To Honor We Call You: A Florida Action Adventure Novel (Scott Jarvis Private Investigator Book 9)

by Scott Cook

  From that prodigious height, she could easily discern three ship rigged vessels that were nearly hull up on the horizon. She could see now why Ellis thought they could be French and British. One of the ships, the larger by the look of things, had weathered sails that were lightly tanned from a long spell at sea. Most French vessels sails were nearly pure white, they having less opportunity to be exposed to the sun and the weather. The closer ship, possibly the British ship, stood by itself while the other two seemed closer together, approaching from the east.

  It was possible the bigger ship was an American. They certainly spent plenty of time at sea. And at that time, the United States was engaged in something of an unofficial war with France due to issues over trade and merchant raiding.

  Now she heard what the watch standers had heard some minutes before. A low series of booms thumped out over the nine or ten miles of sea that separated Kate from what was shaping up to be a battle. The two Frenchmen’s bow chasers, she made no doubt. The British vessel was headed a bit north of west, probably coming out from the Bahamas and headed for Charleston as well. The French vessels, if that’s what they were, were in pursuit, perhaps half a mile astern of the bigger ship.

  That meant Kate would have to alter course a point or two to larboard in order to intercept the larger ship, maybe a frigate or a line of battleship. Or even to cut her wake and meet the two pursuers. That was exactly what she was hoping for. She could put the wind a few more points on her beam and spread even more canvas.

  Kate half climbed and half slid back down toward the deck. Even as she reached the foretop, she began bawling out orders for more sails.

  “Stuns’ls aloft and alow, both sides!” She called out, “Main royal and shake the reef out of the fore course! Sprits’l and sprits’l tops’l! Mr. Palander, there, bring her three points to larboard! Course Nor, Norwest, a half west!””

  She slid down a backstay even as Palander replied to her order and the ship began to bear up thirty-four degrees into the wind.

  “Lee braces there” Palander roared out. “Ease weather clue lines! Belay! Wade, watch your luff now! Ease heads’ls a fathom, there!”

  “Come on, lads!” Mathews roared out forward. “Trice up and lay out! Let’s see dat fore royal set dis watch, now! Main mast, dere! Watcha tinkin’ bout, dere! Get da’ main royal lifted and den the stuns’ls, damn your eyes!”

  This was the kind of sailing Kate truly loved. Wild and franetic activity in the rigging and yet with an underlying order to it. The men leaping about the upper works, enthusiastically going about their work and all the while a spirit of expectation and excitement filled every heart. It was the true sense of adventure that sent every boy and even some girls, to sea.

  Kate strode aft, fighting down her own urge to caper about with almost childlike abandon. She called for a cast of the log line. Young Willis appeared from nowhere, the reel already in his hands. Palander himself helped the boy with the timing. After a moment, he turned to Kate his boyish face alight with unconcealed pleasure.

  “Eight knots and two fathoms, if you please, mum!”

  Kate returned the grin, “Very good, Mr. Palander. I believe there are two French heavy corvettes or light frigates chasing a frigate of ours. It could even be a fourth rate. I can’t be certain now, but I intend to close them and discover what they are. At this rate, we should be up with them in an hour or so.”

  “Wonder why our lads are running,” Palander mused.

  Kate only shrugged, “Probably biding their time. But however, we’ll learn soon enough. For the moment, let the hands be piped to supper and given thirty minutes to fill their bellies. Then, Master, I believe we can beat to quarters!”

  Palander frowned, “Oh, you know what Mr. Bentley will say to this. We’re just a merchant brig, after all…”

  Kate detected a hint of his own feelings in the matter. Although she didn’t acknowledge them, the smile she directed at the man and the remark she made was meant as much for him as the as-yet unknown and unlooked for opinion of their most recalcitrant passenger.

  “That so, Mr. Palander? Well, should you speak to the gentleman before me, you may feel free to pass on my view that if he doesn’t approve of my actions then he might take his good opinion and fuck with it.”

