Reid paused and swept his hand out over the blue waters. “God has cleaned up what man couldn’t, and the beaches are white again. Wildlife came back, and for the uninformed, it appears as if it had never happened. But I’ve looked closer and I’ve seen things you might not notice—things like reduced populations of larger marine animals such as whales, dolphins, and turtles, as well as lingering oil in the sediment. Some of the wetlands will take decades to recover.”
He signaled Elliot to stop recording so they could proceed deeper into the rig.
Every time he stared out over the water, he saw oil platforms and wondered when the next catastrophe would occur. He hoped it was never, but his contact on this rig had hinted that something “big” was going to happen out here. While Reid wasn’t sure if he believed it yet, he was disturbed enough to check it out.
He trailed after Dex through the various parts of the offshore rig. Steel girders soared overhead on every deck, and the constant hum and clang of machinery wore on his nerves. He got a peek at workers’ quarters, exercise rooms, movie stations, internet cafés, and what felt like a million stairs.
There’d been no sign of Keith, though. Reid had hoped the man would approach him, but three hours later Reid still hadn’t met him.
He would have to ask.
Dex gestured to a door. “Let’s get a cuppa and nosh up in the cafeteria.”
Reid accepted a cup of coffee in the galley and inhaled the aromas of Mexican food from the huge spread along the buffet. The workers eyed him with curiosity before he turned back to Dex. “I wanted to speak with Keith McDonald. Is he around?”
Dex’s brows winged up. “Is he the bloke who wrangled you an invitation?”
“No, I did that all by myself, but I was hoping to see Keith. He’s from Pelican Harbor too.”
“He’s missin’, guv’nor. Coast Guard is searchin’ for ’im now, but odds are poor they’ll find ’im. Once a man goes overboard in these seas, ’is chances ’ave gone pear shaped. The whole rig is gutted about it. He was a good bloke.”
“Overboard? Are you sure?”
Dex shrugged his large shoulders. “He’s nowhere aboard, and he never showed for ’is flight off the rig. It happens. A guy gets cheesed off about somethin’ and acts daft. Or he messes around thinkin’ he’s immune to fallin’ off until he smacks into the waves. I’m sorry to say I think Keith is fish food by now.”
Reid eyed him after his almost gleeful tone. Could Keith have been murdered? If so, it might mean his alarm was credible.
* * *
Jane eyed the oil platform rising in the blue sky. If Keith had fallen from that height, it wasn’t good. The vibration from the sound of machinery shuddered through her bones, and she hailed the Coast Guard response boat on her boat’s starboard side with a shout and a wave.
The Coast Guard boat throttled back as one of the four sailors gave a wave in her direction.
Her fifteen-year-old son, Will, cut the engine. “They’ve seen us.”
She squinted in the brilliant May sunshine and squeezed around Parker to get as close to the railing as she could. “Chief Jane Hardy from Pelican Harbor,” she called. “You’re looking for a man overboard?” She counted three men and one woman aboard the other boat.
The twentysomething blonde woman in uniform exited the cabin and went to the bow to grab hold of the railing of Jane’s boat. “What’s your business here, ma’am?” Her eyes were gray and just as steely in expression.
“I’ve had a report of a missing person. Are you searching for Keith McDonald?”
The woman’s quick blink answered before she spoke. “We are. What do you know about this?”
A familiar set of shoulders on the oil platform distracted Jane, and she bit back a gasp. Parker whined and nudged her hand. “It’s okay, boy.”
“There’s Dad,” Will said.
What was Reid doing up there? She dragged her attention from his precarious position on a steel beam and glanced back at the Coastie. “His mother came to see me.” She launched into Ruby’s concerns, and worry crouched between the other woman’s eyes.
“Have you reported this to Homeland Security?”
“Not yet. I wanted to verify the report first.”
“Do you have a copy of the email?”
“Back at the office.”
“Please contact Homeland Security with this concern. We’re part of the search-and-rescue operation, and it’s outside our mission for today.”
“Any sign of Keith?”
The woman shook her head. “Not yet. He’s been missing for forty-eight hours now, so it’s more likely to be a recovery than a rescue. If we even find his body. We’ve got a couple of choppers in the air and several cutters out looking.”
“No divers?”
“A diver isn’t typically part of an operation like this.”
“Did anyone see him go overboard?”
“No.” The woman released her grip on Jane’s boat. “We need to get back to work. Make sure you place that call.”
Jane pushed away from the Coast Guard boat. “I’ll do it immediately.”
Will shifted in his seat. “I know Keith, Mom. He shoots hoops with us when he’s ashore. He’s a good pitcher, and he’s helped me a lot. He worked with us on our swings too. I sure hope they find him.”
“Me too, honey.”
Her attention went back to the big platform blocking out the sun, and she had her hand half raised to wave at Reid before she caught herself and lowered it back to her side. The wind blew her hair into her eyes, and she couldn’t tell if he’d seen her furtive movement.
She turned her boat around and headed back up Mobile Bay.
Will waved. “Hey, Dad! He saw us, Mom. Turn around.”
Her fingers tightened on the wheel, but what could she say? She and Will were just getting to know each other, and the last thing she wanted was to appear bitter and mean. “I doubt he can hear us.”
She spun the wheel, and the boat swept in a large circle back toward the oil platform. With the sun in her eyes, she could only see Reid’s outline. He was at the platform’s railing, waving. He shouted something, but the wind snatched his words away.
Waves lapped at the platform’s massive under girders, and she slowed the boat so the motion didn’t carry her against the steel. Closer to the beast, the sound grew more deafening.
“We can’t talk to him here.”
Will replied, but she couldn’t make out what he’d said. It was a good excuse to accelerate away from the massive structure and pull away from Reid’s gaze. As her boat left the vicinity, she heard Will shouting at his father and Reid’s faint answer, but the wind snatched more than a syllable or two.
Will joined her at the helm. “How about we get pizza for dinner? We can invite Dad.”
She swallowed and searched for the right words. It was the first time Will had flat out asked for the three of them to be together. For the past four weeks, he’d respected her aversion to being around his father, but she’d seen the longing in his eyes before he climbed out of her SUV to go inside the house with his dad. She’d known this day was coming, and she should have had an answer prepared.