A Killing Tide Read Online Free PDF Page A

few inches toward the stairs. She sank onto her knees beside him, head hanging, ears roaring.
    Hands grabbed her from behind and yanked her to her feet. He floated out of the haze above her, an apparition in a black oxygen mask, black coat with yellow stripes, and boots. When he pulled off his facemask, she saw that it was the new guy.
    …Chapman, that was his name.
    "We've got to get out of here!" he yelled.
    No.
    She heard a roar and looked up. Blue flames streamed across the ceiling from the engine room, reaching for her. Chapman dropped beside her, dragging her down, and covered her face with his arms. "Hang tight, they'll hose it down." He brought his face close to hers, pushing his mask over her mouth, and she gulped the oxygen greedily. Water rained down, scalding her scalp. She heard someone whimper and realized that it must be her.
    Water began to fill the cabin—she was lying in several inches of it. Gary's facedown in this. She shoved at Chapman, hard.
    He grunted and shifted sideways, and then rolled her with him, pulling her out of the stream of the hose. She pointed toward Gary. "My brother," she managed, but her voice broke.
    "…cave-in! Move it!" He pulled her to her feet and dragged her toward the stairs.
    Kaz fought him, but he simply wrapped an arm around her middle and walked backwards, hauling her with him. She rammed her elbow into his solar plexus, and he slumped forward, his grip loosening.
    Staggering toward the berths, she fell over Gary's body. She heard Chapman swear, but then he seemed to catch on. He ran a hand along both berths next to her, then knelt and hauled Gary up over his shoulder. Above him, the ceiling sagged with a splintering crack .
    Taking hold of her arm, he threw her toward the stairs. "Dammit, move ."
    He propelled her up the stairs and through the door as burning timbers fell behind them, showering them in roiling sparks.
    He didn't let go of her until they were off the boat and several yards away. She dropped to her knees on the dock, coughing and retching. Firemen raced past them, dragging hoses.
    Chapman laid her brother down several feet away, ripped off one of his gloves, and felt for a pulse. Then pulled back an eyelid.
    She crawled toward Gary. No, no, no.
    Behind her, the rest of the deck collapsed. Sparks flew on the night wind, and from the adjacent dock, the sea lions barked excitedly.
    Before she could reach Gary, Chapman pushed up his mask and threw out an arm to block her. She shoved it aside.
    He turned then and gripped her shoulders, hard. His face was grim. "I'm sorry. He didn't make it."
    She sobbed, pushing at him with both hands. "I have to go to him—" She froze, staring over his shoulder.
    The man lying on the dock wasn't her brother. It was Ken Lundquist, their crewman.

    ~~~~

    Chapter 3

    Kaz sat on the back steps of an aid car, breathing oxygen from a mask attached to a portable tank. Her throat was raw, her skin hot and prickly. Flashing lights from emergency vehicles illuminated the wharf and marina in rhythmic sweeps, hurting her eyes. Occasional gusts of wind caused the boats' rigging to clank like gunshots, adding a syncopated unreality.
    To keep the growing crowd at bay, Chapman had roped off the wharf with yellow crime scene tape strung between sawhorses and the wooden railings. Fire hoses twined around each other as they snaked down the steel grate ramp leading to the Anna Marie .
    Kaz used a trembling hand to wipe her eyes and felt grit smear across her cheek. In spite of the heat from the fire, she couldn't stop shivering.
    In the three generations her family had been on the water, they'd never lost a crewman, never had a fire on one of their boats. The importance of fire safety had been drilled into her at an early age—she and Gary never took chances. Never.
    Perhaps electrical wiring had deteriorated—somehow sparking near the fuel. The Anna Marie was rigged for drag fishing and frequently out of port, so she hadn't been on the trawler