Chapter 2

September 25 / 26

Alex paused out on the sidewalk. “I’m not sure if I’m pleased or not.”

“A mystery can be solved,” Rachel replied. “Dead bodies .. are a solution in themselves, but no bodies have been found. That has to be a bonus. Just because they didn’t see any evidence of a struggle doesn’t mean the boat wasn’t boarded. We’ll have to examine it for clues.”

“Jack and I might get something. Peri might see something too.”

“She doesn’t have the sight,” Rachel pointed out.

“No, but she can .. see in different ways. She’s never really explained it but I know she can do something.” Alex’s cell phone beeped and she pulled it from her pocket. “Hello?”

“It’s me,” Jack said. “I’ve gotten four rooms at the Starlight Hotel. It’s on the corner of Mason and Third.”

“The Starlight,” Alex repeated for Rachel’s benefit. “Corner of Mason and Third.”

Rachel looked round for a road sign. “This way. Five blocks.”

“Jack, can you get a listing for Zeke Jordan? He’s the boatyard owner. We’ll need to speak with him and make arrangements to look at the boat tomorrow.”

“I’m on it,” he replied, his voice cheerful. “What did the cops say?”

“No bodies have been found. It’s a mystery.”

“Hmm. Well, you know I love a good mystery. See you real soon.”

Alex put the phone back in her pocket and she laughed softly. “Let’s walk,” she suggested.

Rachel fell into step beside her. “What do you remember from the briefing Derek gave us?”

“I thought it was a diving trip.”

“So did I, yet it seems it wasn’t. They were just .. out on the water. And they’ve vanished. Damn,” Rachel muttered, raking a hand thru her hair. “It’s a total blank.”

“We’ll go thru Nick’s research soon as Peri gets here.”

On cue, Alex’s phone beeped again.

“I’m on the road, about ten minutes out of Santa Maria an’ heading your way. Where am I going?”

“The Starlight Hotel. Corner of Mason and Third,” Alex replied. “Everything okay?”

“Sure, why wouldn’t it be?” Merlin asked on a dry chuckle. “Once I dropped you guys off, I did a fly over of the area. I didn’t see anything. Just thought you’d wanna know that. Any news?”

“The police haven’t found any bodies.”

“That’s a positive sign,” Merlin remarked.

“Try to make good time, Peri,” Alex requested. “We need Nick’s research and it’s with you.”

“Gotcha. I’m pushing the envelop. Later.”

Alex put her phone away again.

“Nick’s done a great job,” Rachel commented. “She’s a good pilot.”

“Yeah, she is,” Alex agreed.

*****

Merlin arrived about fifty minutes later and the bags were unloaded. They decided to eat as they worked so Rachel called room service for sandwiches and coffee. They were in Alex’s room and soon Nick’s research was shared out between them.

“I’ve got the itinerary,” Rachel announced. “They left the morning of September 22, last Saturday, only three days ago, and planned to drive to Lopez Point.”

Merlin pointed a finger at the map. “Got it.”

“According to this,” Alex said, “Lopez Point is the most northerly of the sightings.”

“Excuse me,” Jack began. “I’m kinda new to this investigation, and Peri didn’t say very much about it. What sightings?”

“A ghost ship,” Kat told him, reading from a folder. “There’s newspaper clippings going back to .. the Forties.”

“Reports of a ghost ship are from all along this stretch of the central coast,” Alex went on. “From Morro Bay in the south to Lopez Point in the north.”

Rachel put down the itinerary and picked up another sheet of paper. “This area of the coast is notorious for wrecks and strandings. Nick thought he’d narrowed it down to three possible ships. Two schooners and a barkentine.” She put that down and returned to the schedule. “The plan was to drive to Lopez Point, rent a boat an’ diving gear, then .. try to ID the ship on the next day. September 23. After that, and presuming they did find a wreck and get a positive ID, they were going to drive south to here and .. I guess see if anything manifested itself. If it did, they would probably track it north again.”

