Night Swimming (30 page)

They broke through the water to more water. Angry white caps rolled over them from every direction. Lily felt herself go under. Then something was tugging at her vest. Dimly she realized Karen must be inflating it. Her head lolled, as useless as the rest of her, and the gray mist of pain that shrouded her mind darkened to a black night. Lily’s mouth went slack.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Sean’s face was etched in harsh lines as he sped away from the Bay Towers. The doorman on duty at the condo thought that, Yeah, maybe he’d seen Lily and her assistant leave some time during the late morning. Must have, the guy added with an indifferent shrug. If they weren’t answering the buzzer, it must mean they weren’t there.

Succumbing to a nagging worry, Sean had left the office half an hour ago. He knew that until he found her, he wouldn’t be able to get a lick of work done. He’d left instructions with Evelyn, telling her to call him the second she heard from Lily. Then he’d gotten in his car and begun his search . . . his fruitless search for Lily.

The windshield wipers were fighting a losing battle with the rain. They dragged across the windshield, leaving wide, watery streaks. Sean steered with his hands locked tight around the wheel while the car sloughed and skidded along the rain-filled streets. He drove automatically, his mind centered on one thought.
Where was she?

At a red light, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and looked at the miniature screen, hoping perhaps he’d missed a call. The screen was aggravatingly blank. Though tempted, Sean knew he couldn’t ring Lily’s grandmother. May Ellen was already beside herself with worry. He tossed the cell onto the passenger seat in disgust.

His unease became mixed with the first wrenchings of angry frustration. What could she be thinking, haring off somewhere without letting anyone know where to find her? Why hadn’t she called? Where in hell could she be?

On a whim, Sean headed back toward the marina— although he’d already been by Norma Jean’s once before. He’d found the diner deserted, the lone waitress thumbing through this week’s edition of
TV Guide
.
No,
she’d replied, no tall blonde had come in to eat.

Might as well try again,
he decided. Perhaps he and Lily had crossed paths. Or maybe she and Karen were holed up at the Keel, drinking beer and throwing darts because there was little else to do on such a lousy day.

He turned into the marina parking lot.

A sudden dread gripped him. In the distance, the lights of an ambulance flashed, a violent red-and-white pulse in the gray of the driving rain. His heart pounding, Sean hit the accelerator, then brought the car to a screeching halt a few yards away.

The ambulance was stationed by the gated entrance to the docks. Its back doors were open in readiness and two blue-jacketed attendants stood in the square of light emanating from the interior.

A crowd had gathered. Yellow slickers, oilskins, and baseball caps covered bodies and heads, and kept away the rain, but did nothing to banish the ghoulish, macabre air that permeated the scene. Sean threaded his way through the curious throng, anxiously scanning the faces he passed.

As he neared the paramedics, he looked at the tall man beside them and did a double-take. Dave—it was Dave Cullen.

“Cullen!” he yelled loudly, catching his attention. “What’s going on? What’s happened?”

“Sean!” Dave waved him over. “Christ, I’m glad to see you!” he said when Sean reached him. “I only arrived a few minutes ago myself. The stationmaster at the marina just received a radio distress call. A diver’s been seriously injured. They’re coming in now. Sean, the call came from the
Tangiers
.”

Sean’s unblinking gaze was riveted on the mouth of the inlet. At first he thought what he saw was a mirage, an illusion born of desperation. But then, against the backdrop of the fast-darkening sky, the faint gleam of green-and-red running lights emerged and grew steadily clearer. He gave a hoarse cry and ran down the dock, Dave by his side.

The
Tangiers
carefully navigated the choppy waters of the inlet, the throb of its engines uneerily loud in the tense atmosphere. From behind came the sound of hurrying feet. It was the paramedics with the stretcher. A sudden burst of light flooded the area, and somewhere in Sean’s mind, he registered the presence of a TV crew.

But all that was pushed aside. The
Tangiers
’s engines had slowed to a low rumble and the trawler was easing into the slip.

Sean caught the rope an ashen-faced Owen threw to him. “It’s Dr. Banyon, Sean.” Owen’s voice was raw with strain. “She got hurt bad . . . real bad.”

“Sweet Lord, no,” he whispered, petrified.

Sean was jostled as one of the paramedics jumped aboard. Shaking off his paralyzing fear, he helped lift the stretcher onto the boat, and then followed Owen as the captain led them to Lily.

