He waited in silence.
And then her voice came reassuringly through the radio. “There’s another alcove in here.”
“Anything in it?”
“No. This one’s empty.”
More silence.
“Okay, I’m coming up to the end of the tunnel. I can see the exit.”
“All right. I’ll swim through behind you.”
Tom swam confidently through the carved tunnel. He shined his flashlight through the alcove. Confirming Gen’s assessment, there was nothing. The place was empty. He kicked his fins and within minutes reached the other side shortly behind Genevieve.
She greeted him at the exit. “Now where?”
“Now we grab our gold and return to the surface. We’re going to be out of Heliox if we play any longer.”
“All right.” She started kicking her fins vigorously, as she swam towards the center cockpit. “Race you to it.”
Tom casually kicked his legs. He looked like he was swimming slower than her, but his six foot five frame meant that he didn’t have to work nearly as hard to reach the cockpit before her.
He felt her hand on his shoulder. “Okay Tom, where is it?”
“Where’s what?”
“The gold!”
Tom shined his flashlight where he’d left the gold.
It was completely blank.
A small marking in the old wood where the golden handle had scratched at it, was the only evidence that he’d ever left it there. He carefully shined the light toward the bottom of the center cockpit. The wood was still solid and there was little marine life attached. If the gold had fallen, it would have stood out like a lighthouse. “I have no idea.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Tom. Where is it?”
A slight shiver of a ghost ran up his spine as Tom recalled the image of the green specter inside the hull which had been staring at him. “I don’t know.
Chapter Forty Five
Sam and Veyron were greeted by Donald as they approached the scrapyard.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” he said in his southern drawl.
“Morning, Don. Any news overnight?”
He shook his head. “No, were you expecting anything?”
“Not particularly. Just hoping,” Sam replied.
“What’s your plan today?”
“We won’t stay long,” Sam said. “Probably just have one last walk around. See if anything provides answers. I want to get back to the Maria Helena by this afternoon. We have other work to do. If the Global Star can’t provide us with answers, we’ll have to take our questions elsewhere.”
He slowly started the long and cumbersome climb up the nearly vertical stairs. “You still believe this wasn’t a random event?” Veyron asked.
“I’m not sure what I believe.” Sam stared up at the remains of the superstructure. “It’s not that it’s beyond my ability to believe that a rogue wave could destroy a vessel this large. I think the problem I have believing any of this is that this would be the fourth vessel destroyed in less than three months, from the same area.”
“That is some coincidence, but hopefully we won’t have any more for another fifty years?”
“I hope so.”
Once they reached the deck Donald turned and said, “All right gentlemen. This is where I’m going to have to leave you. I have quite a busy day ahead of me.”
“Okay, thanks again,” Sam replied.
Veyron watched Donald leave. “What do you make of him?”
“Do I think he’s hiding something and that he’s actually behind it?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think he’s bright enough for that sort of thing. No, I think he comes to work and that’s it. But someone’s responsible for this, and I’m determined to find out who.”
His cell phone rang. He picked it up before the second ring. “Hello?”
“Sam? It’s Marcus here.”
“Yes?” Sam couldn’t think of anyone he knew by that name.
“I’m a metallurgist in Fort Lauderdale. You sent me a piece of steel from a ship to be examined.”
Sam stopped walking so he could concentrate. “Oh right. Marcus. What did you find?”
“The metal hasn’t been touched by an acid.”
“Really? What could have caused that damage then?”
“I don’t know. If I were to hazard a stupid guess, I’d say that you’ve found yourself the world’s first termites who concentrate on metal instead of wood.”
“That is crazy.”
“You should see this thing under a microscope. There are millions upon millions of tiny holes in the metal. Clean cuts too, as though ants have chewed away at it.”
Chapter Forty Six
Sam borrowed Donald’s car. A Dodge Pickup. And drove the several blocks so that he and Veyron could see the metallurgist in person. The security camera followed them as they approached the workshop. A balding man of average height and build came out to meet them.
“Hi, Marcus is it?” Sam asked offering his hand.
“Yes. You must be Sam Reilly?”
Sam nodded. “This is Veyron. He’s my chief engineer aboard the Maria Helena.”
“Come on through. And I’ll show you what we’ve got.”
The security camera followed them inside the building.
“Do you have further ideas about what could be causing this?” Sam asked.
“None, but you’re gonna love this!” Marcus handed him the honeycombed steel which he’d sent away the day before to be analyzed. “What do you think of that?”
Sam held it in his hands. Moved it around a little. “What about it? It’s the same piece I sent you.”
“Actually, it’s the identical piece you sent me — less two pounds.”
“What do you mean, less two pounds?”
“I mean I cut off a couple thin slices to examine, and then weighed the remainder. When I got in this morning I picked it up and noticed straight away that it had lost some of its weight. Naturally I put it back on the scales and confirmed the impossible. Nearly two pounds to be exact. This morning I left the entire thing inside a bucket filled with denatured alcohol. Thought I’d better kill whatever bugs it had inside, before the damn things demolished my work shed.”
That seemed like a logical step to Sam. “And? What happened?”
“Well, nothing came out. But the weight now appears to be staying the same. So that’s a start.”
Sam smiled impatiently. Everyone here seems to be superstitious. “Can I see it under a microscope?”
Marcus placed a small slice of the honeycombed steel under the microscope. “Have a look for yourself, Mr. Reilly.”
Sam leaned over. Closed his left eye, and looked through the eyepiece. Using his right hand he adjusted the focus of the lens.
“Well that’s just the strangest thing I’ve seen in a long time.” Sam motioned to Veyron to have a look. “What do you make of this?”
Veyron had a quick look and replied. “Well. What did I say? You’ve found yourself the first termite in history that eats steel.”
Chapter Forty Seven
Sam wanted answers, not more questions. “Any idea what could do this sort of damage to steel?”
Marcus shook his head. “No. None. I’ve studied metals and corrosion for nearly thirty years. I’ve never seen anything that even remotely looks like this under a microscope.”
Veyron grabbed Sam by the shoulder and whispered. “We’ve seen enough. Someone’s been lying to us, and I just realized how we’re going to find out who.”
Sam turned to face Marcus. “Thanks for your help. I think we’ve seen enough.”
He followed them to the front of his workshop. “If you do find out what caused this. Please let me know.”
Sam promised to keep him in on the loop.
After they walked out the door and got back in the Dodge pickup Sam turned to Veyron and said, “What’s this all about?”