“There’s no mention here of .. anything bad,” Jack remarked. “I mean, it is just a ghost ship, right? There’s no phantoms coming ashore to terrorize people, nothing like that.”

“Just a ghost ship,” Alex confirmed. “Except, of course, Derek an’ Nick have vanished. That isn’t good, Jack.”

“Sure. I know that. I’m just trying to get a feel for the case.”

“The reports in this folder,” Kat said, “are separated into two groups. September 24 thru 29. Then September 30 thru October 4.”

“Why?” Merlin frowned.

“The first group describe a ship,” Kat said, shrugging slightly. “Just .. sailing along. The second group talk about a ship in trouble. It looked like it was sailing thru a storm, even when there wasn’t one.”

“According to Nick’s notes,” Alex said, “he believes that either on or immediately after October 4, the ship went down. These manifestations detail the last eleven days of her life.”

“What could they have done?” Jack inquired. “Find the wreck, put the ship at peace? Is there any way to stop these manifestations occurring?”

Rachel shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe finding the wreck is enough. Maybe it isn’t. Maybe this particular ghost ship has never been found or identified because it slipped thru the net.” She shrugged. “What if it was smuggling? It wouldn’t advertise its route nor ports of call. We have records, yes, but if this ship isn’t recorded anywhere … ”

“We’re losing the thread here, people,” Merlin said into the thoughtful silence. “We’re not here to solve the mystery of the ghost ship. We’re here to find two missing guys. Can we stay focused?”

“Jack, did you get a listing for Zeke Jordan?” Alex asked.

“Who’s he?” Merlin inquired.

“He owns the boatyard they used. The boat they rented, and which was found abandoned, is back in the yard,” Alex replied. “Jack?”

“Yeah, an’ I called him. He’s expecting us around nine thirty tomorrow.”

Rachel got up at the knock on the door and opened it to their food order.

“Jack, you and I will examine it for .. clues,” Alex went on. “Peri, I’d like you to take a look as well.”

Merlin nodded. “Okay. Can I look first, before the scene gets muddled with even more people?”

“Sure. Rachel, you’ll have to handle the physical investigation. The forensics,” Alex concluded.

Rachel nodded as well. They were silent.

“Anyone have any ideas?” Alex invited. “No matter how wild. How could two guys just .. disappear into thin air and leave no trace?”

Merlin twitched. “Can’t argue with the fact that they’re gone, Alex. But whether they left no trace .. that’s still to be determined. We don’t have enough information yet. Maybe others came on board and took them someplace else. We won’t know till we really start looking.”

“And we can’t do that till tomorrow,” Rachel sighed.

*****

“Do you think they’re still alive?”

Rachel paused in brushing her hair and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She saw the faint dread in her eyes which confessed to serious doubt. Slowly, she turned to look at Kat who stood in the bathroom doorway.

“I wanna believe they are, Kat. But .. I have to be realistic as well. They could be dead.”

Kat shook her head. “I don’t think they are.”

“Why d’you think that?” Rachel wondered.

“Because Peri isn’t worried. Nick is her husband. If he were dead, she’d be a widow and she isn’t acting like one. She’s .. just being normal.”

Rachel hesitated. “Peri’s different. Death doesn’t affect her the same way it does us.”

“I know that,” Kat dismissed. “But, if Nick really were dead, she would act differently, Mom. She’d wanna know how it happened, why it happened. She wants to find him. That says to me she thinks they’re still alive, that they are just missing.”

“Perhaps she’s choosing to be optimistic,” Rachel pointed out. “Refusing to give in to the inevitable. I hope she’s right,” she went on quickly. “I hope they are still alive. But they’ve been gone over twenty four hours, Kat. If they had been kidnapped or taken prisoner, don’t you think Nick would’ve broken them out by now? Called home, said something. They must know we’d be worried about them. But there’s been no word.”

“They haven’t found any bodies,” Kat persisted, clinging to a stubborn hope like a barnacle to a rock.

“No, and that is good. However – ”

“Why do you do that?” Kat demanded, her eyes filling with sudden tears. “Why can’t you just believe?”

