Chapter 7: The Water Wasn't Deep Enough
The boat hook struck the water beside my shoulder.
I jerked away just as Graham swept it toward me again.
“Stop moving!”” he shouted.
The absurdity of it almost made me laugh.
He'd thrown me into the Atlantic, and now he was ordering me to cooperate with my own rescue.
The waves lifted me toward the hull, then dragged me backward. I swallowed a mouthful of salt water and coughed until my chest hurt.
“Graham!”” I screamed.
He leaned farther over the railing.
“Give me your hand!””
I reached for him.
At the last moment, he pulled the boat hook away.
My fingertips brushed the metal shaft.
Then the next wave carried me into darkness.
A bright light swept across the water.
“MAN OVERBOARD!”” Captain Mercer shouted.
“Deploy the rescue line!””
Graham turned toward him.
“She fell! I tried to reach her!””
“Then get the line!””
Captain Mercer seized a flotation ring and hurled it over the railing.
It struck the water several feet from me.
I swam toward it with whatever strength remained, my nightdress dragging around my legs.
The ring bobbed away.
I stretched out my arm.
My fingers caught the rope.
“Hold on, Natalie!”” Miguel shouted from above.
I wrapped the line around my wrist.
The first pull nearly tore my shoulder from its socket, but I refused to let go. Hands hauled the rope from the deck, dragging me toward the yacht while waves slammed me against the hull.
My hip struck metal.
Pain flashed through my side.
Then the rescue platform lowered beside me.
Captain Mercer leaned over the edge.
“Give me your hand!””
I raised it.
He caught my wrist and pulled as Miguel grabbed the back of my nightdress.
Together, they dragged me onto the platform.
I collapsed on the wet metal, coughing seawater onto the deck.
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
Then Captain Mercer knelt beside me.
“Natalie? Can you hear me?””
I nodded.
“Good. Keep breathing. Slowly.””
Miguel wrapped a thermal blanket around my shoulders.
His hands were shaking.
“I thought we lost you.””
“I thought I lost me, too.””
He gave a short, disbelieving laugh, then helped Captain Mercer lift me into the service corridor.
The door slammed behind us, shutting out most of the wind.
I could finally hear my own breathing.
“Where's Graham?”” I asked.
Captain Mercer exchanged a look with Miguel.
“Contained for the moment,” he said.
“Victor? Celeste?””
“Still on deck.””
“Don't let them leave.””
The captain crouched in front of me.
“They won't be leaving without an escort.””
His bruised forehead glistened beneath the corridor light. I pointed toward it.
“What happened to you?””
He looked away.
“Mr. Whitmore and his father locked me in my cabin after I refused to alter our destination.””
“Why did you sign the route chart?””
“I didn't.””
“I saw your signature.””
“It was forged.””
Captain Mercer reached into his jacket and removed a small waterproof envelope.
“Before they locked me up, I hid this.””
He opened it carefully.
Inside was a printed copy of an email, a page from the ship's log, and a photograph of a bank transfer.
The email was from Victor Whitmore to someone named Daniel Cross.
The subject line read: *Greyhook Arrangement.*
I read the first few lines.
Victor had arranged for the yacht to reach Greyhook Cove after midnight, where a smaller vessel would be waiting offshore. The email discussed the destruction of the yacht's original navigation records, the transfer of cash, and a payment to a contractor.
“What is this?”” I whispered.
“Evidence,” Captain Mercer said.
“I've spent the last two days trying to establish why Mr. Whitmore was changing the itinerary. When I challenged him, he showed me an authorization signed by your father.””
“My father?””
The captain nodded.
“At least, the signature looked like his.””
“It's forged. Graham stole documents from Dad's office.””
“That's what I suspected.””
Miguel helped me onto a bench.
“Can you contact Mara?”” he asked.
I checked the communicator, which I'd tucked into the pocket of the borrowed deck jacket before Graham led me outside.
Miraculously, it still worked.
I pressed the call button.
Mara answered immediately.
“Natalie!””
“I'm alive.””
A breath escaped her.
“Thank God.””
“I'm sending you the captain's evidence. Graham tried to push me overboard. I fell into the water, but Captain Mercer and Miguel pulled me out.””
“I have a patrol vessel approaching your coordinates,” Mara said.
“The weather has slowed the response, but they're on the way.””
“What about my parents?””
“We've reached your mother. Your father is with her.””
I closed my eyes in relief.
“Are they safe?””
There was a pause.
“We moved them from the house as soon as I received your first call. But Natalie, there's a problem.””
I sat upright.
“What?””
