Still Water (7 page)

seeing issues as either black or white. That worried Ella. No relationship between two people could flourish when one of them harboured secrets. Perhaps she’d hoped that she could confide in Matt, that he would understand what had happened, but as she’d listened to him talk she’d reluctantly admitted to herself that she couldn’t take the chance. The knowledge saddened her.

All that day she and Gordon worked, hauling the traps they’d placed along this stretch of shelf, and then more that they’d set close to a finger of rock that protruded from Seal Bay on the rugged western side. In all, they brought up two hundred and eighteen traps, and in each case though the bait was gone the traps were empty. Ella wondered why Jake hadn’t simply cut off her trap lines from the buoys, costing her a sixty-dollar trap as well as the catch, but she guessed this was his way of extending her misery. He was taunting her. He wanted to see her return to harbour each day, after working ten hours, for nothing.

It was late afternoon by the time they headed back towards Sanctuary. They were a mile off the island when a movement in the sea several hundred yards to their port side, brought Ella back to the present. A fin broke the surface of the water, and then another. As she watched, entranced, a pod of killer whales moved in a northerly direction, rising and dipping in the swell. She called out to Gordon and pointed, and they watched them pass. Orcas were regular visitors to the gulf around this time of year, but not in great numbers and Ella was always fascinated when she was lucky enough to see them. They came in from deep water to catch migrating fish, but these days pickings were lean for man and orca alike and it didn’t help that some fishermen, like the Roderick brothers, would shoot at them on sight, claiming they competed for fish. She had seen Bryan Roderick once, standing on the deck of the Seawind, aiming his rifle at a pod of orcas which had veered away and picked up their pace. When the Seawindhad. changed direction to pursue them she’d hailed them on the radio and threatened to report them. They would have denied it, but at least on that occasion the threat had been enough to stop them. She remembered looking through her glasses and seeing Bryan, appearing disturbingly close, staring back at her.

Returned to the present, Ella experienced a vague sadness as she watched the orcas pass by. In their diminishing forms something irretrievable was vanishing from the gulf.

Overhead a lone kittiwake soared, following their path.

The bull noted the sound of the small boat’s engine as the pod cruised past. He saw the two figures on board and heard the sound of a winch and the hiss of a trap being raised from the seabed. He was used to the sight and sound of man and the way in which they hauled vast catches of fish from the sea by net or hook. He understood also that some vessels could be dangerous, and was cautious when the pod were in their vicinity.

The pod turned westward later in the evening and eventually came close to the mainland shore. The bull heard the sounds made by a large school of feeding shad directly in their path. Three of the orcas swam in a long, wide sweep around them, and when they were in position the others, led by the bull, advanced on the fish. Two more of the orcas dived deep to prevent the shad escaping once they became aware of what was happening. The rest maintained silence to conceal their approach. As they drew near to their prey, they began making audible sounds, and the sea reverberated with a range of clicks and shrill screams which had the purpose of echo-locating the shad, and both frightening and disorienting them at the same time. The shad immediately fled, kept close to the surface by the orcas that had swum underneath them, and gradually they were herded into an ever tightening mass all streaming in the same direction. Ahead of them, the three orcas that had swept wide waited as the unwitting fish approached.

At a signal from the bull they attacked, making terrifying sounds as they swam at speed towards the school. The shad immediately panicked, the front runners turned against those behind and the surface of the sea became alive with a mass of terrified fish. The orcas began breaching, rising from the waves and crashing down again with huge splashes that sent shock waves through the water, partially stunning their prey. Then one by one they took turns to swim into the school to feed.

A small dinghy with an outboard motor was anchored close by, and two men on board were fishing with rods and lines, unaware at first of what was happening. As the orcas began their initial approach towards the shad many of the school broke off and tried to shelter close to the dinghy.

The men noticed that their boat was suddenly surrounded by fish of about three pounds in weight.

“What the hell…” one of them said, and looked to his companion in bewilderment.

Both men immediately brought in their baits and dropped them over the side, but none of the swarming fish were biting.