“Because I’m a scientist, a doctor, and a realist. Bodies don’t always get washed ashore. Sometimes, they sink and are only found days or weeks later, if ever. Tides, currents … They could’ve been pulled out into the Pacific, Kat. Never come ashore. I’m sorry! I don’t mean to upset you!” Rachel said, holding her daughter and hugging her. “The truth is important, Katherine, an’ we have to face it, no matter how terrible it is. I pray I’m totally wrong, that there is another explanation, something weird an’ wonderful, and that we’ll get them back. I also have to be honest.”

Kat nodded, sniffing into Rachel’s shoulder. “I want to believe.”

“Then you do that,” Rachel urged. “Faith can work miracles. We can pray for them.” She gave Kat one last tight hug. “We feel helpless because .. until tomorrow, that’s exactly what we are. When there’s nothing to do, we exercise our imaginations. We think way too much, and not all our thoughts are good. Tomorrow, we’ll start getting our answers, and we’ll feel more positive.”

At least, she silently added, I hope we will.

*****

Merlin saw Jack and Alex enter the Starlight Bar and she quickly finished her drink. They approached her table just as she rose.

“Was it something I said?” Jack asked. “C’mon, Peri, we’re on the same team. Can’t you accept that I’m here?”

“Sure,” Merlin replied. “I don’t have a problem with you being around, Jack. Never have. You talk too much but that’s just how you are. It’s … I want to be on my own, okay? I might look like I don’t care but I do. Nick’s missing. How could I not care about that?”

His face became serious. “I’m sorry. I .. never thought.” Alex took his hand and squeezed it.

“I’m gonna hit the rack,” Merlin said. “Early start tomorrow. See you guys in the morning.”

“Peri – ?” Alex began

“Yeah. In the morning,” Merlin nodded.

Jack watched her go then looked to Alex. “I missed something there. You asked a question an’ she answered. What did I miss?”

“In the morning,” Alex said firmly.

Merlin went up to her room and took a candle from her bag. She set it on the window ledge and lit it. She watched the flame flicker and settle, then she went to the bed and lay down.

“This has gotta be the one time when I hope I don’t get to meet anyone I know,” she whispered.

*****

Once Kat was asleep, Rachel went down to the bar as well. She thought a nightcap would help her sleep. She felt mean that she’d spoken the absolute truth to Kat but what else could she have done? If she’d painted some rosy, happy picture and bolstered Kat’s hopes, sending them soaring, and then … Rachel would have felt a lot worse. Kat would have felt betrayed and devastated. No, better to be honest at the start, begin preparing her for tragic news and then deal with a much more reduced shock. And, if Derek and Nick did turn up, alive and well, the elation would be so much more again. Rachel still felt mean at being the cause of Kat’s tears.

“She asleep?” Alex asked.

Rachel nodded. “Eventually.” She sat down with a cup of hot mocha chocolate and let the warmth held in her hand spread thru her entire body. “Where’s Peri?”

“Gone up to her room.” Alex checked over her shoulder; Jack was still at the bar. “She’s gone to check the forest.”

“That should answer a lot of questions,” Rachel agreed quietly.

“Obviously, I hope she doesn’t find them there,” Alex responded, “but, if she doesn’t, it raises a whole lot of other questions. Where the hell have they gotten to?”

Rachel considered. “Well .. people do disappear. Some crisis in their life which they cannot or will not face, they just take off an’ vanish. Reinvent themselves someplace else. But that doesn’t apply here. You saw them when they left, Alex. No way was it a crisis. It was a boys’ own adventure. Time away from us. They were incredibly upbeat, enthusiastic. No real pressure on them, it was .. just a quest in search of answers. Jack made a valid argument before. What could they do to stop these manifestations occurring? My guess is nothing at all.”

