Far From The Sea We Know (15 page)

Chiffrey let his gaze wander over to a
porthole. “You know, I certainly didn’t see any purple whale out
there this morning, and I had a splendid view as we approached your
ship. We were very careful, I hope you noticed, and followed the
Captain’s instructions to approach from your aft. Didn’t get too
close, right? Matthew? You okay, boy?”

Matthew looked up from the pages. Everyone
around the table seemed to be waiting for him.

“Could I keep this for a while?” Matthew
asked.

“Sure, keep it for your scrapbook. Say, it
would be a real help if I could ask you a few questions later.
Maybe we could meet back here.” He looked around the table. “You’re
all welcome, of course. Everything can be open, no need to feed the
rumor mill. If it’s convenient, could we do this, say, eleven
hundred hours?”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“Great.” Chiffrey gave Matthew a light pat
on the shoulder. “I’d like to talk with some of the folks who have
been doing your tracking, but first, maybe I could visit C-lab?
That’s your main lab, right?” He looked around the table.

“The Captain recommended you highly, Miss
Sims. Would you possibly have time to escort me?”

“Yes, Lieutenant Chiffrey, of course.”

“Marvelous. At your convenience.”

“Now is good. I mean, there’s nothing that
will not keep.”

Chiffrey was quick enough to get up and take
her hand as she edged her way around the narrow space at the
table’s corner.

He followed her out, then he turned and
said, “I’ll see you all later, folks. And thanks again for the
hotcakes.” He yelled again, “
Alimento maravilhoso
,
Mateo!”

Matthew could not seem to take in the news
story anymore. The words were refusing to line up and make sense.
He looked up and said to Penny, “Could you read this for me?”

“You look upset,” she said.

“Here, take this thing.”

She reached over and took the limp pages,
dragging a corner through a small puddle of pancake syrup. She
began to read to herself—with far too much pleasure it seemed to
him—and swiftly reached the end.

“They know you’re here on the
Valentina
. It looks like you’re the real hook of the story.
Most likely they will use your sudden departure on a mysterious
voyage as a way to milk as many days out of this as they can.” She
looked up and fanned out the pages on the table, again hitting the
maple syrup.

“Then my coming on this trip created the
story,” he said. “Right?”

“It added the sizzle.”

“What else do they say?”

“It sounds like a mostly accurate account,
based on what I’ve heard from you. Your friend Gilliard comes over
like a complete ass.”

“He’s no friend, but they got the ‘ass’ part
right, at least.”

“I’ll read part of it to you: ‘Matthew
Amati, a part-time crew member on the Canadian fishing boat
Eva
Shay
is now on the
Valentina
, the main research ship of
the Point Kinatai Marine Science Center, according to sources
there.’ Bad writing. It makes it unclear what the—”

“Who did this?”

“It doesn’t have a byline, it just—”

“No, who leaked this to the press?”

“Doesn’t say. Here’s more: ‘Mr. Amati, who
is from British Columbia, is the first participant at the Point in
a controversial student-exchange program with Canada. He was the
also the first one to see what several crew members of the
Eva
Shay
are now claiming was a bright purple whale. Others who
were on the ship refuse to talk about it, including the Captain.
Two days later, unofficial sources say, Mr. Amati was specifically
asked to make an unscheduled visit to the
Valentina
. They
have also stated that the
Valentina
is now engaged in
tracking the alleged purple whale. Doctor Bell was unavailable for
comment.’”

“Anything about the whales
disappearing?”

“It’s coming….Says they ‘mysteriously
vanished as—’”

“Okay, enough!” He got up, wheeled around,
and sat down again.

“Don’t worry.”

“Sure, no need to worry, I have an exciting
future waiting for me. Appearances on daytime talk shows as the
freak of the week. That’ll be some compensation for blowing away my
career as a marine scientist.”

“You can always work with me.”

“Doing what, mowing your lawn?”

“Stop.”

He leaned his head on his hands, pressing
his temples with his thumbs while a slowly widening circle of
pancake syrup seeped into the pages of the news story below his
eyes. Although the grain of the wooden table top showed through
clearly, all the words remained and, as far as the account of his
own life was concerned, would remain so forever.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said.