“Looks like something’s spooked ‘em.”

The other man looked around. About two hundred yards behind them a mass of water was boiling at the surface, where thousands of fish were thrashing in panic, and he caught sight of the dorsal fins of several approaching orcas.

He pointed, white faced, and his companion followed his fearful gaze.

“Oh shit,” he said quietly.

An orca erupted from the sea fifty yards away, its great, black body and snowy white chest clearly visible as it rose twenty feet into the air before crashing down to the surface with an enormous splash.

“Jesus,” one of the men breathed, awestruck.

His companion immediately dropped his rod and scrambled to the back of the boat where he began trying to start the small motor. The waves created by the orcas were rocking the little boat precariously. Suddenly the other man shouted and pointed frantically. Heading straight towards them at about twenty-five knots was a five foot dorsal fin rising from a bubble of water beneath which could be seen the massive body of an orca.

“Christ, it’s coming right at us,” the man at the motor breathed.

The two men gripped the gunwales, their eyes wide in fright as a six ton killer whale bore down on them. At the last moment the orca changed course, but the wave he created rocked the boat badly and one of the men was pitched into the water. His companion shouted to him, leaning over the side with his arm outstretched. What the man in the water couldn’t see was that behind him the orca had turned and was surging straight towards him, the great fin towering above the surface as the animal drew closer.

The man swam as fast as he could, but he was weighed down by his clothes and shoes, and he was beginning to panic. He guessed from his companion’s terrified expression what was happening.

“Hurry,” the man in the boat shouted.

The man flailed his arms in panic. He knew that the orca was coming for him. He felt himself lift as the front of the pressure wave hit him and he cried out in pure terror. Any moment he expected to be engulfed in vast jaws that would crush his bones and flesh to a bloody pulp. In his horror of being devoured he screamed and took a mouthful of water which started him choking. Bizarrely he could feel his hands brushing the panicked shad in the water, then he fell again and was carried on a wave to the side of the boat where his companion grabbed him.

For still another second he didn’t comprehend what had happened, until at last he realized that his companion’s gaze was focused beyond him now, his expression slack and pale rather than terror stricken. He turned and saw the orca’s dorsal fin dip beneath the waves, and he thought he heard a high pitched sound, and then it was gone. Suddenly the sea was once again calm and still, disturbed only by a breath of wind.

The shad that hadn’t been eaten had dispersed. Further pursuit of such small prey was counter productive and the pod re-grouped to continue on their way. The young male who had swept by the boat joined the flank. He had never considered the man in the water as potential prey, any more than he would consider killing one of his own kind for food. Though the man had been totally helpless the orca had ignored him. Even a juvenile animal such as he, had long since learned to recognize the brain impulses of a highly evolved predator, equal in intelligence to himself.

The Santorini entered the harbour late in the afternoon without having taken a single lobster. Jake Roderick stood among a group of men alongside the Seawind. As they talked quietly among themselves they cast hostile glances towards the Santorini as she docked, and it seemed to Ella that Jake wore the trace of a grim smile.

She did her best to ignore them. Gordon stepped on to the dock to tie up and then without warning he picked up a short gaff and started towards the men. When Ella saw him and guessed his intent she called out, but he paid no attention and she scrambled to go after him. He reached the men and stopped in front of them, feet apart, hefting the gaff in one hand at his side.

“Which one of you bastards has been at our traps?” He looked from one to the other, and each of them seemed surprised to be confronted by someone they all thought of as not much more than a boy. They looked uncertainly at one another.

“What’s wrong? Nobody got the guts to take me on face to face?”

“Watch what you’re saying,” one of the men warned, but he eyed the gaff and kept back.

“Or what will you do?” Gordon mocked.

Jake pushed his way forward, and the men parted to let him through. He appeared unconcerned. “You better get back to your mother’s tit, before I give you a hiding you won’t forget in a hurry, boy. What are you planning to do with that thing? You think you’ve got what it takes to use it?”

Gordon glanced at the wicked steel point of the gaff. The quiet threat in Jake’s tone caused him a flicker of uncertainty.

