SeaChange (9 page)

He did knock, but he didn’t wait for a reply. After one
sharp rap, he opened the door and stepped inside, and strode straight to the
thin figure who was rising from his desk.

“Excuse me?” Heidi’s boss barked at the interruption. He
raised an imperious eyebrow at the agent, but dropped it and glared when he saw
Heidi. “Dr. Eriksen. What is all this about?”

There were two uncomfortable but attractive wooden chairs in
front of Victor’s desk. He didn’t want students or subordinates to be at ease,
but he didn’t want the décor marred either, Heidi assumed. Steve ignored Victor
and held one of the chairs for Heidi, then exchanged some sort of unspoken
communication with Jake and sat in the other one himself, while Jake took up a
position beside Heidi, one lean hip almost grazing her shoulder.

Heidi pasted a mechanical smile on her face. “Victor, I’d
like to introduce Agent Steve Marinucci from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency,
and Mr. Jake Delos. Gentlemen, this is Dr. Victor Kress, chair of the marine
zoology department.”

“Is she under arrest?” Victor’s blatantly hostile question
was like a slap in the face. She’d known he wasn’t her biggest fan, but she’d
never realized he outright despised her like this.

“Not at all,” Marinucci replied smoothly. “What would give
you that impression?”

“The officer who was here yesterday indicated that she was
the prime suspect in Dr. Van Dorn’s homicide,” Victor answered.

Steve’s eyes narrowed. “And who was here yesterday, Dr.
Kress? The San Diego Police?”

“No, he was definitely a federal agent. Don’t you people
talk to each other?”

“Actually we do,” Marinucci crossed his long legs in front
of his chair and lifted one eyebrow. There was more to this man than the
harmless veneer he’d presented on Jake’s boat, Heidi decided.

He continued. “And not a single agency filed a report of
visiting your offices yesterday. Want to try again?”

Victor squirmed, then caved. “All I know is that two men
showed up here with what appeared to be proper credentials. They asked what
Drs. Van Dorn and Eriksen were doing in Mexico and then searched their office.
They did give me a card. I was supposed to call this number if Dr. Eriksen
showed up.” He fished a business card from the top drawer of his desk and
handed it across to Steve. “My understanding was that they were treating Van
Dorn’s death as a homicide and that she—” He glared daggers at Heidi. “Was the
prime suspect. Not very hard to believe. Check his will. I suspect you’ll find
that Ms. Eriksen is suddenly a very wealthy lady.”

“Since there is no evidence indicating that Dr. Van Dorn is
dead, she’ll have quite a wait to collect anything,” Steve replied equably. “Seems
to me that if she’d intended that, she’d have made sure we found a body. Aside
from that, we have reliable witnesses to the fact that she herself was in danger.
So I think you can rest assured on that count. Now, if we could see the
offices? I’d like you to show us exactly what the other so-called agents were
looking for.”

“First, I’d like to make some calls and verify your
credentials,” Victor grumbled.

“After yesterday, I’d say that was a wise choice. You can
call this number, or you can look in the phone book for the nearest DEA
offices. Take your pick.” Steve tossed a card across the desk toward Victor.

Victor, ever contrary, chose door number three. He pressed
the intercom buzzer on his desk. “Sara, I want you to look up a phone number
for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and place a call, please.”

“Certainly, Dr. Kress.” Sara’s voice was cool and
professional. “I’ll buzz through when I have the connection.”

No one spoke as they waited. Heidi could feel the coiled
tension radiating from Jake where he stood behind her left shoulder. Finally,
the intercom buzzed, Victor verified Steve’s credentials, and grudgingly, he
led them through to the tiny office shared by Heidi and Brad.

“Where’s the computer?” Heidi looked at her desk and tried
to regulate her breathing, which had gone crazy when she saw the empty surface.
Her hand trembled and goose bumps prickled on her arms as she reached out to
lift her denim jacket off the hook beside the door.

Jake’s hand was suddenly there, taking the jacket and
holding it out for her to slip her arms into. How had he known she’d gone
suddenly chilled?

“They took that with them,” Victor replied. “Along with a
box full of files.”

Heidi staggered. “All our research…gone.” Her voice came out
as little more than a whisper. Losing their work was almost like losing Brad
all over again. And when they found him—
if
they found him—he’d be
devastated. His research had meant everything to him.

