Free Ghostboat by George E. Simpson, Neal R. Burger Page B

meant an opportunity for Hardy, somehow the opportunity disappeared. Did the Navy keep a copy of his Candlefish testimony in front of them at all times?
    The material covering the incident in 1965 was terribly skimpy—just brief references to a submersible called Neptune 4000 and Hardy’s leadership of the expedition, his nervous breakdown, and the cancelation of the entire project.
    It was probably his greatest opportunity, and for some reason he had blown it. Frank wanted to know more, but the information simply wasn’t here. What so intrigued him was the fact that Hardy had designed the project himself with a syndicate of builders and backers—and the expedition was to have centered around latitude 30° southeast off Japan!
    Even today, Hardy was still employed at Scripps. Frank had his home address, an office, and the phone numbers of several close associates. One in particular—Dr. Edward Felanco, a vice-chairman of the Board at Scripps—was presently working with Hardy outfitting the submersiblb AGSS-555 Dolphin for a special project.
    Frank polished off his soda water and went up on deck to find Lieutenant Cook.
    The next morning he caught a plane for San Diego.
     
     

 
    CHAPTER 6
     
     
    October 12, 1974
     
    Frank landed at the Naval Air Station on Coronado at 1030 Saturday. He was escorted to the west-side wharf and boarded a launch that took him across the bay to Point Loma, where a car met him to cover the short distance to the submarine base.
    He was driven past a sign that read SUBDEVGRU ONE, and then down to the docks. A support craft was moored along the same finger-pier as AGSS-555 Dolphin. Frank got out of the car, and the driver went to find Dr. Edward Felanco. Frank walked to the end of the dock and looked the Dolphin over. She was a smaller version of the Candlefish. In fact, of all the research submersibles built over the last twenty years, she bore the closest resemblance to the old fleet-type warboats.
    “What do you think of her?”
    Frank locked around to find a silver-haired man, short and powerful-looking, smiling at him from the afterdeck of the support craft.
    “Are you Ed Frank?” the man asked.
    “Dr. Felanco?”
    “Yes.”
    Felanco hurried down the deck of the support ship and shook Frank’s hand. Together they walked down the dock to the Dolphin. “She was launched in 1968,” said Felanco. “She’s owned and operated by SUBDEVGRU ONE for the Navy. She’s one hundred sixty-five feet—half the length of your mysterious fleet boat...”
    Felanco’s eyes made a quick run at Frank’s face. Frank smiled. “I see you’ve guessed why I’m here.”
    “Wasn’t too difficult. You wanted to meet Hardy. I’m the one who told him about the reappearance of the Candlefish . I never had much trouble putting two and two together.”
    Frank stood looking at the Dolphin while Felanco told about his current ills with the project: The research trip had been pushed back four times already for mechanical failures aboard the sub.
    “Is Hardy going with you?”
    Felanco looked at him quizzically. “No. I assume you know some things about Jack Hardy.”
    “Some.”
    “For instance, he will never again go on a submarine voyage of any kind.”
    Frank lost his smile. “What do you mean?”
    “He refuses. Oh, he’ll plan the research for these jobs, outline the projects, and help to fit the boats, but once we head out to sea, we go without him.”
    “This goes back to his days aboard the Candlefish?”
    “Hell no. Goes back to 1965, I think...”
    “The Neptune 4000? ”
    Felanco nodded.
    “I want to hear all about that one. It may have some bearing on my meeting with Hardy.”
    They went aboard the little support ship and sat down in the officers’ wardroom. Felanco ordered coffee and began to tell the story of Hardy’s last sea voyage.
    “Jack got involved with a team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and a company of builders. They developed the Neptune 4000, an