Fatal Tide - Iris Johansen [6]
“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
ST. CATHERINE'S HOSPITAL
ATHENS, GREECE
“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 hope and it was being snatched away from him. He'd be damned if he'd let that happen. “I'm not going to give her the third degree. To use one of your favorite phrases, that would be nonproductive. I do have a certain amount of tact.”
“When you want to use it.” Wilson shrugged. “But you'll do what you want to do. Okay, I'll deal with the nurses first and then go see what else I can find out about the explosion.”
Which probably wouldn't be much, Kelby thought. According to the news broadcast they had heard on the way here, the explosion had virtually ripped the ship apart. He'd gone first to the disaster site, and there had been practically nothing to salvage. At the moment they were calling it an accident. Not likely. There had been two explosions at opposite ends of the ship.
Twenty-one.
He opened the door and went into the room. A woman lay in the single bed dominating the pleasant, serene room. No nurses, thank God. Wilson was good, but he needed time to pave the way. He grabbed a chair from beside the door and carried it over to the bed. She didn't stir as he sat down and began studying her.
Melis Nemid's head was bandaged, but he could see strands of blond hair clinging to her cheeks. Jesus, she was . . . exceptional. Her body was small, fine-boned, and she appeared as fragile as a Christmas ornament. It was incredibly moving to see someone that delicate hurt. It reminded him of Trina and those times when—
My God, he hadn't run across anyone in years who had brought that period of his life rushing back to him like this.
So smother it. Turn it around. Transform it into something else.
He stared down