“No radio?”
“Yes, but he's not using it. I'd say he's on the run. You can't blame him for taking off for the high seas.”
“What about crew?”
“Usually has three men, but there's no word on them either. They've been with him for years, and it's not likely they'd rat on him.”
“Doesn't he have any friends or associates? Isn't anyone talking?”
“We're not the first who have been down there beating the bushes trying to find him. But I guarantee we're the least abusive. A couple of Lontana's friends got roughed up, and they're not trusting anyone.” He paused. “But Coleman has one lead. Lontana has a foster child, a daughter, Melis Nemid. They usually work together, but Coleman heard she'd returned to their island in the Lesser Antilles.”
“Then Lontana might be with her?”
“Possible. Or she might know something.”
“If she did, then Betworth would have killed her. Whatever Coleman found out, Betworth's men would have found out.”
“It may not have been so easy. They live on a private island Lontana purchased with his prize money from salvaging that Spanish galleon. There are difficulties reaching there. It's surrounded by rocks except for one inlet, and that's barricaded by nets.”
“What?”
“His daughter studies and trains dolphins. She needs the nets to keep predators out of the waters.”
“Human as well as our fishy friends. Lontana shouldn't have gotten mixed up in dirty tricks if he didn't want to deal with predators.” Morgan paused. “Does she have a telephone?”
“Yes, a satellite phone, but you'll get her voice mail.”
“Give me the number.” He jotted the number down on a pad. “I'll call and see if I can leave a message that will get her to call me back.”
“Good luck. In the meantime, I'll tell Coleman to keep on it.”
“Get who to call you back?” Alex asked as Morgan hung up.
“Lontana's foster daughter, Melis Nemid. She's on some island in the Antilles studying dolphins.”
“And her father may be with her?”
He shrugged. “Who knows? If she saw him before he took off on his ship when he came back from Fairfax, he may be with her. Or she might know something we need to know.”
“Let me call her.”
“Why?”
“I'm less intimidating.”
He smiled. “Only to people who don't know you.”
“Let me try.”
“Shucks, and I thought I was going to get something to do around here.” He handed her the phone and the telephone number. “Be my guest. Galen said you're going to get her voice mail. What are you going to say?”
“The truth. What happened at Arapahoe Junction. What we're afraid is going to happen next. What else can I say? If she cares, she'll call back. If she doesn't, there isn't much we can do.”
“Except storm the island and kidnap her dolphins.”
“You seem to thrive on kidnapping.” She dialed the number. “I think we'll skip that option.”
Alex received a call back from Melis Nemid four hours later.
Morgan handed her the phone. “It seems she cares—I hope.”
“Alex Graham,” she said into the phone.
“Phil isn't to blame,” Melis Nemid said. “He didn't know what they were going to do. He didn't know anything about it.”
“Phil?”
“Philip Lontana. He didn't know. No one can blame him for— Of course they can blame him. No one is going to believe him. They're going to try to crucify him.”
“Is he there with you?”
“Do you think I'd tell you if he was? How do I know you're not some con artist that Betworth hired?”
“If you've watched the news, then you must know that I'm on the run.”
“I don't watch the news. And you could have made a deal.”
“That's true. But I didn't, and if you don't help, then you'll be responsible for anything else that happens.”
“Don't try to give me a guilt trip. All I want is to be left alone.”
“So did all those people at Arapahoe Junction.”
“It wasn't his fault.”
Alex wasn't getting anywhere. Try to find a hole in the armor. “I can understand how you'd want to be left alone. You're a scientist, aren't you? You study dolphins?”
“Yes.”
“I have a friend, Sarah, who has a search-and-rescue dog. Monty's wonderful. Sometimes I think I like him better than I do most people. Maybe you feel like that too.”
“Is that supposed to soften me up?” She was silent a moment. “If you want to talk to me any more, it won't be on the telephone. Come to the island.”
“It's difficult for us to travel, as you can imagine. It may be impossible.”