Julia looked from the Coast Guard ship to the stairs that went down to the control room when a crash filled the air. “Maddy?” She got moving in that direction, and when she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, she braced herself against the doorway.
Captain Benjamin Downs was down on his knees, Maddy cradled in his lap. There seemed to be blood everywhere, and Julia’s eyes landed on it on the front of the controls, the floor, Maddy’s face, hands, clothes, and Captain Downs.
“I need you to get my health services technician,” he said, his voice a barking command. He twisted to look at her when she didn’t move. “Now, Julia.”
She flinched at the use of her name in that irate tone. The captain needed to take his attitude down about ten notches. They’d been sailing along the coast of Nantucke
