Silent Witness (7 page)

Delilah came at them again, dove under Sarah, and carried her out to the far end of the lagoon. Jennie watched, horrified, as Delilah leapt over the low fence and headed for the open sea with Sarah clutching desperately to her fin.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, yet it wasn't. Debbie had already swum halfway across the lagoon. Tim discarded his shoes and suit jacket and dove in. Jennie started to dive in after him, but Gram stopped her. “Wait. There's no point in your going out there too.”

Jennie held back. Gram was right; Debbie would call for backup if she needed it. Scott and Ken had apparently heard their shouts and screams and hurried toward them, firing off questions no one could answer. “What's going on?”

“What happened?”

“Where's Sarah?”

Jennie started to explain when Maggie screamed again. “Where is she?”

Delilah had disappeared. Just outside the fence, Sarah's empty orange life jacket bobbed in the water like a fishing float. Debbie held it up, tossed it aside, and signaled the others.

“I was afraid of that,” Ken said. “Sarah's so thin, the life jacket must have slipped off her. C'mon, Scott, we've got to find her. She may be hung up on the fence.”

It took a moment or two for the realization to sink in.

Sarah may have drowned. “I'm coming too.” Jennie raced after them.

Gram shouted. “Look! They're coming back.”

Jennie turned her gaze in the direction Gram was pointing. She could barely make out the dorsal fin and the hand that clutched it.

“Hang on, Sarah,” Maggie yelled. She dropped to her knees and gripped the edge of the dock. “Oh, baby, please hold on.”

Moments later, the dolphin brought Sarah within reach of the ladder. Scott jumped into the water and handed her up to Ken. While Ken guided Sarah and Maggie to a bench, Jennie grabbed a couple of towels, which she wrapped snugly around Sarah's shoulders and legs. Sarah's face had gone completely white with fear, and she was shivering so hard the entire dock seemed to shake.

“Is she all right?” Debbie asked, having just arrived back at the dock. “I thought we'd lost her.”

Ken hunkered down in front of Maggie. “I'm so sorry, Mrs. Layton. We've never had anything like this happen before. I don't know what to say.”

“It's not your fault. I'm just glad Sarah's safe …”

“Don't say another word, Maggie.” Tim bent to retrieve his shoes and jacket and approached them. “We're taking Sarah to the hospital and then I'm going to talk to a lawyer. I tried to tell you how dangerous this dolphin therapy business was, but you had to try it.” He turned from Maggie and addressed the others. “I hope you people are satisfied. Sarah could have been killed out there. What is it going to take to get you to realize that these animals can't be trusted? I intend to close you down, Cole. Bet on it.”

Sarah pulled the towel over her head like a turtle escaping into its shell. Tim hustled Sarah and Maggie off to the cabins, and within half an hour they'd changed and were heading into town. As they drove away, Jennie couldn't help wondering why Tim would react so violently over an accident.
If it was an accident
. Could Tim be over-acting again? Could he have been responsible for what happened to Delilah? What better way to stop therapy and keep Sarah silent than to make the dolphin therapy seem unsafe?
You're stretching things, McGrady, she told herself. Forget it.

Ken told them he needed to talk to each of them so he could write up a report and suggested they all get into dry clothes and have lunch. Over soup, sandwiches, and fruit, they continued their discussion about Delilah's strange behavior. “From what you told me, it's like Delilah had a complete personality change,” Ken said.

“What would cause something like that to happen?”

Gram asked. “If I were dealing with a human, I'd suspect drugs. Is that possible?”

Jennie perked up at the suggestion. Maybe her idea about Tim wasn't so farfetched after all. She tucked the possibilities away, fully intending to pull them out when she had more information.

“Yes, but Delilah's not on medication. Still, it's worth checking out. I think I'll try to get her into the stretcher and examine her this afternoon.”

“Delilah's gone,” Debbie said. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Samson was the one who brought Sarah back. Now he's gone too. I think he went out to find Delilah.” To Ken she said, “I should have told you earlier, sweetheart, but I was so worried about Sarah.”

