Soundkeeper by Michael Hervey Page B

Gale’s brother, was working on one of the winches that hauled in the nets. His arms were greasy from his elbows to his fingers, and parts of the winch were strewn across the deck. He noticed Hall and gestured for him to come aboard.
    “Did they have any luck today?” Hall asked.
    “No,” Silas answered. He didn’t slow in his efforts, and Hall wondered if he had made a mistake by stopping to talk. While he worked in silence a great blue heron floated out of the night sky and landed on the gunwale of the boat, next to Silas. Its wingspan was as wide as Hall was tall. Silas picked up a small dead fish and threw it to the great bird, which caught the delicacy and gulped it into its long beak. Hall watched the bulge in the long, slender neck of the bird move downward until it disappeared into the bird’s body.
    “That’s Gale’s bird,” Silas said. “She found him covered with oil one day out in the sound. He had lost so many feathers that he couldn’t fly, so Gale nursed him back and fed him scraps when she helped me clean fish. Now I can’t get rid of the damn thing. He flies in here all the time, expecting to get fed.”
    The large bird squawked loudly, almost as if it took issue with how he had been described. It made a few more noises and then lifted off the dock, flying low over the water toward Pinckney Island.
    “I wonder if he knows she’s gone,” Hall said.
    The two men watched Gale’s bird until it disappeared into darkness. Hall broke the silence once again.
    “Do you know where Gale was going yesterday?” he asked.
    Silas shook his head.
    “I know she planned to check a waterfront development near Beaufort, but she mentioned she wanted take you by there on the way to eat supper with Jimmy and Rebecca. Most likely she got a report from someone and went to check it out.”
    “Have you checked her office?” Hall asked.
    “Yeah,” Silas answered. He seemed embarrassed.
    “Her journal was up to date, right up to the night before she disappeared.”
    Hall nodded his head and thought for a while. Then he had an idea.
    “Did she have her own telephone line?” he asked.
    “Yes,” Silas said.
    “Let’s check something out,” Hall said.
    Silas unlocked the small office and Hall was saddened once again by the emptiness that existed where Gale should have been. He sat down at her desk and picked up the telephone receiver. He caught a whiff of her sweet scent when he put the phone to his ear.
    “Do you know if anyone has used this since she disappeared?” Hall asked.
    “I think I’m the only one who’s been in here since she’s been gone and I haven’t used it,” he answered.
    Hall punched the star button and a two-digit code. He was connected to another line, and it began to ring. An older sounding woman answered the phone. After identifying himself, Hall asked the woman if she knew Gale Pickens.
    “No, I don’t believe I do,” she answered.
    Hall was about to hang up when she continued on with her previous sentence. Hall had mistaken her pause for an ending.
    “The only Gale I know is that young lady who is working to keep our water free from pollution.”
    Biting his tongue to keep from interrupting the woman again, Hall learned she had called Gale the day before yesterday to report some dead fish floating in the water near her house. Hall began writing the directions down and realized she was describing the creek where he had collected the dead fish yesterday. Disheartened, he hung up the phone.
    “She reported the fish kill I checked out yesterday,” Hall said.
    Silas nodded and looked out the window.
    Hall continued to look over Gale’s desk. He picked up a framed photograph and asked Silas who was standing next to Gale.
    “That’s Representative Horry. He helped pass new state-wide regulations about the use of fertilizers and pesticides on golf courses. The legislation passed, but he didn’t get re-elected.”
    “Strong golf course lobby?” Hall asked.
    “You could say