Red Surf: Leah Ryan Thrillers (The Leah Ryan Thrillers Book 4) Page 17

  “Now, don’t breathe too fast, or you’ll use up your air more quickly.” Logan closed the door and gave me the okay sign with his thumb and index finger, his smile bright and wide.

  “Right. I’ll try to remember that.” My voice sounded muffled coming from inside the mask. Jesus. How do I end up in these situations?

  My heart drilled against my chest, and my entire body vibrated with adrenaline. The shakes made it hard for me to focus, and I tried to slow my breathing as the cage lowered into the deep.

  Two sharks approached as the cage sank, their dorsal fins circling, their grey backs shadows beneath the surface, only a couple of feet from me. As the water line rose over my face and head, I spotted several more.

  These sharks were used to being fed from this boat. All the facts about sharks not being interested in humans, and of humans not being their food preference, dissolved into the ocean as I sank lower and lower.

  A huge tuna head plunged into the water, sinking in front of my face. A smaller White swam over and grabbed it, its razor sharp teeth sawing through it easily.

  Wonderful. The lunatic asshole was chumming the water.

  More large chunks of fish sank around me, and five other sharks, all between 13 and 16 feet, I estimated, snapped them up, jaws grinding expertly.

  Large, full tuna dropped into the sea, and the sharks seemed to work together eating them. A dead sea lion was dropped into the water, and a shark glided upward, tore off the head while another chomped down on the body.

  Another large whole fish floated down. The enormous shark from earlier, Lana, with the chunk missing from her dorsal, approached. Her teeth were at least three inches in size. Her mouth a huge, round circle, came toward me. I stepped back, and then remembered that there were sharks behind me. I turned to see two battering the Plexiglas. One snout pushing in between the bars on the outer sides of the cage, teeth biting down on the metal.

  My mind jabbered, it’s not trying to get in. Sharks like shiny things. The metal is shiny. Stay calm.

  My entire body shook. Terror consumed me, and my breaths came harsh and fast. Warmth spread between my thighs as I lost control of my bladder. I had never been this afraid. If the cage didn’t hold, I wasn’t fighting these sharks off. This would be the end.

  The water was so full of chum and blood that it was hard to see through the murk. My stomach rolled, threatening to come up. I took deep breaths to keep from vomiting. If that happened, I’d inhale sea water and drown.

  I turned toward Lana. My body would fit easily within the circumference of her mouth. From head to knees, at least. I could see how Marg, the sea scavenger, had been decapitated. If a shark this size came up on her, and her head had been down, looking at the bottom, she never would’ve seen it coming. The mouth would have moved right over her head and shoulders easily.

  Had Lana come up on Marg and taken an exploratory bite?

  Trembling so hard I felt like I was convulsing, I placed my hands against the Plexiglas wall behind me. Tried to stay still.

  Lana ate the large fish whole, the inside of her mouth blood red, fish bits spewing out and vanishing within seconds. She turned slightly, and one deep blue eye looked into mine.

  I see you, she seemed to say. And I knew that I would die down here. The sharks were battering the cage, sending it swinging dangerously from one side to the other, making it impossible for me to stay still. Lana seemed to be waiting, patiently.

  I was panting now, the hope of slowing my breathing and making my oxygen last a quickly fading pipe dream.

  Tears blurred my eyes. It was getting harder to breathe.

  Jackson, I’m so sorry. You knew this day would come. You sensed it. That’s why you held me so close to you. I love you. I hope you know that.

  Jesse, I’m so sorry. I love you. I hadn’t seen my brother Jesse in a year, and now I kicked myself for not making time to visit him. I thought of him as a round, sad faced three-year-old boy and the tears came faster. I’d die down here. By suffocating when the air ran out, or by sharks tearing me to bits, and all I had was fear and regret, and apologies that the people I loved most would never hear.

  I tried to blink the tears away, sobbing inside the mask now, causing it to fog up. Maybe it was better that way. I wouldn’t see the sharks’ mouths coming for me. And God willing, I wouldn’t feel them for long, either.

