Page 19 of Wild Tempest

Owen balked. "I sure as hell ain't telling you.” He smiled, and a glimmer filled his eyes. "The holds are filled with gold. The rumors are all true.” The glee left his face and turned to horror. "But don't seek out that vessel. I warn you. It will be the death of you.”

"Is there anybody else aboard the Almaz Morya?”

Owen gave me a grave look, then nodded. "Something evil is aboard that ship."

Fear filled his eyes as he recalled a memory.

“Where’s the rest of your crew?”

A grave look played on Owen’s face.

“Is there anyone else alive?”

Owen just stared at me with blank eyes.

Dr. Parker interrupted. "Okay, boys. I think that's enough for now. You can pick up this discussion tomorrow.”

"Owen, what's your last name?”

“Matthews,” he replied.

JD and I wished him well, then left the recovery unit with Dr. Parker.

“How coherent do you think he is?” I asked.

“Well, he’s pumped full of oxy,” Parker said. “The dehydration and sun exposure did a number on him. That wound is pretty infected, and we’re hitting it with everything we’ve got. He spent days clinging on for life, and there are some pretty nasty bugs out there. I wouldn’t put too much stock in anything he says.”

I thanked Parker for the assistance, then we left and stepped back into the waiting room.

Jack muttered, “What do you make of that guy’s story?”

“It’s pretty fantastical, given the history of that ship.”

I ran Owen’s background through the online portal. He had gotten picked up a few years prior for DUI. At the time, his employer was listed as Stockton Salvage Company. The picture was starting to get clearer. I shared the information with JD.

“You think he was out there with his crew trying to salvage that vessel?”

“Only one way to find out,” I said.

12

Icalled Owen's sister, Kaitlyn. She lived on the island, according to the DMV records. I told her Owen was in the hospital.

“He’s alive!?” she said, astonished. “Oh, thank God. I thought they were all dead.”

"He seems to be recovering well right now, but he’s saying a few things that don't make sense. Do you know what he was doing at sea?”

"He set out with Paul and the usual crew on the Tempest a few weeks ago. They had some big score they were on to. Owen said it was going to make them all rich. He was kind of cagey about the details.” She paused. “I lost touch with him. Not unusual. They go to sea for long stretches and sometimes lose communication. But they didn’t make it back to port when they were supposed to. Lucy freaked out and called the Coast Guard. They searched for days, but couldn’t find the Tempest.”

“Who’s Lucy?”

"Paul’s wife. Paul Stockton. Stockton Salvage. Owen has been working for Paul for 20 years now. They’ve been friends since high school.” In a worried voice, she asked, “Is Paul okay?”

“Owen’s been shot.”

“Shot!?”

“We haven’t been able to get too many details out of him.”