Legend

by Kristine Williams

  Blair wasn't moving, but he seemed to be listening. They could both hear voices now as the students from the boat approached the back of the building. Jim glanced over and focused on the three entering the lower level from a wide back door, carrying a large wooden coffin inside. He could feel Blair take a deep breath under the hand that was still gripping his shoulder.

  "So, I've spilled my guts. You can go away now." he said, gazing out at the waves once again.

  "No," Jim replied, retrieving his cup. "I might go inside, get warmed up, but I'm not going away." He stood then and stretched, still trying to ease that kink. "It's going to get stormy again this afternoon. Don't stay out here too long." With that he left, glancing back once to see Blair drinking his coffee, which was no doubt cooling off as fast as Jim's butt had been on that rock.

  Jim retraced his steps back to the front of the main level, walking back into the kitchen to deposit his cup. Katie Hathaway was still there, beginning to take various pots and pans out of the cupboards.

  She looked up and smiled. "How's he doing?"

  "He'll be okay." Jim replied, rinsing out his cup. "These things are never easy."

  "No, that's for sure." She stood from her search of the lower cabinet and motioned towards a chair at the nearest table. "Please, sit down. Being the resident den mother here requires at least an hour in the kitchen this time of day. Your Inspector friend left with the boat, and except for my husband, who is too often preoccupied with his findings, I miss some adult conversation."

  Jim laughed a little, glancing around for the students he could hear in the basement. "That doesn't surprise me."

  She reached into the refrigerator and pulled out several pounds of hamburger. "Oh, now and then we get a grad student up here, like Blair. Someone with more experience and travels under their belt. In fact, my husband and Blair used to spend hours upstairs, just talking. He's quite a well rounded young man. Have you two been friends long?"

  "Not long. He's been working as a consultant to the department for several months now, and we share an apartment since his blew up."

  "What? His place blew up?"

  "Yeah. An unfortunate choice of neighbors." Jim replied, shaking his head. "He was renting out a warehouse, freezing cold, no windows, and the other end was being used as a methamphetamine lab."

  "My lord!" Katie was shaking her head in amazement. "How does he end up with such an adventurous life?"

  "Good question." Jim was about to give her his theory concerning Blair's adventures when they both heard the three from the basement coming up the staircase. Jim turned to watch. They were led by a tall, blond young man with piercing blue eyes and what Jim decided was a look of wealthy arrogance about him. Two more followed, both young men, each with darker hair, and each one remaining slightly behind the first, glancing at each other when they spotted Jim sitting there.

  "Kenny, this is Detective Ellison, from Cascade. He's here with Blair Sandburg to take Emily back."

  "Blair Sandburg? He's here instead of Professor Kinyon? I'm surprised he had it in him."

  Jim noted the undercurrent of disapproval in the younger man's voice that he was trying to mask as polite concern. He reached out and accepted the hand that was offered. "Professor Kinyon couldn't make it. She asked Blair to come out here on behalf of the University."

  "And why are you here, officer?"

  Jim didn't like this kid. Not one bit. "I'm a friend of Blair's." he glanced at the other two and Katie stepped forward.

  "Ross Edwards, Larry Dike, come meet Detective Ellison." She was waving them forward like a mother urging her shy ones to be polite. "They were with Emily when it happened."

  Jim shook each one's hand, taking note of the slight shaking of each one, and the minute sweat that built quickly on their palms. "Which of you was diving with her?"

  "That was me," Kenny replied, stepping into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Jim waited, watching him pour way too much milk into the coffee, then turn back to face him, smiling oddly. "We always went down together. I can't believe it happened." He sipped his coffee and the other two joined him there in the kitchen. "I kept telling her we should go back, then when we did, she just ran out of air halfway up." He took another drink and glanced out the windows behind Jim. "I didn't notice she was in trouble until it was too late."

  "We tried to resuscitate her." Larry interjected. "But it didn't work. And Ms Hathaway tried too." He stopped suddenly and looked at the floor, eyes darting furtively from Kenny to Jim and back.

  "You both went down with full tanks?" Jim asked, staring Kenny in the eyes.

