Circle of Bones (56 page)

Theo pointed to another screen above the helm that showed the sonar image of the bottom and the clear outline of a portion of the submarine. “You can see that the sub is on a steep slope. It looks as though whatever was inside the cabin has collected on the low side.”

That explained why everything looked askew. Why it looked like the depth perception was off and it was so difficult to make out what they were looking at. 

Moving slowly, so as not to disturb the film of growth and debris any more than was necessary, Cole lifted objects from the pile.

“He said he put the strongbox inside the captain’s desk,” Riley said.

“Who said this? What are you talking about?”

“James Thatcher,” she said, too late. She did not want Diggory to know about Henri Michaut. “He interviewed an old sailor who had once served on the
Surcouf
. He said that was where the captain kept important documents.”

“That doesn’t look much like a desk.”

On the screen, Cole lifted a brown blob of growth and brushed away the feathery tendrils. Though several barnacles remained, she could make out the shape of the once-white ceramic mug. She remembered Michaut saying that he and Woolsey had interrupted the captain’s dinner. Now, all these years later, Cole pushed the mug inside a string bag he had attached to his weight belt.

Every move Cole made caused the water to grow more cloudy. They saw all sorts of tiny sea creatures and particles float by close to the lens, reflecting the light, obscuring the view of the far side of the compartment.

Theo said, “I assume all furniture on a sub is bolted to the deck. There might be a desk under there, or we may be looking at the remains of clothing, bed clothes, a mattress. Or the wood might have rotted away or been eaten by worms.”

“It’s there,” Dig said.

“Do you even know what ‘it’ is?” she asked.

“Shut up,” Dig said. “You’re in no position to be asking questions, Riley.”

He jammed the gun harder against her ribs and she winced at the pain.

“I think he’s found something,” Theo said.

Dig pushed her and she stepped forward until her midriff was pressing against the wheelhouse dash. On the screen, it was difficult to make out what Cole was doing in the cloudy water. 

Theo said, “I don’t dare try to move Enigma any closer. If I start up her little props, it will make the visibility worse.”

 Cole lifted a long flat plank. On top of it was a mass of some material, maybe the remains of clothing, maybe marine growth; it was difficult to tell on the small monitor. The piece he was lifting looked like it might have once been the desk top. Either it had broken in the explosion or the wood had rotted and the whole thing collapsed during the years it has spent on the sea bed. Cole got his head under the plank and using both hands, he withdrew something. His back was to the camera, and they could not see what he held in the shadow of his body. 

Cole slid his head out from under the plank of wood and turned. In his gloved hands, he held a box.

“Oh my God,” she said, her voice a mere whisper.

 The plank drifted back down onto the pile of debris. Cole floated there holding the thing in front of his face mask, turning it over and examining it. There was almost no growth on the box, and though it was rusted, the metal deteriorated, it looked intact. 

Cole swam closer to the camera and then, at last, she saw his eyes through the glass of his mask. He was looking at her, she was sure of it. Somehow, through the lens and camera and the more than a hundred feet of cable, he knew he was looking right into her eyes. She saw his lips curl up around the regulator as he held up the box with one hand. With his other hand, he made a big circle before pointing all his fingers at the box.

“What’s he doing?” Dig asked.

Theo sighed. “I think he’s playing Vanna White. It’s his way of saying you win.”

Cole reached forward and jostled the ROV.

“What’s he doing now?”

“He’s putting the box in
Enigma
’s steel cargo net. It’s the safest way to get it to the surface.”

Cole backed away from the camera and pointed toward the surface. She recognized what his hands were doing, but she couldn’t read it. He was signing letters.

“Theo?” she said. “What’s he saying?”

Theo glanced at Dig. “He said I’m supposed to tell the asshole he’s coming for him.”

Dig snorted. “Just get that box to the surface.”

Cole again disappeared from view, and they watched as the screen showed only the bluish cloudy water. Then the rungs of the ladder flashed past in the light again as Cole swam up pushing
Enigma
through the opening to the next deck. 

The water was not quite as murky there. Once again, he appeared in front of the camera and began to sign.

“He’s saying that it’s okay now to use the
Enigma
’s own propulsion system.”

