The Vision Read online

  The man had blue eyes sharper than jagged ice and a jaw that seemed set in concrete. Her heart pounded. He didn’t know her; didn’t know anything about her.

  He’d simply judged her.

  She sat forward, as well, met him eye to eye, and smiled.

  “I’m a better diver than you could ever hope to work with again. And I’m known to find what I’m looking for, so if you don’t like me, well, then excuse me for being crude, but I really have nothing to say other than ‘Fuck you, asshole.’” Still smiling pleasantly, she stood and walked away.

  Jay Gonzalez drove down Roosevelt, wondering why the situation had left him so perplexed.

  Nothing. There had been nothing down there.

  Hell, he’d been in and around the water long enough. Vision was distorted beneath the waves.

  The crime rate was low, just as he’d told Gen. Most of it had to do with petty theft. Some grand larceny, and of course there were the drugs. But murder didn’t happen often.

  There couldn’t be anything to it. Genevieve thought she’d seen a body. The body had been gone. A prank, perhaps? According to Marshall, there hadn’t been any other boats in the immediate area. But, hell, he knew kids, and they were willing to go to great lengths to play a trick.

  Still, it disturbed him. He liked Genevieve, really liked her, and always had. He hated to see her upset like that.

  Ghosts were big business in Key West, as they were in many places. Hemingway was said to walk around town, and sometimes it seemed as if every house on Duval Street claimed to have a ghost, thanks to the Indian bones and the wreckers and plain old human frailty. But Genevieve wasn’t the type to make up a story for the fun of it.

  What the hell had she seen?

  Murder wasn’t common in Key West.

  But it did happen. Had happened.

  Hell, yes, it had happened. He knew damned well it had happened.

  He gritted his teeth; he was already reaching US1. His siren blaring, he wove through the stopped cars. There was an accident just ahead. He looked at the cars as he approached and prayed he wouldn’t be seeing any bodies himself. Not that night.

  2

  The following day, Thor was one of the first divers up and about. The plan was to meet early every morning at the tiki bar to grab coffee and a light meal. Just fifty feet from the little hut, the resort offered a small dive shop, where their tanks were filled and any damaged piece of equipment repaired. He stood on the dock for a few moments, enjoying the sunrise. It promised to be a beautiful day, or at least a beautiful morning. They planned to spend the next couple of weeks taking the boats out early and calling it quits by about three, when the late summer rains traditionally rolled in. Those afternoon storms often came on with ferocity, but generally they raged for half an hour or so, then were gone.

  He sipped his coffee, aware that others were beginning to emerge from their cottages. Marshall Miro’s crew was impressive. They were all in excellent shape, and comfortable in the water no matter what the circumstances. They had the proper respect for the ocean’s power. Which was good—he didn’t intend to lose any divers. Even Genevieve Wallace had sounded sane enough when she’d snapped back at him. He liked her air of determination, in fact.

  He saw her walking from her cottage, meeting up with Bethany, the second woman on Marshall’s crew. She was the opposite of Genevieve, probably a respectable five-five or five-six, but next to her friend, she appeared short. She was attractive, compact but nicely muscled. She also seemed to be far more cheerful and easygoing than her long-legged counterpart and was waving to Lizzie and Zach even as she met up with Genevieve. Lizzie made even Genevieve look short, and when Zach moved up, he dwarfed them all. Jack was already over by the tiki hut, and Clint—long and lanky at twenty-two, bronzed, his hair flopping in his face—was setting out platters of doughnuts and fruit. Rounding out the group, Vic and Alex came running up along the beach, heavy packs of equipment over their shoulders. They were of an age, and, like the others, physically fit and mentally sharp.

  “Hey! Thought you were lolling around in bed. Didn’t see you down here,” Marshall called to Thor, walking down the dock.

  “We’re in search of the find of the century,” Thor said dryly. “I wouldn’t want to oversleep and miss all the excitement.”

  “You don’t think we’re going to find anything?” Marshall asked, rubbing a hand over his bald head and squinting against the sun.

