Chapter One Cumbre Vieja
They had taken the road from Las Canarias heading north along the west coast of the Island of La Palma part of the Canary Island chain. The open Jeep belonged to Juan Ramirez and it was decrepit and grey with dust. When they turned off the paved main road that circled the island and headed up a bumpy dirt trail, the Jeep's engine laboured unevenly and Juan ground the gears down as they climbed.
Doctor Erin Ray sat silently hardly noticing the beauty that was the Canary Islands. Along the coast, tourist hotels and private mansions had changed the landscape into a tropical paradise of brilliant flowers, shady palms, and immaculate lawns. Beyond the black sand beaches, the Atlantic Ocean shimmered with diamonds of light. It was an island paradise facing a major crisis, but Erin's thoughts were far away, on a sun drenched summer in Vancouver, Canada when she had first met Chrissy.
The Jeep spluttered, jerked to the left and came to a halt on a steep incline. They sat waving away the dust until it settled around them. They were well inland now and a thousand feet above the ocean below. Here the natural flora of the Canaries dominated. The sandy, dry soil supporting mostly carduus spurges, types of succulent brushes. Erin caught the flash of yellow out the corner of her eye as an Atlantic Canary flew from one branch to another.
Juan saw it too as he lifted equipment out of the Jeep. “A canary for luck. It's a good sign, the birds haven't flown away yet. For almost a year, you have been my thesis prof, Erin and before that you helped me through my master's degree. This volcano, she is our passion, no? Cumbre Vieja is our volcano.”
Erin nodded and smiled. “Si, our volcano,” she responded as she climbed out of the Jeep and then reached in the back for her large knapsack.
Juan was in his mid-twenties. He was a short, blocky young man with long, black hair that he wore pulled back and tied with a leather thong to make a ponytail. He had the olive skin of a Mediterranean and deep, brown eyes that often sparkled with merriment. There was no merriment in the eyes that now met Erin's over the hood of the Jeep. “Maybe today we come to say good bye to her.”
“You worried?” Erin was rifling through her knapsack resting on the hoof of the Jeep, making sure she had everything she would need up on the cone.
The strain of emotion was tight in Juan's voice when he answered. “Si. My ancestor was a Spanish sailor who settled here in the late seventeen hundreds. La Palma is in my blood and in my soul. I have a young wife and two children. I planned to get my doctorate this year in volcanology and then hopefully get a research or lecturer job at the University of Las Palmas de Gran. This is my home. This is my future, Erin. You can just go home to Canada.”
Balancing the knapsack on the edge of the Jeep's hood, Erin turned and slipped her arms through the straps then hopped to settle it on her shoulders before locking the waist strap in place. She reached into the Jeep for her walking stick before answering Juan.
“Don't borrow trouble. Let's see what Cumbre Vieja has to tell us first. I can promise you this, you and your family will be safe and the Canary Islands will endure.” Erin tried her best to sound calm and confident despite her own concerns.
Worried large, brown eyes studied her then nodded. A few inches taller than Juan, she was wiry and lean, and today her fair skin was badly sun burnt. She'd arrived yesterday and had walked the beach for miles thinking before she'd phoned Juan. The impending crisis was stress enough, but it had brought back old issues that had left her feeling down and introspective. She looked over at Juan, who had put on his own knapsack and was now getting out the tripod for the surveying equipment. Erin frowned. She hadn't been very good company on the way up here, or very reassuring. Guilt needled at her and she sighed. “It'll be okay. Don't worry.” Was that enough? She'd never been good at small talk or social graces.
She leaned into the Jeep once more to get her cell phone that had been charging while they'd driven. For a second, she caught a glimpse of herself in the driver's rear view mirror. A Canadian patch was sewn on her knapsack she could see behind her head. Blond hair was cut in a simple almost masculine style. She noted with a grimace, that now in her early thirties, she was starting to get wrinkles around her blue eyes. When had that happened?
Once she'd had a social life, but over the years of study her life had narrowed until now it had become only observing Cumbre Vieja. Erin sighed. It was not a good time to be letting her mind wander. Today's observations were critical; they'd have to be right.
Pocketing her phone, she walked over to some bushes and looked at them closely. The succulent leaves usually dark green and plump, drooped and looked wrinkled. “The birds will leave soon, maybe on the trade winds tonight,” she said.
Juan nodded. “The dogs have been howling the last few days.”
Erin smiled at him. “That's an old wives' tale.”
He shrugged. “Old wives maybe know these things. The dogs howl. You ready?”
Erin nodded. “Let's go.”
They climbed steadily, Juan leading the way. They hiked first along trails through succulent bushes and then entered tall, thin trees of pine and juniper. Juan pointed to a Barbary ground squirrel who sat on a branch chattering at them. “He doesn't like us disturbing his forest.”
To a Canadian like Erin, the squirrel looked more like a chipmunk with the two dark brown stripes running down its back. “If you're right, he hasn't seen anything yet,” Erin murmured.
Juan stopped and looked back at her. “I wouldn't have called you to come if I wasn't certain.” he said.
Erin frowned. She'd gone to England to give a lecture. When Juan had called, she was back at the hotel, lying on the bed, clicking through channels and reached for her cell phone on the bedside table. “Hello.”
“Erin, it is Juan. I think you need to come. I was on Cumbre Vieja today. I think she is going to blow.”
Erin wasn't listening. Her full attention had suddenly been caught by a science program on hammerhead sharks in the coastal waters of Florida. The diver was Chrissy. Erin had sat up in bed in shock. Chrissy. Her emotions careened out of control.
“Erin? Are you there?”
Her voice seemed far away and rough with emotion when she replied, “Juan, I just saw Chrissy. She's on TV.”
“On TV?”
“A program on sharks,” she murmured, slipping of the bed to move closer to the screen. Show the driver, not the damn sharks! Her head suddenly ached and her gut felt tight and sore.
“Erin! Did you hear what I said? You need to come back. I don't like the look of Cumbre Vieja.”
The program had gone to commercial. The screen filled with a woman biking, her hair blowing in the wind, free and happy due to a new product for females. Juan's words finally sank in. “Cumbre Vieja?” She turned away from the screen and looked out the window into the dark, rainy night. “Are you sure?”
“Si, I think so.” Her assistant's voice sounded tight with frustration. “I think you should look at her. Can you come?”
“I'll be there within twenty-four hours,” Erin responded, looking at her watch and trying to make sense of the emotions that were raining through her system.
The response was angry this time. “Erin, you forget Chrissy. She was no good for you. Cumbre Vieja needs you.”
Erin's jaw tightened, but she responded calmly, “I'll phone you when I get there.” Not wanting to hear any more from Juan, she'd snapped off the phone and turned back to the TV. The program was over.
“Erin?” She looked up from her mussing and saw Juan waiting on the trail for a response with a worried frown on his face.
“I wouldn't be here now if I didn't trust your judgement,” she assured him. He smiled at the praise and began hiking up the mountain again. At a higher altitude, the flora turned to laurel-like evergreens with soft fern underbrush. Higher still were pine woods stunted and twisted with wind. The trail eventually faded out as they emerged from the shade of the trees onto rough, distorted ridges and gullies. These were the dark grey remains of volcanic eruptions now sporting tough grasses, red viper and wall flower.
Erin called a halt to rub on more sun tan lotion and to get her hat out of her knapsack. This high on the slope of Cumbre Veija the trade-winds cooled the skin, but the sun's radiation burned anyway. She looked up. Was there now a greater bulge to the mountainside?
“I'm seeing stress fracturing,” Erin stated.
“Si,” Juan nodded. “It gets worse, Erin.” He waited until she had put away her sun-tan lotion and then started climbing again.
“You want to talk about it?” Juan suddenly asked, cutting into her thoughts. He kept his back to her, allowing her privacy as he slowly hiked higher.
“Nothing to talk about.” Erin's hamstrings were burning with the effort of the steep climb. She was using her walking stick to push herself upwards with each step.
“England. The television show you tell me you saw. It brought back memories, no?” Juan wasn't giving up.
Tears sprang to Erin's eyes. “Yes, I guess. I didn't know she was back in the States working in Florida. It was a shock.”
He turned to look at her with eyes full of worry. “You did the right thing,” Juan reassured her. “You shouldn't let it eat at you.”
Erin turned to look down at the sea, thousands of feet below, so she could blink away her tears. “Did I? You married, had kids and still continued your studies.”
“For me it was different. I had a wealthy family to support me. I had the Church's blessing. Yes, it's been hard, but not impossible, like your situation. I know a good man -”
“Juan, it isn't like that.” Erin sighed and turned to look at her friend. “You know that. I am what I am and I can't change my nature.” They had discussed Erin's love affair with Chrissy many times before. They weren't going to agree.
Juan nodded sadly and turned to climb on. “Yes, I know, but there was no harm in trying. It is good she is far away.”
“Let's focus on Cumbre Vieja. The right call has to be made. At the moment nothing else matters.” They climbed on in silence.
Cumbre Vieja the Old Summit, was 2 426 meters high and not as old or safe as people had come to believe. It was a time bomb waiting to go off. Now they were high on the volcano's slopes and Cumbre Vieja was creating her own weather patterns. The wind whipped around them and they stopped to put on goggles and oxygen masks against the volcanic dust and gases in the air. They stood side by side, their backs to the gale force winds.
“We'll stop here,” Erin called out above the wind. “This is high enough. Have you checked the monitors this week?”
“Si,” Juan said. “Everything is in place and functioning well. I have the latest readings in the Jeep to show you, but I thought you'd want to come up here first.”
Erin nodded. Data was one thing, but to really know what a volcano was feeling, you had to be on her. She knew the data was going to reinforce what she was seeing. She could feel the ground trembling under her feet and small slides of dust and rock rolled down the mountainside. More fissures had opened and gasses hissed up and were blown away. Sweat dripped down Erin's face as she stooped to touch the ground. Hot.
Juan was testing the air for gas particles. He looked up. “Erin, I'm getting readings of sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide.”
“Let's do a quick survey and then get the hell out of here,” Erin stated. In the swirling winds they struggled to set up the survey equipment. Juan held the measuring stick while Erin looked through the lens and recorded the results. “The ground has bulged out another three metres.”
Once again, Erin bent down to run her fingers through the loose ash. Hot. It was warmed by the sun, of course, this was the Canary Islands, but the heat was radiating up through the rock with an inner heat. Juan stood near-by watching. Erin could see his worn, shapeless blue jeans out the corner of her eye.
She looked up at him. “The lava is rising. She's in pain.”
“Si.”
“Pressure, too,” Erin observed, looking around. “You were right to call, Juan. This could be it.”
“There are many small quakes, Erin, but all these signs are common on Cumbre Vieja.” Juan chewed his lip while Erin considered. Juan couldn't afford to be wrong not if he wanted to get his doctorate. He knew he was right, but he wanted her to take the responsibility of making the final decision. She was not going to let him get off that easy. If he wanted that doctorate, it wasn't enough to know his research he had to be able to stand behind it and be responsible for his research. Erin got up from where she had been squatting and found a boulder to sit on to watch Juan carefully pack up the survey equipment. “You've drawn conclusions, so you know what has to be done,” Erin said, “so why did you call me back?”
“If we are wrong, it will cost nations millions. That is not a decision I can make as a graduate student,” he answered and then chuckled realizing that Erin was just giving him a rough time. “This is our mountain. Like I could make such a decision without my boss here.”
Erin looked up at the smoking cone of Cumbre Vieja then over at her student and friend. “You're damn right. I'd have killed you. This hot, little sweetheart and I have been together a long time.” She laughed, got up and led the way down the mountainside.
“It is a big decision. Volcanoes are unpredictable. Maybe she is fooling and then we'd be the laughing stocks of the academic world.”
Juan wasn't laughing now, Erin knew. He was scared, not of the volcano but of the decision. The academic world was highly competitive and a mistake of this magnitude could finish a career before it even got started. Erin didn't look back. She gave him his privacy as he'd respected hers. “Juan, sometimes academics have to trust their guts. I've spent years studying this volcano. I know her, so do you. What does your gut tell you?”
The answer was quick in coming. “She's going to blow.”
Erin smiled as she kept a steady pace down the trail. She was pleased that her student's answer was so sure and confident. “I agree. I need to check the instrument read outs you brought along, but I'm fairly certain this is going to be the big one.”
Juan caught up to her and stopped her with a touch on her arm. “What if we are wrong?”
Erin shrugged. “Then you'll be working at your dad's resort and I'll be lecturing first year geography at some last chance university on the Canadian back forty.” She looked him straight in the eyes. “But we're not wrong and by following our guts, we might be able to save millions of lives. Isn't that more important than how it will affect our careers?” Juan nodded and let his hand fall away. She could tell he knew she was right, but naturally he was still worried. They both had a lot to lose if they were wrong. Erin knew he'd worked hard to be where he was today. No doubt, he could see all that effort slipping through his fingers.
“I could do it alone, but I think you've earned the right to have your name beside mine,” Erin said. She was giving him the chance to back out. Many thesis profs took the credit for their student's work, Juan didn't have to stick his neck out.
To her delight, Juan laughed. “I am to let you take all the credit? No way!”
Erin reached out and gave his arm a squeeze. “Let's get out of here and have a look at the monitor's readings.”
Half way down, safely away from the danger of poisonous gases, Erin called a halt. They took off their knapsacks, set up their equipment, and took readings and measurements.
“My God, this shouldn't be happening,” Juan muttered. “Erin, we're on hard, base rock here and yet I'm seeing a lift of over four meters!”
Erin looked over from where she stood holding the surveyor's pole. “Not good. The COSPEC is showing low levels of volcanic gases too. I don't think its sinking down from above. I think it's starting to come up from below, through crevices.”
Juan frowned. “Recent computer models indicate this shouldn't happen.”
Erin shrugged. “We always knew that Cumbre Vieja could be the exception to the rule. It's why we have studied her so closely and for so long. I think this is significant proof that we are right.”
Juan looked relieved. He busied himself packing up their equipment. The more evidence they had that Cumbre Vieja was not just going to erupt, but was going to blow out the entire western side of its cone, the easier it would be to convince others that precautions needed to be taken.
***
Two hours later, they sat in Juan's Jeep. Erin put down the sheet of readings that Juan had collected the day before from the correlation spectrometers or COSPEC. COSPECs were originally designed to measure the pollution from factory stacks, but volcanologist used the devices to measure gases being released by volcanoes. Erin sighed in frustration and leaned back in her seat. “Inconclusive. The signs are all there but nothing has hit a significant level.”
“It's going to blow. Why is she not showing that?”
Erin talked with her eyes closed. She had a bitch of a headache coming on. “The lava is deep chambering. It's building up and up like a pressure cooker down in the hard rock. A little rumble and a little steam but nothing much is going to happen until the lid pops off.”
“Lid!” Juan snorted, “It will take out the west side of the mountain! What we do?” Juan's English grammar always deteriorated when he was under strain.
For a minute, Erin sat silently going through her list of procedures. This was it. The big call you have to make. What was she going to do? She opened her eyes and sat up. “I'll drive, you phone your family. Tell them to get to the airport and on the first plane out that is not going to the African coast. Have them book a flight for you, too.”
“What about you?” Juan asked already punching in a number.
“I've already booked a flight out this evening,” Erin admitted, keeping her eye on the road. She was driving fast and the old Jeep's steering wasn't the best.
Juan looked over in surprise but before he could respond his wife answered his call.
“Sofia, you know we've talked. This is it. You get everyone to the airport and book a ticket for me too. I'm on the way. I'll be there in less than two hours. None of you say anything to anyone, understood? Good. I love you. Don't worry. Erin and I will do all we can to help others. Hasta ahora.”
Erin smiled. “You had everything planned with your family.”
Juan turned in his seat to look at her. “Of course. Ever since I realized the danger. I have a family. You don't understand these things. You booked a flight before you even checked the mountain?”
Erin reached out and gave his arm an affectionate punch, then quickly grabbed hold of the wheel again. The Jeep drove like it had wheels going in opposite directions. “Of course. I trained you, so your assumptions had to be right,” she joked. Juan snorted, but Erin knew he was pleased that she had faith in his ability.
“Where you go?”
“America.”
There was silence for a minute while Juan thought about that. “Si, you'd have to,” he sighed.
Erin quickly changed the subject. “Get on the phone to the Teide and Roque de los Muchachos Observatories. Tell them you are calling for me and that it is a Code Red. Five days maximum and probably a lot less.”
Juan gave her a poke this time. “You too had plans ready.”
“Of course. Ever since I realized the danger,” she echoed his words.
Juan chuckled and then got on the phone again. “Teide Observatory? I'm phoning for Dr. Erin Ray. This is very important. She wants you to know that it is a Code Red. I say again, Code Red. We are counting. You have five days on the outside, probably less. No, that is the message. I have others to call.” Juan hung up, then dialed the second observatory and repeated the message.
They stopped briefly at Erin's hotel. She hadn't unpacked so it took only a few minutes to check out and throw her bags into the Jeep. “You drive this time. I'm not driving this death trap in heavy traffic,” Erin grumbled.
As soon as they were on their way, Erin called a number that she had committed to memory long ago. She waited quite a while before the call was picked up in the Canary Islands government office. “Mr. President, its Dr. Erin Ray. We have a Code Red. Yes, I'm sure. Five days, likely much less. I think you'd better prepare for a worst case scenario. No, I'm not positive. These things are very unpredictable. Yes, I know what I'm asking.” Erin listened in silence for a bit then responded. “The cost will be much higher if you don't. Adios.”
Juan frowned. “He is hesitant?”
Erin was now clicking through her phone numbers looking for what she needed. “Of course, if I'm wrong he's going to look like an ass. Not to mention the panic, expense and hard decisions that will have to be made. He's as scared as we are.”
Juan sighed as he passed a truck loaded down with stalks of bunches of bananas. “Don't they understand you can't second guess Mother Nature?
“He's a politician, we're scientists. There isn't a lot of common ground. I've got to phone Morocco next, Spain, Portugal and then England.”
Juan wove his way through traffic and on to the international airport in Santa Cruz as quickly as he could while Erin talked to various departments that handled imperative matters such as natural disasters.
“So?” Juan asked as Erin swore and snapped her phone closed.
“It's the will of Allah in Morocco, but they thanked us for the warning. Spain and Portugal will pass the message through the proper channels. England will take necessary precautions in a timely manner.”
“What does that mean?” Juan asked, the frustration sounding in his voice too.
Erin shrugged. “I have no idea.”
They arrived at the airport outside of La Poluacerna south of Santa Cruz and parked the Jeep in the long term parking lot. Juan gave it a pat.
“I bought this Jeep second-hand with the money I saved from working at my father's hotel. I'd just turned sixteen and it was the first important thing I bought in my life. She has been a faithful friend.”
“It will probably survive if the flooding doesn't come too far inland. The main force will be west and the island itself will act as a barrier to the eastern wave. I don't think we'll see a lot of ash build up or lava flow. It's just going to be one big boom and splash.”
Juan took Erin's shoulder bag while she pulled her wheeled suitcase. When they reached the terminal, Juan's extended family was already there. Sophia came running over to give Juan a hug. “You are okay?”
“Si, I'm fine. You have got us all on a plane?”
“Better than that. Your father has chartered a plane to take us all to Spain, so we can all go together. But Juan, I cann't contact everyone. There are cousins -”
Juan interrupted her gently. “Sophia, we've talked about this. We must be careful not to cause panic. That would make things much worse. Our government has been notified and they are already taking action to make sure people are safe. Do not worry.”
Sophia frowned in frustration. “Then why are we leaving?”
“Because these things are unpredictable and I love my family dearly. We will not discuss this now, Sophia. This is not the time or place.” Juan's voice was sharp.
Tears welled in Sophia's eyes, but she nodded. “Okay, Juan. I'm sorry.” They stood in awkward silence for a minute, then Sophia turned to Erin. “Erin, you are welcome to join us on the charter.”
“That's okay, Sophia. I already have a plane booked and it's a direct flight to the US.” She gave Sophia a quick hug and then offered her hand to Juan. “You should be able to pick up our monitor readings for a few days yet. Keep me posted.”
“Yes, Doctor. Erin, whatever happens, it's been an honour to have you as my thesis prof.” They shook hands and then Juan pulled her into a bear hug.
“Enough of this Spanish emotion,” Erin grumbled. “When this is over, you and I will have months of work left to do on Cumbre Vieja.”
“Si,” Juan smiled, pumping Erin's hand again.
“Now go join your family so they can be underway,” Erin stood and waved them good bye as they left to board their chartered flight at a private hanger. Realizing she was hungry, she checked her own luggage and found a quiet seat in a small airport café. She ordered a coffee and a plate of Estofado de Pollo, a chicken stew with vegetables. Erin sighed, glad to be alone again. She had needed some private time, time to come to terms with the decision she had made. She was sure of her gut feeling. Cumbre Vieja was going to blow.
Chapter Two What Was and What Could Be
Erin sat in the café thinking about the events five years earlier that had led to her current situation. She had been so excited when she'd been offered the opportunity to study Cumbre Vieja. She didn't bothered with a bus, she was too wired. Instead, she jogged over to Chrissy's through the beauty of Stanley Park. The old park sat on the edge of the city, skirted on three sides by a deep inlet. She ran its length past abundant flower gardens and hundred year old trees and crossed the bridge to North Vancouver where Chrissy's apartment was located.
“Chrissy, I've got a job offer,” Erin gasped, dropping onto a kitchen chair.
Chrissy looked up from reading her email on her laptop. “Great! Erin, my parents are coming for a visit.”
“That's nice. It's to study Cumbre Vieja on the Canary Islands. Chrissy, it's a wonderful opportunity,” Erin babbled excitedly, leaning forward and placing her elbows on the table so she could use her hands to help explain.
“I'm sure it is. You're the best. They'll be here next week” Chrissy said, panic in her voice as she looked over her laptop to the other end of the antique oak table.
“Don't worry, we have a week to get the place tidied up and buy some groceries. Cumbre Vieja hasn't erupted since 1949. The pressure within has been building up and up and she's passed due for a major eruption. There's no doubt that the western side of the volcanic cone is becoming increasingly unstable. If it was blasted off, a massive chunk of rock nearly the size of Grand Bahama Island would fall into the ocean.”
“I don't think you understand.” Chrissy sighed, snapping her laptop shut and got up. She pace around the room her arms folded against her body.
Erin leaned back and watched Chrissy walking back and forth. “You're worried about introducing me, I imagine. Don't be. I'll behave. Chrissy, I could be there to see the whole thing develop. Older computer models indicate that the western side of the cone would fall into the sea creating a gigantic tsunami. The 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean killed over 230,000 people. This one could be much worse. It could be the largest tsunami in recorded history and has the potential to cause massive damage and loss of life. I'd be setting up early warning systems and taking daily readings, watching the whole event develop. My research could save thousands of lives. It's the chance of a lifetime!”
Chrissy stomped her foot and wheeled around. “Erin! Listen, for God's sakes! They don't know I'm gay.”
Erin froze, her mouth still open. “They don't know you're gay?” she finally choked out in disbelief.
“No.” Tears welled in Chrissy's eyes and she dug for a tissue in the pocket of her blue jeans.
Erin stood and walked over to Chrissy. “They don't know about me?”
Chrissy shook her head as Erin gathered her close. Big sobs shook Chrissy's body as she held on tightly. “Awkward,” Erin said.
Chrissy pulled away and started pacing the room again. “Awkward is a small part of it, Erin. I'm from the Bible Belt. My parents are elders in their church. My brothers and sisters are as conservative as Americans get.”
Erin folded her arms across her chest. She was feeling let down on so many levels she didn't know where to begin. “You didn't think to tell me this? This is a hell of a way to find out. I just get this job opportunity and…”
Chrissy whirled on her. “Forget the damn job! This is serious!”
Erin's face hardened. “You'd better decide where you stand on this, Chrissy. If your family is not going to be accepting, you can't have it both ways.”
“I know. I know.” Chrissy walked around the room in agitated circles, looking pale and stressed. “It's not like its one issue now, it's a cluster shot. I'll have to tell them I'm a lesbian, I don't go to church, my partner is a Canadian and she doesn't even know who her family is.”
Anger rose inside Erin. Chrissy was messing up what should have been the happiest day of her life and touching on some pretty sensitive areas of Erin's life, too. “I'm not a shamed of my background. So I was a Social Services kid who grew up in foster homes. I worked hard and I've made something of myself. Come with me to the Canaries and to hell with them.”
Chrissy grabbed a cushion off the couch and heaved it at Erin. “You don't get it! They're my family!”
Erin paled and her jaw tightened in a knot. Her words came out like bullets. “I get it just fine. I'm a bleeding heart liberal from socialist Canada, a frigging lesbian pervert and my background is white trash. I was good enough to be your lover but not good enough for your damned, up-tight, holier-than-thou Southern family. Screw that!”
“Erin! No!”
Erin turned on her heel and stormed out.
The waitperson set Erin's Estafado de Pollo in front of her and drew her from her recollections. Erin thanked her and used her napkin to wipe the sweat from her upper lip. The pain and confusion had all come back in a rush. Why the hell was she going over the past now? She had to stay focussed.
Cumbre Vieja! That's where her thoughts needed to be. What if only part of the cone broke off, or if the side of the mountain slowly slid into the ocean? That's what the new computer models were predicting. No, she'd done her research well. When it happened, and it would be soon, the whole side of the mountain would go in one big blast, just as Mount St. Helen or Krakatoa. Because of its size and location, Cumbre Vieja could be much bigger and far more destructive. She was sure of that.
Erin absently tasted her stew, still lost in thought. Yes, there were things she knew, but once the cone exploded she could only rely on computer analysis. Granted the research was sound and produced by notable institutions, but computers didn't think like Mother Nature. Mother Nature wasn't logical; she was powerful and unpredictable. Was she doing the right thing in advising nations to undertake massive evacuations? Yes, she had no choice. Lives were at stake.
She looked at her watch. She could phone the ENS and NOAA now and get the morning crew coming on duty. She dialed the NOAA Washington number and after several minutes managed to get through to Bill Emery, the director's assistant. It didn't go well.
Her meal grew cold on the table as she tried to reason with the man. “If Cumbre Vieja follows the earlier computer models, the landslide could spread over 60 kilometers along the seabed, causing the ocean for a kilometre around to rise 900 meters, and when it crashes, a massive upheaval of water is going to occur. Within an hour, north-west Africa will be hit with a wall of water as high as 100 meters, soon after, the coasts of Spain and southern England would feel the tsunami's effects,” Erin explained again, for what seemed like the hundredth time.
“Okay, we'll verify your readings and notify the President. If necessary the government will send any support they deem appropriate,” Emery responded like a true bureaucrat. “Cumbre Vieja is three thousand miles away from our shores.”
Erin rolled her eyes. “Look, there needs to be an evacuation. The main force would be westward. It will be a massive tsunami that would ripple across the Atlantic for nine hours until it reaches the American coast. The entire eastern seaboard would feel its effects but Florida and the Caribbean islands will be particularly hard hit. The first impact would be 50 meters higher than normal sea levels, that's 165 feet high in your parlance and it would roll inland for four or five miles. The entire southern Florida peninsula could be flooded. It would hit with a force equal to the energy produced in six months by all the power stations in the US. The results of the disaster in north-west Africa, Florida and the Caribbean would be catastrophic.”
The response was slow and calm. “Hang on, Dr. Ray, I'm pulling the information up on the screen.” Tapping her fork nervously against the table, Erin waited. “Dr. Ray?”
“Yes?”
“I'm reading here that later models have pretty well rejected the computer models you are referring to. According to the latest data, the harder rock that forms the base of Cumbre Vieja won't give way. The whole tsunami scare was greatly over rated. Like the Bermuda Triangle, those early models became urban legends perpetuated by the media.”
Erin dropped her fork in frustration and fought to keep her voice under control. There were more people around now and she didn't want to be over heard. “Yes, the newer computer models do indicate a much smaller event, but my continuing research indicates that they are wrong. I know this volcano. She's in pain and she's going to blow. There's a massive ball of lava forming deep in her gut and the hard rock is holding it all in, letting the pressure build and build. I tell you, the whole damn west side is going to blow off no matter what the new computer models say. You can't take the chance.”
A frustrated sigh reached Erin's ear. “Dr. Ray, fifty million people live close to the ocean on the east coast of the United States. There's five hundred miles of Atlantic coastline in Florida alone, with a population of close to ten million. We can't recommend a massive evacuation on the views of one scientist who talks about a volcano like it's a woman with indigestion. I will flag the area of concern and notify NEHRP. We'll monitor the situation. Thanks for your phone call.”
Erin closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. Then she started calling the various government agencies in the Caribbean. She got a better response there. Islanders understood the damage even a small tsunami could do. However, there was little they would do either. They relied on tourism and on an island there was nowhere to run.
She pushed away her plate and stood. She'd done all she could at this point. She'd try again when she got to the US. The airport was starting to fill up with anxious families looking for flights out. Word had got out, as Erin knew it would, as soon as they'd made a few phone calls. It was only natural that people in the know would want to save their own. It would get worse in the hours ahead.
Leaving her dinner half eaten, she paid her bill and went to stand by her gate. She needed to make sure that she was on the flight. Her seat was confirmed but the airlines would start to over book as panic grew.
The trouble with waiting was she was forced to deal with the worry and other emotions she'd been pushing to the back of her mind for the last twenty-four hours. S he was going to have to deal with what was really upsetting her; Chrissy was in Florida. She'd phoned and notified the NEHRP, the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program and NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US and that was all she was required to do. Instead, as soon as Juan called, she'd booked a flight to America. She could try to justify her actions but the bottom line was she wanted to see Chrissy.
Chrissy needed to be warned, didn't she? As a driver, she was always close to the ocean if not under it. Was she being stupid? Would Chrissy view her showing up as harassment? Had Chrissy gotten on with her life? Of course, she would have. Why would Chrissy pine over someone who had walked out on her? That thought made tears well in Erin's eyes. She quickly wiped them away. She squatted down and checked the outside pockets of her carryon for some tissues.
I could just phone and warn her, that would be better. But that's not what I want. I want to see Chrissy, talk to her again. Even if it goes badly, and it probably will, I need to try.
Erin swallowed hard, blew her nose on the tissue she'd found and sighed as she stood. Love is strange that way. Not just attraction, but true love for a soul mate, never breaks its bond. I've learned that the hard way. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I could move on, but I haven't.
Every day for the past five years, she'd thought of Chrissy and the yearning hadn't lessened, it had got stronger. It had become a heavy weight in her heart that was tearing a hole in her very soul. She needed to see Chrissy, make sure she'd be safe, but most of all she needed closure one way or the other.
“First class passengers for American Airlines Flight 482 to Miami, Florida now boarding at Gate Five.” Erin looked up. This was it. There was no going back. She moved closer to the gate waiting for her row number to be called for boarding.
Chrissy. They were different as night and day. Erin tall and fair, Chrissy short with brunette colouring. Chrissy had come from a privileged background in Florida, a well-known and respected southern family. Her dad had held a number of high civil service positions, her mom headed several charity organizations. Chrissy had two brothers and two sisters, and uncles, aunts and cousins by the bucket full. In contrast, Erin's mother had given her up when she was young, no family had been found who wanted her. She'd grown up in foster homes and had gotten to university through grim determination and scholarships. Chrissy loved the beach and sea, while Erin interest was volcanic mountains. Chrissy was jazz and blues; Erin hard rock. Yet they had been drawn together the instant they met.
At last, it was Erin's turn to board. She slipped her bag into the overhead compartment and then took her seat next to some American retirees on their way home from a holiday.
“'Here, young lady. “Have you heard anything about a volcano erupting? People were talking about it in the airport.”
Erin turned to look at the short, round man. The few remaining strands of white hair were combed across a scalp red with sun burn. “No, I haven't heard a thing. There are several active volcanoes on the Canaries but I'm sure we're quite safe.”
The man nodded and turned to his wife. “There you see, Honey, nothing to worry about.”
Erin busied herself with doing up her safety belt and checking where the emergency doors were located, then she closed her eyes and tried to relax. Her minded drifted back to the first time she'd seen Chrissy.
***
It had been a crisp evening in early May in Vancouver. Erin had been working hard on her research all winter and had come down with a bad case of spring fever. She'd needed an evening off. Dressed in black jeans and t-shirt, she'd headed down to a small local bar near the university that catered to a lesbian clientele. It wasn't much, just a few round tables, a small dance floor, a few bar stools and two pool tables, but it was a place where she could be amongst her own kind. She'd shot a few games of pool until the local band started playing, then she made her way through the crowd to a table of three women.
She'd had her eye on the table for the last half hour. Newbie's, for sure. Two were clearly a couple; the third seemed interested, but also uncomfortable. There was something about her, something that had kept Erin from concentrating on her pool game. Vivacious, was the best way to describe her. She was a brunette and when the light caught her waves, there were highlights of amber. She was shorter than most women, but despite her diminutive stature she was eye-catching. Pretty for sure and in great shape, but there was something more, something that Erin couldn't put her finger on but needed to know.
She stopped at the table and bent closer to the woman who appeared to be solo. “Would you like to dance?”
The woman looked up with huge chestnut eyes that could be read as easily as a book. First there was surprise and then caution.
“Just a dance,” Erin smiled. “I can manage these slow ones. My name is Erin, Erin Ray.” She offered her hand.
“I'm Chrissy Nowak.” The woman's accent was soft, an American from the South, Erin thought. Chrissy stood and took her hand. Chrissy's friends remained at the table, exchanging knowing smiles as she led Chrissy onto the dance floor.
That moment of taking Chrissy into her arms was like no other. A wave of emotion had swept through her body and settled deep in her groin. Chrissy's petite body moulded perfectly to her own; they moved as one. Erin had enough experience with women to know this time was different. She bent her face to Chrissy's soft hair and smelt the sea and an intriguing scent of late summer flowers and herbs.
“I work and do research at the university. What about you?”
“I'm a deep sea diver,” Chrissy looked up into her eyes and smiled. “At the moment, I'm helping with a marine survey in this area. What do you research?”
“Volcanoes,” Erin responded, wishing she could think of something clever or witty to say.
Chrissy laughed, her eyes sparkling with merriment. “The tall, silent type, are you? Volcanoes have their roots in the sea.”
Lost in the feeling of Chrissy's body touching hers, Erin suddenly realized she should respond. “Not always although volcanic plates often meet near the edge of continents and oceans.”
Again the laugh bubbled up. “Canadian, quiet, studious and volcano obsessed.”
Erin raised an eye brow. “Let's see, American?”
Chrissy nodded. “I'm from Florida, with family roots in Georgia.”
“Ah, fun loving, athletic and in love with the sea.”
Chrissy smiled and nodded. “Now we know everything there is to know about each other.”
Erin leaned forward and gently kissed Chrissy's neck. “Good, because I think I'm in love.”
Chrissy stiffened slightly in her arms. “Ah, Erin, I'm sort of new at this. You know, I'm trying to find out who I am.”
Erin shrugged and smiled. “I'm prepared to wait forever.” They stood still, looking into each other's eyes.
“The music stopped,” Chrissy whispered, yet she didn't step out of Erin's arms.
Erin sighed and stepped back. “How about getting some dinner then?” she asked.
“I'm with friends. Care to join us?”
Erin was about to object, then realized that Chrissy needed a safety net. She was new at this. So instead she smiled, “Okay, we can all have dinner. I really am the tall silent type. I'm not going to be expected to hold up my end of the conversation, am I?” she asked as they walked towards the table.
“No. I'll talk for both of us and if anyone asks about volcanoes just say they are tall and smoke too much.”
Erin laughed, really laughed. She couldn't recall the last time she'd done that. “How did you know that I can go on for hours about volcanoes?”
“You tall, silent types always have a subject that turns your vocal cords on,” Chrissy teased as they took their seats at the table. They were still holding hands. It just felt right.
“Monica, Valerie, this is Erin. Under no conditions are you to ask her about volcanoes.”
Valerie laughed and immediately ignored the warning. “Erin, I love volcanoes. What a blast. Tell me all about them.”
Erin looked at Chrissy and smiled, then turned to Valerie and responded seriously. “I've very recently been trained to say only that they're tall and smoke too much.” Everyone burst out laughing. With a sigh, Erin settled back in her seat and made sure her safety belt was properly fastened. It had seemed so perfect at the time. It had felt like it was meant to be. Then everything changed.
Chapter Three People and Places
Amina pulled her burka tight around her and watched through the grilled window with stormy eyes as the truck was loaded with rugs. The truck was old and dusty and the rugs worth thousands. She was disgusted. She could see her husband supervising the loading, acting like a big man. He knew nothing. Each rug had been hand made by Moroccan women: the wool on cotton, their cheapest line, by children following simple patterns, the silk on cotton by experienced weavers and the silk on silk by the old women who were masters at their trade and had committed all the complex patterns to memory. The widows would move with the business; they had no choice. The young ones would be out of work if their husbands would not move their families. Amina would have to find others with the right skills. It would not be easy. Amina sighed. It was a bad time for them to be moving. Only a month ago, the American woman from Florida had ordered twenty of their top line. How were they to get all the rugs completed in time? She just hoped that the ones now lying in the filthy truck were not damaged.
The business had been her father's and his father's before him. Her father had no sons, only two daughters. Amina the oldest by six years and Jasmina. The doctor said it was because her father had measles as a boy and so it was difficult for him to have children. Amina thought it was the will of Allah. Her father had not been good to his wife or his daughters. He was a good business man but a cruel miser. When Amina was seventeen he'd married her off to his business manager, Hassan Chaib who was thirty-two then and had at last earned enough for a good dowry. It had not been a successful arrangement, but her father saw only that Hassan could be the son he didn't have. Her husband, Hassan, had decided to move the business from Casablanca to Marrakech.
Hassan was a good manager, as long as her father told him what to do. Now that her father was dead, Hassan was running the business into the ground. The poorer the business had done, the more ultra conservative and radical Hassan's religious views had become. This move to Marrakesh was the last straw. Hassan's people came from that area, but that was not why they were moving the business. Amina knew this from Shada, who was Hassan's child bride and favourite. Amina could bear no children, as her father's curse was on her. At fourteen, Shada had given him a boy. She would soon be ready to have another child. Shada meant “beautiful scent” so Amina called Shada her little flower. But the Little Flower had big ears and Shada loved Amina and hated Hassan.
“He wants the store in Casablanca for his friends. That's why the business is going to Marrakesh.” Shada had told her. “He and his radical friends, they think they can bring the
true faith to the world by blowing things up. If he blows up the store in Marrakesh it will damage the whole street including the bank and government office. If Morocco is destabilized, the Islamists can get a foot hold here. Such a terrorist attack will make big news. He can brag to his friends like a big man and still collect the insurance.”
“I don't want to go to Marrakesh!” Shada sobbed. “I have no family or friends there.”
Amina held Shada close and rocked her likea baby. “I do. I will find a way to make it better for us, my Little Flower.”
Shada shook her head. “It can't be better for us. We are only women.”
Amina did not say anything. Walls had ears. If something was to happen to Hassan, then by law, one half of his wealth would go to Shada's son, who was only a baby. There were no daughters who would be entitled to a quarter of the estate, only two wives. That was unusual. It was legal in the country for men to have more than one wife, but few did. It was too expensive. But because Amina was barren, Hassan had taken a second wife. A wife was entitled to one quarter of the estate and she thought, as there were no daughters, they would also be able to claim the remaining quarter for Shada or her son. She and Shada could live together and raise Shada's son. They would also run the business and control the money flow until the boy was of age. Yes, there was a way, but it would cost her soul. For herself, she wouldn't do this, but for the Little Flower, she would do anything.
“When will Hassan join us in Marrakech?” she asked.
“Next week, he says. He doesn't think you can set up the new business by yourself. He wants everything left in storage until he gets there. We are just to see to the house and the boy.”
Amina kissed Shada's forehead. Hassan couldn't set up a business to save his life, Amina knew, but that is not what she said. “We will see. We will see,” she whispered softly rocking Shada as she would a child.
***
Hassan saw the police going from door to door. What was this trouble? Sweat beaded on his forehead. Were they searching buildings? Had someone leaked word that explosives were being stock piled in the area? He thought about running and hiding, then thought better of it. They'd seen him standing by the truck. He would have to see what they wanted and hope he could talk his way out of any situation.
The policeman wearing a rumbled wool uniform which had seen better days came up to him. “May you have a morning of grace. Is your family well?”
Hassan smiled. He would be polite and friendly as the officer was being. “A morning of light to you. Allah has given me a son recently. The boy thrives. Allah be blessed. How is your family?” Hassan smiled. He would be polite and friendly just as the officer was being.
“They are well, God protect them. I am here on orders. The government has had word that a volcano on the Canary Islands will erupt shortly. It might cause big waves in this area. We are warning people.”
Hassan felt the tension leave his body. Was that all they wanted? The Canary Islands were far away. How big a wave could they make?
“As you can see my business is a block inland. It is a good strong building of brick. I will be fine, God willing.”
“God willing,” responded the policeman and politely said good bye before moving on to the next building.
Hassan watched him go. He felt proud of himself. He'd stayed calm and been brave. He would brag to the others that he had talked the police out of checking his business. They would be impressed. People feared the police. It was a sign, too, that God was with them. He was sending waves to help their cause. He said a quick prayer of thanks, then shrugged. Waves were good, but a volcano would have been better.
***
Amina watched the policeman talking to Hassan. Perhaps the police would arrest him and he would die in prison, then they would be safe from his abuse and stupid decisions. But no, the policeman was walking on. The men continued to throw priceless rolled rugs into the filthy truck as if they were bags of grain. Fools. She would have to hire women to clean them. It was an unnecessary expense. Had a proper truck been hired for a few dollars more, the rugs would have been safe. Hassan never thought things through.
She had already bought the rat poison. Rats were a problem when one lived close to the water front, no one would question the purchase. She'd even told Hassan. “The building will be standing empty. Rats and mice could get in. See, I have left trays of poisoned seed for them and here is the rest of the box should you need more.” Hassan had been pleased and said he had planned to do this himself, but she had saved him the trouble.
Amina had poured enough of the poison coated seed into a plastic bag to take with her, enough to kill a man. She would soak the seed to get the poison out and then use the water to make rice. His first meal in Marrakech would be his last. Amina had planned everything carefully. She had been putting milk powder in each of his dishes these last five months. Hassan could not tolerate milk. It gave him stomach cramps. She had insisted he see a doctor and had gone with him to appointments like a concerned wife, but the doctor could find nothing wrong with him. Amina had told his family and friends that she feared for his life. She was a good wife if barren she had told them, and worried that her husband had a bad heart or something wrong in his belly. They too worried. Hassan had changed and was mixing with a new group of friends. They were annoyed that he had so little time for his relatives now. Maybe it was because he was sick and dying.
Yes, she had prepared things well. No one would be surprised when Hassan suddenly died. By custom, there would be no autopsy and he would be buried within twenty-four hours. She wasn't sure she could live with the guilt after. It would be a heavy burden on her soul, but the Little Flower would be free and the business, her father's business, would be saved. Her soul was the price.
***
After a late snack aboard the plane, Erin pushed her seat back the few inches that were allowed in the economy section and closed her eyes. She needed to sleep. Early tomorrow, she'd be in Orlando, Florida. She'd go to the local office of the NOAA and explain why a state of emergency needed to be declared. Then she'd try to find Chrissy.
She needed sleep, but sleep wouldn't come. Her thoughts drifted back to those wonderful days in Vancouver. Chrissy had introduced her to scuba diving, and in return, Erin had taught her to climb. They did things together as friends first. Erin knew she had to give Chrissy time to decide what lifestyle she wanted to live. When the day came it was beautiful. It was an
Autumn evening and they had dinner at Chrissy's apartment over-looking the straights. Chrissy cooked and Erin was finishing the washing up while Chrissy sat on a bar stool watching.
“What?” Erin laughed self-consciously. “You're staring at me like I'm in a zoo.”
Chrissy blushed and fiddled with a flower vase on the counter. “I was thinking how to approach a topic with you.”
“I think we've known each other long enough now that you can just spit it out.” she responded, drying a glass with a towel before putting it in the cupboard.
“I think I'm a lesbian,” Chrissy said, the words finding their way out for the first time.
Erin put down the dish she was drying. “And?”
Chrissy got up and nervously paced around the room. Erin wished she had the words to help Chrissy out but she didn't know what to say. Chrissy was on the other side of the living room, as if she was ready to bolt. Finally she blurted out, “When I'm with you, it feels right, you know? With guys, it always feels awkward.”
Erin nodded, nervously playing with the tea towel. “Yeah, it can be like that.”
“Erin! Listen to me, I want you to make love to me so I know for sure, but I feel like I'm using you.” Tears welled in Chrissy's eyes. “I know you like me and I don't want to hurt you.”
Erin bit her lip. This was hard. All sorts of conflicting emotions were exploding in her brain, her gut and her groin. Since she'd met Chrissy, she'd wanted to fuck her until she screamed in release. But she loved her, so she waited for the opportunity to make love to her so well that no one else could ever be as good. She wanted Chrissy to see her as the ultimate lover. Then again, being some one's first came with a lot of baggage. Could she handle that? Worse, what if Chrissy hated it? Hell that would destroy her. She didn't think she could handle Chrissy's scorn or rejection.
“Say something!” Chrissy demanded through tears.
Erin looked up in surprise. She'd been so deep in thought dealing with her own emotions she hadn't realize that Chrissy was waiting for an answer. What to say?
“Okay. I think it comes as no surprise to you that I want to make love to you. I want you to feel safe, though, so here's the plan. No means no. As soon as you say no, I'll stop, get dressed and leave. I won't hold it against you and I hope we can stay friends.” Who was she kidding? She'd be devastated and wouldn't know how to go back to treating Chrissy as just a friend. “Let's go into the bedroom. I'll strip down and if you like what you see, then we can take it one step at a time from there, okay?”
Chrissy sniffed and smiled. “Okay. Erin, I'm not using you, am I?”
“Do you think you love me?” Erin asked, her throat tight with emotion.
The answer was immediate. “I know I love you.”
“Then you're not using me.” Erin moved out of the kitchen and held out her hand. Chrissy walked over slowly and placed her hand in Erin's. Erin gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled down at her. “No means no. Okay?”
“Okay.”
They walked into the bedroom and Erin turned to face Chrissy. This was hard, really hard. She could feel the heat rising in her face. She felt like she was stripping at the main bus stop at rush hour. Trying not to show her discomfort, Erin slipped out of her shirt to reveal a tight, muscular stomach and wide firm shoulders supporting a black sports bra. She removed the bra to exposing small, firm breasts, the nipples hard with desire. Chrissy inhaled sharply and stared. Was that a good sign? Erin's stomach was tied in a knot of anxiety, yet she could feel hot moisture dampening her panties. She wanted Chrissy.
Licking her lips nervously, Erin unzipped her jeans and pulled them off. All that remained was her French cut panties. Why hadn't she worn newer underwear today? Slipping her long fingers under the band she slid them off, revealing the soft pubic hairs glistening moist with desire.
Chrissy stared. Then, with a moan of need, she stepped into Erin's arms. Erin groaned with desire. Go slow. Go slow , she kept telling herself. She bent her head and kissed the soft, sweet flesh of Chrissy's neck. As her lips gently explored, she whispered, “I have loved you from the moment I saw you sitting across the room from me. I want to show you how deep that love is. There are no strings attached, just a desire to love you as you deserve to be loved.”
Chrissy gave a soft gasp and squirmed against Erin's naked frame. Physical need for sure, Erin thought, but that was different from desire. She claimed Chrissy's soft lips, teasing, sharing and demanding more. Chrissy's lips parted and Erin's tongue slipped into the warm, moist recess. Her groin ached with need. Don't say no! Don't say no ! She prayed. If she had to stop now, she thought she'd exploded.
Her hands slipped under Chrissy's red T-shirt and unhooked her bra. Then gently, slowly she lifted both bra and t-shirt from Chrissy's body. For the first time, naked breasts pressed together and both women cried out at the contact. The rush of physical needed that flooded Erin's body was overpowering. Go slow! It was so hard. Her kisses were now demanding, passionate. Hands wrapped around Chrissy's buttocks and pulled her against her sex. Pulling away from those wonderful, warm lips with reluctance but anticipation, Erin lowered her head and caught one of Chrissy's nipples with her lips.
“Erin! Oh my God!”
Erin froze. Had she gone too fast? Surely Chrissy was not going to back out now.
“Don't stop, please,” Chrissy moaned bringing her own hands up to stroke and feel Erin's breasts.
To hell with slow. Erin, reached down and undid Chrissy's jeans, pulling her panties off along with them as she knelt down. Chrissy had her hands in Erin's hair, holding on as she stepped out of her garments. Erin leaned forward and let her lips brush against Chrissy's sex.
“Erin, please, now. Now!”
Erin stood and lifted Chrissy in her arms and then lowered her onto the bed. For a minute their eyes locked. “I love you because you are a woman and because my soul needs yours to be whole. I want to be in you and part of you. Let me make love to you.”
Chrissy's eyes welled with tears. She reached up and pulled Erin down on top of her. Go slow! Erin warned herself again as her hips fitted between Chrissy's thighs. Go slow-
Erin managed to suppress a groan as she again became aware that she was sitting in an aisle seat of an airliner's packed economy class section. She sighed and rubbed sleep from her eyes and hoped that she didn't smell of sex. She got up and moved down the narrow aisle to the head. She could smell coffee. The flight crew would be turning the lights on soon and serving breakfast. She needed to splash some cold water on her face and wake up. The lives of thousands depended on her getting this right and she was having erotic dreams. What was she thinking? Perhaps Juan was right. Perhaps Chrissy was not good for her. Her stomach felt uneasy and her head ached. That day had been wonderful though. Chrissy had bucked under her with need and come over and over again. They had been inseparable after that. Inseparable at least until Chrissy's parents had shown up. That thought made Erin shudder even now. My God, that had been bad.
She stepped into the head of the plane and performed her morning ablutions as best she could in the confined space. After the fight they'd had about Chrissy's parents coming for a visit, Chrissy had phoned her and they'd made up. They'd enjoyed a light breakfast and had gone diving before going back to Chrissy's apartment to share a shower and late lunch. The buzzer rang and Chrissy went to answer the security intercom.
“Hello.”
“Chrissy, it's your dad. Let us in, honey.”
“Dad, you're here early. Is Mom with you?” Erin heard shock and fear in Chrissy's voice.
Her father's reply was sharp. “We're both here. Buzz us in.”
Chrissy pressed the security release button. “Should I leave?” Erin asked. Chrissy shook her head but didn't turn to look at Erin. She didn't speak. She just stood at the door, waiting, like a condemned person.
