Free In Deep Waters by Melissa McClone Page B

reference points. Echo sounders helped the crew draw a seabed profile of the newly mapped-out search area. And the first pass was completed.
    Sitting in the control room, Kayla stared at the monitors in front of her. Acoustic echoes received by the transducers became electronic impulses that traveled up the cable and into the bank of computers in the control room. Line-by-line images formed on the screens. But there was one problem. The only thing she saw was mud. No debris trails, no interesting geological formation. Nothing but mud.
    She glanced at the row of recorders--glorified typewriters and printers--covered in black dust. The whole area smelled like graphite. But no marks were being made to signal a target or anomaly standing out from all the sediment.
    The ship was now on its second line, making its way back at a constant two knots, slightly overlapping the previous pass. They called it mowing the lawn. It was more like watching the grass grow. Kayla sighed.
    What was happening to her? She hadn't felt this restless before. But the success or failure of the search rested on her shoulders. She could no longer blame Ben for looking in the wrong place. And the longer it took to find the ship, the antsier she got.
    The Isabella was out there. Where?
    The investors and the museum were counting on her. Her reputation was on the line. And her father...
    She touched the talisman around her neck. The indentations beneath the pads of her fingertips were like old friends. She could describe the talisman by memory-- pie-shaped and two inches long with untranslatable markings.
    She had to find the Isabella. Not only for everyone else, but for herself, too. Her father's research had given her a clue about her past. Symbols written alongside his notes about the lost pirate ship matched those on her necklace--an heirloom from her mother's family. If she found the ship, maybe she could find answers about her past. The odds were unbelievable. Kayla didn't care. She was alone and tired of living a life punctuated with question marks.
    Kayla stared at the monitors and forced herself to stay awake. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. Her body clock still hadn't adjusted to this shift. She wondered if it ever would.
    "Coffee?"
    "No, thanks." Kayla glanced back, surprised to see Ben at this time of night.
    He wore gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt and looked as if he'd just rolled out of bed. A day's growth of whiskers made him look more dangerous and even a little sexy. He brushed his hand through his sleep-rumpled hair. The careless style looked good on him. Too good for a man she wanted to avoid at all costs.
    Their relationship had worsened since the other night when she'd confronted the crew about the bet. She still couldn't believe she'd pulled that off. A good portion of her success she owed to Ben. Indirectly, of course. He made her reach inside herself and do things she'd never thought possible. She'd tried to emulate Ben's strengths, be bold and daring. It had given her the courage to take a stand.
    Everyone seemed to respect what she'd done. Everyone except Ben. The tension between them had increased to the point where even Madison noticed.
    "What's going on?" he asked.
    "Nothing." She wished he would go back to his cabin. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep?"
    "I was, but Madison woke up. Baby Fifi fell out of bed and she wanted a glass of water."
    "Doesn't Baby Fifi drink from a bottle?"
    His easy, sleepy smile, the first directed her way in days, was as warm and comfy as a pair of flannel jam-mies.
    He glanced around. "Where's Zach?"
    "He traded shifts with Monk tonight."
    "So where's Monk?"
    She pointed to the monitor showing Monk as he checked the cable on the big drum. "On deck."
    Any trace of sleepiness disappeared. Ben was alert and ready. For what, she didn't know. "You shouldn't be alone."
    "Monk will be right back. I know what to do if a target shows up."
    "Did something break?"
    "Monk wanted to check the