Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (13 page)

Jeff stood there for a moment, sighed and
w
ent in search of Dr.
Harris
.
W
hen he found him, sitting in the living room, map laid out on the table, paper and penci
l beside him, Jeff approached
. A
s he did so he noticed the doctor had aged overnight
.
“If you don’t need me, sir, I’ll join one of the boats going out to look for Rod.”

Glancing up from the paper
w
ork, Martin
’s face lightened, if only briefly, before he
said, “Actually,
Jeff, if you
could stay here and coordinate the volunteers
, I
w
ould appreciate that
.
W
ith Julia Ann’s passing, I mus
t start arranging her funeral.
Dear God,” he stopped and shook his head in disbelief, “yesterday
w
as hell
.
” Sighing, he added, “
I fear today
w
on’t get better.”

“
I’ll help
w
herever I’m needed.”

“Thanks. Even as a child, one could al
w
ays count on you.” He patted Jeff’s shoulder,
sighed again as if dreading the day ahead.
“I’m
going
to sho
w
er
and
change. T
hen I’ll be in my study
making phone calls
on my cell,
w
hich
will
keep the landlines open for incoming calls
. If you learn any ne
w
s
,
please come get me.”
He shuffled to the stairs
,
his normal stride gone. Grasping the railing, he
climbed them very slo
w
ly.

Martin’s behavior
reminded Jeff of his
o
w
n
father
w
hen he’d lost
his
w
ife. Although
vastly different circumstances, since his mom had
died of cancer, the t
w
o men’s reaction almost mirrored each other. Ho
w
telling. For the first time, Jeff sa
w
ho
w
deeply the Doc cared for Miss Julia Ann. Love remained regardless of
w
hat else happened,
not time, not situation, not. . . He stopped for instead of the Doc, he thought about his o
w
n love.
Don’t go there
.

Mentally sha
king his mind clear, Jeff strolled to the table and
surveyed the
items on top.
T
he last thing Jef
f
w
ished
to do
w
as stay inside.
W
ith the D
N
R in charge, the job
w
as
much smaller than yesterday
.
Anyone could
man the phones
and notify Doc
if ne
w
s came in
.
Before he could consider
w
hich person to tap, Tim, the one
w
ho couldn’t go on a boat, appeared from the direction of the dining room.

“Can I do anything?” he asked, holding a glass of Coke in his hand.

“As a matter-of-fact,
yes.
” Jeff
took him to the library.
“I think
w
e
should
move the ‘command post’ here.
That
will
free up the l
iving room giving
people some place to congregate.
Doc Martin’s changing and
will
be in his study arranging
…
”
Jeff stopped recalling the retreating vie
w
of a man he’d al
w
ays admired. Clearing his throat, he
w
ent on, “the funeral for his
w
ife. If any
w
ord comes in, tell him.”

Nodding in agreement, Tim said, “Okay.
I’ll ask Sara to help me move everything here since the rest of the cro
w
d
’s
gone off hunting for Rod. She’s as anxious to help as I am. Bet
w
een the t
w
o of us
w
e can share the job
…
”

Sensing uneasiness
in Tim
, Jeff said,
“Do you have any questions?
I’m not sure I have
the
ans
w
ers, but you can try me
.
”

“
W
e’re all
w
ondering,
but
w
e don’t
w
ant to ask Taylor or her dad or even the guy from the DNR, at least not
w
ith the
Harris
e
s
around
. You’re a local.
W
hat do you think happened to Rod?”

Shrugging his shoulder, Jeff said,
“I honestly don’t kno
w
. Rod’s a boater
,
has been all his life.
That’s
w
hat’s
scary. Taylor, Doc,
everyone
realize
s
this.
Yesterday, the
w
eather
w
as misty and light rain, but no
w
ind so there
w
as very, little chop.”

Tim fro
w
ned.

“The
w
ind
will
cause
w
aves in the
w
ater
making the river
choppy.
The Broad is
very
w
ide
,
almost half-a-mile at certain points a
nd very shallo
w
in many spots. In
shallo
w
w
ater, the
w
ind ca
n really stir things up. But the day
w
as calm.
That’s
w
hy
w
e can’t understand
w
hat happened.
My theor
y
is he ran out of gas. That happens. And our tides,” he caught himself because he
w
as referring to the tides as if he still live
d
here,
w
ell he did right no
w
, “our tides can run from
minus
one foot to
eleven
feet
and change
every six hours.
Plus the speed ranges bet
w
een
four
and
five knots.”

“Hold on, h
o
w
many miles in a ‘knot’?”

“A little more than one
.”

“So,
w
e have fast running
w
ater, but
w
ouldn’t that help him drift to safety?”
Tim’
s face sho
w
ed his confusion.

“E
xcept he probably couldn’t control the boat
w
ithout an engine.”

“
You said the Broad’s shallo
w
.
W
hy didn’t he get out of the boat, pull it to shore,
w
alk to a
road and find help?
Or if the
w
ater
’s
to
o
deep, he could have s
w
um to the bank, climbed out and sought help?”

“Have you had a chance to look at the river at lo
w
tide?” Jeff asked, patiently.

“Yeah.”

“Did you see the mud on either side of the
w
a
ter,
going
all the
w
ay to the banks
?”

“Uh-huh.”

“That dark bro
w
n mud may appear to be plain
old mud, but
w
e call it ‘p
luff
mud’ because it has the consisten
cy of chocolate
w
hipped cream.
If you put one foot in,
you
sink up to your knee.
Put the second one
in,
no
w
you are in up t
o your knees on both legs. And to
make it more comfortable,
I use that
w
ord sarcastically,
oyster shells are often buried in the
pluff
mud.
The
local
Yemasee Indians used those shells for cutting
deer skins
.”

“Ouch!”
Tim
shiver
ed
.

“Exactly.
So, the locals stay in their boats and
w
ait for the tide to lift them off the bank or they drift and
w
ait for someone to find them.
Understand?”

“Yes.
Guess I’m almost glad I get seasick,
”
he grimaced.

“Any other questions?”

“Ho
w
lo
ng
will
the DNR keeping looking.
”

“Normally, three days. The authorities
,
Coas
t Guard, DNR, and local police,
will
decide
w
hat’s next.”

Tim
w
aited.

“Typically, they
scale back operation
s. Local police and DNR
will
keep alert for anything unusual
…
”

His attention stayed riveted on Jeff.

“Empty boat, floating lifejackets, debris
…
”

Tim shook his head
, concern sho
w
ing in his expression
.
“I understand.”

“
Don’t give up hope.
W
ith all the professionals and the volunteers,
w
e’ll fin
d
him.
He’ll probably be embarrassed
, as
he should be.

“
S
hare
w
hat I tol
d you
w
ith Sara and the others
w
hen they return.
No
w
, let’s get the ‘command post’ set-up”

Tim gave a mock salute.

W
hen the
last paper and pen
had been moved,
Jeff explained to
Tim and Sara,
w
ho had joined them,
w
hat area he intended to
explore. H
e
grabbed his hat and
headed off to
w
ard the dock.
On his
w
ay, he touched base
w
ith DNR to tell them his plans.
Half
w
ay t
o the boat, Taylor
intercepted
him.

“
W
here are you going?”

“To see if I can find him.”

“I’m coming
w
ith you.
”

“Taylor, you
r dad
need
s you.
”