A firm knock sounded on the door, but Chrissy didn't move.
Erin frowned. “Chrissy?” No reaction. Erin shrugged and stepped forward to open the door.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Nowak. I'm Erin, a friend of Chrissy's.
Standing in the doorway was a couple on the far side of middle age. She was short and rail thin, with dyed blond hair and red lip stick smudged over her thin lips. She wore a simple but expensive green dress cut in a princess line. He wore tan slacks and a white golf shirt. His military stance implied that he'd been in good shape at one time, although now a muffin top was starting to hide his belt.
“Oh Bert, it's her!” Mrs. Nowak squealed in the voice of a frightened five-year-old.
“It's okay, Barbie, let me handle this. Where's my daughter?”
“Here, Dad,” came Chrissy's from behind Erin.
“We need to talk,” Nowak stated firmly, herding his wife into the apartment and forcing Erin to step aside. Erin raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Chrissy was pale and shaky. “Mom, Dad, this is a surprise. I just got your email that said you'd be visiting next week. I wish you'd given me more warning. I could have gotten time off work and planned a few things for us to do. Come in and sit down.”
“I'll make coffee,” Erin said and disappeared behind the kitchen bar. Things weren't going well. As usual she didn't know what to say to make things easier for Chrissy. Instead, she got the coffee pot going and set out Chrissy's best mugs.
“I wasn't expecting you for a few days,” Chrissy repeated in a weak voice as she collapsed into a chair opposite her parents.
Mrs. Nowak looked pointedly at her husband. He blushed, cleared his throat and looked back at his wife. She nodded her lips tight with disapproval. Erin stood watching from the safe side of the bar as she got out a bowl of sugar and a pitcher of milk and set them on a tray. She knew that look. It wasn't a good look.
“Your mother felt we should get on the first plane out here instead of waiting. The other day, we had a visit from the Conley's. You know them. They've been friends of ours for years. They were just back from a cruise to Alaska and the ship stopped in Vancouver.”
“They saw you, saw you with that woman,” in Barbara Nowak cut in her voice sharp and judgmental.
Erin brought the tray out and set it on the table. “My name is Erin,” she said firmly.
Mrs. Nowak touched the cross she wore and bristled with disgust. “My daughter was raised right, knowing the power and the love of God. I don't know what spell of evil you've put her under but we're here to rescue our little girl.”
Erin looked at the couple with cold eyes. “You've got to be kidding.”
“Erin, it's okay,” Chrissy interjected. She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. Mom, Dad, I've come to realize that I'm a lesbian. I met Erin some months ago and…”
Mrs. Nowak put her hands over her ears. “I don't want to hear. Bert, make her stop.”
Mr. Nowak's face was white with strain. “I won't hear such talk in front of your mother. It's hard on her nerves. You know she hasn't been well.” He sighed deeply, squirmed uncomfortably and then he mechanically recited the words that followed. “Your mom wants you to take some treatments. The church has programs to make you understand that you've fallen out of God's grace and help you overcome this evil within you. We're your family and we love you. Your mom wanted us to come here as a loving intervention to help you.”
Erin fought to keep her fury under control. These were Chrissy's parents and they loved her. “Mr. and Mrs. Nowak, I know you mean well and I'm sure this has been a real shock for you, but being gay is not a sin nor is it unnatural. I will not stand by and let the woman I love be abused in some program run by well-meaning ignoramuses.” Erin stood rigid, with her hands clutched in tight balls.
“Erin, it's okay. I'm not going to agree to enter any program. Mom, Dad, I know this is hard for you but ideas and views have changed and –
Not in the South they haven't, young lady!” Mrs. Nowak was on her feet her face red with anger and her voice shrill. “We know right from wrong. Maybe what is considered good and Christian has changed up here in this Socialist country with their ruling Queen, but not in free, God-fearing American. You're coming home with us.”
Erin tried to control her anger for Chrissy's sake. “We're not ruled by a Queen. Elizabeth II is just a figure head and we are not Socialist. We even have a Conservative party of some popularity particularly in the west.”
Nowak frowned as he got to his feet and took his wife gentle by the arm. “Calm down Barb, and let me handle this.” He turned to Erin. “Please don't lecture us. Barb believes what she believes and I don't want her upset any more than she is. I think it would be a very good idea if you leave, Erin. This is family business and has nothing to do with you.” Nowak was trying to get his wife to sit down again and having trouble doing so.
“I'm not leaving. I love your daughter and I mean to make her my wife. I've got a good job now and Chrissy is coming to live with me in the Canary Islands.”
Chrissy turned surprised eyes towards, Erin. “What? Erin, I have a contract, a job. I can't just take off to the Canaries.”
Nowak smiled. “Of course you can't, sweetheart. You know better.”
Erin turned on Nowak. “Shut up! This is none of your business!”
“Erin! These are my parents!” gasped Chrissy. She ran a hand through her hair. “Erin, maybe you should go until I can work this out with Mom and Dad, okay?”
Erin eyes went cold and dead. She turned and walked out.
It was raining. That was the West Coast, there was a lot of rain. Erin walked home letting the rain beat down on her and the dusk close around her. What had she done wrong? She'd only been trying to protect Chrissy. The bubbling brew of emotions in her gut left her feeling sick and confused. How many times had she walked the night when she'd been a teen? She'd felt so alone, so unwanted, the night had been a blanket of darkness that she could wrap around her. The one looking in on the many.
Impulsively she turned down a residential street of nice middle class homes. The time was just about right to play the Imagine Game from her youth. It was dinner time and the lights on in people's homes pushed back the gathering shadows. Curtains had yet to be drawn against the approaching night. There was an older couple watching television in big, comfy chairs. Farther on, a car pulled into a driveway, a man working late, coming home to his family. Erin stopped abruptly and looked across the street. She could see into a family's dining room, parents and three children, two girls and a little boy. They'd probably tried a third time to get their son. The family held hands over Sunday dinner saying grace.
This had been her game. She'd find a house like this and pretend that she was the lost daughter. In her imagination she knocked on the door and they welcomed her home with tears of joy. She saw herself sitting at the dinner table with them, loved and no longer alone. Erin sighed. The game didn't bring her comfort anymore. She was alone, standing out in the cold and rain still looking in.
She thought she'd found her place with Chrissy, but she hadn't. Rain mixed with the tears trickling down her face. The woman got up and abruptly closed the curtains on the family dinner. Chrissy had something she could never have a family who loved her. Okay, they didn't understand their daughter, but they loved her and Chrissy loved them. Chrissy loved her work, too.
Erin was asking her to give up her job and her family and run away to the Canary Islands. To become an outsider like Erin, because that was what it meant when you came out of the closet. Sure, it was great to accept who you were, but the price tag was high. Very high. Could she expect that of Chrissy? Could she ask that of her?
Erin looked over again at the closed curtains. It was a world cut off from her. There was never going to be a family life. And there was never going to be the unconditional love that she ached for. She turned her back on her childhood game and walked on alone.
A sharp knock came on the head door. Shit! How long had she been in the plane's bathroom daydreaming about past history? What was the matter with her? Erin unlatched the door and folded it back. A long line had formed to use the only two washrooms on that side of the plane. Erin felt the heat of embarrassment climbing up her face as she squeezed past people on the way back to her seat. Two hours later, they were on the ground taxiing up to the Miami International Airport.
Erin made her way through the terminal and stood with the crowd at the baggage claim. That night in the rain she'd come to a painful decision. She was used to being alone. It had been her way of life for as far back as she could remember. Chrissy had phoned in the wee small hours. Erin was still awake and picked up the phone right away.
“Erin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so abrupt when I asked you to leave,” Chrissy voice sounded hoarse as if she'd been crying.
“I understand. You okay?” Erin pushed herself up so she was leaning against the wall. Chrissy had only been to Erin's room once. It was in the basement of an elderly lady's house. It had a small bathroom, and a room that had a bar-kitchen, an old straight back chair, a small table and a single bed with no head board. Chrissy said it was one step up from a prison cell. It was cheap, clean and in a relatively safe neighbourhood so it met Erin's requirements.
“I feel like I've been put through a wringer,” Chrissy admitted. “Mom and Dad have gone to a hotel.”
Erin swallowed hard and tried to think of a way to say all she had to say. She wasn't good with words. “Look I need to apologize for a couple of things. I wasn't very patient with your parents and I shouldn't have assumed you'd leave your job and follow me. I didn't handle things well.”
“It didn't help, but it made me feel good that you stood up to Mom and Dad. I felt loved.” Chrissy sniffed.
“I do love you, Chrissy, that's why I have to say what I'm about say,” Erin pulled back the covers and swung her legs out so she was sitting on the edge of the bed in the dark.
“What do you mean?”
“I'm going to accept the job offer in the Canaries. I think you need to stay back here and sort out a few issues. I don't want to be the reason you split with your family and I don't want you to feel that my job comes before yours. It just isn't the right time for us.” There she'd said it. Tears rolled down her face, but she'd managed to keep the pain from her voice.
Chrissy voice was nearly hysterical. “Erin! Don't do this to me! I've come out to my parents. I'm trying to make them understand.”
“They're never going to understand, Chrissy. You know that. Look, I was your first. You need time to know who you are and decide what price you are willing to pay to be that person. Chrissy, it's a big price, really big. You've never stepped back and realized that until today. Now you have to. I love you. It's because I love you, that I'm saying good bye.”
“No!” It was a cry of desperation. A cry of pain in the darkness. It broke Erin's heart.
Erin wiped away her tears. “Chrissy, don't make this hard. You know I'm right. What do we have in common? Nothing. Building a relationship is not easy. It's impossible when one person isn't sure who they want to be and is torn between family and a partner. It just isn't our time. Can't you see that?”
There was no reply. Erin could hear Chrissy crying at the other end of the phone, then the phone clicked off. Erin staggered to her feet and stumbled to the bathroom to throw up.
Erin saw her bag pass by her on the carousel. She ran and caught up to it and heaved it over the side, then she headed for Customs. She gave her head a shake. She need to stay focussed, but the past seemed to have formed its own tsunami and was hitting her with wave after wave of memories.
Chapter Four Believing the Unbelievable
Bertram Nowak picked up the phone on the second ring. “Nowak here,” he rumbled.
“Hey Bert, its Bill Emery from the Washington office,” came an even voice over the phone.
Bert leaned back in his office chair and sighed. When Washington phoned it was rarely good news. “Hello, Bill. How are you enjoying your new portfolio?”
“It's a learning curve, but I'm enjoying the work. Listen Bill, I've been on the phone with a volcanologist who has her panties in a twist about some volcano on the Canary Islands. Seems the damn thing might blow and earlier computer models indicate that it could create a tsunami that would impact pretty strongly on our side of the pond.”
Bert sat up and grabbed a pen. He had a laptop on his desk, but paper and pen still came more naturally to him. “How big an impact?”
“She was talking about a maximum water elevation of a hundred and sixty-five feet hitting Florida and spreading miles inland. It could flood out a good part of the peninsula and the damage to the coast line would be in the billions. That's the bad news.”
Bert frowned. He had enough shit going on in his life, he didn't need this now. “So what's the good news?”
“Newer, more reliable computer models indicate the eruption would be much smaller and there would be no significant tsunami. Also, I've been on the wire with NEHRP and they say that this volcano -” Bert heard Bill clicking keys on his laptop. “- Cumbre Vieja it's called, is having lots of small rumbles, but nothing significant that indicates that an eruption is that near.”
Bert fiddled with his pen. “How credible is this scientist?”
“Got her doctorate five years ago and has written some well received papers according to NEHRP. She's pretty young, but by all accounts she knows this volcano well. Name's Erin Ray.”
“Oh for God's sakes!” Bert tossed his pen on the table. “That bitch.”
“You know her?”
Bert leaned back in his chair again. He needed to be cautious here. “I was introduced to her once. She's a lesbian who grew up in foster homes. Probably just trying to make a name for herself in a man's profession. Are any other scientists getting on this band wagon?”
“Not to my knowledge. Like I said, Cumbre Vieja has become more active lately, but nothing that has raised any eyebrows. Besides, as far as I know, these older computer models are no longer considered to be accurate.”
“So what is Washington recommending?” Bert asked, swinging his chair back and forth in frustration. He was annoyed. When some scientist got on a band wagon it could cause big headaches for people like him, especially if the press got wind of it.
“Wait and see. We suggest you post a yellow alert and ask rescue personnel to be at the ready. No need to go on a high alert. We don't think there's an issue here. We're just covering our butts and suggest you do the same.”
Bert snorted. “What a waste of time. Yeah, okay, I'll see it's done. Has the press got on to this yet?”
“No, thank God. Let's try and keep this as quiet as possible. We've got millions of tourist dollars down your way to consider. We don't want any panic. We'll just keep an eye on the situation and make sure we are prepared.”
Bert nodded and sighed. “I feel confident that our organizations down here are ready for whatever nature throws at us. We've handled evacuations for some mighty big hurricanes with great success in the past. Thanks for the heads up. Say hi to the folks up there in Washington.”
“Will do. Take care.”
Bert hung up and called through to his administrative assistant, formerly known as a secretary. Women now felt they had to have important titles even if they still made the coffee. “Gloria, I need to see that little jerk my wife made me give a job to. What's his name?”
“Byron Lorde,” a nasal voice replied immediately. “He's a bit – different.”
“Yeah him, my wife's nephew and as high-strung as she is. He was in the Army for five years. If you ask me, he has some issues from his tour overseas. Send him in here, will you?”
“Yes, sir.” Bert hung up the phone. Byron Lorde, what kind of name is that to give a kid?
Bert tapped a finger against the desk while he waited. What was Ray doing in the US? Why wasn't she sitting on top of her damn volcano? Had she had contact with Chrissy?” He stirred uneasily. Chrissy had always maintained that Ray had walked out of her life. Had she lied? No, his little girl wouldn't lie. Anyway, he hoped to sort her out today. It wasn't that he had anything against lesbians, but Barbara was damn right wing in her religious beliefs and the last thing he needed was to have Barbie upset. She wasn't well – not stable.
“Mr. Nowak? You wanted to see me?”
Bert looked up. Yeah, come in. Don't sit down. This will only take a minute.” The lean man dressed in clothes right out of a fashion magazine stood in the doorway. Despite the designer clothing, he managed to look sort of seedy. He had what Bert's mom used to call a lean and hungry look . I wonder if he does drugs. At least I broke him of the habit of calling me Uncle Bert in the office.
“We're going to a yellow alert because some wacko scientist thinks a volcano the other side of the ocean is going to swamp us with a tsunami. Our boys say there isn't much chance of that but we'll cover our asses just in case. Get on your lap top and send out messages to all departments that we have a yellow alert and to review procedures for coastal evacuations and flooding. Tell them it's a drill. We don't want any panic just because some nutter wants attention. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.” Lorde continued to stand in front of his desk, his eyes as cold as a dead fish.
“Well, get on with it!” Without a word, Lorde turned and left. Bert shook his head. What his wife saw in that boy, he didn't know. There was something about him that gave a person the creeps.
Having seen to that, Bert had time to think about what really was a crisis situation. For the last three months he'd been having an affair with Barbara's best friend Tracy. Tracy's husband had died suddenly of a heart attack over a year ago and Barb had wanted to support her friend as much as possible. Bert found himself over at her house on weekends, fixing leaky faucets and spraying for insects and one thing had led to another. It wasn't that this was his first affair. Hell, married to a dried stick like Barbara, he had to find some satisfaction elsewhere. No, the problem was that Tracy was not like the other women that had been in his life. It was not that he particularly loved her, but this time the situation was different. First of all, she was all woman, curvy in the right spots and a good cook too. Not to mention real hot stuff in bed. Second, he was coming up on retirement. Did he want to get old with Barbara and her religious friends or did he want to run away with Tracy who had a nice condo in Costa Rica and a Florida home on the beach? Okay, he'd put on a few pounds over the years, but according to Tracy, he still had it where it counted.
Barb was of a good family from the Deep South. Lots of money there too. She had given him standing in the community and in their church. He believed in God, but over the years Barbie had become more and more fanatical about her faith. And more unstable. He stood to lose a lot financially if they divorced. Christian or not, Barb would take him to the cleaners. Barb was all show and no substance and lived on her frayed nerves. There was some strangeness in her family that no one really talked about and since Barb's first small stroke she'd become, well, strange too. She spoke like she could actually hear the voice of God. And what she thought God was telling her just didn't make sense. Their minister was trying to help, but Bert thought he might have to seek more aggressive medical help. Tracy, on the other hand, was all substance and then some and was as stable as they come. People would talk. Hell, it would be the scandal of the year in their community of friends. The women would look down their noses at him and rally to Barb's defense. The men would shake their heads but secretly would admire his balls in finding freedom with a hot, rich woman. What to do?
***
Chrissy took the elevator up to her father's office. He had phoned and asked to talk to her. It was always better to meet him at his office. At the house, things were always awkward. Her mother never said anything, but she treated Chrissy like she was the anti-Christ. It was a mixture of fear and loathing that made her stiffen whenever Chrissy was close. Her sisters and brothers had split in their reactions. The older sisters were confused but accepting. A cynic might feel this was because they were older and less good looking and fit than their younger sister. A gay sister was better than a sister who might catch the eye of their husbands. Chrissy was just grateful that they at least still talked to her. Her brothers avoided her whenever possible. They didn't want her anywhere around, because having a gay sister might reflect on their own masculinity and moral fibre.
The elevator doors opened and Chrissy crossed through the main office to where her father had his private office. Tanned and fit and wearing a white golf outfit, she was aware of eyes that followed her progress with appreciation.
***
Byron Lorde was one of those that watched her but his thoughts were different from most of the men in the room. Queer bitch! How could she walk in here dressed like that? Flaunting herself to decent men when she was unnatural. Poor Barbara. How awful for her.
Homosexuals and lesbians had become too powerful. They were leading the country away from the True Path. He, too, had been tempted by this sin of the flesh at one time too, but his family had got help for him and then made him join the Army. He had hated the military but it was appropriate penitence for his slip into sin and it had saved the family from scandal. Chrissy needed to be re-educated into the Lord's Way too. Perhaps that is why he had survived Afghanistan and Bruce had died. Tears came to his eyes and he blinked them back. He had failed with Bruce, but he knew more now about how to bring someone back to righteousness. He needed to be strong. He had been waiting for a sign and now one had walked right by his deck. He had a mission to do for God, one that would forever cleanse away his sins. He just needed some time to think of a plan.
Chrissy stopped at Gloria's desk and took a pen from a Disney mug filled with them, then she bent and signed in. “Hi Gloria, is he busy?” she asked the middle aged, plump woman who was her father's mainstay.
“Hey, Chrissy. Some dust-up this morning with Washington, but I think he's free now. Go on in.”
Chrissy mentally braced herself and knocked on the door frame before stepping into her father's office. He was still an attractive man. After College, he'd joined the navy as a diver before moving on to civilian life and joining the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He was now the director for the state of Florida.
“Hi, Dad,” she said. Her father stood and she went over and gave him a hug.
“Hello, Chrissy. Sit down, sit down. He strode forward and closed the office door.
Chrissy braced herself. A closed door meant trouble. She forced a smile. “I take it this is more than a social call since the door is closed.”
Bert went back and sat at his desk and looked at her. “You always come right to the point don't you?”
Chrissy shrugged but sat on the edge of her seat tense with anticipation. “I might as well. Whatever is on your mind, you mean to tell me or you wouldn't have called me to your office.”
Bert frowned and looked at his pen. “You cousin, Carline is getting married. She's marrying that Dean fellow from Richmond. It's going to be a big society thing. Lots of money and political clout in that family.”
Chrissy grimaced. Carline was a social climbing air head with the personality of an angry wasp. “I'm sure they're well suited.”
“You're going to be invited to the wedding. You'll need a date,” her father stated bluntly. “Carline's got someone picked out for you, a football player or something. He dives, or so I'm told. He took one of those courses when he was on holiday in the Bahamas.”
Red crept up Chrissy's neck and her fingers tightened on the arms of the chair. “You know there is a lot more to diving than taking a day's course to look at the reef. Do you have any idea what I do for a living?”
Her father looked up sharply. “I remind you I was a diver for the Navy. Don't you get all uppity on me, little girl. I'm just saying he's interested in diving, so you'll have something in common.”
“Something in common. Is he gay, too?” Chrissy asked innocently.
Her father's lips tightened and colour rose in his face. “We're not getting into that. I just need you to go with your mother and buy a dress and go to this damn wedding with the guy. Is that asking too much?”
Chrissy stood. “Yes, actually it is. This is Mom's idea, isn't it? She cooked it up with Carline.”
“Appearances are important to your mom. You could make some effort, you know. Your mom doesn't need any stress.”
“Dad, I make all sorts of effort to keep in touch with my family, but most of them treat me like I have rabies. I can't be anything but what I am. I'm not going to pretend otherwise. If I get an invitation, I'll politely send my regrets. Although I should be able to go with a partner of my choice.”
Her father's face went suddenly white. “Have you been seeing her?” he snapped.
Chrissy was taken aback by his sudden question. “Seeing who?”
“That Ray woman. The one who you knew out in Vancouver. I know she's here. Don't deny it.”
Chrissy's felt light headed and she sank back into the chair. Her voice was weak and shaky. “Erin's here? In Florida?”
“You didn't know?” Her dad seemed to relax a bit as he crossed his arms over his chest. Because she didn't know about Erin being in Florida, Chrissy had given him the upper hand.
“No, no I didn't.” Chrissy blinked back tears. How is she?”
“I don't know and I don't care. I can accept what you are but that damn women led you along and then walked out on you. It broke your heart and ruined you for any other relationship. Remember that. I'd better not hear that you've been seeing her. She's no good.” Chrissy could see her father was trying to stay calm and not let his mounting anger show. She knew he hated that she was so badly hurt and embarrassed by Erin. He was a good dad in some ways. Protective. She thought he might feel a little guilty that Barb and his visit out west had led to the break-up.
Chrissy's chin rose. “Erin helped me realize who I am. I loved her deeply and she left me. I have no intention of seeing her again. Nor do I have any intention of allowing that bitch Carline to set me up with some jock who wants to show me how good it can be with a real man.”
“You watch your language! I know your mom can be a little extreme, but we are a God fearing family, or have you forgotten your upbringing?” Her father blustered with embarrassment.
Chrissy shook her head. Hypocrisy was a strong trait in her family. “I think God would judge me with compassion, after all he made me what I am. Tell me, Dad, if I'm burning in hell for being a lesbian, what do you get for cheating on Mom all these years?”
Her father was on his feet quivering with anger. “That's no way to talk!”
Chrissy stood slowly. “It's no way to act, either. Tell Mom and Carline that I must respectfully decline their invitation. I'm going to drop off my car at the garage and spend a few nights on my boat, so I'll be out of touch.” She turned and left closing the door behind her.
Gloria looked up with questioning eyes. As she stalked by, Chrissy said out the corner of her mouth, “He's going to need a shot of the bourbon you keep in your bottom drawer.”
Anger helped Chrissy get down in the elevator and across the street to a small street café selling coffees and pastries. There her legs gave out and she thumped down hard on a chair.
“You alright Miss?” the waitperson asked, coming up to the small round table. He was good looking, in a Mediterranean sort of way, and leaned over her just a little too close.
“What? Yes, I'm fine. A latte, please,” she managed to respond before going back to her own thoughts and ignoring him. Erin! Here! She was being bombarded with emotions. Why hadn't she phoned? She'd better not dare contact her after what she had done. Damn it! Erin ! Tears glistened in her eyes. Damn it! After all these years I won't go to pieces at the sound of her name.
Chrissy set her jaw. No. I'm was not going to be made a fool of again. Never! She drank her latte and feeling more in control set off to the parking lot to pick up her Jeep and drive to the harbour. As she drove away, Erin was getting off the bus in front of the NOAA building.
***
Erin walked into the building and looked around for the reception desk. While waiting for the airport shuttle bus, she had called on her cell phone to try and reason with the folks in Washington and hadn't got any further than before, so now she was here. The tsunami was going to cause major shore damage in South Carolina and Georgia, but it would be the Bahamas and Florida that would take the brunt of the tsunamis force. Further south, the Turks and Caicos and the north east coast of Cuba would also take a beating. She'd warned the islands and knew they would take what action they could when the time came. Now she had to find some way to convince the authorities in Florida that a disaster of gigantic proportions might be heading towards their shore at any time.
The lobby was cool and she shivered having been in the hot sun. She walked across the lobby of a modern but functional building and stopped at the counter.
A young woman looked up from her computer screen. “Can I help you?”
“I hope so. My name is Dr. Erin Ray. I don't have an appointment but this is a matter of some urgency. I need to speak to the director of the NOAA as soon as possible.”
“The nature of your business, please,” the woman asked picking up the phone.
Erin hesitated. She needed to be careful about causing any panic and yet she needed to get access to the director. “I have some significant data to present to him about possible changes to the oceanic conditions in this region that would have lasting consequences.” When had she learnt to sound so official and convey nothing?
The receptionist passed on her message and Erin was told to take a seat and wait. She waited over an hour. Finally, the phone rang and the woman waved her over.
“Take elevator three to the tenth floor and ask to speak to Mr. Bertram Nowak. He's the director of NOAA in Florida.”
In the process of turning, Erin stopped dead. “Who?”
“Mr. Bertram Nowak. Tenth floor,” the receptionist repeated already turning back to her work.
Erin's heart sank. It couldn't be. It would just be too big a coincidence. Hell, it would be a disaster. A tension headache started to form at her right temple. Stay calm. Stay objective. You can't mess this up.
The doors opened on the tenth floor, and there standing with his arms crossed, was Chrissy's dad. His hair was completely white now but other than that he hadn't changed much. “Come with me,” he ordered and turned on his heel and walk down the hallway to a door. He opened it and waited for Erin to precede him through. The room she entered was a small conference room with a dark wood table and leather armchairs around it. No windows and only one door Erin noted.
“Sit down,” Nowak barked. Erin gritted her teeth, but sat down placing her leather brief case on the table.
“Mr. Nowak, I'm here because as a volcanologist I've spent the last five years studying Cumbre Vieja, an active volcano in the Canary Islands.”
“So?” Nowak pulled out a chair and slouched into it. He crossed his legs and one foot beat up and down in impatience, his face showing no expression at all.
“It is my belief, sir, that a major eruption is imminent. The Canaries are on the same latitude as Florida. If this eruption is as big as I believe it will be the resultant tsunami will be bigger than any ever recorded. It will take less than nine hours before it hits the Florida coast with the force of a nuclear bomb.”
Nowak nodded. “I'm aware of all this. You have already reported this information to Washington. I've been duly notified and Florida is on yellow alert. Emergency personnel are reviewing procedures for evacuation and flooding procedures. Anything else?”
Erin felt her blood pressure rising. She fought to stay calm. “Sir, such a tsunami would make even a force five hurricane look like nothing.”
“Look, lady -”
“Dr. Erin Ray, sir,” she cut in, an edge in her voice. She wasn't about to be patronized by this son of a bitch.
Nowak shrugged. “I know my job. I've been at it since before you were born. Don't tell me how to do it. I can't evacuate thousands of people on the word of one scientist whose research is based on old computer models and believes “maybe,” he used his fingers to make quotation marks, “a tsunami might occur.”
Erin swallowed and stood with as much dignity as she could. She picked up her bag and looked down at him. “Where is Chrissy living now?”
Nowak was on his feet in a second. He slammed both fists on the table and leaned towards her. “That's none of your business. She doesn't want to see you. She's dating a football player and going to a family wedding out of town. Leave her alone. You've hurt her enough. Now get out before I have Security remove you.”
Erin nodded, turned and walked out. She took the elevator to the ground floor searching her memories to remember someone who might know where she could find Chrissy. The program on the Hammerhead sharks had been recent and the research on going. That meant Chrissy was likely in the Florida area.
Back at the hotel, she started her search checking the phone book and social media for some trace of Chrissy. There was no phone listed and no trace of her on social media. That was to be expected. Chrissy had always careful to keep a low profile because of her parents' positions. Now that she was back in Florida, she'd be even more careful. Next, she started phoning dive companies and salvage outfits. By lunch time, her voice was hoarse and she was no closer to finding out where Chrissy was. She could start trawling lesbian clubs with Chrissy's photo, but that could take days and she didn't even know whether Chrissy had pursued such a life style. Her father had mentioned a football player. She could stake out Chrissy's parents' house, but there was no guarantee Chrissy was a frequent visitor. There'd been that television show she'd seen, but the network was unlikely to hand out phone numbers or addresses. She wasn't sure where to go next.
Erin's cell phone chimed as she was pouring yet another cup of coffee from the urn she'd had delivered to her room.
“Erin, its Juan,” the excited voice burst in her ear. She moved her phone a little farther from her head.
“Good to hear from you, Juan. Is the family all settled in Spain?” Erin asked a smile coming to her face. Juan was like a kid brother to her.
“Si, we stay with relatives in Malaga. They have a hotel up in the hills. It is very nice. Erin, I've set up our laptop and I'm taking readings hourly. I've sent you the data. Cumbre Vieja is shaking with pressure. I use your chart here. You let people know it will be in the next few days, maybe sooner.”
Erin sighed and tried to stretch the kinks out of her back. “No one is listening, but I'll send out another warning. Cumbre Vieja is just not sending off the usual signals. I'm one scientist up against a bank of data that doesn't support my claim.”
Juan's voice was anxious. “You keep trying, Erin? Cumbre Vieja is following your model almost exactly. Where are you?”
“Yes, I'll keep trying. I'm in Florida.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. “Erin!” he sighed. “no, You must do what you must do. Please be safe.” She could hear the tension in Juan's voice. Things must be bad.
“What are you seeing on the cameras? She was leaning forward now, clicking through the data Juan had forwarded to her.
“There's lots of small slides now and hot rocks rolling down the cone. Fissures are opening everywhere and the plants are shrivelling.”
“If these readings continue, Juan, we've got less than twenty-four hours,” Erin's voice sound weak and hollow. It wasn't science anymore it was life and death.
Juan was crying. “Please, please, Erin, get out of there.”
“I will, Juan, as soon as I find Chrissy. Bye.” She didn't wait for a reply. She didn't want to argue.
***
“Erin? Erin?” Juan looked at the phone and uttered a word he rarely used before hanging up. Maria who had been listening from where she stood in the doorway after having put the children down for a nap, came and stood beside him.
“Was that Erin on the phone?” she asked wrapping her arm around her husband.
“Si. She's in Florida looking for Chrissy.” He pulled a face. “It's not right, Maria, the Church says so.”
Maria laughed and gave Juan a hug. “So the Church has never been wrong? I think they were very wrong about the Earth being flat and the sun rotating around it. I think they are wrong about homosexuality and lesbianism too.”
Juan looked down at his wife in surprise. “You do?”
Maria pulled away so she could look at her husband more easily. “Yes, I do. What can be wrong with love, any sort of love between two agreeing adults? Better we love than we judge, Juan. Erin has freely taught you so much and has always given credit to you for the research you have done. Is she not one of our children's godparents? We have to accept who Erin is and we need to make Chrissy welcome in our family if she and Erin get back together. This is what I think.”
Maria waited her eyes searching Juan's face. He frowned in thought and after a minute he smiled and gave his wife a hug. “One of the many things I love about you, Maria, is your wisdom. Especially when you use it to show me what a fool I'm being. I don't know if I'd like to go against Father Carlos but I do know I'd do anything for Erin. When we talk again, I will let her know that.”
Maria smiled and hugged him back. “This is a good message for our children. I would like them to grow up being accepting of differences.”
Juan sighed into Maria's hair. “Erin is putting herself in great danger. She's smart and capable but she doesn't think straight when it comes to Chrissy.”
“We will pray that she and Chrissy are safe,” Maria said. “Father Carlos might not listen, but I think God will.”
***
After talking on the phone with Juan, Erin took a minute to write and send a mass email message to every emergency agency in every country that would be affected by the tsunami.
Dire Warning. Evacuate all coastal regions immediately. Chances of massive tsunami in the next 24-48 hours extremely high. From eruption to time of wave impact is as follows. North-west Africa, one hour. Spain, two hours. Southern English coast, three hours, The Bahamas Turks, Caico and south-east coast of USA, nine hours. Dr. Erin Ray
She slowly closed the lid on her lap top, the click in the silence of her hotel room seemed so final. She'd done all she could. Leaning back in the small cushioned chair, she closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind of everything but her time with Chrissy. There must be some clue. Some thread she could pull on to find her. Kali Perkins! Erin sat bolt upright. Chrissy had flown back to Florida to attend the wedding of her friend Kali Fowler who'd married Ed Perkins. She could remember the wedding invitation sitting on the desk for weeks. Shortly after that, they'd had dinner with the newlyweds when their cruise ship stopped in Vancouver. She got up and returned to the desk and fired up her laptop again. Two minutes later, she was on Kali Perkins blog, several minutes after that, she had her phone number and address. She needed a car.
Two hours later after renting a car and getting directions, she pulled into the driveway of a neatly kept house in a subdivision on the outskirts of Miami. She got out of the car and bent to move a tricycle out of her way. From Kali's blog, Erin knew she had twin girls. In their pictures on the blog, they looked about three or four.
Her cell phone rang again and she leaned back against the car and answering it. “Erin! It's happened! It's happened! You were right! The readings are off the charts. And wait until you see the video feedback we got from the cameras. It's amazing. I can't get in touch with the islands, but I'm hearing on the ham radio that the Canary Islands took your advice seriously and evacuated the area. Morocco was hit by a wall of water over one hundred metres high an hour ago. No word yet on the extent of damage, but it could be horrific. Erin do you hear me? Are you heading for somewhere safe?”
“I'm okay, Juan. Keep monitoring. You're about to get your name in Science Magazine,” she joked. “Listen, Juan, I'm needed more now than ever. I've got to go.”
They were nine hours and counting. Fear gripped Erin's heart. It had happened too soon. All she had to do was get back in her car and drive to safety. She could have Bert Nowak warn Chrissy. If she headed up that path and knocked on the door, she knew she was probably taking a step towards her own death. Erin straightened up, locked the door and headed up the sidewalk. He mind made up, she knocked on the door without hesitation. A few minutes later, Kali appeared at the door and peeked through the crack allowed by the length of the security chain.
“Hi, Kali. You might not remember me, Erin Ray. I was a good friend of Chrissy's. You and Ed had dinner with us on your honeymoon cruise to Alaska.”
“Erin! Oh my God! Hang on.” The door closed and there was a rattle of a chain, then the door opened again. Kali had a baby on her hip. “Erin Ray, my God,” she exclaimed again in surprise. “It's been a while.”
Chrissy had liked Kali a lot. They'd been school friends and Kali had been very accepting about Chrissy's relationship with Erin. Erin forced herself to look calm and friendly. She need this woman's help. “Five years. How are you Kali?”
“Three kids. Baby here is a late arrival. The twins are down for their naps.” Kali shifted the small bundle a little higher in her arms.
“How's Ed?”
Kali rolled her eyes. “Ed and I divorced a year after the twins were born. He's a beach bum and always will be. I've been living with Dave Neimark for the last two years. Dave's a nice stable guy. He works for a computer company. We had Allan three months ago.”
“I'm glad things are going well for you now. Ah, can I come in?” Erin was nearly jumping with impatience. Chrissy had said that Kali was a good friend, but not the brightest. Had they kept in touch? Erin suspected so.
Kali stepped aside. “Oh sorry! You were such a surprise. Where are my manners?” Kali was nervous and flustered, talking in short bursts of exclamations. Erin smiled, trying to put her at ease. Kali led her into a living room littered with baby paraphernalia and the flotsam and jetsam of family life. Bending at the knees, she used one hand to remove a jacket from a chair before lowering baby Allan onto a thin mattress in a small play pen.
Straightening she gave Erin the hostess smile and gestured for her to sit. “Can I get you a juice or coffee or something?
“No thanks.” Erin leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees. “I'm here for a reason, Kali. I need to get in touch with Chrissy. I'm sure you've kept in contact with her.”
Kali dropped the hostess smile and sank onto the couch, after first brushing aside the TV remote. “Oh shit, Erin, I don't know! You two didn't end things very well. I'm not sure she'd want you to know where she is.”
Erin shook her head. “I didn't end things well, you mean and you'd be right. But I'm not digging up old history here, Kali. This is strictly business. I wouldn't put you in this spot if it wasn't urgent and vital.”
Kali bit her lip as she unconsciously folded and unfolded a tissue on her lap. “What have you been doing all these years, Erin?”
Erin shrugged. “Mostly research and studies. I got my doctorate in volcanology and was offered an excellent job on the Canary Islands.”
“Chrissy always said your first love was volcanoes. That's why you left her right?”
Erin looked down at her shoes searching for the right words to make Kali understand. “Our paths were going in different directions that was part of it. But mostly I did it because I didn't want Chrissy to have to choose between me and her family. She wasn't ready to make that decision so I made it for us. It was the right decision and I've regretted it ever since,” Erin answered honestly. “Is she married?” She hated herself for having to ask.
The suspicion reflected in Kali's eyes softened into compassion. “No. She was in a steady relationship for a few years, but it didn't work out. You?”
Chrissy had an affair! The news hit Erin like a blow, but she struggled not to show it. “I'm still single. Married to my work, I guess. Kali, I don't want to push, but I need to contact Chrissy as soon as I can. I need your help. It could be a life or death situation.” Erin was now sitting on the edge of her seat barely containing her emotions.
Kali's eyes got big in surprise. “Shit! What's going on?”
Erin frowned and shrugged in frustration. “I'm not at liberty to say, other than its work related.”
“There's no volcanoes in Florida, are there?” Kali looked confused.
Erin laughed nervously and reached up to wipe the sweat from her upper lip. “No volcanoes. Please, Kali, I've got to get in touch with her.”
Kali had worried the tissue into pieces on her lap and now balled the pieces up in her fist. “It's just work related nothing else?”
Erin looked her straight in the eyes and lied. “Just work.”
Kali got up and went to an old teacher's desk in the corner of the room. From it she took a small address book and carefully wrote down a phone number and address. She brought it over to where Erin sat and held it out. “She has a place near Hollywood. She's working for the university, helping with a study about the migration patterns of hammerhead sharks.”
Erin breathed a sigh of relief and her hand shook as she took the paper from Kali's fingers. Her emotions must have been an easy read, because Kali frowned and looked worried. “What's wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing, it's just been a long day and I've got a drive ahead of me.” Erin didn't like lying. Kali's subdivision was sure to flood and she had babies. She got up and they walked to the door. Erin stopped on the doorstep. “I owe you one. I can't tell you what's going on, Kali. I'm not even sure yet just what will happen. You need to prepare for a major disaster. Leave now and move inland. Buy food and water, lots of it. Just like you would if there was going to be a hurricane. Just make sure you are well inland.”
Now Kali looked confused and worried. “A hurricane? It's not hurricane season.”
Erin took hold of her arm. “No, it's a tsunami, probably the largest one the world has ever seen. You need to keep this quiet. There is no need to spread panic. I just want to know you and the kids are safe, just in case. That would be important to Chrissy. Do you have a place you can stay inland?”
Kali nodded now looking quite frightened. “Mom and Dad live in Kissimmee, so do Dave's parents. We met through them.”
“That would be good. Just leave quietly now. If things happen the way I think they will, emergency services will make sure everyone is evacuated to safety. I just want to know that you are already miles away, okay?”
“Erin, are you sure about this because Dave would be awfully mad if he misses his bowling night for no reason.” Kali was wringing her hands in worry.
“You know I wouldn't joke about a thing like this. Just do this, okay? You want the kids to be safe.” Kali nodded dumbly, eyes wide with fright. Erin turned and walked away. She'd done all she could. Probably more than she should have. This area could soon be under three metres of water. There was eight hours left.
***
Barbara Nowak, was on her knees her hands clasped in prayer. The quiet of the afternoon, was the best time to hear the Voice. At first, it had scared her but now she realized the Voice in her head was Him. The phone rang. With a sigh of irritation she got up and reached for her phone, expecting it to be one of the organizers of the church activities this weekend. “Hello.”
“Hello, Barbara? It's Byron.”
Barb's face lit up, and she looked much younger than she had just a minute before. “Oh what a lovely surprise, Byron! Shouldn't you be at work?” He was such a nice young man. They had seen a lot of each other since he'd left the military. Quietly and discreetly, of course, people at the church wouldn't understand the special bond they had.
“I have to go to the printers about some posters and I thought maybe I could drop in for a few hours. You know how I get a headache when I've been to the printers,” he said by way of justification.
Barbara sank into a chair, emotion rising in her. An afternoon with Byron would be so special! His voice was soft, polite and rather hesitant as always, not like most of the brash young men today who didn't know their place. The sound of it always made her feel like jelly inside because she loved him. Not that she'd act on that love. They're love was above all that nastiness. She'd been so happy to find him a job at Bert's office. Of course, he had been a Ranger or something like that in the military. He'd been medically discharged after an emotional episode. Men in war saw such horrible things and Byron was deeply religious and sensitive. She'd been surprised to learn he'd been a soldier, he was so gentle with her. Still, one needed to support one's country however unpleasant the task might be.
“Come right away, darling. I'll make you a special lunch.” She smiled her mind racing ahead about what to wear and what to prepare for lunch.
“I can't come right away, I need to send out a yellow alert,” his voice held pride and authority. In the background Barbara could hear the noises of the busy NOAA office.
“A yellow alert? Whatever for?” Barb kicked off her shoes, stood and started undoing her blouse.
“Some scientist has notified us that the world's biggest tsunami could hit the coast in the next few days. Now don't you worry, it's just a precaution.” Byron's voice rang with confidence. Barb froze and then slowly sank to her knees, tears rolling down her face.
Byron frowned. “Barbara, are you there?”
“Byron, it's happening don't you see? God is going to send a flood and cleanse the Earth like he did before. Oh Byron! This is an answer to our prayers!” Barb rocked back and forth in rapture.
There was a hesitation before Byron answered. “Do you think so?”
Barb leapt to her feet and took charge. “Come immediately, Byron. Tell them you are sick. We must prepare our hearts and souls for God.”
This time the voice on the other end of the phone showed no hesitation. “I'm on my way, but first I have to post the yellow alert.”
“No! No, darling, don't you see, we must leave it in God's hands. We can't let science interfere in His work.” Barbara's voice sounded almost panicky.
“Barb, calm down. Okay. I understand. We'll do things your way. I'll be there soon.” She barely heard Byron's good bye. She hung up and raised her hands in rejoicing.
***
Byron leaned back in his office chair in shock . Could it be true? Barbara should know. God talked to her. Really talked to her. He'd look forward to talking to Barbara. He looked up at Bert Nowak's office and smirked. Served the bastard right. God rewards those of us who love him and punishes those who don't. Screw this job anyway! He packed up his things and didn't bother sending out the yellow alert.
***
It had been a long day. Bert Nowak rubbed his eyes and felt the bristle of a five o'clock shadow. Barbara would have made him shave, but Tracy told him it made him look rough and sexy. Just a few more things to check and then he could call it a day. He reached for the phone.
“Gloria, send me Byron Lorde again will you,” he said, arching his back to get a kink out of it. He'd been sitting at his desk all day.
“I think he's left, Bert,” came the response.
“Left! It's barely turned four o'clock!”
“I understand he had a meeting with our printer this morning about the new posters we want done. The ink gave him a migraine,” Gloria said. He could hear the clicking of her keyboard.
Bert sighed in frustration. This had not been a good day. “He got the yellow alert out though, didn't he?”
“I suppose so, sir. It should have been his top priority.”
“I'll check before I leave to make sure. Pack it up Gloria and get out of here. We've all done enough for one week.”
Gloria laughed, “You said it.”
Bert leaned back in his seat. If he went home, he'd have to shave and then face Barb's displeasure that he hadn't been able to convince Chrissy to go to the damn wedding. Tracy would be at the beach house. He picked up the phone.
“Hey, Barb, how's the prettiest little girl in the South?” he asked, absent-mindedly flipping through papers on his desk.
“I'm fine. How did you get on with Chrissy?” Barb's voice sounded anxious and distracted.
“Nothing good or bad. She's going to spend a few nights on her boat and think it over. I'm hoping she'll go to the wedding to please us,” Bert lied.
“Well, I hope so. Why couldn't she be more like Carline? Carline never gave her mother a lick of trouble. She was a cheer leader and home coming queen and now she's marrying into Richmond money.” Bert could almost hear his wife's teeth grinding. He'd never admit it to Barbara, but he rather admired Chrissy's independence and life style. He'd always regretted giving up diving. Of course, he didn't understand her personal life. It just seemed weird.
“Listen, Hon. I've had a bitch of a day here. Phil has asked some of the guys if we'd like to go fishing up the coast. Do you mind if I join them? I'd be back by noon tomorrow.”
There was silence for a second. Did Barb guess? No, she was too wrapped up in her own life to notice he was spending more and more time away from the house.
“I'm just checking our day book. That would be fine. But darling, you've had so many late nights lately. Why don't you ask your friends to make a weekend of it? I'll be busy anyway with the Mission Board presentations and fund raiser this weekend.”
Bert sat up and smiled broadly. Maybe things were starting to go right after all. “Honey, I wouldn't want to leave you alone all weekend.”
Barbara laugh was brittle. “I won't be alone. I have a dozen committees to chair and then the presentations themselves. I'll be quite busy. You go have fun.”
“Well, if you're sure. I could use a break. Now don't forget to lock the doors and set the intruder alarm before bed, Honeybunch. See you Sunday night.”
Bert smiled, disconnected and then tapped in another number. “Hey, lover, how about I bring a couple of steaks over for the barbeque down on the beach tonight. I'll pick up some champagne, too. It's a celebration. I've arranged to have this weekend free for us. Anything for you, Honeybunch. Great! See you soon.” Bert smiled, got up and stretched before heading out. His head filled with plans for the weekend, he forgot all about checking to see whether the yellow alert had been sent.
***
Barb had barely cradled the phone from talking to her Byron when Bert had phoned. How strange that the two men in her life should phone her from the same office, only minutes apart. The Lord worked in strange ways. Of course Bert wasn't going fishing. He was going to spend time with one of his floozies. There had always been women but until now she had looked at them as her cross to bear. This time it was different. This time it was a betrayal not only by her husband but by her best friend. He'd be at Tracy's beach house all weekend, not on Phil's boat. And when the big wave came like she knew it would, their sins and their bodies would be washed away. What further proof did she need that this was God's intent? Just like in the Bible, God was going to send a great flood and wipe out the wicked. She needed to prepare.
***
Less than an hour later, Byron parked his motor bike some distance from Barbara's house and walked the rest of the way. He cut through the neighbour's property knowing that they both worked and wouldn't be around and then scaled the privacy fence and dropped into Barbara's backyard. Barbara was there to meet him and gave him a hug. He could feel his manhood wilting. He hated to be touched.
“God has spoken to me, Byron, I know what we must do.” She took his hand and led him into the bedroom and knelt down on the floor.
Byron frowned. He didn't like being in there. Weren't they going to have lunch? Then his mouth dropped open in surprise. Barbara had a Beretta 85 pistol in her hand. “What are you doing with that?” he croaked out, taking a step back.
“Don't you see, darling. We have to die for their sins. It's the only way. I am The Light. I am The Way.” Barbara looked up with eyes shining with joy.
Fear gripped at Byron's guts. Could he make a run for it? “I don't think so, Barbara.”
“Oh yes, it's the only way. God is sending this flood to wash away the wicked. He told me so in a vision. He'll take my husband and that…that unnatural daughter of mine. She's down on her boat tonight, Bert told me. Then with you at my side, I'll be able to lead this country back to its pure, God-fearing roots.” Barbara's eyes were wide and glossy with rapture. When Byron didn't say anything her head snapped towards him and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Now do as you are told!” Barbara raised the gun level with Byron's chest.
Byron stood still. In his mind he was back in Afghanistan. Bruce was sobbing that if they couldn't be lovers, they should commit suicide together. Byron had loved Bruce, but he had to make him see that all he could do was save him from his sin as his family had saved him. You have to beat the devil from the soul. He'd learned that. There is no other way, but Bruce wouldn't listen. They'd gone on patrol the next day. Bruce hadn't come back. They'd hunted for him, of course, for weeks, but Byron had hidden Bruce's body well.
“Wait, wait. What am I thinking? Of course you are right. You just took me by surprise. You know, I thought I was just coming for lunch and things. Your visions are always right. We have to make this sacrifice, like our Lord did. It just makes sense. But let's pray first. We need to make sure our hearts are light and our minds pure before we go to God's embrace.”
Barb nodded. “In the garden, of course. You do understand!” Barbara set the gun on the bed and started to get up.
Byron moved in one smooth motion and wrapped his hands around her neck. Barbara was like Isaac, the sacrificial lamb. Byron was the Hand of God. Only this time, God would take Isaac to a better place, just like Barbara had said. “Stupid bitch. This isn't my mission, my mission is to beat the sin out of that unnatural daughter of yours.”
Barb's eyes got wide in fear. “No! That's… not what …God… wants! N…”
Byron felt Barb's body slump and he let her go. He knew what he had to do now. God could take care of his Uncle Bert and his whore, but he wanted to deal with Chrissy. He'd retrain her, but if she couldn't be trained, he'd kill her like he had Bruce. He was The Way not Barbara. He saw that now. He'd been saved from the temptation of his flesh and now he had to save Chrissy. He had no time to waste. Leaving Barb's body on the floor, he picked up the Berretta and stuck it in his waistband. He left, not over the fence this time, but out the front door.
***
Barbara crawled up on her bed and lay curled up in shock. She hadn't heard Byron leave. For a long time she'd laid on the floor just trying to breath. She thought she was going to die but little by little her head has cleared and her breathing had become more bearable. She had pretended to be dead but she thought Byron was going to go on choking her. Just when she was nearly gone he had suddenly let go and left. Her throat hurt so badly and her tongue kept slipping back in her mouth. Now alone in the house, she read her Bible trying to find guidance but she couldn't hear His voice. Only Byron's growl, stupid bitch. How could she have been so wrong? Tears welled in her eyes. It hadn't been a spiritual bond. She was just an aging woman who had fallen for a younger man. She'd allowed the devil to enter her heart and hadn't realized it. There was hope still though. What a comfort the Good Book had been to her over the years. Its Words would save her now.
Much later, she had heard the police going up and down the street with loud speakers warning people to evacuate. Struggling, she'd hid the car in the garage, pulled the drapes at the front of the house and locked the doors. They wouldn't bother her now. She was perfectly safe. She would pray to once again be in God's grace.
