Shadow Cast: A Brock Finlander Novel (Coastal Adventure Series Book 3)

by E. J. Foster

  7

  Finn looked out from the treehouse and back towards his bedroom. Then he turned back to Jessa.

  “Is he gone?” Jessa tried to whisper but was not fully able to contain her excitement.

  “Yes. Why?” he asked.

  Jessa closed the book from which she was reading. Sunken Treasures of the Chesapeake Bay.

  Jessa suddenly looked bashful. Her eyes were down. “I want to show you something,” she said.

  “What?” Finn answered, hopeful. Jessa reached for her pink Hello Kitty backpack, which she still had from elementary school. She reached into the little backpack and pulled out a full police-style, commercial-grade stun gun. Finn's eyes went wide.

  “Whoa, where'd you get a gun?” he asked.

  “Stun gun,” Jessa corrected.

  Jessa held in her hands what looked almost like a real gun. The Taser Pulse subcompact shooting stun gun was mostly black with a bright yellow muzzle, safety switch and laser sight.

  “It can fire barbed probes up to fifteen feet when activated,” Jessa began, “which causes Neuromuscular Incapacitation. It's for protection.”

  “Protection from what?” Finn asked.

  “You know, danger,” she replied.

  Finn knew exactly what she was talking about. A couple summers ago, giant mutant crabs had invaded Claw Island, and things only got worse once his mom and grandpa had started investigating. But still, Finn believed all that was behind them now. Besides, Grandpa Brock lived on Claw Island now. He would protect them.

  “You’ll end up shooting yourself,” Finn warned

  “Highly unlikely,” Jessa answered.

  “The chances of you getting attacked are like one in a million.”

  “Actually, it's one in nine,” Jessa corrected. “Over eleven percent of girls my age gets attacked at some point.”

  Finn inched closer to Jessa, noticing the beautiful sparkle in her eyes as she talked numbers. He wanted to be closer to her.

  “We are going out to find the ghost ship tomorrow,” she said, trying to make her case. “That could be dangerous.”

  “You know, if something ever happened...” Finn paused before continuing, “I'd protect you. I mean, I will protect you.”

  Jessa's wide eyes went glossy at the comment. A few heartbeats passed.

  “You will?” she asked, leaning in closer to Finn.

  “I will,” Finn responded, leaning in closer to Jessa. Their lips aligned just inches apart. Jessa leaned a bit closer, trying to reach Finn’s lips.

  Just then, Finn started shaking and convulsing. His hair was all static and stood straight up. His romantic face turned into a twisted Joker-like expression.

  Jessa looked down and realized she had leaned on the stun gun, firing the barbs directly into Finn’s leg. He was being tased at this very moment. In a panic, Jessa lifted her weight off the stun gun.

  Finn stopped moving, his hair crispy and smoking.

  “I'm so sorry! Are you okay?” Jessa fawned.

  Finn was a space cadet. His response was slow and drugged.

  “Did we kiss?” he asked, his words slurred. “I think I felt it. It was just how I imagined... electric.”

  Jessa's heart collapsed; they hadn't kissed. Although she had wanted to so badly, and for so long, and thought this would be their moment. She’d ruined it.

  “No, we didn’t kiss,” Jessa said as she scrambled to retract the barbs and stuff the gun back into her pink backpack.

  Jessa felt both shame and disappointment. And a deep, deep longing to kiss Finn. And it didn't seem possible at this moment. Not now.

  Finn was slowly rotating his open palms in front of his eyes, inspecting them. He looked confused, as if trying to determine if his extremities were really there in front of him.

  Just then, a barking sound came from Finn's bedroom window. Jessa looked up to investigate; it was Chum. Finn's dog always seemed to have a knack for knowing when Finn was in trouble and needed help. Chum had two paws up on the windowsill and his tongue was wagging out of his mouth, waiting for a response.

  “All is well, Chum,” Jessa shouted over to the dog. “Finn is... acceptable,” she added after taking a moment to decide on the right word.