On the screen they saw Cole’s eyes widen. It looked as though someone were shaking the camera and the image of Cole wavered from side to side. He looked up and then to both sides. Debris lifted up and floated around him, and a human skull floated past in the cloudy water. Cole pulled the camera close to his face. They saw the bubbles from his regulator stream past the lens. His fingers started flashing.

“What’s happening?” she said.

“I don’t know,” Theo said, “but he’s signing your name.”

Cole’s body jerked like he’d been hit with something. The last image they saw on the screen was his hand, his pinkie and forefinger up, his thumb off to the side. It was the only sign Riley knew. It meant ‘I love you.’

“Cole?” she said.

The screen showed more water and debris rushing past, then one of the lights went out on the ROV and the image grew even darker. For a moment, it looked like the video camera was showing a metal part of the submarine, then the screen went black when they lost the feed.

“If this is some kind of trick,” Dig said.

Riley ignored him. “Theo?” She looked at the young man’s face. He was staring at the screen. His horrified expression was no act. “What’s going on? What’s happening?” 

Theo continued to stare and she followed his gaze to the big monitor hanging over the helm.

It was the sonar screen, and it now showed only the sloping sea floor. The
Surcouf
was gone.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN

Aboard the Shadow Chaser

March 31, 2008

10:27 a.m.

She could not breathe. How? Was it possible for a submarine to disappear? Where did it go? Maybe it was another of Cole’s pranks or better yet, part of Cole’s plan. Theo was good with electronics. It
must
be one of his tricks.

Riley turned to look at him, and Theo’s eyes told her it was no trick. 

“I don’t understand,” she said.

Theo opened his mouth, then raised his hands and shook his head. “I don’t either. It’s a steep incline. Maybe when he moved that stuff inside, it was enough to shift the wreck –”

“You know the layout better than I do,” she said. “The exit – how close was he? He could have gotten out, right?”

Theo kept staring at the screen. “It’s possible. It will take him ten to fifteen minutes to get to the surface.”

Dig yanked her arm and pulled her toward the wheelhouse door. “Bring up that camera. I’ve got to get that box.” 

She struggled against his grip. “No.”

He shoved her through the door.

That was when she saw it. The gray, cauliflower-shaped cloud was visible over the top of the island of Guadeloupe. It was the shape of it that stopped her.  Unlike any cloud she had ever seen before. Riley grabbed the rail and blocked the way aft. “Theo,” she called. “Come look.”

The young man appeared behind Dig and the three of them stood there watching the cloud grow. Theo was the first to say it. “Montserrat. The volcano.”

Riley saw smoke from several fires on the island of Guadeloupe. She swung her head back and forth. “What’s happening there?” She pointed to the smoke.

“It could have been a major seismic event,” Theo said. “We wouldn’t feel it on the water.”

Dig said, “I don’t give a damn about what’s happening on the island. Bring up that box.”

The VHF radio back in the wheelhouse erupted with voices speaking in rapid French.

“What are they saying?” Theo asked.

Riley listened. People were talking at once, stepping on one another’s transmissions. One woman was screaming in incomprehensible Creole. 

“Someone just said several buildings have collapsed in Pointe-à-Pitre,” she said. “My God, Theo. An earthquake. If he’s trapped –” She could not finish the sentence.

Theo turned on the FM radio. There was only static. “Power must be down on the island. That’s why everyone is on the VHF.”

 Riley said, “Now they’re asking for all emergency personnel to report for duty, and any people with medical training to go to the city to treat the injured.”

Theo tapped the scan button. “I think I can pick up a Dominica station here.”

A British accented voice began speaking through the static. “The Soufrière Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat has erupted with an unprecedented explosion causing more than half of the lava dome to collapse. The ash and steam plume is visible for miles. While here on Dominica, we felt a morning tremor, reports are coming in of a more severe earthquake on the French island of Guadeloupe.” 

Theo tucked his tablet computer under his arm and pushed past them. He trotted back to the big spool on the after deck and hit a switch with the palm of his hand. An electric motor hummed and the cable began to reel in.

Dig pushed Riley ahead and they followed. When they got to the rail on the afterdeck, she searched the surface for signs of bubbles.
Cole, tell me you’re okay. You’re going to surface in a minute and we’ll laugh, right?
Each time she saw something that looked like it might be a diver’s bubbles, hope rose in her chest, but then the water would turn smooth again, the disturbance nothing more than a wind wave.

