailed me about all the details that the team would need to know going forward.
The wound on Declan’s head was consistent with the bruises they’d found on his legs from a fall, and it wasn’t anything verifiably sinister. But the gunshot wound was at close range from an older model 9mm Glock. Doc had reported that Declan had already been dead when the boat sank.
I didn’t know how to feel about that. I supposed, on the one hand, he didn’t have to live through the fear and terror of drowning, but getting shot and killed wouldn’t have been much better. I just hoped the poor man hadn’t suffered too long or too much. Then I realized that we’d have to tell his brother, and that made me feel worse about the whole thing.
Both Rosa and Doc got to the barn within a few minutes of Xavier showing up. Doc was smiling and looking very pleased with himself this morning.
“I take it your house-hunting days might be over?” I guessed.
“They most certainly are.” Doc was all smiles as we got ready to leave the marina and head back to the dive site. “Zaid and I will be moving in very soon, and to top it all off, he started at a primary school this morning. He’s going to be around a few other children, all learning English from excellently referenced educators. Things may finally start to fit neatly back as they should, as opposed to the mass hysteria that’s been my life for the past few months.”
It was good to hear him get his droll sense of humor and his future expectations back to where they had been. I glanced over at Rosa to see how she felt about it.
The more things change… she signed simply.
I grinned as I finished the comment in my own mind. But it was a reassuring measure that the team was returning to its original standards. Even Wraith herself seemed to be ready for the day’s mission as she moved through the water with great simplicity, speed, and efficiency. But I was aware enough to know that I only imagined most of that.
The sea out here was a little rougher than it had been the last few times that we’d been out. There was another storm on the horizon, and it looked a lot more perilous than a few days ago. The rain hadn’t started up yet, but I was anxious to get us into the wreckage and find the crew's bodies all the more now that I could see the weather coming in.
We decided that we’d maintain the two diver team with a rotating third, just in case one of us needed to rest in between dives.
I turned to my team. “Let’s really push out today and try to get as many of the crew up as possible. I know that we’re going to spend a lot of the morning searching for them, but I’d prefer to have one more long day out here than another trip out if we can help it.”
Doc nodded and voiced his
accord. “I concur. If this weather keeps up in the way that it has, the sooner we can complete this, the better for all concerned.”
Rosa signed that she was onboard with that, too. I’m going to start suiting up. This is probably a stupid question, but are you or Doc coming in first with me for the initial search?
“I’m going down first with you,” I answered. “I want to make sure that I’m fully able to handle it.” I glanced back over to Doc, who was watching me with knowing eyes. “And I promised my doctor that I’d take it easy on this first time out.” I bowed my head at him as a sign of acceptance and of humor.
Xavier joined in with his deadpan take on the matter. “And I will not be going anywhere near the water, per my contract and upon penalty of me draining all of your bank accounts electronically.”
“That’s a new one,” I teased as I lined up Wraith with our diving data. “So, it's not that you’ll blackmail us, you’ll just digitally bankrupt us if we ask you to go diving? Pretty harsh, Xavier. Pretty harsh.”
“The jokes on him,” Doc quipped. “I won’t have any money after I get this house. So there, young man.” Doc was getting in on it too, and that made me laugh.
Good thing I know where you sleep at night then, Rosa added with a wink in Xavier’s direction.
The playful and benign threats continued right up until I parked Wraith right above the Hester’s resting place. Rosa was good to go, but I was going to need some time to gear up and suit up for my first dive since the car crash.
Doc was slowly putting on his suit but leaving off all the equipment for the time being. “Don’t push it too far this go around, Header. The team can’t afford to lose its leader.”
“I am aware of that, Doc,” I promised. “I’m not going to do anything overly stupid.” Then I shot him a quick glance. “I’m going in with my usual stupid today.”
Doc shook his head and grinned, but kept all the easy comebacks to himself. I met Rosa out on the deck, and I gave her the thumbs-up that I was all ready on my end. She stepped off into the water with all the same gear Xavier and I had seen her and Doc use on the last dive. She had already performed the pre-dive checks, and now it was my turn.
“Xavier, can you hear me, and am I loud and clear with my super sexy voice?” I toyed, trying to have a good time with what was going to be a very serious and un-fun mission once I got wet.
“Yes, I am receiving you, Header. You are cleared to dive.” Xavier’s reply came back crisp and full in my earpiece.
Now it was down to business. I stepped off of the deck and smiled as my body got swallowed up by the sea. It was truly glorious to be back in the water, even if it had only been one dive that I’d missed out on.
I could see Rosa’s LED lights down below me, and this time, she looked to be following the guideline from the buoy. I did the same, allowing for the semi-straight path to take me directly where I needed and wanted to go.
The opening to the wreck was still settled, and I didn’t notice anything had changed from my first dive here. Rosa showed no signs of things being amiss, either, which gave me a relaxed peace. No one else had been down to the Hester that I could see, and that meant that the scene was most likely as it had been when it sank.
We both swam through the passageway when Xavier reminded me of something in my ear. “Header, Rosa, the last of the guest cabins is on your right.” That had been our plan going in, to finish out the last of the three cabins before looking into the crew ones. I took the lead here and was able to shift the door open without much resistance.
