Rock Harbor Series - 03 - Into the Deep (32 page)

She must be having a weak moment, because what Bree said actually sounded appealing. “It can’t be that easy.”

“It is. All you have to do is drop that pride and admit you are a sinner and can’t save yourself. He’ll be there to answer.”

She didn’t have time for this. “We’ll talk about it another time. We have to find Dad.”

“I’m going to tell Mason about the call.”

Bree tried her cell phone. “I forgot it was dead.” She went to the nurses’ station to use their phone.

Cassie pressed her fingers to her eyes. She had to do something. Mason would spoil it all, and her dad would pay the price. Bree’s back was to the door. Snatching up her purse, Cassie slipped out.

Cassie eased her tanks onto her shoulders and adjusted her mouthpiece. It would take a while for Bree to figure out where she’d gone. She’d told Bree she was to drop the folder on a dive, but she hadn’t said where. She hated to disappoint Bree. She and her sister were
finally bonding, and even Bree’s constant talk of God was beginning to make Cassie think.

She saw a glint on a nearby hill and forced herself not to look. But knowing the kidnapper was watching her made her hurry even more.

Cassie cleared her mask, then jumped into the water. The underground world enveloped her. She felt as if she were on another planet, one where light and color were different. She hovered in the water and watched a school of fish swim by before gathering her strength and moving downward.

She was going against all the rules of diving. The buddy system was one of the most important rules taught in scuba lessons, though going alone didn’t frighten her now. She never felt threatened or in danger in the water. It was like coming home. She glanced up to orient herself against the shadow of the boat and checked her compass. She never took chances, but she had to hurry.

There were so many places to go in Lake Superior, so many wondrous sights to see. She could live here her whole life and never see them all. Caves, underground mountains, shipwrecks, the list went on and on. She found the spot the caller had mentioned, dropped the sealed bag onto the lake floor, and released the marker.

Then she saw it. Bree had said something about several shipwrecks off this point, but Cassie had never seen one until now. Covered with silt and barnacles, there was no mistaking the steamer stacks soaring above the lake floor. A massive outbreak of bubbles escaped in her excitement. Cassie swam to the boat and circled it. On a shelf of rock only thirty feet from the surface, it was remarkably well preserved.

She swam closer and rubbed at a barnacle-covered window but couldn’t clear it enough to peer inside the hull. Tugging at the door into the hull, she was surprised when it pulled free. She should leave and come back later, but a part of her wanted to see if the kidnapper would come down after the file. Flipping on her flashlight, she shone it inside and saw all kinds of interesting shapes that beckoned her in. She
glanced at her watch and saw she only had an hour of air left. That should be enough.

She didn’t trust the kidnapper to release her dad. It might be up to her to track him and find her father. She watched her bubbles and debated. No, she was going in. It was perfectly safe.

26

C
assie paused and shone her light around the room. Looked like a hold for cargo. Wooden boxes drifted past her line of sight, and several kegs played bumper cars in the corner.

A thump outside startled her. She heard another sound like something sliding across the hull. If this were the ocean, she’d be worried about a shark or barracuda, but there was nothing that predatory in Lake Superior. Another fifteen minutes and she’d go. She still had forty-five minutes of air time left.

Then the door shut behind her, and she heard the dragging sound again. She swam to the door and shoved at it. It didn’t budge. She gave a gasp, and bubbles burst from her regulator. Her knife was still in her hand. She used the handle to thump on the door.

Pressing her ear against the door, she listened. There was no sound on the other side. Panic clawed at the edges of her consciousness, but she pushed it away. She’d get out of this. Glancing at her watch, she saw she had forty minutes of life left. Forty minutes to figure out how to get out of here.

Bree glanced at her watch. Nearly three o’clock. Charley nosed her hand as if he sensed her agitation. Cassie had been gone an hour. Bree had done the only thing she could think of and had called Salome to have her meet at the lighthouse. At least they’d be close to the water and ready to go after Cassie.

“Think, Salome. Where is a diving spot she would have recognized when the kidnapper mentioned it? We have to find her.”

Salome was tugging on her wet suit. “She knows better than to go out alone.” Salome glanced at her watch and frowned. “Do you have binoculars?”

