Island of Bones(54)

“Motherfucker,” Louis said.

He grabbed the railing and hopped over the side, sailing down into the water.

The cool water rushed over him and he could hear the dull churn of the ferry’s engine close by. He struggled through the bubbles to the surface, the salt water stinging his eyes. The boat was a dark shape to the left.

But there was no sign of Frank Woods.

Louis treaded water, his head swiveling. Nothing. Just water and the ferry growing more distant. Louis pulled a full breath and dove down. The water was clear, maybe twenty-five feet, and he could see down to the sandy bottom. Nothing. Just the sand, rippled by the currents. The currents were strong, strong enough to make Louis fight to keep from getting pulled away.

Louis felt his lungs start to burn and fought his way out of the current and up to the surface. He took another deep breath and dove again, frantically searching. A flash of silver as a school of small fish darted by and then blue. Just endless blue fading away into nothing.

He broke the surface, coughed, and wiped his eyes. He could see the ferry far off to his left and he could feel the current, pulling him in the opposite direction. He felt a panic rising up inside, but he pushed it back down.

He started side-stroking, trying to get out of the current’s pull. Finally, he felt the pull lessen and then he was free.

He stopped, treading water, trying to catch his breath. He could still see the ferry. It took him a moment to realize it had stopped. A flood of relief passed through him. It was circling back.

He took another dive down to search but saw nothing. When he surfaced he heard people yelling. His legs and arms were tiring fast but he spat out a mouthful of salt water and kept treading water. A few minutes later, something hard and white splashed near his shoulder, a lifesaver.

Louis grabbed it and felt himself being pulled toward the ferry. He wiped the water from his stinging eyes and scanned the surface for Frank Woods. Nothing.

Sonofabitch.

Someone threw a ladder over the side and he climbed back onto the boat. He wiped his face, still searching the water. He could feel the eyes of the tourists on his back as water puddled at his feet.

“I called in your man overboard,” the captain said. “The coast guard is on its way.”

Louis stayed at the rail, looking for Frank’s body while the ferry slowly kept circling. Finally, he saw the coast guard boat speeding toward them. He stood at the railing, rigid and angry, his neck burning from the searing sun. The other passengers were all staring at him and whispering. The little girl with the Cheetos was hiding behind her father, who was filming Louis with his video camera.

The captain approached Louis. “The coast guard says I can go take everyone back. You wanna stay here with them?”

Louis looked out over the water. “No. They won’t find him.”

Fifteen minutes later, the ferry pulled into the marina and Louis waited until the tourists had left before he stepped off onto the dock.

Landeta and Strickland were standing under a palm and came forward when they saw him. Landeta was wearing his usual black suit and white dress shirt, his bald head glistening with sweat. He stopped at the end of the dock, blocking Louis’s way.

“I heard a rescue call,” Landeta said.

“You heard right, but they’re not going to rescue anyone,” Louis said tightly. “He’s gone. Frank’s gone.”

“He’s gone?” Landeta said, his voice sounding as if it were being pulled through a grinder.

“He jumped overboard,” Louis said.

Landeta grabbed Louis’s arm and jerked him off the dock onto the sand. “What the hell’s the matter with you? Are you fucking stupid? You can’t even keep a fifty-eight-year-old man on a fucking boat for forty-five minutes?”

Louis pulled away. He started to argue, started to fight back, but he had nothing to fight with. He had fucked it up -— again.

“Look,” Louis said, “we need to get back out to that island. I saw Frank talk to a man there. We need to get out there and question them.”

“We’ll do it,” Landeta said. “But you’re out of the picture.”

“What?”

“You heard me. You’re done with this.”

Louis stared at Landeta then turned sharply. He started away, catching Strickland’s look of pity as he passed.

“And don’t come begging around the station for any more work,” Landeta hollered. “You hear me, dumb-ass?”

Louis just kept walking.





CHAPTER 26




He knew the currents. He knew where they would take him. So he stayed underwater until his lungs were burning, swimming near the bottom where the water ran the swiftest.

When Frank finally came up, he gasped for air and wiped a hand across his eyes. Treading water, he searched for the ferry. It was maybe fifty yards back, heading away. Then he spotted something dark in the water.