The Girl from Belgrade by John L. DeBoer

Author:John L. DeBoer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, suspense, mystery, spy, espionage
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Published: 2022-12-13T00:00:00+00:00

Key West

Trish and I agreed that Troy Ingram, aged fifty-five, was a good candidate for the manager of our Key West project. He had called us in response to our ad, first speaking to Trish, who then buzzed me on the intercom so that I could join the conversation. He’d been living in Key West for thirty-four years, ran fishing charters with his own boat, and certainly knew his way around the island.

I wanted to see Key West again after my one brief visit two months earlier, especially to gauge the popularity of ocean-related activities in the heart of winter. Google and travel ads couldn’t beat firsthand experience. So I set up the interview on his home turf.

Ingram picked me up at Key West International Airport and drove me to a marina where he berthed his boat. He was medium-tall, fit, and deeply tanned. He sported a salt-and-pepper beard that matched his hair. I took his resemblance to photos I’d seen of Hemingway as a good sign.

I didn’t know squat about deep-sea fishing, but his large boat looked clean and capable. And it had a spacious enclosed cabin topside for passengers who wanted to get out of the hot sun for a cool drink. This is where we sat to discuss my ideas.

“What’s the passenger capacity?” I asked.

“For fishing?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve had ten clients comfortably. Could do twelve in a pinch.”

“Business good?”

“Can’t complain. Got a 4.7 average on Yelp with over five hundred reviews.”

I smiled. He’d come prepared. “Impressive.”

“Would’ve been closer to a 5, except some folks got seasick and blamed me.”

I liked him already. “Could you do snorkeling tours with this boat?”

“No problem. I’ve got a swim platform off the back.”

“And the trip to the Dry Tortugas?”

“You gonna hire a bartender?”

“Wasn’t thinking of it.”

“Well, I gotta be driving most of the time.” He pointed to the front of the cabin and an old-fashioned Coca-Cola ice chest, the kind that used to be outside gas stations back in the day, according to what I’d seen on American Pickers. “You mentioned a cocktail cruise, but I suggest wine and beer only.”

“Makes sense. Is snorkeling doable in January and February?”

He shrugged. “Water never gets too cold. Low seventies this time of year. Coral peepers come here in the winter too.”

“So this could be a year-round operation, then. You okay with that?”

He grinned. “Let’s get a beer, and we’ll talk business.”

He took me to the Green Parrot Bar, obviously a popular watering hole with a funky décor. A white, orange, and green parachute hung from the ceiling in the main section of the place. A pool table sat tucked away in another section. An eclectic array of posters, signs, photographs, and other mementos crammed the walls. I saw no tables, only different areas of bar seating. He took me to a relatively quiet one, and we ordered drafts of Green Parrot Session Ale.

“You never mentioned scuba diving,” Ingram said and took a drink from his glass.

“Think we should offer that?”

“If you’re gonna do snorkeling, you can’t ignore scuba diving.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.