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[Stone Barrington 03] • Dead in the Water
Chapter 29
by Stuart, Woods,Stone wakes up in a hurry, anxious not to miss Libby Manning’s departure from the island. He rushes to the inn, where he intercepts Thomas, who is loading Libby’s luggage for her trip to the airport. Stone hastily prepares a FedEx envelope containing a letter to Arrington and asks Libby to mail it upon arrival in Miami. The group then speeds off to the airport, discussing Jim Forrester’s illness, which Thomas attributes to contaminated conch from a street vendor. At the airport, Stone and Thomas help Libby board Chester’s small plane, which also carries another passenger, and they bid her farewell.
As the plane takes off, Stone and Thomas watch it ascend, relieved Libby is finally leaving. However, their relief turns to alarm when they notice smoke and flames erupting from the left engine. Chester attempts an emergency landing on the water, but the plane cartwheels upon impact, breaking apart. Stone and Thomas immediately rush to a nearby fishing village to arrange a rescue boat, though Stone privately doubts anyone could have survived the violent crash. The urgency of the situation is underscored by Thomas’s frantic driving and their quick boarding of Henry’s fishing boat.
During the search, debris from the plane floats on the water, including Libby’s straw hat. They soon spot Chester’s body, missing an arm, confirming the grim reality of the crash. The retrieval process is slow and difficult due to the rough sea conditions. Stone’s earlier fears about Libby’s departure are tragically overshadowed by the disaster, leaving both men shaken by the sudden turn of events.
The chapter ends on a somber note as the rescue effort continues, with little hope of finding survivors. The abrupt shift from mundane morning routines to a life-threatening crisis highlights the unpredictability of the island’s dangers. Stone’s relief at Libby’s departure is replaced by horror, emphasizing the fragility of life and the swiftness with which circumstances can change. The scene sets the stage for further investigation into the cause of the crash and its repercussions.
FAQs
1. What urgent task does Stone need to complete before Libby leaves, and why is it important to him?
Answer:
Stone urgently needs to send a letter to Arrington via Federal Express before Libby departs. He rushes to address the envelope and asks Libby to drop it in a FedEx bin when she arrives in Miami, emphasizing that he wants it delivered to California the next day. This task is important because it appears to be time-sensitive correspondence, possibly related to legal or personal matters. Stone’s insistence on physical delivery (rather than faxing) and his specific instructions about timing suggest the letter contains sensitive or urgent content that requires secure handling.2. Analyze the significance of Jim Forrester’s illness in this chapter. How might this detail connect to broader themes or plot points?
Answer:
Jim Forrester’s severe illness, caused by eating contaminated conch from a street vendor, serves multiple purposes. First, it establishes the risks of local food safety practices, reinforcing the island’s unfamiliar environment to outsiders. Second, it introduces a minor mystery—whether his illness is purely accidental or could be linked to other events (e.g., sabotage, given the subsequent plane crash). The detail also humanizes Thomas, who cares for Forrester despite his gruff demeanor. This subplot may foreshadow later health-related conflicts or subtly hint at the island’s underlying dangers, mirroring the sudden tragedy of the plane crash.3. How does the chapter build tension during the plane crash sequence? Identify specific narrative techniques used.
Answer:
The crash sequence employs several tension-building techniques:- Pacing: Quick, short sentences (“Oh, shit”; “Look, he’s raising the nose now”) mimic the rapid unfolding of events.
- Technical Detail: Descriptions of Chester’s piloting decisions (e.g., reducing power, bleeding airspeed) create realism and suspense about whether he’ll succeed.
- Sensory Imagery: Visual cues (smoke, flames) and auditory details (engine sound changes) immerse the reader.
- Foreshadowing: Thomas’s earlier comment about Chester’s rushed takeoff without a runup check hints at impending disaster.
- Delayed Revelation: The crash’s aftermath is described piecemeal (wreckage, then the hat, then Chester’s body), prolonging the horror.
4. Evaluate Stone and Thomas’s differing reactions to the plane crash. What do their responses reveal about their characters?
Answer:
Thomas reacts with urgency and optimism, immediately seeking a boat and believing survivors might exist (“Somebody might have made it”). This reflects his pragmatic, action-oriented nature and local knowledge (knowing Henry’s boat). In contrast, Stone is more analytical and resigned, assessing the crash’s mechanics (“when it broke up, that ended it”) and accepting fatalities early. His pilot training informs his realism, but his insistence on watching Libby’s departure also reveals a cautious, somewhat distrustful streak. Their dynamic—Thomas’s hope versus Stone’s grim acceptance—highlights their complementary personalities under stress.5. Why might the author include the detail about Libby’s straw hat floating in the water after the crash?
Answer:
The straw hat serves as a poignant symbol of Libby’s fate and a narrative device to underscore the crash’s brutality. Its description—”woven straw in the water”—contrasts with its earlier mention as part of her cheerful departure attire, emphasizing how quickly disaster struck. The hat also acts as a visual marker for the search team, guiding them to the crash site. On a thematic level, it represents the fragility of human plans (Stone’s relief at her departure is tragically overturned) and the randomness of tragedy, as an innocuous item becomes a relic of loss.- Pacing: Quick, short sentences (“Oh, shit”; “Look, he’s raising the nose now”) mimic the rapid unfolding of events.
Quotes
1. “‘I just want to be absolutely sure she’s really gone.’”
This quote captures Stone’s lingering anxiety about Libby’s departure, revealing his deep relief at her leaving and hinting at prior tensions or conflicts between them.
2. “‘He’s trying to blow out the fire… When I was training for my license, that’s what I was taught to do with an engine fire, a power-on descent, to blow it out.’”
This moment showcases Stone’s aviation expertise as he analyzes Chester’s emergency maneuvers, adding technical tension to the impending disaster while demonstrating his observational skills.
3. “‘The nose came up some more and the airplane headed toward landing. Then a wing dropped, touched the water, and the airplane cartwheeled, breaking into pieces.’”
This vivid description marks the tragic climax of the chapter, with the violent crash serving as both a dramatic turning point and a moment that seals the fate of all aboard.
4. “‘Chester gone,’ Henry replied. ‘They all gone.’”
The local fisherman’s blunt pronouncement delivers the chapter’s grim conclusion with stark realism, contrasting with Stone and Thomas’s earlier hopefulness about potential survivors.
5. “‘It’s Chester,’ Thomas said. ‘He’s missing an arm,’ Stone said quietly.”
This understated yet horrific discovery underscores the crash’s brutality and serves as the chapter’s final, chilling image, leaving the aftermath implications hanging.