Letters From the Grave

close to a thousand horsepower. It was certainly more than needed to use the radio, but also the only source of AC power on the rig.

  He went to sleep with the dull rhythm of the charger at work. After nightfall, another thunder storm passed over, cooling the air nicely. The sound of the rain on the corrugated steel topside was like white noise. He’d be rescued soon, so rest was easy, despite the rain. He hoped Callie was coping okay. When he radioed CHI in the morning, he would ask BJ to call her. She made survival more of an imperative. Now he owed his life to her for getting him in shape.

  The gasoline engine ran out of fuel sometime before dawn. When Jake came up on deck around sunrise, it was time to try starting the monster generator. He disconnected the gas generator and rechecked all of the batteries rigged in parallel to supply the starting current needed by the huge diesel. The generator was encased in a small room, protecting it from the weather. He closed the access door and went to the NEMA box at the end. It contained several circuit breakers, one rated at a thousand amps, and dozens of smaller breakers for various machines, lights and support rooms on the rig. He only wanted the galley power and found the breaker marked “crew’s quarters.”

  There was a laminated set of instructions for starting the generator. It required opening the main breakers and turning on the fuel valve before starting the engine. He depressed the glow plug switch for fifteen seconds, as instructed, before pressing the start switch. The beastly engine struggled to turn at first then pulsed more frequently as the flywheel gained momentum. Then it belched, coughed and started. He had electricity and threw the breakers, giving power to the galley.

  Inside at the end of the breakfast counter was an older Rockwell radio. Jake turned on the power then tuned to the CHI channel and pressed the microphone. At CHI operations, BJ was leaning back in his chair, asleep, when the call came in. “CHI base this is Ramsey, over.”

  BJ struggled to sit upright, unsure if he was dreaming. “CHI base, this is Ramsey. Do you read me? Over.”

  The speaker on the platform blared, “Jake! Jake! Is that you?”

  “Yeah, BJ, it’s me. How ‘bout a ride home? I’m out on Ocean Victory, over.”

  BJ was already moving, nearly pulling the microphone cable off the radio. “Standby, Jake, I’m coming!”

  “Okay, pal. No rush, I’m not going anywhere.”

  BJ ran from the Ops Center without waiting for management to arrive. The radio was unmanned as he sped to the helo pad. In less than three minutes, he was airborne in 0978E, heading due south over the ocean. The air was clear and crisp, a great day to fly!

  Jake went to the pantry and opened a can of chicken noodle soup that he drank cold. He felt invigorated, even if his whole body ached. He had about half an hour to wait, so he used some of the fresh water to wash up. He hadn’t felt this energized in years. He was brushing his teeth with a toothbrush he found in the supply locker when he heard BJ approaching. The helo pad was on the opposite side of the platform, and he tried to run across, discovering how bruised his legs really were. BJ landed into the wind and kept power on while Jake opened the passenger door. BJ said, “You wanna drive?”

  “No, man, I just want to enjoy the view. Home, James!”

  “Ah, Jake, you look great! Actually, you look pretty shitty, but you’re walkin’ and talkin’. That’s what counts.”

  “You look pretty good yourself. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  For the next several minutes, Jake explained his ordeal.”

  BJ responded, “Jake, no one’s ever survived a crash in bad weather way out before. The Coast Guard gave up two days ago, and the NTSB guys just wrote you off as ‘pilot error’ due to the weather and no other evidence.”

  “Well, I’m your evidence. There was no pilot error.”

  “I never thought there was, but those assholes are quick to blame us.”

  “Yeah, well, there was no error this time.”

  “Gotcha.” BJ radioed in, “CHI base this is helo 0978E inbound from Ocean Victory with one passenger, over.”

  It took a moment for someone in the office to respond. “Ah, BJ. You better explain yourself. You’re grounded and left your post.”

  BJ chuckled. “Don’t sweat it, Ross. I’m inbound with Jake Ramsey.”

  “Say again, BJ?”

  “I said, with Jake Ramsey.” Jake and BJ smiled to themselves, imagining the confusion back at the company.

  “Ah, BJ, is Jake all right? How did you find him?”

  “We’ll give you the full story when we get there in ten minutes, Ross. Let’s just say Jake took a long swim in a rough sea.”

  “Oh, wow. This is great to hear, guys. I’m calling the NTSB guy right now. He’s gonna want to hear this. Ah, Is Jake up to it?”