“Were you in here while they worked?” Steve asked.

Victor shook his head. “Of course not.” His face had sagged,
making him look every one of his sixty-some years as he finally realized he’d
probably abetted the real criminals. Heidi almost felt sorry for him, until he
glared at her with a look that said, “This is all your fault.”

“They were probably smart enough not to leave prints.” Steve
sighed and ran a hand through his tousled blond hair. “But I’ll have a team
come in, just in case.” He turned to Heidi. “We have your prints on file, but
do you know if your partner was ever fingerprinted?”

“I think so,” she said. “We both did some substitute
teaching back in our leaner years. They fingerprint you for that.”

“Good, then we’ll be able to rule his out as well. And I’ve
got a warrant for his apartment, so we can hopefully get some DNA off his
hairbrush or toothbrush or something.”

He didn’t say why, but Heidi knew. It would help to identify
the body, if they ever found one. “Top drawer of his desk.” Heidi pointed. “Brad
had long hair, and was very proud of it. He kept brushes stashed everywhere.
And I didn’t even think about it yesterday, but his apartment is in the same
building as mine. I have a key, but it’s with all my others, and my wallet—in a
locked trunk at our campsite in Ensenada. Assuming they haven’t ransacked that
as well.”

“The good news,” Jake interjected, his hand still a
steadying force on Heidi’s shoulder, “is that after searching everything, they’ve
hopefully figured out that you’re no threat to them—that your purpose for being
in Mexico really was nothing more than dolphin research. That might mean you’re
out of danger.”

“Except that they might think I saw them—faces, I mean.”

“Except for that,” Steve admitted. “Now what did you need
out of here?” He pulled a pair of latex gloves from the pocket of his suit
coat.

“There are a bunch of personal items in the top drawer of
that desk.” Heidi pointed to the messier of the two small workspaces.

The agent opened the drawer, saw the jumbled pile of
toiletries, loose change, hair ties and tampons, then smiled and stepped back. “Help
yourself. Got a bag?”

She pointed to a reusable grocery bag hanging on a nail by
the door, and he nodded. Heidi stepped up and sorted out the items she’d
need—sunscreen, lip balm, her second-favorite hairbrush, and a pair of
sunglasses. “Bottom left-hand drawer,” she added, and waited until Steve had
opened that one as well. A pair of battered canvas sneakers and a baseball cap
went in from there, along with the spare bikini and beach towel she kept here,
since campus was on the beach, after all.

“Anything else?” Steve’s smile was patient and
understanding, while Jake continued to glower in the direction Victor had
disappeared.

“Just these.” Her eyes watered as she picked up the bifold
picture frame and looked at the photos. One was of her with her parents, the
day of her high-school graduation. The other was of her and Brad at Disneyland,
both wearing fake mouse-ears. She carefully tucked the frame into her bag, then
added the stuffed lobster, Sebastian from
The Little Mermaid
, that Brad
had won for her on that same visit. He’d been their office mascot ever since.

She turned to Jake. “I’m ready to go.” Suddenly, she just
didn’t care about her research. The dolphins would still be there waiting when
all this was over. And then she could pick up the tattered remains of her life
and move forward again.

* * * * *

Steve had tossed Jake his car keys, saying he’d have someone
drop him off at the marina to pick it up. Now that they had wheels, Heidi and
Jake spent another frustrating few hours dealing with Heidi’s bank. Eventually,
though, she had some cash, and her account numbers had all been shifted so no
one else could get into her funds, limited though they were. As they walked to
the boat, an hour or so before sunset, Jake’s cell phone rang. Once they’d
climbed on deck, he turned to Heidi.

“That was Wen,” he told her quietly. “He’s got a meeting set
up for me with one of his ‘assets’ tonight.”

“In Ensenada?” It would take them a few hours to get there
on the
Siren
, and only a little bit less if they traveled by car.

Jake shook his head. “Rosarita.” Just south of Tijuana then,
so closer. “Wen also pulled some strings with the other Feds to back up Steve.
We’re cleared to go, as long as we check in with Marinucci at least once a day.”

“Do I want to know how you got this kind of leverage?” She
jumped back down to the dock, untied the bowline and tossed it on board. Then
she walked back toward the stern and undid the single rope that still connected
them to the pier before hopping back over the rail. Jake climbed the steps to
the pilothouse and started the inboard engine. They worked in concert, without
instructions or questions, as if they’d done this together a hundred times.

