Free Dolphin Child by James Carmody Page B

When Mary put down the receiver, she looked up at Lucy, who
was standing anxiously in the doorway of the small
office.
    ‘ I just hope you’re right’ she said, ‘or I’m going to have some
serious explaining to do.’ Lucy was relieved that she was right
too, though then she realised that she might still have trouble
explaining how a twelve year old lying in a field chewing a stalk
of grass might know that a little girl was in trouble at a beach
two miles up the coast.
     
    Mary had to drive into town later in the van for an
appointment and offered to give Lucy a lift into town. Bethany
would pick her up again at the end of the afternoon.
    Mary dropped her off at the side of the harbour in
Merwater.
    ‘ See you later then Lucy’ called Mary. The van door clunked
shut behind her and with a wave Mary drove off. Lucy glanced up at
the sky. It was bright and sunny, but there were clouds on the
horizon and she wondered if it might rain later. The ever-present
gulls swooped and soared above the town, looking out for a
discarded fish head or a half eaten sandwich on which to feast. In
nesting season gulls could swoop down aggressively on anyone who
happened to be walking up the street. Fortunately at the moment
they were more interested in looking out for their next meal. There
were many unsuspecting tourists in town for them to prey
on.
    Lucy crossed over the road to the harbour wall. In the
mornings Nate and Bob went out in their fishing boat the Lady
Thelma to check their lobster pots. In the afternoons, especially
in tourist season, they took out visitors in the tourist boat ‘The
Merry Widow’ round the coast to look for seals or even if they were
lucky enough, a glimpse of a dolphin or a whale. ‘It’s easier to
haul in a few tourists than a few lobster’ Nate would say. Making a
living from fishing had never been easy and now it was just getting
harder.
    Lucy walked up to where the Merry Widow was moored. Nate was
sitting on one of the plastic chairs bolted to the foredeck
drinking tea from a chipped mug. He was a comfortably built,
middle-aged man with thinning grey hair above his friendly red
face.
    ‘ Ahoy there young Lucy’ he greeted her. ‘You’re a full fifty
minutes early. Still though, you’re welcome to come on board now
and wait. The tourists will start arriving soon I
expect.
    ‘ Do you think there’ll be good sailing today Nate?’ she asked.
‘Do you think we might see some dolphins?’
    ‘ Well Lucy, with you on the lookout who knows, maybe we will’
Nate laughed.
    ‘ I hope so.’
    ‘ My friend Steve from the coastguard station tells me that
there was a strange call from a farm recently. Turns out a little
girl was stranded on some rocks at the edge of Black Gull Sands.
The woman on the farm told them exactly where to find the little
girl, but how could she have known, he asked me. You wouldn’t
happen to know anything about that now would you young Lucy?’ Nate
turned to look at her with a half knowing, amused expression on his
face.
    Lucy shifted from one foot to the other. If she didn’t know
him any better, she’d have thought that he was putting her on the
spot. Instead she realised that he was only half serious in asking
the question.
    ‘ I might’ she replied with a smile on her face. Nate grinned
back at her.
    ‘ Strange things have been going on down here since you turned
up my gal’ he joked. ‘You best keep your eyes peeled for them
dolphins this afternoon. Make some tourists happy and keep yourself
out of trouble!’ He gave a chesty laugh. ‘Anyhow, you’re a tad
early for the boat ride, so if you don’t want to wait here, you
feel free to wander into town for half an hour or so.’
    ‘ I might just do that’ replied Lucy. She strolled back towards
the town again, past the booth selling tickets for the boat trip,
wondering how she might spend the time.
    Just then Lucy saw a sign; ‘Merwater Museum’. In fact she’d
passed the museum half a dozen times at