The air was quiet following the explosion. My legs were shaking. I rubbed the aching muscles of my shoulder. Bledsoe still stood next to me, his eyes glassy his face gray. I wanted to say something to him, but no words came. An explosion. Someone blew up a sixty-thousand-tonne ship. I saw Captain Bemis come down from the bridge.
‘Martin. Our ship. What happened?’
‘Someone blew up your ship, captain.’ The words came from far away. Bemis was looking at me strangely: I realized I had spoken the words.
Bemis shook his head. ‘No. Not my ship.’
I started to argue, but I felt too tired. I suddenly remembered the figure swimming a way from the ship at Thunder Bay. That was the person who had plant the explosive. I opened my mouth to tell them. Then swallowed the words. No one would be able to accept such news at the moment.
‘Martin needs some help,’ I said. ‘Get him to sit down.’
I needed to get away from the crowd on the deck. There was some important information in my mind, somewhere hidden. If I could get away, stay awake … I started towards the bridge, to look for my bag. On my way I passed the chief engineer. He was covered with mud and oil. His eyes stared at me in horror.
‘How are things below?’ I asked
‘Several men dead, helplessly, but I suddenly remembered the man with bright red hair and a pair of binoculars. Howard Mattingly, the hockey player Boom Boom had seen in an unusual place, had red hair.
I forgot the ache in my shoulder, I needed to find Mattingly.