She sipped her chocolate, felt it start to uncoil the knots of tension. “I looked thru Nick’s research. This ship is .. a local attraction. People take vacations here at this time of the year hoping they’ll see it .. like people go to Loch Ness in Scotland. The ship doesn’t appear every year but, when it does, it’s only between September 24 thru October 4. Not every day either, but definitely not before September 24 and definitely not after October 4. Sometimes it’s visible during the day, sometimes at night. And it is obviously a ghost ship. It .. doesn’t appear real. It shimmers, it wavers. Maybe .. Derek an’ Nick thought they might be able to get close to it and read the name, then, once its fate had been officially recorded, the sightings would stop. Nick didn’t specify in his notes. They were just going to .. check it out,” she shrugged.

“Maybe even just verify the reports,” Alex agreed. “Possibly acquire some evidence.”

“Peri made a valid point too. We’re not here to continue the investigation. We’re here to find Derek an’ Nick.”

“She’s right but my gut tells me we have no choice. They were here to investigate. We have to .. follow their lead and, in doing that, we’ll find them. The two are tied together. We can’t separate them.”

Jack returned and sat down, putting Alex’s nightcap on the table. “What d’you think we’ll find tomorrow?”

“I hope we’ll see what happened to them,” Alex replied. “It can’t have been a storm because Deputy Matheson would’ve mentioned that to us. A storm, a small boat, they could’ve been washed overboard. There would have been evidence of that, and he would have told us. He didn’t. So .. I have to assume it was a calm day, they were out on the water, and .. something happened.”

Jack eased forward. “You don’t think it’s a sea monster.”

“No, Jack, I don’t. And I don’t think they were taken away by a flying saucer either,” Alex replied flatly. “I am all for entertaining implausible theories because I know, more often that not, they happen to be true but sea monsters and aliens is a definite no way, Jose.”

“That’s okay then,” he nodded. “I get nightmares sometimes about sea monsters. I think it’s because, y’know, I’m not a good swimmer. I’m not good on water at all, really. I get terribly seasick just on a lake .. on a calm day.”

“You’re gonna be a lotta fun to have around,” Rachel remarked.

“Hey,” Jack protested. “I never knew I’d be looking to go on a boat, okay?”

“What did Peri tell you?” Alex inquired.

He twitched. “They’d gone diving.”

“And you never once imagined a boat might be involved in that,” Rachel commented dryly.

“I’ll stay on dry land, how’s that?” he offered.

“No,” Alex refused. “You wanted to be part of this team. You can’t pick an’ choose which assignments you get as a result.”

“Is it just boats?” Rachel asked. “You’re okay in automobiles?”

“I’m fine in automobiles, and airplanes. It’s just boats,” Jack said miserably.

“Then maybe I have some medication which could help,” Rachel said.

“Thanks. Appreciate it.”

“And .. we’ll talk about your .. sea monster problem. Dig down and find out if there’s any deeper meaning.”

Jack smiled neutrally.

“Drink up,” Alex ordered. “Early start tomorrow. We should try to get some sleep.”

*****

When Rachel woke the next morning, the first thing she saw was that Kat’s bed was empty. For one wild second, she imagined, believed, that Kat had disappeared as well. Rachel sat up, listening. There was no sound coming from the bathroom. Dragging on a robe, Rachel went to look anyway. It was as empty as the bed.

“Damn … ” she muttered. “I don’t need this, Katherine. Don’t do it to me.”

She pulled on clothes and hurried to the room next door. “Alex?”

“Yeah?” murmured a sleepy voice.

“Is Kat in there with you?”

“No; why?”

“She’s .. up early an’ gone walkabout.” Now that Rachel was fully awake, she had an idea where Kat would have gone, who she’d be with. If Rachel couldn’t tell her what she wanted to hear, she’d go to someone who would.

There was no answer from Merlin’s door so Rachel headed downstairs to the hotel restaurant. She heard Kat’s voice before she reached the entrance.

“Don’t they ever break?” Kat was asking.

“Nope. Have to be real careful when I scratch my head,” Merlin replied. “I cut ’em every so often when they get too long.”

“Do they grow into that shape ..? Into points?”

“I file ’em that way. They’re a weapon.”

Rachel came in to see Merlin tapping her nails on the table top and Kat watching with an absorbed expression, her chin in her hand.