  Jake pressed his Microphone talk button. “Yeah, Ross. I’m good to go. Bring ‘em on.”

  “Jake, this is terrific. I’m calling KPEL also for news coverage. This is huge! Ah, Jake. Are you really okay for this? Should I hold off?”

  “No, Ross, I’m good to go. Slept like a baby and ate cold canned food. I’m in good shape. Just need a shave and some clean clothes.”

  “Roger that. Can’t help you there, but look forward to seeing you. Out.”

  BJ said, “I tried calling your girl Callie, but didn’t get an answer.”

  “Okay, I’ll try again when we land.”

  After landing and shutting down the engine, Jake and BJ walked side by side toward the main hangar, and Ross McCrery ran out to meet them, shaking Jake’s hand while walking toward the office. Ross said, “Jake, this is a miracle. The press is on the way, and the NTSB investigator is coming.”

  “That’s great, Ross, now let me use the phone.” He dialed his home number, but there was still no answer. He tried twice. “Guys, I’ve got to go. Something’s wrong at home.”

  BJ looked concerned, and Ross complained, “But, Jake, people are coming to talk to you.”

  “Tell them I’ll be back when I check things out at home. BJ can you give me a lift?”

  “Sure, Jake, let’s go.”

  Apprehension shot through Jake as they pulled into his driveway. His pickup was parked down the driveway in the carport. Where was Callie?

  Nothing was said as they walked quickly to the back door. It was standing open. Jake pushed it further open and entered, even as BJ tried to restrain him. “Jake! You don’t know what might be going on. Take it easy.”

  “It’s okay, BJ. I’m just going to look around.”

  BJ followed him inside where everything looked normal in the kitchen and living room. Jake turned down the hall and stopped for a minute, fearful that Callie could be harmed. “Let’s go, BJ,” as they walked toward the bedrooms. Once again, everything looked normal, including Callie’s unmade bed. In the back bedroom they saw it. “Holy shit!” was Jake’s exclamation, seeing his safes wide open. He stooped by the center safe, reaching into one of the cubbies, pulling out his inventory list. “BJ, they cleaned me out, and they took Callie.”

  “I don’t know, pal, but you need to call the police ASAP.”

  Jake’s shoulders slumped, “Man, this is unbelievable. It’s gone from my best day ever to my worst. This can’t be happening.”

  BJ put a hand on his shoulder, “Call the police right now!”

  Atlanta

  She was still in bed at two o’clock in the afternoon. The maid had come by and knocked saying “housekeeping” a couple hours earlier, but Callie yelled, “Go Away!” She just wanted to sleep. She had indulged Will all night after he found a New York license plate for the car. She’d let him play out all of his fantasies in bed after he lugged the coin boxes into the dilapidated hotel room. There were no restrictions on smoking in any of the rooms, and this one reeked. Will really freaked her out, but she was his love goddess. The guy had a perverted, albeit somewhat controllable, m
ind.

  They had gotten into LaGrange, Georgia, late at night, tired and hungry. The hotel rented rooms for twenty nine dollars a night and would probably negotiate by the hour, if asked. The yellow-painted room door had a 60’s vintage knob lock that would hardly slow down an intruder. On the other hand, no one with money or drugs would stay in such a dump. She’d never had worse sex, but he seemed happy whenever he could be a little rough. She’d been hurt many times by sleazy customers, and he wasn’t any worse. He didn’t have any idea what he was doing, and she had to play along, as though she liked it. One thing for sure, she wouldn’t sleep another night on those sheets. She needed to shower while Will went out for a pizza. The water ran alternately hot then cold as she competed with other guests for hot water, mostly long-haul drivers and self-employed salesmen.

  She was still showering when Will returned from his second errand. The bathroom door didn’t close completely so he tried to take a peak. “Hey baby, I’m back.”

  “Shut the door, asshole.”

  “Aw, you’re such a love bird.”

  She yelled, “So how’d you do?”

  “I did good! I wen’ down to Atlanta like you said to that Gold and Jewelry Exchange we saw the sign for. He gave me $800 for one o’ them Krugerrands.”

  “Only eight hundred? Will, they’re worth twice that.” Jake had given her a pretty good rundown of his inventory.

  “Well, the guy asked me some questions, so he was probably suspicious. I didn’t want to make him more suspicious by