Smiling she lay on her back in her bed with her hands pressed in prayer in front of her. Her finger nails had gone blue. How strange. She'd just wait here until they came to notify her that they'd found Bert's body. Once he was dead she could appease for her sins. Maybe God would like her to do missionary work.
***
Erin had thought about phoning Chrissy, but decided against it. She might hang up before Erin could make her understand the danger she was in. Besides, more than anything in the world, she wanted to see Chrissy. She now lived in a condo in a town north of Miami. Erin drove the distance filled with conflicting emotions of anticipation and fear.
Erin took A1A north to Hollywood. Caught in the stop and go traffic of rush hour, she nervously drummed her fingers on the wheel as she inched her rental slowly forward. Hollywood was a well-developed area, with docking for the big cruise ships. Erin hated city driving and gritted her teeth as she followed the GPS to the small condo complex where Chrissy was living. For a minute she sat in the car gathering her nerve. Then with a sigh, she opened the car door and closed it behind her. In the small lobby, she looked for Chrissy's name. What if she was living with someone? That thought sent an agonizing pain shooting through her heart. Kali had said Chrissy'd been in a long term relationship. Erin wiped her sweaty palms on her shorts and pressed the intercom button. Nothing. She pressed again. Nothing. Either Chrissy wasn't home, or she wasn't answering her intercom.
Now what? She looked around the small lobby. She could phone. No, not yet. That would be a last resort. She walked the few steps across the entrance way, sat in a wicker chair beside a stand with a potted fern and waited. She could spare a few hours. There was nothing else to do.
***
The day before, the birds had left La Palma on the night trade winds. In the villages along the coast, dogs howled and leaves hung wilted. Worried islanders looked up at the billowing smoke from Cumbre Vieja and hastily gathered together family and belongings and piled into the back of old pickups or overly crowded busses.
Officials started evacuating the resorts on the western shore, just in case, or so they told the frightened tourists. On the mountain, hot rocks bounced down over the bloated earth, cracks opened and hot poisonous gasses from deep in the earth belched out and were whipped away by the hot, steamy winds. At three, the earth began to tremble and a roar from deep in the ground grew louder and louder. Just a little after four o'clock, Cumbre Vieja exploded, spewing out millions of tonnes of rock, lava and vegetation in one massive vomit. Freed from the confines of the western side of the cone, red hot lava, bubbled out and ran in rivers down to the sea. In minutes, villages, resorts and an ancient mountain were gone. The seas rose in a massive dome, steam and smoke filled the sky and the fires below turned them red. Hell had awakened. The ocean dome hung over the island and then collapsed and the largest tsunami ever to be recorded was pushed out by the chain of vibrations behind it. It would be call the Atlantic Corridor Tsunami.
***
In Morocco, Amina was not happy. Not that she would show it. She bowed her head in submission and waited with Shada beside her while Hassan talked to her brother-in-law, Mohammed. For two days now, Hassan and his friends had been stock piling boxes on the second floor. He told them he was renting the space to a businessman and they were his boxes, but they knew better. The boxes contained explosives. Amina did not like the men who came and went. They were angry, mean looking men, who looked like they lived rough. She kept Shada and herself in the back of the house, with the door barred and the curtains drawn. The less they knew, the better. What worried her more was the precious rugs that had been sitting in a hot, dirty truck in Marrakech for so long. Hassan's uncle had parked the truck in the warehouse of their new business. Parked it and left it without protection other than the lock on the garage door. She wanted to take the car and follow the truck the same day, but Hassan refused.
“What would people say if I let my wives drive alone! Are you mad?” he bellowed.
“But women drive here. It is allowed. My father taught me to drive,” Amina dared to protest.
“No! I follow the true faith. My women will be chaperoned by me, or a male I can trust. If I hear you have been out without a chaperone, I and my friends would think you are a whore. I would kill you for such shame you brought on me! Do you understand?” Hassan was shaking her so hard she could barely speak.
“Of course husband. Your wish is our command. We will not dare to leave our home unless you are with us. I spoke foolishly like a child.” She kept her head lowered in submission, but her jaw was tight with hate and loathing. Beside her, she could feel the tension in Little Flower. She risked a warning look at her so she would not react to Hassan's abuse.
“Good. On Friday afternoon, your brother-in-law, Mohammed will come after work and drive you two to Settat, then on to Marrakech before bringing the car back to me. You will stay inside until I arrive next week. My uncle will have his women bring you food. Do you understand?”
“We will obey, husband.” Hassan sneered a warning at them and then turned and walked from the room. Shada made a rude sign as he left.
Amina was shocked. “Shada you mustn't do such things. It is not right!”
Shada tossed her hair defiantly. It was beautiful hair. Amina loved to run her fingers through it. “I don't care. He hurt you.”
“Shhh, walls have ears,” Amina whispered, hugging the girl close.
Now at last it was time to go. She looked again at the north-western sky. Just a little while ago, the earth had shook and far away there was a deep boom. Now the western horizon hung low with clouds that glowed red. It was a bad sign. God was not happy.
She was glad it was Mohammed taking them. He was a good, kind man and would take care of them. Her sister, Jasmina, was lucky to have married him. He had gone to school in France and worked with computers, but he didn't like it. Once she'd gotten rid of Hassan, she meant to ask Mohammed to be the company's business manager. Under her leadership, he would do well. Once she got rid of Hassan. Already the guilt of what she planned weighed heavily on her. Was the blood, red sky a warning to her? As each day passed, the fear of what her sin would cost her grew. She must not back out now. She must be strong. She was doing this for Shada.
Mohammed looked over at them. “Don't be afraid, sister. It is a volcano out on the Canary Islands. I saw on the internet last night that it was erupting.”
Amina sighed with relief. Only a volcano. She would pray with Shada tonight that it did no harm. Mohammed finally broke away from the boasting Hassan and signalled for Amina and Shada to get into the car. It was an old Renault and when Mohammed started it up, it back fired, leaving Hassan in a cloud of exhaust. Shada giggled. Mohammed laughed. “You two liked that, didn't you? Your husband is the illegitimate son of a camel and a whore.” Now all three of them laughed but Amina made sure she stayed in her role.
“He is sick and it makes him bad tempered. We do all we can to ease his suffering, don't we, Shada?” She wanted to give the Little Flower a poke, but she was holding the baby in her arms. Instead, she sent her a look of warning.
“Yes, may God protect and heal him. He has given me a son. We rejoice in that.” The words sounded rehearsed but Mohammed didn't seem to notice. They took the road towards Settat heading to the south west and climbing steadily into the dry hill country. Because it was so late in the day, they would over night in Jasmina and Mohammed's home in Settat. The next day, they would travel south until they got to Marrakech.
Amina closed her eyes and relaxed for the first time in weeks. For the next few days there would only be the three of them. They left the city and the car climbed slowly up the high plateau the east.
“Mohammed! Stop! Stop!” Shada screamed suddenly and the baby started to cry.
“What? What is it?” Mohammed asked pulling to the side of the road. They were parked on a high ridge over-looking the city of Casablanca.
“Look!” Shada pointed out the window and the three of them stared in shocked wonder. The ocean was rising forming a towering wall that was racing towards the shore. They scrambled out of the car and stood on the road's edge. In the air they could smell the sea and brimstone. As they watched, the shore line retreated quickly as far as they could see, sucked up into the gargantuan bulge of water. It towered over the shore and cast a massive shadow over the city. Amina strained to see the brick building that had been her family's home and business all these years.
“It's a tsunami!” Mohammed said. “God save their souls.” The water slammed into the land. Cars scattered like marbles, houses collapsed under black, swirling water. One after another, streets disappeared under the onslaught like dominoes falling. Amina didn't take her eyes off their home. The water got closer, rising up the first story, then moving to the second. Had Hassan survived?
***
Hassan had become aware of the noise first, a deep roar like a fast moving train. He stepped outside and saw a shadow advancing towards him. Behind the shadow was a massive wall of water that touched the sky. He fled into the house as the fingers of water spread over his shoes, rose to his knees and then his hips. He fought to get to the stairs, but the next wave slammed him against the wall and he struggled in a debris field to keep his head above water. Now the wave retreated and pulled him back. He battled against its current, but would have been sucked out if his back hadn't slammed against the banister of the stair case. Whimpering in fear, he grabbed hold and pulled himself up collapsing on the second floor just as another wave hit. On his hands and knees, he scrambled to the ladder, half climbed and half pulled himself upwards to the roof top. Already the water was spreading out across the floor of the second story.
Up on the roof, Hassan, staggered to his feet and looked around. For streets around, everything had been flattened. Fires burned amongst the floating debris; voices screamed and begged God for mercy. He smiled. He was safe. This brick building would stand while others failed. A massive bang made him jump and he turned to see the telephone pole, transformer sparking and cracking, slowly keel over and smash through the window of the second story of his home.
“No!,” he had time to scream before the stored explosive ignited sending bits of him and the building raining down into the swirling water.
***
Amina had seen the small figure standing on the roof of their building and her heart sank. Hassan was alive. Allah had shown no mercy. Suddenly, a white flash sent the building into the sky and a second later, a sound wave boomed against their ears. She hugged Shada and the baby close and cried. They were not tears of mourning, but tears of thankfulness. Hassan was dead, killed by his own evil plan and they were free. God be praised!
***
Erin had waited for what seemed like hours. Sooner or later, Chrissy had to come home. Then a thought jabbed through her soul like a lance; maybe she wasn't coming home. Maybe she was spending her nights with someone. Erin thought she was going to be sick. She became aware that her cell phone was ringing and she fumbled it out of her pocket.
“Hello,” she mumbled still coming to terms with the realization that Chrissy could have moved on and left her in the past. The phone line crackled and the voice on the other end sounded strained and far away.
“Erin, Spain has been hit by the tsunami! It's getting hard to get a phone call out. We're watching live television coverage. Ports and coastal villages are gone!” Juan sobbed. “Can you hear me, Erin?”
“Just barely. The line isn't good.”
“I can't make out your words,” Juan hollered over the crackle. “Say again.”
Erin yelled in hopes of being understood over the poor connection. “I heard you. Keep tracking the event with whatever equipment is still in place and operating. I'm sorry. I have to go. I've got a lot of phone calls to make. I'll be in touch.” Erin hung up and then took out the paper that Kali had given her and punched in the number. It rang several times before Chrissy picked up.
“Hello.” The voice was soft, deep. The two syllables hit Erin like a one, two punch. “Hello?”
“Chrissy, it's Erin.” She heard Chrissy's phone click off.
A middle-aged woman struggled to open the door of the vestibule a brief case in one hand and a bag of groceries in the other. Erin got up and held the door for her.
The woman smiled, “Thanks.”
“Excuse me, I'm an old family friend of Chrissy Nowak's. I'm just in town for the day and I'm trying to contact her. She doesn't seem to be here and she's not answering her phone. You wouldn't have any idea where she is would you? It's a bit of a family emergency.” Erin was shocked at how easily the lies rose to her lips.
“Oh dear, an emergency. Is someone ill? Never mind. Fortunately, I do know where she is. Last night, she asked me to pick up her mail as she's staying on her boat for the next few days. It's anchored at the Ocean View Marina in Jupiter. That's about a hundred kilometers north of here.”
Relief flooded through Erin. “Thank you, thank you! Listen, you've been really helpful, so let me give you some important advice. Get back into your car and head inland. Leave as soon as you can. There's a tsunami on the way and this area will be flooded. You only have a few hours. Once you're well inland, buy food and water. You know the drill, it's just as if there was going to be a bad hurricane.” Erin charged out of the door leaving the woman gasping in surprise.
Erin charged out the door leaving the woman gasping in surprise. She hurried to her car and took a few minutes to study her GPS so she'd know exactly where to find Chrissy. With a nodded, she started the car and peeled out of the parking lot. She was counting the hours down now. If she didn't find Chrissy soon, it would be too late.
Chapter Five Seven Hours and Counting
Agnes Peal was on the night shift at NOAA headquarters in Washington. She was a middle aged woman, who had worked in the office her entire career. The youngest of six girls, she'd been left to care for Mother while her sisters went off, married and had families. Mother was dead now, but for Agnes, life seemed to have passed her by. The night shift suited her very well. There were things to do during the day, but nights were long when one was alone. She watched the readings coming in with surprise. This wasn't supposed to be happening. She clicked on print, gathered the sheets and then slid back her chair. She grabbed her coffee cup, then walked over to where her shift boss was sitting in front of a computer screen. “I think you'd better look at this. It's that volcano on La Palma. By the looks of the data it just blew sky high. NOAA needs to be notifying South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.”
Dennis Conner didn't look up. He was working on his monthly report. “Yeah, we've been monitoring that and expecting an eruption,” he muttered.
Agnes frowned. Dennis was such a jackass, more of a pencil pusher than a real scientist. She hated it when she was on his shift. She should have had his job, but at the time it was posted Mother was so sick that Agnes felt that she just couldn't apply. “I'm not talking just about an eruption. By the looks of these readings, the whole damn thing blew up. There's reports coming in from North Africa about a tsunami. I think you'd better contact Bill Emery.”
Dennis looked up at that. He looked annoyed. “I don't phone the boss at home every time a volcano blows it's top somewhere in the world.”
Agnes gritted her teeth. “Look, I remember reading a paper some time ago about this volcano. The models indicated it could send a significant tsunami over here if it blew its cone.”
Dennis waved her away. “Old research. New models show that was an over-reaction. The base of the cone is hard rock and will stay intact. Now leave me alone, I've got to get this report done.”
“We should notify the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Agnes suggested.
“Yeah, yeah, I'll do that. Now go away and let me work,” Dennis growled looking at Agnes angrily.
Agnes's lips tightened into a thin line. She doubted very much that Dennis would notify FEMA. She had no intention of taking the fall because Dennis was an idiot. She went back to her computer and made a log note that at 9:46 pm she'd notified Dennis Connor, shift manager, that there had been a significant eruption on the Canary Islands that had sent a tsunami to the African coast and it might endanger the eastern seaboard. She noted that she'd advised him to notify FEMA. She sent a copy to Bill Emery. What else could she do? She sighed, nothing at this time, but she'd keep monitoring the situation. Sooner or later, Dennis was going to have to do something.
***
Erin cursed. She was a good hour or more away from Chrissy. The traffic was still heavy on the road, but at least it wasn't at a standstill. Why weren't people evacuating? The NOAA must know by now that they were facing a major crisis. With one hand, she dug for her cell phone and punched in Chrissy's number again. It rang for a very long time.
“Hello.” The voice sound angry this time.
“This is life or death, Chrissy. I'm not joking. Don't hang up, just listen to me. Get in your car and head inland. Cumbre Vieja has blown. There's a tsunami on the way that is going to level the entire eastern coast of Florida and flood inland for miles. Get out of there!”
“I don't have a car. I dropped it off at the dealership for some repairs because I knew I'd be on my boat. Are you sure, Erin?”
Erin recognized the sound of frustration in Chrissy's voice. “I'm so sure I flew from the Canaries to warn you. I'm on 1A1 heading to Jupiter. Is there a store within walking distance?”
“Yes, a Seven-Eleven across the street, why?”
“By the time I get there, we'll have about seven hours to get out of the impact zone. Buy as much water and food as you can. We can't set out to sea, we wouldn't be able to get far enough out before the surge sweeps us back to shore. I'll pick you up and we'll make a run for it. Please, Chrissy, trust me. I know there's a lot of painful history, but I couldn't do nothing when your life at risk.” This was fear like Erin had never known it. Sweat was dripping down Erin's back as she pleaded, “Please.”
“Don't think for a minute I'm going to forgive you, but I'll get the supplies and I'll be waiting,” Chrissy said.
Erin let out the breath she'd been holding. “Thank you. Chrissy? Consider alternative water routes out of there. Once panic sets in and an evacuation starts, the roads will be jammed. If we can head up a river or something, we might be able to get out of the danger zone.”
“Will do. Erin?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks. Thanks for being you. I'll be waiting for you.” The phone went dead. Losing even that tenuous connection hurt, but she knew that Chrissy would be doing what she needed to do to help save their lives.
***
For over an hour, Agnes had intently watched the data coming in on her computer screen. Finally she slammed her fist on her desk, got up, stomped across the room, grabbed Dennis by the shoulder, and spun his chair around.
“Hey!´ He leapt to his feet fists balled. What the hell!”
“A tsunami with waves reaching eighty metres just hit the coast of Spain. We're getting satellite readings of a gigantic dome of water moving rapidly across the Atlantic. For God's sake, Dennis, millions are going to die if we don't call for a mass evacuation.”
Dennis's eyes bugged. “What? This can't be. The model shows-“
“Screw the models!” Agnes yelled. The room had gone silent and everyone was looking at them.
“Computer models don't lie, that's why we develop them. Let me look at those readings.” Dennis sat down and took his glasses from his pocket, carefully unfolding them and polishing them before he started to read. Agnes stamped her foot on frustration. She had to do something.
“Everyone, we have a red alert,” she called out. “The largest tsunami in recorded history is heading for us. Start notifying local authorities. Florida will take the main hit but damage will be extensive farther north, too.”
Dennis was on his feet again, grabbing at her arm. “What are you doing? You're causing a panic. You have no authority!”
Agnes pulled away. “Don't you touch me again and don't try to stand in my way.” She turned to the desk a few seats over. “Perry, what are you seeing out there?”
“She's right, Dennis. We need to do something. I'm seeing a steady increase in ocean levels within five hundred miles of the coast. It's nothing significant yet, but it's a bad pattern. I think you should listen to Agnes.”
“I'm in charge here, not Agnes. I'll read this data over and then I'll make a decision.”
Perry got up and joined them. He was a short, pale man, dwarfed by Denise's long lanky form. Still he stood his ground. “Shut up, Dennis. Agnes, you're in charge now. Here's Bill Emery's emergency number.”
Agnes startled Perry, when she gave him a quick hug. “Thanks! She hurried back to her desk and punched in the numbers. While she waited for Emery to answer, she looked around the office to see what sort of reaction her actions had caused. Dennis was looking around him dumbly. Everyone was hunched over their screens monitoring the growing crisis or on the phone warning state officials and steadfastly ignoring him. “I'm in charge here!” he yelled, but no one paid any attention. To Agnes's relief, Dennis picked up his jacket and stomped out.
“Mr. Emery? Agnes Peal here. I work the night shift at NOAA. Dennis? He went home sick, I think. Mr. Emery, I've declared a state of emergency.”
***
Bill Emery had come home, had a few bourbon after dinner and fallen asleep on a lounge out in the sun porch. Now he was having trouble getting his head around the information Agnes Peal was giving him. Hell, he couldn't even place her. Was she the quiet one that was so intense? As her words penetrated his mind fog, he spluttered, “You called what? You have no authority!”
“Sir, all the data we are receiving indicate that a tsunami bigger than any ever recorded is heading straight for us. I didn't feel we could wait any longer in calling for evacuations. There is less than seven hours before landfall.”
“Shit! Why weren't we made aware of this earlier?” He was already heading for the door, snatching up his keys on his way. “Hang on, Agnes.” Emery yelled over his shoulder. “Pam? I've got an emergency at the office. I need you to prepare for an evacuation.”
He lifted his cell phone again. “Agnes, I'll be there in thirty minutes. Phone Bert Nowak in Florida and tell him what's happening, then contact a Dr. Erin Ray. You'll find her number on my desk. I'll be there in thirty minutes. And Agnes, have a military plane readied. I'll need you in Florida to help coordinate this response.”
***
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Agnes hung up. Agnes stood by her desk trying to radiate confidence. She might not have a job tomorrow, but tonight she was going to do it to the best of her ability. “Alright people, Emery will be here in half an hour. Let's show him we're on top of things. I want continual reports until he gets here. Just yell them out.”
“Agnes, I've notified the governors of South Carolina and Georgia. They've got evacuations under way,” Gunther called from a computer table two desks over.
Jessica stood up and looked over the partition of her cubicle. “I've got a problem here, Agnes. I can't contact the governor of Florida. He's in hospital having surgery. Seems he fell down a flight of stairs tonight and broke his leg in two places. I tried to contact Bert Nowak, but no one is answering either his house or cell phone. I called NOAA Florida, but the night manager said she can only try to get in touch with Nowak. She hasn't got the authority to act without his approval.”
“Bureaucrats!” Agnes rifled through the papers on Bill Emery's desk then looked up and over at her teammate. “Call the Florida Highway Patrol and the chief of police in every city along the east coast of Florida. Tell them the governor is unavailable and Washington is ordering a coastal evacuation. Then, contact the Florida media and have them put out an environmental warning that this is the big one. Let them know they've only got until dawn.”
“I'm on it,” Jessica disappeared behind her partition.
“Gunther, please give Jessica a hand,” Agnes ordered, already punching in the number for Dr. Erin Ray.
Chapter Six Six Hours and Counting
Erin drove as fast as she dared. She didn't want to risk getting stopped by a cop. There were still no signs of an evacuation. What were they waiting for?
When her phone rang, she gripped the steering wheel with one hand and held her cell phone with the other. “Hello.”
“Erin, its Juan. The tsunami has now hit Spain and southern England. I've been analysing the data and it looks like the whole western side of the cone blew out and then the east side collapsed. The damage is heart breaking. My family and I are in tears. Erin, there is so much damage and there will be so many deaths. Are you safe?” Juan's voice was husky with emotion.
“I'm okay. Tell your family not to despair. The important thing is thanks to our research most people had time to get to safety. I'm very concerned about the Bahamas and Florida. This sucker's going to be bigger than even I had anticipated.”
Juan sighed. “I fear so. I wish we had more to offer people than a warning. I will let you go. I know you are busy there.”
“Thanks, Juan. I appreciate you taking the time to keep me informed. It's nearly midnight here and so far I haven't heard anything about an evacuation. It's going to be bad.”
“You take care of yourself, Erin.”
“I will and Juan, the Canary Islands will recover and flourish again. Believe that. Bye.” Erin had barely set the phone on the seat when it rang again. “Hello.”
“Dr. Erin Ray?” Erin could hear the sound of voices and the click of computers in the background.
She sighed, “Speaking.”
“This is Agnes Peal at NOAA Washington. We've just called for coastal evacuations. I understand you are an expert on this event. We need you in Washington. When can you get here?” Erin could hear the woman's footsteps as she paced.
Erin snorted. “Washington wouldn't even listen to me. I talked to Bill Emery twice and he told me that my material was dated. I emailed him my report. Anything you need to know is in there. The most important thing you need to know is that the tsunami will hit around six in the morning, so you have very little time to evacuate. The surge will spread at least five kilometers inland. You'll be talking about a sea front fifty metres high. It will have the punch of a small atomic bomb. Look, I need to go, I need to keep my phone free.”
The sound of pacing stopped and Peal's voice growled at her. “Dr. Ray we need you here. This is a national emergency. As an American, you know your country needs you.”
Erin passed a car with both hands on the wheel and then picked up the phone from her lap where she'd set it. “First, I'm a Canadian. Second, I'm in Stuart, Florida trying to save the only person that means anything to me. It's not my fault that NOAA dropped the ball. Good bye.”
Erin looked at the clock. She was just a few kilometres away now. Up ahead she could see red lights. The highway patrol was finally on the job. Erin pulled up to an officer who had flagged her down with a flashlight.
“Roads closed. Turn back and pick up the Florida turnpike.”
“I'm going to pick up a friend who doesn't have a car. She's only a few miles away.” Erin couldn't help the stress in her voice.
The officer shook his head. “Sorry, all roads are one way, heading out of the coast regions. You need to turn back, Miss. We have emergency personnel picking up people who don't have transportation.”
Erin nodded. There was no point in arguing. Already she could see a bumper to bumper line of traffic using both sides of the road. “Okay. The tsunami is going to hit around six this morning. Make sure you are well inland by then.” She turned her car around and headed back in the direction from which she had come. As soon as she could, she pulled into a parking lot, grabbed her phone and got out of the car.
“Chrissy, I'm a few kilometres away and I can't get the car any closer. I'm going to run.” Erin heard the fear in her voice and took some deep breaths to try and convey more calm. “Did you find an alternate route?”
“Yes, I think I can get us out,” Chrissy sighed. “Maybe. It's a long shot,” Chrissy said, her fear and uncertainty in her voice.
“If there any way you can get transportation inland, take it,” Erin said flatly, already starting to jog.
“No way. Be quick. It's pretty much deserted here and I don't know, I don't feel safe.” Chrissy gave a nervous laugh.
“Get on your boat and lock yourself in. I'll be there soon. What's your berth number?”
“Sixty-four. Hurry, Erin.” Chrissy's voice sounded tight with stress.
“I'll be there soon.” Erin hung up and secured her phone in its case on her belt, then she started running. She ran and ran and ran.
***
Byron Lorde was surprised to see Chrissy standing at the gate of the marina as if waiting for someone. What was going on? Is it a trap? Have they found Barbara? He waited. There was time. With the bike, he could get past most of the traffic and well clear of the tsunami, but first he had to make sure it was safe. Then he'd grab Chrissy. He'd be charming and insist she come with him to be safe. He'd be her hero, risking his life to save hers. He smiled, but the smile turned quickly into a frown. Chrissy was talking to someone on her cell phone. She finished her conversation and stuck the phone in her hip pocket. For a second, she stared right at the dark passage were Byron stood. He held his breath. Then she shook her head, turned and went to stand on the other side of the marina's security gate, locking it behind her. She sensed something, was on her guard. No problem. It made the hunt more exciting. It was an added impediment but easily overcome. What was important was for him to be cautious. No mistakes. Always wait. Wait out the enemy. Another half an hour then I'll make my move. Why is she standing there? It looks like a trap. Pounding feet. Who was that? Byron drew back into the shadows.
***
Rounding a corner at a dead run, Erin could see Chrissy ahead, standing under a light at the entrance to the marina. She hadn't gotten on her boat, but she'd chained the security gate so no one could enter the marina. Over the last five years, Erin had dreamed about this moment a thousand times. Never in her wildest imagination had she thought it would be like this.
“It's me. I'm here,” she yelled as she ran towards Chrissy. She came to a halt in front of the fence and bent over with her hands on her knees, panting, while Chrissy unchained and opened the gate. It was humid and the sweat dripped from her. How romantic! “We're not going to get out by road. There won't be time even if we run back to the car. The traffic is stop and go. What's your alternate plan?”
Chrissy stared at her for a second as if she was mad. Erin smiled at the thought that perhaps she was or she wouldn't be here. Madly in love, anyway.
“We can take my cruiser up the Okeechobee Waterway. The lock is about an hour boat ride from here. The only problem is, I don't know whether there will still be anyone on duty in the lock control house.” She gestured at the two jugs of water and a bag of groceries that sat at her feet. “This is all I could get in the way of supplies. I guess it will have to do.”
“We'll have to take the chance,” Erin said grabbing a jug of water in each hand and straightening up. “Which is your cruiser?”
Chrissy took a step closer to Erin, then she hauled off and slapped Erin right across the face. “You coming after me means a lot, but don't think for a minute I'm going to forgive you for what you did to me. I have to co-operate with you to get us out of this alive, don't expect anything else.” With that she picked up the bag of groceries, turned on her heel and strode off down the pier.
Erin blinked back the tears of pain and surprise and then smiled. It was probably better than she deserved. She looked at her watch, five hours and counting.
***
The dark shadow watched and listened, then moved deeper into the darkness of an alley. He'd missed his opportunity when Chrissy had locked the gate, but there would be another. He knew the Okeechobee Waterway well and thanks to his military training, he knew how to survive. He was on a mission again. He could feel the nervous excitement coursing through his body just like the old days in Afghanistan. He'd hated the military, but he'd missed that rush. He had no fear; God would protect him. He noiselessly moved down the alleyway. A few minutes later, the roar of a motorcycle echoed around the empty buildings. The hunt was on.
***
Chrissy had gone up to the flying bridge and started the engines. Erin put the water jugs in the stern cockpit and hurried to untie the craft. She'd barely gotten back on to the boat when Chrissy started backing the cruiser out of its slip . She did that deliberately. Erin thought. The tsunami might not get me, but there is a good chance Chrissy will.
Erin climbed up to the flying bridge. “Nice try, but I'm still with you. Haste would be a very good idea.”
Chrissy pulled back the throttle levers on the twin engines and almost sent Erin for a header down the stairs. “Did the slap hurt?”
“Yes,” Erin answered honestly. She grabbed hold of an aluminium grab bar in case Chrissy had any other maneuvers planned.
“Good.” After that, Chrissy looked straight ahead, ignoring Erin beside her, which gave Erin the chance to really look at her. She'd aged a bit, of course. There was a maturity to the face that hadn't been there five years ago. Otherwise, she hadn't changed at all. Dressed in shorts and a t-shirt her hair blowing in the wind, she was, in Erin's eyes, incredibly beautiful and sexy.
“It didn't even begin to hurt as much as leaving you,” Erin added.
Chrissy's head snapped around. “Don't even start, Ray. I mean it!”
Erin shrugged. “Okay. I just wanted you to know.” They stood in silence for some time save for the smash of the hull against the waves as they motored along the coast. Chrissy was back to staring straight ahead and ignoring her.
Eventually, Erin looked at her watch and frowned. “What time does the tide come in?”
“It should be on the turn about five this morning. There's a full moon tonight as well. There's also a tropical storm brewing that could make landfall in a few days. We're already seeing the air pressure drop.”
“Shit, triple whammy. This whole thing just keeps getting better and better.” She looked over and saw Chrissy was crying. “Chrissy?”
“Why? That's what I want to know.” Chrissy sniffled as she clutched the wheel in a death grip. “Why did you do that to me?”
Erin struggled to find the words. “Because you weren't ready. I didn't want you to have to make the choice between me or your family, or even your job. You were nineteen, just starting out on your own. I was twenty-four. Five years doesn't seem like a hell of a lot of difference, but at that time it was. It was the right decision. What I regret deeply is acting like an emotional coward and not discussing it with you face to face. I'm not good with words. I took the easy way out.”
“Easy way out! It was a terrible, cruel thing to do!” Chrissy reached into a pocket and pulled out a tissue and wiped the tears from her eyes with a shaky hand. “I'd come out to my family for you and you left me high and dry. You made me look like a fool.” Erin took a sideways kick to the shin. It had been sort of a half-hearted effort, the slap had a lot more energy behind it. Erin chose to see that as a good sign.
Chrissy's cruiser had cut through the water easily. Bouncing over the rise and fall of the waves. The moon rose full and bright sending silver ribbons across a black velvet ocean. Just over an hour, as they got close to Stuart, Chrissy slowed the craft. Now the waves rolled the cruiser back and forth and Erin held on tightly to the guide rails. “Where's the lock?” Erin asked, breaking the silence between them. The moon was causing deep shadows making visibility difficult for those not familiar with the area. Erin strained her eyes to make out the structures along the shoreline.
“We have to go down river a bit first,” Chrissy stated using her spot light to sight marker buoys.
“Don't waste any time,” Erin warned, looking at her watch.
Chrissy gave her a pointed look. “Navigation is just a bit tricky through here in the dark. Let me do the driving.”
Erin clamped her mouth shut and stood looking out over the water with growing concern. Time was running out for them. It was another hour before they arrived at the locks.
The Atlantic Intracoastal Lock at Stuart was a tall narrow lock, surrounded by marinas and water front buildings. It was three in the morning when they arrived at the gates and the place was eerily quiet. Erin was glad to see that the area must have been evacuated. Chrissy expertly pulled alongside a wharf and idled the engines.
“First problem, the locks don't open until seven in the morning,” Chrissy stated.
“You get ready, I'll see about the locks.” Erin climbed down the ladder from the flying bridge, jumped down onto the dock and looked around. Fifty or so metres away stood a small red brick building surrounded by a tall chain link fence. A sign read St. Lucie Lock US Army Corp of Engineers. She jogged over to the lock control building and scaled the eight foot fence, then climbed down the other side. So far so good. She ran over to the building and looked about. A boat hook and a life preserver hung from metal hooks on the exterior wall. Time was severely limited now. Erin grabbed the long aluminium pole with the hook on the end and smashed it through the frosted glass of the window in the door. An alarm was sure to have go off when she entered, if it hadn't already. She was so nervous, she didn't even notice scratching her arm on the jagged glass as she reached in and opened the door.
Okay, first things first. Lights. Erin switched the lights on and then went to the control panel. This can't be hard, right? With relief, she saw it wasn't. It was just a matter of a single lever. Then she noticed the power switch was operated by a key. Damn! Erin looked around frantically. It was unlikely the operator would take the key with them, as another person might be on shift the next day. Crew shifts would have keys to the building but it was unlikely they would also have a power key. That meant it had to be in the building somewhere. Where? Where was the key?
She glanced at her watch. Precious time was passing. Looking around more carefully, she saw a door marked office and dashed the few steps over to it. Locked! Erin picked up a metal trash can and rammed it through the frosted glass in the door. The gold letters that had spelled OFFICE hung down in a strand of plastic letters and broken glass. She brushed it to the side and reached in to unlock the door. Sure enough, the power key was hanging on a hook just to one side of the door.
Erin snatched the key from the hook and ran back to the control panel, where she inserted the key and turned it. Lights came on in the panel and Erin breathed a sigh of relief . Thank God! Now what?
She swung the lever to open the Atlantic gates and the water in the lock began to lower. According to the diagram on the wall, the water had to drop more than fourteen feet before the gate would open. To Erin, waiting in a pool of light for the police to show up, the process seemed infinitely slow. Finally, the water reached its lowest level and after a small hesitation, the massive iron doors crept open. Through the widening crack of the lock gate, Erin could see Chrissy idling the boat. Come on! Come on! she urged the slow moving gates.
As soon as they were open, Chrissy moved the cruiser inside. It looked small down at the bottom of the lock that could hold three or four large cruisers. Erin swung the lever and the massive gates crawled shut, then the water started to pour in, slowly raising the cruiser from the depths of the lock to the height of the river beyond. Erin was bouncing on her toes with pent up emotion. She waited until the gates on the river side started to edge their way open, then she ran outside and leapt aboard landing ungracefully on her hands and knees. She got up and looked at her watch. Another hour lost. She headed up to the bridge.
Chrissy was slowly chugging down the narrow, straight channel. The moon was up and visibility was good.
“Go faster!” Erin ordered, knowing they had only two hours left.
“This is a no wake zone,” Chrissy responded with a frown.
“For God's sake, Chrissy, I just broke, entered and damaged a government facility. Within a few hours, this entire area will be under water and you're worried about breaking a navigational traffic law!”
“You're bleeding,” Chrissy stated without emotion. “There's a first aid kit down in the head. Hold on.” She pulled back on the levers and the cruiser raced down the narrow channel, sending a long wake of water over the cement walls onto people's neat lawns.
Erin looked at her arm in surprise. She had a long gash along the inside of her arm from when she'd reached in to open the front door. She climbed down off the flying bridge and then down the few stairs into the galley, making her way through the salon and found the small head just beyond it. She washed the scrape and put disinfectant on it. Impulsively, she took the tube of disinfectant cream and stuck it into her pocket. It might be needed before the day was over.
Chrissy hadn't shown any emotion when she told Erin that her arm was bleeding, yet she had told her where to find the first aid kit. Did she still care? Erin shrugged. She couldn't tell. Stopping in the galley, she found a couple of bottles of water in a cupboard and some trail mix bars. She took them back up to the bridge. “Here,” she said offering Chrissy a bottle of water and a trail mix bar.
“Thanks,” Chrissy said, without making eye contact. They ate and drank in silence.
“How long before we get to the next locks? Erin asked sitting on the pilot bench beside Chrissy for the first time. She could feel the warmth of Chrissy's body and smell the scent of sea and wild flowers. A lump formed in Erin's throat.
“About twenty nautical miles,” came the answer, still no emotion or reaction.
“How fast are we going?” Erin pushed.
“About five knots. I wouldn't want to risk anything faster in this narrow passage,” Chrissy murmured. “The back wash could become a problem.”
Erin made the calculation. One knot equaled one nautical mile. They'd be four hours getting to the next lock. They weren't going to make the next lock. They'd be lucky if they were far enough inland to survive.
Chrissy sighed. “I just don't understand. You left me vulnerable and undefended five years ago and then you show up here because you are afraid for my life. Do you know how irrational that is?”
“I left you with your family and with a good job. Have you ever stopped to think what would have happened if I'd stayed?”
Chrissy turned on Erin and shoved her against the gunwale. “Think about it! I've thought about it every day for the last five years!”
The boat, unattended, swerved out of the channel. Erin's eyes got big. “Someone should be steering the cruiser.”
“Shit!” Chrissy grabbed the wheel and brought them back into the channel lane. “Yes, I've thought about it. If you'd stayed, I admit it would have been hard. My family would have rejected me, but I would have had you and that would have made it bearable. Instead I had to face the shit alone. My dad was disgusted with me for upsetting the household, my mom looked at me like I was the anti-Christ, my brothers ignored the issue by avoiding me and my sisters treated me like a weak link that needed to be pitied.”
Erin's mouth dropped open. “I didn't know. I thought that they'd get over it after I left,” she stammered.
“You didn't think. You got caught in an ugly social situation and you did what you always do, you ran,” snapped Chrissy, holding the wheel so tightly her knuckles were white.
“Hey, that's not fair!” Erin protested. She touched Chrissy's shoulder and Chrissy batted her hand away and rounded on her whilst driving with one hand.
“Isn't it? You know why you were such an over achiever, Erin? It had nothing to do with your brains, although you've got plenty of those. It's got nothing to do with wanting to prove a foster kid could make good. You know what it was? You just couldn't face up to conflict, so you went out of your way to be the exceptional little foster kid!”
Erin's temper snapped and she got in Chrissy's face. “Don't you lecture me on what it's like to be a foster kid. How the hell would you know? I survived any way I could! I did what I thought was best for you because I loved you! I can't help it if your family was a bunch-”
Caught up in their yelling match, the cruiser went off course and side swiped one of the cement piers that separated the channel into east and west passages. With a terrible crunch and scraping, the boat heeled over. The impact threw Chrissy into Erin's arms and they ended in a tangle on the deck.
“Damn! I hate you,” Chrissy muttered as she buried her head in Erin's shoulder.
“No you don't, but I can understand why you'd want to,” Erin said softly holding Chrissy close. “We need to continue this but right now I think the cruiser is sinking.”
“My boat!” Chrissy untangled herself and got shakily to her feet. The engines had flooded and stalled, the cruiser was listing to the starboard side and water was already lapping over the gunnels. Chrissy grabbed Erin's hand and pull her up, then led the way as they half climbed, half swung down the tilting ladder and staggered to the stern of the boat. Chrissy released the davits and dropped the small life boat into the water. They just managed to get aboard before the stern of the cruiser went under.
“We need another boat and quickly.” Erin placed the small oars in place and rowing towards a subdivision along the waterway. Erin scanned the houses. There were a good many boats tied at docks along the shore line. The area would have been evacuated, but there was sure to be a few idiots with guns who has stayed behind to protect their property. This late at night most would be asleep, but the crash must have woken a few and the moonlight was going to be a big disadvantage.
“I loved that boat,” Chrissy murmured, as she sat in the stern, watching the cruiser disappear under the water.
“Good you love something,” teased Erin with a smile as she rowed for shore.
“If we hadn't been arguing about ancient history, it wouldn't have happened,” Chrissy grumbled. “This is all your fault.”
“I was wondering how long it would take you to draw that conclusion,” Erin said with a smile. “We'd have had to abandon the cruiser soon anyway. A cruiser or a houseboat would just not have the maneuverability or a small enough draft to handle the water when the channel over flows its banks.”
Chrissy laughed. “I hate you.”
“No you don't,” Erin countered. “Quiet now. We have to be furtive.”
“Why?” Chrissy whispered.
Erin slowly rowed passed the piers, checking out each boat. “Because we're going to steal a boat,” she whispered.
Chrissy sighed, “Oh shit.”
“This one, it's perfect. A Zodiac with a metal hull and inflatable rubber sides. Oars, life jackets, a full tank of gas and a good outboard engine by the look of it. Even fishing gear. Either he's a real trusting guy, or he was just about to head out onto the river when the evacuation warning sounded.” Erin eased their two person fiberglass row boat alongside and gesturing at the boat beside them. “Get in,” she whispered.
Chrissy rolled her eyes and crawled from one boat to another while Erin held the boats close together.
A sound. Erin looked up suddenly but couldn't see anyone . I'm sure I heard strange soft laughter, male probably. She listened closely. Nothing.
“Are you getting in?” Chrissy whispered earnestly.
Erin nodded and slid from one boat to the other. Someone was out there. Watching them. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up. No point in telling Chrissy. Not yet anyway. “Keep low,” she replied just as softly. “We don't want to be seen by anyone who might be still around.”
Erin slithered into the zodiac on her belly and then got busy. By the time she had primed the engine and pulled the cord to get the engine going, Chrissy had cast off and with a good shove, sent them out into the water. Erin put the motor in gear and they moved to the far side of the channel. She breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she had imagined the laughter. She looked at her watch. Time was running out. “We need to get the life jackets on,” she said.
Chrissy nodded and passed Erin a jacket before slipping into her own. “Are we far enough inland? Do you think we'll make it?”
Erin shrugged and smiled. “It's going to be a rough ride, I think. We're on the edge of the impact zone. My real concern is the surge is going to funnel along the channel gaining speed and height. It's likely to hit us like a freight train. Nothing we can't handle.”
Chrissy smiled back but said nothing.
Chapter Seven Tsunami!
The evening before the tsunami, Bert had stretched out contentedly on a lounge. Tracy had a wonderful beach house. She and her late husband had owned an import business and now Tracy ran it herself. Tracy had told him that it was mainly quality goods from developing nations that they imported, like hand woven rugs, gold and silver jewelry and hand-made furniture. Tracy was one capable and smart woman. He looked across the immaculate lawn to the swimming pool and beyond that to the ocean. They'd made love when he got there and then he'd barbecued the steaks while Tracy had seen to the salads. Now satisfied and fed, he was completely relaxed after a hard day.
A cold shiver suddenly coursed through him. He'd forgotten to check on whether Lorde had posted the yellow alert. Ah, to hell with it! Ray was a freak show anyway. Even Washington didn't take her seriously. Besides, FEMA would have heard about the yellow alert from the Washington office. He took another swallow of his beer.
Bert looked up as Tracy came out from having tidied up after dinner. She'd probably left the dishes in the dish washer and the Hispanic maid would clean up any mess in the morning. What was that maid's name? She was a cute little thing.
Tracy smiled. “Honey, I have a swell idea. Let's drive over to Kissimmee.”
Bert looked up in surprise and chuckled. “Kissimmee? What the hell for?”
Tracy sat on the edge of the lounge and kissed him. “I want to play with you at one of the big resorts.” Her mouth pouted. “We're always hiding. I want to have fun with you in public. No one we know is likely to be there. Please.”
“And leave this beautiful ocean? There will be a full moon tonight.” Do I dare give her what she wants? What if someone sees us?
Tracy turned and looked at the ocean. “It's a funny colour tonight. And it smells. The tide must be really low. There's a lot more beach showing than usual.” She turned back and lowered her head to Bert's shoulder. “I'd really like to go, please.”
Bert chuckled and kissed Tracy's forehead. “Sure why not. We can be there in a few hours and book into a hotel for two nights. That will give my Southern peach all day to play in the resort parks. How's that?”
Tracy squealed with delight. “I'll just throw a few things for us into a bag.” She got up and hurried into the house.
Bert smiled. He felt smug that he'd made her happy. Just as well I keep a few changes of clothes here.
He staggered to his feet and frowned. Am I showing my age? Maybe I should hit the gym. Nah, having a lover like Tracy is all the exercise I need.
***
Erin and Chrissy had just motored back out to the channel in the zodiac when a voice challenged them. “Who's out there?” someone yelled out of the darkness and they heard a shot gun ratchet.
“Corps of Engineers patrol,” Erin yelled and aimed a flashlight she'd found in the storage box of the Zodiac towards the voice, hoping to blind him. “What are you still doing here, sir?” This area has been evacuated.”
“This is a free country and I got a right to protect my property,” the angry voice yelled back. Chrissy looked at Erin with eyes wide with fear. Erin tried her best to sounds calm and in control even though her heart was pounding. She had hoped they'd been able to steal the boat without any problems. Just her luck that there would be some weird survivalist about.
“Sir, around six o'clock, this area will be flooded with eight feet of water. We strongly recommend you get yourself to higher ground. What's your name, sir, so we can make a note that you are here and check on you tomorrow?”
“You don't need my name,” the voice snarled.
“Okay, sir. We'll be patrolling through here tomorrow if you need help.”
Erin signalled to Chrissy to keep low. She kept a steady, slow speed, in keeping with a patrol boat, and their craft slipped forward at an easy pace.
“Eight feet of water?” Chrissy asked, her head tilted to one side as she couched low in the boat. “I think I'm seeing you in a whole different light.”
Erin shrugged. “Who knows how bad the flooding will be. I don't think the locks are going to stop the water from surging up this channel.” Erin kept their craft moving at a steady speed. They were running out of time. She wanted to gun it down the channel, but it was not yet time - not until she was well away from the guy with the gun.
“Are we going to make it?” Chrissy asked calmly, the only indication of her nervousness the way she was twisting and untwisting the cord on her life jacket.
“I don't know, I really don't,” Erin said honestly. “My calculations indicate the flooding will penetrate about five miles, but this is low, swampy land and on a channel. It's going to funnel the water. I didn't account for a high tide or the low pressure zone from a tropical storm either. I figure we're about three miles in.” Erin stated honestly.
Erin saw Chrissy frown and swallow hard. She didn't comment on their dire situation but instead changed the subject. “You're quite the actor.” Erin ignored the sarcastic tone. Chrissy understood their situation even if she'd chosen not to comment. She had started to stow and tie everything down. “Army Corps of Engineers?”
Suddenly an orange flame flashed from in the reeds off the port side and buck shot rained down on them as the boom of a shotgun echoed across the grasslands.
“Holy shit!” Erin exclaimed. They ducked low and Erin gunned the engine, leaving the survivalist well behind. The second shot didn't come anywhere near as close. Above the growl of the engine, Erin thought she heard that strange laughter again. It sounded cruel and a bit hysterical.
They were well up the channel before Erin slowed down. “Guess I'm not that good an actor,” she remarked dryly and they both broke into nervous laughter.
Dawn. The sun rose quickly over flat land and Erin looked at her watch. Time was up. Chrissy was half asleep in the bow of the Zodiac. “Chrissy? Keep an eye on the horizon. It won't be long,” she warned. “Tie yourself to the boat, but loosely enough that you can release the line if we go under.” Chrissy sat up, stretching and yawning.
“You must be exhausted,” she commented absently as she followed Erin's instructions.
Erin smiled. “A little.” She was impressed at how calmly Chrissy was handling the situation. To be truthful, she was well past exhaustion, but fear and anticipation of what lay ahead was keeping her going on nervous energy. “We're going to make it,” she said reassuringly.
Chrissy smiled back. “Sure we are.” They both knew that their chances weren't that good.
There were homes on both sides of the channel now. Nice homes. “People never seem to learn.” Erin sighed. “Did you know that eighty percent of the world's population lives within five hundred kilometres of the ocean? It doesn't matter how many times they get flooded out, they come back and settle on flood plains.”
Chrissy's eyes went wide with shock. “Erin look,” she whispered.
Erin turned around. Far off in the distance was a grey-green wall running as far as the eye could see and moving like an avalanche towards them. The earth shook, the water around them rippled and bubbled and a rumbling sound like a freight train grew louder every minute.
“Turn the bow around,” Chrissy urged as she moved to sit closer to the centre of the Zodiac. “We need to keep the bow up and facing towards the waves.”
Erin brought the small craft around so it was facing down-stream. She looked at Chrissy. “Just for the record, in case things don't go well, I have loved you from the moment I saw you. There hasn't been anyone else and a day hasn't gone by when I haven't missed you and regretted leaving, you.”
“I love you too.” Chrissy reached out her hand and Erin took it. They held hands as they watched a catastrophic wall of water roar in over the land. They actually heard and felt the impact of its force, as it smashed into marinas, stores and homes, splintering and toppling them into the mayhem of swirling water and debris that was moving relentlessly inland. The ground shook and the wind hurtling towards them roared with the sound of destruction.
The shock wave of the tsunami had travelled across the ocean, its force unhindered by land forms. As it neared the North American coast, the swirling water hit the ocean floor causing a wall of water to rise in a massive wall, a wall of power growing and roaring forward like a million freight trains.
At first the water along the shore line retreated and a sudden low tide was caused by the massive wave as the ocean was drawn towards it. Sea gulls cried in delight, as they swooped down to hop along the exposed ocean bed and feed on small stranded fish, shrimp and clams. They didn't feast for long. The sand beneath their feet quivered and the sea air brought with it the stench of brimstone and a deafening roar. The birds took flight as the shadow of the massive wave flashed across the sand.
The tsunami hit with the force of an atomic bomb. Huge docks lifted and shattered like dry spaghetti. Beach furniture was picked up and shot forward, grinding and stabbing sharp broken ends into buildings. Sand spits dissolved, taking with them homes, cars and trees. A wall of debris roared inland on muddy water now glistening with oil. Gas fires roared up and one after the other buildings collapsed as their foundations were undermined. Roads washed away, bridges fell and massive sink holes opened like gates to hell.
Farther inland, though safe from the initial impact of the ocean, the water rose. People who had rushed to save their homes and businesses with make shift walls of sand bags watched as the water tore out their efforts and poured into buildings. Yelling, screaming, crying, they rushed to get above the water level, climbing into second stories, or attics or up on roofs. Some would survive, others were washed away to drown or be battered to death by the swirling debris. A coast once dotted with modern marinas, beautiful hotels and well developed motor ways, disappeared in an instant before an ocean that was totally out of control. When the ocean finally retreated hours later, it would leave a five mile strip of mud, debris and desolation and beyond that miles of homes, offices, factories and malls would stand in filthy, stinking water.
***
Barbara lay in her bed reading her Bible. The police had been through the neighbourhood twice more, knocking on doors and advising people to leave. She had ignored the warnings and the ringing phone. It was very quiet now. The neighbourhood was as empty as her heart. She couldn't have called for help anyway. She could barely breathe through her swollen throat. God would protector her and punish the sinful, it was His Way. Bert would be punished for his sinful ways.
Now she could hear the bone rattling roar of the ocean. The first wave slammed into the house and water seeped under the door. The water rose quickly. God is going to take me after all. I'm going to a better place. It doesn't matter, I have prayed for forgiveness and been saved. I'm ready Lord! She smiled and held her Bible close as the water slowly rose over her head.
