Love for Sail
Page 21
"I know you on a boat; you an' the pretty lady usually come in together. Can't remember the boat name."
"Diamantista," Paul said. "You need the customs papers for the V.A.T. rebate?"
"No. Tha's okay. We got a copy on file from when the lady was in here the other day. Tell her Paula said hello. I know she glad you back. She been missin' you; I could tell."
****
The maid rapped sharply on the door, tapping with her passkey. It was midmorning; most guests would be out of their rooms by now, but after a few embarrassing episodes early in her tenure at the Grand Anse Beach Resort, she had learned to be cautious about opening room doors. After a second knock without a response, she inserted her key and opened the door just a crack.
"Good morning. Maid service," she called.
When there was no response, she opened the door fully and stepped into the room, surprised to see that the bed had not been disturbed since the night maid had turned down the covers last night. That was a little out of the ordinary, but not unusual enough to alarm her. While she, like many of the islanders, was quite conservative, she knew that single guests often slept with people they met at the resort. She didn't approve, but she kept her judgments to herself. After all, they paid her salary, and she wanted to know as little as possible about the depravity that occupied them in the nighttime.
She checked the bathroom; the towels had been used since she had cleaned the room yesterday, and the terry cloth bathmat on the tiled floor was slightly damp. She looked around for a moment, thinking something was wrong, and then it struck her. There were no toiletries on the counter, and she remembered that this woman had left a substantial makeup kit out yesterday. She opened the cabinets, but there was no sign of the makeup kit. Stepping back into the room, she looked around, confirming that the woman's luggage was not in evidence. She checked the dresser drawers and the closet, but none of the woman's belongings were in the room. Now she was a bit alarmed; guests normally stayed from one weekend to the next. Midweek departures were unusual. She went to her cart outside the door and checked the schedule on her clipboard, verifying that Mary Nolan was expected to stay for three more days.
Frowning, she picked up the phone from the nightstand by the bed and dialed her supervisor. "Mary Nolan in room 132 has lef'," she said, when the supervisor answered.
"Hmm. She 's'posed to be here until Friday. Why you say she lef'?"
"She bed not slep' in las' night, an' —"
"Maybe she get lucky," the supervisor interrupted. "Tha's what the 'Mericans call it — gettin' lucky — when they meet up wit' somebody an' fool aroun'. None of our affair. Jus' you clean the room, an' — "
"No. Tha's what I t'ink at firs', but all her stuff gone."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"Hol' on, then. I check wit' the office an' call you back there."
The maid sat on the edge of the bed, waiting. In a moment, the phone rang. "Yes, hello?" she answered.
"Room paid t'rough Friday; she don' check out. They say mebbe she go stay somewhere else fo' a day. Jus' clean it up an' leave it; mebbe she be back. If not, we make it up clean on Friday, okay?"
"Yes."
****
As Connie stepped out of the taxi in the marina parking lot, she saw Paul walking up the dock from Diamantista. She paid the driver and reached into the back of the minivan to collect her purchases, stealing a glance at her watch. Their guests should be arriving from the airport momentarily. She walked past the guard's shack and entered the marina grounds, flowers in one hand and spice baskets in the other.
"Good afternoon, Connie," the guard said.
"Good afternoon, Louis."
"Your guests will be here in a minute; Felix called. He say 'bout five minutes. I called Paul on the boat; he comin' to greet them."
"Thanks, Louis," she said, marveling at how cell phones had replaced the coconut telegraph as a means of keeping everyone informed. A stranger had no hope of slipping around unnoticed in the islands, where everybody knew everybody else's business.
She started down the dock toward Diamantista, watching for Paul to come around the corner. When she saw him, she felt her face melt into a genuine smile. They stopped a pace apart on the dock.
"The Regans will be here any minute," he said, returning her smile.
"I heard. I ... "
"Want me to take that stuff to the boat?" he offered.
"No, that's okay, thanks. You greet them. I want to get these arranged in their cabins. I'll hurry; maybe I'll be back up here in time. Or I'll just meet you all when you bring them back."
Paul nodded and made his way to the gate, glancing back to admire her as she walked gracefully toward Diamantista. By the time he reached the parking lot, a dark green minivan with "Felix" emblazoned across the top of the windshield came to stop near the marina gate. He reached for the handle on the side door, sliding it open.
"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Regan. You too, Ms. Regan." Paul smiled as the pretty teenager blushed at being called Ms. Regan. She flipped her shoulder-length blond hair behind her ears and grinned.
"Welcome to Grenada. I'm Paul Russo; I'm the first mate on Diamantista."
"Hi, Paul. Luke Regan," the man said, crouching as he climbed out of the van and offered Paul his hand. "Call me Luke, please."
Luke was about Paul's height and looked lean and fit. His hair was black and curly, shot through with a few strands of gray. Paul guessed that he was in his mid-to-late thirties.
