It was concession time. Drake would be a fool not to milk it. “There’s one other thing you can do.”
“What’s that?”
“Give Melody and me a tour of the submarine.”
“It’s off-limits.”
“Melody and I both had top secret clearances, as I’m sure you know. You’ve got a lot of strings you can pull. It’s not too much to ask. How about after dinner?”
Casey appeared to be thinking that over.
“You drive a hard bargain. I’ll see what I can arrange.”
Casey excused himself and went to a payphone.
The boat was moored in a corner of the Monterey marina, surrounded by makeshift tarpaulins to hide it from the view of the common people, and guarded by armed sailors in uniform who patrolled the pier leading to it. Casey had apparently talked to the right authorities, because when he flashed his badge to the naval officer in charge, he was waved through, along with Drake and Melody.
Drake wondered what the officer thought about Casey escorting a man casually dressed in civilian clothes and a pretty, miniskirted blond. Melody’s youthful good looks had gotten her into places when they worked together that would have been denied to somebody who aroused suspicions.
The boat looked larger than Drake remembered, but he had seen it from a distance. It probably could hold a crew of six, perhaps more. A makeshift gangplank had been extended from the pier to the boat.
Melody was glad she had worn flat shoes with nonskid soles. She and Drake had decided to attempt to find a way to see the boat up close, and so they were prepared. Even the short skirt was part of the plan. When they reached the boat, they had to descend a metal-runged ladder to the interior.
Drake said, “Let Melody go first so we won’t be looking up her skirt.”
Melody didn’t wait for Casey’s consent; she swung her foot onto a rung and climbed down as fast as she could. At the bottom she found herself in what must be the control room. The interior lights were turned on; it should be bright enough. She reached into her bra and pulled out a tiny Minox camera that she had used for her work in England. She had brought it to California because it was the only camera she owned.
She began snapping pictures as fast as she could, trying to photograph the instruments and the dials, and anything else that might be of interest. She kept an eye on the ladder. When she saw Drake’s legs appear next, she continued shooting. Drake’s head came into sight; he gave her an encouraging nod.
When Casey’s legs appeared on the ladder, she stopped shooting and slipped the camera back inside her bra. When the rest of him followed, she smiled at him. “This is a lovely boat. But how do the men stand to live in here? Everything’s so tiny.”
It pained Melody to have to talk like a clueless female, but she had to keep Casey from getting suspicious.
“Submariners can’t have claustrophobia.”
Drake was inspecting what must be the periscope. “I understand that Giganticorp is developing a submarine similar to this. Can you explain what all this stuff is for?”
Casey could and did. He showed them how a pair of torpedoes were stored and fired. The gun that had lobbed the shells onto the beach was kept inside the sub and raised when it surfaced. They toured the sleeping quarters where you had to be good friends with your bunkmates. They saw a small galley. Drake was interested to note that any food that had been stored there had apparently been taken off the sub when the crew mysteriously disappeared. The crew hadn’t left any clothing or other personal belongings either.
Casey’s knowledge of the sub was so extensive that Drake became suspicious. Casey said he had been briefed by the people who had inspected it, because Giganticorp was also developing a mini-submarine. But his wealth of information went beyond that. There was almost a fatherly pride in Casey’s voice when he talked about all the gadgets and technological wonders.
Drake distracted Casey so that Melody could take some more pictures. She managed to get a few, but she figured that the ones she had taken initially in the control room were the most important. When they exited the boat, Casey and Drake gallantly went up the ladder first, which allowed Melody to take more shots in the control room. She adjusted the distance control, trying to ensure maximum sharpness and duplicated some of her earlier pictures. She knew she’d better stop when she heard Casey’s voice from above.
“Are you coming up?”
“Coming.” Melody once more shoved the camera into her bra and climbed the ladder. “I wanted to take one last look. I’ve never been in a real submarine before.”
Casey offered her a hand to help her from the ladder to the gangplank, although she didn’t really need it. He gave her a patronizing smile.
“I’m sure you’re more suited to life on a cabin cruiser, but it’s always fun to see how other people live.”
Drake stifled a yawn.
Slick said, “Are we keeping you up?”
“Damn right. Don’t forget-we have to run a marathon every day.”
“Sorry. Somehow I figured that saving the country from idiots might be more important.”
Drake had called Blade collect from a payphone as soon as they left Casey. When Blade heard about the pictures, he told them that Slick was still in the Monterey area and would meet them in thirty minutes.
He even had praise for Drake. “I take back every bad thing I’ve ever said about you. You’ve managed to gather more information than Slick has. The military is a tight organization, and it’s difficult for outsiders like us to break into it.”
“Credit Melody and her short skirt. Without her we couldn’t have done it.”
“I won’t touch that line with a redwood tree, but give her my thanks. I always said she was too good for you.”
Drake and Melody had parked on a residential street and waited for Slick’s Porsche to park behind them. He had slipped into the backseat of their sedan where Melody gave him the roll of film. Then they filled him in on what they had observed on the submarine. He also seemed impressed.
“You two must have been a great team in England. What made you give it up?”
Drake and Melody took a quick look at each other in the semi-darkness, lit only by the dome light of the car and a streetlight fifty feet from them. Neither was inclined to say anything.
“All right, sorry I asked. I’ll get the film developed tomorrow, and then we will see what we will see.”
Slick glanced at a pad on which he had been taking notes.
“There’s some good stuff here. I’m not exactly an expert on submarines, but we have people who are. They will be very interested in this.”
Melody had a question for Slick. “Do you ever take off your dark glasses?”
“I’d take them off for you, honey. Maybe we should meet sometime without this bozo.”
“Maybe we should.”
CHAPTER 29
Today’s run is scenic (as if they all weren’t) and goes around the famous 17 Mile Drive. Enter the Drive at the Carmel Gate. There may be a quicker way to get there than following Route 1 as you get close to the Carmel Gate. Follow the 17 Mile Drive around the peninsula past Pebble Beach and Asilomar, always staying as close to the coast as possible, to the Lighthouse Gate in Pacific Grove. Work your way over to Del Monte Avenue. The run ends at the first intersection of Del Monte Avenue and Route 1 in Sand City.
