A/N: Picking up where the previous chapter stopped! Enjoy! Thank you to all readers!

Out There

Chapter 8

Paulson called the Coast Guard; Grissom called the whale sanctuary. Sara got on a laptop and looked up radiation and dumping of radioactive waste into the ocean. She discovered a wealth of little-known information about thousands of containers chunked in the oceans around the globe. When outlawed in the 1980s, many of the dump sites had been forgotten. She could find nothing about radioactive dump areas near the big island.

First off the phone Grissom said, "Someone is calling us back—got to call the head guy."

A few minutes later, Paulson turned from the phone and said, "Coast Guard is coming from Kona coast—want to see what we found and go out tomorrow." He hesitated a moment, "I'm going."

Sara watched the two men; a silent invitation had been extended.

"They want to use one of the underwater drones," said Paulson.

Grissom glanced at Sara as she nodded. She said, "Both of you should go."

"It's Christmas eve," Grissom said. "And we were going sightseeing."

A weak protest, Sara thought as she watched the excitement in his eyes.

She smiled, saying, "This is more important—I'll be fine. Dottie is here and we'll plan something."

The rest of the day was spent working out a grid for the search area. Two men showed up from the whale sanctuary to look at the video and were puzzled by the barrel. When the Coast Guard boat arrived, six more people arrived to look at the murky yet recognizable barrel floating below the surface.

By late afternoon, the research ship's captain had invited all to remain on board for dinner and the cooks worked a miracle bringing out enough fish cakes, rice, salads, and bread pudding for hungry stomachs. Sara, Dottie, and two young assistants decided to take their plates to the deck, away from the noisy conversations.

"I think they are telling every experience they ever had," Dottie said as she spooned a lemon sauce on her fish cakes. She grinned, adding, "Best part of this job is not having to cook."

Hours before sunrise, Sara felt a kiss on her forehead and hands tucking covers around her shoulders. She managed to murmur "Be safe" before her husband left the cabin.

Hours later with the sun indicating mid-morning, Sara meandered around the ship sipping tea as a cool damp breeze ruffled a cheerful string of holiday flags someone had hung across the deck rails.

She and Dottie had investigated the source of the food appearing wherever Sara was—which turned out to be a simple and sweet gesture.

One of the young cooks had infant twins at home; his wife had been sick anytime she smelled cooked food. He'd noticed Sara's absence from the dining room and enlisted others to help him deliver the foods his wife had been able to eat. He laughed as Sara explained her search for the person responsible for providing snacks and food she could eat, telling her "You will get better—babies are hungry all the time!"

Knowing it would take all day for Grissom to return, Sara agreed to go shopping with Dottie. The nurse had lived in Hilo for several years, knew the best places to find items on her list, and the best cafes. Their first stop was for a frozen treat—on Dottie's recommendation, Sara got a pink and purple vegan soft serve ice cream and ate the cold concoction so quickly, she had a temporary brain freeze.

From there, they found a book store; Sara purchased two books she knew Grissom would enjoy. As they walked, Dottie talked about the history of the downtown area, her adult children and teenage grandchildren. Visiting several shops, they added to their purchases—chocolates, a variety of candy and nuts, bars of scented soap, and Sara found another hat for Grissom. By the time they looped around to a farmers market, both were carrying several bags, added a few local fruits and a bouquet of flowers from local venders.

Before calling a taxi, Dottie suggested another stop for cold drinks. As they got to a table with an elaborate mixed fruit beverage, Dottie said, "I've done most of the talking—now, it's your turn!"

Sipping her drink, Sara shook her head. "Not much to tell that you don't already know!"

"Tell me how you and Dr. Grissom met—and I'll tell you, we are all curious!"

Sara took a long slow sip of her drink, thinking she'd never had to tell anyone how she and her husband met. She said, "We met at a conference—then I went to Vegas to work for him." Softly, she laughed, saying, "I think I knew from the beginning he'd be the one I would marry. And he will not admit it, but it took him longer to figure it out."

Dottie laughed saying, "There has to be more! You two act like newlyweds—not like a couple who've lived together for decades!"

Sara waved her hand. "Let's say we lived together then had a rough patch before we got back together."

"Rough patch?" mused the older woman. "I've had rough patches—divorced over a rough patch, I think—been so long I can't remember. What got you back together?"

Again, Sara laughed, saying, "A young friend encouraged me—and I decided I'd rather be with him than any place else."

As their sandwiches arrived at the table, Sara added several stories of cases they had worked in Vegas as crime scene investigators; cases that made Dottie laugh or grimace at bizarre stupidity of humans.

"The bridesmaids killed the groom's mother at the wedding—and tried to make it look like a mob killing?" Dottie snorted with laughter. "I'm not sure I could've charged those bridesmaids!"

When Sara finished relating the case of the former boxer's death at a brothel, Dottie's mouth was hanging open in astonishment. "You mean, no one was charged?"

When they returned to the ship, the women found a group decorating the dining room for Christmas with twinkling lights and shiny tinsel, bright ribbons and bows, candy canes and little nutcrackers standing in bowls of nuts. White tablecloths were already spread on tables where stacks of china plates waited to be laid as though for a royal banquet. Sara was handed a glass of juice and a plate of cheese, fruit, and crackers before she'd had time to put her bags away.

When at last, decorations placed, tables set, and the group laughing and drinking and talking as old friends, Sara slipped away.

She was surprised to see each cabin had a festive holiday decoration on the door. In the cabin, she put away all the purchases, mostly bought to share with others on Christmas day, before stretching across the bed. She did not close the windows and could hear the sounds of laughter from the others. She would join them later, she thought, when her husband returned.

As her body relaxed, she realized this was the first time in days she had not been sick nor had she taken a nap. Her last thought before her eyes closed in sleep was about her husband. He would be exhausted.

A/N: Thank you again! We appreciate hearing from all of you!

What we learned about radioactive dumping in the oceans is scary!