Dead in the Water Read Online Free Page A

something...”
    Olivia looked furious. “I hate how people only care about animals that are cute. Anyway, it’s not a fish. It’s a marine mollusc.”
    Blair started laughing. “Mollusc,” he said, like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. Joey punched his brother on the shoulder andjoined in, snorting loudly and spluttering his Coke everywhere. “Mollusc.”
    â€œA mollusc is a shellfish,” Olivia said coldly. “Abalone is a univalve mollusc, meaning it has a single part shell—not two parts joined together like a clam.”
    Blair and Joey started laughing even harder. A fine spray of Joey’s Coke settled on my glasses. Nice. I’d dreamed about this trip for months and here I was, stuck on a boat with a shellfish-obsessed girl and two junior yacht clubbers whose combined IQ was probably less than that of a...mollusc.

chapter six
    We had all drifted outside and were sitting in the cockpit, slapping at mosquitoes and watching dark clouds forming along the horizon when Patrick returned. He’d been gone for a while: the man in the cabin cruiser must have been a bit friendlier to him than he’d been to us.
    â€œWell, you can all relax,” he told us as he climbed the stern ladder and stepped aboard. “No small sea creatures are having their rights violated.”
    Olivia tilted her head back and looked up at him searchingly. “So, what are those men doing here then?”
    â€œThose men are Keith and Victor. They’re just enjoying the scenery. All right?” He laughed. “The only crime they’re committing is cruising on that diesel-guzzling stinkpot instead of a sailboat.”
    â€œAnd the dive gear?” Olivia asked stubbornly.
    â€œThere’re some wrecks nearby. They’re divers. Like I said, they’re just checking out the local scenery.” Patrick grinned. Olivia almost smiled. Then he flicked his cigarette butt into the water, and Olivia’s mouth opened in a horrified circle. For a second I thought she might jump overboard to retrieve it, but instead she just stood up, turned and disappeared down below into the cabin.
    â€œMan, there goes a girl who hates to be wrong,” Patrick said.
    We all laughed, but I felt a pang of guilt and hoped she hadn’t heard him. Olivia was definitely a sore loser, but she was the only one who hadn’t called me Spacey.
    Patrick looked out at the clouds. “Doesn’t look good,” he said. “Wind’s picking up too.”
    I hadn’t noticed, but he was right. A strong breeze was starting to whistle through the rigging, and the water was no longer smooth as glass.
    â€œThis anchorage should be okay,” Patrick said. “We might have a bit of an uncomfortable night, but it’ll be safe enough.” He rubbed his cheeks and chin thoughtfully. “Not sure about tomorrow though. If this keeps up we won’t be able to cross the Nawetti Bar.”
    â€œWe’re going to a bar?” Joey asked hopefully.
    Patrick chuckled. “The Nawetti Bar. It’s a stretch where the water suddenly gets shallower, which creates all kinds of currents and nasty sailing conditions. It’s a tricky bit of water, but we have to cross it to get around Cape Scott.” He shrugged. “Often boats have to wait here a few days to get the right weather. I’d hoped we’d get lucky and go early tomorrow at slack tide, but...well, let’s listen to the weather.”
    He switched the VHF radio onto the marine weather channel. I tried to listen, but the monotone voice of the weather guy was putting me to sleep. I found myself thinking about my dad and how he didn’t want me to sail, and Olivia, whose dad was making her learn even though she couldn’t care less. Fathers were strange. Why couldn’t they just accept their kids as they were?
    â€œEarth to Spacey!” Joey yelled, snapping me back to the