Page 57 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay
“Eliza!” she barked on the morning of transport. “Can you add four people to the afterparty?”
“No problem,” Eliza said. “I made extra of everything.”
“We need to make sure everyone who comes and who volunteers has something to eat and a hot drink –”
Patty cut her off. “Don’t worry. We’ve got it under control.”
Sheila’s eldest daughter, Mackenzie, arrived that morning, along with her boyfriend, Liam. Mackenzie was even more frightening than Sheila.
“Joey!” Mackenzie called across the kitchen. “I’ve got press pickups in Bellingham, Seattle, and Tacoma.”
“Got it,” he said.
“Listen, if you can’t fit Tacoma in, that’s fine, but the one in Seattle is from a national news network and weneedthem at the sea pen.”
Joey nodded, chewing on a cookie. “They’ll be there, boss.”
Russell was already at the sea pen site, drumming up interest. Chief Hank was coming to give them a boat ride any minute. He was also providing security for the event and making sure no unwanted visitors caused trouble.
He pulled up in the police boat and welcomed them. Rick shook his hand. “Nice to see you again.”
“You too, Rick.” He hopped onto the dock to help Patty carefully step onboard. “How goes the bodyguard business?”
“It’s been quiet recently. Still no sign of my guys?”
Hank shook his head. “I’m keen to get my hands on them. If I could get them in for questioning, I could get at least one of them to squeal. “
Rick grinned. “I believe it.”
He stepped to the back, taking his place next to Addy.
“I don’t know if Hank looks as tough as he talks.” Addy tilted her head, squinting behind her sunglasses. “From what Patty tells me, he’s a softie.”
“Who says a softie can’t be tough?”
She laughed. “I guess you’re right. You’re a softie, and you’re pretty tough.”
“There’s your mistake.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back on the boat’s railing. “I’m just tough.”
“Ha! Yeah, sure.”
Once they were loaded onto the boat, Hank skillfully maneuvered away from the dock, past the rows of boats in Friday Harbor and on to Stuart Island.
It was Rick’s first time seeing the sea pen site. It was as breathtaking as the rest of the islands, with the addition of a quaint fisherman’s village built at the shore.
Addy had told him all about how Russell had set this into motion – not that he would take any credit for it. He seemed to be an effective fundraiser and point of contact, however.
They’d taken over an old fisherman’s lodge and converted the buildings into veterinarians’ quarters, a dining hall, and guest rooms. In the open water offshore, the edges of a three hundred by two hundred foot sea pen bobbed in the waves.
The scale of it was incredible. Rick gaped, mouth open, shutting it only when he realized Liam was recording all of them on camera.
“Sorry, mate,” Liam said, patting him on the shoulder.
“No, it’s me.” Rick shook his head. “I can’t believe this is all for a whale.”
“Is it, though?” Liam squinted, wiping drops of water from his sunglasses before replacing them. “It’s not just for Lottie. It’s for all the whales pulled from these waters and slaughtered. The ripple through the generations of these families.”
“What do you mean?”