Sean’s heart clenched when he saw Lily lying on the cabin’s bench, a thick blanket covering her. Her face was a chalky white, beads of perspiration dotting her brow, her lips an ominous blue. He fell to his knees beside her. With a shaking hand, he reached out to stroke her damp brow, his terror escalating when he felt her icy skin.

The paramedics crouched next to him. Immediately they set to work, one taking her vital signs, while his partner relayed the stats by radio to the emergency staff.

“Sean!” At the cry, Sean reluctantly looked away from Lily’s ghostly pale face. Karen was standing to the side. Tears were streaming down her face. Dave’s arm was about her, holding her close.

His throat tight with fear, Sean swallowed forcibly. “What happened, Karen?” he managed to say at last.

“It was a stingray. It was hidden under some sand near where I was shooting. I guess I startled it, and when Lily tried to reach me, it got her instead. The ray stung and cut her three times,” she wailed, unable to continue as the tears started afresh.

“We’ve got to get the patient out of here,” one of the paramedics announced. “You should come too, Miss, so we can check and make sure you’re okay.”

The medics carefully lifted Lily onto the stretcher, and then carried her off the
Tangiers
. Dazed, as if he were caught in a nightmare, Sean followed. His eyes remained fixed on the stretcher, his lips mumbling a prayer with each step he took.

They were nearly at the ambulance when Sean’s path was blocked by a man. Sean stopped, blinking in the harsh glare of lights.

The man stuck a microphone in his face. “Mayor McDermott, we’ve just learned that you’ve been accused of serious charges of misconduct by a member of this research team, Dr. Lily Banyon. According to our source, Dr. Banyon has accused you of harassment. Can you give us your response, Mayor McDermott?” The reporter thrust the mike closer.

Fury erupted inside Sean. “Get the hell out of my way,” he snarled menacingly, and shoved the reporter hard.

May Ellen and Kaye were in the hospital’s waiting lounge when Sean arrived. Catching sight of him, May Ellen burst into tears.

He hugged her, patting her trembling shoulders as she wept.

“Will she be all right, Sean?” Kaye asked. Her face was haggard with worry.

“I don’t know.” The words choked him. “We have to hope, and wait for the doctors to do what they can for her.”

“Come, sit down, Mother,” Kaye gently urged a still-weeping May. “Sean’s right, of course. We have to wait and let the doctors take care of her.” She and Sean guided her to a chair.

And so the vigil began.

Sean was sitting with his head bowed, his elbows resting on his knees, his fingers knotted together in a tight ball. The sound of footsteps made him raise his head. It was Karen and Dave. He jumped to his feet.

“Are you okay, Karen?” he asked, reaching them in three strides. She looked wan, her eyes huge and shadowed. Dave must have given her his sweatshirt. Enormous on her, it hung to her knees.

“I’m fine,” she said, brushing his question aside. Sean’s eyes met Dave’s over the top of her tangled head of hair. Dave gave a grim nod of confirmation.

Sean felt his shoulders sag. This was the first good news they’d received.
Please God, don’t let it be the last,
he whispered silently.

“Sean,” Karen said. “I need to tell you why we were out at the reef.”

“Why don’t we go sit down by Lily’s mother and grandmother?” Dave suggested. “You’re about ready to fall on your face from exhaustion, Karen, and her family’s going to want to hear every word you say.”

Karen had just finished her story, which the others had listened to in appalled silence.

Sean was shaking his head in angry disbelief. “You mean to tell me that Granger tampered with the samples to get back at Lily?” he asked Karen.

Karen nodded. “He must have really hated her after the ‘lobster threat,’ ” she said. “Do you remember when I told you about it, Sean, on the first day of our study?”

“Yeah, I remember. I wanted to pummel the son of a bitch. Now I want to kill him.” His rage was such that Sean thought he probably could, too. “But I just can’t believe Granger would do this out of petty revenge, Karen. He’s too goddamned lazy. No,” he said with growing conviction. “Somebody put him up to it—someone with a hell of a lot more initiative than Granger.”

May Ellen pressed a crumpled handkerchief to her eyes. “Poor Lily. I never imagined she would be risking her life by coming back and finishing the study. How I wish that Dr. Lesnesky hadn’t gotten sick—”

“My God!” Sean breathed. “That’s it!
Lesnesky.
His report didn’t show any evidence of disease, which, in light of recent events, is just too damn hard to believe. I’m willing to bet his study was fixed from the very start—” Sean stopped in midsentence. A white-coated doctor was coming toward them. He sprang to his feet.

