Fatal Tide - Iris Johansen [65]
“Good. Otherwise it would take us a week to get to Cadora.” He gazed at the dolphins jumping in the wake. “God, they're beautiful. Makes me feel like a kid again.”
She was feeling the same euphoria. Only her joy was mixed liberally with relief. “They're feeling like kids too. That was definitely a practical joke Pete pulled on me.”
“Do you still have to talk to them?”
“For safety's sake. But if they keep jumping, they won't pay any attention to me. How long until we get to Cadora?”
“Depends on the dolphins.” He turned and headed for the bridge. “At least before sunset.”
Her relief was abruptly gone.
The sun setting in Pete and Susie's home waters. Instinct and genetic memory would go into play.
Would they leave her?
Cadora loomed dark and mountainous against the pink-lavender sky. The sun was setting in a blaze of fiery glory.
And Pete and Susie were still hovering nearby, even though Kelby had cut the engines.
“Now what?” Kelby asked.
“Now we wait.” She leaned on the rail, her gaze on the dolphins. “It's up to you, guys. I've brought you home. Your choice.”
“It's been a long time. Maybe they don't realize it's home.”
“I think they do. Ever since we got within sight of the island, they've stopped playing and become subdued.”
“Afraid?”
“Uneasy. They're not sure what to do.” She didn't know what to do either. She had never felt more helpless since that moment years ago when she'd seen the dolphins caught in the nets off Lanzarote. “It's okay,” she called. “Do what you need to do. It's okay with me.”
“They don't understand, do they?”
“How do I know? Scientists argue about it all the time. Sometimes I think they do. Maybe they don't process information like we do, but they might be sensitive to tone. I told you that their hearing is terribly keen.”
“I've noticed.”
Pete and Susie were swimming slowly around the ship.
“What are they doing?”
“Thinking.”
“They're not doing that clicking thing. Are they communicating with each other?”
“They do communicate without sound. No one's sure how. I'm leaning toward the theory that says mental telepathy is the only explanation.” Her hands tightened with white-knuckled force on the rail. “We'll see.”
Five minutes passed and the dolphins continued to circle.
“Maybe they'd settle if you fed them,” Kelby suggested.
She shook her head. “I don't want them to settle. I can't force them or persuade them now that we're here. What has to be, has to be. I took them away six years ago and now I've brought them back. They have to be the ones to decide what— They're going!”
Both the dolphins had dived deep beneath the water.
She watched. They didn't surface.
Minutes passed and there was no sign of Pete and Susie.
“Well, it seems they made their decision.” Kelby turned to look at her. “Are you okay?”
“No.” She said unevenly, “I'm scared they won't come back.”
“You have the radio tag.”
“But that's different. It wouldn't be voluntary. I'd be interfering in their world.” She sat down in a deck chair, her gaze on the horizon now darkening to twilight. “So I wait until dawn and see if they come back.”
“You said they did before.”
“But that was before Phil harassed them and drove them straight into those damn nets. They might remember that and decide to stay away.”
“And they might remember six years of kindness and friendship with you. I'd say the odds are in your favor.” He sat down beside her. “We'll think good thoughts.”
“You don't have to stay here with me.”
“You're not going to bed, are you?”
“No, they might come back tonight.”
“Then I'll stay. You wouldn't have let the dolphins go if it hadn't been for me. I feel a certain responsibility.”
“I'm the one who's responsible. I knew what I was doing. I needed you and I knew there was a price to pay. Phil told me you had the same passion he did and there wasn't any doubt we'd end up back here.” The moon was up and she could see the silver reflection on the dark water. But there was no sign of a dorsal fin anywhere within view. “He was right. Why? Why do you have to find it? It's a dead city. Leave it buried.