As Deep As The Ocean (Vaquita Beach Book 1) Read online

  As Deep As The Ocean

  Cindy Caldwell

  Although this book is fiction, the imminent extinction of the vaquita porpoise is not. If you’d like to learn more about them, you can do that here. This book is dedicated to the vaquita in hopes that they will survive.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  About the Author

  One

  Cassie’s stomach was a jumble of knots as she left her office at the Scripp’s Institute of Oceanography in San Diego and slammed the door behind her. It had taken all the restraint she had to maintain her composure when her research project manager said what he had been avoiding for at least half an hour.

  “How’s your research going on the vaquita dolphin?” Daniel had asked, finally getting to the point.

  Cassie rolled her eyes. Daniel knew they weren’t dolphin, although they looked like them. They were much smaller, and were porpoises. “How many times do I have to tell you they’re not dolphin, they’re porpoise?”

  Daniel laughed. “I’m just kidding. I know they’re not dolphin. You really need to lighten up,” he said, but she noticed he took a nervous glance at her out of the corner of his eye.

  They had been working together for several years, searching for solutions to save the endangered porpoise living only in the Sea of Cortez in Baja California, and she knew him well enough to know he was struggling with something.

  “You know exactly how things are going,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “We start preparations on the breeding sanctuary next week. What’s up?”

  “I may as well just come out and say it. Please try to stay calm, Cassie.”

  She moved to the edge of her seat, grabbing her long blond hair into a ponytail at the back of her neck, her green eyes flashing. “Please, just tell me. You’re making whatever it is worse.”

  Leaning back in his chair, Daniel rubbed his eyes with both thumbs. “The resort has declined our request for delay and assessment. They’re going forward.”

  She jumped up, leaning over his desk, unable to stop herself. “Are you kidding me? When did that happen? Why? How could they?” Her voice shook with fury, and she sat back down with a thud. “The government already approved it. It was all set.”

  “My thought is the owners of this resort are further up the food chain than we thought. And there’s more.”

  Shaking her head, she stared at Daniel. She had to be dreaming. Her heart ached as she thought of her life’s work going up in flames, or drowning in the ocean. Neither one was good. “More?” she asked.

  “The owners have rescinded their offer of water rights for the sanctuary.”

  It wasn’t often Cassie Lewis was speechless. Her reputation for fiery indignation was legendary at the Institute. Even with such a passionate group of researchers, her efforts on behalf of Baja sea creatures had gotten her in more fixes than she could count.

  She found her voice, riddling Daniel with questions. “Don’t they know the vaquita are almost extinct after all these decades of overfishing?

  “Our report asking for a delay was complete and explicit, Cassie. You did a great job on it, all hundred and fifty pages.”

  He dropped the report on the desk with a thud. All those long nights in the library, and days on the water in Mexico, researching what was in those pages, worthless. Even now, though, losing the small porpoises to their imminent extinction was not an option she was willing to consider. “What can I do, Daniel? Who can I talk to? Who made this decision? Why don’t they want to do what’s right?”

  Daniel sighed deeply. “I don’t know the answers to any of those questions, Cassie. You’re the best marine biologist I know, but that may not be enough. All I know is what I received from the Mexican government, and from the resort owners. We’re out, they’re in.”

  Cassie put her head down on Daniel’s desk, fighting back tears. She’d spent an entire year researching where along the white sand beaches it was feasible to create a small, protected space to help the vaquita stay out of harm’s way—out of illegal fishing nets—and hopefully help their numbers grow. She had hoped, like most projects in Baja California, the five-star resort planned at Rancho Del Sol was just a pie-in-the-sky idea of some wealthy investors from Mexico City.

  But it wasn’t, and it had taken months of pestering the parent company to agree to set aside several miles of coastline for the sanctuary and when they finally had after months of delicate negotiations, with the additional agreement of the government, they’d been ecstatic. This was the only place that had ticked off all the boxes of suitability and they’d celebrated for days when the owners and the government had consented.

  Now, her mentor dropped this bombshell on her.

  “Cassie, we can start from scratch. Find another place. This one’s going nowhere.”

  She shook her head. “You know as well as I do with the numbers of vaquita as low as they are and the fishing continuing, there’s no time. No time at all. We can’t start over, Daniel.”

  “Well, then, I guess it’s over.”

  Cassie sat down slowly, her hand brushing over the cool cover of the report she’d worked on, slaved over. It was proof, in black and white, that there was soon to be another extinct species.

  Daniel’s voice interrupted her thoughts, her heart still pounding. “They did invite us to a ground-breaking celebration there next week, I think out of pity. If you can call it a celebration.” He winced, handing her the invitation he had received.