“Probably not,” he admitted when she joined him up top. “Let’s
just say that Uncle Sam owes me a few favors.”

“Works for me.” The boat moved away from the dock, out of
the marina and into the bay. When they passed a Harbor Patrol vessel, Heidi
held her breath, but they didn’t hear so much as a peep. Once they were out in
the open ocean, she released the breath in a long, deep sigh, while Jake
brought the
Siren
up to cruising speed and set their course.

A pod of dolphins was frolicking in their wake, and Heidi
smiled. These were common dolphins, not the Pacific white-sided species she’d
been studying, but she loved them all the same. Any member of the order
Cetacea, be it a bottle-nosed dolphin or a humpback whale, had a special place
in her heart.

“Did you know that cetaceans are the only mammals other than
man that have sex face to face?” It was a beautiful, sunny day, she was
surrounded by the scent of the ocean and the cheerful sounds of the dolphins,
and she was actually starting to relax for the first time in days. To top it
off, she had a sexy, hot-blooded man beside her. She knew the mention of sex
would turn him on, and she couldn’t resist teasing him just a little.

“I did,” Jake assured her with a little rumbling laugh that
said he knew what she was up to. Apparently he was also willing to play along. “Did
you know that gray whales do it in groups of three or more?”

“Umm-hmm. Whales and dolphins are also the only other
mammals that have sex when they’re not in breeding season.”

“In other words, just for fun,” Jake agreed. “And their
languages are so complex that you scientists are just beginning to understand
them.”

“You know a lot about marine mammals,” Heidi complimented
him, leaning her shoulder against his. “How’d you get so smart?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he muttered
cryptically. “But I grew up on the ocean. What got you so interested in our
flippered friends?”

“A trip to Sea World in third grade. Oh, I know that we shouldn’t
keep healthy animals in captivity for our entertainment, but the educational
value is considerable. At least in my case. I hung out at the pool with the
non-releasable animals for hours. I spent all my souvenir money on smelt so I
could feed them. Then one caught the fish in his mouth and tossed it back to
me. I threw it back and he did it again. We played catch for like five minutes
before the attendant came and yelled at me for teasing the dolphin. When she
left, I swear, the dolphin shook his head as if to say, ‘What an idiot!’ It was
almost as if we were having a conversation.”

“Maybe you were,” he offered thoughtfully. “You are a little
bit psychic, after all. Maybe the dolphins are too.”

It had crossed her mind, but she couldn’t afford to let herself
believe in such fancies. She’d never even mentioned the idea to Brad, let alone
another living soul. “Yeah, well if you ever breathe a word of that around
anyone in the scientific community, my career is toast. It’s hard enough to get
taken seriously as a blonde female. Dolphin-huggers are not considered
reputable academics.”

A weird look crossed Jake’s face, but he didn’t say a word.

She could hear the dolphins. Oh, she didn’t really believe
it, but she was definitely getting at least some of their psychic messages. The
idea was astounding. Jake had never met a human before who could do that. He
didn’t know whether to be elated or terrified by the concept. Had he finally
met a woman who might, just possibly, understand his strange situation? Not that
he was going to tell her, of course. It was a big leap from accepting a touch
of ESP to believing in magic and mythical beings. She was still a scientist,
which made her his kind’s worst enemy. No matter how much he liked her, or how
much she liked him, she still had friends with labs and scalpels and
electrodes.

Jake didn’t really know what he was doing with her. Why hadn’t
he turned her over to Steve, then headed for safer waters? It wasn’t sympathy,
or simply the urge to help. He could have done that from a distance. Was it
just plain loneliness? It had been a long, long time since he’d had a woman on
his boat, at least for more than a quick fuck and a cup of coffee in the
morning. Decades, at least. And he couldn’t remember ever sitting with one like
this, watching the dolphins and chatting. Her hand resting on his thigh was
more comfortable than erotic, though he was still in a state of semi-arousal.
That was pretty much a constant when she was nearby, which was another
unexplainable first. He’d never been the kind who looked for companionship and
sex from the same person. And he wasn’t even going to think about his species’
concept of life-mating. He wasn’t a true merman anymore, at least not for
another twenty-some years. He couldn’t be falling prey to their traditions.
Especially one he’d never believed in anyway.