  “I didn’t say that. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe there was something to find. I’m just curious what the state guys have planned if nothing shows up here. People have been diving this area for years. Admittedly, we’ve been finding signs of metal down there, but hell, that could mean just about anything.”

  “All we need is proof that she’s there, and then it’s up to the ecologists and historians to start arguing about the next steps,” Marshall said with a shrug. He stared at Thor. “To be honest, I’d just like to go down in the books as having been in on a real find. If determination means anything, we’ll find something for sure.”

  “Determination is always an asset,” Thor murmured. He was looking back at the others. Victor Damon gave Genevieve a teasing bump as they walked along the path. She turned and pointed a finger at him, saying something. They were probably still ribbing her. He said something else, and she stole his baseball cap, then slammed it back on his head. Still, they were all laughing. That cop, Jay Gonzalez, seemed to hold her in regard. If she’d been a fruitcake, it was doubtful the man would have listened to her so attentively or sent divers out in search of a body.

  “You’ve got a tight-knit crew,” Thor commented.

  “Those two,” Marshall said with a nod toward Genevieve and Victor, “and Bethany all went to school together. Best friends. Poor Alex is the new guy. He’s only been around for about three years. All the way from Key Largo,” he added dryly. “What about your people?”

  “The best,” Thor assured him. “Lizzie and Jack have worked it all—rescue, recovery, salvage. They’re a great team. And you must know Jack. Probably better than I do. The invitation to join this search came kind of suddenly, and several of my people were already committed to other projects. I’m missing some of my regulars, but I’ve known Jack forever and I’m glad to have him on my team.”

  “Jack has more experience than all of us put together,” Marshall said.

  “We should get going,” Thor said, checking his watch.

  “I’d like to be down before nine to take advantage of the visibility before the storms roil up the sand.” He let out a whistle, drawing the attention of his crew, who hurried for their coffee.

  Genevieve Wallace walked by, her eyes like sharp crystals as she assessed him without a word.

  “Nice morning, wouldn’t you say, Miss Wallace.”

  “Yes, a perfect morning,” she replied politely, and hurried on by.

  It was a perfect morning, and the day passed uneventfully. Three different dives, hours under water. Just before three, with the regularity of a factory whistle, the storms started rolling in.

  Thor had seen the sky change on the horizon, seen the rain when it had begun farther out at sea. When the divers came up for the third time, he motioned to Marshall that it was time to call it quits. With the boats lashed together, he could hear Marshall’s people talking as he waited for his own crew to stow their gear.

  “I think we were closer yesterday,” Genevieve said.

  “Why? Because of that woman you saw?” Alex teased her.

  She slapped him on the arm. “Because I have a hunch. I think we need to back it up a bit, Marshall. We didn’t give yesterday’s location a thorough search. I mean, a relic isn’t going to just jump out of the sand into our hands.”

  “We’ll talk about it,” Marshall assured her.

  By then the motors were purring, they had cast off their ropes and weighed anchor, and were moving away.

  “Think Genevieve might be right? Should we move back?” Lizz
ie asked.

  He shrugged, though privately he admitted that they should retrace the area. There had been too much excitement yesterday—too much time spent looking for a woman’s body are not enough for signs of a wreck.

  “We’ll see,” he said. “I’ll talk to Marshall about it tonight.”

  He was startled when his cell phone started to ring. “Excuse me, guys,” he told them. When he moved forward and answered, he shook his head when he recognized Sheridan’s voice. “Yep, that will be fine.” He hung up and swore. The preliminaries had been done. But now…well, hell. It wasn’t his nickel. If Sheridan wanted to come down and talk again, so be it. “Meeting at the tiki bar tomorrow morning—seven-thirty sharp!” he called to the others.

