Chapter 2 Summary

On September 16, 1954, Art Moran, the local sheriff, is in his office when he hears that Carl Heine's boat is adrift well after the hour that it should have returned to port. Knowing that this is some troublesome news, he and Abel Martinson, Art's young deputy, go out on the water to check it out.

The pair set out onto the water and eventually find Carl's boat empty and adrift with all its running lights on. The two men tie up to Carl's boat and board in order to look for Carl. However, for all their searching, there is no sign of Carl anywhere.

Knowing that no good can come from this, Art is upset. After all, Art knows the Heine family and he knows that Carl survived the sinking of the USS Canton during the battle for Okinawa. Unfortunately, it appears that fate...