  Cassie reached out slowly and took the invitation from Daniel, running her thumb over the raised gold letters. Hot, angry tears sprung from nowhere as she read the invitation. Ribbon-cutting, cocktail reception, blah blah blah. Didn’t they know they were not only going to ruin the chances of the vaquita surviving, but ruining the beautiful beach where she’d taken every vacation she had in her entire life? And it wasn’t only the vaquita that would disappear—the area was home to sea turtles, hundreds of unique fish species and had the best shells for beach-combers anywhere, to her mind.

  “I want to go,” she said finally. “Maybe they’ll listen to reason if I talk to them in person.”

  “I figured you’d say that,” Daniel said, reaching behind him and taking an envelope out of a file folder. “I went ahead and notified their management that you’d like to speak at the press conference. You might not be able to change their minds, but I knew you’d want to make a public plea if it was possible. You’re on the program. Fifteen minutes was all I could get you.”

  She nodded gratefully. “Thank you, Daniel.”

  He nodded in return. “You’re welcome, but I’m not remotely hopeful and you shouldn’t be, either. There wasn’t even a hint of wiggle room in the notifications. I know how much you’ve invested your heart in this, but you really need to admit it’s not going to happen. Not here, anyway.”

  She blinked at him a few times before she shoved the invitation in her pocket.

  “I had fiscal draw up the paperwork and approve the funds
. I’m sorry, Cassie. Do you want me to go with you?”

  “No, thanks,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “I’ll get somebody to go. I know you’ve got a presentation next week.”

  “I do, but I’d cancel it if you wanted me to.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “I’m very grateful for everything you’ve done for the vaquita—for me. I’m determined to do whatever I can to make them understand how urgent this is, and I’m certain I can make them change their minds.”

  Daniel shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled, shrugging his shoulders. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up, but If anybody can, you can. Oh, and you’ve got tons of time off. Why don’t you just go tomorrow and maybe get a little R & R out of it. Take some deep breaths. Think about what you’re going to say.”

  “Thanks, Daniel. I really appreciate it.” She picked up the report and threw her purse over her shoulder.

  “I’m sorry, Cass. I really am,” Daniel said.

  “Me, too,” she said before she closed the door of his office behind her. She still wasn’t sure how this could have happened. She’d been so careful, and positive she’d had all her ducks in a row. She couldn’t imagine what had thrown everything sideways so late in the game, but she held the report tight to her chest as she fished for her car keys. All she knew was she would find out and do anything she could to change it.

  Two

  The sun had just set behind the skyscraper across from the Costa Azul headquarters. Alex Vasquez stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his penthouse office and waited for the last glimpse of the sun to fade. As it did, lights flicked on in the office buildings, illuminating the tall buildings.

  He turned back toward his desk, settling in the high-backed black leather chair. He thought he might be able to tackle a few more things on his to-do list, but as he reached for the engraved invitation his PR department had set on his desk for the ribbon-cutting ceremony next week in Baja California, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander.

  It was a beautiful property, one that had been in his family for generations. He’d honestly never thought that they’d build a resort on it, as his family had also, for generations, vacationed there. He knew his mother and her family had had a vacation home there, although he hadn’t been there since he was a young child and his memory had faded as to what it looked like. He’d hoped they’d spend much time there—swimming in the Sea of Cortez, collecting shells along the beach and his father teaching him how to fish—but after one particular trip, they’d never returned. Nor had it ever been spoken of again.

  Until plans had been drawn up for the resort. His father had pronounced definitively in a board meeting several years ago that, “It was time.” His mother had blanched and Alex himself had been confused, but the conversation between the two had ended with his mother silently nodding in agreement. It was just one mystery he’d chosen not to pursue in the family business he’d inherited as CEO. He just kept his head down and did his job, and if his family wanted a resort in Baja California to rival the ones they’d produced in Cancun and Cabo San Lucas, it was his job to make it happen.

  He turned to the wall of framed photographs of every property they’d developed. He’d been proud of them all—not only did they work hard to maximize the beauty of the landscape, the views, but also to minimize the impact on the land. They did only what was necessary, and as he gazed at the pictures of the beaches at the resorts, he knew he’d done the best he could to protect them.

  He loved his job—mostly—and as he’d been able to spend more time at the beach, on the ocean, he knew that this was something he cared deeply about. Every property they’d developed had been with the intention of a light footprint on the land, almost ECO-friendly if that was at all possible. They’d always made it a point to work hand-in-glove with the local communities and government, and assist in any way they could to ensure they would be welcome, and could give the eventual guests at their properties an opportunity to savor, yet respect, the natural beauty of the property. So when his mother had come into his office earlier and told him that the sanctuary requested by the Scripp’s Institute of Oceanography was off the table, he’d been more than a little surprised.