She was silent for a moment. Then she slid
her hand across the tabletop to his and said, “We’ll find someone
else to mow the lawn.”

He let out his breath all the way and looked
at her. They rose from theirs seats together, like reflections in a
mirror, and kissed.

Matthew saw Mateo’s head appear around the
corner. The cook showed no surprise at their embrace and simply
said, “The Captain would like you to see in his cabin. Now,
okay?”

“It’s open.”

Matthew entered at the response to his
knock. Penny was right behind him.

Thorssen sat in a swivel chair bolted to the
deck, before a small wooden desk built into the bulkhead. There
were drawers below the desk on one side and two rows of cubbyholes
above, with half doors to keep their contents from shifting out in
rough seas. The other walls of his cabin were bare save for a
framed photograph, mounted opposite the pillow-end of his bunk, of
a woman with smooth, jet-black hair and dark eyes. He turned the
chair around and motioned them to sit, and as the bunk was the only
other place, they sat there.

“Been on the line with Martin. He’s unhappy
you got nailed by the press.”

Matthew didn’t know what to say and was
relieved when Penny took up the slack by asking, “Did Dad say who
leaked to the paper?”

“Jack, maybe, but he’d have to have help
from the usual suspects on the board.” He turned toward Matthew.
“Not everyone back at the Point is a ‘friendly.’”

“I heard, but didn’t know it was so bad. You
already know, I suppose, that Jack believes the sudden movement of
the whales is a hoax.”

“Wouldn’t work, too many people needed to
pull it off. Always a snide attitude from Jack, but lately, worse.”
Thorssen shook his head slightly. “I should put him off the
ship.”

“I wouldn’t have trouble agreeing with
that.”

“But I can’t without a better reason.”

“Jack’s built a network,” Penny added.
“Friends with influence at the Point. He’s both their bird dog and
bright young voice for change. The problem is his hoax theory might
seem at least plausible to them.”

“As well as to just about everyone else,”
Matthew said. “Meanwhile, we have nothing, only more questions,
more contradictions.” Matthew glanced at his watch. “And what am I
going to say to this Air Force character?”

Penny answered with another question. “Is
this the time to reconsider our policy of cooperation?”

Thorssen shifted back in the chair, his gaze
drifting toward the only photo on the wall. “If we refuse to work
with them, they’ll find a way without us. Even specifically exclude
us. Minimize security risks, by minimizing access.”

“They can’t stop us from being here,”
Matthew said. He glanced again at the newspaper article Chiffrey
had left, not reading it, more like taking in the outline of the
story wrapped around his name.

“They’d find a way,” Thorssen said.

“Maybe I just need to help Chiffrey get his
forms filled out so he can go.”

Thorssen slowly shook his head. “I’ve run
into these guys before. He’s a trained investigator and he thinks
he’s on to something.” Thorssen looked at Matthew. “You a good
liar?”

Penny laughed. “He’d be a complete failure
as a liar.”

Matthew almost smiled and then couldn’t help
himself from looking at the photo on the cabin wall.

“My wife,” Thorssen said.

“She’s beautiful.”

“Yes.”

He looked back to Thorssen whose face,
though not sad, still reflected the old loss. No one spoke for a
while, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. More like a lull while sailing
when you can see a puff of wind coming over the water.

“All right,” Matthew finally said. “The
truth’s easier anyway but, as you suggested, I’m not going to
answer any questions he doesn’t ask.”

“Good. Notice anything strange among the
crew?”

“Strange?” Matthew said, “Totally bizarre
would be more like it.”

He filled Thorssen in on the incident with
Emory and Malcolm, with Penny adding her comments. Thorssen let out
a long sigh. He folded his hands in his lap and sat in the chair as
if he would never move again.

Just when Matthew was beginning to wonder if
Thorssen had gone into a trance, he said, “Got up early this
morning. Usually do, but even earlier this time. About four-thirty.
Walked into the galley to make coffee and find Mateo. He’s standing
there trying to reassemble a fish.”

“Trying to…,” Matthew said, echoing the
words dumbly.

