Free Soundkeeper by Michael Hervey

spot that he and Jimmy had selected for the new platform. This platform would overlook Buzzard Island, a small collection of oyster shells and marsh grass that all but disappeared on the highest tides. This site had been selected because it was far enough away from the other nests and it was accessible by vehicle.
    The post hole diggers he used were the long-handled type used by utility workers. The soft sand yielded easily to his efforts, and soon the hole was thirty-six inches deep. The nesting platform was now fifteen feet above him and as he packed the last of the sand around the base of the post, Belker started barking at the nearby water. A splash and a large flock of gulls and terns caught his eye.
    At first Hall thought a few dolphins were menacing a school of fish, but he saw that this was not the case. Below the circling and raucous birds were several dolphins, perhaps a dozen in all. They were packed together tightly as they slowly swam with the falling tide toward Port Royal Sound. Hall retrieved a pair of binoculars from his truck for a closer look and was astonished by what he saw.
    The dolphins were swimming so closely together that they formed a floating raft. On top of their bodies, fully out of the water, they carried a single dolphin. Hall never saw the passenger dolphin move, and after watching for a while was pretty sure it was dead. One of the dolphins near the front of the group had a few fresh wounds around its nose, and Hall wondered if it had been the one that had been entangled in the net. He watched the curious procession until the mammals were out of sight.
    Belker had quieted with the strange passing, and Hall sat on the tailgate of his truck. He was not sure of what he had just witnessed, but hoped the small library of nature guides and reference books at the cottage would give him a clue. By the time he collected his tools and drove back to his house it was late afternoon. One of the features he liked the best about his cottage was the outdoor shower attached to the back of the house and open except for a partition of faded wood that hid everything between his knees and shoulders. The beach houses his family had rented throughout the summers of his youth all had outdoor showers, he remembered. He had a great view of the sound when he showered but was able to maintain his modesty in case any boaters ventured too close.
    He emptied his pockets, kicked off his boots and stepped into the shower with his clothes on. He considered this a pre-wash for his muddy and sweaty clothes. After they were soaked he stripped and scrubbed, turning the water to its hottest setting, which chased Belker away from his feet. As soon as he turned off the water he heard his cell phone beeping.
    He recognized the missed call as the phone number for the Beaufort County Communications Center. The sheriff’s department, volunteer fire departments, emergency management, and several other agencies used this central radio dispatching center. The woman who answered his call promptly put him on hold.
    “Jimmy?” a man came on the line and asked him.
    “No, this is Hall McCormick. Jimmy retired yesterday.”
    “I knew he was getting close, good for him. This is Sergeant Crickson in the communications center. We just received an anonymous tip that two men are going to be netting illegally in Euhaw Creek this evening.”
    Hall wrote the unfamiliar name on the palm of his damp hand.
    “Can you respond? The state wildlife officer for our district isn’t working today. He put in about twenty-four hours straight searching for the missing boater. We were hoping that you’d check out the report.”
    Hall assured the sergeant he would and disconnected. Poor planning, he thought as he padded through the kitchen with wet feet, looking for a towel. He threw his wet uniform in the washing machine that lived on the back porch and took a fresh pair of brown pants and a khaki shirt out of his closet. The Kevlar vest took as much getting