  Especially when he’d asked a question and his mother held up her hand to stop him.

  “Alex, this is not negotiable. I realize that you are CEO but I remain president of the board, and we have decided. That beach will remain untouched, and will not become anything. Nothing at all. I’ve notified the government and they agree to rescind any permits. I have notified the Institute. It’s all been taken care of, and I do not wish to speak of it again.”

  With that, she literally clutched the pearls she always wore and turned on her very expensive heals, her equally expensive designer suit flipping behind her as she rushed out the door as quickly as she’d come in.

  “What was that about?” his friend and current architect Raul said as he came through the door and leaned to watch Mrs. Vasquez turn the corner before he shut the door.

  “Got me,” Alex said as he fell into his executive chair and turned toward the view of the skyline.

  “Did she say no vaquita sanctuary? We’ve built it into all of our models. It’s part of the resort community physically, not to mention in all of our marketing plans. It would cost a fortune to change now. People will love it.”

  Alex laughed as he turned back around, his arms folded. “Your concern for saving a species from extinction is heart-warming, Raul.”

  Pink crept up from his friend’s collar and he looked down, shuffling the papers in his hands. “You know what I mean.”

  Alex nodded. “Yes, I do. I really do. I hoped that this small compromise would work both to the Institute’s advantage and ours. But it seems it’s not to be.”

  Raul nudged his friend. “I see that keeping a species from extinction is first and foremost in your mind as well, my friend.”

  They both laughed and Alex reached for the report he’d reviewed before granting the request for the sanctuary.

  “Yes, I see your point. It is disappointing, but I’m not sure we’re remotely as disappointed as this young lady will be. It’s quite a persuasive document they submitted.”

  Raul sat in the chair opposite Alex’s desk, its soft and worn leather squeaking. “I’m glad I wasn’t the one who had to break it to them. In fact, I’m glad I was in a different country when they found out.”

  “Coward,” Alex replied.

  “It’s not like you told them yourself. I don’t think anybody would want to crush someone’s hopes and dreams like that. I certainly wouldn’t.”

  Alex reached out for the bronze statue of two jumping dolphins that the Institute had sent along with the report. “Neither would I. Thank goodness for communications professionals.”

  “Right,” Raul said as he laced his hands behind his head and stretched. “Why’d your mom put the brakes on it, anyway? What does she care?”

  Alex stared at the closed door. He honestly couldn’t answer that question. She’d seemed agitated, upset, and her eyes were red as if she’d been crying, now that he thought about it. He couldn’t begin to imagine why she’d care about something like that, but in a traditional, Latin family there was no way he could even considering asking her. It just wasn’t done. Even though he’d been to high school and college in the United States, he’d chosen to come home to work for—and with—his traditional family, and that’s just how it was. He’d accepted it long ago and wasn’t about to change now.

  “I don’t know, Raul. But something would have to be more important than this to risk the wrath of my mother. And this just isn’t worth it.”

  “Are you sure?” Raul asked, resting his elbows on Alex’s mahogany desk. “Blood may be thicker than water, but not at the expense of your own destiny.”

  “Easy for you to say, my friend,” Alex said.

  Raul sighed. “I’ve got some changes to make on the plans before the ground-breaking and it would really h
elp if I could visit the property again. You’ve only seen it once. How about if we go early and check things out? Boots on the ground. Besides, it’s spring and the weather on the beach should be awesome.”

  Alex turned back to the view of the skyline. He’d been working so hard for years that he hadn’t been out of the city in—well, he couldn’t even remember. It might be good to take some time off before everything hit the fan in a week. He couldn’t imagine that the Institute—especially that marine biologist—would be thrilled with them.

  “All right. I’ll put the pilots on notice that we’re leaving tomorrow morning, first thing.”

  Raul pumped his fist and smiled. “Great,” he said as he rolled up his drawings on the table and eased them into a hard case. “Don’t forget your swimsuit,” he said as he headed out the door, his smile even broader. “I hear the beaches are amazing. And teeming with lovely young ladies.”

  Alex shook his head as his childhood friend closed the door. Lovely young ladies were the last thing he was interested in, but it had been a long time since he’d been at the beach, on the water. He missed it, and he might as well take advantage of this opportunity before it all turned into a dumpster fire.

  Three

  Cassie reached her car, grabbed her phone from her purse and dialed her best friend, Taylor. They’d been traveling to Playa Luna in Baja California together as long as she could remember with their parents—now just their moms as both their dads were out of the picture—and their parents had frequently joked Cassie and Taylor had been friends since before they were born.