Wood's Reward: Action and Adventure in the Florida Keys (Early Adventures of Mac and Wood Book 2) by Steven Becker

Author:Steven Becker [Becker, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The White Marlin Press LLC
Published: 2023-10-01T16:00:00+00:00

17

Now that Wood knew the boat’s name, he put two and two together. Widget was a cross between the engineer’s surname, Wigner, and his wife Bridgette’s first name. There was no need for further confirmation that the boat belonged to Wigner. Wood studied the figure behind the wheel, trying to determine if it was Wigner himself or one of his lackeys. Taken from a sample of middle-aged men, there was nothing unique about him. Average all around—just like the engineer. Still Wood suspected it was him.

Wood moved away quickly before the man spotted him. He returned to the barge by a circuitous route, staying close to the mangrove-lined shore.

“Son of a bitch is Wigner,” Wood called up from the skiff.

“Damn. What’s he thinking?” Travis asked.

“Getting a little impatient, if you ask me,” Wood said. He had told Travis about being spotted the other night but not about Wigner’s extortion attempt. “He’s only got one more inspection after we passed today, which means he’s got no excuse to be here.”

Travis still held the shotgun. “What do you want to do? Shooting the engineer’s not going to be good for business.”

A loud roar interrupted the conversation. “Looks like he’s out. We’ll see what he has in mind now.” Wood turned to the grounded boat. The moon was in a clear section of sky, and its light showed a giant rooster tail. The engine screamed in protest as Wigner opened the throttles in a desperate attempt to free the stuck hull.

Suddenly, the pitch changed. The rooster tail was gone, and the boat was moving. “Got one in the chamber? Not sure what he’s got in mind.”

Travis held the long gun by his side. Before he had a chance to raise it, Widget’s bow turned toward the Gulf side, and with a roar, the hull shot forward. The boat blasted through the bridge like it had been shot out of a canon. Wood watched the water until the white stern light had faded into the night.

“Reckon we oughta recover the chest and get it out of here before he gets any bright ideas and comes back.”

Wood tied off the skiff and stepped aboard the barge. “Thought you two were going to retrieve the damned thing.” He looked at Travis, then followed his gaze to Ned, who had probably slowed down the operation with his constant fretting.

Already knowing the archaeologist was not going to trust him to retrieve the chest from the cofferdam, he walked over to the excavator.

“Got a cargo net aboard?” Ned asked Travis.

“Just slings. We can secure it.”

“If it’s still in one piece.”

Wood had heard the conversation and walked back over to the two men. “Y’all are going on like a bunch of old women. Better to have the son of a bitch in pieces than let Wigner have it.” He knew Ned would go to extraordinary lengths to retrieve the chest without damaging it. Wood was more concerned with what was inside than the barnacle-crusted and tarnished container. “Anyway, it is what it is right now.

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