LC 04 - Skeleton Crew by Beverly Connor Read Free Book Online

are you doing this evening?"
    "A group of us are going to eat on the barge and hang out with Sarah. She's really spooked about what happened. And that guy
from the Coast Guard didn't help, either."

    I imagine you're kind of spooked, too. Don't be too upset over
the Coast Guard. Everything's probably old hat to them and they
forget to be sensitive."
    "He acted like we did it."
    "I don't think he really thought that. This excavation has given
him more work to deal with and he doesn't like it-"
    "That's funny about the Jones woman showing up, isn't it?"
Bobbie checked herself out in the mirror over the sink.
    "I was kind of surprised." Lindsay put on an aquamarine cotton short-sleeved blouse and a pair of white slacks. "Is this all right
for the restaurants along the coast? John wasn't able to help."
    "Sure, that's fine. You look great."
    "I think she was scoping out the place." Lindsay ran a brush
through her long hair and pulled it up into a ponytail.
    "For what? A raid?"
    "Just to see what we're up to, to see maybe if we've found anything valuable. Or, to let us know that, if it was her men, it won't
happen again."
    Lindsay slipped on a pair of white leather sandals, grabbed a
light sweater, and went up top with Bobbie. The barge was almost
to the island. St. Magdalena was only five miles from the dam and,
even though the barge moved very slowly, it took less than thirty
minutes to reach the dock. Some of the crew were preparing to offload the timber to be taken to the brine tanks. Lindsay followed
Bobbie down a wooden walkway toward the main building.
    The Magdalena House was a large dark cedar three-story structure that fit into the flora of the island as if it had grown there. The
first floor, largely concealed by the wraparound deck above it, sat
on top of the ground. It was covered with stone and had only a
small closed window and one door that Lindsay could see. The
second story, the one they were about to enter, had large double
doors and glass picture windows on at least two sides. The topfloor windows were regular size with closed rattan blinds. A satellite dish sat on the roof, pointing at some spot in the sky.
    Beside the walkway, separated from them only by height and
railing, was an alligator pond. Lindsay searched the surface of the
pond and spotted the brow ridge, head, and back of an alligator, so
still in the water it could have been a log.

    "Guard dog?" Lindsay asked.
    "Spooky, huh? Can't you almost hear the clock in his stomach
ticking?"
    Lindsay and Bobbie walked up the wooden ramp to the deck
and entered a reception area decorated with racks of brochures,
hanging plants, and prints of local flora and fauna. There was no
receptionist. Lindsay suspected that Lewis had stopped most of
the tours of the island until the excavation was finished. There
weren't many anyway. This was one of the islands used as an
experimental habitat for breeding colonies of several rare species
of animals.
    "The conservation lab is on the ground floor," said Bobbie.
"There're some offices up here and a few apartments upstairs. The
translator stays up there. You've met Harper, haven't you? I think
Trey has a thing for her."
    A woman rounded the corner and almost ran into them. "Oh,
someone else," she said, looking at Lindsay. "I hope you don't
intend to stay here. It's getting rather crowded."
    "Tessa." Bobbie smiled. "Nice of you to greet us. This is Dr.
Chamberlain. She's staying on the barge."
    "Good. I think I should tell you that a group of us are signing a
petition to get you all moved off the island. You can't just come
here and take everything away from us. Our work is importantmore important than yours." She paused, frustration clear on her
angry face. "We were here first."
    Bobbie cocked an eyebrow. "I'll tell you right now, that argument won't work. Look, this isn't going to be forever."
    "Oh, you haven't heard?" She brandished a letter in their faces.
"Lewis is planning to build