Page 17 of Cold Light of Day

Her voice crackled over the communicator, but he couldn’t understand her. He shook his head and motioned that he needed a gesture.

She lifted her hand with an “okay” signal. At least she’d understood him, but apparently, he couldn’t hear her. She swam next to him as they perused the bottom of the inlet searching for evidence of a sunken boat but found none. He couldn’t say that he was surprised, and he doubted she was either.

So why had the woman lied, and why had she been out on the water as if someone had just dropped her there? All questions for the chief to answer. Grier should mind his own business.

He signaled that they needed to start back. She swam toward the shipwreck, and he followed her lead this time. Passing the bow of the shipwreck, she paused and then suddenly turned back to look. She stared past him at the boat behind him, and her eyes suddenly widened. If he could have heard her comms, he thought she might have screamed. Bubbles erupted, too many bubbles, as she jerked backward and turned, swimming chaotically away from the boat.

Panic could kill.

He caught up and turned her around to look in her eyes, willing her to slow her breathing. Maybe she could still hearhimthrough the comms. “Chief...relax. Slow, even breaths. At this temperature and depth, you’ll burn through what’s lefttoo quickly.” But she knew that already. He stayed with her until she got her breathing under control.

She kept her gaze focused on him, slowing her breathing. Life or death stuff. But the terror remained behind her stunning eyes, and seeing this experienced law enforcement officer so rattled unsettled him. But calm first. Questions later.

“Good.” He was glad she’d invited him along. This was why buddy diving was the only way to go.

Her gaze shot past his head, locking on something behind him. Her frown deepened and her complexion looked almost green, but maybe that was just the reflection of the water down here.

Then she pointed behind him and freed herself from his grip, swimming toward the shipwreck. He almost made the mistake of trying to stop her—his protective instincts kicking in. But she was the Shadow Gap police chief on an investigative dive, and he shouldn’t forget that she could handle whatever she’d seen, though she was startled at first.

He followed her back to the shipwreck, gripping his diver’s knife just in case. As they swam, he looked beyond the anemones, the king crabs, the fish, and a veritable coral reef.

“Look.” Her communicator crackled as she pointed. Her comms were working again, at least.

Grier swam closer to the bow and peered through the opening into what was left of the helm. Arms floated upward, attached to a still-clothed body. By the short, dark hair, he would guess it was a man’s body. Though the chief remained where she was, he swam around to see the body from a different angle. Now he fought to control his own breathing as he took a few pictures. They hadn’t expected to find a body, and her reaction made a lot more sense now. But what didn’t make sense was finding the body in the remnants of the SSTate.

He suspected the chief was still breathing too hard. Hecertainly was. With their increased heart rates, they were sucking oxygen much too fast.

He turned to find her watching him. She gave him a thumbs-up, presumably appreciating that he’d brought a camera. Then he led them away to search for the dive line.

“Grier, look.”

The dive line was coiled at the bottom in the sand.

NINE

On the boat deck, Autumn dropped to her knees and removed her face covering, cold water dripping from her body. She felt like she weighed three hundred pounds. “The orcas...”

“They’re gone. They probably got briefly tangled in the line, and that’s why it severed. Better than one of them remaining tangled.”

“Right. You’re right.” She gasped, sucking in air. She’d never experienced claustrophobia while diving, and it seemed odd, but with her oxygen levels diminishing, she’d felt trapped and feared she would run out of air. She’d been breathing too hard the entire time, and seeing that body hadn’t helped.

They’d made their way slowly upward, stopping in the cold and cloudy depths to decompress as they ascended. She couldn’t be more relieved to be out of the water. The image of the body trapped in the shipwreck was seared into her mind.

Grier hadn’t missed a thing, though—from her reaction to her near panic as they ascended. She had to get her act together.

Starting now.

A gust of wind and the rock of the boat brought her back to the moment. Grounded her.

“Let’s get out of this gear.” Grier’s voice sounded strong and sturdy.

Autumn climbed to her feet, and he assisted her out of the tanks as the rain lashed them, then she returned the favor. Free of the gear, they stowed it below in the forward cabin. After getting out of her dry suit and pulling on a sweatshirt, she helped Grier when the zipper stuck on his suit, then threw him a blanket to put over the thermal shirt he’d worn underneath. Even with all the layers, the cold could find its way through and seep into your bones.

Autumn sat on the cushioned seats in the berth. She needed ... a moment.

Grier eased into the spot across from her at the table. “We should get going.”

“Not yet. No. We’re anchored. The storm won’t be that bad.” Of course, belying her words, the wind howled and the boat swayed.

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