Stuart Woods - Swimming To Catalina

Stone fell back onto the berth and let go. Finally, he could let go. There were sounds of an engine starting and the anchor being pulled up, then they seemed to be moving. He went back to sleep.

When he woke, the clock on the bulkhead read just after 1:00A.M. Stone struggled to sit up.

“Tom, he’s awake,” the woman said. She was sitting on the opposite berth, watching Stone.

“Will you come and take the helm?” he called back.

The boat heeled, and Stone could hear water rushing past the hull.

“The wind is coming up a little,” the man said. “Just aim her at that star there; your course is a little north of east, and the wind’s on the beam.” He came below.

“Hi,” Stone said.

“Feeling better?”

“Better is too strong a word, I think, but I’m feeling vaguely alive, which is an improvement.”

The young man laughed. “I’m Tom Helford,” he said. “I’m a medical student at UCLA, fourth year, which is why I haven’t yet called the Coast Guard to get you to a hospital. My diagnosis was that you’d be all right after some rest and nourishment. You hungry?”

Stone nodded. “I missed dinner. Where are we headed?”

“Long Beach; that’s where I keep the boat. Don’t get to use it much these days, though.”

“I’m sorry if I’ve cut your cruise short,” Stone said. “By the way, my name is Stone Barrington.”

“Good to meet you. Surprised to meet you.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You want to tell me what happened?”

“I was on my way to a dinner party aboard a yacht anchored off Catalina, but I think the invitation wasn’t sincere.”

Helford laughed. “I guess not, what with the chain around your waist. Must have been hard to swim.”

“It was harder when there was an anchor shackled to the chain.”

“Holy shit! They didn’t intend for you to come up again, did they?”

“No, they didn’t.”

“I’ve got a cell phone aboard. Why don’t we call the cops and have them meet us at Long Beach?”

“That reminds me,” Stone said. “There was a cell phone in my suit.”

“Here it is,” Helford said, holding it up. “I emptied your pockets onto the chart table.”

“Will you take out the battery and soak the phone in some fresh water?”

“Sure, if you think it’ll help.”

“It can’t hurt; I know the salt water won’t help.”

Helford pumped some water into the galley sink and dropped Stone’s cell phone into it, then started making some sandwiches. “I see by your ID that you’re a cop.”

“Retired.”

“Pretty young for retirement, aren’t you? The knee have something to do with it? I saw the surgical scar.”

“Yep.”

“You’ve got a New York driver’s license.”

“Yeah, I’m just a visitor to L.A.”

“Speaking as a native Californian, I’d like to apologize for the reception; we usually treat tourists better.”

“Apology accepted.”

“What yacht were you headed for when you…took the detour?”

“I don’t know her name; she’s probably big, though.”

“We were ashore for dinner, and on the way back to the boat we passed something of about a hundred and fifty feet calledContessa. Could that be her?”

“Could be.”

“She was the only really big thing in the anchorage; nothing else over eighty, ninety feet.”

“Contessa,”Stone repeated. He wanted to remember that. “What sort of boat am I on?”

“A Catalina Thirty-five, elderly.”

“She’s nicely kept,”, Stone said, looking around, “but I think your masthead light is out.”

“You’re right; I haven’t taken the time to go up and replace it.”

“I didn’t see her coming,” Stone said, rubbing his forehead.

“You’ve got a bump there.”

“It’ll go away.”

Helford handed Stone a sandwich and another cup of soup. “Something I need to ask you,” he said.

“Shoot.”

“Am I involved in something illegal here?”

“No. You just thwarted something illegal.”

“You’re a lawyer, according to your business card; should I be hiring a lawyer?”

Stone shook his head. “No need. The sandwich is wonderful.”

“Thanks. You’re sure I’m not going to be in any difficulties because of your problem?”

“Positive. You’re a Good Samaritan, and that’s it.”

“You said something about wanting to be dead.”

“No, Iam dead, and I want to stay that way for a while.”

“So that whoever did this to you won’t try to do it again?”

“They’re not going to get achance to do it again. It’s just that what I have to do now will be easier if they think they don’t have to worry about me.”

Helford took a bite of his own sandwich and munched it thoughtfully. “Stone?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not going to kill anybody, are you?”

Stone thought about that for a minute. “No,” he lied.

They made their berth at Long Beach at a little after 3:00A.M. Stone, wearing some borrowed jeans and a UCLA sweatshirt, helped them to tie up and set the boat in order, and they walked up to the car park together.

Jennifer handed Stone a plastic shopping bag with a large, wet lump at the bottom. “Your clothes,” she said.

“Stone, can I give you a lift somewhere?” Helford asked. “Finding a cab will be tough this time of night.”

“My car is at Marina Del Rey; is that too far for you?”

“No problem. Jennifer, honey, you go back to the boat and get some sleep; I’ll be back in half an hour.”

“I’ll give you no argument,” she said wearily.

Stone climbed into a Mazda Miata with Tom Helford, and they set out.

“I keep having the feeling that I should be doing something more to help you,” Helford said.

“There really is nothing else you can do,” Stone replied. “Give me your address, and I’ll send you the jeans and sweatshirt.”

“Give them to the nearest homeless person.”

They pulled into the car park at Marina Del Rey.

“I wish I could tell you more about this,” Stone said, “but it’s a long, long story, and it wouldn’t make any sense, anyway.”

Helford scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Stone. “Here’s my address and number; I’d like to hear that story someday.”

“If it turns out to have a happy ending,” Stone replied. He reached into a pocket and came out with money.

Helford held a hand up. “Forget it.”

Stone peeled off three hundreds. “I’d like to buy you and Jennifer the best dinner you ever had.”

Helford grinned and took the money. “Since you put it that way.”

They shook hands, and Stone got out of the car and watched it roar away, then found his own car. He looked around and saw a night watchman a hundred yards away, headed in the opposite direction; then he opened the trunk of the car, tossed his sodden clothes inside, removed the tire iron, and closed the trunk.

Keeping a careful lookout for anyone who might be out at that hour of the night, he padded down the pontoons in his bare feet until he spotted the sports fishermanMaria. He came up on it carefully and found it dark; he doubted very much if Vinnie or Manny was sleeping aboard, but he wanted to be sure.

He stepped softly aboard and peered through the glass door into the cabin. The light on the pontoon illuminated the interior of the boat, and he could see no one. The cabin door was locked, but it was flimsy, and he made short work of it with the tire iron, making some noise in the process. He half hoped he would wake somebody aboard, so that he could use the tire iron in another way. He walked through the saloon and checked the sleeping cabins; both empty.