Bonnie joined Elizabeth in her small attempt to lighten the gloom. “Advanced Dishwashing for me.” She saw Craig Soaras glance at her appreciatively, and she let him see her lips soften for him.

When the men were gone, Elizabeth watched Peter Hubbard and Wanda Lindstrom carefully placing the little red box in a corner. It seemed extremely heavy for its size. She could not restrain her curiosity. “What’s in that, Peter?”

He answered without turning. “Something Wanda and I may need to use.” There was a sharp tone as he added, “You and Bonnie please stay away from it.”

Elizabeth flushed at what she took to be a rebuke. Peter should know she would never interfere with any lab procedure. His reply had reminded her again that it was Wanda Lindstrom and not she who was his partner. She flounced toward the kitchen. He didn’t have to rub it in! she thought. And softened at once, understanding that her quick irritation wasn’t directed at him, but at the bleakness descended on her beloved island.

Opening the kitchen door, Elizabeth gasped in dismay. The storm had blown a stone through the window. Wind was funneling in, scattering papers, rattling dishes. Bonnie hopped to help Elizabeth plug the hole as best they could with dishrags. “We’d better check the other rooms!” Elizabeth suggested. “The shape this building is in, it’ll fall over if the wind gets any worse.”

“Can’t be any worse than this!” To Bonnie, it looked as if the gale was literally tilting the entire beach, blowing a wall of sand so dense she could hardly make out the sea beyond. The waves seemed to tower to the thundering sky. The woman gulped in amazement. “My God! Those waves must be fifty feet high!”

Elizabeth squinted through the window. “Twenty-­five, for sure. They don’t get much more than that.”

“High enough for me!”

“It’s what sailors call the long fetch, you see.” Elizabeth was surprised to see Bonnie nod knowledgeably.

Bonnie smiled, pleased. “Craig explained how the sea builds up for thousands of miles coming out of the northeast with no interruption.” Bonnie moved from the window. “Glad I’m not out in that!”

Starting to straighten the kitchen, Elizabeth said, “I was caught in worse with my grandfather when I was a kid.”

“What happened?”

“We got wet.”

“How come it can storm this way and not be raining, Liz?”

“It squalls,” Elizabeth told Bonnie. She pointed to a black area of sea and sky in the distance. “Over there it’s coming down to drown fishes!”

Bonnie sighed. “I thought I liked the seashore, but not this, honey. Craig tells me there’s sharks all over the place, too, especially off the east side . . .”

“Mako and stuff, yes. You always have to be careful.” Elizabeth saw her friend’s genuine worry. “You should have gone to Chatham with the others, Bonnie.”