Free Stormy Waters: Book 10 in The Dar & Kerry Series by Melissa Good

just coming out to find you. You're early."
    Dar took her arm and backed up until they were both safely on the metal gangway. Then she stopped. "Anyone else of ours on that thing? Hope not."
    Kerry turned and looked, then swiveled back to face her partner. "Huh?"
    "It's gonna sink."
    "Oh, c'mon Dar, no it isn't." Kerry chuckled. "It's not really that bad inside. C'mon, let me show you around." She hooked a finger through Dar's belt loop and tugged.
    "I'm not boarding that damn thing." Dar resisted the pull. "Did you see those holes? Look!" She pointed at the side of the ship, which did, indeed, sport several healthy sized gaps in its metal sheathing. "I've seen bathtubs more seaworthy."
    Kerry leaned back against the iron rail. "Hon, it made it across the ocean." She reminded her. "I'm sure it's okay sitting here in the Port of Miami and besides, it's only forty feet deep here. Even if it did sink, I could sit on the pool deck up there and get a suntan while it was going down."
    "Mmph."
    "C'mon." Kerry gave her another tug. "It's really not that bad, Dar. Once you get used to all the chaos inside. I got a really nice tour of the ship, and honestly, it's better than I thought it would be."
    "Uh huh." Dar allowed herself to be drawn toward the deck again. "And you have how many ships to judge this against?" She queried, with a wry grin. "How about letting me judge how scary this crate really is?"
    "Okay, sailor girl." Kerry tolerantly led the way across the deck to the inner door. "How's the office?"
    "Annoying as usual." Dar paused inside to look around. The air of tattered, tired elegance reminded her of some of the old beach hotels she'd occasionally wander into in her youth, with much of the same scent of age and disappointment.
    They were in the center of the ship, a large, somewhat open area that extended up several decks now obscured in scaffolding and torn old wallpaper. There were water stains on the walls under the wallpaper, and the exposed girders were thick with rust. "Point one." Dar said. "Rain inside? Bad thing." She indicated the girders.
    Kerry peered at them. "Can't that be from the humidity or the sea air?"
    "No." Dar patted her on the back. "But that's all right, cause it means they need to rip all that drywall and plaster out, and that means we can get wiring in at a lower cost than if we have to pull it all."
    "Hmm, yeah, I talked to the construction chief about that. He said they'd be ready in about a week to strip everything." Kerry agreed as they walked past worktables and through a propped open glass door at the back of the open area.
    Dar found another half destructed space that had a few old desks and walls covered in the typical grunge you often found in office buildings. "Back office?"
    "Uh huh. Want to see where they suggested we put the computer systems?" Kerry took her hand and led her forward, shoving open a half stuck panel just wide enough to admit Kerry's slim form and then stepping back. "Here."
    Dar gave her a suspicious look, and then slowly poked her head in. After a moment, she drew it back out. "And the joke is?" Her voice rose. "Kerry, you couldn't fit our dog in here, much less what we're going to have to run this thing on, and there's no air conditioning."
    "Right. It's a linen closet." Kerry agreed. She peered inside at the room, a scant three feet by six feet not including the hot water pipes running along one wall. "I told them we could use this to store spare parts, but only if they stuck a wall mount AC unit with a drip drain on that long part."
    "Good answer." Dar shook her head as she watched Kerry shove the door shut again. "They have no clue, do they?"
    "Nope." Kerry leaned against the door. "I told them we're going to need this room instead." She pointed at the larger space. "They freaked."
    Kerry walked across the floor, looking up as someone called her name from the outside entrance. "Oh, hi Tally." She turned. "This is my boss, Dar Roberts. Dar, this is Tally. He's been