Debbie crumpled her napkin and tossed it onto the table. “This is all my fault. I should have been paying more attention to Delilah this morning. She tried to tell me something was wrong. I didn't pay enough attention.”

“Nonsense.” Ken took his wife's hand. “Delilah started acting strange after she was fed, right?”

Debbie nodded.

“Then, I'll run some lab tests on the feeding pails and the prep tables and see if I can find anything. We might have some bad fish …”

“Oh, man …” Scott scraped his chair back and ran out looking like he was about to lose his lunch.

When they'd finished eating, Gram announced she was going to do some writing, and Jennie decided to check on Scott. When he wasn't in his room, she wandered through the compound, but no one had seen him. Worried, Jennie headed for the office to check with Debbie.

As she approached the building, she heard Scott's voice. At first she thought it was coming from inside, then realized he was using the pay phone around the back of the building. Jennie was about to step around the corner when Scott's angry words stopped her.

“Hey, I didn't bargain for this. What if they find out?” After a few moments, Scott spoke again, this time his voice calmer. “Yeah, well make sure it doesn't.” Scott hung up, and Jennie slipped around to the opposite side of the building.

It's probably nothing, McGrady
, she tried to assure herself. But no matter how hard she tried not to connect them, she had the terrible feeling Scott's phone call had something to do with Delilah.

Jennie waited until Scott had moved away from the building, then ran after him. She wouldn't mention the phone call-at least not yet. Maybe he'd tell her on his own. As she raced past the office door, Jennie collided with a man coming out.

The impact threw her off balance, but the man pulled her up just before she hit the ground. Once she was back on her feet, Jennie nearly fell over again when she recognized him. Carl Layton. Sarah's stepfather.

“Are you okay, miss?” he asked.

“Yes. I'm fine,” Jennie said, feeling off balance in more ways than one. “Oh, Mr. Layton, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you. I was …”

“Going after your boyfriend?” Carl nodded in Scott's direction, smiled, and winked.

Jennie could feel the warmth creeping into her cheeks. “No … I mean he's not …”

“You might want to let him cool off a bit. He looked pretty upset when he passed me a moment ago.”

Jennie decided to let his comment pass. It would have been too hard to explain anyway. “Thanks,” she said, finally. “I'll do that.”

“By the way,” Carl said, scrutinizing her. With his tanned muscular arms folded against his chest, he reminded Jennie of Mr. Clean with hair. “How did you know my name? Have we met before?”

Jennie introduced herself and explained how she'd seen him at the airport with Maggie and Sarah.

He nodded and flashed her a warm smile. “Then, you've met my girls. Do you know where I can find them? There doesn't seem to be anyone in the office.”

“They … ah … went into town with Tim,” Jennie offered, not certain whether to tell him the whole story. “Well, then, maybe you could show me to their living quarters.” He shook his head. “I don't understand why they'd leave. I phoned Maggie this morning to let her know I was coming in early.” He stroked his chin and frowned. “Say, nothing's happened, has it? Is Sarah okay?”

“Sarah's okay,” she said, unsure of how much to tell him. He was family and deserved to know what happened.
Better keep your mouth shut
, an inner voice cautioned.
With your luck, you'll just make things worse for Debbie and Ken.

“Come on,” she said, opting not to tell him. “I'll show you where they're staying.”

Jennie left him at the Layton cabin and hurried on to her own. Gram was sitting at the patio table working on her computer. Jennie told her about Carl's arrival, but she didn't seem too interested.

“That's nice, dear,” Gram murmured, her attention still on the screen. “By the way, your mother called. She sounded worried.”

“She always sounds worried.” Knowing Gram wasn't

ready to talk to her about Carl yet, Jennie called home. “Hi, Mom,” she said when her mother answered. “What's up?”

“Nothing really. I miss you. Are you doing all right? Eating okay?”

“I'm fine, Mom. The people who run this place are vegetarians.” Jennie wrinkled her nose. “I'm getting plenty of greens.”

“Oh, dear. Are you getting enough meat? I just read an article about teenage girls who diet and don't get enough protein.”

“Mom, I'm not stupid. You don't have to worry.”

“I'm sorry. Of course you're not.” She hesitated. “I didn't mean to nag. Let's talk about something else.”