“You don’t ever paint them another color,” Kat went on. “They’re always red.”

Merlin angled her head. “Actually .. I don’t paint them at all. When I was small, they were the same color as yours. But then I started training.”

Kat’s eyes widened and she sat up a little. “You mean .. they’re stained red with real blood ..? Wow, neat!”

“Kat?” Rachel began, her voice level even though, inside, she was horrified – not by Merlin’s words but by Kat’s reaction.

“Oh, hi, Mom.”

“You could’ve left me a note saying where you were going. Good morning, Peri.”

“Hi, Rachel. Sleep okay?”

“Yeah, when I did sleep. Kept waking up. To be expected. How about you?”

“I guess. I feel pretty rested. Ready to go.”

“So am I,” Kat added.

“Have you had breakfast?” Rachel asked.

“Ages ago,” Kat shrugged.

“Maybe you should stay here, at the hotel,” Rachel began.

“Aquila wants me on the team,” Kat argued. “Isn’t that right, Peri?”

“Did she say that?” Merlin asked, looking at Rachel.

“Yes, but that was before Jack came along.”

Merlin eased back, one hand reaching for her coffee cup. “I’m not gonna get in the middle of you two wanting to fight. But I will say this. Rachel, I won’t lie to you .. not this time. We’ve got a problem on our hands. I can see ghosts and I can deal with them. I can do a whole lot but .. we need as many people with the sight on this as we can. I’m stuck in the here an’ now with what’s available. I can’t see visions of the past or warnings of the future. In something like this, it leaves me just a little hamstrung. I’m here to protect you, to prevent you going wherever Derek an’ Nick have gone. I’ll do that but I’d like to know what I’m up against. I say Kat should come too. The more eyes looking, the more we’re gonna see. But it’s your choice.”

Rachel glanced at her daughter and saw a smug grin hastily being wiped away.

“All right, this once. Kat, go upstairs an’ brush your teeth. I’ll be up soon.”

“Okay.”

Merlin watched Rachel take the newly vacated seat. “Lecture time, huh?”

Rachel eased forward, her face serious. “Merlin – ”

“Whoa, that’s heavy!”

“Yes, this is a heavy matter.”

“It doesn’t have to be, Rachel. Only if you make it that way.”

Rachel paused. “Peri .. I try hard to understand the constraints of your job. I do try to make allowances because I know you are a good person – you can’t be anything else. And .. I try not to judge your lifestyle. God knows, I was just as wild in my younger days and got into a lotta trouble. But I am a mother now and I do worry that Kat sees you as some kinda role model.”

“You feel that’s bad.”

“I’m concerned that she’ll try to emulate you. I have no problem whatsoever with her learning how to be strong in her personality and not get pushed around. But you have the means to take it further. She doesn’t. And that, to be honest, terrifies me. You can’t be there for her all the time. You can’t be there for us all the time. What if she gets into a situation she can’t handle because she thinks she’s learned enough from you an’ then discovers she hasn’t? She could get badly hurt.”

Merlin sipped her coffee. “Yeah, I can see that could be an issue.”

“All I ask is that you don’t encourage her.”

“How do I do that, Rachel? Let some street punk whip my ass? It won’t happen. Let me tell you something – I see Kat as the kid sister I never had. She is fun to be with. She teaches me a whole lot. I don’t encourage her to do anything except live her life an’ enjoy it. If I can help her do that, why shouldn’t I? I don’t put brakes on her. I don’t put false horizons in front of her. And as for me being a role model .. is that really so terrible? I show her that life isn’t fair, that she has to deal with whatever comes her way with what she has. I teach her to trust her senses, her gut. If you’re worried that she’ll want to be exactly like me, and become an Enforcer .. don’t. It won’t happen. She’s like Nick. Kat has too much conscience to be able to do this job. She looks up to Nick as well, because he doesn’t get pushed around, not because he can be a tough sonofabitch with a gun. She looks up to me for the same reason, not because I can do neat stuff. My lifestyle isn’t her concern, nor is it yours. I’m not dumb, Rachel. I do know the difference. When I’m with your daughter, we do the things she likes to do. We don’t go to clubs till two, three in the morning, sit around drinking, smoking or doing drugs. We hit the stores, go shopping, try on clothes, put on makeup, mess around with our hair. It’s what girls her age do, an’, yeah, I encourage her to be her age. Thru her, I get to be that age as well.”