  Thor felt suddenly irritated. He didn’t know why exactly, but Sheridan bugged him. The man had even hinted that perhaps Thor should find another diver for his team. He didn’t like bringing in someone he didn’t know well. Maybe he’d have to hire someone else, he decided. They were looking for needles in a really giant haystack, and he wanted to do more of the actual diving himself. Well, tomorrow, at least, he would have an extra body around, if needed, with Sheridan there. That would work, for now, although he wasn’t sure how long he wanted Sheridan on his boat. Maybe it would all work out without bringing in untested strangers.

  The day had yielded nothing, but Genevieve still felt on top of the world.

  She had slept with every light in the bungalow on, dreading the darkness. But she had drifted off at some point and actually slept reasonably well.

  She had tried to appear completely calm, competent and rational throughout the morning, even allowing the others to joke at her expense. She simply wasn’t going to live this down for a while. And yet, despite her apparent calm, she had been terrified all morning, praying silently not to have any visions this time, not to see a dead woman telling her to beware.

  All day, she had stayed closer to Victor than usual, all the while trying not to let him know what she was doing. But if she saw something, she was determined he was going to see it, too.

  There had been no finds. But there had been no corpses in the water, either. That made the day a great success, as far as she was concerned.

  By five she had washed down her own equipment, helped with the boat, showered and changed. She wasn’t fond of hanging around by herself, so she hurried out to the tiki bar.

  She was the first arrival from either of the crews. Clint saw her, and brought over a Miller Lite. “You do want a beer, right?”

  “I do. Thank you.”

  He grinned. “It’s the only appropriate libation for kick-ass women.”

  “Bethany likes piña coladas,” she reminded him.

  “Well…some chicks can get away with it,” he assured her. “Ah, the big guy himself.”

  Genevieve thought he had to mean Zach—she hadn’t met many people in her life quite as tall as Zach. But then she turned and realized Clint wasn’t referring to Zach. He was talking about the man she had personally dubbed asshole.

  To her displeasure, he headed right for her. Then again, the only other guests enjoying the thatched shade of the tiki bar right now were an elderly couple who had told her earlier they hailed from Ohio. A nice couple, but not exactly people any of them knew.

  Not that he exactly knew her, Genevieve thought as he approached.

  He didn’t ask if he could join her, just nodded—eyes shaded behind dark glasses again—and slid into one of the chairs. By the time he was seated, Clint had returned with a beer.

  “One of these days, do you think I can head out with you guys?” Clint asked him.

  Thor shrugged, accepting the beer with a quick “Thanks.” He looked up at Clint. “What kind of a diver are you?”

  “A good one. I have a master’s certification.”

  Thor gave Clint a long assessment, not a muscle in his face so much as ticking. “Sure. Take time off next week. But out on the boat, I’m not just captain, I’m God Almighty. If you can live with that…?”

  “Shit, yes,” Clint said, then caught himself. “Sorry, Genevieve.”

  “I think she’s all right with the word,” Thor said, smiling. Evidently he hadn’t forgotten a single one of her words to him.

  “No problem, Clint,” she replied. “And if you want, I’m sure you can go out with us, too, one of these days.” She hoped her sunglasses were every bit as opaque as Thor’s and her smile every bit as pleasant.

  “Cool.” Clint was still looking at Thor, as if for approval. After a moment, he moved away awkwardly, giving them a thumbs-up sign.

  “So, how was your day?” Thor asked her once Clint had moved on.

  “Fine, just fine.”

  “Nothing down there, huh?”

  “If there had been, I would have reported it.”

  “Nothing strange, I meant.”

  She forced another smile. “You know, I really don’t know who you think you are. I’ve been out on these reefs all my life. I know every landmark. And I’ll bet I make a discovery before you do.”

  He sat back, a small smile curving his lips. “You think you can outdo me, Miss Wallace?”

  “I know I can.”

  He shook his head, amused. For a brief moment, she wondered what the hell she was doing. He had a sixth sense when it came to finding what was lost beneath the sea.

  “Interesting,” he said. “You’re really throwing down the gauntlet.”

  Yes, she was. And that, she realized, seemed to take him from believing she was nuts in one way to believing she was nuts in another, saner, way.

