He drove directly to Ben’s house. Finding the driveway empty, he remembered that Ben was diving with Caddie and Brian. He struggled to remember the name of the place. Then it came to him—Monastery—so odd a name, unless, as Ben had said, you thought of the kelp forests as cathedrals. Then it was most appropriate, a place where those who loved the sea came to devote their lives to it.

Monastery. It shouldn’t, he thought, be difficult to find. Ben had said it was on the way to Pt. Lobos, and there was only one road that went there. Surely he would see other divers and know that he was at the right place. Or he would ask. Either way, he decided, he would be there to welcome Ben when he rose from the ocean.

He returned to the main road through town and followed it to Highway 1. The sense of dread was fading as he drew nearer to where he would see Ben. Ben would be happy to see him. They would go back to his house, make dinner, and talk. Maybe they would make love in Ben’s ancient bed, embarrassed when the springs betrayed their enthusiasm.

He drove down the steep hill he remembered from previous trips, past the unexpected shopping center that appeared on the left like an oasis in the scrubby landscape. Beyond the lone stoplight the ocean appeared on his right. It must be around here somewhere, he thought just before he spied the cross rising above the trees.

Then he saw the cars pulled to the side of the road. A man in a dry suit stood beside a dusty SUV. Hudson pulled in beside him, nodding as the man, talking on a cell phone, turned to look at him. He turned the engine off and opened the door.

“Move it to the end of the lot,” the man said gruffly, turning and hurrying off toward the beach. “We’re going to need that space for the ambulance.”

CHAPTER 43

CHAPTER 43

Caddie pushed at the kelp, trying to get through it. But the harder she pushed, the more it seemed to want to wrap its arms about her. She felt it trying to pull her father from her arms, and she gripped his BC more tightly. Don’t let go, she thought. Whatever you do, don’t let go.

“Help!” she screamed. “Please, somebody, help!”

She hated being helpless, but she screamed for her father, not for herself. She looked at his pale face. She thought he was still breathing, but she couldn’t tell. The movement of the water made it difficult to tell.

“Help!” she screamed again. The shore seemed to be getting farther away, as if the kelp was pushing her backward. She kicked, frustrated and furious, and got nowhere.