Raise the Titanic

    The admiral sat silently for a few moments and, when he finally spoke, Nicholson noted his deadly serious tone.

    "Okay, Nicholson, I'll string along. But God help you if there is a tragic accident or another murder down there. The consequences will be more terrible than you can possibly imagine."

43

    Mel Do

    "I guess this will teach me to carry an umbrella in the car," he said, taking out a handkerchief and brushing away the dampness.

    Marie closed the front door and stared up at him curiously. "Any port in a storm. Is that it, handsome?"

    "I beg your pardon?"

    "From the look of you," Marie said, her voice soft and slurry, "you needed a roof until the rain let up, and the fates kindly led you to mine."

    Do

    "I knew a strange man begging on my doorstep was too good to be true." She smiled. "I'm Marie Sheldon. Sit down and make yourself comfortable while I call Dana and get you a cup of coffee."

    "Thank you. The coffee sounds like a wi

    Do

    She returned with a cup of coffee. "Dana is lazy on weekends. She seldom rolls out of the sack before ten. I'll go upstairs and speed things up."

    While he waited, Do

    The selections ran the usual gamut for the single female there were several books of poetry, The Prophet, The New York Times Cookbook, and the usual sprinkling of gothics and best sellers. But it was the arrangement that interested Do

    She came forward and embraced him. "Mel, how wonderful to see you."

    "You look great," he said. The months of strain and anguish had been erased. She seemed more at ease and she smiled without tenseness.

    "How's the swinging bachelor?" she asked. "Which line are you using on poor i

    He patted his paunch. "I've retired the astronaut story until I can shed a few pounds. Actually, because of the publicity you people are getting on the Titanic, I can do no wrong by telling the little lovelies crowded around the Washington singles' bars that I'm a deep-sea diver."

    "Why don't you simply tell the truth. After all, as one of the country's leading physicists, you have nothing to be ashamed of."

    "I know, but somehow playing the real me takes the fun out of it. Besides, women love a lover who's phony."

    She nodded at his cup. "Can I get you more coffee?"

    "No thanks." He smiled, and then his expression became serious. "You know why I'm here."

    "I guessed."

    "I'm worried about Gene."

    "So am I"

    "You could go back to him . . ."

    Dana met Mel's eyes evenly. "You don't understand. When we are together, it only makes things worse."

    "He's lost without you."

    She shook her head. "His job is his mistress. I was only a whipping post for his frustrations. Like most wives, I'm not geared to take the anguish that goes hand in hand with a husband's insensibility when he's overburdened with on-the-job stress. Don't you see, Mel? I had to leave Gene before we destroyed each other." Dana turned and held her face in her hands, then quickly composed herself. "If only he could quit and go back to teaching, then things would be different."

    "I shouldn't be telling you this," Do

    "But what about your contacts with the government?"

    "Finished. We enlisted for a specific project, and when it's finished, so are we. Then all of us take a bow and head back to whatever campus we originally came from."

    "He may not even want me."

    "I know Gene," Do

    She looked up surprised. "Why do you say that?"

    "I happened to be in Webster's Restaurant last Wednesday night

    Oh God! Dana thought. One of her few dates since leaving Gene had come back to haunt her already. It had been a foursome with Marie and two biologists from the NUMA marine sciences laboratory, a friendly, comfortable evening. That was all, nothing had happened.

    She stood up and glared down at Do

    She spun and left Do

    Imbedded in one of the mirrored walls, a phonograph record, watched over by a female disc jockey, thundered through four huge quad speakers. The postage-stamp dance floor was jammed, and a thick haze of cigarette smoke filtered the brightly colored lights that exploded on the ceiling of the discotheque. Do

    A petite blonde wandered up to him and suddenly stopped. "The rainmaker?"

    Do

    "Marie," she said pleasantly.

    "Are you alone?"

    "No, I'm the third wheel with a married couple."

    Do

    A cocktail waitress happened by and Do

    "Damn! I had hoped to be a CIA agent tonight."

    She gri

    "Don't believe all you hear. Actually, I'm shy and introverted when it comes to women."