She would know it if he were dead, wouldn’t she? She’d known something was wrong when Michael died, and he had been across an ocean. Not under one.
Mikey, help me. Help me find him. Tell me he’s all right. 

Theo stopped the winch.

“Why are you stopping?” Dig asked.

“It’s a long shot, but Cole might have attached himself to the ROV. We bring him up too fast, and he’ll get the bends.”

Dig raised the gun and pressed the barrel against the side of Riley’s head. “You reel that in right now, or I’ll shoot her.”

“Theo, don’t —” 

“Riley, look, so far, the cable’s intact. If
Enigma
made it out, there’s hope Cole did, too. He may be down there decompressing right now.”

Then where are his bubbles, she wanted to ask. 

“Stop talking and bring it up.” Dig twisted away from her and trained the gun downward. She jumped at the boom when it went off. 

Theo howled, his voice rising at the end as though in a question. He hopped a couple of times on one foot, his back arched, his face twisted in pain. He lifted his foot and examined the shoe. Blood dripped from a hole on the little toe side of his sneaker.

“Don’t argue with me, boy.”

Theo stared at Dig, the whites of his eyes huge behind his glasses, his lips pressed together as though he were forcing his mouth to stay shut. 

Far across the water, Riley saw a sportfishing boat headed toward them.
Stay away,
she wanted to say. There is a crazy man here, and he is likely to shoot all of us before this day is done.

After that first cry, Theo didn’t make another sound. He hit the button and the crane started up again. The three of them stood silent at the rail watching the black, snake-like cable emerge dripping and glistening in the sunlight. To the northwest, over the island, the ash cloud grew like a brain coral recorded on time-lapse photography. It spread toward them coating the blue dome overhead with its gray pall. 

Finally, the bright yellow of the PVC pipe appeared a few feet below the surface. There was no diver, either alive or dead, attached to the ROV.
Where are you Cole? Please tell me you’re hanging on the anchor chain hatching some crazy plan. 

The
Enigma
no longer looked like a cute little toy. The yellow pipes were broken, mangled. Riley remembered how proud Cole had been when he had shown it to her during their first passage down to Dominica and the Indian River. The device now looked like it had been hit by a truck, or more precisely, dragged out of a wreck.

Theo hit the button to stop the crane before the device was halfway out of the water. “There’s something in the cargo net,” he said. 

“Bring it up on deck,” Dig said.

“I can’t. The cable can’t support the weight of it. It breaks and it will all sink. Somebody needs to get in the water to attach the line from the crane.”

“I think I can do it from the
Fast Eddie
,” Riley said. She wanted to get down closer to the water to look for Cole. 

“Good idea.”

“You’re not going anywhere without me,” Dig said.

She gave him a curt nod. “Let me untie the painter.” He released his grip on her arm, and she stepped back to the cleat. She handed the line to Theo, and he pulled the black speedboat alongside the rope ladder. Riley climbed down and Dig followed, struggling to hold onto the ladder. When he stepped onto the deck, he pulled the sling off over his head. She saw where blood had stained the left side of his shirt.

Meanwhile, Theo swung the crane out over the water. Out on the boat’s foredeck, she scanned the
Shadow Chaser
’s waterline. No sign of him. She reached up and grabbed the shackle dangling from the crane.

“Got it,” she called. She pulled on the line and walked aft, then jumped down into the cockpit so she would be able to reach the
Enigma
where it bobbed at the surface. Once the shackle was secured, she gave Theo a thumbs up and the crane motor hummed. 

Dig pushed her aside as the mangled ROV rose dripping out of the water. He swung it over the powerboat’s after deck, and Theo reversed the crane. Over Dig’s shoulder, she saw a flash of white. The ceramic mug. She smelled the sharp, acrid odor she always associated with low tide. Dig reached into the steel mesh bag that was slung beneath the ballast tanks, and he withdrew the white mug. She saw his hand go up into the air, and she held her breath. Two other men had touched that artifact before Dig — Cole and the captain of the
Surcouf
. She saw his hand fly past as he threw the mug to the deck where it exploded into sharp white shards.