***
Amina woke up and blinked in confusion. Where am I? One by one the images came back, of this huge wall of water that had flattened the coastal buildings of the city and surrounded her father's business with a sea of watery debris. She saw again the tiny figure of her husband stumbling to his feet on the roof top and looking around. How smug you must have felt to have survived. I bet you thought that you favoured by God. And how defeated I felt when I realized I would still have to get rid of you myself. And in her mind, she saw the hot, white flash and the billowing clouds out of which bricks from her father's business had fallen. Could you have survived a second time? Mohammed says no, that you are dead. I will pray for your soul like a good wife should, but I do not believe, Hassan, that you will see Paradise. Amina smiled and snuggled close to Shada.
“You are awake, Amina?” asked her sister Jasmina drawing back the curtain in the women's part of Mohammed's house.
Amina sat up reluctantly. “I'm awake,” she whispered, “but the little one and her baby still sleep. She had nightmares last night.”
Jasmina nodded sadly and moved quietly into the room. “Hassan was a cruel man. She is young.”
Amina knew she must be careful, even with her sister, who was younger by seven years.
There could be no doubt of their loyalty to their husband. “He was cruel, but he was sick. Pain makes a person bad sometimes. May God take him to Paradise?”
Jasmina grunted. She was a beautiful woman, but blunt in her manner and she had no time for Hassan. “It is time for prayers. Will you join me?”
“I will.” Amina got up careful, so not to wake Shada and then hurried to wash and dress. “Let her sleep.”
Mohammed had gone to the mosque as the men often did in the mornings. The two women prayed on the roof. Their beautifully woven prayer rugs facing east. Then they climbed down stairs and had a quiet breakfast of white cheese, olives, bread and thick, strong coffee.
“What will you do, Amina, now that Hassan has passed on?”
Amina bowed her head and pretended to be mourning her loss. “I thought about this for a long time last night, my sister. I would like to run the business still. The rugs have survived, praise God, and some of my best weavers have already gone to Marrakech in the truck with the rugs. I know a lot about rugs and could be the product manager, but I would need a man to be the sales manager. Someone I can trust and who can use the new computers that modern businesses need. The tourists now want to order on the computer and even pay that way. I do not understand these things, so I don't know what to do.”
“Oh!” exclaimed Jasmina, “But I know who would want this job.”
Amina pretended surprise. “You do?”
“Yes, my husband, Mohammed. He would be very good at this job,” Jasmina said confidently, nibbling on a piece of cheese.
Amina sipped her coffee and pretended to think it over. “Mohammed is a fine man and would make a good partner. You are my sister and so it would be a family business again. I can't ask this of Mohammed, though. He has a good job already and has bought you this nice house in Settat.”
“But sister, Mohammed hates his job. He sits all day and talks to angry people on the phone about their computer problems. Everyone feels that the phone technicians are to blame. This is not right.”
Amina nodded. “You talk to him, Jasmina. If he's interested he can come and talk to me. It would mean you would have to move to Marrakech.”
Jasmina smiled. “It would be good to be close again and to have our family business back. I know you were a good wife, Amina, but Hassan was not a good husband. Marrakech is a fine, old trading city, with good schools for the children. We could be happy there. I will talk to Mohammed when he returns and we will settle this.”
“After the mourning period,” Amina stated firmly. It was important that she and Shada not be the subject of cruel gossip because they did not act as modest, widows should. A business and a life must be above reproach – at least publicly. “We can plan, but nothing can happen until then.” She tried not to smile. God be praised, she was getting her every wish. God had sent a flood and cleansed the evil from her life.
Chapter Eight Survival
Erin idled the motor keeping the bow facing the approaching waves. They were far enough inland that they weren't going to be smashed by the full force of the tsunami, but they were close enough that the flow of water channelled and shooting down the channel would be high and the flooding extensive. She was feeling mildly confident that they could ride it out until she realized that the deluge heading towards them wasn't just water it was a mountain of debris. Cars, pieces of houses, oil and the flotsam and jetsam of life rolled, spun and bounced on the approaching water. This was not going to be good.
“The current is getting strong,” Chrissy observed. We're being pushed towards it.” The fear was in her voice now. She apparently realized too the trouble they were in.
“That's not a current. It's the tsunami breathing in through the mouth of hell,” Erin murmured. “To try to keep the bow high, I'll speed up when it hits us. I'll probably have to lift the outboard out of the water at some point so it doesn't get wrecked by hitting debris. For God's sake hold on tight! This is going to be one hell of a nasty ride.” Erin looked around to make sure everything was secure as possible? It seemed to be. Chrissy had done a good job. Erin wedged herself firming in the bottom of the Zodiac and looked over at Chrissy. “We'll make it.” She said with a lot more confidence than she felt.
“Sure we will.” Chrissy suddenly leaned across the bench seat between them and kissed Erin. The kiss was long, and passionate and Erin felt her soul relinquish five years of misery. They looked into each other's eyes, foreheads touching.
Chrissy spoke first, “I love you, damn it!”
“I love you too - damn it,” Erin teased.
There was on more time. The surging water was upon them. Erin gunned the engine and the bow reared up. They hit the first rush of water like a car hitting a cement wall. The Zodiac stood on its stern as filthy water poured in. Then, just before Erin thought they would flip over, the boat sudden dropped forward and then dived down into the first trough sideways. Erin fought to bring the bow around and they barely met the second wave at a good angle. The air was heavy with the smell of oil, sewer and sea weed and the sound of rushing water and grinding debris was almost deafening. Ahead of them a small red car came spinning and rushing towards them.
“Shit!” Erin gasped, gunning the engine to bring them just a metre clear of the car swirling on the next surge of water. It tumbled just to the starboard side of them. A woman's face, white with fear, her mouth open in a silent scream could be seen for a second at the window.
Chrissy screamed in horror. “There's someone inside!” Before either one of them could react, the rising water broke right over them, filling their craft with dark, foul water. They both clung to the craft in a life or death struggle. Erin looked up, madly searching for the red car. It was nowhere in sight, it had been buried beneath the advancing water. She closed her eyes in despair. Was there anything they could have done? No, they were barely managing to hold on as they attempted to save themselves.
“Erin that woman?” Chrissy's voice was a sob of anguish.
“Gone,” Erin stated flatly as the next surge reached them. “Hold on, Chrissy. Hold on!”
There was no controlling the boat now. The Zodiac spun, slipped and tossed as it was pushed forward and sideways out of the channel and into the wreckage that had once been a subdivision. Debris swirled, banged and bumped against their craft and they fought to stay in the madly tossing boat and at the same time keep the wreckage from destroying it.
“Watch those jagged boards,” Chrissy yelled. Erin leaned over the gunwale and pushed as hard as she could to keep them clear. “More water is coming, Erin, hang on!” Erin dropped to the bottom of the boat and wedged herself in tight.
The huge surge slammed them against the side of a wrecked house. Chrissy fought to keep
her head above water as the wave pinned her and the Zodiac against the white, aluminium siding. Erin wasn't so lucky. The water that hit her poured through a broken window behind her and she was dragged from the Zodiac on a torrent of water gushing through the window.
Struggling to swim with her life jacket on, Erin surfaced in the glummy wreckage of the house.
“Erin! Erin, where are you? Erin!” Chrissy's panicked voice sounded muffled by the walls.
Erin found herself in an air space in a room half filled with water. She coughed and gagged uncontrollably clearing the foul water from her lungs. The current was rushing her along and she flipped on her back and let it, using her arms and legs to fend off floating debris and bedroom furniture.
“Chrissy! I'm in the house!” she was able to yell at last but she wasn't sure that she could be heard. She was tossed and swung around, bobbing one minute under the water and the next pushed above it. She gasped for air, struggling to stay alive. Heavy objects banged into her and she was growing tired and disoriented. An under tow grabbed her and pulled her head below the muddy water. She was shot through a hall, bouncing off the walls, blind and struggling to hold her breath. “Hold on! Hold on!” she chanted to herself. Her lungs burned by the time her life jacket at last brought her, nearly unconscious, to the surface in a kitchen. She blinked the muck from her eyes and pulled in a ragged breath of stinking air. To her left she could see water pouring out a screen door that hung open. There were just a few inched of daylight below the door frame. Gasping and choking, Erin gathered her strength and swam for the door. The current caught her and she was swept outside banging her head on the frame as she shot through.
“Erin! Oh God, Erin, where are you?” The voice was coming from the other side of the house. Erin managed a few awkward strokes, grabbed hold of the gutter and held on. She was half drowned and her forehead throbbed from the blow she'd taken on the door frame. Gathering her strength she pulled herself up on the roof and lay there gasping for a few minutes. She slowly got on her hands and knees and threw up, retching over and over. Once there was nothing left to come up, she crawled up the slope to the peak and looked over. Chrissy was battling to hold the Zodiac against the side of the building.
“Hey, I'm … up here,” she said weakly, looking down at Chrissy.
“You bitch! You scared me half to death! Why did you get up on the roof?” Another wave hit and the house spun around and tilted. Erin held on to the peak and Chrissy to the jagged roof gutter, her hands bleeding with the effort.
As soon as the wave had passed Erin slid down the other side of the roof and half climbed and half fell into the Zodiac.
“Push! Push! We need … to get away from … this house before it … tips over.” Erin gasped out.
The two of them side pushed the Zodiac along until the bow was grabbed by the current and they spun around the side of the house, free once more. They hadn't travelled more than five metres when the house was lifted by the rising water, heaved over and smashed down on its side. The wake sent the Zodiac reeling forward, both passengers holding on for dear life.
“What were you doing?” Chrissy sobbed. She sat hedged between the bow and the seat her hands clutched to the gunwales dripped rivers of watery blood down the sides. “I thought you'd downed.” Erin lay curled up in fetal position, her heart pounding. Her stomach turned over and she retched, got up on her knees and threw up over the side just as another surge hit them.
“Erin!” Strong hands grabbed her by her belt and pulled her back into the water filled boat.
“I'm okay. Thanks. I got…washed through…the window into the…house and out the…other side. I heard…you calling so I climbed up the roof.” Erin explained through bouts of coughing and gagging.
Chrissy was hanging over the seat, still holding onto Erin's belt.
“You could have drowned.”
“I think I nearly…did. The life jacket…saved me,” I think…I've swallowed…some pretty vile things.” Erin groaned, she reached for Chrissy's hand. ”Are you okay?”
“I'm okay,” Chrissy reassured her as she leaned forward and hugged Erin tightly. The Zodiac continued to twirl and spin in the water, but the water wasn't rising as quickly now and the current was lessening.
Too tired to do anything else, they sat on either side of the boat's wooden bench and clung to each other. A boom shattered the air around them and blistering heat rolled over them. Looking up with startled eyes, they saw a tower of flame right in front of them. The roar of the flame was deafening and the water steamed in a reflective yellow and blue fury.
“Shit! Natural gas main!” Chrissy yelled. She pulled herself up on the seat, unfastened the oars and pulled for all she was worth. Spent and sick, Erin collapsed to the bottom of the boat and struggled to keep her head above the water.
“Bail!” Chrissy yelled. “This damn thing's too heavy. Bail! The current is dragging us forward.” The heat was intense now, burning their skin like a sun burn.
Erin struggled up onto her knees. She flipped open the storage locker and pulled the bait bucket from amongst the fishing gear and started heaving water over the side of the boat as fast as she could. The flames got closer. Chrissy grunted and heaved on the oars, blood dripping into her lap from her torn hands.
Numb with shock and exhaustion, Erin kept bailing. Finally, they started to make head way. Moving inch by inch away from the plume of flame burning above the water. “You're amazing,” she said to Chrissy's back. Chrissy rowed until they were well clear of the danger, then she abruptly stopped and dragged in ragged breaths of stagnant air.
“I was scared to death,” she gasped, leaning forward until her head rested on her hands still holding the oars.
Erin looked around. The channel was flooded over its banks and they were surrounded by watery wreckage. It was hard to know where they were, then she saw one of the tall, cement channel markers. “We need to get over there,” she said. “Slide down and I'll row for a while.”
Erin took Chrissy's place on the bench. The oars were slick with her blood and sweat. Chrissy half lay in the muddy water in the bottom of the boat, her back wedged against the bow. She watched Erin row. “We're going to have some terrible infections,” she said matter-of-factly, looking at the cuts on her hands.
“Yeah, we need to find help. There's no point in going back. There's nothing there and those that might have survived will be dealing with their own issues. What's up ahead?” Erin asked.
“Lake Okeechobee, eventually. With a motor we could be there in a day and a half. There's a lock at Port Mayaca, just at the mouth of the river. We might be able to get help there. Before that there's Indiantown, I don't know whether it would be flooded or not.”
“That's where we go then, but first we need a few hours rest. I'm going to keep us out of the main channel for now, because the current is still strong. We can ground the zodiac over there on that floating island. What do you think?
“That would be great even if it's just for a few hours.”
***
Byron Lorde wrapped a bandage around his forehead. He was angry. He'd made stupid mistakes because he'd allowed his military skills to get rusty. He couldn't afford to make anymore. He'd picked the place to ambush the Zodiac carefully. Taking the back channels that he knew so well from his childhood, he'd got as far as the next community, putting himself well ahead of the zodiac. He'd loosely tied his own craft, to the community water tower so that it could ride out the wave action and then had hiked back along the channel to intercept the girls. He thought he'd have lots of time, before the tsunami hit, to kill the one called Erin and take Chrissy for retraining. He'd been wrong. He'd wasted valuable time toying with them, scaring them with some shotgun blasts. Instead of panicking, they'd gunned their outboard motor and headed up the channel. He'd had to run after them, barely making it to the safety of the water tower before the tsunami hit.
There he'd made his second mistake. He'd rushed to get up the water tower ladder so he could observe the Zodiac's progress. In doing so, his wet boots had slipped on the rungs and his head had cracked against one of the metal ladder supports. Only by supreme effort, had he managed to push back the dizziness and nausea and make it to the platform before he'd collapsed.
How long had he laid there? Long enough for the worst of the tsunami to flood through the area. He picked up his field glasses and started scanning the channel. How far ahead had they got? They couldn't have got much farther. They'd have had to slow down to save fuel. He'd picked his survival location well. Water towers had massive foundations and could withstand the force of the waves and from up here he could see for miles over the low grasslands. He scanned slowly back and forth. There! They had survived! He watched as they fought to get away from the natural gas flame and back into the channel. So he'd been right and Barbara wrong. The sinful were not all swept away. He was meant to re-educate, Chrissy, save her from her sinful ways, as he had been saved. He watched as they pulled up on a floating island. Stupid! Didn't they know anything about the fauna of this area? Didn't they realize they were being hunted? He packed away his binoculars and carefully climbed down the ladder to his boat.
***
The island was a chunk of reeds and dirt that had been eroded from the bank and was now floating near the edge of the channel. It was probably caught on the channels retaining wall below, Erin thought. She rowed as hard as she could towards it and pushed the bow into the reeds. She slipped past Chrissy and awkwardly climbed over the rubber side and pulled the bow as far onto the island as she could. Slipping and half falling in the muck on the bottom, she climbed back into the boat.
She crawled over to Chrissy, took her hands one at a time and used her shirt to clean the worst of the mud and filth off her injured palms. Then she leaned over the bench seat, opened the storage container again and pulled out a can of beer. Chrissy looked at it longingly and croaked, “If you don't give me some of that I'm going to cry.”
Erin smiled, as she gently put the can in Chrissy's hands and helped guide it to her lips. Chrissy took several deep swallows. “Thanks. Now you have some.”
Erin shook her head. “Stomach is too upset. Besides, this is for washing your hands. Hold them out.” Chrissy obeyed and Erin carefully poured the beer over her hands, washing off the worst of the grime. Then she pulled the tube of antiseptic cream out of her hip pocket and squeezed a creamy worm on each palm. “Rub your hands gently to get that stuff in your cuts,” she advised.
“Hurts,” Chrissy said as she worked the cream in. “They're just ragged, deep scratches that I keep opening up. I don't think anything needs a stitch.”
“I wish there was more I could do. Hopefully, that will keep any infection at bay. Hang on.” She rummaged among the fishing gear in the storage bin. “The guy who owned this boat must been Mr. Prepared-for-Anything.” She pulled out a plastic bag that held a pair of bright yellow plastic gloves, the sort people wore to do dishes.
Chrissy sat in the mucky bottom of the Zodiac, her hands still cupped palms up in front of her. “What did he have those for?” she as with a frown.
Erin shrugged. “Maybe he wears them to gut and scale the fish.” She used her teeth to rip open the bag and then careful helped Chrissy slip her hands into them. “Unfortunately, the gloves will stop the cuts from dying out very quickly, but these will keep your hands from getting dirty again.”
“Thanks, Erin. You've been wonderful.”
Erin wedged herself behind Chrissy and pulled her into the V of her legs. “Let's try to get some sleep, then I'll work to get the motor going.”
Chrissy settled back against Erin's chest. “I really thought I hated you,” she murmured.
Erin smiled and wrapped her arms around Chrissy. “I know. I really thought I was doing the right thing.”
“I know.” They were soon both in an exhausted sleep. The stench of decay and oil hung in the air. From over head the area was a waste land, a massive swamp of shattered homes, wrecked cars and broken dreams. The sun tried to penetrate low, hanging clouds of smoke and dust, but failed. Off in the distance came the sound of a boat motor and close by, the reeds cracked and rustled as large, heavy feet, waded clumsily towards them.
***
Bert and Tracy strolled through wide, winding paths through beautiful manicured gardens to a late breakfast in a restaurant by a small lake. Coming here had been a great idea, he hadn't felt so young or virile in years. Last night, he'd felt completely free of responsibilities and Tracy had felt wonderful in his arms. Best of all, they still had the better part of two days to do nothing but enjoy themselves. They entered the restaurant to find patrons and staff sitting or standing frozen, watching the televisions around the room. Bert looked up to see what had captured everyone's attention. It couldn't be good. At the top of the screen, in red flashing letters, a banner rolled by. Breaking News- Tsunami causes national disaster. Video of a massive wall of water plowing through a marina was on all the screens. Boats capsized or were thrown inland, cars spun like tops and buildings buckled and collapsed before being carried away to sea on strong currents. A waiter turned up the volume on the television. “- at a little after six this morning, the Atlantic Corridor Tsunami hit the east coast of Florida with the force of a small atomic bomb. Last minute, coastal evacuations saved thousands, but undetermined numbers of people might not have received the warning in time to escape the devastation. Due to safety issues, reporters are unable to get into the flooded areas at this time. We are relying on security video and fly over video footage. Fire, law enforcement and emergency services are on the scene under the supervision of FEMA and we expect to get an update from, Agnes Peal, acting director of the Florida NOAA, within the next few minutes. We are receiving word that the east coast of Morocco particularly the city of Marrakesh has been devastated. Reports from Spain, Portugal and Southern England are also indicating massive damage.
“Morocco, Bert! My company has a big order of rugs we're waiting on from Marrakesh. We've already paid a deposit. This could really mess up our fall line. Thank heaven, we weren't at the beach house, huh? I'll need to contact my insurance company right away.” Tracy frowned in annoyance.
Bert sank into a chair. He felt like he was having a heart attack. That Ray person had been right. What had happened to Dennis Conner? He'd been their man on the ground before. What the hell was Agnes Peal doing in charge? She was with the Washington office. How had Agnes got here? His head whirled with questions and shock. Another fear grabbed his heart. Was his family safe? “Tracy, I've got to go,” he said, as he staggered to his feet and out the door.
Bert didn't even bother to check out, he got into his car and drove. He'd messed up badly and it had cost lives. He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and tried to get a satellite pick up. Nothing. “Damn it!” he snapped as he dropped the phone on the seat beside him. He turned on the radio and listened to the reports coming in. Most of the traffic was heading west. The road ahead of him was nearly empty and he drove well over the speed limit, his head pounded with anxiety.
A sudden thought flashed through his mind. What about Tracy? He'd forgotten all about her. “Shit!” He reached for the cell phone. Still no signal. He sighed. Well, that probably solved his dilemma about whether to run away with her or stay with Barb. Surprisingly that gave him a feeling of relief. He drove on. Tracy was no fool. She'd be fine.
***
“Erin! For God sake, Erin help!” It was Chrissy screaming that woke Erin from a deep sleep. Groggy, Erin saw Chrissy in the early morning light braced with her legs apart, batting at things around them with an oar.
“Alligators!” Chrissy yelled, slamming the oar down on a large head that had just appeared over the side of the boat.
“Shit!” Erin staggering to her feet, grabbed the other oar and beat at the monster that was trying to crawl over the bow. Massive jaws snapped with a sickening hollow crunch.
Erin dug the oar into the reptile's back and pushed for all she was worth. “Hang on!” she warned Chrissy an instant too late. Their craft broke free of its reed dock and swirled around and Chrissy lost her balance and fell heavily to the stern of the boat. She hit her head on the corner of the gas tank and the oar she'd been holding slipped over the side.
“Ouch!” Chrissy sat up and rubbed her head. “Watch it!”
Erin swore and made a drive for the oar, then realized reaching into the water was not a good idea. She used the second oar to pull the floating oar close and after checking the water around the Zodiac carefully, she quickly reached for it. A three foot crocodile leapt out of the water right beside her and landed half in and half out of the boat. Its head came around until it was inches from Chrissy's. Chrissy, dazed from her fall, barely reacted. Erin acted instinctively. She dove forward and grabbed its jaws and held them shut. The strong tail swung about in the water, trying to get leverage. The smell of bog and decayed meat filled Erin's lungs. She heaved as hard as she could, bending the crocodile back and over the side. It was a test of strength and will and the crocodile was winning. Suddenly Chrissy was there beating at the monster with the oar. With a final flick of its tail, it pulled back and Erin let go, as it slid back into the water.
“Oar,” Erin ordered holding out her hand. She fixed them into the cleats and power stroked them away from the island and out towards the main channel.
“Oh my God,” Chrissy exclaimed. She had her arms around Erin and was leaning against her back.
“Are you okay?” Erin stowed the oars and turned to take Chrissy into her arms.
“I think I might have peed my pants,” Chrissy laughed weakly. “You?”
“Scared within an inch of my life,” Erin admitted, then smiled. “Hey, I just wrestled a crocodile.”
Chrissy gave her a hug. “Don't get cocky, it was a small one.”
“Small! It was the granddaddy of ‘gators! It must have been nine metres long!” Erin joked.
Chrissy laughed. “Aha, a likely fish story. Come on, we need to get out of here before they surround us again. You row, I'll see what I can do to get the engine going.”
Erin held Chrissy for a minute longer. “You sure you're okay? You had a nasty fall.”
Chrissy gave Erin a reassuring squeeze before pulling away. “I'm going to have a good bruise, but I'm okay. I just got my bell rung, that's all.”
Laughter, cruel and decidedly out of control, drifted across the water to them.
“What was that?” Chrissy asked, looking around with startled eyes.
“Stay low!” Erin ordered. She bent her back to the rowing, but it was hard going. Her short nap had made her body realize that it needed far more rest than it was getting. Worse, she was still terribly queasy and had started to experience stomach cramps and a fever. She gritted her teeth and forced her body to go on.
“What was that?” Chrissy repeated as she couched low in the stern of the boat.
“Someone is stalking us. He has been since we stole the boat, maybe even before that. He is probably the one who shot at us. I was hoping we'd lost him when the tsunami hit.”
“Are you sure?” Chrissy's voice cracked with fear and she ducked lower in the boat.
Rowing for all she was worth, Erin had barely enough spare oxygen to respond. “Yes.” The day was going to be hot and humid. Even now in the cool of the early morning, Erin could feel the sweat dripping down her back. Her eyes scanned the high grass on either side of the channel for the stalker. Where was he?
Chrissy sat quietly in the bottom of the boat. “I thought someone was watching me at the marina. I was really nervous, but surely no one could have followed us here.” Erin didn't answer she just rowed as hard as she could.
Sometime later, Erin pulled in beside some wreckage large enough to offer them some protection and camouflage. She groaned and leaned over the oars. “See what you can do to get the motor going,” she said.
“Are we safe?”
“I don't know. I think so. He's playing a cat and mouse game with us.” Erin said. “If he wanted to kill us he could have by now. If we can get to a town, he'll probably leave us alone.”
“Indiantown can't be that many hours ahead,” Chrissy said, as she worked to remove the cowling from the outboard. “It's not as bad as I thought,” she mussed, as she leaned over the outboard. With the cowling off, she was able to start draining the lines. “The gas tank hasn't taken in any water and the cowling has protected the engine from the worst of it. If I can get the lines drained and the spark plug dried out, we might be able to get it going.”
“Good. That's good,” Erin pushed off from the debris shelter and started rowing again. They needed to keep moving. He was out there, she just knew it. He was moving silently, so he wasn't using power. If they could get the motor going, they could leave him well behind as long as he didn't have an outboard like they did. She rowed.
The sun was in her eyes, so she didn't realize at first what they had come upon. When she did, Erin stopped rowing and looked around them. They'd come into a small basin of calm water. It was a carpet of debris of wrecked homes and boats. Amongst the ruins were bodies, lots of them, now starting to bloat and discolour in the sun. The buzzing of insects filled her ears and the smell was sickening. “Chrissy?”
Chrissy looked up from her task and turned white. “Oh God,” she whispered. “Is there anything we can do?”
Erin shook her head. “No. I wish there were. We'll report the site as soon as we can so emergency personnel can come out and do a recovery.” Picking her way carefully, Erin rowed on, the bow of the Zodiac pushing through the remains of people's hopes and dreams. Erin knew that it was a sight that would haunt her forever. “Better get back to work. We need that engine going.” Chrissy nodded and hands shaking returned to what she was doing. It took nearly two hours, but Chrissy managed to get the engine to turn over. It spluttered, shook and choked out. Damn!” Chrissy muttered.
She'd been pulling on the starter cord for ages and her damaged hand was throbbing. She pumped the tank pressure up again, adjusted the choke so the engine wouldn't flood and pulled the cord. This time the engine caught. It rattled and choked and blew out a stinking cloud of smoke, but it kept going. “Yes!” Chrissy cried, pumping her arm in triumph.
Erin carefully stowed the oars, making sure they were firmly tied in, then she hung over the side and threw up over and over again.
“Bad?” Chrissy asked, motoring the boat up the channel towards a bridge.
“Getting that way,” Erin managed to moan. “Need a washroom badly.”
“Indiantown can't be too far from here. We should be able to get help there,” Chrissy promised and sped up. Erin rolled into a tight ball on the muddy floor and tried to hang on. Chrissy kept to the centre of the channel, but she still had to watch her speed, as submerged debris clogged the waterway, even this far inland. The force of the tsunami had been channelled by the dredged waterway and the cement break walls that protected the communities. It had flooded over the banks, dragging wreckage and vegetation with it. They passed beneath several over passes along the way. Chrissy held up hope they might be able to get a ride, but the highways were empty. Near one, Chrissy could see the washout farther down the road. No one would be driving into this area for a while.
Chapter Nine Indiantown
The sun was fully up when Chrissy slowed the outboard and steered them towards shore. Ahead was a marina that must have been well equipped and maintained, now it was under a layer of water. Boats were scattered about, some floating, many of them aground. People waded around salvaging what they could, while a work crew was trying to retrieve the boats that were salvageable.
They had barely gotten to the flooded dock facilities before Erin was out of the boat and wading towards the public washroom. Hoping that the sewer system hadn't backed up, Chrissy watched her make her way through the muddy water. She tied their stolen Zodiac to a pier, gingerly stepped out onto the flooded dock and looked around. The land was low and swampy. Tall grasses spread out in all directions and on higher ground, huge, old oaks were hung with Spanish Moss. A lanky young man with a mop of pale blond hair and wearing hip waders came out of the office. He stood looking at her for a minute as if he was waiting for a thought to develop, then he headed over to her.
“Hi, I'm Riley, the docking manager. You two okay? You look like you've seen some of the worst of it,” he said with genuine concern.
“We have,” Chrissy said and was embarrassed when she had to blink back tears. She busied herself securing the boat until she was under control again. “This is the first area we've reached that actually has anything standing that's still functioning and hasn't been evacuated.”
Riley ran his fingers through his thick hair and sighed. “It was a hell of a thing. None of us expected the surge to come this far inland. We've got boats all over the place from the channel over flowing its banks. We've still got a few inches of standing water, but if you go another few miles west of here, it's like nothing ever happened. From what I hear on the news, the first five miles of the east coast is totally wiped out, then there's a twenty mile belt of flooded areas and beyond that everything is fine. It's only on rivers and channels like this that the wave action came farther inland.”
“My friend and I need medical facilities. Is there anything close?” Chrissy asked.
Riley looked suspiciously at Chrissy's yellow plastic gloves. “Oh sure. We've got a clinic about a mile and a half down the road. Indiantown is forty feet above sea level, so it's high and dry, mostly,” he said with some pride, swatting at a mosquito.
“Anyway to get down there? My friend and I have been awake for over forty-eight hours and we've been pretty banged up. I don't think we could walk that distance.” Suddenly realizing just how tired she really was, Chrissy slumped against the pier.
“Well, I guess I can get one of the boys to take you in the pickup.” Riley pointed at the Zodiac. “I gotta charge you for docking, though.”
Chrissy smiled, “No problem. There isn't a place where we could clean up, is there?” She looked down at her mud coated body in disgust.
Riley pointed towards the washrooms. “We got a few shower stalls in there. The water's still running and the sewage goes into a holding tank, so the toilets are working. Gotta charge for that too,” he said, pulling at the wide suspenders that held up his waders.
Chrissy managed a weak smile. “That will be fine. Do you sell clothes or food?”
This question seemed to task Riley's thought processes. He stared for a second at the opposite bank with his mouth half open before nodding and giving a grunt. “I don't usually handle that side of things, but I think we got t-shirts and shorts with the company logo on and there's bottled water and some snack stuff.” He said as he shuffled from one foot to the other, causing an island of ripples in the water around his feet.
“Great. That would be great. How about you show me what clothes you have and I'll use a credit card to cover all the costs,” she suggested, pushing her tired body away from the post.
Riley scratched his head while he thought about this. “The powers off, so we can't use the machine,” he said at last.
Chrissy smiled confidently and started to wade towards the office. “No problem,” she reassured him before he had time to think about it. “I'll authorize the bill and you can run it off later.” They splashed into the office. Chrissy picked out some t-shirts, shorts, flip flops and yellow rubber boots that would do them and then added soap, shampoo, combs, orange beach towels and tea towels that had pink flamingoes in a canoe on them and the words Indiantown Marina. She filled out the bill to cover docking, services, food, water and clothes. “I'll be back for the rest when I've cleaned up,” she said, picking up the bag of clothes.
Making an effort to stand up straight, Chrissy found every muscle in her body ached. With a groan, she turned and headed out to the public washrooms, leaving Riley looking at the bill in puzzlement.
“Hey, wait! You want your boat power-hosed?” Riley yelled after her, leaning over the counter. “It will cost you.”
Chrissy considered. This would all be going on her card and there was still the medical bills to cover. Having dropped everything to come to the States, Erin might not have any American medical coverage. Still, the boat wasn't theirs and what was the point of getting clean if they ended up having to get back into a dirty boat. “That would be great. Go ahead and clean it. Just add it to the bill.”
Fortunately, the public washrooms and showers were built on a cement pad that was above water level, though just barely. Chrissy stepped up on to damp but clean cement. Erin was still in a bathroom stall when Chrissy walked in. “You okay?”
Erin sighed from behind the door. “There can't be too much more to give the sanitation department.”
Chrissy grimaced. “There's showers in the back and I've got some fresh clothes for us. I'll leave a bag of shower stuff and clothes for you. The dock manager, Riley, is going to give us a lift to the medical clinic after.”
Erin muffled voice came from behind the stall door. “Great! I'll join you in the showers in a minute.”
Chrissy stripped off her mud caked clothes and got under the showerhead. She turned it on and gasped for breath. No power. No hot water. At this point, she didn't care. She just wanted to be clean. First, she washed her clothes as best she could and hung them over the shower rod to drip. Then she soaked herself down, washed the worst of the muck off and then lathered herself all over and scrubbed as hard as she could with one of the tea towels she'd bought for just that purpose. Once she'd rinsed off, she tackled her hair, washing it three times to make sure she'd got all the muck and oil out of it. Feeling much better, she turned off the water and dried herself off.
She didn't take off the yellow rubber gloves until she'd finished showering. When she did so the deep, jagged scratches were red and puffy, but they were starting to heal. Erin's quick treatment had helped. She could hear Erin showering in the next cubical. We used to shower together. Chrissy shook her head. That was then, this was now. She dressed quickly and waited for Erin.
Erin came out of the shower naked and drying her hair. Chrissy's eyes widened with surprise and then darkened with desire. “You did that deliberately,” she accused.
“I'm prepared to use any means necessary to get you back.” Chrissy saw Erin's eyes wandering over her. She gave a sigh, standing there in a white t-shirt with a logo of two flamingoes in a canoe, baggy shorts in an orange flower pattern and yellow rubber boots, she hardly looked desirable. Erin's words echoed her thoughts. “Wow, I thought seeing you dressed commando would drive me wild, but you've managed to hide any assets beneath a cloak of bad taste.”
Chrissy gave her a wounded look. “There wasn't a lot of choice. We'll have to wash our undies and let them dry before we can put them on. How do you feel?”
“Not good, but better for having gotten rid of a good deal of the stuff I'd swallowed,” Erin admitted, as she combed her hair and stepped into her own orange baggies and then slipped the flamingo t-shirt on over her head.
Chrissy frowned and shuffled her feet. “Look, Erin,” she began hesitantly. “Yesterday, I thought we were going to die. I was scared.”
Erin smoothed her t-shirt in place and looked at Chrissy with concern. “So?”
“I don't want to give you the wrong impression.” Chrissy squared her shoulders and prepared for an argument. “I do love you, Erin, but love isn't enough. I have to be able to trust you.”
Erin's jaw tightened and her fingers balled into fists. “I came half way across the world and risked my life to make sure you were safe.” Her voice was clipped and rough with emotion.
What do you want?”
Chrissy turned away and put some distance between them before turning to face Erin again. “I have never doubted your physical courage or your love, but whether you want to believe it or not you are an emotional coward. I need to know that when the going gets rough, you won't walk out on me again.”
Erin paled and raised her arms in a gesture of frustration. “And how do I prove that?”
Chrissy shook her head. “I don't know. I just needed you to know where you stand with me.”
Erin nodded slowly, when she spoke her voice was calm and without emotion. “And I need to know that I'll always come before your family, so now we both know where we stand. We'd better get into town.” She gathered up their shower items and put them in the plastic bag then turned and walked out. Chrissy followed a few steps behind.
Riley had their boat up on the slings and was in the process of washing it using a portable power washer hooked up to a noisy gas generator. Muddy water rained out of the hull's drainage hole. He smiled at them and pointed to the truck beside the office. Chrissy waved back and they waded over to leave their belongings at the store before getting into to the truck.
The little, old man behind the wheel was burnt nut brown by the sun. He had a toothpick in his mouth and a Florida Gator hat on. He wore blue jeans, a company t-shirt and had rubber boots on his feet.
“Name's Ed. I'll drive you into town,” he said as they opened the passenger door.
“Thanks.” Erin slid beside Ed and Chrissy followed and closed the cab door. Ed drove slowly through the flooded marina until he hit dry pavement out on the main highway.
“This here's Highway 710.” Ed supplied. “Pretty quiet today. I hear sections of it are washed out both ends. It could be a couple of weeks before they get it fixed. The sheriff's office is trying to arrange for a barge to ferry stranded people across the wash but then they gotta find a bus that will come out and pick people up. Most of Indiantown is okay, though. You people from down river?”
Erin nodded. “We tried to out run the tsunami on the Okeechobee Waterway. We got a few miles beyond the first lock when it hit. It's pretty bad down there. Entire subdivisions are gone and some boats that were caught on the waterway were destroyed.” The image of the water basin jammed with debris and bodies flashed back into her mind and she swallowed hard.
Ed didn't seem to notice she was upset. He grunted. “Seen my share of hurricane damage, but I've never seen the like of this. They're sayin' this here tsunami started in Africa. Can you imagine that?”
“I know a lot of people didn't believe it,” Erin said with a sigh. They drove in silence for a minute or two, then Erin said quietly to Chrissy. “I saw your father at NOAA.” She looked at her hands rather than at Chrissy.
Chrissy's head snapped around to look at her. “Why?”
“To warn him about the tsunami and asked him how I could get in touch with you,” she answered truthfully, moving her knee so Ed could shift gears. It was an old truck and Ed had to fiddle with the stick a bit before it dropped into gear.
“How did that go?” Chrissy asked, turning to look out the window so Erin couldn't see her emotions.
“About like you'd expect,” Erin replied. “He had issued a yellow alert. He warned me off seeing you and wouldn't tell me where you were.”
“How did you find me?”
They were exchanging not so much information as polite volleys. Erin trying to show Chrissy that she had faced up to an emotional issue and Chrissy trying to establish were she stood with Erin. Ed didn't seem to notice the tension between the two women.
“I remembered Kaili Perkins was a friend of yours and that you'd gone to her wedding. I located her. It took some arm twisting, but she finally gave me your address and phone number. I told her to get her family to high ground. She was going to take them to Kissimmee, so they should be safe.”
“Thanks for that.”
Erin tried again. “I don't know anything your family.” Chrissy shrugged but said nothing. Erin was surprised by Chrissy's seemingly lack of concern. What the hell does that mean?
Ed dropped them off at the clinic, a white stucco building with a blue metal roof. “I'll be back at five in the afternoon if you need a ride back to the marina.” Erin nodded and with a grinding of gears and a puff of exhaust smoke he was off.
The little town was packed. Emergency vehicles with yellow, blue and red flashing lights were parked here and there down the main street. People in shock with numb expressions, some clutching the hands of bewildered looking children, stood about on corners talking; others hurried down the sidewalk as if on urgent errands. They entered the medical clinic without saying a word to each other. Inside it was crowded. The waiting room was white with painted murals of colourful tropical birds. Metal farmed chairs with multi-coloured cushioning were situated around the perimeter and all the chairs were full. Chrissy went to the counter along the back wall of the room. “I'll make both of us an appointment,” she said.
Erin managed a “Thanks” before she disappeared into the washroom. When she came out, she saw Chrissy waiting in a corner of the room. Erin slid down the wall by the washroom to wait. The room was hot and stuffy and sweat dripped between Erin's shoulder blades. When Erin was called, she staggered to her feet groggily, realizing she must have fallen asleep. She looked around as she crossed to the counter, Chrissy was no longer in the waiting room.
Half an hour later, Erin emerged with several prescriptions, a bill for an examination and a shot in the backside. She went to the counter and paid her bill with her credit card. Her eyebrows rose at the bottom figure, but she said nothing. She did have travel insurance that she renewed every six months, but she'd have to pay up front first and then try to recoup her money from the insurance company.
The receptionist handed her a receipt. “Your friend said she'd meet you over at the Highway Café.”
“Thanks.” Erin didn't feel like eating and she didn't feel like talking to Chrissy right now either. “Could you tell me where to find the drug store?”
“It's just down the street to your right and around the corner,” the woman smiled.
“Thanks,” Erin headed out to get her prescription filled. Am I an emotional coward? Okay, I don't like conflict. That's a good thing isn't it? Did I leave because I didn't want to go through a scene with Chrissy's parents? I don't know. I stood up to them when they were picking on Chrissy, but then Chrissy asked me to leave not them. Has Chrissy forgotten that? I should have come first, but Chrissy wasn't ready to make that choice.
Erin swore softly, determined to put the issue out of her mind and focus on more immediate issues. They still had to find a way out of there and that meant the two of them had to work together without arguing. First, she needed to contact Juan and she needed to start her meds. The doctor had said she probably had a nasty intestinal infection.
She took her prescription into the small drug store and handed it to the clerk. “Are the land line phones working?” she asked.
“Some. The lines are over loaded with people trying to contact their families and there's no communication with the east coast except by ham radio. Forget even trying to use a cell.” The middle aged woman said excitedly. “This is a major disaster.”
“My cell got soaked anyway,” Erin responded.
She sat on an orange plastic chair and waited while the druggist filled her prescription. Her thoughts drifted back to Chrissy. I'm obsessed, that's what I am. I can't let go and move on. Chrissy didn't have that problem. Apparently, she had no trouble finding someone else. That thought made Erin feel even sicker than she was. Once she got her prescription, she had no excuse not to join Chrissy. She walked back up the street and entered the café which was part of a motel complex.
The café was crowded with people and buzzed of strained conversation as stranded people exchanged survival stories. The room was just as hot and humid as the day was turning out to be. Still, the scent of fresh coffee smelt good. Erin slid into the booth. Chrissy who was eating a breakfast of fresh fruit and pancakes.
Erin pulled a face. “How can they cook pancakes without power?” she asked.
“They have an emergency propane generator, but they're starting to run low on food. There aren't a lot of choices,” Chrissy said. “Look Erin …” The waitress forestalled the rest of the statement by arriving with a piece of paper that listed what choices were still available.
Erin didn't feel like eating, but she'd been without any real food for nearly two days. She needed something in her system. “I'll have a coffee and some dry toast, please.”
“What did the doctor say,” Chrissy asked between bites.
Erin sighed as she rest her elbows on the tabletop and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Probably a bad intestinal infection. She gave me a shot and some pills. You?”
“I got a shot too, but only as a precaution. My hands are in pretty good shape, thanks to you.”
It was the beer,” Erin joked, but the smile didn't make it to her eyes.
Chrissy put down her fork. “Look Erin -”
Erin raised a hand. “Leave it for now, okay. We both know where we stand. I'm just not up to a fight.” She sighed. She badly needed a coffee.
“Does it have to be a fight?”
“I imagine so.” The coffee and toast arrived and Erin tucked in.
They ate in silence until Erin set down her cup and looked at Chrissy. “We have to decide what to do from here. I have people I need to contact and I'm sure you do too.
We also need sleep. I think we should book into the hotel, get some sleep and then work out how to get out of here.”
“Book into the hotel,” Chrissy repeated.
Erin rolled her eyes. “Separate rooms, if you like.”
Chrissy chased a small piece of pancake around her plate with her fork. “I don't like. I want to be with you, not … you know, just with you.” A blush coloured her cheeks.
Erin was completely confused by Chrissy contradictory messages. Did this mean things between them weren't impossible after all? “I'd like that,” she said as neutrally as she could looking out the window at the street.
The waitress came over with their bill. “You girls look done in.”
“We are. Are there rooms available?” Chrissy asked, picking up the bill.
The waitress looked sympathetic. “Honey, there isn't a park bench left in town. Everyone is booked right up. I hear the churches are letting people to sleep in the pews and the congregations are providing blankets and a meal. You might have to settle for that.”
“Thanks for the information,” Chrissy said before the waitress hurried off to another table. She looked at Erin. “Now what do we do?”
Erin considered. “We need to stop into the police station and tell them about … about what we saw in that basin downstream. Then I think we should try and buy some clothes that don't make us look like we are escaped lunatics. After that, it's either a church pew or the boat. What do you think?”
Chrissy chewed at her lip as she thought. “I guess it depends what we decide to do. We can wait here in town until the sheriff's office finds some way to get people over the wash outs and on some sort of transportation out of here. I'm not sure that will help much. We could be here a few days and then we'll probably be taken to Cheehobee. From there we'd have to arrange transportation west to Sebring, or if the Florida Turnpike is open, north up to Kissimmee via the 441. Either way it's going to be packed with evacuees.”
Erin poured herself a second coffee from the small carafe the waitress had brought. The meds she had been given were starting to settle her stomach. “This is your backyard. What do you suggest?”
Chrissy looked at Erin with searching eyes. “I guess you are in a hurry to get back to the Canaries and finish your research,” she observed quietly.
Just in time, Erin realized that the quiet question was a landmine ready to explode if she put her foot the wrong way. “I have to go back at some point, obviously. It's probably too dangerous at the moment. I'm hoping that some of the instruments I placed on the cone are still transmitting. I have an able assistant who can handle a lot of that. I think I have more important issues to deal with right here.”
Tears filled Chrissy's eyes. “Do you really mean that, Erin?”
Erin nodded. Her rational mind was screaming at her to get on the next plane back to her work, but her heart was telling her that this was it. If she walked away from Chrissy this time there would be no coming back. “I want to try to make this work. I can't think of anything more important.”
“Thanks.” Chrissy gave her a smile. “This might seem like a mad idea, but what if we take the boat and go on? It would take us about a week to cross coast to coast through the waterway. I'm betting that once we get around Lake Okeechobee to Clewiston, we'll find things pretty well back to normal. We could hire a car and head back from there, or go on. It might seem like the long way round, but considering the situation it might be the better route.”
Erin considered. They'd be safe here and sooner or later a way across the washouts would be found. Chrissy was right though, they'd be caught in a stream of evacuees and with no way to easily travel to where Chrissy's family was staying. On the west coast, the infrastructure would be intact and there would be resources to meet their needs. Besides, this was what Chrissy wanted. On the other hand, maybe their stalker was still out there, looking for them. Erin shuddered. She was letting her fears outweigh her reasoning.
“I think it's a sound plan.” Erin smiled, “We'll need supplies, but Ed isn't coming back until this afternoon, so we've got time. “Where will we end up?”
“Fort Myers eventually.” Chrissy smiled, sliding out of the booth to pay the bill. Erin followed. “I don't think we'll need to go that far though. I'm sure the infrastructure will be in place in Clewiston and we can get help there.”
They asked at the counter where they could find a land line phone they could use and were directed to the local library. “Just head down the road two blocks. It's on the left, you can't miss it. It's got a flight of stairs and a columned porch,” the clerk said.
They found the library which was a built in a neoclassic style. Erin left Chrissy waiting her turn in a long line and headed over to the police station.
The law enforcement office was packed with frustrated, short-tempered people wanting answers and assistance. A middle aged woman with bright red hair, clearly dyed, was behind the counter overseeing the chaos. She looked tired. Erin leaned across the counter and whispered “I came up the waterway today. About ten miles down river there is a basin in the waterway. Do you know it?”
The clerk nodded. “Gillman's Pond.”
“A lot of debris got bottled up there. There's bodies as well, more than a few. People that were on the waterway at the time, householders who ignored the evacuation warnings and cars that didn't get out in time.”
The woman paled. “Oh my God.”
“I thought the police might want to send a recovery team down there,” Erin added.
The woman nodded. “Come through to the back,” she said. She moved down the counter and swung up a section of the counter, then unlatched the gate. Erin stepped through and the clerk hurriedly closed the area off again.
“Jed, you need to talk to this woman. We've got an issue,” she called to a man walking across the office. He was in civilian clothes and had a heavy five o'clock shadow, but Erin noted he was wearing a Sheriff's badge.
The man walked over to her and offered his hand. “Sheriff Jed Reese.” His voice was deep and calm and his eyes gentle. A person you'd instantly trust.
She shook his hand. “Erin Ray. Call me Erin.”
“I'm Jed.” Jed Reese made a gesture with his head towards a door. “Come on into my office and fill me in.” Erin followed him into a small cluttered office with a beat up desk and two straight back chairs. “Coffee?” he asked pouring himself a cup from the large thermos on his desk.
Erin sat in the visitor's chair. “No thanks. I've just had one at the Highway Café. There are three things I need to bring to your attention. I came up the waterway with a friend, Chrissy Nowak, yesterday. We caught the edge of the tsunami and had to abandon our cruiser and take refuge in someone's Zodiac to ride it out.” Erin reached into her pocket. “This is the name and address of the owner, not that his house is there anymore. It was written on the lid of his tackle box. If you could let him know I have his boat and that I'll arrange to get it back to him, or buy it from him. It's sort of beat up. Here's my card so I can be contacted.”
“Where's the boat now?” Reese took a sip of his coffee and leaned back on the hard, straight back chair.
Erin grimaced. “What's left of it is in the slings at the marina but I'd rather not give it up at the moment. It's my only means of transportation.”
Reese looked at her with raised eyebrows. “It's stolen property.”
“Commandeered in an emergency,” Erin countered. “If I'd left it tied to the dock, it would be a tangled mess in the swamp by now. You know that.”
Reese chewed his lip. “You tell anyone else this story?””
“No why,” Erin asked frowning.
He looked at the paper Erin had handed him. Tapping it on the desk, while he thought. Then he tore the card up and threw the pieces in the garbage can. “I never heard the story either. He'll have insurance coverage and that will be better than a beat up boat. We're dealing with a national disaster here and have to cope as best we can. What's the second problem?”
Caught by surprise, Erin went on to relate what they had seen in Gillman's Pond.
“Shit. The water sort of spins around in there. We've had bodies fetch-up there before. Any idea how many?”
“I counted eight as we rowed through, but there could be more trapped in cars or under rubble.” She didn't like talking about it. It brought the images back too vividly to her mind.
Then there is the third problem,” she said, deliberately changing the subject.
Reese set his coffee mug down and rested his elbows on his desk. “This keeps getting better and better,” he sighed.
Erin laughed. “Yeah, I guess it does. When we st-commandeered the boat, I heard someone laughing. It was not a nice laugh, sorta cruel and a little out of control, if you know what I mean. As we were heading out, someone ratcheted a shotgun and call out to us, wanting to know who we were. I said we were Corps of Engineers on patrol and that the tsunami was going to hit soon and he should get to high ground. He gave that laugh again and told us that it was a free country and he was going to protect his own. A short time later, someone fired a shotgun over our heads. Twice. We got the hell out of there, but I'm pretty sure I heard that same laugh again.
“It wasn't much later that the tsunami hit and we had a rough time of it just trying to survive. We finally made it back near the main channel and fetched up on an island of reeds to get some sleep. It was a dumb move. Some alligators decided we'd make a good breakfast. We had to fight them off with the oars and get back out into deep water. I heard the laugh again and this time so did Chrissy. He'd somehow survived the tsunami too. I think he was following us, watching to see if the alligators would eat us.”
Reese frowned rubbing his bristle with a big mitt of a hand. “You see him?”
Erin shook her head. “No, and he only spoke the once. I'd know that laugh anywhere though. I didn't see a boat either but several times I heard what sounded like an outboard motor off in the distance.”
Reese frowned. “The word to evacuate came late. We've got reports of escaped convicts and such. Then we've got the wacky survivalists who are out there just having wet dreams. A disaster like this brings out the finest in people and the worst. You got a gun?”
Erin looked at him in surprise. “No. Do you think I need one?”
“You two planning on taking that boat up river?” He settled back on his chair again trying to get comfortable.
Erin rubbed her hands nervously on her shorts. “We've discussed it.”
