A CRY FROM THE DEEP (31 page)

This time, when she and Daniel descended into the blue, Catherine forced herself to concentrate on her photography. Not only was Daniel on her mind, but also the knowledge that the
Alice O’Meary
was just out of sight. She wished she could explore the British barque and unearth its tales, but that wasn’t her job.

Swallowing her disappointment, she sought out Hennesey and Raul. She found them dredging the sand beside a section of the Spanish vessel’s hull. They were totally absorbed, so she stayed back and pointed the telescopic lens in their direction. What they were doing was painstaking work. The sea bottom was vast and articles from the ship could be anywhere. It had sunk over four hundred years before and since then, countless storms, shifting tides and climate changes had weathered its remains. Besides being scattered, pieces of the ship were buried so deep, it was no wonder it had escaped detection for centuries. Perhaps the sea floor had shifted of late to expose some of its parts, which could account for their discovery.

She took photos of the divers sifting through the rubble. They were being careful, mindful of any human relics that could be exposed. There could be bones and personal belongings, evidence of lives lost in the deep. Did those sailors and passengers meet their end here, or were they still roaming the earth as her ghost seemed to be doing? Before taking this assignment, Catherine would never have pondered that question. But now that she’d experienced phantoms on land as well as in the water, she threw those questions into the universe as if she expected some answers.

Caught up in her ghostly thoughts—as if in a trance—Catherine had momentarily lost sight of Daniel. Alarmed, she spun in every direction. When she spotted him by Raul, she slowed her breathing and told herself to be more careful.

Daniel and Raul were both trying to free what looked like a large pewter bowl. It didn’t take long to extract it from the mud that had kept it in place for possibly centuries. Daniel stopped to jot its position on the grid and record it on his slate. Then Raul put it in a basket, yanked on the rope, and up it went.

As Catherine watched them, something bright caught her eye. She glanced over to see Hennesey holding something shiny. She focused her lens on the object and quickly snapped a couple of photos before he put it into the pocket of his vest. It looked like a chain. Maybe a keepsake of some kind, a religious artifact, or some ornament. Hennesey then went over to Raul. She wished she could hear what they were saying, but one thing she could tell, they were both excited.

Before Catherine had a moment to consider what she’d seen, a huge conger eel swam by, startling her. It was grey and about ten feet long. Her heart beat wildly at the sight. Although she’d been warned that they swam in this area, she hadn’t expected to see one. That species usually made their home in the Mediterranean, but with the world’s waters warming up, more of them had moved north. She reminded herself that congers with their strong jaws and razor sharp teeth preyed on fish, crabs, and other small aquatic mammals, and were uninterested in humans. That could change though, if an eel suspected the diver was going after its young or the same food supply. Naturally, her body tensed as she watched the marauder snake its way through the ship’s wreckage.

Daniel’s voice came through her headphones. “He won’t do anything if you don’t aggravate him.”

Noticing Daniel had his knife ready and was keeping an eye on the eel, she put her hand on top of her blade as well. She’d used a knife before to cut fishermen’s nets that could entangle her but she’d never used it against a predator. Stealing a look at Hennesey and Raul, she noticed they were also poised to strike. Though anxious, she snapped a few shaky photos, capturing the conger slithering by a column of green kelp. Unhappy with the results, she tried again, this time holding her breath to keep her camera steady.

And then, as quickly as it had appeared, the eel skittered away, vanishing into the inky depths beyond. She exhaled and noticed the others had already gone back to work. Feeling tired, she checked her dive computer. She’d been down forty-five minutes, long enough to call it quits. She said to Daniel, “I’m ready to go up. How about you?”