  He met the gaze and smiled again. "Yes. But I think her gauge was wrong. You see, these tanks are rented, and we get them traded in every week. I guess one of them just didn't get checked out well at the shop."

  Jim heard the doors behind them open, and turned to see Blair coming in. Blair paused for a moment at the doorway, seeing the others standing in the kitchen.

  "Blair. I'm surprised you came up here, considering. I would have thought they'd send a Professor, at least. " Kenny had stepped forward before Jim could stand and was now walking across the room, towards Blair. He stopped halfway there and Blair shut the door behind him, walking around the couches and keeping an eye on Jim.

  "Kenny." was all he said, glancing at the others and nodding in recognition.

  Blair's reaction to Emily's boyfriend and diving partner did much to complete Jim's first assessment of the younger man. He could see the tension build in Blair's face, the hesitation as he entered the room, and his heartbeat increased for a moment. His housemate was always the picture of politeness around others, but his cold reaction to the three now in the room was a slight surprise.

  "Listen, dinner will be ready in an hour. Why don't you all go get cleaned up and changed?" Katie took the coffee cup from Blair's hand and put an arm around his shoulder, leaning in to say a few words Jim had to focus to catch. "Just ignore him Blair. He's been that way since he came up last month. Clive is upstairs, he'd love to see you."

  Blair glanced at Jim, then shot a quick glance at the three standing now in the living area, watching him. "Thanks Katie." She lowered her arm and Blair left, climbing the stairs to the upper level. Jim watched him go, noting the almost blank look on his face as he looked down one last time, catching Jim's eye for a moment.

  "Clive just thinks the world of him." Katie was standing next to Jim now, looking up the stairs. "They once stayed up until sunrise just talking. God knows what about, he never opens up about himself. Just those travels of his." She shook her head and returned to her cooking.

  Jim stood and wandered over to Kenny and his friends, sitting now on one of the couches. "How long have you been diving?"

  Kenny looked at him a moment before replying, as if he were testing out the answer in his head first. "Up here, about two years. In general, I've been certified for five." he paused and glanced at each of his friends, frowning a little. "If you think I should have been paying closer attention to my partner, you're absolutely correct. I feel terrible about this." he stood then, and was eye to eye with Jim. "And I consider the accident entirely my fault. But, these things do happen, officer."

  Jim knew then there was more to this than met the eye. And it was most likely the one meeting his eyes right then that could explain it all. He just nodded, raising his eyebrows for a moment. "Yes, accidents happen. I'd like to have a look at the equipment after dinner."

  "It's gone." Ross said suddenly.

  Jim saw Kenny's pupils constrict for an instant when he heard Ross, and the almost imperceptible twitch in the corner of his right eye. "Yes, actually the tanks we both used have already been sent back to the dive shop we rent from, to be refilled and tested."

  Jim nodded. "Ah."

  "But we can still show you around the ship, if you'd like."

  "Yes, I think I would." He glanced at each of them for just a second, then turned and walked up the stairs to find Blair and Professor Hathaway.
/>   "Dinner in thirty minutes." Katie called out.

  Jim found Blair sitting on a couch at the far end of the room, with his feet up on the table in front of him, talking to Professor Hathaway who sat in a chair facing him. The Professor saw Jim and waved him over.

  "Detective, please join us." He stood and walked quickly over to a cabinet. "Can I get you a beer?"

  Jim smiled, taking a seat in the chair beside the couch. "Yes, thank you."

  Blair was smiling slightly, watching the Professor. "He thinks he's got this perfect stash in there." he nodded towards the cabinet the Professor was digging around in. "There's a little refrigerator built in back there, with a combination lock," he explained, raising his voice ever so slightly for the Professor's benefit. "And he thinks no one knows the combination."

  "Now hush. You're going to give away all of my secrets." He pulled himself back out of the cabinet and handed Jim the beer he had produced, returning to the chair. "This one, he thinks he's so clever, finding out the combination to my refrigerator, and then the ice cream. Does he give you this much trouble Detective?"

