Last Chance Harvey, Part 9

He resembled an over sized frog, kicking from bow to stern and back. Diving solo is not recommended for a reason, you could distribute some of the gear. He would swim a little, then stop to adjust an item. Rinse and repeat. Finally, he surfaced and cleared the regulator. And with a kick, Jerry faded into the murky depths.

Jim was left alone with his thoughts. As he turned on the radio, a whippoorwill called to his mate. It sounded as lonely as he was. It would be a little bit before the dive began in earnest. A breeze started to pick up, making the air suddenly fresh. A dark cloud bank was forming on the opposite shore. An owl hooted in response to the false darkness. Slipping on the headset, something became apparent.

They wouldn't finish today.

He was too old to be chasing ghosts. This whole project was like a bad late night movie, one in particular he used like, "The Tell Tale Heart." The main character was haunted by the sound of the heart of the man he had killed. And now her heart was the haunting, even though he had nothing to do with any of this.

He looked down at his watch. Only a couple of minutes had passed. The movie involved a watch, didn't it? Yes, it was the source of the beat. But that was wind up, not A modern Casio on his wrist.

Breathe.

Focus.

Motown layered over the beat. "Stop...in the Name in Love." Jim was breaking her heart, over and over again. Corinne was kneeling, face vividly before him. There were soundless words and a noose over her head. Everything sped up. Lips looping over and over. The tempo in his chest accelerated. His head marched in time.

What was she saying? "I wish" ? Yeah. "I wish I may, I wish I might"...

"Diver to base...test...test"

He jumped. With a shake of his head, he grabbed the dive log.

"Whoa!" Sputtering into the mike. "Loud...sounds good."

A slug of coffee helped his voice.

"What's the visibility?"

"Bad. Storm kicked up a lot of silt." The regular sighed. "I'm here, though. Much easier to get to from this side."

"How close did we get?"

"About 100 feet. No obstructions."

"Camera on?"

"As far as I can tell." Another breath. "Light is working."

So far, so good. The next few minutes sounded like a surgeon dictating notes from the deep. A brief introduction to the boat, how it was damaged and how it came to be found. Jerry began at the port bow, taking pictures of the damaged hull. Working toward the stern rail, an abnormality was found in the cabin window and noted. Decking was intact. Good information if they salvaged the beast.

Each bit of information was logged as he went through the main cabin. Several empty bottles on the floor. The remains of a broken dish lay on a counter, waiting for a chance to grab a suit. No surprises, really. It was turning into a wild goose chase. One they were obligated to finish.

A bit of static.

"DAMN IT!!'

Jim looked up from the pad.

"Did not get that. Repeat."

The next transmission was clearer.

"Caught my hand on the window." A pause. "Bleeding. I'm coming out.'

Shit. How? Jim tapped the button.

"Roger that. I'll be ready."

Unclipping the first aid kit from its holder, He tossed it on the dash It had the usual variety of bandages and gauze patches, along with a needle and thread for stitches. Nah. If it's that bad, we'll just go to the Emergency Room. They were boat trash and story of getting it caught it on a boat prop would probably be believed.

Why couldn’t anything just run smooth? It was always something with Jerry, breaking his leg water skiing, wrecking his car...Come to think of it, wasn't that about when the boat disappeared? A chill came over him.

The radio came back to life.

"Diver to base. I looked in the stateroom window on the way up. Handcuffs are gone. Repeat, gone."

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Topic-Dia Jade

Pic-Jay Sole

Pic guesses: Construction site, lunch time, quitting time, working hard, hard hat,