Soundkeeper Read Online Free PDF Page A

protective haven of mud, grass, and water.
    Dozens of male fiddler crabs waved their comically disproportionate white claws from the muddy shoreline, trying to get the attentions of potential mates. Hall smiled to himself as he tied up his boat and pounded across the old wooden dock toward the house.
    His “new” home had been a hunting cabin back when the island was privately owned. A single-story wooden structure, it was built only seven feet above sea level, which meant that several hurricanes and a few unnamed storms had flooded it with their surging waters. It was not air-conditioned, and Jimmy and Rebecca had taken their window unit with them for their sailboat. Hall hoped he would be able to afford a replacement before summer. He was looking for some dry underwear when his telephone rang.
    “There’s a fish kill on the north side of Port Royal Sound,” the caller said. Hall questioned her and found out she was one of the volunteers that worked with Gale Pickens as one of her Coastwatchers. She had tried to reach Gale on the Soundkeeper Hotline but no one had answered so she called Hall for assistance. The lady explained that she was out for a day cruise with her granddaughter when they saw several hundred dead fish floating near the mouth of a creek that fed into the sound.
    “Can you describe your surroundings so I can find you?” Hall asked. He unrolled a chart on the kitchen table that doubled as his desk.
    “How about the exact latitude and longitude?” the grandmother asked.
    Hall wrote down the coordinates in his notebook and told her he would be there within half an hour. He stuffed a granola bar in his pocket and grabbed a bottle of water before he headed out the door.

Chapter Six
    The chain allowed Gale to move through most of the warehouse. She couldn’t reach the window or door, but could have walked over to where Arnold was sitting if she had wanted to. Her only furniture was a lawn chair with half the seat rotted out. Neither she nor her captor had spoken in several hours. Arnold seemed entranced by Wheel of Fortune and J eopardy! Gale was ignoring the television, concentrating hard to manage the pain in her jaw.
    “Are you hungry?” Arnold asked.
    Gale nodded her head. Fear paralyzed her when Arnold walked toward her, his steps vibrating through the elevated building. To her great relief, he only checked the handcuff on her ankle and the chain it was connected to. He left without saying another word.
    Outside a small outboard boat motor sputtered for a few seconds then coughed to life. She had seen it moored beside the barge and now it gave her hope. If she could get free from the chain, it was a way of escape. A small boat motor didn’t need a key to start.
    Gale began to examine the rusty chain and the steel beam it was attached to, determined to find a way to escape. “Dear Lord,” she thought, “please don’t let this place catch on fire!” She reminded herself how tough she was, how she had always prided herself on her ability to overcome adversity. She soon realized that although the chain was old and rusty, it was more than adequate to keep her imprisoned. Her hands were covered with rust from the chain and ached from pulling and tugging on it. For some reason she thought of Hall and wondered if he was looking for her and wondered if anyone at all was looking for her now. Her tears trickled at first, then came in a convulsion of silent, heaving sobs.
    By the time Arnold returned, Gale had regained her composure and checked her watch. He had been gone for forty-five minutes and walked in with two grocery sacks and a bag of ice. He put the ice in a cooler along with a six-pack of Budweiser. Then he handed her the grocery bags.
    “I got you a few things,” he said.
    Arnold opened a beer and turned the television back on. Gale investigated the contents of the bags.
    The first thing she checked was the receipt, hoping that it named the store and gave its location. She was