Ghost River, Jon Coon [ebooks online reader TXT] 📗

paper as though squashing a bug. Then he slammed his fist on his desk and turned away from Gabe and Jim. When he finally turned back, he looked tired, defeated, and his voice was soft and an octave lower. “This has gone way too far.”

“What do you mean, sir?”

“Fifteen years ago, the bridge inspection team was called to do an inspection on the old steel bridge after it collapsed, and they lost a diver. I don’t remember his name. The body was never recovered. Word came down that the area, both bridges, was now off limits: too dangerous. Only a special team of divers allowed.”

Brady swiveled his chair to stare out the window. In the yard below a color guard raised the flag while a bugler played the call to colors. Brady waited. When the flag was up, he turned back to Gabe and Jim. “When that girl went missing, what could I do? We couldn’t wait days or weeks for someone to come up from Dade County. How would I explain that to her parents or to the press?

“So I ignored the SOPs when Charlie asked permission to dive and told him if he thought he could do it, he could make the dive. I sent him to his death. I should have known he was too gung-ho to wait for back up. How can I ever face his wife?”

Brady looked back out the window into the training yard below. The color guard was gone, and squads of students were forming for physical training.

“We have to stop this, Gabe. We have to stop this and make sure Evans is the last man we ever lose on that bridge. Meet me at my house tonight and bring Nick Doyle. We’re going to need his EOD team to clear the explosives before we do anything else. There’s more to this story. I’m going to regret it, but I have some things to show you tonight.”

He wrote the address and handed Gabe the note. “Best keep this between us for now. I’m afraid the gators are going to be coming faster than we can outswim them.”

“Yes, sir,” Gabe answered and looked at Jim who looked equally perplexed.

“He had kids, didn’t he?” Brady asked. He shook his head, and Gabe couldn’t tell if it was from disgust, sadness, anger, or all three. As they left his office, Gabe heard Captain Brady swear under his breath, “What have we done?”

1030

Charlie, you don’t know what you’re asking. Gabe turned into Charlie and Carol’s neighborhood. I love your family, but I’m not the one to fill your shoes. If they ever found out the truth about me, they’d have me committed. He pulled the truck to the curb and took a few deep breaths to calm himself in the same way he did to begin a dive. “Help me,” he said softly as he sat, eyes closed, waiting. He turned off the truck. Carol Evans met him at the door and buried her head in his chest and sobbed. He held her gently and waited. She eased away, blotted the tears, and led him into the kitchen. A tall, lean, gray-headed, mustached man in jeans and boots stood up from the table and offered Gabe his hand.

“Tom Bright,” he said. “Carol’s dad.”

“Captain Bright,” Gabe said and took Tom’s hand, remembering the tall man was a retired Texas Ranger who looked every inch like the real deal. His family helped start the Rangers, and their history goes all the way back to the Alamo

Still drying her eyes, Carol excused herself and left the two men at the antique oak table beneath the rustic wagon wheel chandelier. Bright poured coffee, then sat.

“Terrible thing,” Bright said. “Charlie was a fine man. I couldn’t have hand-picked a better partner for Carol. Got any idea what happened?”

Gabe put down his cup. “River bottom is covered in junk steel from an old bridge that shouldn’t be there. No viz. You can’t see the inside of your mask, and the current’s running like a prop blast. If that’s not enough, I found shaped charges still wired into a circuit. Not much chance of detonation without electricity, but until we know what happened it’s better to eliminate any possibility of setting one off. He was diving scuba, no safety line or umbilical. In that mess, anything could have happened.”

“Would your SOPs allow that?” Tom asked.

“No, sir, not at all.”

“Then why?”

“The girl’s family put a lot of pressure on him to recover the body. Like they thought he was going to rescue her. I was on another project, and I guess Charlie decided not to wait. He called it in, and our captain gave him permission to dive. But it was a bad call.”

“You said you found shaped charges. Have you ever used them?”

“Oilfield platform salvage projects. Also helped salvage a couple old steel bridges like the one we’re diving on,” Gabe answered between sips. “If done right, using explosives is a lot safer than sending guys with torches. I never wanted to be the guy making the last cut on a bridge, just before the whole thing comes crashing down.”

Before Tom could respond, Carol returned, picked up the coffee pot, and asked, “More coffee?” Her red hair was brushed, green eyes dried, and face freshened. Even with a heartbroken expression, she was still a stunning woman.

Gabe smiled then shook his head.

“Will you dive again?” Tom asked. “Sounds like a nightmare down there.”

“We have to know what happened. Our captain shut us down, but we’re meeting him tonight. Hopefully he’s going to change his mind. But I’ll bring Charlie back regardless. I promise.”

“Oh, Gabe, be careful.” Carol swept her hair from her eyes and looked at him sadly. “Charlie wouldn’t want you risking your life. If it’s too dangerous, don’t dive again. We can wait until the current goes down and diving is not so bad.”

“We can’t ignore the bigger issue. That bridge won’t wait. It could collapse at any minute. Finding Charlie