"Thanks, Luke," Paul said, shaking hands.
"Meet my wife, Monica, and my daughter, Julia."
"My pleasure," Paul said, beaming at the ladies. "How was the flight?"
"Not bad. We spent the night in Miami, so we just had a few hours flying today," Luke said.
Paul opened the back doors of the minivan as Luke was paying the driver. He loaded their three duffle bags into a dock cart, finishing as the Regans came around behind the van to join him.
"I'll take your things down to the boat; let's get you settled. If you're hungry, there's a good restaurant right here in the marina, or I can whip up something quick if you'd prefer."
"Thanks, Paul, but we bought sandwiches on the plane," Monica said. "I don't know about Luke and Julia, but I'd like to stretch my legs. Is there anywhere we could take a good walk?"
"Sure. Just follow the driveway back to the road and take a left. There's a nice sidewalk that will take you all the way around the Carenage and into St. Georges. That's the town over there," he said, gesturing across the harbor. "It's a pretty good hike, but if you get tired, just flag down a bus; they're minivans, just like the taxi, except they'll stop and pick up and drop off passengers anywhere along the route, and they're cheap. The driver or the conductor can tell you how to get wherever you want to go; just ask."
"Conductor?" Julia asked.
Paul smiled. "They have a person who opens and closes the door and stops traffic for you to cross the street, if he needs to. He'll also collect the fare."
"Cool," Julia said. "Can I change into some cooler clothes before we go?"
"Good idea," Monica said. "I'd like to do that, too."
"Let's go with Paul, then," Luke said. "We'll put our stuff away and then go see the town."
****
* * *
Chapter 4
"Nice touch, clearing out her stuff," Troy said. "What made you think of that? Old habits, you thievin' bastard?"
"Watch yourself, pretty boy. I figured if we left her stuff in the room, the people at the resort would get suspicious after a day or two."
They had delivered Mary Nolan early this morning and were sailing south along the west coast of St. Vincent. Troy had the helm, and his companion had spread her belongings out in the cockpit as he pawed through the medium-sized suitcase. "Nice camera and some high-end costume jewelry," the older man muttered.
"Might as well keep the camera. I can't think of anywhere to sell the rest of it. Can you?"
"Nah. Mostly just didn't think it was a good idea to leave it. Made it look too much like somebody coulda snatched her. This way, the hotel will just think she ran out on them, see?"
"Yeah. Five thousand bucks — not a bad score for our first time," Troy said.
"Not too bad," his companion agreed.
"So how much do you think we need to buy enough coke to make it worth the trip north?"
"Hundred grand or so. We get that much uncut shit into Miami an' we can retire an' live large," the older man said.
"That's a shitload of women," Troy mused. "Lots of exposure. Somebody's gonna notice, man."
"Nah. The man said spread it out; never twice in a row at the same island, remember? Stick to loners, like this broad. Nobody misses 'em for a while. Cops on one island don't talk to their neighbors on the next island unless somethin' tips 'em off."
"Still, that's a lot of time and trouble."
"Shit, Troy, it's easy work, man. Besides, there's always virgins."
"What? What're you talkin' about, virgins?"
"You don't fuckin' listen, do you?"
"I missed somethin', I guess. What about virgins? They want virgins?"
"Yeah. He's got a buyer — guy that specializes in Asia and the Middle East."
"How much?"
"Twenty-five grand for a white teenager. Five grand bonus if she's blond."
"Now that's more like it," Troy said. "We can snatch a few like last night for pocket money — keep us in dope while we look for virgins. Only gotta score a few of them, and we'll be set to make that Miami run."
"How we gonna score teenage girls without getting in trouble? Old farts like us?"
"Speak for yourself, man. I can pass for late teens, no trouble. Just need the right haircut and some moisturizer to cover the sun damage. Stick with me, old fart."
"We'll see," the older man said, putting Mary's things back into the suitcase with a few large rocks for ballast. He took out a knife and punctured the nylon in several places after he zipped it closed. "Heave to for a minute. Let's be sure it sinks."
Troy spun the helm, turning their bow to the port, through the wind. After the sails rattled for a few seconds, they filled on the opposite tack, the jib back-winded. The boat stopped, held steady by the pressure of the breeze in the sails, which were working against each other now. The older man dropped the suitcase over the side and they watched it sink from view beneath the clear, indigo-blue water, leaving a momentary trail of bubbles. He turned and grinned at Troy, nodding his head.
Troy cast off the sheet that held the jib back-winded and sheeted the sail in on the opposite tack. The boat began to pick up speed, and he returned to their original course, trimming the sails as his companion watched. After a moment, the older man went below and returned with two moisture-beaded bottles of Carib beer.
"To virgins," Troy said as they clicked the bottles together and drained them in one long draught.
****
End of the excerpt from Sailor's Delight – a Connie Barrera Thriller (Book 2) ...