“Upstairs in the light-tower room.” She followed Salome up the steps. “I was on the phone with Mason for several minutes, and her car was nowhere in sight when I went out.”

“She should have called me. All kinds of things can happen underwater.”

They reached the light tower, and Salome grabbed the binoculars. Scanning the horizon, she bit her lip in concentration. “Nothing,” she said. “Let’s go out in the boat.”

Bree called to Charley while Salome grabbed her diving gear. Driving down the access road to Lake Superior, Bree prayed silently.

Her boat wasn’t fancy, but it got them around in its seventy-horse-power motor. Bree fired up the engine, and they putted out into the lake. The water was calm today with only mild swells of white-capped waves.

“Which way?” Bree shouted.

“I’d guess south.” Salome said.

Bree pushed the engine as fast as she dared and stayed close to the sheer walls to her left. The boat bounced as it hit the swells, and she fought with the wheel. Cold spray hit her in the face. She didn’t often drive this fast. Superior could be capricious, and it was best to treat her with respect.

“There’s her boat!” Salome pointed it out. The powerboat rocked in its mooring with the swells. “She’s got to be just about out of air. If she had two tanks on, she’d only have two hours, and she’s been gone an hour an a half. Even allowing for boat time, there can’t be much left.”

Bree cut the engine and tossed the anchor overboard. “Now what? You shouldn’t go down there alone.”

“I have a spare set of equipment in my bag if you’re game.”

“I went down once in Hawaii with an instructor. Remind me what to do.” She listened closely as Salome explained how to breathe and how to manipulate the weights.

“I’ve only got one wet suit though,” Salome said, beginning to pull it on. “You’ll only be able to stay under a few minutes before hypothermia sets in.”

“If I get too cold, I’ll come up.” Bree put on the tank and swim fins.

Salome shook her head. “No, if you start getting confused, come up right away. Confusion is the first symptom. In fact, keep an eye on your watch and come up in ten minutes.”

“Got it.” She turned to Charley. “Stay, boy.” Knowing the dog, he’d jump right in and come along for the swim. He whined but lay on the bottom of the boat.

“Ready?”

Bree nodded and adjusted her regulator. She sat on the edge of the boat and tipped backward into the water like she’d been taught. The shock of freezing water made her gasp and then expel an explosion of bubbles. The cold settled deep into her bones like an ache. Trying to ignore it, she turned and followed Salome into the deep.

She was going to die.

There was no way out. The portholes were too small to get out of even if she was able to break them or pry them open. She’d broken her knife trying. The door refused to budge no matter how Cassie struggled with it.

No one knew she was down here. She’d told Bree she was going diving, but Bree would just assume time got away from her sister. If Salome got home in time, she might raise an alarm, but it would come too late for her. They’d find her dead body floating among the kegs and boxes.

Tears blurred her vision. She didn’t want to die. There was so much
left to do with her life. Who would take care of her father? And with her gone, the research would fall apart. Even more than that, she knew she wasn’t ready to face God.

Was God really in this deep place with her? Bree said he was everywhere, that his ear was tuned to listen even to a sinner’s prayer, but Cassie didn’t know how to pray. And she couldn’t speak, not here with the cold seeping through her wet suit and the fish swimming around her as though they knew a meal was only a few minutes away.

Her eyes never strayed from the air gauge. If she stayed very quiet, she might last another five minutes. Then it was all over. Best not to think about that though—it would just make her respiration go up. She grabbed a box and pulled it to the floor, then sat on it.

She was cold, so cold. And alone.

But was she alone? She reached out with her spirit.

God, are you there? Could you help me? I’m so cold. I’m sorry, God.
Sorry for not believing in you. Is it too late? Can you hear me down here?
Can you forgive me?

She tried to remember the prayer she’d seen in the back of Bree’s Bible one night when she couldn’t sleep. A sinner’s prayer, the title said.

Lord, I know I’m a sinner. Forgive me if you can.

Her eyes flooded with tears again. She’d be seeing whether it worked in a few minutes. Some people didn’t believe in deathbed conversions, but now, with death staring her in the face, Cassie knew she didn’t want to live without God for all eternity. It had nothing to do with hell, really. It was all about knowing she wanted to be clean.