“Better get a gun. There's always a few crazies in the swamps and there will be more now. Two women alone are a prime mark.”
Erin frowned. “You telling me it's not a wise idea to go that way?”
Reese shrugged. “Damned if I know. The waterway is generally safe, but it's usually patrolled regularly. Personnel are being used in other areas at the moment. I hear Moore Haven is high and dry and things are pretty normal there. If you get that far, you'll be okay. Okeechobee is packed with evacuees, as is Sebring and we still have no way past the wash outs. I'm not sure that way is any safer for you. You could just hang around town for a few weeks.”
Erin shook her head. “No. Chrissy needs to contact family and I have a job to get back to as soon as possible.”
Sheriff Reese grunted and got up. He offered Erin his hand. “Thanks for reporting in.”
Erin got up and took the hand. “Thanks for the advice.” She smiled. “And for not arresting me.”
Reese chuckled. “Let me give you a bit more advice. It's been my experience that a clever thief gets rid of the evidence as soon as possible. Sometimes boats can drift a hell of a distance and then come up safe somewhere with their owner's name on them.” He gave her a pointed look.
“I'm sure that's exactly what they do.” She smiled, nodded and left.
Chrissy was next in line for the phone when Erin got back. “They take you in the back room to the phone there. You have to give them the number to put in so they know if its long distance. Everyone is allowed five minutes only.”
“I only have one call to make, to Spain. It won't take long. Maybe they'll let you have my extra minutes,” Erin got a dirty look from the woman behind her, as she got into line with Chrissy.
***
When their turn came they went in together. Chrissy's call was local so she went first. “I'm going to call my sister, Marlene, in Tampa. It's likely the family headed over there.” She gave the number to the young librarian who looked like she'd heard one too many hysterical conversations. Chrissy noted she had a big box of tissues beside the phone and a wastepaper basket over loaded with used ones.
The phone rang only twice before it was picked up. Chrissy could hear people talking in the background.
“Hey, Marlene, it's Chrissy,” she said leaning against the librarian's desk.
“Chrissy! Where are you?! We thought you'd been killed!” Chrissy rolled her eyes, Marlene was inclined to end every sentence with a breathy exclamation mark even at the best of times. Now the sentences were just this side of hysterical and a notch louder.
“I'm with Erin Ray. We've had a few harrowing days, but we're okay.” Chrissy said honestly. “At the moment, we're trapped in Indiantown. The highway is washed out.”
There was a momentary silence, then. “Erin? That …that woman from Vancouver? Chrissy you can't be serious!”
“Yes, I am. She travelled half way around the world to warn NOAA that there was going to be a massive tsunami, then she risked her life to save mine. I don't suppose while you were all evacuating you thought to phone me and offer to help me get out?” Chrissy's voice was calm, but it was laced with steel. Chrissy saw the librarian sit up straighter and listen with noticeable interest now. This at least was one conversation that wasn't boring her, Chrissy thought.
“Really, Chrissy! There is no call to be sarcastic. Everything happened so quickly! We all had our families to think of, you know.”
Chrissy rolled her eyes and Erin smiled encouragement. “Of course. Is everyone safe?”
“All your brothers and sister are here. Dad phoned. Naturally he's at work. No one has heard from mom, but you know what she's like. Her neighbourhood was evacuated, so she's probably with some church friends. We're trying to track her down.” Marlene hesitated for a second and then continued on a different subject. “Chrissy, your family has been very understanding over the years about…about you. I think you owe it to us to come back as soon as you can, alone, and act properly.”
Chrissy felt the heat rise in her face and tears fill her eyes. Damn, she was going to need a tissue after all. Erin's hand came to rest on her shoulder. The gentle touch gave her strength. “Really? Well, you'd be wrong. Marlene, say good bye to the family for me.” Chrissy hung up.
Erin passed her a tissue. “You okay?”
“I'm fine now. In fact, I feel quite liberated,” Chrissy smiled weakly and then handed the phone to Erin. Erin squeezed her shoulder and gave Juan's number to the librarian.
***
“Spain?” The woman squealed, clutching the receiver as if Erin had asked to phone Mars.
“It's important. I'm the scientist that warned the US that a tsunami was coming. I'm still monitoring the volcano through my associate in Spain. I need to contact him to make sure the worst is over,” Erin reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet. She fished out a soggy American twenty and handed it over. “It will be a short call. Keep the change.”
A few minutes later, Juan was on the phone. Originally a bit groggy, he immediately came awake when he heard her voice. “Erin! Where are you? Mother of God, I've been so worried!”
“Stop worrying. I'm fine. Communication out of Florida is not good. How many monitors survived?” Erin paced about the little room.
“Three all on the east slope. Two video cameras are still operating, but the images are filmy from dust on the lenses. I have some amazing data and video,” Juan said with pride.
“Good. I need you back on the island as soon as it's safe to be there. I might be a few weeks getting back.” She smiled and winked at Chrissy.
Juan went quiet. “It's Chrissy? She is safe?”
“Yes.”
Juan hesitated, took a deep breath and said, “You give her our love. We look forward to meeting her,” Juan said.
Tear rose in Erin's eyes and she swallowed hard. “Thanks, Juan. Thanks. I'll be in touch when I can. Bye.” Hanging up, she turned to see Chrissy holding out a tissue. “Thanks. Juan's quite the guy. He and his family want to meet you,” she smiled, then added hurriedly. “You know, sometime, if you're free.”
Chrissy smiled. “Come on, Dr. Ray, we need to let other people use the phone. What did the police say?” she asked over her shoulder as they headed out.
“Later,” Erin said and they moved past the waiting line in silence. Once outside, they found a park bench where they could sit and talk in relative privacy.
“The Sheriff suggested we buy a gun. Erin shredded a piece of grass. “Do you know how to use a gun?”
“Am I American? Of course I know how to use a gun.” Chrissy laughed, kicking off her yellow boots and folding her legs under her. “These things are giving me blisters. I wish I'd brought the flip flops along.”
“I don't know how to use a gun. Do you think we need to be armed? If so, is going down the waterway a good idea?” She threw away the bits of the blade of grass and leaned back on the bench.
Chrissy considered. “I think it's the best way to go to actually reach an area where there isn't going to be total chaos at the moment. I don't think a gun is necessary. We're not near an area where people are fighting for survival and so far everyone has been as supportive as they could be. Do you think it's too risky?”
Erin laughed. “You swim with sharks and I climb live volcanoes. What do you think?”
Chrissy laughed too. “We are a couple of risk takers. So we head up river, right?”
“Yes, but I think we should go out of our way to make sure no one knows that. If there is someone stalking us, we want him to definitely think we're taking the road route. I'm all for taking risks, but only when everything has been carefully planned. We need supplies.” Erin looked at Chrissy relaxing in the sun. “We get on so well when we leave the past behind,” she observed suddenly.
Chrissy looked disappointed. “You mean when we avoid dealing with the emotional issues, don't you?” She sighed. “We need to make a list, but neither one of us have a pen or paper.”
“I'm starved,” Erin announced getting up off the bench. “Let's head back to the café so I can eat everything in sight and we'll make a list there.”
Chrissy sat for a second looking up at her, then slipped her feet back into her boots and got up. “Okay. I'm glad you're feeling better.”
Finally it clicked with Erin. She'd failed another test. With a sigh, she turned back to Chrissy. “Yeah, that's what I meant and it was stupid. The past is going to always be a road block to our happiness unless we deal with it. Up to now, there hasn't really been any good time to talk about it. How about tonight we do just that?”
Chrissy smiled. “I'd like that.” They walked back to the café and waited until a booth was free.
“We're on an even more limited menu, ladies. We can't get any supplies in and the town is full of customers. We're hoping they can air lift some basics in by tomorrow.”
Having had a big breakfast, Chrissy ordered lentil soup and Erin ordered the lintel soup and a cheese sandwich. They asked the waitress for paper and pen and settled in to make a list while they waited for their food. When it came, they ate in silence until Erin's hunger had been appeased.
“Erin, there's something I need to say and it can't wait until tonight. I know you are trying to see things my way and make amends. I want you to know it isn't a one way street. I made mistakes too and I know it. I thought I was defusing the situation by asking you to leave that day in Vancouver. I was wrong. I sent you the message that my family would always come before you and I sent the message to my family that they could control me. I paid dearly for that.”
Erin didn't say anything. She couldn't find the words, not yet anyway.
“When I phoned my sister Marlene today. She essentially ordered me to get rid of you and come home and act properly.” Erin put her sandwich down and gave Chrissy her full attention.
“They'd made no effort to be sure I'd been warned about the tsunami or to find me after. All Marlene could think about was that I was still alive and I might embarrass the family. These are the people I put before you. Erin, I'm sorry. I was wrong.”
Erin nodded. “Thanks. I was really upset and confused when I left your place in Vancouver. I thought I was standing by you and then you asked me to leave. You're right, though, I couldn't deal with the emotion. I felt rejected and the conclusions I drew about the right thing to do were coloured by my need for security. I chose isolation over love because I was afraid of being hurt. I'm sorry. I can't promise I won't ever do that again, but I can promise you that I'll do my best to realize what I'm doing and talk it over with you.”
Chrissy smiled. “Thanks.” Erin wished they'd waited until they had some privacy before having this discussion. She wanted to hold Chrissy close to her and show just how much she loved her. As if Chrissy had read her mind, she said, “Tonight we need some together time. We still have things to talk out, but now I think we can do that without yelling at each other.”
Their attention was drawn to the television, as the waitress had turned up the sound on an old set that sat on a wood shelf in the corner of the café. Conversation stopped and people turned to watch the latest update. A tired, hoarse sounding announcer was passing on information as it came in to him.
“We're hearing that damage along the coast is massive from as far north as Daytona Beach and south all the way down to Key West. There are unconfirmed reports that some of the islands in the Florida Keys have simply washed away. I repeat, these are unconfirmed reports. Our helicopter flew over that area earlier today and this is what our man in the sky had to say.” The television showed scenes from a helicopter and a voice yelled over the sound of the engines.
“I'm seeing islands washed clean of homes and vegetation, boats and debris adrift in the sea and islands bare of anything but mud. It's hard to get our bearings. We're not sure what islands we are looking at. It appears some low lying islands might have disappeared and others have moved or changed shape. Key West is flattened. The swell is still high, with flooding spreading deep into coastal shorelines.”
“That from our man in the sky, Chuck Wilson. I repeat that the loss of some of the smaller Florida Key islands is unconfirmed. What we do know is that on the mainland of Florida's east coast, for a mile inland virtually nothing is left standing. A massive wall of water knocked structures over or undermined their foundations. Farther inland for up to four miles damage is extensive and up to twenty miles from the east coast, we're seeing considerable flooding. On flood plains, channels, rivers and in swamps the flooding is farther inland than that.
“The governor has been flying over the eastern coast making a personal assessment of the disaster. The National Guard has been called out to assist police and rescue workers and FEMA have their people on the ground monitoring the rescue and recovery efforts. The president has declared the area a national disaster and has made relief money available. In doing so, he said that the damage from Hurricane Katerina looked minor compared to the damage being reported today from Florida, but that America would rise to the challenge. How you can contact missing loved ones in the affected areas, after this word from our sponsor.”
Chrissy shook her head in disbelief. “Oh Erin, I had no idea that it was this bad.”
Erin sighed. “It could have been worse. Mother Nature doesn't play by any rules and she is very unpredictable.”
Erin's glance met Chrissy's over the table. Chrissy looked tired, sun burnt and stressed. “You saved thousands of lives including mine. Thank you for being you and for doing what you do.”
Erin shrugged. “It was what my research is all about. I wish I could have accomplished more. One good outcome is you and I have gotten some issues out in the open and we'll be able to talk more this evening. Ready to spend every cent we have?”
They found that the shelves were pretty well bare at the grocery store, so they bought cheap knapsacks and then filled them with freeze dried food and bags of trail mix from the sports store. They bought a single burner propane stove, and a cheap set of camp utensils and pans. Then there were sleeping bags, ground sheets, netting and two boxes of bottled water. They made sure that they let it be known they planned to hike down the road towards Okeechobee in an attempt to get out. “This should get us where we need to go,” Erin mused handing over her credit card.
“We need some decent clothes,” Chrissy stated.
“Oh, I don't know, I've got used to people pointing and laughing, as I clunk down the street in my yellow rubber boots,” Erin laughed, grabbing an armful of their purchases and stuffing them inside her knapsack. “I think orange shorts and pink flamingoes in canoes stencilled across my boobs is sort of taking stand for individuality.”
Knapsacks stuffed with supplies and each carrying a flat of water bottles, they headed up the street and found Ed waiting for them. “Hey, Ed. How's it going?” Chrissy asked as she helped
Erin pile stuff in the back of the truck.
He smiled. “Not so bad considering.”
“We'd like to pick up a few clothes before we leave. Could you wait a bit longer?” Erin asked.
“I wouldn't mind a coffee,” Ed said with a wink, swinging out of the truck. Erin passed him a ten dollar bill. “Take your time. We'll be back in an hour.”
They went in to a store selling items for tourists and bought several pairs of shorts and t-shirts in neutral colours with a simple logo on the shoulder saying Indiantown. They also invested in hats, sunscreen and sunglasses. Unfortunately, they still had no underwear except for what they'd washed out and left drying in the marina washroom. Instead, they picked up a cheap bikini set each to use as a change of undies. They were as ready as they were ever going to be.
Ed was waiting for them when they returned, now dressed in more conservative clothes. “You lot planning on going up the waterway?” he asked as, they climbed in.
“No, the Sheriff didn't advise it. We'll over night at the marina and then hike out. We've arranged for the boat to be picked up early tomorrow.” Erin stated.
“Makes sense,” Ed hummed a soft tune as they drove the short distance back to the marina.
They loaded their supplies up into the Zodiac still hanging in the lift straps. Then they made a tent of mosquito netting over it and crawled inside. By removing the centre bench, they were able to stretch out side by side looking up at the sky. The stars were bright overhead.
“It's hard to believe that just a little while ago we were fighting for our lives,” Chrissy said snuggling against Erin's shoulder.
“I'm not sure it's over yet.” Erin kissed the top of Chrissy's head and was pleased when Chrissy snuggled closer. Maybe they'd turned a corner.
Suddenly Chrissy sat up again. “You're worried about the stalker?” She shuddered and strained her eyes, searching the darkness around them for movement. “Do you think he's out there?”
“I don't know. I'm hoping we've covered our tracks, but I'm not counting on it. Like the sheriff warned us, an emergency like this brings out the best in most people, but it also allows the worst sort to operate with relative impunity. One thing is for sure, the guy knows how to stalk his prey. He survived the tsunami and had a boat to follow us. He knows what he's doing.”
“Maybe we should have bought a gun after all,” Chrissy murmured, settling back down beside Erin with a sigh.
“Maybe. I don't know. You buy a gun for protection because you are prepared to kill a fellow human being. I can't think of anything I own that is worth taking a life for. Outside of a justifiable war, I can only think of one reason that would make me kill someone and that would be if I felt you were in danger.”
Chrissy hugged Erin close. “For someone who professes to not be much of a talker, you can say things that give me goose bumps.”
Erin squirmed with pleasure and with need. Being this close to Chrissy was both wonderful and torture. She wanted to make love to her, but first they had to deal with the history.
“I was so excited about getting the opportunity to work on the Canary Islands. I had just graduated and here I was being offered a plum assignment. I thought you'd be over joyed for me, but all you could talk about was your parents coming. I was hurt. I realize now that you knew a lot better than I did how your parents were going to react,” Erin confessed.
Chrissy looked up at Erin from where she lay snuggled against Erin's side. “I should have been way more supportive and happy for you. I was so afraid of my parent's visit, I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry. I let you down. You know, I often felt intimidated by you. I mean, I'd had every opportunity for a fine education and instead I dropped out of college and became a professional diver. There you were this kid who had three strikes against her, managing to get a doctorate in science.”
Erin was defensive. “I'm not an academic snob. We were both doing what we loved.”
“I know.” Chrissy leaned up and gently kissed Erin's lips. “But it was the way I felt. You were so bright, stable and all together and I was this wild child living by the sea. I really looked up to you.”
“Oh great! The older woman! A mother figure!” Erin snorted in disgust.
“No silly, you're my hero.” Chrissy sat up and crossed her legs. “I guess when you just assumed I'd drop everything and follow you, it reinforced all my insecurities. You were someone important and I was the tag along.”
Erin turned on her side and propped her head on her hand. The Zodiac swung gently in its slings each time they moved. “I never saw it that way. Yes, I guess I assumed you would move for me, but that was because my job opportunities were limited while yours were boundless. Can you understand that?”
Chrissy picked at a loose thread on her shorts. “I guess.”
Chrissy didn't sound at all sure and Erin added, “Did you know you were my hero?”
Chrissy looked up in surprise. “Huh?”
“It's true. You were so free and spontaneous. You knew how to enjoy life and you had this really neat job. I loved learning how to dive. All my life I'd been totally focussed on a goal. I'd planned my whole life so I could escape my origins. I'd never done anything spontaneous or just for fun. Then one day I find myself swimming below the ocean for no reason except the joy of the experience. It was a revelation for me.” Erin reached out and put her hand on Chrissy's knee. “You want to know a secret?”
Chrissy tilted her head and looked at Erin. “What?”
“You told me that when summer came you'd teach me how to scuba dive, I was totally floored. You remember I took an extra class at night that winter?”
“Every Tuesday night. I remember. Why?” A frown was starting to form on her forehead.
“I lied. Well, I sort of lied. I wasn't taking a university class, I was taking swimming lessons at the local community centre,” Erin confessed, blushing deeply.
Chrissy swatted her playfully. “You creep! You lied to me! Wait a second, I took you diving in the ocean and you'd just learned to swim? Were you nuts? You could have drowned!”
Erin shook her head and laid back down again. “I wouldn't have. I trusted you completely. You were my hero,” she repeated simply.
Chrissy looked at her in stunned silence for a second and then climbed on top of Erin and wrapped her arms around her neck. “I love you. How could I not trust you? Oh my God! You put your life in my hands.”
“They are beautiful hands and I knew I was with a professional,” Erin said honestly. “Does this mean we can try to pick up where we left off?”
Chrissy's answer was a long, passionate kiss. They could feel the Zodiac swinging gently to their intimate motions. The saw the stars traced patterns across the sky and a warm, night breeze caressed their naked figures.
Off in the darkness, Byron Lorde laughed softly knowing neither woman would hear. The Zodiac was now hanging still in its slings, his pry asleep in each other's arms. He'd taken a calculated risk. The women might have hike out of Indiantown, but the Zodiac was cleaned and he'd watched them leave some of their supplies at the marine store before getting into the truck. He decided that they'd be returning to the boat. It made sense that Chrissy would always feel safest by the water. He'd wait until evening, using the time to clean his gear and sleep. If they did hike out, he'd soon catch up to them. As he figured, they'd returned to the marina in the late afternoon, ate a meal of soup and crackers, talked and made love in the Zodiac. He'd watched from a tree using his binoculars. It was disgusting. Soon now, he'd have to teach them both a lesson. He had worked out his plan and was ready.
Chapter Ten Locks and Chains
The next morning, they left at dawn, motoring up the waterway towards Lake Okeechobee. The farther they went, the less debris was in the water and the oil slick gradually disappeared. It was only at night that dreams of what they'd seen and endured woke them with a sudden start. During the day, they enjoyed the sun and breeze as they sat close to each other. They had a lot to talk about and camping out in the afternoons was fun. They'd pull to shore around noon and camp under the shade of the trees during the heat of the day. They'd make a lunch and later dinner, but as the sun set, they'd break camp and continue up the river. They took turns being on watch during the night while the other one slept. They hadn't seen or heard their stalker since before Indiantown, but they weren't taking any chances.
“All my family are accounted for except my mom,” Chrissy said the second morning of their trip up the river. “She was home, as far as they know and that area had lots of time to evacuate. She'd have gone to some church group. Mom had a small stroke a few years back, which the family blames on me.”
Erin raised an eyebrow and looked down at the woman whose head rested against her chest. “I doubt that very much.”
“I hope not, but I'm sure my coming out probably didn't help any. She went a bit strange after that. Mom was always religious, but she became much more so and developed some weird ideas.” Chrissy rubbed suntan oil into her arms and then spread some on Erin's legs.
“That must have been hard on your dad.” Erin leaned forward and dropped a kiss on Chrissy's head.
“Give me your arm,” Chrissy ordered. She started spreading sun tan lotion on the arm Erin stretched forward. “I don't think it bothered my dad very much. They'd lived independent lives for many years. Dad had girlfriends. I don't know whether mom knew that or not. Mom had her church activities to keep her busy.”
Erin switched arms so Chrissy could put lotion on the other one. “Your dad wasn't home when the tsunami hit?”
“Marlene said he was at work. I guess he spent all night there.” Chrissy yawned, leaned back against Erin and got comfortable.
Erin didn't comment. She was surprised that Nowak had done anything to prepare for the disaster. Still, an evacuation had taken place, albeit late, so maybe he had taken her warning seriously.
***
As soon as he's seen the news, Bert Nowak had driven straight to the NOAA office. As he drove, he listened to the radio for reports. At one point, Agnes Peal was interviewed.
“How is it no one knew the extent of danger of this volcano erupting? Why didn't we have more warning?”
“We've monitored this volcano for years. All recent computer models of Cumbre Vieja on La Palma indicated that the massive slide it would take to cause a tsunami like we saw the other day was virtually impossible. Despite this, we did continue to monitor it. As much as we would like to believe that we can predict and compensate for the forces of nature, the reality is that nature is incredibly more powerful than we are and very unpredictable. We were expecting an eruption, but nothing on this scale. None of the data we'd accessed indicated that Cumbre Vieja would blow like it did.”
“When did we know an evacuation was needed?” the reporter pressed.
“We took action as soon as we were made aware of the crisis. Our director, Mr. Emery, was called in and he took command immediately. He sent me down here on a military flight to provide any assistance to the state of Florida that we could. No matter how well one plans for disaster, the human element is always a factor. As you know, the governor was having emergency surgery at the time and the clerk in charge of posting the yellow alert went home sick that day. He lives aboard a houseboat and is currently missing. The Florida NOAA director's home was flooded and we've had no word about his safety yet either. Fortunately, I was here fairly quickly to take over and got things under way. This tsunami was so big and unexpected that it's a disaster that has touched the lives of just about everyone in Florida. With FEMA, we had to facilitate the evacuation in the middle of the night and that also complicated the issue.”
“You were in charge during this crisis. When did you know?” The reporter asked directly.
“As soon as we got reports of the eruption, we called for all evacuation procedures to go into effect. We have to thank one scientist, Dr. Erin Ray, who just days before the event notified all the countries that might be affected to be prepared. Her detailed report allowed us to mobilize in the right areas and evacuate as quickly as possible. Without her fine work and insight, millions could have lost their lives.”
The reporter was on the attack now. “If Dr. Ray, warned government agencies days ahead of time, why weren't steps taken sooner?”
“First, as I told you, the latest computer models didn't support Dr. Ray's predictions. Second, an evacuation on this massive scale has a financial impact of billions of dollars, not only to the state, but also to individuals who are forced out of their homes. We have to balance safety with practicality. Based on Dr. Ray's warning, we monitored the situation closely and acted as soon as we could confirm that Dr. Ray's predictions were correct.”
“Reports coming in that there has been hundreds of casualties. Could they have been prevented?”
“Sadly, no. People in the impact zone had time to get out, although not all the people in flood areas were able to do so. Some chose not to leave or waited too long. There were unforeseen accidents as people hurried to get away. All things considered, I think as many lives as possible were saved. Our police, fire fighters, and medical personnel reacted with courage and calm practicality in the face of implacable danger. We say thank you to them and to FEMA for their support. The Atlantic coast of Florida has a huge population in addition to a large tourist base. To give the order to empty hotels of their paying clientele is not something we do without extreme certainty. We took the appropriate action as early as we could.”
“The media has been unsuccessful in getting in contact with Dr. Ray. Have you been in touch with her?”
“I was in touch with her just hours before the tsunami hit. She told me then she was in the impact zone, trying to rescue a friend. I haven't heard from her since. As you know, cell communication is limited and land lines are down. We're hoping and praying that when communication systems are re-established that we'll find many of the missing are safe somewhere.”
“Thank you, Ms. Peal. Ms. Peal is the acting director of NOAA in Florida and is coordinating the emergency services during this crisis. Concern about alligator attacks with the flooding and how you can protect yourself, family and pets after this message.”
Bert nodded. Agnes had done a first rate job during the interview and she'd had the decency to cover everyone's butt as well, his included. He hoped his family was okay. His cell phone was useless, but when he got to the office he would probably be able to get a line out.
The traffic gradually became more and more congested until he found himself at a standstill about a half mile from the office. He pulled into a packed, mall parking lot. There was a couple of centimetres of flood water over most of it. He parked his car on a grassy verge leaving his NOAA emergency vehicle sticker in the window. He slogged the remaining distance alongside roads covered with several centimetres of water in spots. Emergency lights flashed. People stood about talking or crying. Others rushed about on important missions and a few took advantage of the chaos to loot. Bert entered the building by a back door, as reporters milled around the main entrance.
Agnes looked up from a computer terminal as he entered. “Sir, are we glad to see you are okay.” Bert smiled. He was pleased it was Agnes here and not Conner. Conner was a horse's ass. He'd always found Agnes to be efficient and he thought she'd work well with him. He'd always stopped to talk with her at conferences or when he was in Washington and he hoped that attention would pay off now. He'd messed up badly and he knew it. Now he needed to try to make things right.
Nowak felt stressed, but he managed to appear calm and confident as he spoke to his office staff. “Hello, everyone. Thanks for being here when it counts. I've always said you have to be able to trust your staff to get things done and you guys didn't disappoint. Thanks. Agnes, can I see you in my office?”
“Yes, sir.” She followed him in.
“Sit down. Sit down,” Bert gestured to a chair. “Where's Gloria?”
“She's in the conference room, contacting family members of the staff to make sure they are okay,” Agnes said in a voice heavy with lack of sleep. “The staff is more able to stay focussed if they can get their personal questions answered and talk to their loved ones for a few minutes.”
Bert nodded as he fired up his computer. “Good move. What happened to Dennis Conner?”
There was a hesitation. Bert looked up and saw the look on Agnes's face. Evasion. He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “Don't sugar coat it, that's for the media. Give me the facts. I'm sure to hear them from Emery anyway.”
“We had a disagreement, a rather public one, about initiating evacuation procedures.” As Agnes began to relate the events of the previous two days, he got some paper towels from his private washroom, then took out a pair of running shoes and socks from a closet. He sat at his desk and got out of his wet sandals, dried his feet and put his gym socks and runners on.
“We got word that Ray's model was proving to be accurate, but Dennis refused to take any action. I … I sort of took command. Everyone in the Washington office decided to follow my lead and Dennis stormed out. I called for coastal evacuations in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida and then notified Bill Emery. He ordered me on a military plane down here before he even arrived at the office. I'm not exactly sure what my employment standing is at the moment.” She smiled tentatively.
Bert looked at her thoughtfully. “You were completely out of line and thank God for that. Your guts and actions saved our bacon down here, not to mention the lives of a quarter of the population of Florida. I'll be telling that to Bill Emery and anyone else who will listen. I let the ball drop, Agnes and you picked it up. Thank you.”
Agnes felt a blush rising in her face. “Th … thank you, sir.”
“Bert. Call me Bert. As far as I'm concerned, you're in command. I'm here to back you up all I can. When this is over, I'll be resigning. That's the least I can do.”
“Sir! You are great at this job! Everyone knew what to do because of your training sessions. Things were well under way when I arrived. I just had to follow the procedure you had established.”
Bert swallowed hard. “That's good of you to say, Agnes, but I was in command and I wasn't here when I should have been. That makes me responsible for any failings on our part. Fortunately you and the crew seem to have done a wonderful job.” Bert reached for the phone. “I just need to ask Gloria to contact my family to make sure everyone is okay. Then if you have time, get me up to speed will you, so I don't continue to make an ass of myself.”
***
“Okay, Bert” she smiled. Glowing with the praise, Agnes opened the file in her hand. She felt even more respect for Bert, he was an honourable man. She had to convince him that it wasn't his fault he wasn't there when the disaster struck. He was entitled to time off, just like any employee. Agnes sat back and evaluated Bert while he talked on the phone. He was still a good looking man, although starting to put on some weight. She'd always liked him. He'd always made an effort to talk to her whenever their professional paths had crossed. Yes, she definitely liked him. The rumour was that his marriage was not a success and that he'd had a few affairs. Bert was looking for something in his life, Agnes imagined, and she suspected she knew what it was. When he'd finished talking to Gloria, she opened up the file on her lap and proceeded to bring him up to date in a quiet, professional manner.
***
Some hours passed with Agnes and Bert working closely together. He was surprised at how well they worked as a team. He knew Agnes, of course. She was often at meetings he'd attended in Washington, but as far as he knew, she'd never held a position that entailed any real responsibility. In this crisis, she'd really shown what she was worth. He absently wondered whether she was married.
Late in the afternoon, a young office clerk, with a nose ring and wearing a black shirt and skirt, walked into the office with sandwiches and coffee. “Gloria said you two need to eat.” She set the food on the table without ceremony and walking out.
Agnes and Bert looked at each other and then laughed. “It used to be young office workers were afraid of their bosses, now they hardly notice we exist.” He smiled.
“It's a changing world,” Agnes agreed, “And maybe that's not so bad.”
Bert leaned back in his chair. “Maybe. About giving all the credit to this Ray woman, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. I don't like her.”
Agnes looked at him in surprise. “You know her?”
Bert felt the heat of embarrassment creeping up his neck. What should he say? Might as well be truthful, up to a point. He owed Agnes that. He got up, closed the door and then returned to his desk and sat down with a sigh. “This is between the two of us. Ray met my daughter when she got her first diving job out in Vancouver. They were … together.”
“They were a couple?” Agnes clarified setting down the file she was looking at.
Bert looked uncomfortable and stared at his hands. “Yeah. Barb and I went out there and there was a bit of a family dust up. Barbara didn't approve. Ray had decided to take a job in the Canary Islands and just assumed that Chrissy would give up her job and go with her. When she refused, Ray went anyway. I don't think Chrissy ever got over it.”
“I'm so sorry, for her and for you, Bert,” Agnes said softly. “My brother and his partner have been together for years, but it's so much harder for gays and lesbians. Heaven knows, it's hard enough to keep any marriage healthy and happy these days, but they have so much more pressure on them than we do. When Dan came out, Mother refused to speak to him again. It was so sad.”
Bert looked up in surprise. He'd never actually met anyone who was comfortable with those sort of people but then again, his friends had come mostly through their church which was pretty conservative.
“We never cut off ties with Chrissy,” he said defensively. “Ray came here to warn me about the tsunami, but Washington had already advised me to go to a yellow alert. She wanted to know where Chrissy was, but I wouldn't tell her. We had words,” he admitted feeling the embarrassment creeping red up his neck.
Agnes nodded and reached across the table to pat his hand reassuringly. “She hurt your daughter. It was only natural you'd want to protect her.”
Bert smiled his thanks. Agnes just assumed that he was comfortable with Chrissy being a lesbian and his problem was with how Ray had treated her. There was no point telling her otherwise. After all, it was mainly Barbara who objected. He objected to Chrissy upsetting her mother. “Erin must have found her. When I talked to Marlene earlier, she said that Chrissy was safe and with Erin Ray. All the family's okay, except there's been no word from my wife, Barbara. She had lots of time to get to safety, so I imagine she's with some of her church friends. I have Gloria trying to track her down. Ahh, my wife isn't very stable.” Why am I telling Agnes all this?
Agnes nodded and sat in thought for a second. “I can understand why you are uncomfortable making Dr. Ray into a hero, but the word is out there now. She is an ideal way for us to deflect attention from the fact we were a little slow in getting onto this thing. Give people a hero and they won't look for a scapegoat. Besides, Ray isn't likely to criticize our handling of the situation if we've made her our leading light.”
Bert leaned back and laughed. “You are a smart cookie, Agnes. You've got Ray by the short and curlies for sure. Well done!”
Agnes blushed and changed the subject. “You know Lorde never sent out the yellow alert.”
Bert looked up in shock. “What? No, I didn't know that. Damn! Where is that idiot?”
Agnes sighed. “No one knows. He left early because he was sick and he didn't report in today. It seems he lives on a houseboat, he might not have survived. Has he been here long?'
Bert shook his head. “A few months, he was forced on me. A favour to my wife. He's her nephew. He had a good education and then joined the Army. Saw a lot of action, or so I'm told and that affected him. He hasn't got the sense God gave a billy goat. Gloria thinks that these days, he gets his ideas off the bowl of a heated spoon.”
***
Agnes rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Every department had its weak links like Dennis Conner.
There was a soft knock at the door and Gloria stuck her head in. “Sorry to disturb, but could I see you for a minute, Ms. Peal?”
“Sure.” Agnes got up and straightened her skirt. She'd been wearing it for forty-eight hours and it looked like it. Her overnight bag was in a closet in the boardroom. “While I'm up, I'm going to take the opportunity to freshen up, Bert. I'll be back as soon as I can.”
She found Gloria waiting at her desk, looking pale and exhausted. Gloria fidgeted from one foot to the other. “I don't know how to handle this. I couldn't locate Barbara Nowak, so I asked that one of the rescue teams in the area check the Nowak house. They found her. She drowned.”
Agnes grimaced. “Were they close?”
Gloria went red and looked around uneasily. “No. It was a marriage of convenience. Barbara was always a bit strange and after her stroke she got worse. I think Mr. Nowak led a separate life, if you know what I mean.”
Agnes leaned against the desk and sighed. “So he wasn't there the other night the tsunami hit.”
Gloria was bright red now clearly not comfortable with Agnes's questions. “Maybe not.”
“Okay, Gloria. I'll handle it. Find out where the body is being taken, then phone around funeral homes. As it's released from the morgue, I'll need the body sent to Tampa. That's where the family is at the moment. I'll get you the details as soon as I can.”
“Yes, Ms. Peal.” Gloria hurried off to her temporary post in the board room.
Agnes stood for a minute thinking. So Bert was probably with another woman last night and that's why he survived. No wonder he was feeling so down on himself. I wonder how serious the relationship is. Bert will need a good woman at his side at this difficult time. One that won't cause any gossip, but who will be there to support him. Then maybe later -” Agnes allowed herself a brief smile. She'd go and freshen up and then break the news to Bert.
***
Amina was pleasantly surprised. The building that Hassan had found for them in Marrakech was not a warehouse after all although it had been used as one for some years. It had once been a Catholic convent. The building stood on a hill on the main highway into the city and had a sizable piece of land, a reliable well and a nice view of the city below. It was run down, but with some effort it could be made into a lovely place that buyers would want to visit. The priest cells could be occupied by the weaving widows. They would be pleased to have a room to call their own. Best of all, they would be there to weave at all times. With Casablanca so badly damaged, she might be able to convince more of her weavers to join them. If they had survived. The widowed weavers who had travelled with the rugs were currently staying in a hostel run by the local mosque. Amina would get them working as soon as she could. Her precious rugs were still safe inside the dirty, old truck that was locked inside a garage on the compound.
The area that had once been the church would make an excellent display room and the rugs could be stored in the rooms to the side. The remaining areas could be converted into a home for Mohammed and Jasmina and another for herself, Shada and the baby. Yes, stupid Hassan had made one good decision. All this she explained to her sister, Jasmina, with some censoring, as they inspected the area.
“We will need to get our weavers working to clean this place up and hire some painters, too. I think we can be back in business in a month or so. We'll need to get fliers made at the printers,” she added.
“Mohammed can make us a web page. That would mean world-wide advertising,” Jasmina said. “And he can email all the buyers as well.”
“Of course, we will do that,” Amina responded, although she wasn't sure what a web page was.
“Advertising is important, especially when a company is relocating.” She looked at her little sister. Was she up to the task? She'd had little contact with her as an adult, but as a child she had always been quick minded and pleasant natured. Yes, she would do perhaps as the floor manager and she could make the coffee for visiting customers too.
“I know your child will be here soon, but I will need to start training you to do something for the business. We must all work to get the company on its feet again,” she said as she brushed dust off her robes.
Jasmina looked pleased and stepped closer to help brush the dust from her sister. “I will help any way I can, sister. Perhaps after I give birth, Shada could take care of the new baby and other children and then I will be free during the day to be your assistant and learn all I can from you.”
Amina considered this kind offer. Shada liked children. She was very lovely, but not very bright. Yes, taking care of the children would be a good role for a widow. She nodded. “Yes, Jasmina, this is a good idea. I will train you to work in the business, as I'll train Mohammed.
A new widow, needs to mourn, at least publicly. You can be my face and I will work behind the scenes for now. You have much to learn and you must work hard and do as I say.”
Jasmina bowed her head in submission. “Yes, sister. I will do as you say.” Amina turned away to continue their tour. Jasmina followed in her wake with a smug smile on her face.
Later, that evening, Amina talked to Mohammed about contacting the American woman in Florida on his computer. She gave him the business card that Tracy had given her, pointing out importantly, what the American woman had told her was her email address. “It is important that we know if she wishes us to go ahead with her large order. It could be her business was destroyed by the tsunami. We do not make carpets that we can't sell.” Amina hoped she had been careful. She did not want to alarm Mohammed and Jasmina when things were working out so well. They needed that order. They had lost much and money was needed to fix up the buildings and buy new materials for weaving. Yes, they needed that order very badly. It was a dark cloud hanging over everything.
***
Towards late afternoon of the third day out, Erin and Chrissy reached the locks at Port Mayaca. A lone lock keeper came out of the office and pushed his cap back on his head. The name tag on his military style shirt read, Sam Bouchard. “You're the first people through here since the Atlantic Corridor Tsunami. I hear tell the St Lucie locks need major repair. You lot get caught in between?”
Erin and Chrissy had got out of the Zodiac and were holding it against the break wall by its lines. Erin evaded the question. “We were in Indiantown. As far as I know, most of the craft caught on the waterway between the locks and Indiantown didn't make it. There's bodies and boat wreckage piled up in Gillman's Pond.”
Bouchard shook his head. “It's a hell of a thing.” Then his eyes widened and he looked at Erin closely. “You wouldn't be Dr. Erin Ray, would you?”
It was Erin's turn to look surprised. “Yes, I am,” she said hesitantly, hoping she wasn't about to be arrested for breaking and entering or stealing the Zodiac. For someone who had always been law-abiding she'd certainly fallen off the rails the last few days.
Bouchard beamed. “Well, I'll be damned! This is an honour ma'am. There won't be any charge for you to take your boat through these locks, that's for sure!” He stuck out his hand and after hesitating only a second, Erin shook it.
Erin looked at Chrissy in surprise then turned back to Bouchard. “Do I know you?”
“Hell no, but I figure everyone in this here US of A knows you. You're the woman who flew half way across the world to warn us about that tsunami. ‘Cause of you, thousands of lives were saved. It's all in the newspaper I got in the office there.”
Erin frowned. This wasn't making any sense to her at all. “Could I see that newspaper?” she asked handing her boat line to Chrissy.
“Sure, Dr. Ray, right this way.” Bouchard beamed, as they headed over to the small lock office.
Bouchard held the door for Erin before he followed her into the building. It looked identical to the one that Erin had broken into only a few days before in her desperate effort to get them through the locks. It made her feel guilty and uncomfortable. “Here it is,” Bouchard said handing her the newspaper. “Right on the front page!”
Erin looked at it in some surprise. There was a younger version of herself on the front page beneath the headline, Volcanologist Saves Millions! She scanned the article. It was about how she had flown to the US and warned NOAA, convincing them just in time, to allow for an evacuation that the accepted models were wrong and that a major tsunami would hit the east coast. Then there was a human interest piece about how she'd bravely gone on to save a friend and was now one of the missing. She felt the heat of anger climbing up her neck. What the hell was Nowak playing at?
She read closer. The person being interviewed was one, Agnes Peal, acting director. The article said Nowak was missing. Chrissy had said all her family was accounted for, but her mother.
Erin opened the paper and laid it down on the control panel. The inside was filled with stories of harrowing escapes and miraculous survivals. She found what she was looking for in a bottom corner of page six. NOAA Director Faces Own Loss- Bertram Nowak of the NOAA office in Florida looks like he hasn't slept since well before the Atlantic Corridor Tsunami hit. He had initially been reported as unaccounted for after leaving a meeting in Kissimmee. Battling through heavy traffic and debris, he hurried back to the NOAA office to take command. With his assistant, Agnes Peal, at his side, he has been working night and day to co-ordinate all operations related to the impact of the tsunami and it's after effects on coastal regions, islands and currents. Peal explained that Nowak knows what people are going through. He lost his home and his beloved wife of thirty years in the disaster.
Erin closed up the paper. “Can I buy this off you?”
“Hell, you can have it. I can get another. But look do you think I could get a selfie with you? I got my cell phone right here. My family isn't going to believe me without a photo. Did you know you are listed as missing?”
Erin nodded absentmindedly her mind racing. “No, I didn't know I was missing. Sure, I don't mind if you want to take a photo.”
Much to Erin's embarrassment, Bouchard nearly wiggled with excitement. He grinned as he flipped open his cell phone and stood beside her to take the selfie. “Thanks!”
Erin's mind had been going a mile a minute. “I have a few favours to ask. I need to contact people by phone and I'm going to have to find transportation out of here.”
“No problem, Dr. Ray. Anything you want, I'll do my best to help out.”
Erin nodded towards Chrissy who was standing by the boat, looking worried. “That's Chrissy Nowak. Her father heads NOAA here in Florida. According to this article, her family home was flooded and her mother drowned. She doesn't know. I have to go tell her and then we'll want to make some phone calls to family. We're going to need a motorcycle or a small car. Can you try to arrange that while I talk to Chrissy?”
Bouchard looked devastated. “I'm so sorry. Sure, sure, you leave it to me. I'll do all I can,” he promised.
“Thanks,” Erin folded and took the paper and walked back to where Chrissy waited.
Erin saw Chrissy's frown deepen. “What is it?”
Erin took the ropes from her hand and dropped them, placing one foot on the lines to keep the boat from drifting off. She wrapped her arms around Chrissy. “I'm sorry Chrissy. Your mom didn't make it out. They found her body at the house.”
Chrissy stood perfectly still for a few seconds as her mind tried to take in the news then she collapsed against Erin, sobs rising from deep inside her. Erin held her gently and rubbed her back. “You okay?'
“You know why I'm crying? It's because I was never close to her,” Chrissy sniffled, holding tightly to Erin's shirt. “And now it's too late.”
“I know that hurts, but you need to know that there is no such thing as the perfect family. It's a TV myth. Each person has strengths and weaknesses. We can respect and like a person for some of the things they are and not like them for others. I'm sure your mom saw things she liked in you, as well as the things she couldn't handle. Don't beat yourself up over how you feel. Instead, try to sort out the good from the bad. Okay?”
Chrissy nodded. “She was a good organizer and she did a lot of volunteer work for her community and church,” Chrissy said, her voice rough with tears.
“Those are good things. What did she like about you?” Erin asked.
“She was proud of the work I was doing. She liked the ocean and wanted to protect endangered species. She'd always ask me about my research when I came for a visit.” Chrissy looked up with watery eyes. “She never came near me though. She thought I was perverted.”
Erin shook her head. “Your mother had a strong belief that wasn't yours. With her emotional issues, she might not have been able to work past that, but she loved you and let you know you could always come home. She did the best she could and so did you.”
Chrissy took a step back and pulled a tissue from her pocket to wipe away the tears. “Thanks Erin. When did you get so wise?”
Erin smiled and picked up the lines. “Learned it from you. I'm going to tie the Zodiac to the lock gate. Here's the newspaper. Why don't you go sit on the bench and look it over while I see to the boat. Bouchard is going to take care of the Zodiac for us. If we can get some wheels, we'll take the road from here and get you back to your family as soon as possible. How does that sound?”
Chrissy sighed and swallowed hard. “It sounds like a hellish duty, but when it's over I'm going to be really glad you did this for me.”
Erin pulled the boat forward until its bow was against the lock gate and then tied the lines to the railings. Bouchard came out of the office and walked over to her.
“I've got e -” his words end with a shotgun blast. Erin felt the sharp intense pain of multiple pellets hitting her shoulder, neck and head. Bouchard falling body slammed against her and they both went down in a pile. Erin's head cracked against the metal edge of the gate. Blackness washed over her.
Chapter Eleven Madness
A pool of blood spread from beneath the two victims. Chrissy screamed and ran toward Erin. “Stop!” yelled a voice from behind her.
She froze, keeping her eyes on Erin. Was she alive? She could barely see her beneath Bouchard. He was alive, moving feebly. And there was blood, so much blood.
“Turn around, Chrissy,” the voice commanded, then that eerily, awful laugh filled the air.
Chrissy felt a wave of cold shock and fear wash through her. It was him. She turned slowly, her chin raising in defiance. If this was her last minute on earth, she wasn't going to go without a fight. The man standing off in the tall grasses was dressed in beige camouflage. He was dirty, his clothes torn and blood caking on his face. He might have survived the tsunami but not without incident. The shotgun in his hands was clean and dry showing his priorities. Then came the laugh again, part mad, part hysterical and cut off as quickly as it had started. A shiver ran down Chrissy's back.
“You don't remember me do you?” he asked, his voice filled with anger. “You should! You should!”
Despite her fear, Chrissy looked at him more closely. A memory of an unpleasant man in uniform came back to her. “I met you once at my parent's church. My parents know your family. The Lorde family, right? Byron, isn't it?” Keep him talking. Keep him talking.
“I was always your mom's favourite.” He smiled smugly. “I talked to her before the tsunami hit. We understood each other.” His face darkened. “You are a great disappointment to her.”
“Yes, I know. Mom is dead, Byron. She didn't get out of her house.” Chrissy stated.
Agree with him. Keep him talking . “I know.” He snickered. “But it's okay, she's not really dead. He'll take her to His Kingdom. His flood has cleansed the land. Aunt Barb said it would!”
Chrissy took a small step back towards where Erin lay. “She told you that?”
Byron nodded his head wildly. “He sent a flood like He did before. Barb said it was okay that I didn't post the yellow alert like Uncle Bert wanted me too, because it was God's will that the wicked be punished for their sins. That's why she didn't contact Uncle Bert about the crisis. He was with his woman at her beach house. He died for his sin,” Byron claimed smugly.
Chrissy shook her head in disbelief. Had her mother really believed she was letting her father go to his death? Surely not. She took another small step back. “Byron, Mom died but Dad is alive. He's at the NOAA office right now. It's in the paper.”
“No! No! No!” Byron stomped around in frustration. “No! That's not the way it happened. The paper lies. I should know. I choked her to death because she wanted me to die too. She was acting like a stupid bitch. I had no choice. God had other plans for me!” Chrissy edged closer to the bodies. “Stop!” He raced passed her and pointed his shot gun at Bouchard whose eyes were open.
“Don't shoot, please,” Bouchard begged weakly, cringing away from the barrel of the shotgun. “I've got a family.”
“It's up to her.” Byron waved the shotgun in Chrissy's direction. “She does as I say and I'll leave you be.”
Chrissy took a step away from them. “Okay, Byron. I'll do as you say.” Erin hadn't moved since she'd been shoot. Bile and fear mixed in Chrissy's stomach. Please Erin, don't die!
“I'm here to save you, Chrissy. I know how. I'm going to save you from your sins.” He slowly moved forward. He looked feverish and his smile was twisted.
Chrissy felt panic and disgust creep through her. Byron was mad, dangerously mad. He'd killed her mother and shot Erin and Sam Bouchard. I have to stay calm. I can't give in to emotion. “I'd like to see if I can help the people you shot. It's the right thing to do.”
The shot gun went off, sending buckshot ricocheting across the cement of the lock pavement and shattering a ragged hole in the cement. “Don't tell me what is right! I know what is right! God picked me to survive when He washed the sins of man from the earth! They are paying for their sins!”
Chrissy had dropped to the ground when the gun went off. Heart pounding, she slowly staggered to her feet. Fear tightened her chest and made it hard to breath. Byron had swung the shotgun over his shoulder and now held an automatic in his hand. “You're going to come with me and I'm going to bring you back to God's Grace. Then we'll live happily together, you and me.”
Nausea washed over Chrissy. Just being near Byron revolted her. He waved the barrel of the automatic towards the office. “You go in there and open up the lock, then you get my boat. It's hidden in the reeds over there. You take it through the locks and you do it just like I say. If you don't, I'll shoot them.” Byron pointed his gun at Bouchard and Erin.
“Okay, okay. No problem. I'll do things just like you say. I want to do what you and God want,” Chrissy pacified, holding up her hands in submission. “I just need to go over to where you are to untie our boat. It's in the way of the locks opening.”
“It's not your boat. You stole it. You'll need to be punished for that,” Byron said. “Okay, move it. I don't want it damaged. It should go back to the owner. You and I can do that once you are back in His Grace.”
“That's a good idea, Byron. I'll take both of the boats through the locks so this one is safe until we can come back for it.” As she talked, she knelt by Erin and slowly untied the lines. She couldn't tell whether Erin was breathing or not. Bouchard still half lay on top of her and they were both covered in blood. Chrissy made eye contact with Bouchard. “I'm sorry. You are going to have to try and get help after I get him out of here. Please help Erin. Please!” she whispered earnestly.
“What are you whispering?” Byron asked suspiciously moving closer.
“Amen,” Chrissy said loudly. “I was praying for their souls, Byron.” She stood up and pulled the Zodiac back to where she could tie off to a dock cleat.
Byron smiled. “That's good. That's good, Chrissy. I don't like killing people, but God sometimes needs me to be His instrument of justice. Is she dead?” he asked looking over at Erin. “She was evil. Aunt Barb said so. I didn't mean to kill her, though. I shot from a good distance, but sometimes death happens.” Byron shrugged, and smiled as if death was no big deal.
“She looks dead.” Emotion made the words choke in her throat. She had to protect Erin. Erin had to be alive. “Bouchard isn't sinful, though. He's a nice man,” Chrissy said, bargaining for their lives and trying to remain calm. “Show me where your boat is hidden. You've done such a good job, I can't even see it.”
Byron smiled smugly. “I was a Ranger.” He walked into the tall grasses some metres away. “See it's here. You two went right past it and didn't see it.”
“You sure tricked us.” Chrissy waded through the tall grass to get to the boat. It was bigger than the Zodiac that Erin and she had taken, but along the same lines. It was much better equipped, too. How had Byron prepared so well?”
