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He stopped at the end of the dock

“This is as far as I’o,” he said “Give me a call if you need me Remember, the only phone service from the island is from the top of the water tower”

Gamay thanked Dooley, and watched his boat until it was out of sight Then she picked up her duffel bag and clie burst open just then, and adown the stairs from the veranda to the patio He had the painfully thin physique of a runner The stiffly extended handshake he gave Gamay was as limp and damp as a dead fish

“Dr Morgan-Trout, I presu a quick, precise s keeper of this madhouse while Dr Kane is away”

Ga for her arrival frouest on the island”

“Our pleasure,” Mayhew oozed “You have no idea how thrilled ere to learn that NUMA had invited Dr Kane to dive in the bathysphere I watched him make the dive Too bad the television broadcast was cut short”

“Will I get a chance to meet Dr Kane?” Gamay asked

“He’s involved with a field project,” Mayhew said “I’ll show you your room”

They clih wide double doors to the wood-paneled lobby Beyond the lobby was a large, sunny dining room furnished with rattan chairs and tables of dark wood Screened-in rapped around the roo roouests signed dollar bills and stuck theot blasted off in the hurricane, Mayhew explained

Gamay’s room was off a hallway a few steps from the bar

Despite Mayhew’s earlier clai in the lodge Her simple room had natural alls, an old metal-frame bed, and a dresser, and it projected a look of seedy comfort A second door opened onto a screened-in porch that offered a view of the water through the palmettos Gamay put her duffel on the bed

“Happy hour starts in the Dollar Bar at five,” Mayhew said “Make yourself at home If you’d like to take a stroll, there are nature trails all over the island A few areas have been restricted to avoid contamination from the outside world, but they are clearly marked”

Mayhew bounded off with his bouncy Reebok stride Gamay flipped open her cell phone, to let Paul know she had arrived, only to remember that Dooley said the only place with service was the water tower

She followed a crushed-shell pathway past a row of neat cabins to the foot of the tower After clinal, but then she hesitated Paul was ain She tucked the phone in her pocket

She took in the view fro, narrow island was shaped like a deforh texture looked like scatter rugs when seen from the air