Stuart Woods - Choke

“Yeah, with the help of one of the guys. We pulled the engine, overhauled it, painted it, and reinstalled it with new mounts and hoses.”

“You’re a pretty handy guy,” Tommy said.

“Must be genetic; my father could fix anything, and I used to help him in his workshop.” He handed each detective a glass of iced tea, then poured himself a gin and tonic in a tall glass. “Let’s go sit out on deck; it’s cooler.”

The three men relaxed in deck chairs and sipped their drinks.

“I know this is a pain in the ass,” Tommy said, “but I need to go over yesterday again. I’d like you to tell me what happened from the moment you arrived aboard Fugitive until I saw you aboard the Coast Guard cutter. Do you mind?”

“I guess I’ve got one more retelling left in me,” Chuck said. “I arrived aboard Fugitive around ten, I guess.”

Tommy held up a hand. “Wait a minute, let me go through the drill. You have the right to remain silent, but if you decide to talk to us what you say can be used against you in a court of law; you have a right to an attorney, and if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to represent you. You understand these rights?”

Chuck looked a little worried. “Tommy, are you arresting me or something?”

“No, no, nothing like that; you’ll know it when I arrest you. We always have to go through this form, and I want you to understand that it’s important that you tell me the truth at all times.”

“Sure; want me to go on?”

“Yeah. You arrived aboard Fugitive.”

“Right. Harry was at the marina shop getting some beer, but he came back after a couple of minutes.”

“What did you do while you waited?”

“Clare and I chatted.”

“About what?”

“Just small talk.”

“Anything about your trip that day?” “No; I didn’t even know where we were going until Harry got back.”

“Go on.”

“Well, we were out, I don’t know, half an hour or forty minutes when the same thing happened as on the day you came out with us-exhaust began coming up from below.”

“What happened then?”

“Harry stopped the engines and turned on the fan to clear the engine room, then I went below to fix the problem, which was the same as before. The hose clips had loosened, vibration from the engines, I guess, and the exhaust was being poured into the engine room, instead of overboard.”

“What, exactly, did you do to fix the problem?”

“I put the hose back onto the overboard pipe and tightened both clamps. This time I put some safety wire on the clips to make sure they stayed put.”

“How long did all this take, exactly?”

Chuck shrugged. “Eight minutes, maybe-ten, tops.”

“What did you do then?”

“I came back up, Harry started the engines, and we continued out to our dive spot.”

“Who was driving the boat?”

“Harry.”

“Where was Clare all this time?”

“She and I sat on the afterdeck and chatted.”

“What about?”

“Just small talk-her tennis game, whatever.”

“Go on.”

“Well, we arrived at the place, and I went forward to deal with the anchor. Then Harry went, below and handed up three tanks, one for each of us. There’s a compressor in the engine room.”

“Harry handed up the tanks?”

“Yeah. Then we started getting into our gear. Harry was ready first, and he went on ahead of us.”

“Do you remember which tank Harry was wearing?”

“Yeah, it was the red one, I’m sure. I remember the color when I saw Harry on the bottom.”

“Why didn’t Harry wear a life jacket?”

“I suggested that he should, but he said he never bothered. Funny, I could swear he was wearing one the last time we dove together. Do you remember, Tommy? You were there.”

“I believe he was,” Tommy said. “So you gave Harry the red tank, and you chose which one?”

“Harry picked the red tank for himself, and Clare said for me to use the blue one, said it was the guest tank. She took the yellow one.”

“You’re sure she said that?”

“Positive, just as I’m positive Harry chose the red tank for himself.”

“Okay, what happened next?”

“Harry started out before I even had my gear on, and Clare expressed some concern about that, asked me to catch up with him.”

“Was she ready by that time?”

“No, I was ready before she was; I helped her on with her tank, then I went after Harry. He had given me a compass course and a distance.”

“How many minutes would you say Harry was ahead of you?”

“Hard to say, exactly; maybe two minutes, five at the outside.”

“Go on.”

“So I followed Harry out to the wreck. It was further than he had estimated, I think, and there was a current, a knot or two, running. I had to correct my course. The visibility wasn’t so hot, so I was very close to the wreck before I saw it. I was starting to feel sick.”

“Did you see Harry then?”

“Not immediately, not until I got closer. Then he was in plain view on the wreck’s deck.”

“Describe what you saw.”

“He had gotten out of his tank, but he was still attached to it by the connecting hose. The regulator wasn’t in his mouth; his eyes were open, and there was blood in his mask. I knew he had stopped breathing, because there were no bubbles coming from his mouth.”

“What did you do?”

“I went straight for him, and got hold of his wrist. I pulled off the mask, because I knew it was no good to him. I wanted to get him to the surface as quickly as possible. But then I vomited, spat out my regulator in the process, and I really panicked. I yanked the cord on my life jacket, it inflated instantly, and I popped to the surface, kicking to get there faster. When I reached the surface, I was retching and strangling on saltwater at the same time. I guess I was lucky to survive.”

“Did you think about going back for Harry?”

“There was no way I could have done it. It was obvious to me that something was wrong with the air in my tank, so I had nothing to dive with, and Harry was at sixty feet. Also, I was having a lot of trouble breathing properly, coughing up vomit that had gotten into my windpipe. I felt exhausted, and when I started back toward the yacht I had to drop my tank so that I could make it.”

“How long did it take you to get back to the yacht?”

“I don’t know-a lot longer than it had taken me to get out to the wreck, because I was so tired.”

“Make a guess.”

“Well, it must have taken me five or six minutes to reach the wreck, and probably twice that long to get back.”

“Where was Clare all this time?”

“I saw her hanging on to the diving platform, vomiting. I guess she had tried to follow Harry and me, but had gotten sick and turned back.”

“Did you ask her what had happened?”

“No, we were both in pretty bad shape. I helped her onto the platform and out of her tank, then I took a few deep breaths and went up to the cockpit and radioed the Coast Guard.”

“How long before they arrived?”

“Twenty minutes, half an hour. They must have already been in the area.”

“What did you and Clare talk about while you were waiting?”

“I told her about Harry, but she didn’t really respond. She seemed to be in shock or something.”

“But you weren’t in shock?”

“God knows I was shaken up, but I felt better with every breath I took. By the time the Coast Guard arrived I was feeling perfectly normal. I guess Clare was, too, although she didn’t say anything. The lieutenant commented on how well we both looked.”

“You didn’t feel the need of going into a pressure tank, to avoid the bends?”