Savage Truth by Jack Hardin

Author:Jack Hardin [Hardin, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Salty Mangrove Press
Published: 2020-05-28T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

The Key Largo morning dawned with high thunderheads that rolled off the Atlantic, thundering across the islands before moving out across the Gulf and finally dispersing over the horizon by the time I had finished breakfast. The brisk deluge briefly dropped the temperature a good ten degrees, but as the morning grew on and the sun rose higher, the thermometer quickly reversed course, leaving only a thick, invisible cloud of humidity.

I spent the morning at Brad’s kitchen table with my laptop open, reviewing the notes from the Homeland team charged with tracking down Joel Fagan since his escape from Costa Rica. The CIA had also been looking for him, and Kathleen made certain those notes were opened to me as well. Hundreds of hours had been spent trying to locate him, but outside of the video Amy Jensen had discovered of Fagan leaving the skyscraper in Rotterdam, he hadn’t been seen since his disappearance.

When I was finished reviewing the information, I tossed my laptop in a backpack and drove over to the Cozy Crawfish Marina. The MacGyver was still mummified in crime scene tape. I tried not to look at her as I made my way to the opposite end of the marina and boarded my Boston Whaler.

The Whaler was a beauty. It included a helm station with an integrated hardtop and a 30-gallon livewell, a fold-down swim patio on the side of the hull, and fore and aft casting decks. It boasted twin 225 Verado engines that, when opened all the way up on calm water, got her up to a steady 50 knots. All said, it was twenty-seven feet of pure fisherman's dream.

I slipped the key into the slot and turned it. There isn’t much that beats the sound of a boat engine coming to life behind you. Regardless of the size of the boat or the engine, hearing the motors purr and the rotors churn the water is always a herald of good things to come. It means you’re only moments away from getting out on the water, and I can’t think of a much better place I’d rather be.

After casting off, I stood in front of the double-wide helm seat and backed out of the slip, moving away from the marina and through the no wake zone at idle speed. I brought the Whaler into the channel and kept a southerly bearing as I crossed into the Gulf of Mexico via Tavernier Creek and passed into Florida Bay.

Florida Bay is situated on a shallow shelf lagoon where freshwater from the Everglades mixes with the saltwater of the Gulf. The bay covers a full one-third of Everglades National Park and contains some of the most difficult water in the state to navigate. It’s a large, shallow estuary that has a limited exchange of water due to various shallow mud banks covered with seagrass. The banks separate the bay into basins that have their own unique characteristics.

Since shallow areas are not always marked, safe passage across requires the ability to read the water directly, with the aid of polarized glasses.

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