Page 120 of Grave Matter

CHAPTER 28

The rain lashesat my face as I run down the ramp and the dock, nearly wiping out a few times. The wind batters me from the sides, making me wobble, waves smashing up against the sides of the boats as they’re tossed violently in the swells.

I reachMithrandirand pull myself aboard, bursting through the saloon doors and yelling down into the cabin.

“You knew!” I scream.

I scramble down the stairs in time to see Kincaid coming out of his quarters, pulling on his jeans.

“What happened?” he says fearfully.

“You liar!” I yell, storming toward him and slapping him across the face. The CRACK echoes in the cabin, and before he can adjust, I shove him hard against his chest.

He moves back a step, hand at his cheek, staring at me in horror.

“You asshole!” I scream again. “I saw Clayton! I went into the operating lab—I saw him there. He’s dead. He’s dead, Kincaid. You killed him.”

His face pales, and he swallows hard. “I didn’t.”

“Liar! I saw the blood on your boots! I asked Clayton, and he said you knew! He said you were one of them!”

“You just said he was dead,” he says calmly.

“And you know why he was able to speak despite that! You killed him, one way or another, you killed him, and you’re making him come alive. You’re bringing him back from the dead again and again so you can experiment on him.” My heart breaks at the endless cruelty of it all. “All so you can peddle your fucking drugs.”

He presses his lips together in a fine line.

“Fuck your NDA! I’m reporting you to the police! I’m reporting you all to the police!” I start looking around for his phone.

“There’s no reception here. The storm is causing service dropouts from the satellite,” he says. He reaches for me, and I try to pull myself out of his grasp, but he holds tight. “Listen, Sydney, I can explain everything, and I will. But you’re not safe now. Neither of us are.”

“Why? No one saw me down there. And Clayton wouldn’t tell them that.”

Would he?

“If they suspect something, they just need to check their monitors. Everything here is recorded, everywhere, all the time. Even in this very boat.”

I look around wildly, trying to spot the camera.

“We have to go,” he says, grabbing both my shoulders now and peering into my face. “Do you hear me? Wehaveto leave. On the boat. Now.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you, and especially not in this storm!” I yell, wriggling myself out of his grasp. Off-balance, I land against the chart table, then spot the VHF radio.

I can call the coast guard!

I reach for it, but then Kincaid grabs me from behind and pulls me away. “Not until I’ve explained,” he grunts, holding me in place.

I squirm, trying to fight him, but he’s just too big and too strong.

“Let me go!”

“I can’t do that, Syd,” his voice rough at my ear. “I’m sorry.”

Then he’s pulling me backward, and with one hand, quickly reaches under the chart table to pull out a spool of rope.

“No!” I yell. “Help!” I scream. “Someone help me!”

Oh my god, what is he going to do?

---