After telling Jennie how great Nick was doing, Mom spent the next five minutes talking about Michael. Jennie felt depressed after hanging up. Her mother had shared lots of news—most of it bad—at least as far as Jennie was concerned. Michael was taking them out for dinner. Michael had brought her a dozen roses. Probably the worst news was that Michael and Mom had started seeing the pastor for pre-marital counseling classes. Ugh. She hoped the pastor would tell Michael and Mom they'd made a mistake and that they were incompatible.

It was all too depressing to think about, so Jennie grabbed a book and headed for the pool. She'd only read two chapters when Scott tossed his towel down on the lounge chair next to her, walked to the side of the pool, and dove into the water as if demons were chasing him. Maybe they were. The memory of the phone call she'd overheard came flooding back.

After swimming a couple of laps, he hoisted himself out of the pool and approached her.

“I came to say goodbye,” he announced.

“What? But why?” Jennie stared up at him.

“Isn't it obvious?” Scott sat on the lounge chair next to her. “You heard Ken. He thinks maybe Delilah got

some bad fish.”

“So?”

“So that's what happened to the dolphin at Playland. And they blamed me. It's happening all over again. And once they get a look at my arrest record, I'm finished.”

“Well, did you do it?”

“What do you think?” He looked hurt that she'd even asked.

“I …” Jennie thought about the phone call. “I don't know what to think. I overheard you on the phone earlier.”

Scott frowned. “And you just assumed I was guilty?”

“No. I tried to keep an open mind. I still am.”

Scott leaned forward and toweled his hair. “I was talking to Melissa. Before we came up here, Melissa asked me to collect data that they might be able to use against the research center. I thought maybe one of them had done it.”

“Had they?”

Scott shook his head. “Melissa doesn't think anyone with the DPA would go that far.” His shoulders slumped in frustration. “Look, Jennie, I wouldn't do anything to hurt dolphins, or any marine life for that matter. I know it doesn't look good, but you have to believe me.”

“I do believe you,” Jennie said. And she did. Scott would never have hurt the dolphin deliberately.

He smiled, but his eyes still looked a stormy-gray. “Thanks,” he said. “That means a lot. But I still think I better split.”

“If you're innocent, you don't have anything to worry about. But if you run, you'll look guilty. Besides, you can't leave. We have a date, remember?”

“Oh, I wasn't planning on letting you get out of that.”

He swung his legs onto the chair and leaned back. “You really want me to stay?”

“Yes.”

Scott didn't respond. He lay on the lounge for several more minutes, then got up, said goodbye, and left. Jennie hoped he'd take her advice and stay at the research center. On the other hand, she could understand his wanting to get as far away as possible.
Don't worry about it, McGrady. Scott's bright. He'll make the right decision. He'll stay.

Jennie tried to read, but concern for Scott kept getting in the way. After about twenty minutes, she gave up and headed back to the cabin. Gram had finished working on the computer and was straightening up the living room. Jennie grabbed a dust rag and furniture polish and pitched in to help as she told Gram about her conversation with Scott and about the phone call she'd overheard earlier.

“This doesn't look good,” Gram said. “I can't imagine Scott doing anything that might harm Delilah, but I'm not sure I have the same kind of faith in the DPA.”

Jennie frowned. “Remember our last night in Key West? Scott called Melissa to tell her he was coming up north with us and wouldn't be picketing Dolphin Playland. After the phone call, he acted like he was upset about something. I never told you about it, but when you went to bed, he got angry and left.”

“Hmmm. That would make sense. From the articles and materials I've read about the DPA, they'd like nothing better than to close down places like this. Melissa may have been using Scott to achieve that end. It's hard to imagine that they would harm a dolphin, but …” Gram tossed the newspapers in a recycling bin and straightened. “I think maybe we'd better have another talk with Scott.”

They spent the next hour looking for him, but no one had seen him since he'd gotten off work at two-thirty. When he didn't show up for dinner that night, Jennie's belief in Scott's innocence began to melt.
Face it, McGrady. You were wrong. The guy's guilty, and you're just too proud to admit it.