Rock Harbor Series - 03 - Into the Deep Read Online Free PDF

away. “I just hope we can make our deadline.”
    “It’s too bad he won’t be in on the final wrap-up, huh?” Salome squeezed her shoulder. “He’s proud of you though.”
    “Too proud sometimes.”
    “Is that what drives you? I’ve often wondered if you were trying to prove yourself to your dad.”
    Salome was closer to the truth than Cassie liked. As roommates, they usually just skimmed over the top of deep issues, and she was surprised Salome had picked up on that. “I’ve never felt I needed to prove anything to Dad,” she said firmly. The truth was much more complex, but Cassie had hopes that the next few months would prove her statement true.
    “Well, if we don’t make our deadline, none of this will matter. The company will go under, and our competitors will win,” Salome pointed out. “I just wish your dad could help us. Locked inside that mind of his is stuff no one else knows, not even Yancy or Phil.”
    “Speaking of my dad, I should check on him. He’s been a little disoriented since the move.” She pulled out her cell phone and punched in the number.
    “Hi, Dad, how’s everything?” She tried to keep her voice cheerful as she waited to see what his condition was today.
    “I can’t find my microscope,” Bernard Hecko answered in a querulous voice. “Did you move it, Cassie?”
    “It’s in the garage. I haven’t had a chance to unpack it yet. Stay in the house, though, Dad, and I’ll get it out tonight.”
    “My work won’t wait. I’ll get it out myself.” He put down the phone without turning it off.
    Cassie could hear him mumbling. Then a door opened, and she knew he had gone to the garage. “I need to run home,” she told Salome. “Dad’s not having a good day.”
    “Oh dear. I’ll hold down the fort here.” Salome bit her lip. “Um, Cassie, how much longer do you expect to keep him at home? Don’t you worry he’ll wander off?”
    Cassie felt the old, familiar sense of failure. “I can’t stand the thought of a nursing home.”
    “At least he’d be safe. I think you’re making a mistake to trust him alone. You never know when an Alzheimer’s patient will take a turn for the worse.”
    “Tell me about it.” Cassie grabbed her backpack and swung it to her shoulder. “I’ll be back as quick as I can.”
    “Stop by Phil’s and ask Denise if she’s seen his notes,” Salome called after her. “I’ve turned his office upside down looking for them.”
    Surrounded by thick forest about fifteen miles from Rock Harbor, the Ketola cabin sat in a tiny clearing barely big enough for the house. The nearest neighbor was five miles away and never visited, a state of affairs Jonelle Ketola knew her husband, Zane, intended to maintain. The crows cawed from the trees as Jonelle followed him to the dog pens. His two pit bulls, Bruck and Trickster, lunged to the wire fenceto greet him. He tossed their meat to the ground in each of their pens. He and Jonelle both knew better than to hand-feed the dogs. They were liable to make a meal of any slow fingers.
    Bruck, the bigger and meaner of the dogs, growled at Trickster to stay away until he was done, but the younger dog had speed and agility on his side, and he lunged forward for his share. Bruck turned to snap at him, but his teeth closed on empty air. He turned back to his meal.
    Jonelle shuddered, but Zane smiled. “He’s in good form for the fight.”
    “He scares me,” Jonelle said. She wished he’d get rid of these dogs. When the baby came, she wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink for fear they’d get out and attack her child. Her hand strayed to her stomach.
    Zane saw the movement and put his arm around her. “I’m just doing this for you and the baby, you know that. No kid of mine is going to go without like I did.” He narrowed his eyes, and his mouth grew pinched. “He’s going to go to college and have some status in the world.”
    Jonelle had to wonder if it was status for their child that Zane really