  With that, Chum barked once, turned tail and ran off. Finn lay there in front of Jessa in a heap, dazed.

  “You really think I'm... acceptable?” Finn asked in a zombie-like voice.

  Jessa let her romantic heart soar and tried to get back to the place they were before she ruined it all. Their romantic moment.

  “I find you quite... acceptable,” Jessa said.

  Finn’s stone face twisted into a genuine smile.

  8

  Being up and out just after sunrise was awesome this time of year. It was what makes Claw Island summers on the water.

  I needed to go check on my boat in the lift. Walking out to the dock in the morning with a cup of coffee was a special time.

  Arriving at the lift, I could see my boat had stopped leaking, and the water fountain that was coming out of my bow had run dry. I stepped aboard the vessel to further assess the damage that had been done yesterday.

  At that moment, I heard Chum, Jessa, and Finn walking down towards the dock.

  “Hi, Grandpa,” Finn said.

  “Hello, Mr. Brock,” Jessa added.

  Chum barked hello, too.

  “What are you kids doing up so early?” I asked.

  “We’re investigating a ghost—” Jessa started, before Finn cut her off.

  “Uh, we're going out on the bay, fishing,” he corrected.

  “You'll have to take the small jon boat,” I said. “My dive boat is out of commission, and I don't want you driving the fifty-five-footer.”

  Finn and Jessa piled into the jon boat. Jessa had her pink backpack with her, as usual.

  Chum tried to board the boat, but Finn protested.

  “No boy, you stay here,” Finn commanded the dog.

  At that, Chum sat down and barked once.

  “You kids get back before dark,” I said. “Remember, FRS radio channel seven. That's our channel. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Finn responded, and held up his handheld radio.

  Finn gave a few pulls to the small outboard of the jon boat, and the thing roared to life. He untied the bow line, and then he and Jessa motored off into the Chesapeake Bay.

  Those kids spent most of their summer days out on the water. That was just the way life works here on Claw Island. It was usually an easy, relaxing life without disruptions, except for what had happened yesterday. That was unusual.

  I had rarely seen a meteor shower; much less been hit by one. As I reflected on the events of the previous day, I suddenly remembered what I had promised Jules last night. That I would take that thing and throw it into the bay. I worked my way back to the helm to get it, but there was nothing there. Except a note, from Katie, sitting right where I had left the small black egg.

  I couldn't resist, the note read. Love, Katie.

  Damn. Katie must have come out here early this morning and taken the thing.

  Her curiosity is worse than mine ever was. She must have taken it to the lab early this morning.

  I better head to the lab, I thought. I've gotta see what's going on, and maybe stop Katie from doing something irreversible and dragging us into another mess.

  We did make a promise to Jules, after all. Well, at least I did.

  But now, I didn’t have a boat. The kids had taken the jon boat and the dive boat was out of commission.

  It wasn’t practical, but I'd have to take my fifty-five-foot Hudson Bay yacht. It wouldn’t exactly be convenient for getting around the island. It was a massive thing, but it’d have to do, today.

  I climbed down off my dive boat intent on finding Katie.

  The fifty-five-foot Hudson Bay was a luxury behemoth that Katie gave me two summers ago.

  It had been given to her by her particularly nasty ex-fiancée, Kent Rook. The man was
distasteful, to put it mildly, and she didn't care much for keeping the boat, so she gave it to me.

  I climbed aboard the Hudson and worked my way to the helm. I powered her up and the engines settled into a low gurgle. I touched the throttle, easing her out into the bay. I turned and headed straight for Katie's lab. What in the world was she doing?

  9

  There was barely enough room to get my fifty-five-foot Hudson Bay into the small dock at Katie's lab. I parked it right across the dock from her scientific research vessel, Ring of Life.

  She had bought that boat for the school and outfitted it for their science program. Katie built this lab all by herself with the money she had inherited from her ex-fiancée, Kent.