He looked at his own computer. “Fine by me. A little more time won’t make a big difference.” His voice was comforting. He acted as he had in the beginning of their relationship. He acted now like nothing had happened between them. But it had. If only she could turn the clock back to before that fateful trip to the museum.
If only
.

~~~

Back on deck, they were all standing in various states of undress, talking about the size of the eel. Hennesey said, “Those eels don’t do much damage, but they’ll be happy to take off your finger or toe if you get too close.” He turned to Catherine. “Did you get a picture?”

Catherine turned on her camera and played back the most recent photos. She managed to get one clear shot of the eel before it vanished. “Yes.”

“Good.” Hennesey looked around; the others had already gone below. Only Daniel and Tom were still on deck, treating what the divers had brought up—a bowl, a glass bottle, more gold doubloons, and of course the bronze anchor.

When Catherine walked to the galley stairs, Hennesey followed. Uncomfortable with him being so close, she stopped and turned near the top of the stairs.

His dark eyes narrowed and he said in a low tone, “Did you get any other good photos?”

There was something menacing about the way he asked. It was then that Catherine remembered what she’d seen. The eel incident had taken over when they’d surfaced and she’d temporarily forgotten about the shots she’d taken of Hennesey pocketing what looked like a gold chain. She blanched.

“Well, did you?”

She stared back, hiding her discomfort. “I’m always snapping, you know that.”

He scrutinized her for a moment, then said, “Eels are one thing, but they’re not the only danger.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Yeah, watch your step.”

She turned abruptly. He didn’t follow.
He knew
, she thought as she walked down the steps to the galley. He knew she’d seen him pocket the chain, or else why would he have threatened her? Did he suspect she photographed him, or was this just a warning? She was glad she hadn’t given herself away. At least, she didn’t think she had.

She wished she could mention it to Daniel, but she couldn’t risk Hennesey or one of his allies overhearing. Neither she nor Daniel knew who Hennesey’s cohorts were. It could be any one of the crew. What had she gotten herself into? Sure, she’d been forewarned about Hennesey’s ways, but this was the first time she’d felt any real danger.

She’d have to tell Daniel, but when and where? Everything was suddenly more complicated. It was one thing to hear about Hennesey’s doings, but it was another to feel his menace.

She also realized she was on her own. Even the woman in the white dress hadn’t shown up that day. Was she giving up on her? Or was Catherine giving up on the spirit by not wearing the ring?

Catherine left the boat soon after they had docked. She was so distraught over what had happened, she didn’t even check to see what Daniel was doing.

THIRTY-ONE

Back in her room, Catherine considered the magnitude of her photographs—one picture showed a gold chain necklace in Hennesey’s fist; the other, showed him tucking it in his buoyancy vest pocket. This was the kind of evidence that could bring the salvager down, once and for all. That is, if he kept his finds hidden. She should’ve been jubilant to catch him in the act but instead, she began to have doubts.

Her mind spun like a spool of thread on a sewing machine. She checked her watch. Frank would still be at his office. She knew she should call him but she hesitated. Could she trust Frank to keep this to himself? If Hennesey found out about the incriminating photos, what would he do? With the kind of discovery he’d made, there was bound to be more gold down there. More gold to squirrel away. And more reason to keep a snoopy photographer from showing what was going on. It would be easy to tamper with her oxygen, weaken a regulator, or screw up a dive computer. She couldn’t take any chances. She had a child to think about. She’d have to keep these images secret until she returned to New York. Frank would just have to wait.

Catherine steeled herself and dialed Daniel’s number, but he didn’t answer. For a second, she considered he’d seen her number and elected not to take her call. But then she decided he wasn’t that kind of man, and left a message asking him to meet her for breakfast the following morning.

That night, she dreamt she tied the eel in knots. As if that wasn’t enough, she had to fight more eels, there must’ve been four or five. One of them had Hennesey’s eyes and a gold chain around its neck, and every time she tried to grab it, it squirmed away. A statuesque blond, dressed in a red designer suit and four inch heels, whispered in Daniel’s ear, “She’s crazy. You don’t want to tangle with her.”

Catherine woke up panting, as if someone had been chasing her. Her sheets were tangled and she had to kick a couple of times to free her legs. The last thing she remembered before she drifted back to sleep was her brother saying when she was twelve, “Catty’s a scaredy cat, scaredy cat, scaredy cat.” He wouldn’t think that if he’d seen her fight those eels.

~~~

It was a little after sunrise when Catherine entered the hotel dining room. It was empty except for Daniel sitting by the window drinking coffee. He got up from the table as she walked towards him. His hair was tousled, as if he’d just got out of bed, a look she found sexy. It had only been two days since he’d held her in his arms. They had come together as if they were meant for one another. Now, he appeared reserved, as if this was their first meeting.

She sat down across from him. “Glad you could make it.”

“Of course,” said Daniel, seating himself again. He poured her some coffee from the carafe on the table.

She picked up the menu.

“I’ve already ordered,” he said.”I thought you might’ve eaten at the house.”

“No, it’s too early for my hosts.”

Daniel furrowed his brow. “Right.”

She tried to hide her irritation by staring at the menu. She was annoyed he hadn’t waited for her.

Frowning, he said, “Catherine, what’s - ?”

“I’ve got something I want you to see,” she said, interrupting. She took her camera out of her bag, turned it on, and pressed the button for playback. She found the photo she was looking for and handed him the camera.

His mouth fell open when he viewed the picture. “You gotta be kidding. When was this?”

“Yesterday, on our second dive.”

“Jesus…!” He glowered. “Do you realize I have no idea where this was found? All that information is now totally lost. This looks like a major discovery.” He blew into the air as if he needed to release some steam.

She hadn’t counted on him being angry. “I know. He had no intention of telling us.”

“That’s not the point. Why did you keep this from me?”

She wanted to say she didn’t know how to approach him after their rendezvous. Instead, she said, “It happened so fast. When I looked for you, you were meeting with Tom.” Her stomach was now rolling like a cement mixer.

He shook his head and zoomed in on the photo for a closer look. Uncomfortable with his wrath, she looked out the window. The pink of the sunrise was fading, transitioning into shades of gold and blue. A few fishermen had already left the dock. A couple more were putting on their yellow overalls, readying to go out. A beautiful day, a stark contrast to the jumble she felt inside.

“Did he see you take this?”

“I don’t think so, but he may suspect something.” She then told him about Hennesey’s threat.

He looked at her gravely. “Maybe he knows, maybe he doesn’t, but he’s warning you all right.”

The waitress arrived with Daniel’s pancakes, sausages, and eggs. She had dark features and looked barely old enough to be working. She said to Catherine, “Can I get you anyt’ing?”

“Brown toast and coffee would be fine.” Her appetite had been greater when she arrived, but after Daniel’s outburst, she’d lost it.

After the waitress left, he said, “Did anyone see you take these?”

“Not that I know of. Raul was just as absorbed as he was.”

“Did you back them up?”

“Yes.”

“And where’s your laptop now?”

Her brow creased. “It’s safe at the B & B.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

“You don’t think...?”

“I’d be careful.” He cut his pancakes and poured syrup on them. “I should be furious with you for not letting me know at the moment. If you’d told me then, I could’ve done something about it. The gold chain is probably gone by now. It could be on its way to Florida for all we know.”

She exhaled sharply. “But even so, I do have the photos.”

“They’ll help if we can trace the artifact. They won’t be much good if we can’t. He needs to be caught in possession or caught selling it on the sly. He knows that. If you say anything now, he’s apt to say he was only keeping it secret to protect the find from other salvagers. And that he didn’t want to fight them for the rights to the shipwreck.”