Dead in the Water Read Online Free

scowled. “Before I knew she was sleeping with him.”
    â€œHuh.”
    Olivia glanced toward shore. Then she turned and looked over to
Jeopardy
. “I think we should go back and tell Patrick.”
    â€œWhat’s he going to do?”
    â€œCall and report it.”
    I stopped rowing for a moment and stretched out my legs. “Can’t it wait?” I was dying to walk a bit. Hauling up sails and working those winches is a great upper body workout, and keeping your balance on a boat that is rolling and pounding in the waves uses muscles you didn’t know you had. Still, after being on the boat all day, my legs were stiff and cramped.
    Olivia hesitated. She looked out at the cabin cruiser. In the early evening light, its white hull gleamed against the dark water. “I guess they’re not going anywhere.”
    â€œNah, they wouldn’t want to leave their abalone.” I grinned to let her know I was just kidding.
    She didn’t grin back. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
    I shrugged. “I don’t know. It just seems a bit unlikely. There are lots of other reasonsthey could be diving. And a few shells on the deck...well, lots of people pick up shells.”
    Olivia’s eyes were icy. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll talk to Patrick about it, and we’ll see what he says.”
    We walked along the shore in silence for a while, but it wasn’t the friendly silence that we’d had earlier. I thought about apologizing, but I didn’t see why I should. She was just making a huge deal out of what was probably nothing at all.
    When we got back to our boat, Patrick, Joey and Blair were all down below playing cards. Olivia didn’t even say hello before she launched into her story. She stood there, her hands on her skinny hips and her black hair all wild from the dinghy ride, and started ranting about endangered abalone and poaching and scuba gear.
    Patrick listened with an amused half smile. Finally he held up one hand. “Hold on there, Olivia. Are you serious? You think the men on the boat over there are doing something illegal? Just because they have scuba gear?”
    He made it sound ridiculous, and even though I agreed with him, I couldn’t help feeling bad for Olivia.
    She nodded and folded her arms across her chest defensively. “And shells on their deck. Yes.”
    Joey laughed. “Man, don’t tell me you’re one of those conspiracy theorists. Hey, Olivia, do you think Princess Diana faked her own death?”
    She gave him a withering look and didn’t bother to respond. “Patrick...look, my dad’s a marine biologist. I do actually know something about this and I’m pretty sure I saw shucked abalone shells on that boat.”
    Patrick sighed and climbed the companionway steps, sticking his head out the hatch and looking over toward the cabin cruiser. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one. “Listen, honey...”
    â€œOlivia.”
    â€œOlivia, then. I really doubt they’re doing anything they shouldn’t be doing, but if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll go over there and have a word with them.”
    â€œGreat. Great.” Olivia sat down at the table with Blair and Joey. “Thanks, Patrick. I mean, I hope I’m wrong, but I’d feel much better if you checked it out.”
    He winked. “No problem.”
    Patrick got in the dinghy and set off, the thrum of the engine jarring in the quiet anchorage.
    Blair shook his head at Olivia. “That was a good game of cards you just interrupted.”
    â€œSo excuse me for thinking that a threatened species is slightly more important than a game of...what, Crazy Eights?”
    â€œPoker. And I had a full house.” He tossed his cards on the table and ran his hands through his blond-highlighted hair. “Anyway, it’s just a freaking fish. I mean, okay, if it was baby seals or