The Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich

Author:Janet Evanovich
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2022-03-22T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Gabriela was pacing on the front porch when Rafer strolled out of his room.

“Anxious to get going?” he asked. “It’s barely sunrise.”

“Anxious to get coffee and pick up our lunch,” she said. “Gracie isn’t an early riser. She’s getting everything together now.”

“You’re on hammock time here, Gabs. You need to chill. Do you ever check your blood pressure?”

“My blood pressure is perfect. And this isn’t a vacation.”

“Do you ever take a vacation?”

“Yes.”

“When? When was the last vacation?”

“I take mini vacations.”

“What’s a mini vacation?”

“A massage. Barre class. A pedicure. Meditation.”

“Boy, you really know how to have fun.”

“When was your last vacation?”

“Three months ago. I bicycled around the Big Island of Hawaii with a couple friends. And then we surfed the north shore of Oahu.”

“Who runs your business when you’re away on vacation?”

“My staff. Jaimie, Victoria, and Fluffy.”

“Is Fluffy a cat?”

“No. Fluffy is a guy with fluffy hair. He looks like a big dandelion- puff ball.”

Gracie stepped out of the lobby and waved at them. “Coffee’s ready,” she said.

Rafer and Gabriela got coffee and pastries to go. Gracie handed them brown bag lunches, and they set off on the road to Thompson’s house. Four feral piglets ran across the road in front of them and roosters crowed in the distance. The sky was blue and cloudless. Gabriela was wearing an olive-drab T-shirt with a camo shirt as a jacket. She had the diary zipped into a waterproof money belt. The vegetation parted on the side of the road and Gabriela caught sight of the Pacific. Another five minutes and the Jolly Roger whipped in the wind in front of them.

Thompson was loading the Jeep when Rafer and Gabriela approached.

“I’ve got water and beer, and bait in case we feel like fishing,” Thompson said. “Mickey’s in the house making a last pit stop. He has a prostate the size of a watermelon.”

Mickey came out and everyone got into the Jeep.

“I keep the boat a couple miles down the coast,” Thompson said. “Got a better harbor there.”

Twenty minutes later they boarded the Julie Dear. It was a twenty-eight-foot Parker 2820 XLD with a sport cabin and twin Yamaha F300s. The boat suited Thompson perfectly. They both looked like they’d been left in the sun and the rain too long.

“You named the boat after the island and the Mary Dear,” Gabriela said to Thompson.

“The name of your boat’s gotta mean something,” Thompson said. “It’s gotta say something about your past and it’s gotta look to the future.”

Gabriela’s dad named his boat Mugs because he got a discount when it came time to paint the name on the stern since it was only four letters.

The Julie Dear had a closed wheelhouse that seated four. Two people were comfortable in the mate’s chair and the captain’s chair and two were cramped in the side chairs. Rafer chose to ride outside, and Gabriela took the mate’s chair next to Thompson.

“Tell me about the island,” she said to Thompson. “It didn’t show up on any of my maps.”

“It probably did but you didn’t recognize it,” Thompson said.

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