  I threw the fenders over the side of the gunwale and tied off.

  In front of me stood a small one-room lab that Katie had purchased herself. Despite its size, it had all the scientific and technological advancements of a modern lab.

  As I looked in, I saw there was no sign of Katie, or anyone else, here. I thought I must have been mistaken.

  Did Katie come here? Is she somewhere else? I thought.

  I walked up to the door and looked through the side-light window cupping my hands against the glass darkening the reflection, so I could get a better inside.

  No sign of anyone. I was getting a weird feeling about this.

  Something tingled on the back of my spine. I started having memories of a couple summers ago. I was at a lab just like this when giant mutant crabs attacked us from the tall marsh grass. At this moment, I felt exposed. For some reason, I got a bad feeling; I wanted to get the hell out of there.

  I didn’t know why, but something about standing there exposed, not being inside, and not being on my boat, didn't feel right.

  Call it a premonition, call it superstition. I didn’t’ know what it was.

  I took one last look into the window and suddenly, a face was staring directly back at me.

  My heart jumped. Ice shot through my veins as I leapt back in response. It took me half a second, but I realized I recognized that face. Katie.

  Just then the door burst open, and Katie was standing there in front of me.

  “Hey Dad. I guess you got my note,” she said.

  I was bent over, hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. I’d just had the life scared out of me. I was waiting for my heartbeat to slow and was still looking down when I spoke.

  “I got your note,” I gasped.

  “Come on in, let's talk about it,” Katie said casually.

  I walked through the lab door with some hesitation, still wound up from the scare, but my blood pressure was returning to normal.

  “I guess you're here for your thingy,” Katie asked.

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “Your meteorite,” she clarified.

  “Oh, yes, the meteorite,” I answered. “I guessed you took it, but I thought we talked about throwing that thing back into the bay. You know, the promise we made to Jules?”

  “I know, Dad, but I just couldn't resist. I had to get a look at it. How often do you get a chance to observe and touch something that actually came from outer space?”

  I warmed a little inside. She sure was my girl. Same instincts, same curiosity. And the same affinity for getting into trouble. I smiled inside but put on a stone veneer when I answered her.

  “Katie, we made a promise to Jules that we'd throw that thing away.”

  “Dad, aren't you even a little bit curious?”

  The truth was I was a little curious. What was the harm in Katie doing a little testing here and there to figure out what this thing was? Take a look at it. Crack it open, see what's inside.

  I looked around the room and saw Katie had some things that she normally didn’t have; things you wouldn't find in a typical marine biology lab.

  “Is that a bunny?” I motioned to a cage with a small furry bunny-looking animal.

  “Ah, yes, that's a marsh rabbit. The Department of Natural Resources dropped it here. They want me to study why this thing is so far north. Usually, these marsh rabbits are only in northern Virginia, but don't get this far up into the Chesapeake Bay. Just part of my contract work that helps pay for this place.” Katie looked up and motioned around with her arms at the lab.

  The rabbit in the cage didn't look much like a rabbit at all. It had no tail and looked more like a tiny deer.

  Katie lit a scented candle and placed it on the lab table in front of us.

  “This,” she said, “is for the smell. That thing can get pretty stinky.”

  “Katie, listen. About the meteorite. I really think we should do the right thing and throw it away, or at least give it to someone else who can do something with it. We've got no business.”

  “But Dad, aren't you curious?” Katie asked again.

  “I'd love to study this thing––” I started, but Katie interrupted me before I could reject the idea.

  “Okay, Dad, before we decide anything let's just talk it over at lunch. On me,” she offered.

  I'd never been one to turn down a free lunch and that sounded good with me.

  “Alright, Katie, we'll head up to The Bridge. Get a crab cake,” I said.

  Katie smiled, grabbed her keys, and led me out the door.

  “Let's take my boat,” she said. “It's a little smaller and more maneuverable than that thing.” She motioned to my fifty-five-footer.

  “Fine with me,” I said, and we hopped on board Katie's research vessel.