  "Yes, in fact he does. And it's Jim." He laughed at the dirty look Blair gave him then, glad to see at least a little spark in his eyes again. "So, what secrets can you tell me about him?"

  Clive laughed and Blair rolled his eyes. "Well, about his exploits here, plenty. About him, not much. Our mutual friend here loves to live, and experience, and learn, but talk? Ha. Oh, he's a great one if you are interested in various cultures, living habits, and cooking. But try to get personal and he's a clam."

  Jim glanced at his friend knowingly. Blair was grinning and shaking his head back and forth slowly, then he saw Jim watching him and he stopped. "The man exaggerates," he said.

  "I think he's got you down pat," Jim replied. He turned to Clive, effectively turning his back on Blair. "So, Clive, what's your take on him?"

  "Oh come on. I didn't come up here so you two could compare notes." Blair stopped suddenly and looked away, taking a long drink of his beer.

  "No, of course you didn't." Clive replied, then looked at Jim. "After the kids go to bed, we'll talk." he said, conspiratorially.

  Blair opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Katie calling from below. "Dinner in five everyone!"

  "Come on, if we don't get there in time, we'll be fighting for scraps." Clive stood and drained the last of his beer.

  Jim stood and looked down at Blair. "Go ahead." Blair said. "I'm not very hungry. I think I'll just hang out here for a while."

  "Okay Chief. How about a tour of this place later?" He'd come out of it, in time.

  Blair nodded and Jim turned to follow Clive. "Hey Jim."

  "Yeah?"

  "Um, I just wanted to say...thanks for earlier."

  "No problem Chief." Jim smiled down at his friend, then walked to the stairs and followed Clive down to the kitchen. Sitting around the second table Jim noticed two more students, both women, that he hadn't seen before. Katie introduced them as Amy Daniels and Lucy Evans, two archeology students who ran the remote excavation equipment and catalogued the findings. Neither one was a diver, and neither one had been on the pier that day. Jim watched them during dinner, all of them. He, Katie and Clive were the sole occupants of their table, with all five students sitting together across from them. It wouldn't have taken a policeman's powers of observation to see the hierarchy that had developed at that table. Kenny Pritchard commanded the conversation, with Larry and Ross hanging on every word he said. Both Amy and Lucy listened, but only Amy wore a look of bored detachment. Jim studied her for a minute, watching her reactions to Kenny's words. They were discussing the trip to the mainland, shopping for just the right casket for their dear departed friend. Then the subject changed to the wreck and their latest findings. At that point, Amy seemed to lose all interest. Jim wondered if Blair knew these two as well, being from the University as they were. Amy Daniels was very attractive, and closer to Blair's age than the others, as well as his height. She was dainty, with short black hair and perfectly painted red fingernails. Her companion, Lucy, was an exact opposite. Blonde hair almost white, at least as tall as Katie, and most likely even as tall as Jim when she wore heels. Her fingernails were so short, they must have been chewed on several times, and she kept darting her eyes around the room, as if she expected someone to come in the front door.

  Part 4

  * * *

  "I was wondering if you could clarify something for me Detective?"

  "Jim."

  "Jim. I was just curious, exactly what does Blair do for the department?" Katie had finished her spaghetti and was nursing a second cup of coffee, sitting opposite Jim.

  "His knowledge of subcultures and human behavior has been a great help in several cases I've been working on." Jim replied. "Our Captain decided he might be a helpful addition to the department in an advisory capacity."

  "Fascinating." Clive said, shaking his head. "I find it fascinating that he's so adept at getting himself into such adventurous circumstances. Makes my life here at the station sound so completely dull."

  "I wouldn't call living out here dull, Professor. I mean, Clive." he corrected himself just as he realized Clive was about to. "It's incredible out here. I'd forgotten just how beautiful these islands are."

  "Yes, they are that." Katie said, snuggling closer to her husband. "Listen, why don't you and Amy take Jim on a tour? I'm going to take some food upstairs to Blair. And it's Lucy's turn to do the dishes." She had raised her voice for the last sentence and Jim heard a soft moan behind him.