  Shelly, I failed you. I pray you get out of this alive. Please, God. Let someone find her. Let Jackson and Chris rescue her. She’s just a little girl.

  Lana moved quickly away, her nose pointing upward. Another tuna? Sea lion? The cage stopped rocking, and floated gently back into place. All the sharks had moved away. I peered through the dirty water.

  They were tearing at something large.

  A huge, grey shadow moved near, slightly above me, and Lana dropped something just above my line of vision.

  Logan’s head floated slowly down in front of my face, his eyes wide and his mouth frozen in a silent scream.

  ***

  I stared as Logan’s head sank down into the gloom. I looked up, through the clouds of fish blood and bits, saw two Great Whites tearing Logan apart, and my horror was complete.

  Through my shock, I realized, with growing panic, that it was almost impossible breathe, now. How long had I been down here? Fifteen minutes? Twenty? A half hour? My breathing had been quick and frantic for as long as I’d been under water. I’d been gasping. Terror stricken. Horrified.

  But with Logan dead, I now had a real chance of getting out of this alive.

  I weighed my chances of getting to the surface and back onto the boat without being torn apart.

  Had Logan fallen in? Surely he hadn’t fed himself to the sharks. Though his obsession with them would certainly be classified as certifiable, I doubted he’d be that crazy. He was insane, but he wasn’t suicidal. Someone must be on the boat. Someone who had pushed him overboard. Jackson? McCool?

  Hope burst inside of me and I gave a little laugh inside the mask. I might actually live through this.

  A sound like pipes screeching echoed under the water. The cage was slowly being pulled upward, toward the surface.

  Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Hold on, Shelly. I’m coming.

  After what seemed an eternity, the cage breached the surface of the sea, and the door opened. I could barely see through the condensation on the inside of the mask. I squinted against it, trying to make out who it was.

  I saw an arm reach for me and felt two hands help pull me back onto the boat.

  A familiar voice spoke to me. “I’ve got you. You’re okay, Leah. You’re okay. Take it easy. Let’s get this off you.”

  Who was that? The mask was pulled from my head and I stared into the face of Jayden.

  “Jayden! Oh, my God. Thank God you’re here. I thought I was going to die down there. I really thought it was the end.”

  His face was serious as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. “It was looking pretty grim for you.”

  “You have no idea. It’s a shark fest down there. He’s been feeding them. He’s the one feeding girls to the sharks. He has Shelly somewhere. The little girl who went missing this morning.”

  He nodded. “I had a feeling about Logan. I saw you get on the boat with him, and the boat taking off. I got a really creepy feeling about it, Leah. I followed you.”

  “What happened?”

  “I came up behind his boat really quietly; sure he’d know I was there. I heard what he said to you. Saw him lower the cage. I had to wait until he was fully distracted before doing anything to help you.” He gave me a sheepish grin. “Didn’t want to get shot. I’m sorry it took me so long.”

  I laughed, and it sounded crazy and hysterical. I didn’t care. “I’m just so glad to still be here. Did he fall overboard? Did you push him?”

  “I waited until he was distracted... um...”

  I knew what he was getting at, and disgust rolled over me. “Oh, Jesus. You’re kidding.�
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  “No. Sorry. It’s so gross. Anyway, I waited until he was grunting away, then I ran at him. Shoved him overboard. He swam back to the boat but the sharks got him. He’d been chumming the water pretty good. The sharks didn’t know what he was in all those fish guts. Could’ve been a seal for all they knew.”

  He stopped, looked me in the eye. His young face smooth and sad. “I feel bad about it turning out that way, you know? But he was crazy. Dangerous crazy. And you would’ve died down there, Leah. He wasn’t going to pull you up anytime soon. He was too far gone.”

  “Jayden. I could kiss you right now.”

  His smile grew and he looked down at the deck. “Okay.”

  I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

  He blushed furiously. “Thanks.”

  “I owe you dinner. I don’t cook, so I’ll take you out. Jackson and I will take you to the most expensive joint around.”

  “I like burgers and fries, if that’s okay.”

