Part 1
Chapter 1
NOAH
The storm had been clawing at Greyhaven since before sunrise.
Rain rattled the apartment windows, rushed through the gutters, and struck the skylights in restless bursts. Every gust shoved another sheet of water against the glass, as though the weather had developed a personal objection to anyone leaving bed.
I stood in the kitchen without socks, both hands wrapped around an empty mug, waiting for the coffee machine to stop groaning and produce something useful.
Across the island, Reid studied the day’s service schedule.
He had already showered. Of course he had. His dark hair was combed back, his beard neatly trimmed, and his charcoal work shirt stretched across shoulders that belonged in a much less practical occupation.
Most people looked vulnerable first thing in the morning.
Reid Callahan looked capable of reorganizing the sunrise.
His attention remained on the tablet. “You’ve been watching me for nearly a minute.”
“I’m gathering evidence.”
“Of what?”
“Unreasonable competence before dawn.”
“It’s six fifteen.”
“Exactly. Suspicious.”
The coffee machine spat into the mug.
Reid glanced toward the windows. “Take the enclosed van.”
“I thought I’d strap my equipment to my back and float north.”
“Saltwater is bad for the meters.”
“Thank God you’re here.”
His mouth threatened a smile but didn’t quite surrender to one. Reid’s amusement came slowly in the morning. A shift at the corner of his lips. A faint narrowing of his eyes. The smallest crack in all that maddening composure.
Outside, the harbor dissolved into streaks of gray.
From the apartment above the office, we could usually see most of Callahan Marine Works: the slips, the covered haul-out, the roofs of the service bays, and the long curve of the channel beyond. On clear mornings, the water caught the dawn and turned bronze.
Today, Greyhaven Harbor looked drowned.
Reid slid a plate toward me.
Eggs. Toast. Two slices of tomato. Everything arranged with the precision of a wiring diagram.
“I can’t eat yet.”
“You can.”
“My stomach doesn’t accept visitors at this hour.”