  "Oh drat." Lucy said, reluctantly pushing herself away from the table. "I guess it is."

  "Good idea dear." Clive kissed his wife quickly and stood, digging his pipe out of his sweater pocket. "Jim, Amy, shall we go down to the barge?"

  Jim stood and let Amy precede him across the room. They each grabbed coats from the pegs near the door to protect them against the late afternoon chill blowing up from the bay. Jim glanced at the sky, taking note of the black clouds building there. "Looks like another storm."

  "Yes, I think you're right." Clive glanced up just before starting down the steps to the pier. "We've had a few rough nights lately. And fog. Which is precisely why I can't talk that supply pilot into getting up here before Tuesday." he led the way down to the water and out across the pier, towards the research barge docked at the end. "We've had to extend this pier by nearly double what it was. The ship was found relatively close, so they decided it would be much easier to just elongate the dock, and set the barge up at the end. It's worked out rather well." They reached the barge now and climbed aboard. "The tanks and diving gear are stowed below, but the real fun stuff is over here." Clive led the way to the bow and into a large room filled with banks of lights and monitors. Jim noticed the submersible camera on the table and recognized the remote equipment lining the far wall.

  "I haven't seen one of these in a while," he said, admiring the small, propeller driven machine.

  "It's quite old actually." Amy said, smiling at the machine. "The University bought it new about ten years ago, but we've managed to keep it going." She moved over to the monitor next to the table and flipped a switch. "Igor still takes great pictures."

  Jim turned and watched the screen as a clear image of an anemone covered rock filled the monitor. "Igor?" he asked.

  "That's what we call it. Someone dubbed it that years ago, and it stuck. Here's the ship, as much as we've found of her." Amy pointed to the monitor and Jim could see the faint outline of a hull, half buried in the silt and sand.

  She was right, there wasn't much of the ship there other than the main beams of the hull, a section of main mast, and two barnacle encrusted cannons. "How deep is she?"

  "Right here, 80 feet." Amy pointed to the tip of the hull, then moved her finger back to a point they couldn't see. "And back here, the farthest we've found pieces, 110 feet. And cold." she shuddered visibly. "I don't go down there. Diving isn't something I've ever been br
ave enough to try. Maybe if we were in the tropics, I'd be more tempted. But here, especially this time of year, when you have a twenty minute survival time, that just doesn't make me want to try it any time soon."

  "I'm sure if you wanted a closer look, we could talk Blair into going down with you." Clive said, watching the screen as the camera view panned the length of the ship. "Did he ever tell you about the time he nearly lost Igor for us?"

  "No." Jim said, watching the ship on the screen. "No he didn't."

  "I'd like to hear this one." Amy added, turning to the Professor.

  Clive chuckled, lighting his pipe again. "He found a rather impressive native ceremonial canoe, sunk out there in the channel, and was trying to get some clear pictures of it without having to dive down out there. Well, he gets Igor all the way out, which is at the absolute limit of the poor machine's remote range, and it dies. Just flat out dies. Floats, thank God, to the surface, and just sits there. Well, we had a slack tide that was only going to last another twenty minutes, then all we'd be able to do would be to wave as our University's $48,000 piece of equipment floats out the channel into the sea." Jim was grinning now, picturing his housemate's face. "So Blair sails off the pier, which at that time was much shorter, and starts swimming out there like a madman, trying to reach Igor before the tide changes. One other student jumped in to follow...Eddie, I think was his name. They get out there, get hold of Igor, whose camera is still functioning as we were watching this from the monitor, and get the propeller unclogged. Then, just as they turn to swim back with it, Blair comes eyeball to eyeball with a migrating humpback." Clive was shaking his head, trying not to laugh too much. "They rarely ever get into the channel here, usually they miss these islands altogether on their way up north. We mostly see killer whales here. Anyway, there he is, he and Eddie, and there's this whale. And at that time we had switched over from being a whale migration observatory to anthropology, and here comes this anthropology student, who gets the absolute best pictures of a whale so rarely seen...Well, the biology department was so impressed, they tried for days to recruit him out of anthropology."