  “Burgers and fries it is, kid.” It felt so good to breathe the air again. So good to be away from the sharks. I just wanted to laugh and scream like a mad woman, and never, ever stop. But first I needed to save Shelly. “We have to get to the lighthouse.”

  His brows lifted. “Spooky Sally?”

  “Yes. I think Shelly’s at the lighthouse. It’s just a hunch. But do you see how the pier runs along the water for miles? I think he swam under it with her.”

  “Jesus,” he said. “How did he manage that?”

  “He must’ve drugged her. Put her out somehow, or threatened to kill her if she didn’t swim with him. Something. But that pier is wooden, probably has at least a foot between the water and the underside of it.”

  Jayden looked out toward Spooky Sally. “So they both would’ve been able to breathe, and they would’ve been perfectly hidden, until he could get her to his boat. He could’ve had the boat sitting right beside the pier.”

  He frowned, shaggy hair falling over his forehead and fringing his eyes. “You think he docked his boat at the lighthouse when he brought her there? Where?”

  “It’s on that tiny island. With it being July 4th weekend, it would’ve been easy. Everyone is too busy to notice a thing.”

  “Hide in plain sight. It’s pretty smart,” he said.

  “He was nuts, but he wasn’t stupid.”

  “Okay. The lighthouse it is.” Jayden lifted the anchor and then headed to the helm. He started the boat and began steering through the fog toward the lighthouse.

  The fog was thinning and the lighthouse was barely discernible in the mist. A light drizzle had begun, and I felt chilled to the core. I went into the cabin, found a towel to wrap around my shoulders, and began drying my hair with another one. I was still trembling, but the possibility of finding Shelly alive brought me to life again.

  I sat at the table inside the cabin for a long moment, saying a silent prayer and watching the shape of the lighthouse emerge from the gloom. I wondered what secrets Sally held that would never be revealed, and willed with my entire being that just one more would be.

  ***

  By the time we climbed out of the boat and stepped onto the decrepit pier, dark gray clouds covered the sky, and a hard rain pelted us. I squinted against the relentless drops, trying to see through the wall of water to make my way up to the lighthouse.

  Unafraid, seals lounged on the pier, and on rocks surrounding Spooky Sally. Several reveled in the ocean, rolling around as the rain battered the water. We walked around and between several of them to get to the old metal set of stairs that led up to Sally. The metal staircase wound slightly to the left, and was completely rusted.

  Rust slivers chipped off beneath my hand, and I tried to slow down so that I wouldn’t have to hold on to the railing. The steps were slick with rainwater. Jayden climbed steadily behind me, and I tried to keep away the vision of slipping and knocking Jayden down on my way to being splattered on the rocks below. I had to get Shelly to safety.

  Finally, we reached a door—metal, rusted and chipping old paint having long peeled off. I tried the door, but as expected, it was locked. They key hole was made for a skeleton key. I hadn’t even seen a skeleton key in twenty years, since my grandfather gave one to me after he sold his old house, once he was too old to keep it any longer.

  “You keep this key, Leah. It’s all that’s left of this house. You may need it someday.” Those were the last words he said to me before he died of a heart attack.

  I doubted I’d ever need some old key they didn’t even make locks for anymore.

  I wished I had that key now.

  “Damn it. Is there another way in here?” I looked up at Sally, towering above us. She had an imposing presence, and loomed above us like some gigantic, ancient sea Goddess.

  “I’ve got it,” Jayden said. He stepped in front of me and slid an old skeleton key into the door

  My mouth dropped open. “Where did you get that?”

  “My great grandfather was the lighthouse keeper for thirty years. He died. The state took over. But he gave me this key.” He winked. “I keep it for luck. You know, surfing with the sharks every day.”

  “Good thing,” I said.

  I waited for the old skeleton key to turn in the lock. Jayden had to wiggle it a little to get the lock to turn. Panic and urgency bubbled up inside of me. I knew Shelly was in there. I felt it in my bones. My nerves buzzed and I wanted to scream at him, Just open the door! Hurry up!

