Shades of Deception by Charlie Hudson

Author:Charlie Hudson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2018-05-30T12:37:38+00:00

Roger Lariby was waiting for Bev when she pulled in front of the Scuba-Plus dive facility. The philosophical expression from the day of Mr. Belton’s death had been replaced with a somberness Bev could sympathize with.

“Hell’s bells,” he said in shaking her hand. “All my years in this business and I’ve never lost a staff member. To have it come so soon after the other is almost unbelievable.”

Bev couldn’t argue with his statement. “It was Raney? They pronounced him dead?”

“Yeah. Leslie scooted to the hospital as soon as we got word he’d been evacuated. She called to tell me maybe fifteen minutes ago.”

The Coast Guard had escorted Big Blue to the closest homeowner’s park where the ambulance and Beau Wilson had been waiting. The first responders had Matt headed to the hospital within minutes and the Coast Guard had performed the initial tasks for their report. Beau had stood aside, called Bev to let her know when the Scuba-Plus boat was on the way to their dock and he would meet her there.

With the body not on site, the scene wasn’t quite the same as the day Bev had responded to the previous incident. There were almost as many witnesses this time and Beau seemed to have separated them into two groups.

Roger swept his hand to the fenced back area. “Beau kept Tyler, the Captain, Gary, who was mate, Maury and Stan, the two divers who started resuscitation, and Crystal Sharpe, who was diving with Matt, on the boat. They’ll have the most direct knowledge. I don’t know how much the others can tell you. I want to say something about Crystal, then I’ll take you back.” His voice dropped, despite no one being within hearing distance. “She’s a kid, really — not quite eighteen. She’s part time and mostly works on the retail side. She’s taken several classes and is a skilled diver. I’ll let you get the details of what happened first hand, but you can imagine how shaken up she is. From what I’ve heard, she reacted correctly. Nobody’s saying she couldn’t have followed through with all the rescue procedures, but there was no reason for Maury and Stan not to have taken over the way they did. You’ll get what you need from them.”

Jesus, what a hell of a thing for a teen to cope with. “How is she?”

“Not hysterical if that’s what you’re asking. Leslie knows her better than I do. I’ve been impressed with the work I’ve seen her do and we’ve never had any complaints about her. I’ll be in the office when you’re ready or if you need anything. We’ll have the customer list for you in a few minutes with everyone’s contact information.” Roger opened the side gate rather than have her go through the shop. The group of waiting divers looked at Bev expectantly.

She introduced herself, thanked them for their patience and promised to get through the interviews as quickly as possible. She took Beau out of hearing distance of the group.

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