When we got inside, we could all see that it was an exact duplicate of the first two. The layout was identical. But that’s where the similarities ended. An unknown force had destroyed this particular room. Everything, including cases, books, and clothing, had been tossed around and thrown around without a care. The word “ransacked” came to mind.
I carefully swam inside, cautious to avoid all the snagging points and broken wooden fragments of the ravaged area. Rosa was slow to follow, as the room wasn’t that large to begin with. There were books, now ruined, maps, and various papers suspended in the water all around us. Without movement, everything was just lying static and immobile. That gave the room a rather freaky aspect. I wasn’t a fan, to be sure.
“Well, we know that this wasn’t Declan’s cabin, but there weren’t supposed to be any other passengers on board, right?” I aimed this question at Xavier, as he was in charge of all the files and paperwork that Claude had given us.
“Declan was the only passenger,” he replied confidently. “There’s absolutely no other reference to anyone else on the Hester.”
“So, who was living here, then?” I knew that Doc and Xavier saw everything that Rosa and I did, thanks to the wet-cams Xavier had hooked up onto our suits.
Doc cleared his throat and offered a suggestion. “All those maps and papers could be a sign that it was a storage room or even the Captain’s quarters. With only one passenger, and we did already see that the third cabin was empty, perhaps the Captain wanted to bunk away from his crew. It’s a small consolation, correct?”
“As good of an explanation as any other,” I added. “Let’s go with that for now until we can verify otherwise. So, then the real question is, why is this room torn apart so badly?”
Rosa began to type on her arm keyboard, and a weird, computerized voice sounded in my ears. I much preferred Mai’s simulated voice on Wraith to this one. I’d say that someone was looking for something. Maybe they were after the suitcase of artifacts and mistook this room as belonging to Speirs?
“Another good theory I say we go with,” I agreed. There wasn’t much here to help us figure out what had happened to the Hester and why she’d sunk. “I say that we move on. The crew members are our priority today. This mystery can wait for a while.”
Agreed, Rosa’s interpreter answered as she turned around and swam out into the rest of the passageway. I followed right after her as she headed for the first of the three doors on the left.
Rosa was able to open it, and I saw her stick her head in. She shook her head slightly and then turned back to look at me and shook her head again. I knew there was nothing to see in there.
With that information, I swam down and took the furthest door on the left, and opened it to see four double-stacked bunks with a four-drawer dresser lining the space between them. It was a ridiculously small cabin with room only enough to sleep and breathe. But there were no bodies in the bunks and nothing out of the ordinary here.
This left the middle door, and I had a fairly good idea what that was. I got there first and slid the door open to reveal… the privy. There were two shower cubicles in the corner and two toileted spaces with sinks placed at the sides. It was certainly a close and cozy set up. But still, no bodies of the crew here.
I slid the door shut with a little sense of displeasure. “Now, the real search begins,” I told the team after shaking my head at Rosa to let her know I’d found nothing of value. “Xavier, what’s the next area that we can get to on this deck?”
“The galley is the last area on this deck,” he quickly replied. “After that, there should be another ladderwell leading down and up, not far from where you are. Up will take you to the main deck and the bridge. Down leads to the engine room and cargo area. Take your pick.”
Rosa had moved past me and was already at the ladderwell. She quickly began to type to us what she saw. That may not be an option. The steps are crushed. Down is our only alternative.
Once I got to her, I could see what she meant. Parts of the ship had collapsed in on itself, and that entire staircase going up was demolished.
“Looks like we’re going down,” I commented unhelpfully. Before we started, though, I just wanted to make sure of something. “Hey, Xavier, there’s the Captain, and how many crew members? Three or four? I can’t remember if we counted him with them or not.”
“Um…” Xavier must have been checking back through the file to make sure. “The
Captain, Ulee Farrars. First Mate and Engineer, Jimmy Mondragon. And two other crew members, Salvador Turley, he’s the one from Costa Rica with the missing person’s report, and Bernard Brown. So, four total.”
“Good, thanks.” I wasn’t too happy about not being able to get to the bridge, but we’d find a way. I knew it. “Alright then, we’re heading down to the engine room and cargo. And as I understand it, there wasn’t any cargo, right? Just Speirs as the passenger and his cases of funky statues?”
“Yep, that’s supposed to be it,” Xavier replied. “Good luck and be careful.”
Rosa was already well ahead of me, flowing down to the dark passage. Here and there, we could see burst and splitting wood and fiberglass jutting out at us. We were careful to move past them slowly but surely.
It was a little cloudy as we moved in further, but that was most likely from settling and the fact that this boat was still resting against some protruding rocks. It was normal for movement of some sort in the water, plus I knew that creatures would be coming in and out to inspect and investigate the area. I just hoped that they hadn’t gotten to any of the bodies yet.
The cargo space had to be the largest area on this boat, and even it was smaller than I had expected. The walls and supports had begun to buckle a bit, and just by looking at it, I was concerned about being down here too long. I really wished that we could find the bodies and get the heck out of here soon.
Rosa and I could see something not far from where we were, and I knew that Xavier and Doc could see it through the wet-cams as well. There was a mass floating in the dark, murky water, and it took me a few seconds to recognize what it was.
I paused in my forward movement and asked something very important. “Doc? Is that what I think it is?”
“Sadly, I think yes.” His tone was flat, and I knew that we’d all been hoping not to come across the crew members in this manner. The man before us was suspended in the water with his arms and legs splayed.