Cold Paradise (Stone Barrington 7)

“Then look for the key,” Stone said, starting to open drawers in the cabinetwork. He found no key. “We’ve got to get an anchor out.”

“How do we do that?”

Stone looked over the instrument panel. “On a yacht this size, there’s probably an electric windlass. Here it is!” He pressed the button, but nothing happened. “We need engine power for that, too.”

“What about the radio?” Dino asked. “Call somebody.”

“Good idea.” Stone found the VHF radio, switched it on and picked up the microphone. “Channel sixteen is the calling channel.” He changed the channel to 16 and pressed the switch on the microphone. “Coast Guard, Coast Guard, this is the yacht Toscana, Toscana. Do you read?”

Instantly a voice came back. “Toscana, this is the U.S. Coast Guard. What is your request?”

What was his request? He thought about it for a moment. “Coast Guard, Toscana. We’re adrift in the Intracoastal Waterway, and we need a tow. We have no power.”

“Toscana, Coast Guard. Sorry, you’ll have to call a commercial towing service for that kind of help.”

Stone looked at the ship’s clock on the bulkhead. “But it’s three o’clock in the morning,” he said. “Where am I going to get a tow at this time of night?”

“Sorry, but we can’t be of any help,” the Coast Guard operator said. “Good night, and have a good trip.” Then he was gone.

“Now what?” Dino asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“Well, why don’t we just wait until morning and flag somebody down?”

Stone pointed out the windshield. “See that?” he asked.

“What, the bridge? Sure, I see it; you think I’m blind?”

“We’re drifting down on it.”

“So what? We hit it, we’ll stop. Isn’t that what we want?”

“Dino, this is a two-hundred-and-twenty-two-foot yacht, and it weighs God knows how much. If we hit that bridge, either the yacht or the bridge is going to be very badly damaged, maybe both.”

Dino blinked. “Well, do something, for chrissakes!”

Stone pressed the button on the microphone again. “Any ship, any ship, this is the yacht Toscana, in need of assistance. Anybody read me?”

Nothing. Silence.

“It’s three o’clock in the morning,” Dino said. “What did you expect?”

Then a voice came over the radio. “Toscana, Toscana, this is Winddrifter. Do you read?”

“Winddrifter, Toscana. I read you loud and clear.”

“What’s your problem?”

“We’re adrift in the waterway with no power, and we need a tow, fast, to keep from hitting a bridge.”

“Sorry, Toscana. I’m halfway to the Bahamas. Afraid I can’t be of any help. Good luck.”

“You get the feeling we’re all alone?” Dino asked.

“Well, shit, we’ve got to do something,” Stone said.

“I’m wide open to suggestions.”