The anxious group had gathered around the attending physician, Dr. Paul Shumacher. Kaye had introduced herself and then asked the doctor if he could give them any news.

“At the moment, Mrs. Alcott, your daughter is still unconscious. We’ve administered an antivenom shot, but it will take some time for the antidote to take effect.” He paused, his expression grave. “Dr. Banyon’s system has been severely weakened. You see, in addition to having to fight the venom from the stingray, Dr. Banyon also ingested a significant amount of water when she lost consciousness—any more, and, frankly, her chances would have been slim indeed.”

Kaye blanched. Blindly, she reached for Sean’s arm, clutching it for support.

“The next twenty-four hours will tell us a lot,” the doctor informed them. “We’ll have to monitor her carefully, in case she develops an infection or, worse still, pneumonia. I must tell you, Mrs. Alcott, your daughter’s a very lucky woman. She’s extremely athletic, I assume?”

Kaye nodded mutely.

“That fact may very well have saved her life. Her heart rate is unusually slow. Which means the stingray’s venom didn’t circulate as quickly as it might have in another, less fit, individual. She’s lucky in another respect, too.” Dr. Shumacher looked at Karen and smiled. “The doctor who examined you in the emergency room told me that you attempted to restrain Dr. Banyon on your ascent. If not for your clear-headedness, she probably would have suffered an embolism.”

Karen’s lips trembled. “Thank you, Doctor.” Overcome by emotion, she turned her head into Dave’s shoulder.

“What would you say Lily’s chances are, Dr. Shumacher?” Sean asked, and knew he’d never been so scared of an answer in his life.

“I’m guardedly optimistic. If the antivenom works quickly enough, her body should be strong enough to stave off an infection. In that case, I see no reason for her not to make a complete recovery.”

Sean’s knees went rubbery with relief. “When can we see her?”

The doctor checked his watch. “They should be bringing her up to her room now. I expect you’ll be able to see her shortly. I’ll have a nurse come down when they’re ready.”

Despite the doctor’s prognosis that Lily would be all right, Sean’s anger flared each time he thought of how badly she had been hurt. How close he’d come to losing her.

Restless with impatience to see Lily, and to exact vengeance on her behalf, he began to pace. “I’m not going to let whoever is behind this thing get away with hurting Lily. Karen, you said she managed to get new samples when you were out on the reef?”

From her seat beside Dave, Karen nodded. “And I got pictures, too.”

Sean’s mind raced. “Okay, this is what I need you and Dave to do. Dave, you’ve got to make sure Owen Rafern doesn’t breathe a word about what happened today on the
Tangiers
—I don’t want anyone else to know that Lily actually succeeded in collecting new evidence.”

“Sure thing, Sean,” Dave replied.

His mind racing, Sean continued, “Karen, can you telephone Simone Devaux and tell her what’s happened?”

“Yeah, I bet she’s worried—she and Lily spoke earlier today, so she already knows something’s screwy.”

“That’s putting it mildly. Tell her we need her to analyze the new samples immediately. Come to think of it, I want to talk to her, too. Let’s call her from here. Then, tomorrow morning you and Dave are going to pack up the samples and ship them express to the center.” He broke off and his feet slowed. “I know all this is a lot to ask, after what you’ve been through—”

“Stop right there, Sean. We’ll get the samples shipped.”

He smiled at her. “Thanks, Karen. The fewer people involved, the better. The only way we can win this is to lull whoever is behind the scheme into a false sense of security. The word is bound to get out that there was an accident on the reef, but most people will assume the conditions were too rough to collect samples or to take photos.”

“Should I send my film when I ship the samples?” Karen asked.

“The lab you use is in New York?”

“That’s right. Duggal Photo, in Chelsea. Best lab in the country.”

“If you’ll trust me with it, I’d like to hand deliver your film. And while I’m in New York, I’ll go pay a visit to someone I need to have a little talk with.”

Dave regarded him assessingly. “So Lesnesky’s still at Sloan-Kettering?”

“That’s right.” Sean’s expression hardened. “I’ll let him confess before he goes to hell.”

“What can Mother and I do to help, Sean?” Kaye asked.

“The most important job of all. You’re going to take care of Lily. As soon as the doctors say she can leave, I want you to bring her home to May’s, and keep her there. I won’t leave for New York until I’m sure she’s out of danger, but that means I may still be gone when she’s released. It’ll be a big load off my mind if I know she’s safe with you. But Kaye, don’t you or May Ellen let her know where I’ve gone, or why.”