“Your father left the safe house less than twenty minutes ago. He received a call from someone claiming to be one of our security officers.””
My stomach dropped.
“What did they say?””
“That your mother had been involved in a traffic accident and he needed to come immediately.””
“No.””
“We're tracking his vehicle. We believe he may be heading toward a private medical facility outside Boston.””
“That's where Graham said they would take care of him.””
“Exactly.””
I looked at Captain Mercer.
“Can you turn the yacht around?””
“Not safely in this weather,” he replied.
“But I can transmit our position and the information we've recovered.””
“Mara, send people after my father. Now.””
“They're already moving.””
The line crackled.
Then Mara added, “Natalie, we also found the blue ledger.””
I stared at the communicator.
“Where?””
“In the security archive at your father's office. He'd hidden a duplicate there months ago.””
“What's in it?””
“Payments, shell companies, forged authorizations. It's a detailed record of money diverted from Bennett Maritime over the last eighteen months.””
I remembered Graham's blue folder.
“Is he stealing from my family?””
“Not just stealing. He's been transferring company funds through accounts connected to Victor. There's also evidence that someone inside Bennett Maritime has been helping them.””
“Who?””
“We're still reviewing it.””
The door at the far end of the corridor opened.
Two crew members escorted Victor inside. His hands were bound with plastic restraints, and his face was red with fury.
“Get this woman away from the communications equipment!”” he barked.
Captain Mercer stood.
“Mr. Whitmore, sit down.””
“You have no authority to detain me!””
“I'm the captain of this vessel. You've interfered with navigation, assaulted crew members, and attempted to falsify the ship's logs. Sit down.””
Victor looked at me.
His expression changed.
“You little fool. Do you have any idea what you've done?””
I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders.
“Yes.””
“You've destroyed everything.””
“No, Victor. You did that when you decided my life was worth less than your money.””
He lunged toward me.
One of the crew members blocked him and forced him into a chair.
Victor spat on the floor.
“You think this is over? You think Graham is going to take the blame while you sail away with your millions?””
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?””
Victor laughed.
“Ask your father why he created the blue ledger. Ask him why he kept a record of every payment made to Graham. Ask him who Graham was working for before he met you.””
Captain Mercer moved between us.
“That's enough.””
But Victor continued shouting as the crew dragged him away.
“You don't even know what your father did!””
The door slammed.
I turned to the captain.
“Was my father involved in this?””
“I don't know.””
“Then we find out.””
Miguel looked at the floor.
“There's one other thing.””
I faced him.
“What?””
“When Graham was speaking to Owen earlier, I heard him mention a second vessel. He said it would arrive at Greyhook Cove to collect something valuable before the authorities reached us.””
“The ledger?””
“I thought so.””
I looked at the evidence in the captain's hands.
Then I heard a loud crash from somewhere above us.
A crew member rushed into the corridor.
“Captain! The tender is missing!””
Captain Mercer went pale.
“The tender?””
“It's been launched. Someone cut the stern securing lines.””
I stood too quickly. The corridor spun around me, and Miguel caught my elbow.
“Who was aboard?”” I asked.
The crew member swallowed.
“Graham, ma'am.””
Captain Mercer swore.
“And his mother?””
The man shook his head.
“Celeste is still aboard.””
My heart pounded.
Graham had escaped the yacht.
He knew the authorities were coming.
And he was heading toward Greyhook Cove, carrying whatever he believed would save him.
Mara's voice crackled through the communicator.
“Natalie, we have an urgent update.””
“What?””
“Your father's car has been located.””
I closed my eyes.
“Is he alive?””
“He is. But the driver who diverted him is missing, and your father is refusing to leave the scene.””
“Put him on the line.””
A moment later, my father's voice came through.
“Natalie?””
“Dad!””
“Sweetheart, where are you?””
“Still on the yacht. I'm alive.””
He exhaled so sharply I heard the breath catch in his throat.
“I should never have let you marry him.””
“Dad, this isn't your fault.””
“Listen to me. Mara tells me Graham has escaped.””
“He took the tender. He's headed for Greyhook Cove.””
Silence.
Then my father said something that made my blood run cold.
“Then you must not let him reach the second boat.””
“Why?””
“Because that boat isn't there to rescue him.””
He paused.
“It's there to collect the original ledger. And if Graham reaches it, every record that could send him to prison will disappear.””
I looked through the corridor window.
Far beyond the yacht's stern, a single red light bobbed against the black water.
A smaller vessel was moving through the storm.
May you like
And from the direction it was heading, I realized Graham wasn't running away from the evidence.
He was going back for it.
