don’t even
know what Miss Dawson wants to do.’
‘Carol is fine,’ she said. She paused for a moment, assessing the two men in front
of her.
Might as well
, Carol thought,
nobody is going to suspect anything if I’m with these two
. ‘Well, I told the desk that I wanted to go out to do some swimming and diving. But
that’s only partially true. What I really want to do is go out here’ (she pulled a
folded map out of her beach bag and showed them an area of about ten square miles
in the Gulf of Mexico to the north of Key West) ‘and look for whales.’
Nick’s brow furrowed. Troy peered over Carol’s shoulder at the map. ‘There have been
numerous irregularities in the behaviour of whales in this area lately, including
a major beaching at Deer Key this morning,’ Carol continued. ‘I want to see if I can
find any pattern in their actions. I may need to do some diving, so one of you will
have to accompany me. I assume that at least one of you is a licensed diver and that
your dive gear is on board?’
The two men regarded her with disbelieving stares. Carol felt on the defensive. ‘Really…
I’m a reporter,’ she said as an explanation. ‘I work for the
Miami Herald
. I just did a story this morning on the Deer Key beaching.’
Troy turned to Nick. ‘Okay, Professor, I guess we have a live charter here. One who
says she wants to look for whales in the Gulf of Mexico. What do you say? Should we
accept her money?’
Nick shrugged his shoulders indifferently and Troy took it as assent. ‘All right,
angel,’ Troy said to Carol, ‘we’ll be ready in half an hour. We’re both licensed divers
if we’re really needed. Our gear is on board and we can get more for you. Why don’t
you pay Julianne at the desk and get your things together.’
Troy turned and walked over to the jumbled mess of electronics at the front of the
boat. He picked up one of the boxes with its housing partially removed and began toying
with it. Nick pulled another beer out of the refrigerator and opened the built-in
counters, exposing racks of equipment. Carol did not move. After about twenty seconds
Nick noticed that she was still there. ‘Well,’ he said in a tone of dismissal, ‘didn’t
you hear Troy? We won’t be ready for half an hour.’ He turned around and walked toward
the back of the boat.
Troy looked up from his repair work. He was amused by the friction already developing
between Nick and Carol. ‘Is he always so pleasant?’ Carol said to Troy, nodding in
Nick’s direction. She was still smiling but her tone conveyed some irritation. ‘I
have a few pieces of equipment that I want to bring on board. Can you give me a hand
with it?’
Thirty minutes later Troy and Carol returned to the
Florida Queen
. Troy was grinning and whistling ‘Zippity-Do-Dah’ as he pulled a cart down the jetty
and came to a stop in front of the boat. A partially-filled footlocker was resting
on the cart. Troy could hardly wait to see Nick’s face when he saw Carol’s ‘few pieces
of equipment’. Troy was excited by the turn of events. He knew that this was no casual
afternoon charter. Reporters, even successful ones (and Troy’s street intelligence
had quickly informed him that Carol was not just an ordinary reporter), did not have
everyday access to the kind of equipment that she was carrying. Already Troy was certain
that the whale story was just a cover. But he wasn’t going to say anything just yet;
he wanted to wait and see how things developed.
Troy liked this confident young woman. There was no trace of superiority or prejudice
in her manner. And she had a good sense of humour. After they had opened the back
of her station wagon and she had showed him the footlocker full of equipment, Troy
had demonstrated to Carol that he was fairly sophisticated about electronics. He had
recognized immediately the MOI insignia on Dale’s ocean telescope and
know what Miss Dawson wants to do.’
‘Carol is fine,’ she said. She paused for a moment, assessing the two men in front
of her.
Might as well
, Carol thought,
nobody is going to suspect anything if I’m with these two
. ‘Well, I told the desk that I wanted to go out to do some swimming and diving. But
that’s only partially true. What I really want to do is go out here’ (she pulled a
folded map out of her beach bag and showed them an area of about ten square miles
in the Gulf of Mexico to the north of Key West) ‘and look for whales.’
Nick’s brow furrowed. Troy peered over Carol’s shoulder at the map. ‘There have been
numerous irregularities in the behaviour of whales in this area lately, including
a major beaching at Deer Key this morning,’ Carol continued. ‘I want to see if I can
find any pattern in their actions. I may need to do some diving, so one of you will
have to accompany me. I assume that at least one of you is a licensed diver and that
your dive gear is on board?’
The two men regarded her with disbelieving stares. Carol felt on the defensive. ‘Really…
I’m a reporter,’ she said as an explanation. ‘I work for the
Miami Herald
. I just did a story this morning on the Deer Key beaching.’
Troy turned to Nick. ‘Okay, Professor, I guess we have a live charter here. One who
says she wants to look for whales in the Gulf of Mexico. What do you say? Should we
accept her money?’
Nick shrugged his shoulders indifferently and Troy took it as assent. ‘All right,
angel,’ Troy said to Carol, ‘we’ll be ready in half an hour. We’re both licensed divers
if we’re really needed. Our gear is on board and we can get more for you. Why don’t
you pay Julianne at the desk and get your things together.’
Troy turned and walked over to the jumbled mess of electronics at the front of the
boat. He picked up one of the boxes with its housing partially removed and began toying
with it. Nick pulled another beer out of the refrigerator and opened the built-in
counters, exposing racks of equipment. Carol did not move. After about twenty seconds
Nick noticed that she was still there. ‘Well,’ he said in a tone of dismissal, ‘didn’t
you hear Troy? We won’t be ready for half an hour.’ He turned around and walked toward
the back of the boat.
Troy looked up from his repair work. He was amused by the friction already developing
between Nick and Carol. ‘Is he always so pleasant?’ Carol said to Troy, nodding in
Nick’s direction. She was still smiling but her tone conveyed some irritation. ‘I
have a few pieces of equipment that I want to bring on board. Can you give me a hand
with it?’
Thirty minutes later Troy and Carol returned to the
Florida Queen
. Troy was grinning and whistling ‘Zippity-Do-Dah’ as he pulled a cart down the jetty
and came to a stop in front of the boat. A partially-filled footlocker was resting
on the cart. Troy could hardly wait to see Nick’s face when he saw Carol’s ‘few pieces
of equipment’. Troy was excited by the turn of events. He knew that this was no casual
afternoon charter. Reporters, even successful ones (and Troy’s street intelligence
had quickly informed him that Carol was not just an ordinary reporter), did not have
everyday access to the kind of equipment that she was carrying. Already Troy was certain
that the whale story was just a cover. But he wasn’t going to say anything just yet;
he wanted to wait and see how things developed.
Troy liked this confident young woman. There was no trace of superiority or prejudice
in her manner. And she had a good sense of humour. After they had opened the back
of her station wagon and she had showed him the footlocker full of equipment, Troy
had demonstrated to Carol that he was fairly sophisticated about electronics. He had
recognized immediately the MOI insignia on Dale’s ocean telescope and
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