“How did you follow me here?” She asked. “That was very clever of you and this is a great boat.” Her heart pounded in her chest so hard that she could hardly breathe. The man was mad, totally mad. She struggled to get the heavy boat cleared of the grass blind and push it back into the water.
Byron didn't answer at first. His attention had been caught by a turtle that was swimming along the far bank. He raised his gun.
Chrissy stopped what she was doing and looked at Byron. “Please don't shoot it,” she begged. “He's one of God's creatures.”
Byron turned to look at her, his face was twisted with anger.
“Please,” she begged, tears rolling down her cheeks. Byron shrugged and lowered his gun.
“I was going to kidnap you at the marina,” he said, the turtle forgotten. “Your mother told me where you were and I took my motorbike down there. Then that woman showed up. I was just going to kill her, but then I heard you say you were going down the waterway. My family has a summer place down here. I know these swamps like the back of my hand. It was no problem taking short cuts through the swamps to keep one step ahead of you. I came down to my parents place on the waterway and just waited for you to show up. It gave me lots of time to prepare the boat and get my guns in order.
“I thought we could play a good game down here. I would give you the chance to escape and God would help me track you down. It wasn't much of a challenge, though. You were easy to track. I was well ahead of you.
Chrissy pulled the boat along the shore line towards the docks. “That was very clever of you, Byron. We had no idea you were watching us.”
Byron's face suddenly contorted into a mask of rage. He ran forward and slammed Chrissy hard on the back of the head. Chrissy felt the blow as if a small bomb went off in her skull. She staggered and dropped to her knees struggling to remain conscious.
“I watched you two io the boat last night, having sex. That was disgusting!” Chrissy felt the toe of his boot in the small of her back and she collapsed in a painful heap, gasping in pain as her mouth slammed against the bow of the boat. “Get up! Get up! You'll let the boat drift off!”
Chrissy struggled to her scraped knees and grabbed the lines. Blood and drool dripped from her lip. Get up! she ordered herself. Her back throbbing and the back of her head pulsing with pain, she slowly staggered to her feet.
Byron had backed off a bit and seemed calm again. “I'm going to make you well, Chrissy. I'm going to get rid of the devil within you. Your mom would be so happy. I loved your mom and she loved me. She could talk to God, but I had to kill her because she'd gone mad. Now I can talk to God. She saved me and now I'm going to save you.”
Chrissy looked up in shock. What did he mean? Surely, her mother didn't have a thing going with Byron. She'd have been twenty-five years older at least. Her mom a cougar? It couldn't be.
“I'm going to move the boats now,” Chrissy mumbled through her swollen lip. “Just like you want.” Limping with pain, she pulled his heavy boat the rest of the way along the shore to the lock and tied it off beside their own. “I'm going to go open the lock now.”
Byron trotted over to where Erin and Bouchard lay. “Don't try anything funny or I blow them away.”
“I'll do just what you want, Byron. I know you don't like to kill people. I'll be careful.” Chrissy wobbled slowly into the lock keeper's office, making sure Byron could see her every move, she lowered the water in the lock and opened the gate. Winching in pain she went back outside and pulled both boats along. Byron was jumpy. Watching every move she made. Biting at his lower lip.
Chrissy didn't dare stop to look at Bouchard and Erin as she stepped past them to pull the boats through into the lock, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Erin's chest rise and fall. Relief flooded through her. Erin was alive. “I'm going to close the lock now and raise the water,” she announced.
She limped back to the control booth and used the lever to raise the water in the locks and then open the gate on the lake side. All the while Byron watched, his eyes darting back and forth from Erin and Bouchard on the cement decking to the control booth. Froth formed at the corner of his mouth and he paced around restlessly.
Swallowing her fear, Chrissy came out of the booth again and pulled the boats out of the locks. She tied up the one she and Erin had used and stood by holding the lines of the other. Byron raised his gun and pointed it at Bouchard.
“Byron, you promised to leave them alone.” Fear gripping Chrissy's heart. “Byron?” she called, trying to distract him. “Where are we going? I bet you have a good plan.”
Byron gave one of his crazed laughs and lowered the gun. “I know a good camping spot along the southern shore of Okeechobee. He walked over to Chrissy and struck her hard on the side of the head. There was a flash of red light and pain and she fought the blackness closing in on her. She felt herself slowly slumping forward and the Byron caught her. She tried to struggle, but felt too sick and dizzy. His crazy laughed seemed to come to her from far away, as she felt herself lowered into his boat. The boat rocked as Byron climbed in. The motor started and the boat leaped forward into the lake. Chrissy lay curled up on the muddy floor by his feet trying to make sense of what was happening through her dizziness and pain. So this was it. She was the prisoner of a mad man.
***
“Dr. Ray! Hey, Dr. Ray come on wake up!” Erin felt herself being shaken and each time it sent pain through her head.
“Let go,” she mumbled, opening her eyes and then closing them against the sunlight. What had happened? “Shot?”
“Yeah, buckshot. Some crazy called Byron Lorde. He thinks he's God's right hand, by the sound of it. More like the devil's man.” Bouchard struggled to help Erin sit up.
“Chrissy?” Erin looked around madly and then tried to struggle to her feet before falling back on her butt.
“Whoa! You took a hell of a crack to your head. You fell against the edge of the metal lock and I landed on top of you. He's got her. Byron Lorde. He wants to save her whatever that means. He's a real nasty customer. He was hitting and kicking her.”
“Where did they go?” Erin had managed to get on her hands and knees and was using the lock rail to stagger to her feet. Then she helped Bouchard to stand.
Bouchard groaned and leaned heavily against the rail. “He has a boat like yours only bigger with dual outboards. I heard him tell your friend they'd camp on the south shore.”
“I'm going after them,” Erin mumbled and then she threw up into the water.
Bouchard grimaced. “You need medical attention. We both do. That buckshot didn't go deep, but there's lots of it. We've both lost blood. We'll call the sheriff and he'll go look for her.”
Erin reached up and started scratching shot out of her neck. It hit the cement pavement with a rattle. Her hand came away covered in blood. “Shit. Sam, you gotta help me clean up. The sheriff has too much on his hands already. He isn't going to have anyone to spare for a manhunt. Lorde could kill Chrissy. I have to go after her.” Tears streamed down Erin's face. “Please help me.”
Sam Bouchard nodded. “Let's get to the office. I've got a first aid kit.”
They staggered to the office and Bouchard got on the phone and called for help. Then they took turns pinching out the buckshot that they could and washing each other's wounds. They did a second washing, dried the areas and applied disinfectant. Bouchard helped Erin wrap her neck and shoulder in bandages and put Band Aids on the few wounds on her face. “You look like hell, Doc.”
“Call me Erin. I feel like hell. You said my boat was still here?” She stood up and tried to square her shoulders. Her head ached so badly it was making her stomach roil and her vision was somewhat blurry.
“Your friend pulled it through the locks and tied it up on the lake side.” Bouchard eased himself back into a chair. “You can't go after them. He's armed and dangerous. He's shot at you already.”
“I think he's probably a very good shot. He could have killed us, but he didn't. This is the third time he's shot at me. He doesn't want to kill us yet, because he's enjoying the cat and mouse game. I have to go after them. When the police and ambulance get here, you get someone to follow me. I'll leave a trail as best I can.”
Bouchard staggered to his feet again. “I'm coming too, then.”
Erin reached out and gave his shoulder a gentle pat. “No,” she said firmly. “You've got a family and a lot more buckshot in you than I have. Besides, I need you here to explain what happened. You just get them to send help after me, okay?”
He nodded and offered his hand. “You are one hell of a woman, Erin. I'm glad I got to meet you and I'm looking forward to seeing you and your friend on this here waterway again.”
“Thanks. Thanks for everything,” Erin said and surprised Bouchard with a quick hug.
“Wait a minute.” He limped over to the office and came back with a roll of yellow caution tape and a hand gun. “Mark your trail with this caution tape and take my service revolver. It's a 1911-type Colt 45. It's got a bit of a kick so use two hands.”
Erin eyed the gun but didn't take it. “I've never used a gun.”
Bouchard rolled his eyes. “Here's the safety. Take it off, hold the gun with two hands, like this, aim down the sights and squeeze the trigger. Nine times out of ten, a miss is as good as a hit for scaring the bad guy off. You try.” He carefully handed the gun over to Erin. Erin copied Bouchard's stance and hand positioning. He nodded. “That will do. Now don't forget to take the safety off.”
Erin nodded and tucked the gun into her waist band and slipped the roll of caution tape over her wrist. She offered her hand to Bouchard. “Thanks, Sam.”
He smiled and took her hand in both of his. “You take care, Erin.” She nodded and headed out to the boat. She heard Bouchard sink into his chair with a groan as she left. Along the lake side, Erin climbed awkwardly into the boat and struggle to get it going before heading out on the lake.
***
Shada carried the basket of laundry to hang on the line behind the building that was home to Jasmina and Mohammed. She had asked Amina if she might have her own washing line and she had said yes, but she would have to wait until the important issues had been dealt with first. Shada understood this. Amina had explained that business must always come first, because that is the ground on which a family stands and grows. Still the basket was heavy with wet clothes and her arms ached.
She carefully set the basket down on some boards so the dirt of the court yard would not cling to the bottom of the wicker basket, she pulled out a sheet and started to peg it up. At least Amina had bought her a hand wringer. That was a big help. Maybe they could have an electric washer and dryer like she had seen in the magazines. That would be wonderful. Hassan would never have bought her one, but Amina would, if there was enough money someday. Hassan had never been anything but mean and rough with her. Amina was always gentle and caring. Amina loved her. No one else, not even her family, had loved her. She was just another daughter and a burden, but pretty enough to marry off to an older man for a good dowry.
“I tell you Mohammed if you don't stand up to her, you will always be dirt under her foot. That is not the way a man should be.”
Shada stopped what she was doing and looked up in surprise. The window above her head was open and she could see a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling. It must be Jasmina and Mohammed's bedroom. She stifled a giggle. Maybe hanging up the laundry would be entertaining after all. She picked up another sheet.
“Jasmina, Amina is your sister. She has been good to us. She treats me with respect. This is a good business and we will do well. Hassan was a fool not to listen to Amina. Yes, she is a woman, but her father taught her well and she knows the rug business like no other. I will hear no criticism.” Mohammed's voice was unusually sharp.
“I am sorry, husband. I know Amina has been good to us. I am not talking about now. I am talking in a year or so, when I have given birth and the baby is no longer breast fed. Then the business will be on its feet and you and I will have learned all we can from Amina. Then things must change. You are the man of the house, not Amina, and I should be the first woman because I am married to you. We need to think of our son's future. Amina is a widow now. By rights this business belongs to Shada's son. What of our children?
Shada was bent over the basket when she heard this. Yes, the business was her son's. She had not really thought of this. She straightened up and thought about it now. Of course, her son was only a baby, they needed Amina to take care of them.
“I'm sure our children will be provided for, by us and by Amina. Still, maybe there is something in what you say. We must work hard and learn as much as we can, then we will see.”
The light went off upstairs and Shada could hear bedsprings groaning. She smiled, but then a look of puzzlement settled on her face. What had Jasmina meant? She would have to tell Amina what she heard. Amina always bought her sweets when she told her something of value. She liked sweets. Shada had come from a very poor family. She had not tasted good sweets until Amina had given them to her.
***
In an old Miami arena, crowded with gurneys and the coming and going of emergency and medical personnel, Doctor Carmen Ricks sighed and moved to the next stretcher. It had been a hell of a day. Body after body had been delivered to the temporary morgue that had been set up to handle the hundreds who had died in the tsunami that had decimated the Atlantic coast of Florida. As a pathologist, she was used to dealing with death, but not on this scale. They could do little more at this point, than try to identify the individual and make a primary estimate on the cause of death.
When she opened the next body bag, the female body inside was already tagged. Barbara Nowak, the tag read. Ricks started her examination, late fifties slim, but not fit. She inserted a needle into the lungs, they were full of water. She'd drowned, but what about those marks? Ricks took a closer look. Bruising. Finger marks around the neck. She pressed gently on the throat and felt some unusual giving in the hyoid bone that was nestled in muscle just below the tongue. Was it broken? If it was, it strengthened the possibility that the woman had been strangled.
Ricks stretched her back and sighed. Nothing is ever simple. The woman did drown, but did she drown because she was unconscious from partial strangulation? Was she held under the water? She picked up the site report and looked through it. The house had been checked on request of the family. The victim was found on her bed.
Ricks snapped the folder shut and swore under her breath. She looked around, spying her assistant a few gurneys over. “Marcus? I'm going to need an x-ray here and this one will need a complete work-up.” She signed the folder requesting an autopsy, zipped up the bag and moved to the next stretcher. It was going to be another long night.
Chapter Twelve Hunt on Lake Okeechobee
Erin felt awful. Lack of sleep and the physical effects of infection had pushed her body to it its limits. Her shoulder and neck stung and the oozing blood was attracting mosquitoes. In her weakened condition, she wasn't sure she could overcome this Byron Lorde but she was determined to do so no matter what the cost.
The sun beat down and she rigged a bit of shade using the oars and one of the ground sheets they had bought in Indiantown. It tended to fall apart if the boat was hit by a wave, but at least it provided some relief from the sun. She had enough food and water but she was concerned about her fuel. Byron Lorde probably knew where he was going and would set a straight course for the camping spot. Erin couldn't do that. She had to stay fairly close to the shore line and check carefully for camping sites. The lake shore was tall grasses and islands of trees. Here and there, a road in had allowed a small community of cottages. Small boat houses and rough docks stuck out into the water. She didn't see any people though. Most of this area was vacation property and people would have evacuated the region as a precaution. This area backed on to the Everglades and the flooding would have been considerable. She knew she had to keep up what strength she had as well. Every four hours, Erin turned the motor off and drifted. She'd have something to eat and set the alarm on her watch to go off in half an hour, then she'd doze off. It wasn't much, but it kept her going. She kept on well into the night, using the moonlight to see by and only stopping when it set. Then she slept. Each time she made a stop she'd tie the bright yellow, plastic tape that Sam Bouchard had given her around a prominent tree trunk, so the police could follow her trail.
She never slept well. Images of what might be happening to Chrissy haunted her dreams. Fear and anger were her constant companions. Her fair skin turned red in the sun and her face was gaunt and strained with worry. The longer Chrissy was with this nut, the more negative the possible outcome.
It was the second evening and Erin estimated she was half way down the lake. Her fuel was getting low and she was worried. Then in the evening sky, she saw a curl of smoke rising from a bay about a mile ahead. Someone was camping. Her heart beat wildly as adrenaline coursed through her body. Please be them. Please! She motored as close as she dared and then switched to the oars. It was well dark by the time she drew her boat to shore. She could see the glow of a campfire ahead.
It was them. Even out in the water she could hear Byron Lorde's angry voice and Chrissy cries of fear and moans of pain. Erin's stomach was in a knot as she fought for control. He had guns, strength, and training and he was mad. She had no skills or experience that would help her with this situation. She had to stay focussed, assess the situation and act quickly, before the nut could react.
Though Chrissy's sobs wrenched at her heart, Erin took the time to hide their Zodiac. Then she circled around the camp area and as slowly and quietly as she could she hiked along the shore and tied a piece yellow tape around a tree. She wanted the signal tap well away from where the Zodiac was hidden. She wanted to ensure they'd have an escape vessel if anything went wrong. Under the edge of the tap, she left a note explaining were they had camped, that Chrissy was in trouble and that she was going to attempt a rescue. At last, she was free to work her way closer to the camp. There was a strong breeze blowing and rain clouds were mounting. This was good. The rustling of the wind through the branches covered the sound of her approach.
Erin, hunched down and peered through the tall grass. Her heart skipped a beat in fear. Chrissy was stripped to her underwear and her arms were tied behind her with a rope that looped down to also bind her feet. She was on her knees by the fire, mosquitoes swarmed around her. Byron Lorde was pacing back and forth reading from the Bible.
“Leviticus 18 and 20, Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: It is abomination! And if a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood be upon them! Repeat it! Repeat!”
Chrissy's face was bruised, her lips swollen and bleeding. She tried to say something, but it came out as an unintelligible mumble.
“I said repeat it!,” Byron Lorde kicked her in the ribs. Chrissy groaned and collapsed to the ground. She didn't move.
All thoughts of caution and having a plan were gone. With a roar, Erin charged out of the bush right at Byron Lorde. His eyes opened in surprise and he dropped his Bible as he reached for his gun. It was too late. Erin swung with all her might and the gun in her hand smashed against his temple. He gave a grunt, fell to his knees and then landed on his face. The blood red of fury drained from her eyes. Erin looked at the gun in her hand in surprise. When did I take the gun out of my waistband?
She took some deep breaths and then searched Byron Lorde for weapons. She took the hand gun that was half way out of its holster and a bowie knife that had been strapped to his leg. She took his belt and tied his hands behind his back and then pulled down his trousers and used them to hobble his feet. Blood seeped from his temple but he was breathing. Erin didn't really care whether he lived or died. She picked up his rifle and slung the strap over her shoulder then quickly turned to Chrissy.
Erin grabbed a water canteen from Byron Lorde's supplies, squatted down by Chrissy and carefully poured water over her face and hair. With her free hand, she brushed mosquitoes away from Chrissy's bleeding and bruised skin.
“Oh God please, help me,” Chrissy sobbed curling tighter into a ball.
“I'm here, Chrissy,” Erin soothed as she used the Bowie knife to cut Chrissy free. “You're safe now. Here drink some water.” She held the canteen to Chrissy's lips. She drank thirstily, threw up, then drank some more. “Easy, a little at a time,” Erin cautioned.
“Byron!” Chrissy raised her head and looked around in a panic.
“He's out cold. I hit him and tied him up.” Erin got up and searched through the pile of supplies and found Chrissy's clothes and a mosquito net she could use. “Here, let me help you get into these.” Chrissy nodded at Erin's offer of help, but Erin noticed that she kept brushing Erin's hand away if it touched her skin as she helped Chrissy dress. Erin frowned. “Has he broken any bones?”
Tears ran down her cheeks, but Chrissy shook her head. “I don't … think so. I hurt a lot.”
“He beat you up pretty bad.” Erin wrapped the netting around Chrissy. She swallowed hard and tried to keep her voice calm and objective as she asked. “Did he rape you?”
Again Chrissy shook her head and tears turned into big sobs as she threw herself into Erin's arms and held on for dear life. “No, he threatened to, but he said I was too sinful. He touched me a lot. It was disgusting!”
Erin held Chrissy gently, relief and anger battling inside her. Let Chrissy do the hugging. Don't make her feel trapped . What should I say? What can anyone say to that sort of sexual, emotional and physical abuse? “Your safe now and that's what counts. Byron is a really sick person. He's violent and delusional. What he did to you was wrong, very wrong and not your fault. He's an animal and he'll be locked up for a very long time.”
“I'm sinful,” Chrissy sobbed into Erin's neck.
“No, you're not! You're not. You care and know how to love. Believe that Chrissy. He's the sinful one. He is judgmental, cruel and violent. He wasn't preaching truth, he was preaching bigotry.”
“It's in the Bible!” Chrissy wailed.
Erin snorted. “Yes, it's in the Bible. Just about everything is in the Bible. Fundamental Christians are very good about picking out what they want to believe and not mentioning what they don't. In Genesis 19, Lot is trying to convince the male rabble at the door that they shouldn't rape the two male angels within his house. He offers them his virgin daughter instead and tells them they can do what they want with her, as long as they leave the men alone. A daughter could be raped to show how loyal Lot was to God, as if the angels couldn't take care of themselves. Do you ever hear Christians quoting that episode? Wouldn't they be horrified if on Sunday the preacher stood up and said, ‘Hey guys, it says right here in the Bible that we can rape all the virgin girls in the church, just as long as we don't have sinful sex with any male angels.”
Chrissy wiped the tears from her eyes and managed a weak smile. “It doesn't say that.”
“Yes, it does. The Bible can guide us to spiritual enlightenment, I guess, but to believe every word would be really stupid. It creates monsters like him.” Erin jerked her head towards the still figure. “It's a book of oral traditions and the mythology of a people. It has wise words in it that may or may not have been inspired by God, but it also has a lot of ignorant, tribal crap. Archaeologists will tell you, that many of the stories in the Old Testament are not supported by archaeological evidence. You have to be open to the spiritual message and not be caught up in the bigotry and chauvinism of tribal people who lived three thousand years ago. Okay?”
Chrissy nodded. “Okay. I want to go now. I hate this place.”
Erin smiled. “Let me help you up.” Erin carefully helped Chrissy to her feet, supporting her until she got her balance. She was wobbly and limped as Erin helped her down to Byron's boat and got her into it.
“I don't want to use this boat,” Chrissy sobbed as Erin helped her in.
“I know. I'm just going to use it to take us where I hid our boat and then we'll switch over, okay?”
Chrissy nodded. “How did you ever find me? He shot you back at the dock. I was so scared I thought you were dead. How badly are you hurt?”
“I just followed the shoreline until I saw the smoke from the camp fire. It was just gunshot pellets that hit us. Nothing too deep and I don't think infection has set in. I have antibiotics that the doctor in Indiantown gave me,” Erin explained, as she unslung Byron's rifle and heaved it out into the water. His hand gun met the same fate, the Bowie knife she kept. Then she pushed the Zodiac into the water and crawled down the boat past Chrissy to get the engine started.
“What about the nice man at the locks?” Chrissy asked, pulling the mosquito netting closer around her.
“He took the worst of it, but he's okay. We called for help and there was an ambulance on the way. Hopefully, the sheriff will have enough personnel to send someone after us. We're going to be okay, Chrissy,” Erin reassured.
Chrissy's lips trembled. “What about him?”
“I didn't kill him. He'll wake up eventually and be able to wiggle out of the bindings. By then we'll be miles ahead and we'll report him to the police in the first town we come to. It's just a matter of time before he's arrested.”
Erin got the engine started and brought the bow around so they were heading back down the lake to where she had hidden their boat. It was quite dark now and she almost missed it. With a whispered oath she reversed and then brought the boat around and rammed the craft firmly up into the reeds along the shore.
She climbed out and tossed the branches she'd used to camouflage the Zodiac to the side. “Come on,” Erin said, helping Chrissy climb out of one boat and into the other. She went back and hefted Byron Lorde's spare gas tank, struggling she got the heavy tank situated in the stern of the Zodiac. For a minute, Erin thought about setting Byron's boat a drift, but realized it would most likely drift back to shore. Instead, she covered it with the branches she'd used to hide the Zodiac. With a grunt, she pushed their craft out into the water and hopped in. Then they were off, heading back up the lake. Erin keeping them well away from the shore.
***
Cold, hate filled eyes had watched them leave the campsite. As soon as they were gone, Byron Lorde started to work on freeing himself. It took him only a few minutes. Hidden behind a tree, he watched through his binoculars as they switched boats. He loved hunting prey. These two had proved to be tougher than he thought but he'd catch them. He'd easily gotten out of his bindings and it would be just as easy to catch them again. Then he'd kill Erin and teach Chrissy that she needed to obey him.
***
Chrissy sat curled in the bow of the boat. Erin had tried talking, but it was difficult to hear over the roar of the motor and Chrissy was responds were only a few syllables in length. Erin gave up and focused on piloting the Zodiac. They needed to put the maximum possible distance between them and Byron Lorde. A wind was blowing up and the water was rough and black clouds rolled in greatly reducing visibility. Erin pulled out the spare ground sheet and tossed it to Chrissy so she could cover up. “It's going to rain. It must be that tropical storm,” she yelled over the motor, as she struggled to take apart her sun shade so she could wrap the other ground sheet around herself. She had barely accomplished this when the heavens opened and torrents of rain fell.
Erin pressed on the light on her watch. Nearly two o'clock in the morning. They'd left the campsite at around ten, so they'd been travelling four hours. They could probably risk stopping until the worst of the storm blew over. Erin could see a boathouse up ahead and she headed towards it and pulled alongside. There were no lights on in the house and no car in sight. She thought about breaking into the house and calling for help on a land line, but decided it probably wouldn't be working. Instead she broke a window in the boathouse, undid the catch and crawled in. Moments later, she's opened the garage door of the boat house and pulled the Zodiac in beneath the owner's boat that was up on slings. Then she closed the door.
“We'll be okay in here until the storm passes,” Erin said as she dried off with her towel. Chrissy just nodded.
Erin didn't know what to do. How could she help Chrissy? She wasn't good with words. At a loss, she found a pencil and cut off a piece of cardboard from a box with the Bowie knife and wrote the owner a note.
I'm a saviour of the tsunami trying to make my way to the west side of Florida via the waterway. I got caught in a storm and took refuge in your boathouse. Sorry about the window. I'm leaving forty dollars to cover the cost of a pane of glass.
Erin left the note and money thumbtacked to the back of the boathouse door. She took more of the cardboard and jammed it into the frame of the window to cover the hole, then she crawled back into the Zodiac. “We might as well try to get some sleep. I'll set my watch to go off in an hour. Hopefully, the worst of the storm will have passed by then.”
Chrissy stirred and pulled the ground sheet tighter around her. “Erin?”
Erin stopped sopping up the water in the bottom of the boat with a sponge. “Yes?”
“Does it really say in Genesis that Lot offered his daughter to the men?”
“Yes, it does. And if you look in Leviticus, which is the book always quoted by people who believe homosexuality is a sin, you'll find in Chapter 25 the rules for buying and selling slaves. To believe in everything the Good Book says is to not really understand the history of the Bible at all. Now try to get some sleep. As soon as the rain stops, we'll be off again.”
Erin wanted to hold Chrissy close to make her feel safe, but Chrissy just curled up in a ball like a wounded kitten and went to sleep. Erin finished mopping the boat out as best she could and then, over tired and depressed, she wedged herself in beside the outboard and thought gloomy thoughts.
Just a week ago, she was an independent woman with a good education and an interesting job. Now her volcano lay in pieces on the other side of an ocean and she was struggling for survival on a peninsula that had been decimated by the largest tsunami in recorded history. Somewhere out there in the storm was a deranged idiot obsessed with Chrissy and damn angry at Erin. Worst of all, when she'd finally felt she was making some headway in re-establishing her relationship with Chrissy everything seemed to have fallen apart. Tears trickled slowly down her face. She understood what Chrissy was going through, but weak, tired and feeling vulnerable in so many ways, Erin couldn't help feeling sorry for herself. Inevitably, she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Thirteen Looking at the Devil
Pain in her head. Someone had her by the hair and was pulling her from the Zodiac. Her forehead smashed against the hull of the boat in the slings and sent it rocking. Her feet flailed looking for purchase so that she could take the strain off her scalp. Half pulled, half crawling, she staggered up on the boathouse decking, only to be hurled like a bag of garbage into the corner.
“Bitch! You damn bitch! You're ruining everything! I'm going to kill you!” In disbelief Erin saw that it was Byron Lorde looming over her, soaking wet and carrying the Bowie knife. The side of his face where she had hit him with the side of the gun was swollen and bruised. How had he gotten there so fast?
Erin's eyes shifted to the work bench, then back to Byron Lorde. The knife she'd used to cut the cardboard was gone. She'd left it there in the open. How stupid she'd been.
Byron swung the blade at her and she just managed to roll clear. He'd have gotten her on the second stab, but her fall had brought down a few life jackets from their hooks on the wall and Erin held one out in front of her as protection. The knife sliced through it missing her face by inches. She twisted the jacket hoping to wrench the knife from his hand, but Lorde was too quick for her.
“Sinful bitch! Filling Chrissy's head with all your lies about the Bible! I heard you! I heard you! You thought I was unconscious, but I wasn't.” Keeping her eyes on his hands, she didn't see the kick coming until it caught her square in the gut. Her world tunneled and she inhaled, but the air wouldn't suck in. Red spots speckled her vision. He was kneeling on her chest now, the knife ready to plunge into her.
Suddenly Chrissy was there. She threw herself at Byron knocking him off Erin. Erin managed to draw in a ragged breath of air and stagger to her feet just in time to see Byron Lorde strike Chrissy across the face and send her smashing against the boat in the slings. She folded and slipped from the dock landing, butt first, back into the Zodiac underneath, dazed and disoriented.
Lorde turned, with a manic smiled, tightening his grip on the knife. “You're dead.” He charged at Erin and they smashed to the floor. Erin felt the knife bite into her arm just below her shoulder. With all her strength, she twisted and held on so she had Lorde's knife hand jammed between her shoulder and the decking. His hot, stale breath panted in her face. He smashed his free fist down on her head and then again.
Erin knew she didn't have much longer. She reached down into her pocket where she had put the gun during the rain storm, fumbled the safety off and fired. Pain shot across her hip and it felt like it was on fire. Lorde raised his fist to hit her again, then his mouth fell open and blood poured out onto Erin's hair. He groaned and toppled sideways.
Gasping for breath, Erin looked up to see Chrissy standing there with a paddle. “I hit him.”
“I shot him, I think,” Erin gasped, struggling to her feet.
“Is he dead?” Chrissy moved a little closer to look down at the still figure.
Erin knelt down by Lorde and felt for a pulse. A strong, hand snapped out and grabbed her by the throat and pulled her down beside him. “Bitch,” he grunted shakily tightening his grip. Erin felt as if her throat being crushed, then the hand went slack and Lorde fell back on his face.
Chrissy was quickly beside Erin, helping her up. “Are you okay?
Erin nodded “Did you hit him again?”
“Yeah.” Holding tight to Erin, Chrissy wept.
“Good.” Erin leaned heavily against Chrissy. She had no reserves left. Chrissy helped her sit down on a garden chair and looked at her hip and leg. Erin's shorts were blackened and nearly torn nearly off. The gun was lying on the decking.
The pain of her hip was bring tears to her eyes. “Did I shoot myself?” Erin asked.
Chrissy shook her head. “Powder burn.”
She went over to look at the still body that lay on the edge of the boat slip. “You got him in the lung. It must have hit an artery because there's lots of blood.”
“Is he dead this time?” Erin groaned as she struggled to get up from the chair.
“I think so.”
Staggering she limped over to the boathouse door, opened it against the wind and stood outside legs braced letting the rain pound down on her. Bending over, she washed her hair in the deluge getting Byron's blood and sweat off her.
Chrissy stood in the doorway. “They were calling for a tropical storm to move in off the Gulf,” she said. “This storm will really hamper the rescue effort on the east coast.”
Erin nodded as she moved back inside. “We need to get help as soon as we can. We need medical attention and we need to report what happened here to the police.”
“Another day's motoring and we should reach Clewiston,” Chrissy stated.
“I need to rest.” Erin slid to the floor by the door, unconscious almost before she landed.
“Erin. Erin! Come on, love, wake up.” The voice was Chrissy's and Erin tried to rouse herself from an exhausted sleep. Finally, with effort she managed to squint her eyes open.
“It's stopped raining,” I think we can get underway,” Chrissy said, giving Erin a little shake. “You've been asleep for hours. How are you feeling?”
“Ouch!” Erin groaned. “Not so good. My scalp throbs, my hip burns like it's on fire and the knife cut on my arm is stinging. How about you?”
“My jaw is pretty sore from being punched and like you I'm black and blue from being punched, grabbed and kicked. I feel like I've got hundreds of mosquito bites, bruises and scratches. I'm about done in.”
Erin nodded stiffly, scabs and pellets on her neck and shoulder ached and itched. Her entire body screamed to be left alone so it could recover. “What time is it?” she asked, as she and Chrissy helped each other to get on their feet.
“About noon. I figure we can make Clewiston by early morning. There is a medical clinic there,” Chrissy helped Erin over to the boat. Byron Lorde's body was now covered up by one of the groundsheets they had bought in Indiantown.
“You do that?” Erin asked.
“Yeah, I didn't want someone finding him rotting on the floor. I bandaged the cut on your arm too and put some disinfectant cream on the burn on your hip. I think knife wound probably needs a few stitches. Chrissy helped Erin sit on the side of the slip and then guided her as she dropped into the bow of the Zodiac. Clumsy from exhaustion, she managed to untied the boat and crawled into the stern, kneeing down to pump up the gas pressure and get the engine started. She backed the boat out, tied it to the dock and stumbled back into the boat house to close the slip door. Limping back out she collapsed by the gas tank with a groan. “I left some of that yellow caution tape across the door and a note on it saying there's a dead body inside and the boathouse should remain closed until the police arrive. I don't want anyone walking in on that mess. Hopefully, we can get the police here before the owner shows up.”
“Thanks. Sorry, you got stuck doing all that. I sort of hit the wall. You okay?” Erin murmured.
Tears welled in Chrissy's eyes. “I feel beat up and emotionally raw, but yeah I'll be okay, thanks to you. After you passed out last night, I had myself a real panic attack and sobbed my guts out for a while before I fell asleep for a few hours. When the rain stopped and the sun started to rise, I realized I was just wasting my energy on fear and self-pity. You were breathing and he wasn't, so I sucked it up and covered the body before waking you up.”
“You are one hell of an amazing woman.” Erin smiled.
Chrissy smiled back. “So are you. Now make some shade out of the other ground sheet for us and then get some sleep. You'll need to take over tonight while I sleep.”
Erin nodded and did the best she could to rig some shade over them and then with relief, collapsed in the bottom of the boat and slept.
***
Amina was shocked and hurt by what Shada had told her. Yes, she was using Jasmina and Mohammed to her advantage, but she wasn't like her father, she'd meant to treat her family well. It seemed Shada was more like her cold, calculating father. Now she would have to do something and soon. She still had the rat poison but that wasn't right. To condemn her soul to save Shada from the brutality of Hassan was one thing, to kill her sister, especially when she was with child, was another. She was not a killer.
Across the courtyard she could see Jasmina saying goodbye to her son and daughter. She was big with child. Soon she would deliver. Shada was taking the children for the day so that Jasmina could help Amina. Jasmina smiled with pride at her children as Shada led them away, then she hurried over to where Amina stood waiting.
“Mohammed said that if we have another girl we can call her Amina,” Jasmina said.
Amina smiled but her smile was cold. “It will take more than that.”
Jasmina looked at her sister in surprise. “I don't understand.”
Amina took a step back so that she was in the cool of the shaded doorway leaving Jasmina to stand in the hot sun. “Ambition is good. If we all work together we can make this business a success for the children. If one of us stabs the other in the back, that would result in unfortunate reprisals. I'm a fair person, but I'm not a forgiving person.” She saw the beads of sweat forming on Jasmina's brow. Good.
“Sister, I don't understand,” Jasmina stammered. She tried to move into the doorway, but Amina blocked her way. Jasmina's back must be hurting and her swollen feet looked sore. Good. The more discomfort she suffered the stronger Amina's words would hit home.
Amina looked over to where Shada was showing the children how to draw water from the well. “They are beautiful children and all of them should benefit from our labours as we will.”
Jasmina paled. “Please, Amina, what are you saying?”
Amina smiled. “I'm saying nothing, not yet anyway. But I could say a lot about you. How you are scheming to take power and betray your sister.”
“What! Sister, what are you talking about?” Jasmina was in a near panic.
“Only that Shada is loyal to me as are the weavers who work here. Do not think your words will not get back to me and do not think that I haven't got the power to get rid of you and your family. I know of others who can help me here. Do you understand … sister?”
Jasmina swallowed hard and nodded her head frantically. “I understand. I understand. Please Amina, I swear to you that I understand.”
“Good. Come with me and I will teach you the business as we work. I will be the production manager, Mohammed will be the sales manager and you will be my floor manager, but I will always have the final say until our children are old enough to enter the business. Do you understand?”
Jasmina pale and shaky lowered her eyes in submission. “Yes, Amina, I understand.”
Amina sighed. She would have to watch her sister closely this was not over. Mohammed would be easily handled. He was a good man and fair if a little meek. With God's blessing, things would work out for them all. Praise God for sending the tsunami and may He embrace those poor souls that were lost.
“Wait here,” she commanded Jasmina. She walked over to where Shada held her baby in her arms and watched Jasmina's young children struggling to water the herbs from the bucket of water. Shada looked up with worried eyes. “I saw you talking to Jasmina.”
Amina nodded sadly. “I warned her off. I told her that I would get rid of her and her family if she tried to undermined me.”
“Amina!” Shada instinctively moved between Amina and the children who were now flicking water at each other from the bucket and laughing. She drew her own baby closer to her breasts.
Amina frowned and shook her head. “It was a threat only, Shada. I couldn't hurt children nor ruin their futures, especially as I have no children of my own. Nor could I hurt my only sister even though she plans to hurt me. No, I just tried to scare her. She is full of child and vulnerable to her emotions. That will not last. Once the child is weaned, she will be more rational and she'll think things out. She'll know I was bluffing. Then we will have trouble again, but for now, I think we're safe.”
Shada still looked worried. Amina leaned forward and kissed her baby. “Remember, Shada, that I am wise and know how to handle these things. Be glad that the danger was over for now, but we must be on guard against trouble. You must listen as you always do and report anything you hear back to me. If you do this well, there would be lots of candy for you.”
***
Bert leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. They were up to their ears in the aftermath of the tsunami and now a tropical storm was adding to the flooding and slowing the relief effort. People were getting angry. Did they think he could sign an order and make it stop raining? Thank heaven Agnes had been sent down. She was a God send. He liked working with her. Agnes sure was a very different woman than Tracy. Hell, he must get in touch with Tracy. He'd left her standing in the restaurant at the resort. He didn't even know where she was now. Oddly, he didn't really care and yet he'd seriously thought about leaving Barbara for her. Poor Barbara. He still couldn't understand why she hadn't evacuated before the tsunami hit.
“Mr. Nowak?”
Bert looked up to see Gloria at his office door. She looked nervous and maybe even worried. “Yes.”
“The police are here, sir. They'd like to talk to you.” She stepped aside and three large men strode in and spread out across the small room. They weren't smiling. Two were in plain clothes and one was in uniform.
What the hell was this about? Bert stood. “Close the door behind you, Gloria. Gentlemen, how can I help you?”
The man in the rumpled grey suit standing directly in front of the desk did the talking. “Mr. Nowak,” he said, flashing is badge, “We'd like you to come down to headquarters with us. We have a few questions about the circumstance of your wife's death.”
Bert frowned. “Gentleman, my wife drowned in the tsunami at our house. I admit we weren't close, but we'd been married a long time and raised five, good kids together. It's been a blow, but there is a major crisis going on in this state at the moment and I'm needed here. I'm prepared to answer any questions you have, but only when this crisis is over.”
“Mr. Nowak you weren't at home the night of the tsunami?” the detective queried.
Bert felt the heat of embarrassment climbing up his neck. “No, no I wasn't. I had dinner at a friend's house and we went to spend a night in Kissimmee.”
“A girlfriend. Tracy Fowler,” he said without any emotion.
Bert was getting annoyed. “Yes. What is this about?”
“Your wife was strangled in her bed, Mr. Nowak. That's why she was not able to get out before the tsunami hit. Do you know anything about that, sir?”
“No! Strangled! My God!” Bert sank down onto his chair. How could that be?
The detective gave a nod to the uniformed cop. He moved around the desk and pulled Bert to his feet and cuffed his hands behind his back. The other plain clothes detective read him his rights. Finally it sank in. He was being arrested for Barbara's death!
The detective opened the door and he was led out into the office. The room gradually went silent as people turned and realized what was happening.
“Gloria, call my lawyer and let him know I've been falsely arrested. Agnes, you're in charge.” Bert squared his shoulders and let the police take him out.
The ride to the station was completed in stony silence. Although it was not far away from NOAA headquarters it took some time because of the flooding, debris and returning evacuees looking for supplies. He was taken into the station through a back door and down the hall to a small room where he was booked, finger printed and photographed. Then he was taken to a small cement block room painted a bilious green. The metal table was bolted to the floor as were the chairs. One cop stood at the door and another went behind him and removed his cuffs. “Sit down.” Bert complied, then he was cuffed to chains that were linked through a metal loop welded to the table. He could move his arms only enough to reach his face. The cops left and he waited.
He waited over an hour before the plains clothes cop in the rumbled grey suit came in and sat down opposite him. He had a coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
Bert shook his head. What a stereotype . Yet this was not a television show. He had been arrested on suspicion of killing his wife.
“My name is Detective Edward Dawson,” the interrogator stated formally. “I'll be questioning you about the death of your wife. Do you want a lawyer present?”
“My secretary has notified my lawyer that I've been arrested. I don't think that will be necessary to wait for his arrival,” Bert responded. “I have nothing to hide.”
Dawson gave a thin smile and flicked a switch and stated the date and time and who was present in the room then he looked directly at Bert for the first time since he entered the room. He repeated what he had already said for the recording. “I'm Dectective Dawson. You have a right to have an attorney present. Anything you say in here will be recorded. Do you understand?”
“Yes. I'd like to ask that my attorney, Allan Zaker, be notified that I'm in here when he arrives and that he be allowed in.”
Dawson grunted. “That can be arranged. In the meantime, I'd like to ask you some questions.” He took a sip of his coffee. It smelt good, but Bert wasn't going to ask for a cup. This sort of thing was a game of wills and he knew the rules.
“I have nothing to hide,” Bert repeated with a shrugged.
Dawson leaned forward and put both elbows on the table before going straight on the offensive. “Don't you usually go home after work?”
“Yes, usually.”
“Usually? When don't you go straight home after work?” Dawson blinked cigarette smoke from his eyes and exhaled in Bert's direction. It smelt of tar and garlic.
“When I have to work late, or if I have an excuse for doing something else,” Bert answered honestly. He forced himself to meet Dawson's eyes and to not make any nervous movements.
Dawson grinned knowingly. “Bet that happened a lot, right?”
“Actually, no, but more so lately. My wife and I have lived separate, but harmonious lives for a long time. In the last few years, we have moved even farther apart. My wife had become a bit strange after a number of small strokes. She was always very religious, but she began to believe that God talked to her and she was His instrument for doing good.”
Dawson leaned back. “A lot of devoted people wouldn't find that very strange.”
“In my wife's case, it was. She has been under treatment for her delusions at the Watson Clinic and our minister was trying to guide her. There is a difference between God sending you a message and believing you are God's Chosen One. Barb had slowly been losing her grip on reality. It has made it difficult.”
Dawson leaned forward and pointed a finger in Bert's face. “So you decided she had to go in order for you to enjoy more time with your girlfriend.”
“No. I provide a stable environment for her and saw that she had everything she needed. I also kept in touch with the Watson Clinic about her condition and made sure that her close friends and her church realized that there were some problems. The Watson Clinic even discussed with me the possibility that Barb might soon have to be placed in their residential facility. That would have been a very difficult decision, both emotionally and legally, as Barb does …did not feel she has … had a problem. I hadn't talked to our children about it yet, but I was soon going to have to do so. The clinic was pushing the matter.” Bert swallowed hard. This wasn't easy.
“So you didn't go home the night of the tsunami. You didn't stay at work, either.” Dawson ground out his cigarette in a plastic ashtray. His voice took on a sarcastic tone. Why not? Not a big enough crisis for you?”
Bert blushed. “I dropped the ball. NOAA headquarters had indicated that they felt the scientist who had initiated the alert was overreacting. The latest computer models all indicated that there shouldn't be a significant tsunami even if the volcano exploded. I ordered one of my assistants to issue a yellow alert, just in case, and left it at that. I knew the scientist in question and at the time I didn't have a high opinion of her ability. I was wrong. NOAA was wrong. Fortunately, it made little difference. The word was sent out to evacuate the coast line as soon as it was confirmed that a tsunami was on the way. Even if we'd known one was coming, we probably wouldn't have acted much sooner. An evacuation of that magnitude costs billions of dollars. It's not something you order unless you are damn sure.”
Dawson nodded. “You say you ordered a yellow alert. Do you want to reconsider that statement? No one heard anything until a red alert was declared.”
Bert sighed and nodded. He swallowed again. His throat was so dry his voice was little more than a croak. “The employee I told to issue the alert was Byron Lorde. For whatever reason, he didn't do it and I didn't check. I should have.”
“A hell of a time to mess up, Nowak.” Dawson said in disgust. He finished his coffee with one last gulp.
Bert nodded. “Yes, it was.”
“Let's go back to that night. You decided not to go home but to go see your girlfriend instead.”
“Yes.”
“We talked to Tracy. She says you never get away for weekends, just the occasional evening, but that afternoon you arranged to have the whole weekend with her. She found that strange, even slightly suspicious.”
Bert snorted. “Never underestimate the scorn of a woman. ‘Hell have no fury', and all that. She's right, we'd never had a weekend together before.” He shook his head. “I phoned my wife I told her I wanted to go fishing with the guys, so I could get away for the evening. She told me she'd be busy all weekend with some church activity and suggested that I go fishing for the entire weekend. I didn't question it. I should have. I was just glad to get away.”
“Seems you've got a lot of regrets. Is stranging your wife one of them?” Dawson folded his arms across his chest and looked at Bert, his face showing no emotion at all.
“I didn't kill my wife. I never went home that evening. I picked up some steaks at Valente Butchers and went to Tracy's beach house. After dinner, Tracy wanted to go stay at a resort in Kissimmee, so we did.”
“And you left her there?” Dawson chuckled.
Bert's face turned a deeper shade of red. “We didn't know anything about the disaster until breakfast the next morning. It was on the TV in the resort restaurant. It was a hell of a shock. I should have been at the office. All I could think about was work and whether my family was okay. I just walked out, got in my car and left Tracy and my luggage behind. It was damn rude. I was in shock, I guess.”
“And feeling guilty?”
Bert was going to answer in the affirmative and then realized it was a trap. “Guilty for dropping the ball at work, yes. Guilty of killing Barb, no. I never saw Barb that evening.”
The questioning went on for hours. Sometimes with Dawson, sometimes with others. His lawyer arrived and they met privately. He was advised to co-operate with the police, but not to reveal anything that they might be able to use against him in court. He had a bad headache and just wanted to sleep.
Chapter Fourteen Backlash
After dark that night, Chrissy had woke Erin and they'd shared a cold meal of biscuits and peanut butter. “Why? Why was Byron after me?” Chrissy asked.
Erin shrugged. “Association, I guess. He knew your mother and she'd probably told him about your lifestyle. But mainly because he snapped for one reason or another. A crisis like this allows the unstable to take advantage. They know the safe guards within society will be over loaded with responsibilities and so the social barriers to their behaviour are down.”
Chrissy shook her head. “It was awful, Erin. It still is.”
Erin gave her a hug. “Something like this will leave scars, but you are going to be okay, Chrissy. We are going to be okay. Believe that. Now curl up and try to get some sleep. I'll watch over you. I promise.” Chrissy curled up in the bottom of the Zodiac. Erin sat by her until she drifted off to sleep, then she slipped back to the stern to start the outboard. It was a long, humid night. In the early hours of the morning, Erin caught sight of the public docks and filling station and turned the boat toward the shore. She managed to get them tied up before collapsing back into the Zodiac.
***
Some hours later, an old man wandered down the dock with his fishing gear in one hand and a bucket in the other. Up ahead, his wire haired terror had come to a stop and was barking at a boat tied alongside the dock.
“Liberty, you be quiet, girl!” the old man ordered coming up beside his little dog. He looked down into the boat. Two very dirty and disheveled women lay in the bottom. They were bruised, scratched and bandaged poorly. Both had dried blood on their clothes. “Well, I'll be damned!” He pulled out the cell phone his daughter made him carry for emergencies and punched in 911.
***
Erin was vaguely aware of being lifted from the boat. “Chrissy?”
“Your friend's in the ambulance waiting for you,” the attendant said, as he got her strapped down and started an IV. Erin nodded and passed out again. The next few hours were a confusing mix of questions, hospital noises, uneasy sleep, and treatment. Finally, she was rolled into a room beside Chrissy and she slept.
“Erin, honey?'
Chrissy's voice slowly penetrated Erin's dreams. “Chrisssssy?” she mumbled. Eyes still closed, she did an inventory. Scalp no longer ached, neck and shoulder felt hot and sore, but no real pain now, shoulder cut stung a bit, abdomen felt bruised, hip still burned like hell. Not so bad really. She tried opening her eyes. As her eyes focused, Chrissy gradually took form.
“How are you doing?” Chrissy asked, holding Erin's hand.
“How are you doing?” Erin echoed, looking into Chrissy's eyes with concern.
Chrissy shrugged, but the quaver in her voice betrayed her stress. “Lots of bruises, infected insect bites and some issues to work through but getting there. The police have been here. They're coming back soon to get your statement.”
Erin smiled. “That's easy. Mother of a tsunami, lots of debris and water, stupid bastard with a gun.”
Chrissy smiled. “They might want a little more detail than that. I gave them a statement last night. They were going out this morning to recover …” She took a deep breath. “… to recover the body. Erin, they left a police officer outside our door and I'm not to talk to you about what happened.”
Erin squeezed Chrissy's hand. “It will be okay. Naturally, they have to check our statements.”
“I know. Funny, they asked me a lot of questions about when I last saw my father, how close we are and whether my parents had a good relationship. What does that have to do with what we went through?”
“No idea. Just collecting background, I guess. Did I miss breakfast?” Erin tried to sit up and became aware that she was bandaged like a half wrapped mummy.
“Easy.” Chrissy, pressed the button to raise Erin into a sitting position. “I have your breakfast. That's why I woke you. Do you want to try to eat?”
Erin smiled. “You bet. I'm starved.”
“Go slow,” Chrissy cautioned as she brought a pink plastic tray over, metal covers hid the breakfast meal. She placed it on Erin's table and swung it in front of her.
Erin lifted covers, Cream of Wheat, a bowl of fresh fruit salad, toast, jam and coffee. Erin went straight for the coffee. “Thank God! Another minute without caffeine and I might have been a goner.”
Laughing, Chrissy moved back to her own bed and struggled into it with a grunt of discomfort. Erin stopped eating and looked over at her. “You sure you're okay?”
“Nothing a few weeks rest won't cure or so the doctors tell me.” A shade passed over her face. “We were lucky.”
Erin nodded soberly. “Yes, we were. A lot of people won't have been. Chrissy, where do we stand now? You and me?” A knot formed in her gut as she waited for the answer.
Tears welled in Chrissy's eyes. “I'm still struggling with that question. Don't push, okay, Erin?”
Erin nodded, but a cold chill rippled through her. Had it all been for nothing? No, she wouldn't even consider that possibility. She'd saved Chrissy's life and that was enough, but she wanted so much more. “Okay. No pushing. So what's the plan from here?”
“The doctors want to check your chart. If you're okay, we can be discharged. I've already asked and all the hotels and motels, even the campgrounds, are full in this area. We'll have to move on.”
“Not on that damn boat!” snapped Erin. “I never want to see it again.”