Penny simply burst out laughing. She did not
even try to keep it in and practically fell off the bed. The men
looked at each other, yet nothing passed between them. It was as if
things were coming apart, and the scenery in an absurd play was
collapsing all about them.

After Penny finally managed to catch her
breath, Thorssen added a few more details. “Mateo had a large
salmon on the counter. Caught it the day before, don’t ask me how.
Had already filleted and cleaned it, but was putting the pieces
back together. Looked like performing some long-practiced
ritual.”

“What did you do?”

“Watched for a while. Didn’t even seem to
know I was there at first, but showed no surprise when he looked at
me and said, ‘Not so easy as take apart.’”

“Was he upset?”

“Seemed fine, maybe better than usual. Eyes
clear. Finally told me he was up all night, put the fish back in
the cooler, smiled, and left to log some sleep.”

“I was wondering why I didn’t see him early
this morning,” Matthew said. “Has he ever done anything like this
before?”

“No. Been part of my crew for thirty years.
Found him in the Azores. Solid as they come.”

“Andrew, all this can’t be coincidence,”
Penny said to Thorssen. “Do you have any ideas?”

“Wasn’t happening till we got to the whales.
All the students I’ve known for at least a year, the permanent crew
much longer, of course. Had Malcolm and Emory on all last summer
and nothing like you described.”

“A connection with the whales…” Matthew said
in almost a whisper.

“Seems to be there.”

“Our list of plausible explanations isn’t
going to be long. Drugs and mass hysteria,” Penny said. “It’s hard
to see drugs as a factor unless it was somehow unintentional. What
I was wondering is whether somebody could be spiking the orange
juice or something.”

“Doubt it,” Thorssen said. “What happened to
me the other morning, before you arrived. Seemed real.”

“Seeming real does not make it real,” she
answered. “Maybe—”

“Wait,” Thorssen said, cupping his hand to
his ear. Faintly at first, then suddenly much louder, the droning
rhythmic thumping of a helicopter reverberated.

“Damn ’em!” Thorssen came out of his chair.
The cozy atmosphere in the small cabin dissolved.

“The Navy again?” Penny said.

“Smaller,” he answered, “and in
front
of us.”

Matthew understood immediately. “The
whales…”

Thorssen had already rushed out, leaving the
door to bang back against the bulkhead.

“Gray whales
hate
helicopters!”
Matthew said. “That’s why they instructed the Navy chopper to come
in from behind us.”

Penny scooped up the binoculars, and they
headed for topsides, finding a clear view off to the side of the
tracking console. A small helicopter hovered directly over the
whales. Matthew glanced back to see Thorssen on the bridge speaking
heatedly into a radio mic.

Penny peered through the binoculars. “Looks
like—yes, there’s a guy hanging out with a camera, a TV camera.
Here,” she said, handing the binoculars to Matthew.

The frenzied turmoil of the whales beat the
water to a boil. Anger at the stupidity of the news crew fired
through Matthew’s body. “They probably think these will make great
action shots for the evening news.”

All at once several of the whales surged
almost completely out of the water. As they came down, tremendous
splashes from their bodies and crashing flukes erupted as high in
the air as the chopper. The pilot tried to pull up and away, but
the machine abruptly stalled and shook, the air intake smothered by
water. The machine struggled up for a moment then came down,
hitting the water at an extreme angle. The still spinning rotor
sliced into the waves, but the whales had moved out of the way and
were now circling the downed aircraft, thrashing the sea all around
it into a rage of seething froth.

“Oh God, no…they hit one!”

It was Mary Sims, standing behind Jack who
was sitting at the tracking console. His face was like spoilt milk
as he stared at the video display in horror. Becka, in the seat
next to him twisted around and stared back toward the bridge.

The deck shuddered under Matthew’s feet as
the
Valentina
’s engines throttled to full power. Thorssen’s
voice came over the PA: “Becka, get the Zodiacs over the side.
You’ll take one with Emory. Matthew, you’re in the other with
Dirk.”

Becka had obviously anticipated the command
and was already on her way to the small inflatable boats. Matthew
was about to follow when Ripler jerked his head up from the console
and growled, “Matthew Amati! You brought this. Blood in the water,
Amati. You hear me!”