CHAPTER 18
Sam would never have told Kallik, but his engineer couldn’t have picked a worse day to miss work. From the second he woke up and saw the blood-red sky, Sam had known it was going to be a bad day on the water, and the news from the weather service only confirmed his fears. Back-to-back storms were coming at them from the Sea of Japan, and the Radiofax from Kodiak warned of heavy swells arriving midday and lasting at least until Friday, with the worst getting there sometime midweek. Bob Crenshaw, a retired engineer Sam knew from years past, had agreed to take Kallik’s place that day, but if the storms intensified or—God forbid—Marilyn took a turn for the worse, Sam would be scrambling to find someone else to take his place. If that happened, he’d have no choice but to tell Travis and Jack, and there was no telling what they’d do.
Bob was already onboard with the rest of the crew when Sam got to the ship with coffee and donuts. While Oscar and Ben had theirs below decks, captain and engineer went into the wheelhouse to go over the map and make plans for the day ahead, including how to handle any storm-related issues. Bob might not be a young man anymore, but what he lacked in stamina and strength, he more than made up for in experience and good sense. If Sam couldn’t have Kallik aboard under the current conditions, he figured Bob was the next best thing.
“I double-checked the levels and made sure the equipment is secure,” the older man said. “As I expected, your engine room was in good condition.”
Sam flashed him a quick grin. “Well, he learned from the best.”
Back when Kallik was newly licensed, his first job had been on a factory ship working under Bob Crenshaw’s careful supervision. To hear him tell it, the old man had been something of a taskmaster, but his lessons had proved invaluable. When Kallik returned to work, Sam would have to tell him that Bob Crenshaw had given his domain a thumbs-up.
“Your crew tells me you had a fouled propeller a few weeks ago. I take it everything’s been cleared since then.”
“It has,” Sam told him. “Went down there myself to make sure.”
“Don’t you guys have cameras for that?”
“I’ve asked, but so far the owners haven’t seen the need. It’s fine, though. There’s really no substitute for checking things up close.”
Bob reached up and stroked his upper lip. Since retiring the year before, he’d grown a beard and an impressively long mustache, trimmed and well-waxed, that he twirled whenever he was thinking.
“When was the last time you’d inspected it?”
“Couple of months.” Sam shrugged. “I know what you’re going to say, and I agree: somebody didn’t do his job properly. I’ve already spoken to Oscar about it, though, and I’m sure he got the message.”
The older man, however, was not to be put off so easily.
“You know, in my day, something like that would have been a firing offense. You can’t have people onboard who’re too lazy to do their work. It puts everyone onboard in danger.”
Sam took a second before answering. Bob was a good man—one he couldn’t afford to offend, under the circumstances—and he felt an obligation to give him the respect due a senior mariner, but there could be only one captain onboard the ship, and it wasn’t Bob.
“I agree,” he said. “But in this case, I think it was an honest mistake. He simply didn’t notice the problem.”
“Well, I hope you’re right,” Bob said. “I’m not going to put my life into the hands of someone who can’t be bothered to maintain his ship. Look at what happened on the Skippy Lou.”
Sam gritted his teeth. The captain of the Skippy Lou, Ray Hollander, was exactly the sort of guy he had in mind when he’d told Emily that some captains cared more for money and speed than the lives of their crew. The fact that Bob would mention an unforeseen fouling of his tender’s propeller in the same breath as the kind of sloppy maintenance that went unchecked on the Skippy Lou felt dangerously close to an indictment of Sam’s character.
“There’s no comparison between a fouled prop and what happened on the Skippy Lou. A man would have to be desperate to sign on with Hollander.”
“You bet he would. Ray called me up right after it happened and asked if I’d come aboard. I told him I’d rather play Russian roulette. All the money in the world isn’t worth risking my life on an unsafe ship.”
“I agree,” Sam said. “Believe me, I’d never ask you to.”
Bob nodded, seemingly mollified, and took a bite out of his donut. He’d said his piece. For the time being, anyway, that seemed to have been enough.
The day, however, had not improved much after that. Whether in anticipation of heavy weather or a chastening caused by the death on the Skippy Lou, Bob felt the need to recheck every system he’d already given the green light to before they left port. Once again, Sam and his crew lagged behind the rest of the tenders with the predictable result that the fish took longer to acquire and commanded lower prices when they brought them in. When Bob insisted on taking a half-hour break before setting off again, Oscar and Ben looked mutinous.
“Sorry,” the engineer said as he returned. “Had a couple of calls to make. We can go now.”
Their second run was quicker and the fish more plentiful. Even better, the black clouds that had been gathering on the horizon seemed to have stalled for the time being. In spite of Bob’s continued grumbling, both Sam and his crew were beginning to feel as if the day’s haul might actually be pretty decent. Their optimism, however, was short-lived.
As the tender pulled up to the dock, Travis and Jack were waiting for them. When Sam saw the co-owners, their arms crossed, their faces grim, it felt as if a knife had been stuck in his gut. It was rare for even one of them to show up during work hours, much less both at once. What on earth was going on?
Then he remembered that Kallik was not onboard, and the knife in his gut twisted. It was hard to believe that either of them would begrudge the man a day off with his hospitalized wife, but Jack had already been looking for an excuse to fire him. Nevertheless, Sam told himself, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. The ship was ready for the incoming weather, and they had an experienced and licensed engineer aboard. The tender might have gotten a late start that day, but this second haul had nearly made up for the shortfall. There was nothing for either one of them to complain about.
