Fatal Tide Read Online Free PDF Page A

“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?”
    “No, you had to see for yourself to make it real to you. I can understand that. Are you ready to go back to Athens now?”
    She nodded jerkily.
    “Do you want anything to eat? I had Billy make some sandwiches. He does a pretty miraculous job. Wilson and your friend Gary are in the main cabin practically inhaling them.”
    “Billy?”
    “Billy Sanders, the cook. I stole him from a top restaurant in Prague.”
    Of course a luxury yacht like the Trina would have a cook. She’d read somewhere he’d purchased the yacht from a Saudi oil sheik. It was absolutely huge, and its two state-of-the-art tenders were also very impressive. The Trina herself was sleek, modern, with all the latest scientific equipment and bells and whistles. This ship was light-years different from the Last Home . Just as Kelby was different from Phil. Yet Phil had thought Kelby had something in common with him.
    He’s got the same passion I have and the drive to make it happen .
    Phil had said that about Kelby during the last telephone conversation she’d had with him.
    He was right. She could sense both Kelby’s passion and drive as if they were a living force.
    “Food?” he prompted.
    She shook her head. “I’m not hungry. I think I’ll just sit here for a while.” She sat down on the deck and wrapped her arms tightly around her knees. “It’s not been an easy afternoon for