Caribbean Rescue (Coastal Fury Book 16), Matt Lincoln [best book recommendations .txt] 📗

“Of course.” Morris nodded. “This is my country, and I want to keep it safe. I have just as much authority as Turner does. Just hold on for a moment, please.”

He stood and stepped out of his office.

“Wow.” Olivia smiled. “Total night and day difference from Captain Angry, huh?”

“Leagues,” I replied. “Why couldn’t we have been assigned here to begin with?”

“Because it’s a tiny police box located in a strip mall?” Olivia shrugged. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, small or not, it’s better than having to deal with that total nut Turner, but I can see why it wouldn’t be the first choice.”

Captain Morris returned a few minutes later with another taller man in tow.

“Agents, this is Officer Crowley,” he said as he sat back down behind his desk. “Officer Crowley, these are Agents Marston, Holm, and Hastings.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” the tall man said stiffly. “The captain has informed me of the situation. I’m ready to get started whenever you need me.”

The man had a serious expression on his face, and he spoke in a stern, straightforward manner.

“Why don’t you come back here tonight before you head to the bar this evening?” Morris suggested.

“That sounds great,” I agreed before turning to look at Crowley. “We’ll meet you here at eight then so we can head out together.”

After thanking Captain Morris once again for his assistance, the three of us headed back out of the police station and to the car.

“There’s still a few hours until sundown,” Holm noted after we settled into the rental and pulled out of the police station parking lot. “What should we do until then?”

“Oh!” Olivia exclaimed immediately. “There’s a national park nearby!”

“Really?” I asked. “Here?”

“Yeah!” she replied, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Literally right here on the Western Island. I was reading about it on the car ride down here. We can take a boat there. We’d definitely be done in time to get to the bar by eight.”

“We have to take a boat to get to it?” Holm asked.

“Yeah, isn’t that cool?” She grinned. “It’s an island within the island. The only ways to get there are by plane or by boat, and a boat tour seems like it would be more fun anyway, right?”

She was so excited by the idea that I couldn’t keep from smiling.

“I’m down for it if you are!” I called up to Holm from the back seat.

“Sure.” He shrugged. “Could use a little ‘R and R’ before we head into the lion’s den.”

“Exactly.” Olivia nodded. “I’ll plug in the directions to the ferry port now.”

Honestly, part of me felt a little bad about running off to play when we were in the middle of a case, but Olivia was so into the idea that I didn’t have the heart to say no. And anyway, I’d learned a long time ago that this job could easily break a person’s spirit if they didn’t learn to go with the flow and have fun while they could. With all the danger and stress we dealt with, a little boat ride to blow off some steam would do us all a world of good.

21

Ethan

Our short detour to Chalk Sound National Park turned out to be worth the time. It was known for its untouched greenery and striking turquoise-colored water, as the guide who took us out helpfully explained. Because it was a national park, large vessels like ferries weren’t allowed, so we had to take a small pontoon boat out to see it.

The tour guide operating the boat also emphasized that many visitors enjoyed kayaking and paddle-boating around the park before mentioning that anyone interested could rent the necessary equipment directly from them. The idea actually sounded really fun, and had we not been busy with the case, I might have been tempted to take him up on the offer.

Because so many of the plant and animal species that inhabited the island were rigorously protected by the government, we were only allowed to step onto some of the islands in the park, and we were warned multiple times to be careful to not disturb or feed any of the animals.

The beach of the island we stopped off at had a rocky, uneven shore. As I was helping Olivia down off of the boat, she tripped on the loose rocks and fell into me. She apologized and smiled up at me sheepishly, but I noticed that she didn’t make a big effort to move away from me.

The entire excursion had only taken about an hour and a half, but it was enough time for me to feel relaxed and recharged by the end of it. The grin on Olivia’s face afterward had been the icing on the cake.

We’d headed back to the hotel afterward to prepare and wait for nightfall before heading over to the bar that Frank had mentioned. After we all got settled, we gathered in Holm’s room, going over our plan for the night.

Since we would be the ones to go in undercover, Holm and I had changed into our most touristy-looking outfits. In my case, that meant a pair of shorts and a t-shirt I purchased from the hotel gift shop. Not my usual style, but I wanted to give off the impression of a clueless, and therefore harmless, vacationer looking for a good time.

Holm, meanwhile, had changed into a pair of jeans and a slightly oversized t-shirt with a picture of a band I’d never heard of.

“Who are they?” I asked as I sat down on the edge of the bed.

“What? Oh, the shirt?” he asked as he looked down at his own clothes. “This band a girl I once dated was into. They ended up being pretty good. I actually kept following them even after we broke up. They’ve been disbanded for a while, though.”

“Awesome.” Olivia smiled as she took a seat next to me. “Now that the two of you look like a pair of frat boys on vacation, let’s go