  “Well?” she demanded icily.

  He shrugged. “Is this a dare? For real?”

  “You bet.”

  “You’re on.”

  “Good.”

  “We’re talking about a real relic—not imagined,” he said.

  “Absolutely,” she agreed.

  “All right. What’s the bet?” he asked.

  She shrugged. The stakes hadn’t entered her mind.

  “A round of beers?” she suggested.

  He shook his head. “Far too cheap.”

  She arched a brow. “I planned on a friendly wager.”

  “A friendly wager?”

  “Okay. So we’re far from being friends.”

  “Do you have so little faith in yourself?”

  “Should I be betting my house?” she inquired lightly, feeling ever-so-slightly ill in the pit of her stomach.

  He shook his head, his smile deepening. “I wouldn’t dream of taking your house.”

  “What makes you think you’d take it? And what would I be getting—when I win?”

  He laughed out loud then, truly enjoying himself. “I have a nice place in Jacksonville.”

  “But I have no desire to leave the Keys.”

  “As I said, I have no intention of taking your home, either.”

  He was intent on winning, she knew—despite the fact she couldn’t see his eyes. There was a tightening, barely visible, in his muscles. His male ego was taking over. Testosterone was racing. It was pathetically immature, she thought.

  She had started it.

  “You won’t get a chance to take my home,” she assured him coolly.

  “Well, a round of beers is too paltry, claiming your house too serious. I guess we could give this thing some thought overnight, hmm?” he suggested.

  “Whatever you wish, Mr. Thompson,” she said stiffly.

  “No, whatever you wish, Miss Wallace,” he replied mockingly.

  “Tomorrow morning, then, we decide the bet,” she said.

  “I’ve got an idea,” he murmured, looking amused. “But you won’t like it.”

  She was suddenly certain she knew the nature of his wager. It should have infuriated her. Instead, it just made the challenge greater.

  “Really?” she murmured, suddenly aware of her own muscles tightening with the same tension, the same sense of challenge and ruthless determination, as his. Worse, his air of s
exual innuendo only increased her fighting spirit.

  “You really don’t want to know. It’s a pretty wacko thought.”

  “I think I do know, Mr. Thompson. The question is…what do I get when you lose? Sorry, a night in the sack with you isn’t my idea of a prize.”

  He laughed softly. “You made quite an assumption there, didn’t you?”

  She fought the wave of crimson that threatened to splash her cheeks and tried to bluff her way out of it. “What kind of prize would be wacko to you?” she asked sweetly.

  He smiled, for once a simple, deep and, she had to admit, very nice smile. “Wacko doesn’t necessarily mean…The Seeker,” he said suddenly.

  “What?”

  “The Seeker. You’d get The Seeker.”

  She frowned. “The boat is yours?”

  “From bow to stern, yes.”

  “But…she’s your livelihood.”

  “I won’t lose.”

  Genevieve sat back, totally confused. “You’d wager your dive boat? Against…?”

  He smiled again, and this time it was far too sexy and seductive. “Well, it was your suggestion.”

  “Never!”

  “My mind wasn’t moving in that direction until you said something.”

  “It sure as hell was.”

  “I never would have voiced it if you hadn’t.”

  She wasn’t sure what she felt at that moment

  “You are joking, right?” she asked softly.

  He leaned forward; she found herself doing the same. The bet was between them; no one else would be in on it. “I’m not joking. If I lose, I’ll pay up. Will you?”

  “You’d risk your boat for a woman you think is crazy?” she asked. “You have to be crazier than you think I am.”

  He laughed. “Not really. I won’t lose.”

  “We’ll see, won’t we?” she murmured.

  “So it’s a bet?”

  She noticed that Jack had made an appearance and was dragging another table over. She realized that in a few minutes the tiki bar would be crowded, as the crews from both boats all began to put in an appearance. In fact, she could see Lizzie and Zach approaching. Bethany, Alex, Victor and Marshall would no doubt be over in another few minutes.