Chrissy laughed then groaned. “Hey, don't make me laugh. I think from here we could rent a car, if we can find one. Getting gas for it might be a problem. The nurses tell me, there's shortages of everything. Only emergency supplies and personnel are being allowed into the state at the moment. Things are really bad on the east coast.”
A large body filled the doorway. “Doctor Erin Ray?”
Erin looked past Chrissy's bed. A uniformed female cop stood in the doorway and with her were two men in plain clothes. Oh boy, here we go.
“Yes, I'm Erin Ray.”
The older man nodded and walked in, giving a brief nod to Chrissy. He was short for a police officer and stocky. His sandy hair was peppered with grey. “Morning, Ms. Nowak.”
“Good morning, Detective Bahn. Erin, this is the detective that interviewed me last night.”
Having acknowledged Chrissy, Bahn's attention was on Erin. “I'll need to ask you a few questions, Doctor Ray, to corroborate Ms. Nowak's statement. The doctor is in the process of having you two discharged. We'll be taking you back to Miami.”
“Miami! Come on! We've just spent a few hellish days trying to get out of the disaster area and you want to take us back?” Erin snapped.
Bahn didn't react. “There are reasons,” he said calmly. Turning to the uniformed officer he added, “Kertwell, could you escort, Ms. Nowak to the sitting area down the hall, and please.”
“Yes, sir.” the officer replied. He waited politely for Chrissy to get to the door and then took her arm gently to help her along.
Bahn's eyes shifted to the second officer. “Tudge, wait there. I'll be needing you.”
She was tall for a woman and big boned and looked like she had no sense of humour at all. Erin could feel her blood pressure rising. She didn't like to be pushed around.
“What's this all about?” Erin asked as Bahn turned back to her. She noted that Officer Tudge stayed in the doorway, so she could keep an eye both on Chrissy's progress and what was going on in the room.
Detective Bahn ignored the question. “How well do you know Chrissy Nowak?” he asked pulling out a notebook and taking a seat.
The questioning went on over an hour, as Erin went over and over what they'd gone through, particularly her fights with Byron Lorde and his eventual killing.
“It seems strange that you would risk your life for someone you hadn't seen in years. Can you explain that to me, Doctor Ray?”
Erin frowned. She didn't really want to out Chrissy, but there wasn't much she could do, but tell the truth. “I fell in love with Chrissy Nowak years ago when we both lived in Vancouver. Chrissy wasn't committed to having an open lesbian relationship and I left. In the intervening years, I hoped to come back and try to establish a relationship with her, I haven't had much of an opportunity.” It wasn't a lie, although she'd left out a hell of a lot of emotional baggage. “I think you can understand that the abuse she suffered at the hands of Byron Lorde has left her with a lot of new issues that she needs to work out. I don't think this is a good time for me to be pressing my interests.”
Detective Bahn nodded and closed his note book. “Thanks for your co-operation, Doctor Ray. I imagine your discharge papers are ready. We'll be taking the two of you to Miami in separate cars. Once there you'll be interviewed again.”
Erin frowned. “That seems rather extreme. I know I damaged a government building and commandeered someone's boat, but it was a life or death situation. As for Byron Lorde, it was him or us. There was little choice.”
Bahn waved off her concerns. “Doctor Ray, you've become somewhat of a hero to the American people. I doubt if a borrowed boat and a couple of broken windows in a government building that is now under water is going to upset anyone in authority. As for Byron Lorde, the evidence at the scene, at this early stage of the investigation, seems to supports your statements. It looks like justifiable homicide.”
“Then what is going on?”
“Barbara Nowak was strangled and left for dead. It appears she was too weak or unconscious to evacuate. She drowned. Her husband Bertram Nowak wasn't at home. He suddenly found time to spend the weekend with his girlfriend. He's being held for further questioning in Miami. We need to corroborate Chrissy's story about what she believes happened to her mother. Sam Bouchard is being interviewed now to see if he heard Byron Lorde talk about strangling Mrs. Nowak. In the meantime, you and Chrissy will not be allowed to discuss the situation until we have taken your individual statements. Do you understand?”
Erin was thunderstruck that Nowak was suspected of strangling his wife. What else could be piled on Chrissy's burdens? “I understand. Does Chrissy know?”
“I'm going to tell her now. In the meantime, Officer Kertwell will come down here and help you get dressed and into a wheelchair. She'll take you down and get you into a squad car, then we'll get Chrissy down to another and drive you over to Miami.”
“Do you know how Sam Bouchard is? He's a great guy and really helped me out.”
“I hear he's recovering at home, so I guess he's okay,” Bahn said, as he signalled to the female officer at the door to come in and help Erin.
Erin nodded. There wasn't anything else to do but to follow Bahn's orders. How much could Chrissy handle emotionally? Her mother wasn't just dead, she'd been strangled and left to drown. Then there was the trauma of the tsunami, being kidnapped and abused by a nut case and now her father had been arrested for murder. Erin felt as if all her hopes were falling apart. Still, they were lucky to be alive. There was time ahead of them to try and work things out. She needed to get back to the Canaries, but maybe she could come back next year for a visit and try again.
The two squad cars pulled out half an hour later. Erin was in one with two uniformed men. Chrissy was in the other with the three cops who had come to the hospital. They picked up Highway 27 and drove directly to Miami. The closer they got the more congested the roads were. Within twenty miles of Miami, debris lay scattered everywhere and fields had become huge lakes of stagnant water with oil glistening on the surface. Twice they saw an alligator sloshing along in the flooded new territory it could now explore.
“What's it like at the coast?” Erin asked, looking out the window with clinical interests, but a sad heart.
The cop riding shotgun turned and looked at her. “I hear there is no coast. A lot of the sand spit islands got washed clear away or are badly eroded. Docks, marinas, homes are all gone for a mile inland and even the big hotels are badly damaged. There's flood damage in some areas as far as twenty miles inland and all the low lying areas, which is most of Florida, are under water. For God's sake, they were removing boats off the damn interstate last night. It's a hell of a mess. Billions of dollars of damage and destruction.”
“What about the relief and rescue effort?” Erin grimaced as she tried to situate her hip in a more comfortable position. She was in a lot of pain, but reluctant to take any pain pills if she was going to be interviewed.
“Things are getting better organized. Fortunately, they had enough warning to get the coastal areas evacuated, but for miles inland, people are sitting in flooded houses. Temporary morgues have been established in most areas, Miami has one set up in an old sports arena, and fire departments and the National Guard are handling rescues. Police are getting the roads open and keeping gawkers and looters away. The SPCA is out rescuing stray and lost animals. It's going to take days to get on top of it, weeks to make some inroads and years to repair the damage. The east coast and the Keys will be out of business for some time. At least central Florida and the west coast are still open for business. It's going to hit this state hard.” Having given her a complete update, the cop turned around and ignored Erin again.
When they got to the Miami police station, Chrissy was hustled in before Erin could talk to her. Erin found she had to be helped from the car and she leaned on an officer as they went inside. The burn on her hip was agonizing and she gave in, stopped at a water fountain and popped two pain pills. She hoped her head would be clear enough to answer any questions.
The questioning took some hours as several points had to be verified by other sources. At one point, Erin actually fell asleep in the interview chair and the cops gave her a few minutes rest before bringing her an industrial sized coffee that was strong and sweet. It was late afternoon before Erin found herself sitting in a hallway with Chrissy.
“You okay?” Erin asked. She could see Chrissy had been crying, her eyes were puffy and red.
“Worn out.” Chrissy produced a weak smile. “Some family I've got. My mom was involved with a mad man half her age and wanted the two of them to commit suicide, my dad's off having an affair and drops the ball on one of the biggest disasters in American history, my brothers avoid me and my sisters are embarrassed by me.” Tears rolled down Chrissy's face.
They were sitting in a public hall being watched by the desk sergeant, so Erin settled for patting her knee. “You can't help the family you were born into. I learned that. What you can do is not let it get to you. You are your own person. Be proud of who you are and don't let the asshole pull you down.”
Chrissy nodded and wiped the tears away. “What are you going to do now, Erin?”
“I've been thinking about that. If you need me, I'll stay here and do whatever I can to help you through some of the issues you are having. If not, I guess I'll head back to the Canaries and get on with my work. Maybe I can come out and visit you next year,” she added looking hopefully at Chrissy but Chrissy just nodded and looked away.
Erin sat in silence and sulked. Damn! Blast! I just can't win with this woman.
A short while later, Bert Nowak came down the hall. “Chrissy? Honey?”
Chrissy looked up in surprise and then stood to be hugged by her dad. “Are you okay, Dad?”
“I'm free if that's what you mean. Your statement and that of the lock keeper's got me off. I'm in a state of shock. Your mom … Well, I just found it so hard to accept. I had no idea. I guess I've missed a lot because I wasn't looking. I've really let you and the others down. I especially let you down. I'm sorry, Chrissy,” her dad choked out, they held onto each other for a long time. Then Nowak pulled back and turned to Erin who was quietly sitting on the bench.
“I should have listened to you. You were right and I was wrong.” He reached out and offered his hand.
Erin stood with some difficulty and shook it. “The evacuation got done, that's the main thing,” she said. She'd have liked to say a lot more but bit her tongue.
Nowak looked embarrassed. “Another thing, I was wrong about you two as well. I accepted conventional dogma without even thinking about it, because I didn't want Barbara upset. It was the easy way out. You're a good person, Erin. You were there for my daughter when I wasn't. I … I just want you to know that I've come to admire and respect you and I have no problem with who you or Chrissy are.”
Well, that's sort of an apology and probably the best he can manage. It took guts. Erin picked her words carefully. “I'm pleased, that you can say that now. I sure it means a lot to Chrissy. Hopefully, the rest of her family will come to feel the same.”
Bert nodded. “I hope so too. I'll certainly be talking to them. I've got a lot to do to re-establish some healthy bonds with my family. Chrissy, would you help me see about getting your mom buried properly? My colleague, Agnes, is coming to pick me up. She'll help. I can give you two a ride to the office.”
“Sure I'll help, Dad. At some point I need to go back to my condo and see what damage has been done. My place is on the second floor and seven miles inland so I'm hoping I haven't got water damage but the power is sure to be off and everything will be damp,” Chrissy yawned. “When I find a place I can live in, I plan to sleep for a week.”
Erin's heart sank. Damn. Where was the “we”. “I need to go to the university and make contact with my assistant in Spain,” Erin stated, “but thanks for the offer.”
“It's pretty much on our way,” Nowak said. ”We'll drop you off. NOAA vehicles can get through police checkpoints where other vehicles can't,” Nowak stated.
Erin declined the offer again preferring to arrange her own transportation. “The police have already said they'll drop me off at the university. Thanks, I'm okay.” She turned and walked down the hall, then she stopped. Was she running away from emotions again? She turned around and came back. “It's nothing that I can't do from any land line. Would you like me to come with you and help with the funeral arrangements, Chrissy?”
Tears welled up in Chrissy's eyes and she brushed them away with the back of her hand. “I know it's asking a lot, but I really could do with a … a friend at my side through this.”
Erin tried not to show her hurt. Friend. After all that, I'm just a friend. Outwardly she managed to nod. “Okay. Let's go.”
***
At the NOAA offices, Erin and Chrissy worked with Gloria to make the arrangements to get Barbara's body released from the forensic lab and shipped to Tampa. Funeral parlours were over booked, as were any courier service that handled transport of that sort. They finally arranged for the body to be embalmed and placed in a premium coffin that seemed to be the last one available in Miami. The transportation problem was a major stumbling block, until Erin located an old hearse at a car dealership. At Chrissy's request, she grudgingly used her new hero status to get the dealership to rent them the hearse for a week in exchange for a photo of herself at the dealership. They would have to drive the body over to Tampa themselves. Much to Erin discomfort, she was obliged to meet the press and answer questions about her role in notifying NOAA about the potential of a large tsunami. Bert Nowak arranged for the press to use NOAA conference room. Erin used as much tact as she could to review the events leading up to the tsunami while a worried Chrissy waited outside the door. It was only a matter of time before the press hit on some sensitive topics.
“We understand that, Mr. Nowak, director of NOAA here in Florida, was held for questioning by the police in regards to his wife's death. Could you expand on that?”
Erin felt her body stiffen with tension. “Naturally, Mr. Nowak was questioned in regards to his wife's unfortunate death as part of the police investigation. The police have concluded, from testament provided from other sources, that an individual, distantly related to Barbara Nowak, was the man who committed the crime. The investigation is on-going, so I'm not at liberty to say anything more on that matter.”
“Is it true that the killer, Byron Lorde, came after you and Chrissy Nowak in the days that followed the tsunami?”
“No comment.”
The questioning went on for some time. The press had done their research and wanted details, but Erin refused to confirm or comment on what had happened to them. Finally, she managed to make her escape feeling totally worn out.
“You were terrific, Erin. Thanks for not going into any details about what happened.” Chrissy said, after the press had been ushered out.
“It's none of their business. Let's go get a coffee and then see what Agnes has been up to.”
Agnes, always on top of things, had set up emergency cots for Chrissy and Erin in the back of the board room. They were usually for staff use when it was not possible for them to get home during hurricane alerts, now they would be a safe sanctuary for the two exhausted women. With much thanks to Agnes for her support, the two women ate a late snack and fell asleep on the cots.
Hours later, Erin woke up confused and disoriented. She lay blinking away the sleep trying to recall what had happened. Where am I? Slowly , she realized she was lying on an army cot in the board room at the NOAAA office. Memories of the day before returned. They'd gone with Bert Nowak to the NOAA offices. She remembered the drive. The water was receding now, but many areas were still flooded and roads had been undermined. They'd traveled carefully watching for possible sinkholes and slowing to traverse flooded out sections of road. Even there in the centre of Miami, the flood damage was considerable.
Gradually more things came back to her. Her overnight in the hospital, being taken back to Miami and then going to the NOAA offices. They arranged for Barbara's body to be claimed once the police had given their okay and they arranged a quiet family funeral in Tampa for the day after tomorrow. They even managed to see the body was properly taken care of and that they had a way to get it to Tampa. That thought made Erin blush. It had been pretty embarrassing going to the dealership and getting her photo taken with the owner in order to rent a beat up, old hearse. Chrissy owed her big for that one. Then Agnes had suggested they get some sleep.
Erin looked around and saw that Chrissy's cot was empty, the sheets folded neatly. She sighed and lay back. Chrissy is gone. Again . What the hell am I doing here? She rubbed her face and sat up with a groan. Everything hurt and she was as stiff as hell. After living on raw nerve for days, the sudden calm and inactivity had left her moody and depressed. How long am I going to follow after Chrissy? How much time does Chrissy need? Am I wasting my time?
“Hey.” Erin looked up and saw Chrissy limping in carrying a tray. The room filled with the smell of coffee and Erin's mood improved greatly.
She sat down on the bed beside Erin and put the tray between them. It contained cups of coffee and two muffins. “You need to take your pain pill and your antibiotics,” she said, passing the medicine bottles to Erin. “Knowing me is kind of hard on a person isn't it?” Chrissy sighed.
Erin smiled. “It hasn't been dull. I have to admit I'm all aches and pains this morning. How long did I sleep?”
“About ten hours. You needed it.”
Erin looked at Chrissy with concern. “How about you? How are you doing?”
Chrissy's eyes welled with tears, but she blinked them back. She swallowed hard and wrapped her hands around her mug. “I woke up with a full scale panic attack about an hour ago, but then I saw you sleeping on the cot next to me and I calmed down. I knew that if you were near, I must be safe. It took me a while to figure out where the hell I was.”
Erin nodded. “Same here. It was like waking from a terrifying and confusing nightmare. All the scary moments, and images keep flashing back.”
Chrissy looked utterly miserable. “We killed someone.”
Erin put her coffee down on the tray and reached over to touch Chrissy's arm. “We had no choice. We tried not to kill him, but he came after us again. He would have killed me and only God knows what he would have done to you. Killing can't help but change everything. I feel that too, but we can't let it eat at us. If we do, he wins, and evil should never win.”
Chrissy looked up and nodded. “Thanks.” She leaned over and kissed Erin's cheek, but before Erin could react Chrissy was on her feet. “We need to get going soon. We're taking dad's car. It's parked a few blocks from here. I want to try to get to my place to see what damage has been done and we need clothes for… for the funeral. Then we need to pick up the hearse so we're set to … get Mom tomorrow and drive over to Tampa. That trip takes about five hours at the best of times which this is definitely not.”
“Okay.” Erin controlled her frustration with difficulty. The next few days were about supporting Chrissy, but after that Chrissy would have to let her know where she stood. Otherwise, she was heading back to the Canaries. She loved Chrissy with all her heart, but if that love wasn't reciprocated, she was just going to have to find a way to accept that.
Once Erin was ready, they walked the few blocks to where Nowak's car still sat on a grassy curb and then drove to Hollywood. They didn't talk. Chrissy seemed preoccupied and had to concentrate on her driving as the roads were in terrible condition and debris was everywhere. Erin felt moody and was hurting despite the pain killers, so she was glad to close her eyes and enjoy the quiet. Within a few blocks of Chrissy's apartment, the water became too deep to safely drive the car through. Erin stirred and stretched and then regretted it as pain shot through her body. They parked in an empty school parking lot, put on their yellow rubber boots and started wading.
Chrissy grumbled. “I loved the sea, but only when it stays on its side of the beach.”
Erin followed in Chrissy's wake. “The sea doesn't often come inland, but when it does it can be a bit annoying.”
“A bit annoying! Shit!” Chrissy snapped and trudged through the water with renewed energy. Erin shrugged and kept up her pace. Chrissy was not in a good mood and neither was she. Maybe, casual conversation wasn't a good idea.
They got to the apartment and looked about in dismay. The automatic doors stood open and the lobby in which Erin had waited only a few days before held a foot of water. The plant stand had toppled and the pot was nearly submerged. Erin righted the stand and placed the waterlogged plant back on top of it, then she righted the chair.
Chrissy had unlocked the inner door and with effort had pushed it up. “What are you doing?” She snapped.
“Just being neat. There doesn't seem any point in letting the plant die.” Erin followed Chrissy in to the dark building. The elevators were out, as was the power, but the doorway to the emergency stairs had been propped open. Chrissy switched on the flashlight she had brought along and they headed up to the second floor to her condo.
Although damp from humidity, the apartment had stayed well above flood level and Chrissy's belongings were okay. Chrissy disappeared into the bedroom to fill a knapsack with clothes, while Erin pulled the rotting and sour food stuff out of the fridge. They worked in silence until Erin heard Chrissy scream. Dropping the garbage bag she was filling, she ran to the bedroom, and rounding the doorframe, she saw Chrissy standing stiffly in the middle of the bedroom. “What is it?” she panted.
“I knocked over the lamp. I knocked over the damn lamp!”
Erin looked. The lamp was on its side but unbroken. “It's okay, Chrissy. It's not damaged.”
“Okay? Okay? Nothing is okay! Everything is broken! Look, look!”
Erin saw tears rolling down Chrissy's face. She was white and shaking and her hands were balled into fists.
“Chrissy –“
“Don't! Damn it, Erin, my mother was murdered. Murdered! That bastard had his dirt, filthy hands on me! Okay? We killed him! Oh God!” Chrissy crumpled to the floor.
What do I say? Erin went to her and put her arms around the sobbing woman. Nothing. Let her cry it out.
“I loved my boat and I sank it!” Heavy, gasping sobs wracked Chrissy's body.
Erin held her and let her cry. When the sobs finally slowed, she started rubbing her back. “It's been a lot to deal with hasn't it?”
“It's so unfair. Hell, my father was away screwing his mistress. What kind of family do I come from?”
“Circumstances revealed the ugly secrets in your family, but all families have them, I'm told. Chrissy a lot has happened, bad things, but it's cleaned the air. Your mom died thinking the world she judged and found lacking had been cleansed. Your dad learned that his actions hurt others. And a seriously disturbed man is no more a danger to anyone. Yes, you lost your boat, but it can be replaced and your apartment is still intact. I can't make it better, Chrissy. No one can. The tsunami happened and it brought a lot of shit with it.”
“I can't take it any longer,” Chrissy snuffled, sitting up and wiping the tears from her eyes.
“And you came back, mucking up my head. I thought I was over you. I thought I hated you.”
Erin frowned. “When I was young in foster homes, sometimes it wasn't so good. I'd get really down on myself because no one could love me. When that happened I'd say to myself, get up and get on with it. That's what we all have to do to make life work, to make it worth living. We have to get up and get on with it. Yes, all this shit happened. But it is done with. Now you can move on. Come on, get on your feet. Pick up that damn lamp and let's get on with it.” Erin pulled Chrissy to her feet. Chrissy slapped Erin's hands away, went and picked up the lamp and heaved it against the wall. Bits and pieces flew.
“I never liked that damn lamp anyway.” Chrissy giggled a bit hysterically, then stopped. She blew out a deep breath and looked at Erin. “Let's get on with it.”
Erin frowned. “You okay?”
Chrissy shook her head. “No, I'm not, but I've gotten it out of my system for the moment. I don't want to talk about it. Let's go.”
They finished what they had to do in the apartment and then waded back to the car. The trip was made in near silence until Erin broke it by verbalizing her thoughts. “I need to get something presentable to wear for the next few days as well as a durable outfit I can wear back to the Canaries.”
Chrissy slowly turned her head and looked at Erin. Eventually she nodded but said nothing.
Erin gripped the stirring wheel with the strength born of frustration. Yes, Chrissy had gone through a lot, but so had she. Erin felt they needed time away from each other before a major fight blew up. “I'll drop you off at the office and then see what I can find in the mall where the car was parked. There must be some stores open.”
“Okay,” Chrissy continued to stare out the front windscreen.
The rest of the drive was made in silence. Erin dropped Chrissy off at NOAA and went on to the mall. I was so close to winning Chrissy back- so close and now everything is falling apart.
She sat in the parking lot with the car door open to let the breeze in. The air smelt bad, but at least it lowered the temperature. I've tried. I guess it's time to let go and move on. I'll help Chrissy through the next few days and then get back to my work.
Chapter Fifteen The Family Circle
Erin pulled the car up as close as she could get to the main doors into the mall. A sign posted on the door stated that it would be closed indefinitely. Of course, the power was still off in parts of Miami. NOAA was working on an emergency generator. She slammed her fist against the steering wheel in frustration. “Shit! What else can go wrong?”
Erin got out of the car and stood under the shade of a palm tree. She took some deep breaths and calmed herself. Hoping her cell phone might be working by now, she pulled it from her pocket, flipped it open and smiled. There was a signal. She punched in Juan's cell phone number.
“Hi, Juan. It's me.” She could children laughing and playing in the background. The language was Spanish, but the childish joy was universal. It made Erin smile.
“Erin, it is good to hear from you. Are you both recovering well from all that has happened?” Juan sounded deeply concerned and Erin was struck by how much their friendship meant to both of them.
“Thanks for asking. I have to admit, it's a lot to deal with, but I think I'm pretty much okay. Chrissy, I'm not sure about. I think she's on the edge of a break down. What are the chances of getting back on the island?”
“Good. There is very little ash deposit, less than a few centimetres on the eastern side of the island. The prevailing wind took most of it out to sea. You bring Chrissy back with you, Erin and we will help her get better,” Juan responded loyally.
Erin signed. “Juan, I appreciate your support more than you can imagine, but I'm not sure she wants to come back with me. I think I'll be returning alone.”
There was silence over the line for a few seconds then Juan's voice came quiet but firm. “You have family here, Erin. Don't you forget that. And when Chrissy is ready, she will have family here too.”
Tears streaked Erin's face and she brushed them away with her fingertips. “Thanks, Juan. I needed to hear that. I'm feeling a little fragile and insecure at the moment.”
“If you were here, I'd give you a hug and the children would run to Marie to tell them their father is hugging his girlfriend again,” Juan joked.
Erin laughed between sobs, leaning on the side of the car for support. “You and your family are very special to me.”
“Good. That is as it should be. Now when will you come?”
“Late next week, I hope. I want to support Chrissy through the funeral for her mother, then, well, I'll be free to return to work. What are your plans?”
“Monday, I fly back to the Canaries. Marie and the children will stay in Spain with her family until I feel it is safe for them to return. I will take time to see to things at the resort for my father, then I will go visit our volcano.”
I should be there going on the mountain first. Erin frowned and stood up straight. No. Juan has earned that right and someday Cumber Vieja would be his research project alone. “Be careful.”
“I will. Vaya con Dios, Erin.”
“You go with God too, Juan.” Erin hung up. Talking to Juan had helped. It was like getting a warm hug from far away. Over their five years as colleagues, they had become close friends, who felt safe revealing even those things kept deep in their souls. That he was willing to accept Chrissy as her partner despite his religious belief showed how deep his loyalty to her went.
***
Shada listened. She was good at that. No one noticed her because she was quiet and of no importance. Not yet anyway. After Amina had warned Jasmina, She had listened the night outside the window.
“Husband, I have thought about what you said. You are right, we must work closely with Amina and learn from her, she is a wise woman, my father trained her well and she is my sister. Only together can we make this business a success.”
The pad of footsteps and the squeak of bed springs floated on the air. “I am glad you have listened to your husband. You were talking very bad things. It is the baby. Women can be funny when a baby is close to coming. We will have another son, I think, Jasmina.”
“A son would be good, Mohammed. The baby will be here soon. It gives me great discomfort.”
Shada reported back to Amina who nodded. “It is a relief to know she has marked my words. I have noticed this last month or so that Jasmina often has pain. It will be good when this baby comes. She had trouble with the last baby too. The midwife said something ripped inside. Who knows. Only God. May He give Jasmina an easy birth and a fat, healthy girl.”
Shada giggled as she went about preparing their meal. “A girl?”
“Mohammed has one son. Men are only good for giving orders. We need girls to work in the family business. Women work hard. We need weavers, cleaners, house-staff. Family is cheaper than those you must hire.”
Shada nodded. Amina was very wise and she tried hard to remember everything she taught her. She knew she was a slow thinker, but she remembered things well. She had learned that what she heard and remembered was of better use to her than what she could think up.
Jasmina's baby started to come late that night and Amira and Shada came to her. Mohammed took the truck and went to get the midwife who lived down the road. Shada and Amina prepared the room and got together those mysterious things that the midwife would need. Jasmina did not look well to Amira. She moaned and cried out and sweat poured from her body.
“Something is wrong, Amina! Something is wrong with my baby!” Jasmina cried.
“Nonsense! The more babies, the better. You will have a happy baby. Already it is playing within you.”
“Are you sure, Amina?” Jasmina's voice was weak and shaking with emotion.
“I'm sure.” Amina reached over and used a damp cloth to wipe Jasmina's brow. She wasn't sure at all. She was very worried. Something was wrong, but she did her best to reassure her sister. This was her only sister and she loved her even though they were in a power struggle. Guilt flooded her heart. “Listen Jasmina. We agreed to work together. You gave your word as my sister and I believe you. Nothing will hurt to you or your children. I will protect you all. You are my family and I love you.”
Jasmina grabbed Amina's hand tightly. “Thank you. Thank you.”
The midwife was an old woman, bent and thickened by hard work. Her face was like soft leather and carved with the furrows of life's worries. She hurried in and took charge. Amina was relieved. She lacked the skills to help her sister and she had felt the worry and panic growing within her although she tried not to show it for Jasmina's sake.
The midwife looked at Jasmina closely and then had her sniff something from a piece of paper. She shook her head and walked over to where Amina and Shada stood in the corner. “There is no baby, only rot. Your sister is dying. I have given her something to take away the pain and let her sleep. It will not be long. You must tell her husband so that he can prepare a funeral.”
Tears rolled down Amina's face. Words would not form in her mouth. Why had the bad blood come between them? This was her sister and she loved her. Shada hugged her close. “You stay with Jasmina, Amina. I'll go tell Mohammed.” Amina managed a nod, but her eyes were fixed with horror on the small, still form that was her sister.
***
Shada found Mohammed in the main hall smoking from a nargile, a type of water pipe, with some friends.
“Mohammed, I'm so sorry. The baby died in Shada and the rot has infected her. The midwife can do nothing.” She hadn't meant to blurt the news out like that but she had been surprised and intimidated at finding the group of men.
The smug expression on Mohammed's face changed to shock. “Dead? The baby is dead?”
“Yes. God has taken the child and will call the mother too.”
Mohammed rose slowly, the tube of the water pipe falling unnoticed from his hand. The men with him looked from one to the other uneasily not sure what to do. “I can't believe it,” Mohammed murmured.
“It is God's will,” Shada stated falling back on tried and true expressions of commiserations. “You must see the Imam and arrange … things.”
At last one of the older men in the group rose. “Go back inside, girl. This is no place for you. Come, Mohammed, we will help you with the arrangements. Come.”
Shada turned and ran back inside away from the men. At the doorway she looked back and saw the old man take Mohammed by the arm and gently lead him from the courtyard while the other men followed.
***
Jasmina did not regain consciousness. She slowly faded away dying in the early hours of the morning. Amina sat holding her feverish hand, talking reassuringly to her even though she wasn't sure Jasmina could hear. When it was over, the midwife saw to the unpleasantness that needed to be done. Then Amina and Shada washed Jasmina's body, covering her personal parts with an awrah, a cloth so she would have modesty even in death. They wrapped Jasmina's body in several white, linen clothes or kafan. It was ready now for those who wished to pay their respects and pray for her.
A few hours later, the men carried the stretcher bearing the body to the grave. As was their way, there would be no coffin. Amina and Shada walked with a group of women that followed well behind. The graveside was men's work and no place for the women, who covered their faces and wept softly. Religious law did not allow an unseemly public display of grief. Amina held Shada's hand tightly as she watched her sister's body lowered into the earth. Looking drawn, Mohammed followed the body down into the grave. Taking the three mounds of dirt that had been left ready by the grave, he support Jasmina's head, chin and shoulder. As was the custom, her grave had been dug at right angles to Mecca and Jasmina was resting on her right side facing the holy city.
The men helped Mohammed from the grave. Tears rolled down his face. The Imam led them through the graveside rituals. First, Mohammed scooped up three handfuls of dirt and let them fall into the grave as he recited the well-known words. “We create you from it and return you into it. We will raise you a second time.” His voice was choked with emotion. The other men followed him repeating the ritual and its accompanying words.
Amina hung her head. She had known many sad days, but this one cut deeply. She had only Shada now. The women turned to go. There would be community prayers to follow and a three month mourning period. Amina numbly followed the structure of religious belief. It helped to support her through the storm of emotions she was feeling. She prayed: God have mercy on Jasmina.
***
The following day was hell for Erin. She was utterly worn out and emotionally raw; Chrissy was moody and only spoke when necessary. They took the rented hearse to the funeral parlor and the attendant loaded the coffin in the back. A corpse in the back seat would have put a damper on conversation under any circumstance. Erin drove, with Chrissy giving directions. The first part of the trip was slow and at times dangerous. Sink holes and washed out sections of road were common. Debris, cars and bits of people's lives had been shoved to the sides of the road. Few traffic lights worked. Erin wove her way through the obstacle course as best she could, mindful that they didn't need a flat tire. Once they were twenty miles inland beyond the impact of the tsunami, it was like nothing had happened and they made better time.
It took them six hours to get to Tampa. They delivered the body to the funeral home that would be performing the service tomorrow and then drove to Chrissy's sister's house. Erin would have preferred to stay in a hotel, but all accommodations were full up with refugees from the east coast.
Chrissy sighed. “About my family - ”
“I know all about your family,” Erin cut in. “I'll stay in the background and keep my queer mouth shut.”
Chrissy's head snapped around to look at Erin, her eyes blazing with anger and frustration. “I didn't mean that.”
“Mean what?” Erin asked, pretending to concentrate on her driving.
“What you're thinking,” Chrissy snapped, slamming her hand on her knee. “Damn it, Erin, don't start something now. I can't handle it.”
Erin's jaw tightened, as she fought for control. When she spoke her voice was calm, but her hands gripping the steering wheel were white with tension. “Okay. How do you want to handle this?”
Slow tears rolled down Chrissy's face. Her hands formed fists and she pounded them against her legs. “I don't know. I don't know!”
Erin turned the long vehicle into a mall parking lot and found a place at the back to park. “Stay calm. We'll just play it by ear, I'll do my best to keep things on an even keel and make sure the funeral goes smoothly. If you don't mind, I'm going to go in here and do some shopping. I still don't have any appropriate clothes to wear. While I do that, why don't you phone Marlene, tell her we'll be there once I've finished shopping. It will let you get a feel for what the situation is like there. I'll meet you later in the food court. We'll have diner here, so we don't have to eat with the family. How does that sound?”
Chrissy pulled a tissue out of her pocket and wiped her tears away. “Okay.”
Erin nodded. She got out of the hearse and headed for the mall. It might get her head in a better place to have a few hours away from all the chaos and doing something normal, like buying clothes.
She found a high end store that seemed to fit her style and she bought light grey dress slacks, and a grey silk blouse. That was the easy part. It took her a while to find a belt and shoes to finish the outfit. Then there were the basics that she would need for the next few days, underwear, shorts, several tops, sandals, a pair of jeans and a small suitcase. She winced when she stuck her credit card into the machine. This had been a very expensive week. She wondered what had happened to her rental car and the clothes she'd brought with her from the Canary Islands. They were probably at the bottom of the ocean. In the store she changed into fresh underwear, jeans and a t-shirt, she picked up all her other purchases and went to meet Chrissy at the food court, feeling a little more on top of things.
The food court was a large round alcove that ballooned out the side of the main mall atrium. There were tables for four with attached colourful chairs in turquoise, pink and yellow. Around the walls were a number of small take-out counters selling an array of different foods. Chrissy was sitting at a table in a far corner, away from everyone else. She was staring straight ahead, her thoughts clearly miles away. She looked tired and forlorn, for a minute Erin thought about turning tail and hiding. The she sighed. No. No more running from emotion, Ray. Get your butt over there!
Erin weaved her way around tables and chairs and slipped into the chair opposite Chrissy. She placed her shopping bags on the floor. “How are you doing?”
Chrissy swallowed hard. “Wishing this was all over with. It's like a terrible nightmare that I can't seem to wake up from. And then there is this,” Chrissy waved her hand about her. “Everything here seems so normal and yet a few hundred miles away an entire coastal world has ended. It seems surreal.”
Erin nodded. “I feel that way too. There have been many lives lost, thousands of homes destroyed and billions of dollars in damage. Each individual is struggling to come to terms with what happened. You have that, plus all the extra shit that happened to us. It's no wonder you are on over load. Don't try to deal with it all at once. Just manage each event and day as it comes and eventually you'll find your way through this nightmare and into a better place. As strange as it feels to be here in the mall, it's good that people can carry on with their lives. Each day, more and more people will be able to do so.”
Chrissy looked deep into Erin's eyes but said nothing. Do you believe me, Chrissy or do you think I'm just talking nonsense? Erin looked away. “We should eat. I don't fancy sitting down at table with your family. How about I go and find us some comfort food?”
Chrissy nodded. Erin frowned at the lack of response, but got up and looked around her at the variety of food offerings in the court. Chinese, Thai, Mexican, subs? Opting for something plain and familiar, she went over to a counter and ordered hamburgers, fries and chocolate milkshakes. Not what Chrissy or she would normally eat, but it would fill them up and provide enough carbs to maybe make them feel a little more buoyant. When the order was ready, she carried the crowded tray to Chrissy.
“Here we go, enough starch, sugar and salt to kill the average horse. This is the meal that America was built on. Praise the Lord and Pass the Ketchup.” Erin joked.
Chrissy smiled. It was a weak smile and it didn't last long but it was a smile. She took her share of the fast food and nibbled at it without much interest. “Thanks for being patient,” Chrissy said not looking up from her fries.
“The worst will be over in a few days and then we can all get on with rebuilding our lives.” Erin mumbled around a French fry. Chrissy nodded and finished her mean in silence.
***
Erin parked the hearse in a small lot attached to a public playground a block from Marlene's home. When Chrissy looked up in surprise Erin grinned warily. “We can walk from here. I doubt if your sister would like a hearse parked in her driveway. It wouldn't look good to the neighbours. Also, I don't want to upset Marlene any more than she will be just by my presence. I'll leave a note on the windscreen saying it broke down and it will be moved as soon as possible. Hopefully, the police won't tow it away.”
Chrissy nodded dully. “That's a good idea, Erin.” Chrissy sighed and opened the hearse door. “Let's get it over with.” They got their bags from behind their seats and started across the park.
Marlene and Bubba's house was a cream stuccoed bungalow with arched windows and doors. The trim was peach and turquois. The three bay, attached garage was bigger than the house Erin rented on the Canary Islands. The street was lined with Queen Palms and yards were clearly maintained by professional landscaping companies.
“What do Marlene and Bubba do for a living?” Erin asked as she surveyed at the affluent neighbourhood.
“Marlene doesn't work, she social climbs. That sounds catty, but its hard work networking and getting ahead. Money and power are important to them. Bubba owns several car dealerships, high end import autos. He'd like to get into politics. Republican, of course. They have twin girls, Lacy and Lucy.”
Erin snorted, but made no comment on the twin's names as she Erin slowed her pace to match Chrissy. “What about the rest of the family?” .
“Rebecca was married to Lance Newton. He was born into a wealthy family, but he turned out to be a playboy surfer with no staying power. They're divorced. Rebecca took him to the cleaners. Pretty much all he had left were a surf board and a one way ticket to Australia. If Rebecca does anything, she's hiding it well. She does have a lovely tan.”
“Toasted and comfortable, okay.” Erin smiled. “And your brothers?”
Chrissy rolled her eyes. “Miles, the oldest is a Baptist preacher in Georgia. He's nice, but well, narrow. He's married to Clara Sue. They have five kids. “Yes, dear” is the only thing I've ever heard Clara Sue say. Let's just say I don't think the genetic pool has been improved by my brother and sister-in-law's off-spring. Miles will probable officiate the funeral service. It will be long and full of Hallelujahs.”
Erin raised an eyebrow. “And me without my prayer book and gospel tent.”
Chrissy smiled. “You have no idea. I think the buckle of the Bible Belt is fastened over their house. Bert Junior is the youngest of us. We called him Bertie, but now he wants to be called BJ. He's a major in the military and working his way up quickly. He's not married. I think he sleeps with his rifle and an American flag. I'm all for supporting our people in uniform, but BJ can be a little too military at times. It's his life. He's a good person though. If I had a favourite in the family, it would be him. He was a great brother to have when I was a kid. He'd dare me on and yet always be there as my safety net. When you are dealing with him, just remember that he's far right and more than a bit narrow in his world views.”
Erin shuddered as they turned into the driveway and walked past a large motorhome that was parked in the driveway. There was a yellow cross painted on the back and below were the words: Follow Me on the Road to Salvation. “I can tell I'm going to really bond with your family.”
Chrissy grimaced. “They'll probably wear sheets and burn you on the front lawn tonight,” she teased.
“Something to look forward to,” Erin smiled as she rang the doorbell.
It was Marlene who came to the door, opening it almost as soon as the door bell sounded.
“Chrissy! It's a relief to see you got here safely. Mommy?”
“She's at the funeral home. Everything will be ready for tomorrow.”
Marlene frowned. “Look at you all bruised, sun burnt and mosquito bit! Honey, you look like hell!”
“We've gone through a rough few days,” was Chrissy's understatement. “We wanted to get Mom's remains to Tampa in time for the funeral parlour to prepare the funeral service properly.”
Marlene shook her head. “It would have been proper to have some visitation hours. Burying her like this makes it look like we are hiding something.”
“We are, Mom's murder and Dad's indiscretions,” Chrissy said bluntly, as she stepped in and around Marlene, Erin following in her wake. The house was open concept and decorated with good quality furniture in a tropical flower pattern. Done by an interior designer, Erin suspected. Marlene didn't strike her as having that much taste. All the walls seemed to be an off white. Erin could see through to the other side of the house. Glass doors led out onto a pool area where a number of people sat under a huge umbrella, talking over a patio table loaded down with drinks.
“Chrissy!” Marlene called after her. “That was all a terrible misunderstanding! Daddy wasn't even there when Mommy was killed!” Marlene looked up and down the street to see if anyone passing by might have heard and then quickly closed the door.
“No, Dad wasn't there. He was with his mistress,” Chrissy smiled. “And it would appear Mom was with her psychopathic of a boy toy until he turned on her.”
Erin frowned. Chrissy was going out of her way to stir things up. She could be like that when she was on the defensive. Erin tried to pour some oil on the troubled waters. “We've talked to Bert, he's been released and he's fine. He'll be here this evening. There is no doubt that Byron Lorde strangled your mother nearly to death and she was unable or unwilling to evacuate. It's a horrible thing, but sadly these sort of atrocities can happen during a crisis. Byron worked at NOAA.” Giving a quick warning look at Chrissy, she added, “He might have initially gone over to the house to tell Bert that he'd forgotten to post the yellow alert. We're not sure.”
Marlene didn't look at Erin. It was as if the explanation had fallen from the heavens on her ears. “Yes, of course! You see Chrissy that's the way it was. Byron probably snapped under the strain! He did suffer from PTSD. It's all very sad and shocking, but there is no reason to bring up any unfortunate issues! We don't want scandal! Not at Mommy's funeral!”
Chrissy opened her mouth, saw the stern look Erin was giving her and changed her mind. Instead, she just nodded.
Marlene looked around desperately, as if she didn't know what to do with them. “I'm afraid we are very short on space. Miles and Clara Sue are staying in their motorhome. The neighbours have been very good about it being parked here, what with the crisis and all. I'm putting Daddy in the guest room, Rebecca is in Lacy's room, and you are in Lucy's room. The girls are away at riding camp in Kentucky and I thought it best not to tell them about their grandmother until they get home. They are quite distraught already about the tsunami! They're very sensitive girls!” She went on nervously explaining the situation as they walked through the house towards the patio doors. “BJ brought some camp cots and he's volunteered to sleep in the garage with – with your friend.”
Chrissy frowned and opened her mouth, but Erin spoke up first. “That's fine. Good of you to go to all that trouble.”
Again, Marlene heard Erin's words but addressed Chrissy, as she slid back the patio doors. “No trouble, as family and good Americans, we all have to rally around in this time of need. Look who's here, everyone! It's Chrissy and … and her friend.”
Erin leaned towards Chrissy as they went out the door. “Stay calm. Don't let them push your buttons.” Then she joked. “If I get a choice, I prefer being burned on the front lawn to spending a night in the garage with BJ.”
Chrissy gave her a weak smile before she was pulled away by Rebecca and Marlene. Erin strolled over to a wicker chair and sat down. Better to keep a low profile, she thought. Sometime later, Chrissy came over and pulled up a chair beside her. “So far it hasn't been too bad,” she commented with a sigh as she kicked off her shoes. “Can I get you anything?”
“No thanks,” I got myself a beer a little while ago.” Erin picked up the bottle and took a swig, pulling a face. She liked Canadian beer and European beer, but she'd never had the opportunity to develop a taste for American beer. Still it was refreshing.
“Damn,” Chrissy mumbled under her breath. Erin looked up to see a short pudgy man heading in their direction. He was wearing grey slacks and a Hawaiian shirt and was nearly bald. Erin noted that what hair he had left was the same colour as Chrissy's. He had a fruit juice in one hand and a Bible in the other. “I knew the calm was too good to last.”
The man stopped in front of them. “May I join you?” His voice was deep and sort of rumbled from deep inside. It was far too masculine a voice for the image. Nice to listen to though.
Chrissy sat up and slipped her feet into her sandals. “Sure, Miles. Erin this is my older brother, Reverend Miles Nowak. Miles, this is Doctor Erin Ray.”
Erin felt her jaw tighten. Chrissy hadn't identified her as her partner, or girlfriend or even friend. No label for her. She managed a forced smile. “Hello, Miles.”
“Hey, Erin. Can I call you Erin?” He puffed as he pulled over another large wicker chair.
“Sure.” Erin wandered if she should offer to help him before he had a heart attack. Miles got the chair where he wanted it, picked up his Bible from the cushion where he'd left it while man-handling the chair into place and sat with obvious relief. He took a white handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his brow and head. Erin tried to recall the last time she'd actually seen a handkerchief.
He sighed. “Dear me, I'm showing my age.”
“Where are the kids?” Chrissy asked.
“We left them with Clara Sue's parents. We didn't think they were old enough yet to deal with their grandmother's funeral and we weren't sure how bad conditions would be here after the tsunami. To be truthful, Clara Sue isn't all that comfortable with having them around some members of our family, what with Mom's … illness and the way Dad has carried on.”
“And my orientation?” Chrissy stated bluntly.
Miles sighed again and nodded. He was a man big on truth and sighs. “That too. The family thought it would help if I had a dialogue with you, Chrissy, and you too Erin,” he added as an afterthought.
“What about?” Chrissy's body stiffened with tension.
Miles voice was gentle. “They love you, Chrissy. They worry about you and the life you have chosen to live. We are not narrow thinkers. We understand that you were born the way you are and we've come to accept that. God, in His Wisdom, has chosen to place a heavy burden on your shoulders. We want to help you with that burden. Yes, you are a lesbian and that's fine. It's only a sin if you act on your desires. Faith and the love of your family can help you, Chrissy, to resist falling into sin.”
“Stop right there!” snapped Erin. “Last week, Chrissy was brutalized by a Christian who thought he could save her from the sin of loving a person of her own sex. She is still physically and emotionally scarred from the hideous and terrifying experience. She doesn't need to hear your crap. Love is never wrong but bigotry is always wrong.”
Chrissy's hand grabbed Erin's arm. “Its okay, Erin. Calm down. Miles is my brother and he's trying to help in his own way. We don't want any trouble just now.”
Erin's head snapped around to look at Chrissy, anger hardening her face, but she managed to stifle the sharp remark on the tip of her tongue. “Okay. I think I'll take my bag to the garage. Excuse me.” She gave Miles a look that was less a warning as it was a threat and got up and left.
Damn Chrissy anyway! After all she'd done to prove her love Chrissy was still putting her damn narrow-minded, bigoted family first! Erin picked up her bag from the hall and stumbled into the garage, nearly bumping onto BJ.
‘Sorry,” she mumbled stepping past the wall of muscle that was BJ.
“You bunk over there by the far wall,” BJ said and walked out.
The rest of the day Erin existed as a non-person, or at least that was the way she saw it. The family drew Chrissy into the fold and left Erin on the outside. They talked about their childhood and things they had done with their mother and how things had changed after her stroke. Erin sat on the side lines listening. They were remembering the good and trying to justify the bad moments, whitewashing the ups and downs of life. It was a human trait to do so, she figured.
Around five that evening, Bert showed up and to everyone's surprise Agnes was with him.
“This is Agnes Peal, everyone. She works at NOAA Washington and is down here helping out,” Bert explained as he gave each of his kids a hug.
Marlene managed a stiff smile. “I'm sure we can find a bed for you,” she said, offering a hand and then introducing the family one by one.
“Hey, all. Don't worry about me. I've made arrangements to stay with my cousin, who doesn't live far away,” Agnes said. “I just didn't want Bert to drive all this way, when he's under such a lot of emotional strain. He also asked me to represent the office at the funeral tomorrow.”
Erin saw, Bert looked over the heads of the family to where she stood quietly in the background. He wove his way through and much to Erin's surprise he gave her a hug. “Good to see you, Erin. I can't thank you enough for saving my little girl and then helping out with this family crisis.”
“I was glad to help,” Erin murmured feeling awkward as hostile eyes turned toward her en masse. Then Agnes was there, with Chrissy at her side. “You two women have gone through hell. I hope you are taking care of yourselves. Have you got everything you need? Is there anything we can do to help?”
“We're fine,” Erin answered. “We just need some time to heal.”
Bert nodded. “Hopefully, you'll get that time soon. Marlene, Agnes has had a meal catered for us for tonight. It should be here at seven. We thought that would make it easier for everyone. Chicken and spareribs isn't it, Aggie?”
“Yes, with salad, baked potatoes and cherry cheesecake for dessert. I hope that's okay with everyone.” Agnes looked around her, smiling confidently from her place at Bert's side.
Erin shot a look at Chrissy who grimaced and rolled her eyes. Erin wondered what had happened to the woman he'd left in Orlando. Still, unless she was reading this wrong, it was Agnes who was taking the lead in this budding relationship and doing a pretty good job of it judging by the look of pride on Bert's face.
Marlene was the first to rally to the sudden change of events. “Agnes, that's sooo thoughtful of you and the people at the NOAA office! Bubba, honey, you get behind that bar. I think everyone needs a tall glass of something cold before dinner,” she said cheerfully herding everyone to chairs around the pool. “I know I do.” Erin heard her mutter as she trailed along behind.
Bert and Agnes kept the conversation going throughout the evening. The talk now wasn't about the family, or Barbara's strange ways, but about the impact of the tsunami and the efforts that were being made to effect the clean-up and rebuild the infrastructure.
“It's a hell of a national disaster. They worst we've ever seen on these shores, but it could have been much worse.” Bert smiled over at Erin. “Dr. Ray, here, just kept at us until we took her warnings seriously. We lost time, and I'm the first to take responsibility for that, but we were still able to evacuate all the coastal areas that took the worst of the impact. Agnes had that responsibility on her shoulders and she did a wonderful job. There wasn't much we could do for the areas that were going to be flooded. There just wasn't time. Still, we saved thousands, maybe millions of lives because of Erin and then didn't she turn around and rescue Chrissy.”
Erin blushed deeply and Chrissy lifted her glass to Erin. “My hero,” she said with a genuine smile.
It was Rebeca who hurriedly changed the subject. “Those darn mosquitoes are starting to come out. Marlene, how about you make some popcorn and we relax in your media room with a movie?”
The family seemed relieved to sit in the dark, stare at a screen and not have to talk to each other. When the film was over, the gathering broke up. Bert went out with Agnes to say his good byes. Erin looked around for Chrissy, but she'd slipped away quietly. Should she go look for her? No. It would probably only lead to a fight. Feeling depressed and defeated, Erin headed to her cot in the garage. BJ was already there. Clad only in his t-shirt and underwear while he carefully folded his shirt and trousers. He made sure Erin got a good view of his package. Like BJ's build, the package seemed short and stocky. Erin had seen better. Two could play that game. Erin was well aware that she had a beautifully toned body and false modesty was not something with which she was afflicted. Okay, the body was bruised, scratched and burnt by power burns and sun, but the basic lines were still good. She stripped down to her underwear, folded her shorts and t-shirt and got into her cot on her side of the garage. T ake that asshole , she thought.
A low whistle came from across the floor. “You sure as hell have seen some action.”