Merlin regarded her and her rather stony expression.

“You know what I was doing when I was fourteen? Being tested every six months by William Sloan. Being molded into the warrior he wanted. Being indoctrinated with his philosophy for the future of my people. I went from being a baby to an adult with nothing in between. Kat is giving me back everything I’ve missed, Rachel. What is this? You think I tell her about making love with Nick? That I describe in graphic detail what he likes me to do to him, an’ how much I enjoy doing it? I don’t. I wouldn’t talk about that with her, you or anybody else. It isn’t anyone’s business but mine an’ his. Lighten up, for God’s sake.”

“If you could have children – ”

“I can’t, so don’t lay that on me.”

Rachel sat back, shrugging tightly. “I’m still concerned that Kat sees you as something more than what you are. In her head, her imagination, you’re more than human. You’re .. like a character on TV. Larger than life and able to do anything.”

Merlin considered. “The Xena, Dark Angel, Buffy stereotype.”

“If you wanna call it that, yeah.”

“If I said I’m not .. it wouldn’t help, would it?”

“I know you’re not. She doesn’t. And that’s the problem. She knows, more or less, that you can do anything, and it’s reinforced by what she hears her friends talking about and what she herself sees on TV .. and that is down to camera angles, an’ special effects. It isn’t real. In her mind, she thinks .. if they can do it just like Peri, so can I.”

Rachel eased forward again. “Peri, I know, and I am very grateful, that you would never hurt Kat and you will protect her equally as much as you would a Legacy member. All I ask is that .. for every story you tell her about how you kicked ass, you balance it with stories about the tremendous responsibility, the training you have to do every day, the way you can never turn your back on it, not once. Show her that it isn’t all beating the evil guys an’ winning. You did a great job with Nick. Once, he wanted to be an Enforcer. Now he doesn’t. How did you do that? Turn him round so completely?”

Merlin glanced up. “You don’t want Kat to go that route, Rachel.”

“But it worked. How’d you do it?”

“I didn’t. Michael let him share the power .. just for a while. You know what happened. He told you about it. It scared him off because he’s an adult. Kat isn’t. She could be seduced by it which is exactly the opposite of what you want to happen. Look, I’ll do a deal with you.”

“I can’t do a deal with my daughter’s aspirations,” Rachel stated.

“Hear me out. Let’s get the next few days outta the way. Let’s find Nick an’ Derek, an’ get back to San Francisco. Let me be myself in this team an’ do my job. And, if Kat still thinks I’m the answer to every problem under the sun, I’ll talk with her an’ do just as you ask. I’ll tell it straight, all the horror stories. Is that okay with you?”

“I guess it has to be.”

“Good,” Merlin nodded. “I won’t lie to you, Rachel. We have a big problem here. I didn’t find them in the forest last night. They’re not dead. And I don’t know how I can find them. I don’t have the answer. Maybe it’ll do Kat good to be around me the next few days. It’s gonna be an education .. for everyone.”

*****

Jordan’s Boatyard was at the north end of town. While Alex and Rachel spoke with Zeke to get the facts, Merlin, Kat and Jack Chivikian wandered down to look at the Shamrock.

“There she is,” Kat pointed.

“Nice boat,” Jack commented, shoving his hands into his pockets.

The Shamrock was a medium sized motor cruiser, polycarbonate and fiber glass hull, twin outboards, three decks. She looked new. There wasn’t a mark on her.

“Should we go on board?” Kat asked, looking round at Merlin.

“Best wait till the others get here,” Merlin replied.

“Didn’t get hit by anything,” Jack commented. “I mean, like another boat. I’m no expert but .. I’d say there’d be signs of a collision.”