Travis’s smile was friendly enough, if a bit constrained. As the ship docked, he stepped forward.
“Could we have a word, Captain?”
Sam jumped down, and they shook hands.
“Would you mind if I get my catch sold first? Want to get the best price.”
The co-owners exchanged a look.
“Sure. We can talk when you’re done.”
As Sam haggled over the price of fish, he wondered what had brought the tender’s owners down to the dock. If it had been an emergency, he was sure they’d have said something right away, which made the fact that they were willing to wait seem even more ominous. It was as if whatever was on their minds was already as bad as it could get and waiting a bit longer to talk about it wouldn’t really matter.
When he’d finally settled on a price and his crew was offloading the fish, Sam headed back to where Travis and Jack were waiting. He was surprised to find Bob standing there, conversing with the other two. Sam frowned, thinking about the calls the engineer had made after their first run. Had Bob asked the two of them to come down to the docks? And if so, why?
This time, there were no smiles as he approached, in spite of a concerted effort on Sam’s part to seem open and friendly.
“So, what brings you two down here?” he said. “Whatever it is, I hope it won’t take long. I’d like to make another couple of runs before those clouds move in.”
“Where’s Kallik?” Jack snarled.
“At the hospital, with his wife. As you know, she’s pregnant again, and there was a problem that needed medical attention. The doctors wanted to keep her overnight.”
The look on the man’s face made it clear that he had no interest in hearing any more details about women and their problems.
“This is the third time he’s missed work.”
“That’s right. Three times in three seasons, counting this one.”
“He’s had other problems, too.”
“One or two, but they were minor and easily remedied. Kallik and I discussed them, and they’ve been taken care of.” He glanced at Travis. “I reported all of this at the time.”
But Jack refused to back down.
“You discussed them.”
“I did.”
“And you thought that was enough?”
Sam stood a little straighter, emphasizing the height difference between them.
“As the captain, it’s my prerogative to determine corrective action aboard my ship. Are you saying there have been other problems that I’m not aware of?”
“I don’t know,” Jack said. “But it sounds as if there are problems that I haven’t been made aware of.”
Sam glanced at Bob, who quickly looked away.
So, he did call them.
Travis, who until then had been reluctant to join the conversation, cleared his throat.
“Bob tells us you’ve allowed the ship’s maintenance to slip.”
“He did? Well, that’s interesting. When he came aboard this morning, he told me the engine room was in good condition.”
“He mentioned a fouled propeller.”
“That was weeks ago,” Sam said. “We snagged a net that had fallen off another ship. I went in the water personally to make sure there was no damage, but it did take quite a bit of time. You can check the log; it’s all in there.”
Travis turned and gave his co-owner a stern look. “I told you we should get those cameras.”
Jack looked at Bob. “You’re the senior mariner here. What do you think?”
The man shrugged dramatically.
“Gadgets are all well and good,” he said. “But an experienced captain knows it’s better to trust his own eyes. All things considered, it wasn’t a bad call.”
Wasn’t a bad call?
Sam stared. A few hours ago, it was Bob who’d been saying the ship should have had cameras. Now, here he was arguing just the opposite. What the hell was going on?
“I’m glad Mr. Crenshaw approves of my actions,” he said, trying to keep the bitterness from his voice. “The fact is, props get fouled all the time. Cameras might have reduced the amount of time we lost, but the ship and her crew were never in any danger. We took care of things—as we always do.”
Travis nodded thoughtfully. “So, you’re satisfied that the ship’s maintenance has been completely satisfactory?”
“I am.”
Sam glared at Bob, daring him to contradict a senior officer. The fact was, the man had no evidence other than Sam’s word that there had been any lapse in maintenance on the tender.
“Nevertheless, it doesn’t excuse Kallik’s absence,” Travis continued. “I told you before that if there was another problem, he’d have to go.”
“But his wife—”
“Is having a hard time, I know. But this isn’t the first time he’s used her as an excuse.”
Sam felt his lips tighten.
“An excuse? They’ve lost three babies, Trav. This could be their last shot.”
Jack shook his head. “We’re not a social agency.”
Sam rounded on him.
“No, you’re a hard-hearted SOB who’s trying to make me do your dirty work. Well, I’ve got news for you. This isn’t the Caine and I’m not Commander Queeg.”
Travis stepped quickly between the two men, holding his hands in a placating gesture.
“I’m sorry, Sam. I know you like the guy, but we’ve already talked it over. Kallik needs to go.”
“No,” he said calmly. “I will not fire him. He’s an excellent engineer, and the time he’s missed has had no effect on the safety of this ship or our ability to do our jobs. There’s no good reason to fire him.”
“Fire him,” Jack said. “That’s an order.”
Sam looked down, determined not to lose his temper a second time. He might be young, but he was as qualified as any other captain in port and a darned sight better than most; replacing him at this point in the season would be close to impossible. Whether they realized it or not, these guys needed him a lot more than he needed them.
“If you fire Kallik,” he said, “then you’ll have to fire me, too.”
The co-owners looked at each other, a silent message passing between them. If they had any brains at all, Sam thought, they’d forget the whole thing and let him and his crew get back to work. The longer they made him wait, the more money they were losing. He knew it and they had to know it.
As the seconds ticked by, he felt a smile playing on his lips. He looked up and gave Bob a triumphant look. Whatever your little game is, he thought, you won’t beat me that easily.
“Fine,” Travis said at last. “You’re both fired.”