  A tiny, thin scream cut through the air, almost indiscernible through the heavy structure of the lighthouse.

  Shelly. She was in there. Alive.

  I shouted, “Jayden! Open the door!”

  He pushed against the door. Then pulled. Finally it opened.

  I pushed through it, into dim light. A spiral staircase led up to three floors. “Shelly! Where are you?”

  “I’m in here!” She cried. Her voice sounded like it was coming from the top floor. I tried taking the small, narrow stairs quickly but lost my footing, knocking my shin against a lower stair. Rust crumbled. I continued, forcing myself to move more slowly. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes! Be careful!” Her little voice sounded reedy and breathless. “He’s crazy!”

  “He’s dead, Shelly. He won’t ever hurt you again!” I passed what looked to be a store room. Old furniture and boxes sitting abandoned and forgotten. The cloying smell of mold and dirt assaulted my nose. The twisty staircase make the lighthouse seem like a carnival funhouse. Or maybe a haunted house.

  Jayden was close behind as we passed a kitchen. A small, dirty table with a red top and set of metal chairs pulled out. My legs felt heavy, and I couldn’t climb fast enough, like in dreams where the dreamer is running in slow motion. We passed an arched window, lending only minimal light, rivulets of rain moving over it. The stone walls felt like they were closing in, and claustrophobia threatened to send me into hysteria.

  Focus. You’re almost there. You’ve almost got her.

  I knew she was fine. She’d said as much. But my sense of urgency hadn’t abated. Something, some deep, ancient instinct was warning me that something wasn’t right. I didn’t know what it was, but warning bells were ringing in my mind, like a deafening firehouse alarm. Was the killer in the lighthouse, hiding in some dark corner?

  Finally, we came to the uppermost room. This must be the light room. The door was locked from the outside by a fairly new-looking dead bolt lock.

  “I’m betting you don’t have a key to this lock,” I said. I looked around for something to knock it off the door.

  Something silver sat on the floor at the top of the landing, next to the staircase. I walked over, kneeled down and picked it up. It was silver key. New and unscratched. I held it up to show Jayden, a grin on my lips. “Score.”

  Jayden stared, shook his head, grinning. “You’re kidding. It was just sitting there like that?”

  I headed to the door. “I don’t suppose this place gets a lot of visitors.”


  “True.”

  “Except Logan. And it wouldn’t have been that hard for him to find a skeleton key to fit the lock downstairs. I’m sure they’re on the internet.”

  “Right.”

  The key fit easily in the lock and turned. I swung to door open. The walls of the room were windows, and in the center sat the largest, strangest shaped light bulb I had ever seen. Slightly behind the light, I caught sight of an arm and a knee. I rounded the light and there, huddled on the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees, was a little blonde girl.

  She smiled weakly, and then burst into tears.

  I ran over to her. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you out of here.”

  “Okay,” she said, her voice high with emotion. “Are you sure he’s dead?”

  “Very,” I said. Sliding a hand around her shoulders, I began to lead her out of the room.

  “You’re one brave girl, Shelly. You know that?” I looked down at her face.

  She stopped walking, stared straight ahead, her face a mask of terror. Her mouth worked but no sound came out.

  I followed her gaze.

  Jayden stood in the doorway, gun pointed at my face. A Glock pointed at my head. “You know what your problem is, Leah? You get too emotionally involved in your cases, and it blurs your ability to see what’s right in front of you.” He chuckled. “What’s great is that I didn’t have to drag you here. I had an entire scenario planned out, too. But you came right along with me, and the beauty of it is that it was your idea.”

  I stared, pulling Shelly closer to me. “So you and Logan were working together? What happened, you didn’t want to share the fun anymore?”

  “I never worked with Logan. He was just a weird freak who scared you. I think he would’ve eventually pulled you up, but not before you ran out of air. He was enjoying the sharks going at your cage waaaaay too much.” He chuckled. Shook his head. “I had to get you alone, Leah. You were next on my list, and idiot Logan was enjoying himself so much that you would’ve drowned down there. That isn’t how it’s supposed to go.”