A Fine Cast of Characters - J. Dane Tyler [15]
“Yeah, where are they?”
“I told you, Charles, they’re on the bridge.”
“Doing what? Huh? What’s keeping ‘em up there? We should go out and see what’s going on!”
“Jeez Louise, Charles! Did you take special courses in being a chickenshit little pussy or is it just natural for you?” Sam glared at Charles with savage disgust and it forced him onto his seat. She turned to Edward. “And get your hot, slimy mitts off me, Edward, or so help me God I’ll—”
“Here they come,” Kelly muttered. The thud of Flanagan dropping onto the deck thrummed the cabin. The passengers backed up as the skipper opened the door, letting the water standing on deck in.
“Well, folks, I’m sorry to say this,” Flanagan said, dripping wet, “but we’re going to have to pack it in.”
“Why? What’s wrong?” Charles’ voice still leaked tense panic, but he refrained from the whiny twang it had before.
“This fog, Mr. Beaushanks, is the thickest I’ve ever seen ‘round here. And there’s no tellin’ how long it’ll hold up. The storm blew through fine, just like we thought, but the fog it pulled in’s a doozy.”
Kelly studied his face, her arms folded over her chest. “But?”
“‘Scuse me, ma’am?” Flanagan perked his brows at her.
Kelly blushed. Then she steeled herself and stood straighter. “There’s something else you need to say.”
He sighed. “Well ... yeah.”
“Oh crap!” Charles wailed like an old woman on the verge of fainting. Sam raked an exasperated sigh. Edward tried to scoot closer to her.
“We ... we seem to have some ... some engine trouble.”
Kelly’s heart jolted in her chest, tried to scrabble out her mouth. She dared not speak or it would escape.
“What?!” Edward bellowed.
“I’m afraid we ... we have some problems with the engine. It won’t turn over. Mr. Jurgen’s lookin’ into it right now, and I’ll be helping. Uh...”
Kelly steeled.
Flanagan licked his lips. “And the ... the radio’s not workin’, either. I think ... I think the unusual storm did ... something.”
“No radio?” Sam said.
Flanagan cleared his throat. “I’m afraid not, ma’am.”
“No engines?” Edward barked, wiping a meaty palm over his smooth, sweat-slicked pate.
“No sir.”
“Oh my GOD!” Charles’ sudden scream gave them all a bad start, and he stood so fast his thighs slammed into the table and knocked everything on it asunder.
“Now, calm down everybody, we’ll get the boat fixed. Just wanted to make sure you all knew what the situation was ‘fore we got too far along. We’re gonna be busy trying to figure out what’s wrong with the engines for a bit so please, occupy yourselves in the cabin or on the sundeck but stay off the main deck. We need to open the engine hold and work there.”
He shut the door before any of them could respond.
“Did I ... Did I just hear what I think I heard?” Sam’s voice was tight, thin.
Kelly saw the girl’s wide eyes zeroed in on her, hoping for an answer.
She considered, then nodded. “Yes, you heard right. We’re stranded, dead in the water. There’s no engine and no radio.”
“And from what I can see, no crew, either,” Sam spat and collapsed onto a seat at the windowless end of the cabin.
Kelly sighed. She had a sinking feeling Sam was right. The crew didn’t seem capable of solving a simple problem like where or how to find fish for their charter guests, never mind a complex one, like figuring out what’s wrong with a boat motor that won’t start. Or a radio malfunction. She put her forehead against the cool glass of the cabin window and stared into the fog.
She sure was glad she turned out to be lucky caller seven.
Chapter 2
Note to self: Next time you win a radio prize, ask if you can have the cash equivalent instead.
It’s been a couple of hours. Still no word from the crew. The thick fog that came in behind the storm is still sitting on us like a wet blanket. Yuck ... can’t even sunbathe. I hear tools clanking and them cursing every once in a while, but they’ve given us no information, and since I don’t hear the motor running, I assume they haven’t fixed it yet.
I seriously, seriously doubt they’re going to.
Part