  I grabbed the bow line and Katie grabbed the stern.

  “But I'll drive,” I said.

  I touched the throttle and eased out into the bay. I turned north and pushed the throttles forward to cruising speed heading up to where the old Bay Bridge used to be. The Bridge Marina. The restaurant there's pretty good.

  “Oh wait, I forgot to lock the door,” Katie said.

  “You want me to turn back?” I asked.

  “Nope. I can do it with my phone. It calls the lab and then a Bluetooth device locks the door,” Katie explained.

  “Sounds highly technological, and above my pay grade.”

  Katie pulled out her phone and stabbed at it for a few seconds, and then turned to me and said, “All done.”

  10

  When we arrived at The Bridge Marina, it was still shocking to see no bridge there. A few years ago, there had been a five-mile span across the bay. That was destroyed by Katie's ex-fiancée. And now, the view from the marina looking west was a clear expanse, unobstructed by anything man-made. Just water reaching all the way across to the mainland. In a way, it was beautiful, despite being a tragic reminder of the past.

  I slowed down to pull into the marina and ease through the no-wake zone. Once in the marina, I turned the boat one-eighty to port side, leaving us nose-out to the bay. I had adopted this habit a few summers ago when I needed to be prepared for a quick escape and now, it's just a way of life for me.

  I killed the engines on the Ring of Life, and we tied off to the pier pylon, and headed up into the Bridge Restaurant.

  “Welcome back, Mr. Finlander. Your usual table?” asked the hostess, Ashley, when we stepped inside. She knew me well. I'd been somewhat of a regular at this restaurant for the past few years. Katie and I sat down at a booth with a large picture window looking out west, to the open bay.

  They never did rebuild the bridge after it was destroyed. The locals decided they liked it better without all the traffic and the tourists.

  The surface of our table, and all the tables in this restaurant, was printed with a map of the Chesapeake Bay. A treasure map, if you will, marking all the locations of shipwrecks in the bay.

  Mostly old pirate ships from the 1700s. I looked through the markings on the map at some of the shipwreck locations and one in particular stood out to me. The Black May.

  “That was the wreck I chartered yesterday,” I said to Katie, pointing at the map. “When I got caught in the meteor storm.”

  “More treasur
e hunters?” Katie asked.

  “Too many to count,” I responded. “But it's all a bunch of bull hockey. These rumors and conspiracies. I don't buy any of it.”

  “You should,” Katie responded. “We've been involved in a few ourselves. Some kinds of things I would have never believed if someone had told me about them. I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw it with my own eyes.”

  Katie made a good point. I'd been through a lot and seen a lot, that was for sure. We both had.

  But there was something about these supernatural rumors and pirate treasure stories that just seemed phony to me, despite knowing all that I knew.

  I never believed stories like that.

  “What about the meteor?” Katie asked. “Do you think there's a story there?”

  “Nah, probably not,” I responded. “But it would be cool to have and hold something that came from another world, another galaxy.”

  “Well, I hope there’s something there,” Katie said. “To be honest, I quite enjoy the adventure of it all. In fact, that's what brought you and I together.” Katie paused, as if considering her next words. “When we're involved in some adventure together, it makes me feel closer to you,” she confessed. “I mean, that's kind of how you came back into my life.”

  She was right. Since I’d reentered her life, it'd been all adventure for the both of us. That was the only relationship she'd ever known with me. And really, the only relationship I'd ever known with her.

  Ashley arrived at our table, placed two cold beers in front of us and walked off. I took a swig and said, “To be honest, Katie. I feel the same way. I like the trouble we've gotten into together. It's made our relationship stronger.”

  “So, you agree, we should keep the egg?” she asked.

  “I didn't say that. We made a promise to Jules, you and I.”

  “You made a promise to Jules. I didn't promise anything,” Katie reminded me.

  “Well, I made a promise and I'd like to keep it. Besides, that meteorite’s mine. Marine salvage rules.”