Then Georgia’s image had faded, and she must have seen the shadows against the canvas of the tent even in her sleep, because they had seemed like giant monsters rising from the sea, made of seaweed, forming arms, reaching into the sky.
She sighed and lay awake, and thought that she would do so until Sean’s watch was over.
But somewhere along the line, she fell asleep, and she didn’t dream. She was vaguely aware of Sean coming into the tent, and she was comfortably aware that she tried to get close to him.
Then she let out a startled little cry—completely unaware that she had fallen.
“Vanessa!” It was Sean’s voice, and a light suddenly flared in their little tent. She was on the ground between the two cots. They’d been pushed together, but in trying to get too close, she had wedged them apart.
Sean was stretched out on his own, flashlight in one hand as he smiled and reached for her hand with the other.
She grimaced ruefully. “I suppose I forgot where we were.”
“Hey!”
“Vanessa!”
“What’s going on?”
There was a chorus of voices just outside the tent. She scrambled up, glad that she had chosen to sleep in an encompassing flannel gown. She pushed open the flap to the tent just as Katie was nervously opening it.
“Vanessa!” Katie said.
David was behind her, Liam was behind him, and it seemed that everyone was gathered outside their little tent.
“You screamed!” Zoe said.
Barry cleared his throat. “Um, it didn’t sound like a scream of…um, er, happiness.”
Sean was behind her then. “Sorry, all.”
“I fell off the cot,” Vanessa said, aware of the flush that was rising to her cheeks like fire.
“What?” Bill said, and then started to laugh.
“Oh, Lord! You scared us silly,” Zoe said, laughing, as well.
“No more even slightly scary stories around the campfire,” Lew Sanderson said, shaking his head. “May I suggest you pull the cot mattresses down and leave them on the sand?”
“Great idea, Lew, thanks,” Sean said. “Forgive us, folks, and get some sleep.”
The good thing was that everyone seemed to be amused. The negative, of course, was seeing just how on edge they had all been.
And probably would remain.
Sean looked down at her, his grin broad. He pulled her into his arms. “Let’s get those mattresses down, huh? We’ll fold up the bunks—I think we’ll wind up with more room.”
She agreed. It was really late; they were both exhausted, and aware of the thinness of the canvas that separated them from the others.
And still…
It was good to be close. Seaweed monsters were just shadows on canvas, and Georgia Dare did not return that night with tears streaming down her face to plague Vanessa’s dreams.
She thought the morning might be bad as well, with the interviews on the beach. But the sun was shining, the day was bright, and it was hard to imagine that anything horrible had happened in such a beautiful place on such a pristine beach.
They were surrounded by people.
That was good.
Marty and Jamie O’Hara seemed large, wise and imposing, and as she watched the men, naturally taking positions that seemed to guard the group from opposite angles, she realized that they had been asked along from the very beginning because Sean had felt that he needed a security force of those he knew and trusted. They were able seaman, divers and outdoorsmen, but they took no part in any of the filming. They simply watched, interested.
The only one missing during the morning was Liam. Sean told her he was doing some work on his computer on the boat. He didn’t mention what. But Liam was a police officer, and he had taken leave at a time when the force was short, and she assumed he was keeping in contact with his colleagues, keeping up on events in Key West.
She was interviewed with Jay, who was matter-of-fact. She spoke about seeing the heads when she had come down the beach. Jay walked to the sand and winced as he told about his disbelief at what they had come upon.
They were all quiet and somewhat mournful when they finished the segment. They walked back to the encampment in comparative silence. Once there, however, everyone set about the business of a light lunch, since they’d head out to the reefs and an afternoon dive soon after. Zoe and Katie went about setting out the sandwich meats, cheeses, lettuce, tomatoes and condiments, but everyone helped themselves, and everyone picked up after themselves.
It was decided that Lew, Marty, Ted, Jaden and Zoe would stay behind to keep an eye on the encampment. They would take out Jamie’s boat, the Claddagh, because he had recently purchased new sonar equipment, and Sean and David were eager to see if his calculations might be right, if they might find some of the debris from the pirate ship in shallower water.
There was an hour of busywork, coming and going from the Conch Fritter and the Claddagh as they transferred dive equipment and supplies from one boat to the other, but in the end, once again, it seemed that they all moved smoothly.
As the divers and crew climbed aboard, Vanessa noted that Bill looked forlornly back at Zoe, and that Zoe smiled and waved.