Merlin shook her head, then felt Kat’s hand squirm into hers.

“What is it, Peri?” Kat asked. “Where’d they go?”

“I don’t know, Kat.”

“But .. you can find them, right?” Kat persisted. “You can do anything.”

“No, kiddo. I can’t.”

Inside the boatyard office, Rachel and Alex were taking possession of the remaining Luna Foundation items.

“We weren’t gonna keep ’em,” Zeke stated, rubbing a hand around the back of his neck. “We just never had the chance yet to take ’em into the Sheriff’s office. Charlie Matheson thought they were mine an’ part of the boat charter.”

Alex put the video and stills cameras into her bag, inwardly hopeful that they might provide more than clues.

“Can I ask you .. how did they seem?” Rachel asked. “What was their mood?”

“Great. Really keen to get going, y’know,” Zeke replied. “What surprised me was that, apart from those cameras, they didn’t take no gear. No fishing lines, no dive gear. Just the cameras, some food supplies, an’ themselves.”

“And when they didn’t come back?”

Zeke shrugged. “I’m not one to beef when people don’t get back on time. Sometimes they go farther than they realized an’ then don’t allow enough time to get back to the yard. I’ve done it myself so I know how easy it is to do. But, when they hadn’t shown by a quarter after seven, an’ I couldn’t raise ’em on the radio .. I called Charlie an’ reported the Shamrock missing. The cops brought it back in around eight thirty, nine o’clock.” He looked at them and shook his head. “That day was beautiful. Hardly a cloud from sunrise to sunset. Hardly a breeze. Little fog out on the horizon but it never came in. This is like the Marie Celeste. Wherever they went .. they went as they were.”

“Is it all right if we examine the Shamrock?” Alex inquired.

“Hey, go right ahead,” Zeke agreed. “I wanna know what happened just as much as you do.”

“Thanks,” Rachel smiled. “We’ll be sure to tell you .. soon as we know.”

She followed Alex outside and down to the pier where the Shamrock was tied up and the others were waiting.

“Peri, you wanted to go first,” Alex invited, gesturing at the deck.

Merlin climbed on board and stood there, while she shifted her vision into aura trace mode. She could see many colored lines moving around the deck, but two were distinctive. They indicated energy, excitement. The others were wary, somber, and puzzled. The cops, she deduced, coming on board and expecting to find death .. and not finding it. She filtered those traces out, concentrating on the two vibrant lines of color. The older the trace, the paler the color. Merlin could follow them round, plotting out exactly where each had been. To the mooring ropes, to cast off, then one went to the control panel in the main cabin, the other followed. Merlin moved to the door. The lines thickened there, indicating a long stay, yet still energetic. There was nothing bad. They went to the table and sat down. Waiting for something … Waiting for some time, as well. Then, there was movement. Fast. Sudden. And shocking. The colors changed abruptly. They’d risen.

Merlin stared at the lines for a long moment then retreated to the pier.

“Well?” Alex asked.

“The boat wasn’t boarded except by the cops. From what I could see, they cast off, started the engines and went out there .. somewhere. Quite a long way because they were at the wheel for some time. Then they sat at the table. And then .. they stood up, quickly. Whatever happened, there was no warning. Their emotions changed very fast.”

“And ..?” Rachel whispered.

Merlin saw again those twin pillars of color abruptly cut off. “They disappeared. The traces just .. wink out. One second, they were there. The next, they’d gone.” Merlin looked down at her sneakers. “I can’t explain it. I didn’t sense any evil, there’s no residue on board. There’s nothing else I can do here. I have to hand over to you guys.”

Alex nodded. “Okay. Jack? Up to this?”

“Alex, I wanna try as well,” Kat pleaded as Jack slowly nodded.

“Rachel?” Alex queried.

“Sure, honey. Go ahead.”

Rachel watched as the three went on board the Shamrock. She put a hand on Merlin’s arm.

“You okay?”

“Just peachy,” Merlin muttered. “Where the hell did they go?”

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