Fatal Tide - Iris Johansen [9]
She stopped in front of him. “I suppose I should thank you for cutting through all that red tape and making them let me go.”
“This isn't a prison, Ms. Nemid,” the nurse said tartly. “We only needed to know you were going to be well taken care of. And you should have let me follow procedure and wheel you out.”
“Thank you, Sister. I'll watch out for her from here.” Kelby took Melis's arm and gently pushed her toward the door. “You have an appointment to give your statement to the police later tonight. I've taken care of all the medical paperwork and picked up your prescription.”
“What prescription?”
“Just some sedatives in case you need them.”
“I won't need them.” She pulled her arm away from him. “And you can send me the bill.”
“Fine. I always believe in keeping everything on an even playing field.” He opened the door of the car parked in front of the hospital. “I'll have Wilson bill you on the first of the month.”
“Who's Wilson? He sounds like a butler.”
“My assistant. He keeps me solvent.”
“Not much of a job.”
“You'd be surprised. Some of my explorations are a big drain on the corporations. Get in.”
She shook her head. “I'm going to the coast guard station.”
“It won't do you any good. They've dropped the search.”
It rocked her. “Already?”
“A few questions have come up regarding Lontana's state of mind.” He paused. “It wasn't an accident. They've recovered traces of plastique and a timer among the salvage timbers. Do you think he may have set that charge himself?”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“You have to admit it's a possibility.”
“I won't admit any such thing. It's not a possibility. Phil was worried when his ship just went dead in the water. He was going below to try to find what had gone wrong.”
“That's what Gary told the coast guard, but Lontana didn't say anything definite enough to rule out the possibility of suicide.”
“I don't care. Phil loved every minute of his life. He was like a child. A new adventure was always just around the next corner.”
“I'm afraid this was his final adventure. No one had much hope of his surviving from the beginning.”
“There's always hope.” She started to turn away. “Phil deserves his chance.”
“No one's cheating him of his chance. I'm just telling you what— Where are you going?”
“I have to see for myself. I'll rent a motorboat at the dock and—”
“Your friend Gary St. George is already waiting for you on the Trina. He said you were determined to go and search. We can be at the position where the Last Home blew within an hour.”
She hesitated.
“What can it hurt?”
“A foot in the door.”
He chuckled. “True. But you knew what you were getting into when you told St. George to go and get me to spring you from the hospital. Play the game.”
“This isn't a game to me.”
His smile faded. “No, I can see it isn't. Sorry. You're an unknown quantity to me. Maybe I've mistaken toughness for callousness.” He shrugged. “Come on, I'll let this trip be a freebie. No obligations, no payoffs.”
She studied him for a moment and then turned and got into the car. “I'll believe it when I see it.”
“So will I. This is a surprise to me too.”
They searched the disaster area all afternoon and found only a few scraps of debris. With every passing hour her hope gradually faded.
He wasn't there. No matter how determined she was, how hard she looked, he would never be there again. The turquoise sea was so serene and beautiful here, it seemed obscene that it could hold such horror, she thought numbly.
But it wasn't the sea that had killed Phil. It might be his burial place, but it was not his killer.
“Do you want to make another pass?” Kelby asked quietly. “We could widen our perimeter again.”
“No.” She didn't turn to look at him. “It would be a waste of time. He's not here. Are you going to say I told you so?”