“No, not the tanker,” Arthur said. “Closer in. Much closer. Just above the swell.” The couple exchanged a look. “I don’t see anything,” the woman said with a half-smile. The man shrugged. “Maybe it’s just seaweed or something.” They returned to their conversation like he wasn’t there.
He tried again, this time with a dog walker. Then with a man holding a camera. Then a family setting up a beach umbrella. Each time, the answer was the same. Either they didn’t see it or didn’t care. His urgency was starting to feel absurd—even to himself.