Erin rolled her eyes and sighed. Hadn't anyone paid any attention at all to what she and Chrissy had gone through this past week? “Yeah, Chrissy and I have been through a lot lately.”
BJ switched the light off and the squeak of springs indicated he'd gotten into his own cot. His voice came out of the darkness. “You're in good shape despite that. You ever been in the military?”
“No. I grew up in foster homes and went through school on scholarships. Climbing mountains keeps me fit.”
“Yeah, I suppose it would. We got your kind in the armed forces officially now. Had a guy in my regiment once, while I was stationed in Afghanistan. He conducted himself well. Died there, friendly fire. It happens.”
“So I hear and probably to ‘my kind' more often than others.” Her sarcasm was lost on BJ who had already started to snore.
Erin lay awake for a long time brooding. She had tried, really tried to face up to any emotional issues and be there for Chrissy, but the harder she tried, the more Chrissy seemed to back away. Was she pushing? Chrissy had been badly traumatized and she needed time, sure, but Erin wondered where she stood in all this? Did they have a future together or not? A blanket of depression settled heavily on Erin, tears rolled silently down her face. Her physical injuries were healing, but her hopes were slowly crumbling beneath the emotional pain.
The next day was no fun. Her morning shower turned out to be a garden hose behind a bush outside the back door of the garage. There were just too many people for the bathrooms in the house and the family came first. The cold shower made the burn on her leg throb and she limped back into the garage to towel down and change. BJ had at least left her with some privacy that morning. After telling her to use the hose, he'd disappeared to find breakfast. Erin slipped into her new outfit and went to look for Chrissy.
It was Chrissy who found her, coming up to stand beside her as she stepped out on to the patio where the majority of the family was having breakfast of assorted cereals. “You okay? How did it go with BJ?”
Erin looked down into a pale, drawn face that was still bruised and swollen. Chrissy didn't look like she'd had any rest at all. “It went okay. There are ‘my kind' in the Army so I have official approval. He even knew a gay guy in his regiment who was killed by friendly fire.”
“His?” asked Chrissy with a grimace, a weak joke.
Erin smiled and sighed. “I didn't ask. Under the circumstance, I thought it better not to. You look nice, but beat up and tired. Aren't you sleeping?”
Chrissy shook her head. “Nightmares. You know.”
Erin nodded and swallowed. She'd have liked to wrap Chrissy in her arms and hold her safe, but this was not the time or place.
Marlene, clearly the new matriarch of the family, stood by the patio table. “Chrissy, come and join us. We're just working out who will go with whom to the cemetery.”
Chrissy looked at Erin with sad eyes and Erin mustered a weak smile. “Go ahead. I'll go find some breakfast in the kitchen.”
Chrissy nodded and walked over to her family head down. Erin watched her go and then turned and went into the kitchen. Damn she hated Chrissy's family, but what she hated more was the influence they had on Chrissy. Was that the way it was with families? She didn't know. The dynamics of family looked a lot more complex than it seemed when you were standing out in the dark looking in a window.
The family all went together leaving Agnes, representing NOAA, and Erin representing, the confused and hurt, to follow in Agnes' car.
They drove in silence for a few minutes and then Agnes enquired softly. “Things not going well with you and Chrissy at the moment?”
Erin sighed. “I thought we had come to some understanding, but then Lorde showed up and Barbara was found dead. Chrissy is really traumatized. She's being friendly enough when our paths cross, but it's clear that the plans I had aren't working out.”
“Plans?”
Erin wiped away some errant tears and blew her nose. “Pardon me. I need to get back to the Canaries and finish my study. I was hoping Chrissy would be coming with me as my partner.”
Erin shrugged. “It doesn't look like that will happen.” She hadn't meant it to, but the bitterness had crept into her voice.
Agnes nodded as she pulled into the church parking lot. She turned off the engine and looked at Erin. “Chrissy has a lot to face, the horror of being kidnapped and attacked, dealing with her mother's death, her family dynamics, her condo damage, her love for you and your needs.”
Erin swallowed hard. “You forgot about her job and rebuilding the eastern coast. Marlene is full of plans about how the family can do their part to help.”
Agnes smiled reassuringly and patted Erin's hand. “It is the American way to rise to any crisis. The family will want to do what they can. Erin, give her time. I know you've waited a long time already, but she does love you. I'm sure of it. I'm pretty good at reading people.”
Erin blinked back tears. “I hope you're right, Agnes, but I think when I get on the jet for the Canaries, I won't be seeing Chrissy again. She got out of the car and slipped her sunglasses on.
She needed to be strong. There was no other choice. Agnes got out, locked the car and together they walked into the small chapel.
The service was brief and as Chrissy had predicted there was the occasional Hallelujah and Praise the Lord. The interment at the graveside was sober and hot under the Florida sun. Miles scooped up a handful of dirt and let it trickle through his fingers to form a cross on the coffin. “From dust you came, to dust you shall return. Jesus Christ, our Saviour, shall raise you up on the last day.”
Erin stood watching as each member of the family dropped a long stemmed red rose onto the coffin. Chrissy was third to do so, after her father and Marlene. She looked pale and shaky. BJ put his arm around her and drew her close, while Miles finished the service. “The Lord look kindly on you and give you peace; In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
“Amen,” the family murmured and turned away to leave the cemetery attendants to fill in the grave and place the flowers on top. Chrissy walked by with her family, but never looked at Erin. Agnes drew Erin away and they walked together back to her car.
“It will be alright,” Agnes reassured as she unlocked her car.
“No, it won't,” Erin slumped onto the hot seat, deep in her own thoughts.
The family was subdued that night. They talked softly about Barbara and the funeral, but mostly they talked of what they could do to help those devastated by the tsunami. Sometimes avoidance is easiest, Erin thought.
Chrissy, looking tense and stressed, talked to her only briefly before Marlene called her away. “Can we leave tomorrow? Take the hearse back to Miami?
Erin tried to sound willing, yet neutral, not wanting to upset Chrissy who seemed to be maintaining a tenuous balance on her emotions. ”Sounds fine to me. What time?”
Chrissy looked relieved. “Early?”
“I'll be ready by six,” Erin said.
Tears welled in Chrissy's eyes. She reached out and touched Erin's arm. “Thanks. Thanks for so much, Erin,” she choked out.
Marlene looked over from the open-area kitchen, a frown on her face. “Chrissy, have you got a minute?”
Chrissy wiped away her tears. “Coming,” she called out. Then looked again at Erin before she left her. “Thanks.” Erin watched as Marlene who gave her a hug and drew her out to where the family sat.
Erin sighed. Her depression settled heavily on her heart, partly in reaction to all that had happened, but mostly just realizing that she and Chrissy were going nowhere in their relationship. Unwilling to tolerate being on the outskirts of the family for another evening she took herself off early to her cot in the garage.
BJ didn't show up until some hours later. “You're not asleep.” He stated the obvious as he once again stripped to his underpants and folded his clothes neatly before turning off the light and getting into his cot.
“Lots on my mind.”
“You and Chrissy got a touch of that PTSD? I hear you two killed that bastard.” The cot's springs squeaked as BJ settled into a more comfortable position to talk. “Chrissy seemed pretty quiet tonight.”
“I guess neither of us have had time to come to terms with everything that's happened in the last while.” Erin's voice shook despite her attempt to control her emotions.
It was awhile before BJ spoke again. “Listen, soldier, I've seen this shit a lot, with good people too. They go through hell as brave as anything and then shit their pants the next day while having a beer with some friends. It hits them hard, like the god-damn flu and they cry like babies. Then they can't live with embarrassing themselves like that. I tell my guys that what makes a hero is not doing the shooting, but standing your ground when you're being shot at. I tell them that falling apart after is just a way the body and mind has to deal with all the shit. You understand that?”
Erin smiled. BJ saw things in pretty simple terms, but he wasn't such a bad guy after all. “Yes, Sir.”
“Good. Just take it easy and let the bad stuff ooze out of you a little at a time and don't try to make any big decisions until it has.” BJ yawned, having said his piece, Erin heard him roll over to go to sleep.
“You tell Chrissy that too?” Erin asked.
“Yup, out there at the cemetery. A fella has to take care of his own.”
Erin got out of bed awkwardly still fighting stiff, painful muscles. She limped over and flipped on the light and then offered her hand to the major. “BJ, you're all right. I know we don't share a common world view, but despite that, I respect you for being a good brother and a damn good man. I'm glad I got to know you.” They shook hands.
BJ shook his head. “You and Chrissy are a hell of a loss to mankind. Now get in your bunk, soldier.”
“Yes, Sir.” Erin smiled and turned off the garage light and returned to her bunk. She was asleep soon after.
Chapter Sixteen Shattered Lives
They left early, as planned, saying their good byes to BJ and asking him to pass on their best wishes to the rest of the family. BJ nodded. “Take care. Keep in touch.” Chrissy and Erin each gave him a hug and then picked up their bags and walked down the street to where they had left the hearse.
“One thing about driving a hearse, you know that no one is likely to steal it,” Erin grunted, stiffly sliding in behind the wheel.
“Too bad really,” Chrissy sighed as she buckled up. “Bubba was trying to sell me a Corvette. He said he'd give me a good deal.”
“Nice of him,” Erin responded with a good deal of sarcasm in her voice as she turned the hearse out onto the street. She'd taken an instant dislike to Bubba.
Chrissy fiddled with the dials on the dash trying to get the air conditioning working properly. “Bubba's motto seems to be, never miss an opportunity to act like an asshole.”
Erin smiled. “For sure.”
They travelled in silence until they had left the city limits and they were on the highway back to Miami. It was Chrissy who spoke first. “We need to talk, you know.”
Erin flipped down her visor against the glare of the sun. “Yeah, I know, but I'm not sure it's going to achieve anything other than creating more hard feelings.”
Chrissy looked at her sharply. “Why do you say that?”
“Because we're right back where we started. You need to be here for your job, family, home and country and I need to be on the Canaries doing my job and getting on with my work. You want me to show commitment and stay and I want you to show some loyalty and come with me. What's changed?”
“I think we have, don't you? I'm not the innocent I was and you are far more confident than the person I used to know. We've grown as people, Erin.” Chrissy turned in her seat to face Erin.
Erin shrugged, keeping an eye on a car that was passing them. No one liked to be behind a hearse, it would seem. “Maybe we have, but the issues are still there and they've grown too.”
Chrissy sighed and turned to look ahead down the road. “You're leaving aren't you?”
Anger boiled up in Erin's chest. “Don't make it sound like I'm running out on you, damn it! I came looking for you, and I did all I could to keep us alive. I've shown loyalty and commitment up to my neck. What the hell have you shown?”
Tears rolled down, Chrissy's face and she fumbled for a tissue to wipe them away. “That's so unfair! I wasn't accusing you, I was just asking a question.”
Erin gripped the steering wheel. “It was a damn loaded question. Just for the recorded I don't know when I'm leaving for sure. Let me reverse the tables, you're staying aren't you?”
“I have to, Erin.” Chrissy brushed away tears. “Don't you see that?”
Erin sighed. “On one level, yes, I see. On an emotional level it just feels like rejection again. This is going nowhere. I said we shouldn't get into it.” Erin leaned forward and turned on the radio. “Let's just drive and not talk. We're both physically and emotionally wrecks at the moment.”
Erin focussed on the road. Even this far inland the ditches were full of water. The tsunami had ruined lives. Even her life. It had changed everything. For some the disaster had brought out their hidden strengths. For others it exposed the under belly of the beast. There would be those who picked themselves up and created new and better lives and there would be those who let the disaster defeat them. No matter what, people had seen their family and friends with all the raw emotion hanging out and that had changed everything. Well, except for the rift between the two of them. That had remained.
They made one stop to eat, in a diner in a small road side mall. It wasn't a pleasant meal. First, the black and white tiled diner had a limited menu due to shortages and second, because they had little to say to each other. They ate their tuna sandwiches in an awkward silence broken only by the occasional unimportant remark. Erin gobbled her sandwich and left Chrissy to pay the bill. She went down a few stores and bought a small digital camera. She wanted photos of the damage along the east coast before she headed back. Her cell phone had gotten pretty wet and although it was functioning now that it had dried out, she wasn't sure what sort of photos it would take or whether they could be save. So, was that her answer? Had she decided to go to the Canaries without Chrissy again? Erin shook her head. She didn't know, but it made sense to be prepared. She met Chrissy back at the hearse and they headed off again.
As they got closer to Miami, Erin made a decision. “I want to go down to the impact zone and get some photos of the damage. Do you mind?”
The answer came slowly and when it did, it held a note of bitterness. “No. It's important, I'm sure.”
Anger boiled up in Erin again. After days of being patient and understanding the lid was off. She slammed her hand against the console. “You're damn right it's important. Don't try to trivialize my work. It bloody well saved a lot of lives down here!”
Chrissy jumped and cringed. Her voice was defiant, but shaky when she spoke. “I'm not trying to trivialize what you do. I'm grateful for all you've done -”
“Grateful! That's just great. Grateful! I guess that tells me where I stand, doesn't it?” Erin fought back the tears that threatened to over flow her eyes.
“No, it doesn't! Damn it, Erin, why do you always have to push? Why does there always have to be a deadline with you? I'm doing the best I can to cope, all right!”
“And do you think it's been easy for me? I've been there for you in spades. Maybe it's time for you to be there for me.” While they'd been arguing, Erin had taken them close to the impact zone. They had turned on to the coastal freeway and ahead of them police lights were flashing by a road block. “Shit!” Erin pulled to a stop beside an officer.
The uniformed cop leaned into the window of the hearse. “This is a restricted area. I'll need to see your access papers.”
“I don't have any papers. I just wanted to go up on the over pass and take a few photos,” Erin explained.
The officer frowned. “Lady, this is a disaster area not a photo op. Turn around and head back.”
Chrissy leaned forward. “Officer, this is Dr. Erin Ray, the volcanologist who warned US authorities about the tsunami in time for them to initiate evacuation procedures. She needs to survey the damage as part of her on going monitoring of the area. It's vitally important.”
The officer looked at them and then at their vehicle. “Why are you driving a hearse?”
“I had to deliver a body to Tampa two days ago. I'm just returning,” Erin explained. Chrissy's body was leaning close against hers. It felt wonderful and annoying at the same time.
The officer considered for a minute, then stuck out his hand. “Can I see some ID.?”
Erin fished out her very tattered and water stained wallet and showed him her international license. “I don't want to take it out of the folder because it might fall apart,” she explained.
The cop took her wallet. “Wait here.”
They waited while the officer ran her ID through the police data banks. The silence was awkward. Erin knew she should thank Chrissy for speaking up, but she just couldn't bring herself to do so.
The officer returned. “Go ahead, Dr. Ray. Let us know if we can be of any assistance.”
“Thank you, officer,” Erin said and put the hearse in gear. They motored up on the over pass and Erin carefully pulled to the side. She swallowed hard, and then forced the words from her throat. “Thank you for doing that. It wouldn't have occurred to me.”
“That's okay.” They lapped into silence again as they got out of the vehicle and went to stand by the guardrail.
They stood on the summit of the over pass and looked out on a strip of mud choked debris that stretched as far as the eye could see to the north and the south. The devastation was beyond anything they imagined. The jagged teeth of broken walls and foundations erupted up from a carpet of shattered vegetation, homes and factories. Battered cars, brown with mud, were scattered about at all angles and all places. Huge sink holes had gobbled up large swaths of homes and roads and stagnant water, green with algae, reflected the rainbow shimmer of oil and gas. The air stunk, it was a vile mixture of sewer, petroleum products, and rotting vegetation, fish and animal matter. In the distance, millions of pieces of flotsam and jetsam bobbed up and down on a now calm ocean.
“Oh my God,” Chrissy whispered leaning closer to Erin.
Erin's impulse was just as automatic, she wrapped an arm around her. “It is beyond anything I had expected.”
Chrissy buried her face against Erin's shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably. “I'm so sorry. I … I can't l … leave. Look at this. Oh God, look at it! I love you. I love you. I just can't. I … I'm all mixed up inside!”
Erin held Chrissy close. She felt mixed up inside too. Didn't Chrissy see that? She took a deep breath and comforted Chrissy, there was nothing else to do for now. As always she'd just have to suck it up and get on with it. She would always be the outsider standing in the dark looking through the window at the happy family within.
***
Amina stood at the window looking down at the courtyard. Jasmina and her baby were dead. Buried. She could remember when she was a child holding Jasmina as a baby. How beautiful she was and she had hoped that when she grew up, her babies would be born just as beautiful. That was not to be. It was not God's will that she should have children of her own. In her mind, she could again hear Jasmina's childish laugher, Jasmina and her playing in those few years of carefree childhood. Once she was married she saw little of Jasmina and they drifted apart. So far a part that Jasmina had plotted with her husband to take over the business and get rid of her. Tears welled in her eyes. Why? Had Jasmina heard her words of comfort before she died? Did she understand that Amina had not meant her threats? There could be no answers. Betrayed by her father, husband and sister, Amina cried not for the loss, but the pain of rejection. Still she wasn't alone. She had Shada. Shada her flower.
And she had the business. Mohammed had got an email from the American woman, Tracy. Her businesses had not been damaged and she was glad that they had emailed her with their new address. Tracy not only wanted the rugs she ordered, but twice as many. Americans would need many new rugs after the terrible flooding she said. The business was on a safe footing now.
Blinking back the tears, she looked down in the courtyard. Shada and Mohammed were there playing a game with the children that involved a good deal of running about and laughter. Amina smiled. This was her family now. Then her face froze.
Mohammed was looking at Shada in a way that men do in unguarded moments. Of course! He would need a wife and Shada was good with children, young, beautiful and a widow like himself. He would say nothing during the time of mourning, but then he would come to Amina and talk to her. What would she say? She smiled. She would tell Shada tonight and they would laugh and plan how to put Mohammed off.
It was sometime after dinner when Amina was able to settle down beside Shada in their living quarters. “I think Mohammed fancies you.” She giggled. “I saw him looking at you today. I know that look. He thinks you would make a very good wife for him.”
Amina really hadn't known how Shada would react. Perhaps with mirth or maybe with concern but certainly not the way she did. She sat up with delight. “Do you think so, Amina? He is a very fine man. I would like lying with him. He would take good care of me and our children.
Amina felt as if she'd been punched. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out at first. “B … but what of us?”
Shada shrugged. “It wouldn't matter. I was close to you and married before. Only this time you won't have to worry about me. Mohammed is a good man.”
Amina got up quickly and walked out before her tears showed.
I am being punished for my sins. Denied the happiness that I so wanted. Tears rolled down her face yet again. Amina went to the roof top and knelt in prayer. She prayed for a long time, until the stars had moved across the sky. Inside she became calm. She no longer hurt, she felt nothing. It was better that way. Shada marrying Mohammed would solidify their business. This was good. There was no point in giving in to sorrow. She would go on. Alone. The tsunami had washed away her horrors and her dreams. It was God's will.
***
Agnes Peal was happy, truly happy. She hadn't been so for as long as she could remember. It wasn't just that Bert was sleeping in the bed across the room. It was because she had stepped out of the shadows and at last been noticed for the woman and professional she was. She looked at her watch. She had an hour before she needed to get Bert up. They'd pick up a coffee and a sandwich and then drop into the office to see what had gone on in their absence. The night shift would be on by then, but many of the day shift would still be around. Some of them had nowhere else to go. They'd shipped their families off to relatives and were carrying on as best they could in the crisis. For many, their lives had been completely swept away and they would have to start all over again. Thanks to Dr. Ray though, they had their lives. And thanks to Erin Ray, the NOAA had come off looking fairly good in the crisis. She felt she owed Erin. Besides, she knew Bert was very worried about Chrissy. Agnes smiled and chuckled to herself. Well, okay, I'm just naturally a busybody.
She went out onto the balcony where she could talk without waking Bert. She checked her watch. Yes, it would just be about the right time out west. She punched in her call.
“Good morning! Geological Survey of Canada, Carl Phillips speaking.”
Agnes sat down on one of the white plastic chairs on the balcony. “Carl, its Agnes Peal. Do you remember me?”
“I'll say. I haven't forgotten how you bailed me out of that mess when I was doing that exchange in Washington. I saw you on TV. You guys really pulled a rabbit out of the hat with that tsunami evacuation. How is it going down there?”
“The credit has to go to your fellow Canadian, Dr. Erin Ray. It was her research and her insistence that Cumbre Vieja was going to create a massive tsunami that got us off our backsides and moving. Fortunately, Bert Nowack has a well - oiled team and the evacuation went like clockwork even though we'd left it to the eleventh hour. It's a hell of a mess down here, but it could have been much worse in terms of loss of life.”
“So what can the Canadian Geological Survey do to help you this morning?”
“It's about, Dr. Ray. She's a talented woman. We'd rather like to keep her this side of the Atlantic. I'm sure there are a number of institutions here in the US that would jump at having her on staff. Her name is in lights at the moment. I think, though, that she'd rather work in British Columbia, close to the Pacific Ocean.”
There was a second of silence, then Carl's voice came hesitantly over the phone. “Are you telling me that Ray might be looking for a new position?”
“Her research project just blew up. What do you think?” Agnes got up and leaned on the balcony rail. It was a beautiful day. The sun was drying up the remaining puddles below.
“I think we might be interested. I'd have to talk to the administrator in charge of that sort of thing.”
Agnes laughed. “You Canucks always proceed with caution. I'm texting you her number. Don't sit on this too long, because my next calls are to American institutions.”
“How does this tie in with you? Are you Ray's agent or something?” Carl laughed.
Agnes smiled and looked back at the man sleeping in the bed. “Family,” she said and hung up.
***
Erin put Chrissy back in the hearse and then took her photos of the area devastated by the tsunami. She imagined that in time, there would be thousands of photos of the disaster, but she wanted her own. This was what her volcano had done and somehow she felt a responsibility. She went back to the hearse.
“Do you want to go to your apartment next?” Erin asked.
Chrissy's face was red and blotchy from crying. “Yes, if you don't mind,” she choked out.
“That's fine.” Erin turned the vehicle around and went back the way they had come. She waved to the cop who had let them through and continued along the highway until they turned onto a road that would take them north and further inland to Chrissy's condo. Most of the water had retreated here and people were out cleaning up. Strangers stopped what they were doing and looked on curiously as the hearse went by. Several crossed themselves. “It's a bit embarrassing driving a hearse,” Erin commented. “I'll take it back to the dealership as soon as I can.”
Chrissy nodded but said nothing. Erin pulled into the parking lot and they walked over to the complex. A pump was being used to drain the water from the basement. The small lobby had been tidied and the security doors were working as was the elevator. They went up to the second floor and down the hall to Chrissy's place. The hall had been cleaned, but a thick smell of rot and dampness still hung in the air.
Chrissy opened the door and just stood there. Green and black mould blotched the walls. Erin looked over her shoulder. “It just keeps getting better and better. Get what you need and we'll get out of here. You'll have to have the place professionally cleaned before you can live here again.”
Chrissy nodded as she stepped in and headed for her bedroom. Erin waited at the door until Chrissy came out again. She was carrying two green garbage bags of belongings. “My suitcases are mouldy,” Chrissy explained at Erin's raised eyebrows. “Where are we going?”
Erin smiled. “I have no idea.”
There were still no hotel rooms to be had. Finally in desperation, Erin used her recent fame to win some favours and they ended up sleeping in a dorm room at the university. Erin left Chrissy there and took the rented hearse back to the dealership. She then rented the only car available, which was a used Volvo that the dealership usually used as a loaner. She picked up a pizza at a fast food joint and arrived back at the university near sunset. It was a basic unit. There was a small sitting area between two double occupancy rooms and a shared bathroom. The other room was occupied by a couple of university students taking summer courses. Erin and Chrissy ate their meal in silence in the sitting room and then retired to their room.
“You want the bed by the window?” Erin asked.
Chrissy nodded.
Erin sat on her bed. The mattress sagged. It wasn't much, but at least the room was high and dry and the air conditioning was working. “Listen, I'm sorry about your condo.”
Chrissy shrugged. “It should've upset me, everything else has, but I felt nothing. I think I'm just cried out.”
Erin nodded. “Try to get some rest. I'm going to see if I can get through to Juan in Spain.”
Suddenly Chrissy was there in Erin's face. “Is that all you ever think about! Did you see that devastation today in any other light than what your precious volcano did?”
Erin was too shocked to even respond. She pushed past Chrissy and left. She walked in circles around the university campus until the sweat generated by the muggy evening rolled down her back. Finally, she pulled out her phone and sat on a park bench.
“Hola! Erin is that you?” Erin could hear Juan closing a door and walking across a room.
“Yes. Are you on the Canaries?”
“Si. I'm at my father's resort. The damage is minimal. It is a great relief to me. I hope to be on our volcano by later this week. Are you okay?” Worry laced his voice.
“You be careful. Cumbre Vieja will still have a few tricks up her sleeve. Make sure you take someone with you as a spotter and oxygen in case there's venting still.” Erin cautioned and watched a grey fox squirrel climbing the tree opposite her.
“I will do this, Erin. You are okay?”
Erin took in a ragged breath. “In a manner of speaking. My love life is in the toilet and I have no idea what to do next,” she choked out through her tears. She heard Juan pull up a chair and sit.
Erin heard Juan pull up a chair and sit.
“Can I speak frankly, Erin? As a friend?”
Erin smiled. “You know you can, Juan.”
“You think you phoned me to discuss Cumbre Vieja, but you didn't really. You phoned because you are confused and traumatized. I don't know how to help you, but I can tell you this, you trained me well. I can handle the research that needs to be done here. I'm ready. You need to take some time and sort out your life. Ever since I have known you, there has been a part of you that has been sad, that part that belonged to Chrissy. You need to take some time and either find a way to make your love work, or find a way to find some closure.”
Anger rose up like bile. Who did Juan think he was? Was he trying to take over her research? Just as quickly as the anger came it went. Juan was right, she'd come to a cross-roads in her life and she did need more time. He was from the islands. He had the education and the experience. Didn't he have the right to put his name on any future research? She'd seen Cumbre Vieja through to the volcanoes' death, it should be Juan who observed her rebirth.
“Erin, are you there?” Juan's voice shook with concern.
Erin leaned back on the bench and sighed. “You know, Juan, that hurt. It was tough love, but I needed to hear it. You're right. I need to sort out my life and leave Cumbre Vieja to you.” She smiled. “Do I get to stay on as a consultant?”
“You can stay on in any role you want, you know that. I just think you need to sort out some issues first before you'd be any good here. Don't you?”
Erin chuckled and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Maria put you up to this, didn't she?”
“She is a wise woman and she cares about you,” Juan sighed. “She nags me to talk to you.”
Erin got to her feet. “Well, you have. I'll think about what you said, Juan. In the meantime, you take care of Cumbre Vieja.”
Juan's voice softened. “I will, Erin, I promise. You take care of yourself and when you are ready, you come back to your family here and to Cumbre Vieja.”
Erin hung up and sat back down on the park bench. For a long time she watched the squirrels darting around the trees and the birds fluttering from branch to branch overhead. It was a nice campus, with places for research and learning and places for quiet contemplation. She had a lot to consider. So where was she? Her volcano had blown up and her assistant was making noises about wanting to take over the research. Her girlfriend was keeping her at arm's length and sending her all sorts of mixed messages, and she had run up her credit card and had nothing to show for it but two outfits, a small digital camera and a damp cell phone. In short, she was nowhere, with no place to go. Like Chrissy, she should be hurting, but she really wasn't feeling anything. There just had been too much to deal with and she had no emotion left to express.
Chapter Seventeen Opening Doors
Erin's phone rang, she pulled it out of her pocket and flipped it open. “Hello?”
“Good morning, I'd like to speak to Dr. Erin Ray, please.”
“This is Erin Ray.”
“Dr. Ray, this is Dr. Caroline Barker. I'm the director of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory here in Wyoming.”
“Hello, Dr. Barker. I had the pleasure of hearing you deliver a paper in Switzerland two years ago. You people certainly have an interesting and unique area of study.” Erin learned back and smiled. This was a nice surprise, maybe she'd get a chance to deliver a paper on Cumbre Vieja in the US.
“Dr. Ray, I'll come right to the point, we want you on our team. A person with your experience and understanding of volcanos is rare. We are prepared to fly you out here as soon as you are available so you can check us out. I think you'll find we are in a position to make you a very good offer.”
Erin bolted up right, her eyes wide with surprise. “Please call me Erin. I'm very flattered Dr. Barker. May I ask how you heard that I might be looking for a new position?”
“I'm Caroline. I got a call from Agnes Peal at the NOAA. She and I went to school together many years ago and have kept in touch. She wanted to give me a heads up because she said you are too valuable an asset for America to lose and I agreed.” Erin heard the squeak of Barker's chair as she settled back.
“To tell you the truth, Caroline, this is too big a decision for me to make right at the moment. I've just barely survived a tsunami and I need to finish up my work on the Canaries before I could possibly think about considering another post. Could you give me that time?”
“Take all the time you need. I'll be sending you a full outline of the YVO's mandate and how to get in touch with me. I'd appreciate it if you'd send your resume on to us as well, I want to share it with my fellow board members. We want you, Erin. Let us know when you want to come out to take a look at us.”
Erin shook her head in disbelief. “I'll do that, Caroline, and thanks.”
They hung up and Erin sat for a few seconds in total shock. Then she smiled broadly, got to her feet and did a little dance. “Yes!” The YVO would be a plum job. It would open all sorts of avenues of study. Erin could hardly believe her luck. Suddenly, the smile disappeared. Yellowstone was a fantastic area to live, but it was nowhere near the ocean. She sighed. Well, it didn't look like things were going to work out with Chrissy anyway.
Erin slowly walked back to the dorm. She had a lot to think about. She was grateful to Agnes, who saw farther ahead than she had in realizing that she would need to start a new area of research. Contacting a friend at the YVO had been a really nice thing for her to do. It would be an amazing job, but it was not going to appeal to Chrissy. Erin sighed. There probably was no Chrissy. Juan was right, it might be time to find some closure and send her resume to Yellowstone.
When she returned to the room, the lights were off and Chrissy wasn't there. Erin found a note on the bedside table.
Erin,
I'm sorry I yelled at you. It was unfair. I'm such a mess inside. Now that there is time to do so, I need to sort some things out. I've gone to bunk in at the NOAA. I'll be in touch.
Love, Chrissy
Erin stared at the note for a long time, then she crumpled it up and threw it in the wastepaper basket. She was shocked and too tried to deal with this latest twist. She undressed, showered and sagged into her assigned bunk. As a port in a storm, the dorm might be even worse than the garage and that was saying something. With all that was swirling around in her head, she thought she wouldn't be able to sleep, but exhaustion won and she soon drifted off.
Erin's cell phone playing a tune woke her up. She fumbled around and found it under a damp bath towel on the floor.
“Hello,” she croaked out not too clearly. She glanced at the clock, eight in the morning. She looked over at Chrissy's empty bed and the dark cloud of depression settled on her again. Moving on with her life wasn't going to be easy, not easy at all.
“Hello? This is The Canadian Geological Survey Department in British Columbia. Am I speaking to Dr. Erin Ray?”
Erin snapped out of her bleak musings and swung herself upright to focus on what was at hand. “Yes, this is Dr. Ray.”
“This is Dr. Carl Phillips calling. I recently received a call from a friend of mine, Agnes Peal, with the NOAA in Washington. She indicated to me that you might be exploring new career opportunities.”
“Agnes Peal called you?” It took a second for Erin's sleep fogged mind to remember why Agnes would have done that. Feeling chilly in the air conditioning, she pulled the sheet around her naked body.
“Yes. She said she was privy to the information by way of being family,” Carl said innocently.
Erin smiled as she thought about the looks Agnes and Bert had been exchanging. “Yes, I think that assessment is likely to be pretty accurate. May I ask why she phoned you?”
Carl laughed. “I was an exchange student in the same office as Agnes. She sort of mothered me through my apprenticeship. Told me I had great ability but not an ounce of common sense.”
“Ouch!” Erin laughed. It felt good to laugh for a change.
“She was right in her assessment of me at the time. It seems she is still looking after me. Dr. Ray, I've been authorized to offer you a full time position with our geological survey team. In particular, we'd like you to work with the unit that monitors all volcanic and earthquake activities along the fault line here in British Columbia. I'm sure you are aware that some models indicate that when the Big One hits its epicentre might not be in California but just off the coast of Vancouver Island. We need to monitor the situation carefully and prepare for all possible scenarios. I can't promise you a volcano as big as Cumbre Vieja, but I think you'll find the work interesting and challenging.”
Where are you stationed?” Erin asked.
“In Burnaby. We're affiliated with Simon Fraser University,” Phillips explained.
Erin bit her lip. It was a good job, but nowhere near the scale of working with the YVO. Then again it was close to the ocean. Erin shook her head. She had to stop thinking in terms of Chrissy. Whatever they once had, it was over. “Dr. Phillips, I very much appreciate your interest, and I would like to give it the consideration it deserves. Just now, I'm taking time to recover from the tsunami. I was pretty banged up.” Erin flopped back against the pillows. “And I need to wrap up my studies on the Canaries. Would it be possible for you to send me your mandate and your areas of research, as well as an outline of the position being offered? Of course, in the meantime, I'd be glad to send along my resume for your review.”
“The GSO realizes that you must be pretty busy at the moment. We wanted to get in touch with you before others do. We're prepared to making you an offer whenever you are ready to move into another field of research. Let's keep in touch.”
“I'll certainly do that. Thank you for your interest. Good bye.”
Erin flipped her phone off and stared at the ceiling. The two jobs were a sharp contrast to one another. The YVO wanted her and she could probably have some choice in her area of research. The GSC, Erin knew, was under funded and even with an affiliation with a good university, their research would be limited. Still, it was back in Canada and in an area she knew and loved. Those were big pluses in Erin's books. There might be other jobs available to her as well. She had a lot to think about. Her jaw tightened. She had a lot to stop thinking about, too.
She took her shower and got dressed, then checked the various airlines schedules. Naturally, there were no flights going to the Canaries since the disaster, but she could get a flight late that night out of Tampa to England and from there to the Canaries. It would be a rush, but she could make it. She hurriedly packed up her things and checked out of the dorm. She'd have to arrange to have the rented Volvo picked up at the airport. She stopped at a variety store and bought a post card and stamp and sat in the car to fill it in.
Chrissy,
I understand that you need time to sort out your life and come to terms with all that has happened. I'm leaving tonight for England and then will get a flight on to the Canaries to wrap up my work. I've had a few job offers in North America and will be looking into my options.
There will always be a place in my heart that belongs to you. All the best.
Love Erin
Then she cried. Her head against the steering wheel, she sobbed uncontrollably until there were no tears left. Wiping her face and tightening her jaw, she got out of the rented Volvo and dropped the post card into the mailbox. Then she wandered over to stand in the shade of a tree. There was a cooling breeze, but it still smelt of rot and devastation. Was the postal service operating in this area yet? She couldn't be sure. She needed to do more. She took a couple of deep breaths and called the NOAA.
“Hello, I'd like to leave a message for Chrissy Nowak. I believe she is staying there at the moment.”
“Yes, she is. I can try to locate her for you. Who is calling, please?”
“No, a message will be fine. “Would you tell her Erin phoned and that I'm on the way back to the Canary Islands tonight via England. T… tell her… Just tell her that I've sent her a post card. Thanks.” Erin hung up with a shaking hand as she fought for control. Was she running from emotion again, or was she doing the right thing and moving on? She didn't know. What she did know was she couldn't continue to deal with the uncertainly and mixed messages that Chrissy kept giving her.
She pulled herself together and went back into the variety store once more, where she bought herself a large coffee laced with sugar. The woman at the counter looked at her with concern. “You okay, Honey?” she asked.
Erin nodded. “Yes. I'll be okay. I've just got to rebuild my life and saying good bye to the old dreams is hard.”
The woman smiled gently. “The coffee's on the house. You take care of yourself, you hear. That new life will be a good one. Like I told my sister, who got wiped out by that tsunami, we have been given a chance to start again and get it right this time.”
Erin smile. “You're a wise woman. Thanks for caring.” She took her coffee and went out to the car. Yes, she'd try to get it right this time. She couldn't cling to old dreams. She had to dream new ones. Her jaw set in determination, she started out on the road towards a new future.
It was a long depressing drive, followed by a long depressing wait at the airport. Finally, her flight was called and she slumped exhausted into her seat.
***
Late in the day, Agnes found Chrissy sitting on the edge of her cot in the boardroom looking tired and sad. “I brought you a cup of coffee.”
Chrissy looked up in surprise. “Thanks Agnes. I guess you are wondering what I'm doing here.”
Agnes shrugged and sat down beside Erin. “May I speak freely?”
“Sure,” Chrissy sighed and tightly grasped her coffee with both hands. “I'm open to any ideas that can help get my head straight.”
“I'm afraid, Bert, has been rather open about his family while I've been down here. He had a lot to come to terms about himself and talking it out helped him. He cares about you very much and he admitted that he had made a big mistake in wrongly judging Erin. He still doesn't approve of her walking out on you, but he realizes now that the issue wasn't all one sided.”
Chrissy looked up with big brown eyes over flowing with tears. “What do you mean?”
“Taking care of Mother for as long as I did, I had the unique opportunity to observe life from the outside. I think that has given me some insights. Sometimes, Chrissy, we put up walls without even knowing it. Oh, we make excuses, like I'm not ready, or I was hurt and so on. Occasionally those excuses are quite justified, other times they are not and then we need to step back and wonder why we are building those walls.” Agnes put her arm around Chrissy and gave her a one armed hug. “So why are you putting up walls between yourself and Erin?”
“I'm not!” Chrissy protested setting her coffee cup down on the floor by the cot. “Erin hurt me badly and now I'm just so bruised and confused inside I'm not ready …” Chrissy ground to a halt and blushed. She looked at Agnes with startled eyes.
Agnes smiled gently. “Yes, walls. You see, Chrissy, you want to please your family. You want to be accepted by them, but you also want to march to your own drummer and live the lifestyle that you are biologically programmed to live.”
“It's not easy coming out. My brother put up walls, too, until he finally found the man he loved. Then he got the courage to come out. It still isn't always easy, he's faced his share of discrimination and rejection, but he's happy now, really happy. He's found his soul mate and he's learned to be comfortable in his skin.” Agnes patted Chrissy's knee. “I suspect, you've found your soul mate, too. If I might be blunt, she is a much better person than most of your family members. I think you two can overcome any difficulties and be happy together. You just need to let those walls down and be comfortable in your skin.”
Chrissy fell into Agnes's arms and sobbed. “Oh, Agnes, I've messed up so badly!”
“We all do that at times.” Agnes chuckled, patting Chrissy's back reassuringly. “Fortunately, most things can be righted.” She drew back and offered Chrissy a tissue.
Chrissy took it, wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “I seem to always be having people hand me tissues because I'm sobbing like an idiot. I need to contact, Erin. We need to try and sort things out.”
Agnes grimaced and handed Chrissy an interoffice memo. “Erin left a message. She's on her way back to the Canaries.”
Chrissy stared at the paper for some time. “It's too late, isn't it?”
Agnes got to her feet. “Certainly not! Am I or am I not, Agnes Peal, the biggest busybody I know?” She joked. “I have you booked on the same plane in the seat right beside Erin. So, are you going to sit here trying to sort out events that can never be resolved, or are you going to have a quick shower and catch that plane?”
Chrissy jumped up and hugged Agnes excitedly, knocking the woman's glasses on an angle. “You're damn right I'm going to make that flight. Erin Ray is not running out on me again!” She headed for the executive bathroom.
Agnes smiled contentedly. When the note had been sent up from the main desk, she'd acted impulsively, having Gloria check all the flights for that evening until she had managed to locate the flight that Erin was on. She'd even charged the plane reservation to Bert's credit card. She was greatly relieved that her decision was working out and she wouldn't be spending the day making apologies for being an interfering old busybody and looking for a new job. Now she needed to tackle Bert.
She wheeled on her heel and marched out of the boardroom, across the office and over to Bert's office door. Gloria looked up from her desk with a smile. “Well?”
Agnes smiled back. “She's going after her.” The two women did a high five and then Agnes knocked and went into Bert's office.
She found the man she loved scowling at the computer screen. “Bert, Chrissy needs a ride to Tampa to catch a flight to England this evening. She has to make a connecting flight to the Canary Islands. It's none of my business, but I understand it's a father's prerogative to give his daughter away.”
“What? Chrissy's eloping?” Bert spluttered, taking his glasses off and looking up at Agnes in shock. She smiled. Bert had told her only this morning that he found her a remarkable woman and that she looked prettier each day. She felt at the moment that might just be true.
“I sincerely hope so. In any event, she plans on going after Erin and proving to her that she is ready to love. Let me bring you up to date. We haven't got long.” Agnes sat down and crossed her legs.
She saw Bert's glance travel down her legs. She had nice legs she knew. “Okay. I guess you'd better tell me what's going on in my own family because I'll be damned if I know.” He brought his eyes up to meet Agnes's. She proceeded to set him straight. Bert sat there with his mouth open in surprise.
Chapter Eighteen Trying to Get It Right
Still in a state of utter disbelief, Bert got his car and drove it up to the back door to pick Chrissy up. How the hell had he become henpecked before he'd even gotten into a serious relationship? He smiled. That Agnes was one hell of a woman.
It was Agnes that brought Chrissy to the door and helped her get her few things into the car. Chrissy gave her a big hug. “You are the mother I never had,” she said as she climbed in beside her dad.
Agnes blushed and wiped away a tear. She leaned into the open window. “Don't worry, Bert, I have your notes for the meeting this afternoon. Everything will be okay until you get back tomorrow.”
Bert smiled. “I know it will. Thanks Aggie!”
Bert drove slowly and carefully at first as the roads were still not completely cleared of debris and pot holes and sink holes were common.
Chrissy sat silently thinking things over and then turned in her seat to face her father. “Dad?”
“Yes, honey?” Bert said, putting his sunglasses on.
“Agnes Peal is one in a million. You'd be nuts not to marry her and if you cheat on her like you did Mom, I will personally hunt you down.”
Bert choked and coughed. “Well, that's pretty straight forward and to the point. Chrissy, I think I could very well have found someone special in Agnes, but its early days yet. I promise you this, if things do work out between us, I'll be a much better husband this time around.”
“Good. Thanks for driving me to the airport.” Chrissy turned back to look out the windshield.
Bert tapped his fingers on the stirring wheel and then cleared his throat. “Ahh, I like Erin. She'd make a good … well … whatever you'd call her.” He stammered to a stop in confusion.
Chrissy laughed. “Nice try at being understanding, Dad. She'd be my wife and I'd be hers, but we haven't got to that stage yet. I think we have a lot to sort out and talk over before we can move forward.”
Blushing, Bert smiled. “Er, okay. Well, I just want to say that Erin is one in a million and you'd be nuts not to marry her.”
Chrissy laughed and gave him a punch. “And will you hunt me down if I don't?”
Bert chuckled. “I won't have to. Agnes will and I suspect she's got skills that would make mine look like amateur hour.”
That made them both laugh and their conversation then flowed freely. They talked about Barbara, what had happened and how they'd all gone wrong in their separate ways. A lot of baggage was opened up and aired on the trip to Tampa and although a lot of things were left unresolved, they had started to re-establish a bond and a trust that hadn't been there in a long time.
Bert squealed into the airport with very little time for Chrissy to clear Customs and make her flight. Chrissy gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, picked up her bags and ran. Bert smiled, watching her go until the driver behind him honked his horn.
***
Erin was already buckled in, her eyes closed and her head resting against the seat in preparation for the long flight. She didn't react at all when Chrissy quietly took the seat beside her. By the time the video on plane safety had begun, Erin was sleeping soundly.
Chrissy took the opportunity to observe her. Despite the healthy colour of a fading sunburn, Erin's face, even in sleep, looked strained and gaunt. Erin had been through hell for her and Chrissy had been so absorbed in her own issues, that she's never really taken a clear look at all that Erin was risking and sacrificing for her. Somehow she'd have to make it up to her. Hopefully it wasn't too late.
Erin stirred as the smell of fresh coffee drifted from the plane's galley. Chrissy smiled. Only coffee could rouse Erin from a deep sleep. Erin's eyes opened and blinked and then opened wide in surprise.
Chrissy smiled. “Hi.”
***
“Er, hi,” Erin responded in confusion trying to blink the sleep from her eyes and untangle herself from her blanket. “Er, Chrissy? What are you doing here?”
“I'm here because it's where I should be, right here at your side.”
Erin frowned, then nodded and sat up. She placed the blanket over their laps and grasped Chrissy's hand in her own. “Please don't let this be a dream,” she said.
“Something to drink?” The flight attendant asked looking at them across her cart.
“Two coffees please, both black and one with sugar.” Chrissy said as she and Erin pulled down their trays.
They both took a sip of the coffee before looking at each other again. It felt warm and strong going down. “Thanks. I needed this,” Erin said.
Chrissy nodded. “You're welcome.” Sitting as close to Erin as possible, she inhaled deeply and then let the breath out slowly. “First, I want to apologize about the way I acted last night. It wasn't fair or rational. I'd like to promise it won't happen again, but I've been so emotional lately anything is possible.”
Erin shrugged and said nothing. Chrissy had been way out of line, but she didn't want an argument. She sipped her coffee instead and didn't respond. She saw Chrissy swallow hard before she forged ahead. “Erin, I've been a damn fool. You are a very special person and you went through hell to save me despite me treating you poorly. I've loved you from that first dance, but I kept putting up walls because I couldn't face who I was or my family's scorn. Then when you walked out on me, I used that rejection to justify what I'd done. I'd like to say I learnt from the experience, but I didn't. I kept putting up walls. I had a relationship.”
Erin's jaw tightened and she gazed into her half-finished coffee unable to look at Chrissy as she went on. “I never loved her. I used her to try to prove something to myself and to you. She left me, it was the wisest thing she ever did. And again, I hid behind a wall of rejection instead of facing up to my issues. Then you showed up again and started banging on my walls big time.”
Erin saw tears trickling down Chrissy's face. She pulled a tissue from her pocket and handed it across to Chrissy before speaking for the first time. “I wasn't trying to mess you up. I wanted …” She sighed heavily. “I wanted to show I'd matured. I wanted to try and win you back.”
Chrissy managed a weak smile. “You did. I was just so used to avoiding my issues, I couldn't express anything, but anger when you wanted me to deal with them. Then … then everything horrible happened. We lived a nightmare, didn't we?”
Chrissy reached her hand out under the blanket and Erin took it in her own again giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Yeah, we did. But we survived … together.”
Chrissy nodded. “I've got a lot of issues to work out, Erin. After a bad night, I woke up late today and just sat there for hours not knowing how to begin to sort out all the emotion going on inside. Suddenly, there was Agnes with coffee and some tough love. She made me realize that I was trying to do was rebuild my emotional walls that had been swept away. What was I staying in Florida for? My boat is gone. I can't imagine there'll be any research on hammerheads going on for some time, so I don't have a job. My condo is unlivable and, well, you've met my family. The only thing of value I have in my life is your love. The only thing that really matters is you. I've been a fool. Please, Erin, forgive me.”
Erin blinked back tears and when she spoke her voice was rough with emotion. “There's nothing to forgive. You were right too. I wanted love and commitment, but I didn't stick around at the first sign of trouble. I couldn't handle the emotional upheaval. I wanted this picture perfect relationship that I'd imagined for myself by looking into other people's windows, never realizing that life has its up and downs and that's all part of any relationship. I love you, Chrissy. I want to marry you. I won't push that. I know you are feeling pretty raw at the moment, but how about we just agree we love each other and want a future together.”
Chrissy wrapped her arm around Erin's snuggled as close as she dared in a public venue. “I love you! And I want all my tomorrows to be at your side,” she whispered.
Erin beamed with joy. “That's settled then.” She swallowed and then continued. “There are a few things I need to tell you.”
Chrissy sat up worry in her eyes. “There isn't anyone else is there, Erin?”
“No! Nothing like that. It's just that my volcano blew up so I don't really have a job either. I think it's time for me to move on. I could go back and study Cunbre Vieja rebuilding itself, but I realized that it should be Juan's study not mine. He's ready to take it on, so I'm going back just to wrap up my part of the study and then I'll have to look for work.”
She looked into Chrissy's eyes. “If you want, we could live in Florida. Get your condo fixed up and either sell it or move into it. I'm riding a bit of a publicity wave at the moment so I'm sure I can find work at a college or university in the area. In fact, I've already had a few offers from people Agnes Peal contacted.” Erin smiled hesitantly. “I don't think I'd be teaching volcanology in Florida.”
Chrissy looked indignant and gave Erin a poke. “No way! You'd be as miserable as sin. You need your volcanoes. I just ask that you look for work close to an ocean for me, okay?”
“Okay,” Erin smiled. “In the meantime, we can spend time in the Canaries just sorting out some issues and relaxing while we recuperate. How does that sound?”
Chrissy looked around to see if anyone was watching, then leaned over and kissed Erin on the cheek. “Foolish woman. As soon as you see that blown up crater, you'll be dying to hike up it. You know, I think I might be able to help out with some underwater surveys for you. We're a team, Ray. Get used to the idea.”
Erin laughed. “I think I like that idea already. Thanks. Juan and Maria will love getting to know you. I'm their children's godmother.”
Chrissy pressed close against Erin's side. Everything has been swept away but tomorrow was a new day and for them a new beginning.
The Factual Data on Cumbre Vieja, La Palma, Canary Islands
Cumbre Vieja's pattern of eruption has been irregular, with some eruptions only ten years apart and others a hundred years apart. The volcano hasn't had an eruption since 1949.
Geologists studying the terrain have concluded that the west slope of Cumbre Vieja is unstable and in the event of a large eruption, a slide will occur. In the case of a complete flank failure, the largest tsunami in recorded history could be created.
In the past, reliable institutes have established computer models that indicate that such a massive flank failure was likely and would spread 60km off shore and raise the ocean for a kilometre around by as much as 900m. This dome of water would eventually collapse causing a massive tsunami. Such a tsunami would reach the African coast within an hour with waves as high as 100m. Nine hours later, waves of 50m would roll ashore in Florida.
The west slope of Cumber Vieja is unstable and the volcano is active, however, new geological evidence indicates that Cumber Vieja is formed of two distinct layers of rock, the bottom layer being more stable and harder. This lowers the chance of a complete flank failure considerably.
It should be noted that complete flank failures of this size are very rare and there has not been one in recorded history. Despite earlier models, volcanologists now feel that the chances of Cumbre Vieja's western side completely collapsing suddenly are unlikely although not impossible.
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