TITLE: Adrift
GENRE: Mystery
Scientist-turned-divemaster Mer Cavallo doesn’t believe in ghosts, so she’s justifiably spooked when the leader of a paranormal dive team disappears on one of her dives. Law enforcement suspects she had a hand in it; the crew believes something shadier was involved. To clear her name she must overcome her skepticism and outwit an enemy she can’t even see.
The deck rolled beneath her feet as another swell hit the boat broadside. Meredith Cavallo unweighted one foot almost imperceptibly before the other, rocking her hips to absorb the motion. If only everything else in her life could be weathered as easily.
The wind had picked up since their fourteen scuba divers had plunged off the LunaSea, a commercial dive boat, and into the water above Key Largo’s famed Molasses Reef. She scanned the water’s surface, looking for bubbles. Most of the divers were experienced, but she worried about one couple from the Midwest who had just received their certifications. These waves were going to be a problem when they surfaced.
Sweat dampened the back of her neck. She pulled a hairband out of her shorts pocket and wrangled her dark hair into a braid while mentally reviewing the emergency equipment stowed on board.
A bigger swell slammed into the LunaSea, forcing her to hop to keep her balance. Scuba tanks clanged against each other as the boat settled into the trough of the wave.
“Brace yourself,” Leroy called from the wheelhouse.
Mer grabbed the rail above her head and turned toward the deep male voice. The boat shuddered as another wave smashed into it.
In the next instant two tan bandy legs appeared as the captain descended the aluminum ladder connecting the upper and lower decks.
“That’ll make a rabbit smack a bear,” he said.
Mer crinkled her brow. “You realize that wouldn’t end well for the rabbit, right?”