“You could kill a man with that thing. Split his head right open. Think you could do that? Because if you come at me with it, you better be ready to.” Jake cast his eye around and went casually to the side of the Seawind where he reached over and grabbed hold of a gaff stained with fish blood. He hefted it in his hand, testing the weight, then without warning he swung it against a plastic fish crate on the dock. The point blurred with the power of the motion, then smacked into the crate and shattered the plastic with a loud crack.

Jake yanked the point free. Think you could do that to me?”

Though Gordon stood his ground, he was unnerved. The other men looked on, waiting to see if he would back down.

“The only reason you’re on your feet now is that you’re still wet behind the ears, and because I know your dad,” Jake said. “Wasn’t for that I’d make you sorry you picked that thing up. Now get the hell back where you came from and mind your manners, before I forget myself.” His voice was low, almost languid, his apparent lack of concern a calculated insult.

Gordon wavered, his face flushed, the handle of the gaff felt slick with his sweat. He felt the pressure of the men all watching him, saw a couple of them grin. He started to take a step forward.

As Ella reached him she saw the muscles tighten across his shoulders and knew he was about to do something stupid. “Gordon don’t.”

She grabbed him, and as he hesitated Jake yanked the gaff out of his hand, almost pulling Gordon off his feet, then with a casual gesture Jake flung the gaff towards the harbour and it sailed through the air, made a splash and sank without trace.

“You shouldn’t send a boy to do a man’s job, Ella, “Jake said.

She ignored him, turning her back to position herself between them while she appealed to Gordon.

“Don’t listen to him. I know you’re trying to do what you think is right, but this isn’t the way to handle it.” She tried desperately to think of some way to defuse the situation, to allow Gordon to salvage his pride without being goaded into a fight he could only lose. She didn’t want to feel responsible for him getting hurt. He was tense, his fists gripped tightly at his sides and his expression was rigid with anger.

“Please, Gordon, don’t do this. If you get hurt who’s going to be my stern man I need you. I can’t manage the Santorini without you. That’s what he wants.”

She prayed that he would listen, that his stupid male pride would allow him to see sense.

“He shouldn’t get away with it,” Gordon said tightly.

“He won’t. We’ll beat him. But not like this. He isn’t worth it.”

“Better listen to what she says, boy,” Jake said. “I guess your dad must be too damn soft on you. Maybe I should teach you a lesson anyway. If you were mine I wouldn’t let you work for this damn bitch.”

Ella held Gordon’s gaze, and spoke calmly. “He’s just trying to goad you. Don’t listen to him. I need you in one piece.”

He resisted, but she could see he was thinking.

“Please Gordon.”

At last she felt some of the tension ease from him and seizing the moment she guided him by the arm back towards the Santorini. As they walked along the dock Jake shouted after them.

“This isn’t the end of it Ella. I’ll see you in hell before I let you get away with what you did.”

She didn’t look back. “I want you to get your things and go home. I want you back here bright and early in the morning.”

“I’m not afraid of him…”

“I know you’re not.”

They reached the Santorini and she helped him get his things together. “See you tomorrow, okay?”

He looked back towards the group of men, all grinning now and nudging each other.

Slowly Ella drew his gaze back again and he nodded.

She watched as he left to make sure he didn’t get it in his head to go back and pick another fight. Along the dock the group broke up, sensing the drama was over, and Jake went back to his boat. She tried to concentrate on hosing down the deck, but she kept thinking of all the empty traps they had raised to the surface one by one that day, and the day before. She started off-loading the busted traps they’d brought back for repair, and hauled the now empty bait barrel on to the dock. Though she refused to look she could feel Jake watching her. All the while the back of her neck burned. She heard coarse laughter, a sound she knew well.

Her eye fell to a three-foot length of wooden four by two lying on the dock and barely aware of what she was doing she picked it up and holding it so it was partly hidden behind her leg she strode towards the Seawind. When Jake saw her he looked surprised, but then he jumped down to meet her.