Phantom Prospect

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Epilogue

1

The waters off Montauk, New York, surged, frothing white as waves crashed into one another, spraying mist through the air. Annja Creed stood on the stern of a boat she thought seemed far too small for the job at hand. She watched as a sleek dark shadow glided just beneath the waves, its torpedo body reflecting the four hundred million years of evolution that had landed it atop the food chain of the ocean.

Cole Williams scooped another ladle of chum into the water. Annja swallowed and tried to ignore the sickly stench of pureed herring and tuna chunks mixed with an assortment of other matter designed to lure great white sharks to the boat.

“You sure you need to put so much of that into the water?” Annja asked.

Cole glanced at her and grinned, his cropped brown hair lightened by the sun beaming down. “You’re not nervous, are you? Not the bold adventurer Annja Creed,” he said.

Annja pointed at the water. “There’s already one down there.”

Cole nodded. “I’d like to see if we can get a few in the area. This study is all about how great whites interact with one another. Conventional science likes to paint them as solitary creatures but new research is proving they have a hierarchy when they encounter one another.”

“So, it’s not enough to have one proven killer in the water. You want as many as possible.”

“Yep.” Cole threw another scoop overboard. “You want to help me do this?”

Annja held up her hands. “I’m good here, thanks.” The journey out from Montauk had been anything but calm. Despite the sunshine, the ocean seemed angry today and the little boat that Cole had converted from a deep-sea fishing charter to his own personal research vessel bobbed relentlessly in the violent swells. Annja’s stomach wasn’t in a forgiving mood.

Cole pointed at the triangular fin slicing through the water. To Annja, it almost reminded her of a sword.

Her sword.

“Look at that one.”

Cole’s voice did little to soothe Annja’s nerves. In keeping with Cole’s twisted sense of humor, he’d insisted they watch the movie Jaws the previous night while they shared a bottle of wine. Recalling the giant great white devouring a bunch of people on film didn’t do much for Annja’s nerves just then.

She glanced at the steel shark cage strapped down on the deck. “Does that thing actually work?”

Cole smiled. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve done this loads of times and never had a problem.”

“I find the choice of location unsettling given what we watched last night,” she said.

Cole’s laughter at least made her smile. Then he shook his head. “They actually filmed that on Martha’s Vineyard, but I get your point.” He pointed at another shark that had silently cruised into the area. “Thing about this place is the Long Island Sound opens up into really deep water. The great whites out here are big. And that means we get a look at some healthy fish.”

“They got that way by being hungry,” Annja said. “I don’t want to end up on the business end of those teeth.” Cole had also insisted on showing her his shark tooth collection and Annja had marveled at how the great white’s teeth looked exactly like steak knives, serrated along the edges and designed for cutting through the thick fat of their favorite meal, seals.

Looking at Cole in his wet suit, Annja could understand why great whites mistook divers for seals. They looked similar, especially underwater.

Cole finished tossing the chum over the side of the boat and hailed the deckhand. “Time to get the cage in the water.”

They worked together. Annja unhooked the fastening cables and slowly they winched the cage over the side of the boat until the top of it sat at the waterline. The sea had calmed and the boat seemed to steady itself. Annja gave a silent prayer of thanks and felt her stomach stop lolling about.

Cole glanced at Annja. “Tom’s going to heave a few tuna chunks out on lines and he’ll drag them toward the cage.”

“You want the sharks coming at the cage?”

“Yep.”

Annja shook her head. “And this will help your research somehow?”

“We’ll be able to see how the sharks separate themselves and who seems to be the ruling class. What researchers have observed is the deference certain sharks will have for another. But why they do that is something we don’t know. Yet,” he explained.

“Have fun,” she said.

Cole smiled. “Time for you to get changed, Annja.”

“Excuse me?”

“There’s an extra wet suit in the cabin. I’ve got tanks all set for you. And there’s room for one more in the cage.”

Annja looked out at the sea. The dark shapes slid past the boat and surfaced, showing rows of jagged teeth as they sampled the chum line. Annja’s stomach heaved again. “I’m not sure about this.”

“I know how you feel. The first time I dived with great whites, I puked over the side of the boat.”

“And then what?”

“I got the hell in the cage and did my job.” He heaved the air tanks onto his back and checked his regulator. “You won’t regret it, Annja. I promise.”

Annja sighed and wandered back to the cabin. Cole had left the wet suit hanging on a door hook. She fingered the material and wondered what the sharks would see when she entered the water.

Dinner, most likely.