had started on the docks.
The light came
around again and once again the galleon cast a long shadow through the
darkness. It hadn't moved at all; she
was right about that.
"Are you
taking any of your scientific readings on this?" I wanted to ask an intelligent question,
maybe mention the Electro Magnetic Frequency readers I'd seen used on a couple
of specials, or ask if they were doing anything with electronic voice
phenomena, like in that movie with Michael Keaton, but the words wouldn't come
out. I was too busy being stunned.
"Oh,
yes. That's what Jacob is
doing." She nodded and stared at
the silhouette out in the distance.
We watched in
silence for several minutes, while the fog grew even thicker. Flash : and the ship was there, followed immediately
by darkness. Flash : and it was still there, with no changes. Flash : and there were figures on the ship that had
not been there before, all of them seeming to face the direction of Golden
Cove.
Flash : and they were gone. The ship and
all of the people who had suddenly been there looking in our direction.
"What the
hell?" I stood up and walked to the
edge of the deck, staring hard as if I could will it back by looking and
wishing. Nothing happened.
"Ghosts
keep their own schedules, Capt— " She caught herself. "Joe." Her voice was soft and almost forlorn behind
me.
"You
think they were ghosts?"
"Do you
think they weren't?"
She had a good
point there. Unless the ship had just
managed the fastest sinking ever, or been rocket-propelled out of the cove,
there weren't many other options. I knew
what I'd seen, and I knew it wasn't a trick of the fog. There was nothing out there to cast the sort
of shadow I had just been looking at, and surely nothing to imitate the shapes
of people on the ship's deck.
"How many
ships did Jacob say they sank here?"
"From what we've been able to gather, at least seven. Probably more."
"I
thought he said more than that."
"Seven that have been fully confirmed. There's a lot of background to go over in
most cases." She walked over to were I was leaning out over the railing and joined me. "I think Jacob was right. I think there're a lot of ghosts in this
area."
"It's
never had a very good reputation. My
grandfather used to say it was the one place he knew of that he never wanted to
dock his boat."
"And yet
you're here anyway."
"I made a
deal. I probably would have charged a
little more if I knew where we were going to be, but I made a deal and I like
to stick to those."
"I'm glad
you did. And thanks, again, for letting
us stay on the Isabella ."
"Not a
problem. Just don't invite any dead
sailors on board for a party."
Mary looked at
me for a long moment and then cracked up, laughing as
if that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard.
Before I could
do more than smile in response, something hit the side of the Isabella hard enough to rock her
slightly in the water. Let me make this
clear, there is nothing light about a sixty-foot yacht. Waves don't even move the Isabella much unless they're big enough
to break over the sides. The Isabella is a damned fine ship and a
heavy one, too. So feeling her move was
enough to make me worry about structural damage.
I calculated
where the sound had come from and moved over there as quickly as I could, half
expecting to see a hole in her side. Instead, I just saw very turbulent waves. The problem with that was that the waves
shouldn't have been there. There was
nothing to make them happen and the rest of the cove was almost placid as far
as my eyes could see.
I leaned over
to look and something came out of the water at high speed, lifting a good ten
feet into the air. Had it been right next
to the Isabella , I could have touched
it.
Instead, all I
saw was a dark shape, one that looked almost human, but not quite. The arms were too long, the head was wrong,
and the faint light I saw
The light came
around again and once again the galleon cast a long shadow through the
darkness. It hadn't moved at all; she
was right about that.
"Are you
taking any of your scientific readings on this?" I wanted to ask an intelligent question,
maybe mention the Electro Magnetic Frequency readers I'd seen used on a couple
of specials, or ask if they were doing anything with electronic voice
phenomena, like in that movie with Michael Keaton, but the words wouldn't come
out. I was too busy being stunned.
"Oh,
yes. That's what Jacob is
doing." She nodded and stared at
the silhouette out in the distance.
We watched in
silence for several minutes, while the fog grew even thicker. Flash : and the ship was there, followed immediately
by darkness. Flash : and it was still there, with no changes. Flash : and there were figures on the ship that had
not been there before, all of them seeming to face the direction of Golden
Cove.
Flash : and they were gone. The ship and
all of the people who had suddenly been there looking in our direction.
"What the
hell?" I stood up and walked to the
edge of the deck, staring hard as if I could will it back by looking and
wishing. Nothing happened.
"Ghosts
keep their own schedules, Capt— " She caught herself. "Joe." Her voice was soft and almost forlorn behind
me.
"You
think they were ghosts?"
"Do you
think they weren't?"
She had a good
point there. Unless the ship had just
managed the fastest sinking ever, or been rocket-propelled out of the cove,
there weren't many other options. I knew
what I'd seen, and I knew it wasn't a trick of the fog. There was nothing out there to cast the sort
of shadow I had just been looking at, and surely nothing to imitate the shapes
of people on the ship's deck.
"How many
ships did Jacob say they sank here?"
"From what we've been able to gather, at least seven. Probably more."
"I
thought he said more than that."
"Seven that have been fully confirmed. There's a lot of background to go over in
most cases." She walked over to were I was leaning out over the railing and joined me. "I think Jacob was right. I think there're a lot of ghosts in this
area."
"It's
never had a very good reputation. My
grandfather used to say it was the one place he knew of that he never wanted to
dock his boat."
"And yet
you're here anyway."
"I made a
deal. I probably would have charged a
little more if I knew where we were going to be, but I made a deal and I like
to stick to those."
"I'm glad
you did. And thanks, again, for letting
us stay on the Isabella ."
"Not a
problem. Just don't invite any dead
sailors on board for a party."
Mary looked at
me for a long moment and then cracked up, laughing as
if that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard.
Before I could
do more than smile in response, something hit the side of the Isabella hard enough to rock her
slightly in the water. Let me make this
clear, there is nothing light about a sixty-foot yacht. Waves don't even move the Isabella much unless they're big enough
to break over the sides. The Isabella is a damned fine ship and a
heavy one, too. So feeling her move was
enough to make me worry about structural damage.
I calculated
where the sound had come from and moved over there as quickly as I could, half
expecting to see a hole in her side. Instead, I just saw very turbulent waves. The problem with that was that the waves
shouldn't have been there. There was
nothing to make them happen and the rest of the cove was almost placid as far
as my eyes could see.
I leaned over
to look and something came out of the water at high speed, lifting a good ten
feet into the air. Had it been right next
to the Isabella , I could have touched
it.
Instead, all I
saw was a dark shape, one that looked almost human, but not quite. The arms were too long, the head was wrong,
and the faint light I saw
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