She wished she had a chance to live life as a Christian. She sat on the box with her head bowed forward and gradually became aware of another presence with her. It wasn’t the fish. It was something warm and approving that spread from her heart outward, warming her hands, her toes.

Is that you, God?

She was afraid to hope. But if this was death, she would welcome it. Gladness radiated through her, a joy that warmed her even more. Her
only regret was for Bree and her dad. Without her pushing, she doubted Bree would ever go see their father.

It was getting harder to suck the air from her tank. How would death come? Would she claw at the tank, maybe even rip it off? Or would her vision just grow darker until she blanked out? She tried to take shallow breaths, conserve the air. Speckles danced in her vision like tiny, brightly colored fish.

She dragged desperately at her mouthpiece. This was it. God was waiting for her.

Salome tugged at Bree’s arm and pointed to the bubbles coming from below. There weren’t many, but she could see them. They both began to swim down to where they seemed to be coming from the ground. Only as they drew nearer did Bree realize it was a sunken ship, half buried in the silt.

Three minutes now. Another seven and she’d have to go up. The cold numbed her, making it hard to think, to move. They paused above the deck of the ship, and Bree pointed to the door. It was blocked by two heavy rocks. She moved forward and Salome followed. Between the two of them, they managed to shove the rocks away from the door.

Bree couldn’t see the bubbles anymore. Were they too late? Dragging hard on her regulator, she wrenched at the door. It finally opened, but it was too dark to see clearly inside. Salome flipped on her flashlight and shone it inside. The beam illuminated Cassie’s face, eyes closed behind her mask. She floated freely inside, moving with the eddies created when the door opened.

Bree darted in, moving her flippers as fast as she could. She pulled the regulator from Cassie’s mouth. Bree grabbed the octopus regulator on her tank and pressed the purge button, then thrust it into Cassie’s mouth. She shook her sister.

Breathe! Breathe!

Cassie’s eyes opened groggily. She inhaled, and her bleary gaze found Bree’s. Her eyes closed again.

Where was the door? Bree found it hard to think, to move. Movement wavered in her vision. Salome grabbed her arm and pointed. They swam out of the sunken vessel. Bree stopped swimming and tried to clear her head. Which way was up? The cold had settled into her bones. She couldn’t concentrate.

With Salome on one side of Cassie and Bree on the other, Salome pointed and Bree followed her directions, swimming slowly to the surface.

Bree’s head broke the wave. Her limbs felt like cold lumps of clay, but she forced herself to swim toward the boat. Cassie. She had to get Cassie to safety.

“You can do it,” Salome panted. “Keep your legs moving.”

“Sleepy,” Bree mumbled. She just wanted to close her eyes for a few minutes.

“Move, Bree. Kick!”

Salome was shouting in her ear, and Bree just wanted her to be quiet and let her rest. She could swim in a minute. But with Salome screaming at her, she kicked out weakly. And again. Finally she was at the boat’s side.

Salome looped Cassie’s arm through the ladder. “Hold her!” She scrambled up the ladder and grabbed Cassie’s arms. “Help me, Bree.”

Bree forced herself to focus. She had to help her sister. As if from a distance, she gathered every ounce of strength and shoved Cassie. With a final tug, Salome got Cassie aboard the boat. She turned and held out her hand to Bree.

Bree couldn’t hold on to the ladder anymore. Her muscles wouldn’t respond to her commands. She tried to kick, but it was as if she were paralyzed. Drifting away from the boat, she swallowed a mouthful of water. Her head submerged. She’d just sleep awhile. Dimly, she heard Salome shouting at her. Why did she shout so much? It was getting tiresome.

Just when she was beginning to feel warm, she heard a splash. She
felt something on her face. Charley. He licked her again, then his teeth clamped on the shoulder strap of her swimsuit and he struck out confidently toward the boat. She tried to put her arms around him. Good dog, good boy. She’d use him as a pillow.

Her head touched the boat, then Salome grabbed her by the hair. Bree winced and fought weakly.

“Grab the ladder,” Salome panted.

Bree reached out and grabbed the ladder.