If you're enjoying Sailor's Delight and would like to keep reading it, just click here or find it in the Kindle Store.
A Note to the Reader
Thank you for reading Love for Sail– A Connie Barrera Thriller, the first book in the Connie Barrera Thriller series. I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please leave a brief review on Amazon. Reviews are of great benefit to independent authors like me; they help me more than you can imagine. They are a primary means to help new readers find my work. A few words from you can help others find the pleasure that I hope you found in this book, as well as keeping my spirits up as I work on the next one. If you would like to be notified by email when I release a new book or have a sale or giveaway, please click here to subscribe to my email list. I promise not to use the list for anything else; I dislike spam as much as you do.
If you haven't read the other Connie Barrera Thrillers, please take a look at them. If you enjoyed this book, you'll enjoy them as well. Connie had a key role in Deception in Savannah, my first book. I enjoyed writing about her so much that I wrote her into the Bluewater Thrillers, my other series of sailing thrillers. She plays prominent parts in both Bluewater Ice and Bluewater Betrayal. The Connie Barrera Thrillers are a spin-off from the Bluewater Thrillers, and share some of the same characters. The Bluewater Thrillers feature Dani Berger and Liz Chirac. They run a charter yacht named Vengeance, a sistership of Diamantista II’s. Dani and Liz taught Connie to sail, and they introduced her to Paul Russo, her first mate and husband.
Sails Job - A Connie Barrera Thriller was published in September of 2016. Now I've turned my attention back to Dani and Liz in their twelfth Bluewater Thriller. You'll find progress reports and more information on my web page at www.clrdougherty.com. Be sure to click on the link to my blog posts; it's in the column on the right side of the web page. Dani Berger has begun to blog about what's on her mind, and Liz and Connie are demanding equal time, so you can see what they're up to while I'm writing.
A list of my other books is on the last page; just click on a title or go to my website for more information. If you’d like to know when my next book is released, visit my author’s page on Amazon and click the "Stay Up to Date" link near the upper left-hand corner. I welcome email correspondence about books, boats and sailing. My address is clrd@clrdougherty.com. If you'd like personal updates, drop me a line at that address and let me know. Thanks again for your support.
About C.L.R. Dougherty
Charles Dougherty wrote quite a bit of fiction before publishing Deception in Savannah, his first novel. Most of his earlier fiction works took the form of business plans, written to secure funding for projects and startup ventures during his corporate and consulting work, but he put all that behind him when he wrote Deception in Savannah, a tongue-in-cheek crime novel.
Since Deception in Savannah was published, he has written a number of other books. The Bluewater Thrillers are set in the yachting world of the Caribbean and chronicle the adventures of two young women running a luxury charter yacht in a rough-and-tumble environment. The Connie Barrera Thrillers are also set in the Caribbean and feature some of the same characters from a slightly more romantic perspective. Besides the Bluewater Thrillers and the Connie Barrera Thrillers, he wrote The Redemption of Becky Jones, a psycho-thriller, and The Lost Tourist Franchise, a short story about one of the characters from Deception in Savannah.
He has also written two non-fiction books. Life's a Ditch is the story of how he and his wife moved aboard their sailboat, Play Actor, and their adventures along the east coast of the U.S. Dungda de Islan' relates their experiences while cruising the Caribbean.
He resides with his wife aboard Play Actor, sailing wherever their fancy and the trade winds take them.
Other Books by C.L.R. Dougherty
Fiction:
Bluewater Killer
Bluewater Vengeance
Bluewater Voodoo
Bluewater Ice
Bluewater Betrayal
Bluewater Stalker
Bluewater Bullion
Bluewater Rendezvous
Bluewater Ganja
Bluewater Jailbird
Bluewater Drone
Bluewater Thrillers Boxed Set; Books 1-3
Love for Sail - a Connie Barrera Thriller
Sailor's Delight – a Connie Barrera Thriller
A Blast to Sail – a Connie Barrera Thriller
Storm Sail - a Connie Barrera Thriller
Running Under Sail - a Connie Barrera Thriller
Sails Job - a Connie Barrera Thriller
From Deception to Betrayal - an Introduction to Connie Barrera: a boxed set
Deception in Savannah
The Redemption of Becky Jones
Short Story:
The Lost Tourist Franchise
Non-fiction:
Dungda de Islan'
Life’s a Ditch
For more information, please visit:
http://www
.clrdougherty.com/
or
http://amazon.com/author/clrdougherty
Table of Contents
Love for Sail
Diamantista's Route
The Virgin Islands
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
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
* * *
Chapter 29
Read an excerpt from Sailor's Delight – A Connie Barrera Thriller (Book 2)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
* * *
Chapter 4
A Note to the Reader
About C.L.R. Dougherty
Other Books by C.L.R. Dougherty
Table of Contents
Title Page
Diamantista's Route
The Virgin Islands
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