Jack Beale 00 - Dangerous Shoals

this, he really missed his boat.
    Now Tom looked up, saw him at the door, and interrupted his thoughts. “Jack. Come on in. Coffee?”
    “No thanks, I’m good.”
    “What’s up?”
    This was the day that the salvage company was going to try to raise the remains of Irrepressible . Even though divers had visited the site several times since the sinking and removed her mast and rigging, she still posed a navigational danger, and the Coast Guard insisted she be removed.
    “Today’s the day.”
    It took a moment for Tom to realize what Jack was talking about. Recovering, he asked, “When?”
    “About an hour.”
    “You going out with them?”
    “Yeah.”
    Tom paused and looked at Jack before asking, “You okay? It’s got to be weird.”
    “Yeah, I am. I guess I just want everything to be over with. Listen, I’ve got to get going. I just wanted to say hello.” Jack stood to leave.
    Before Tom could reply, his phone rang. “Tom Scott.” He held up his hand and signaled for Jack to wait.
    Jack paused in the doorway and watched Tom. His face spoke volumes as he listened to the voice at the other end of the line. At first, his eyes lit up, and Jack sensed that something good was happening. Then, Tom’s shoulders dropped and disappointment clouded over his face. “Yes, I understand. Thank you,” he said quietly before hanging up.
    “What was that all about?” asked Jack.
    Tom looked up at him. “That was Felicia. She did everything she could with the disc and got nothing of any value. It was encrypted, but too little was readable, so there was no chance of getting anything from it. We’ll never know what was on that disc.”
    “Nothing?”
    “Nothing.”
    The disappointment that Jack felt was reflected in his voice. So many people killed and for what? Nothing?
    Tom repeated it again. “Nothing. Sorry Jack.”
    Jack turned toward the door. “I’ve got to get going. Talk to you later.”
    Tom watched out the window as Jack walked toward his car. Even from this distance, he could see that Jack’s eyes were cast down and his shoulders sagged. “Shit.”
    * * *
    The recovery took the better part of the day, and by late afternoon the charred remains of Irrepressible were sitting in the field across the street from Ben’s. And that’s where Max found Jack, sitting in the grass, just looking at the burned-out remains. “Hey, Jack.”
    “Hey, Max.” His voice was soft, almost detached from his body. He just stared blankly at the hulk.
    “You okay?”
    He nodded a half-hearted yes and said, “This sucks.”
    Max sat down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I know.”
    “I saw Tom today, before going to help bring the boat in. He told me that nothing could be recovered from the disc that we got from Daniel. We’ll never know.”
    “Jack, maybe that wasn’t the disc,” said Max, trying to sound hopeful.
    “No, it had to be. The only time we had any contact with him was that day on the boat. The disc was jammed inside the CD player.”
    “I know. It makes sense. You’re probably right.”
    Jack turned toward her and said, “Well, at least whoever wanted it will always be wondering where it is.”
    “I suppose.”
    * * *
    While Max and Jack sat in the field, Art and his helper, Benny, were pulling up the last traps of the day. Four hundred traps had been checked, emptied, and baited again. The day’s catch had been acceptable, not great, but worthwhile. As the final trap on the last trawl broke the surface, Benny called out to Art, “Hold up.”
    Art stopped the winch and turned toward Bert. “What?”
    “We’ve caught something on the last trap.”
    “So?”
    At first, Benny just pointed. Then he said, “So, look.” Snagged on the trap was something large, and it was covered with lobsters. “What the hell?” said Art.
    Benny looked at him, then back over the side of the boat. He stared in horror as he realized what it was. On the trap was a body, a well-eaten body, covered with lobsters.
    Art began to laugh, only a chuckle at first, but then it became a full-fledged belly laugh. Benny looked back and forth between the gruesome sight in the water and Art’s strange reaction. “What is wrong with you?” asked Benny.
    “Benny, that’s probably the guy who tried to kill Jack and Max.”
    “So. Shouldn’t we call the police or something?”
    “You’re right, we should, but don’t you see the humor in it?”
    “No, I don’t.”
    “It’s like that old Bert and