The Daily Novel

Chapter 18
They swam single-file through the canal, emerging in a small lagoon-like formation surrounded by tile and even outfitted with a metal ladder. Billy climbed up first, then motioned for Leslie and Stephen to follow him.
“No one’s here,” he said, looking around. “Guess they didn’t expect me back so soon.”
“They can’t be very far,” Stephen [...]

Chapter 17
The tank stirred, and Mara sat up. She rose from the water just as Adrian landed a perfect sideways blow to the back of Tim’s neck. He crumpled instantly, the rifle skittering past the row of tanks. It came to rest beside the far wall, safely out of the intruder’s reach.
Tim, however, was no [...]

Chapter 16
Leslie stood on the sea-spattered rocks, looking up at the shadowed form of the Institute. If Jordan were being held here, they certainly wouldn’t keep her tied and gagged in the front room, like on some melodramatic cop show. The real lab work took place far below the living areas, and the humble displays [...]

Chapter 15
“What?” Leslie blinked. “You must think I’m dumb or crazy to believe a story like that.”
Stephen shook his head grimly. “No, I don’t. I realize this is almost impossible for you to understand. But it’s true.”
“People can’t live in the ocean, with or without scuba gear. I’ve lived on the coast all my life [...]

Chapter 14
The sheriff and two deputies converged on Zack’s house moments after the ambulance crew arrived. Though Leslie was in civilian clothes, she joined the investigation without missing a beat. Like the others, she had to stand back as the EMTs worked to stanch Zack’s bleeding. His wounds were the mirror image of those sustained [...]

Chapter 13
“Where’s Jordan?” Leslie asked as she came in with groceries. Tim had opted to stay home and work on some research he was preparing for publication. “I got her one of those frozen pizzas she likes for dinner.”
“No need to cook anything,” Tim called from the study. “She’s eating in town with some friends. [...]

Chapter 12
Normally, Jordan would have been excited to go on a double date with Deanna and Scotty at the Burger Barn, a ’50s-style diner near the center of town. With Adrian as her companion, though, the evening was going downhill fast. He clearly wasn’t enjoying himself at all. The cheeseburger and chocolate malted she’d ordered [...]

Chapter 11
“Come on, Leslie, you’re making too much of this. It’s hardly the first time someone got tipsy and fell off a boat.” The sheriff shook his head sadly. “Especially Billy Carlton. Did you see what they had in that cooler? Enough to start a floating tavern.”
“But Brooke Reilly’s story—I’ve never heard anything like it [...]

Chapter 10
Zack sped up until they were traveling 70 miles an hour along the winding coastal road. By the time they crossed into a neighboring town and turned down a smaller, unfamiliar road, Jordan found herself clutching the seat nervously.
“Where are we going?” Jordan finally asked. She’d never ventured so far from Craggy Cove with [...]

Chapter 9

“I hope we’re not disturbing you,” Gerard LaBrecque said. He and Adrian had appeared on Leslie’s front step just before dinner, bearing a bowling-ball-sized object covered with a piece of blue cloth. “We’ve come to check on Jordan. I feel terrible about what happened to her ankle the other day, and I wanted [...]