“Who’s taking over your scene?”
The Officer’s eyes darted around, cautiously, as though someone might be eavesdropping on their conversation. Then, having determined the entire beach was empty, less a couple of people walking along the beach far in the distance and a Golden Retriever playing in the waves, he said, “Look. The FBI are taking over this one.”
“The FBI?” Sam asked. “Does that seem strange to you?”
“No. Why? The FBI look to protect against foreign attacks against the United States. This ship certainly isn’t from around here.”
Sam made a coy grin. “It’s hardly an attempted attack on American soil, either.”
“You can say that, but if some of these parasites that have hitched a ride on its hull over the past several years end up in our water system, it can be every bit as dangerous and costly to the people of America to deal with.”
“Sure, but that’s why you’re here,” Sam said. “Isn’t that your area of expertise?”
The Officer shrugged. “Yeah. Ordinarily. But this one’s different…”
“Why?”
“Because the ship’s come from Japan.”
Sam made a conspiratorial sigh. “Sure, but this is the third vessel from Japan to wash up on Cannon Beach this year. I looked it up. And yet this is the first one the FBI have taken any notice of.”
The Officer placed his palms skyward, the muscles of his face going taut into a slight grimace. “Look. I don’t know what you think you’re getting at, but right now, my only job is to keep tourists, and would be snoopers from dangerously climbing on board this shipwreck. So, unless you have something else to offer, I suggest you two keep walking.”
Sam glanced at Guinevere, who was wild with frustration, and then back to the Fish and Wildlife Officer. “Okay.”
“Thank you for your understanding, sir.” The Officer looked hopeful to be done with the challenging questions. “You two have a lovely day. Once again, I’m very sorry for your loss, ma’am.”
Sam said, “I have another theory why the FBI are involved in this.”
The Officer met his eye defiantly. “Yeah, and what would that be?”
Sam took a wild leap. “I bet it would have something to do with the bodies.”
The Officer swallowed down the bile that rose in his throat at the thought. He knew exactly what he was referring to, but didn’t know how he’d heard about it so fast. He hadn’t even had time to make his official report yet.
Instead, the Officer remained silent. “What about them?”
“It’s a pretty bizarre scene. Those men were probably dead before the tsunami hit, weren’t they?”
The Officer went pale. “How could you possibly know that?”
Sam persisted. “The skulls were all separated from their bodies. Each one intricately arranged, set in delicate poses, as though a child was playing with some sort of dolls. That’s the case, isn’t it?”
The Officer nodded. “Sure. I found the remains of four sailors set up with their skulls facing each other on a dining table as though they were having a conversation. Someone obviously put a lot of time and effort into the hoax.”
“Or something evil, with the mindset of a child, was playing with the bodies of those it murdered,” Sam countered.
The Fish and Wildlife Officer arched an eyebrow. “You think it was a monster that did that to the bodies?”
“Don’t you?”
“No. I think someone found the boat before we had a chance to board it. Seeing the remains of the four sailors, with their flesh long since eaten away by fish, decided to piece the bones together to set up a bizarre scene on board. You care to have another explanation?”
“Yeah, sure…”
“What?”
“I think your monster murdered everyone on board the Hoshi Maru, before inevitably becoming stranded there until the wreckage, half afloat, half sunk, managed to drift all the way to the shores of Oregon.”
“If this… monster, so you say, lived all those years on the disabled ship, where is it now?”
Sam said, “It got off the shipwreck as soon as it reached land… and like any other predator would do, it went immediately in search of new game.”
“What makes you so certain?”
Sam Reilly crossed his arms. “Because I just came from Tillamook State Forest, where I witnessed a scene just like that…”
Chapter Eighteen
There was no doubt in Sam’s mind that the Fish and Wildlife Officer had been shaken by his news. Even so, the man wasn’t going to budge about letting them on board. It was strange. In his heart he knew it was unlikely that they would find any answers for Guinevere, but somehow, he still wanted to try, for her sake.
Sometimes, even finding nothing was closure enough.
He picked up his cell phone, scrolled through his contacts list, and pressed the call button over the one listed as Secretary of Defense.
She answered immediately. “Reilly, do you know what’s happening at the Hanford site?”
“Not yet, Madam Secretary. I’ve been delayed…”
“You’re not on the site, yet?”
“No, ma’am. The Tahila motored up the Columbia River late last night. It should be on scene shortly. I was to meet them in Portland, but my car broke down.”
“Really?” The Secretary didn’t try to hide her disapproval. “We’re talking about what may end up being one of the worst environmental disasters involving nuclear waste in America, and you’ve been delayed by a faulty car? How incredibly careless of you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I suppose you have Tom Bower running the show until you get there?”
“Yes, ma’am. He’ll give me a report as soon as he has eyes in the water.”
“He’s going to dive the site?”
Sam answered immediately. “Most likely. He’ll probably use an array of submersible ROVs to locate the primary source, but once he does that, he’ll want to see it for himself. Trust me, nothing’s been delayed while I’m stuck here.”
“I don’t need to remind you what’s at play here, do I?”
“No, ma’am. I understand. Forgetting the obvious environmental disaster that awaits, this is a political crucible, a boiling pot, ready to explode. A nuclear processing plant leftover from the original Manhattan Project, its nuclear waste in the production of plutonium stored and slowly seeping into the underground water basin. A ticking time bomb, which a number of Administrations have ignored since its final reactor, N Reactor, was finally shut down in 1987. Ever since the general public became aware of its existence, the government has been telling people that they’ll be safe. Now, all of a sudden, you’ve got a rogue leak into the second largest river system in North America, they’re going to be pissed — and they have a right to be.”
The Secretary of Defense remained silent for a few seconds. “Yes, that just about sums it up. We have teams of construction workers and engineers ready to create a physical barrier, but first we have to know where the leak is coming from — and as you know, there’s a ground water basin beneath the entire site, which means that leak could be anywhere along the fifty miles of direct river frontage — or possibly even farther away.”
“I understand, Madam Secretary. Tom’s well aware of the stakes. The team will be on site soon, and they’ll have answers for you.”
“Good.” Direct to the point, the Secretary said, “Now, if you didn’t call to update me about the Hanford Site, what did you call about?”
“It’s about a shipwreck along the Oregon Coast.”
“What about it?”
“My car’s being repaired, and as it is, I’ve come across a shipwreck on Cannon Beach. It’s quite interesting actually… the ship’s called the Hoshi Maru and has been drifting ever since its crew was killed by the 2011 tsunami…”