  21

  The handful of Advil I’d swallowed helped to take the sharp edge off the very distinct line of pain that traversed the width of my upper back. I was also grateful for the fact that the sea was nearly flat calm, thus eliminating the constant jarring of my wound against the back of my seat.

  In order to avoid this, and to be a nice boyfriend, I offered to pilot us back to Miami. There was little conversation for the hour ride back to Biscayne Bay, however. It was sort of hard to talk when the sound of two turbo-charged high-powered engines seemed to split the universe with their roar.

  As we rounded Elliot Key, Lisa took over again. She was familiar with the waters and thought I might like to sit down, as I’d been standing the entire trip.

  I didn’t, but reluctantly and very gingerly placed myself in an empty padded seat. The trip around the Safety Valve and into the bay itself was short, and when Lisa eased us down off plane and to an idle, it was nearly possible to have a normal conversation over the deep rumble of the engines.

  “What do you think George is gonna say when we tie up?” I asked.

  Lisa seemed to flush a little, “Oh… I’m sure he’ll be fine with it. I fully expect a hero’s welcome.”

  Jackie chuckled and I shook my head. Something told me that in spite of the fact that it was nearly three-thirty in the morning that sleep would not be coming anytime soon.

  As we neared the Davis’ dock we saw George and Aleja standing at the end of said dock, clearly illuminated by the lights. Lisa’s mom stood casually but George, who had his arms crossed over his chest, had a palpable air of disapproval about him.

  “Enjoy your ride?” he asked tersely as Lisa eased us alongside the dock and Jackie and I got the lines attached.

  “Delightful,” Lisa said, shutting the engines down. The early morning quiet that followed was tangibly delicious. “Mission accomplished.”

  “Tah-dah!” I offered cheerily.

  The girls got out first and I struggled up over the gunwale and onto the composite decking. It wasn’t that the climb out was difficult… more that with every big movement of my body, a white hot laser beam traced a perfect line from one shoulder to the other.

  “Are you all right?” Aleja asked, stepping over to me.

  “Little scratch,” I offered, accepting the hug and wincing when her hands touched my back. She noticed the lumps under my shirt and looked up at me expectantly.

  “He was shot,” Jackie offered. “Christ… I could use a drink.”

  Aleja’s eyes went wide, “Shot! Ay dios mio!”

  “It’s just a graze,’ I reassured her. “Little more than a deep scratch.”

  George seemed to be on the verge of lashing out and yet unsure of just what to say. Lisa had taken off to rescue me, of course. She had succeeded, so it was hard for him to be completely incensed.

  He drew in a deep breath, “Just what the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea how worried we were when we heard the boat take off? For Christ’s sake, Lisa! Why didn’t you wake me up!”

  “There wasn’t time,” Lisa replied. “I’m sorry, George, but when I saw Scott’s phone signal go out to sea and stop… I had to move fast. I did leave you a note.”

  George flummoxed at that, “A note! You make off in the middle of the night with my half million dollar boat and you think a note is enough? Jesus Christ, what the—“

  “Calm down, George,” Aleja tried to soothe. “The boat is fine, the girls are fine and Scott is here.”

  George fought with his temper and glared for a long moment at all of us. He didn’t want to fight with his wife. This was a sticky situation for him. If he got in between mother and daughter, it could mean an even bigger argument.
He also probably felt a little hurt that his wife wasn’t backing him up.

  So instead of continuing to rail against Lisa, he pointed a finger at me, “If you hadn’t gone racing off into the night on some foolish mission for Tavares, then this wouldn’t have happened, now would it?”

  I maintained my cool as best I could. George was probably just blowing off steam and I’d rather it be directed at me than at Lisa.

  “George, it’s my job to go off on foolish missions,” I remarked sternly. “That’s what I get paid to do. It was necessary and quite frankly, extremely productive.”

  George threw up his hands, “All the while, we’re sitting here worrying about the three of you and what might happen. If you want to play Thomas Goddamned Magnum, then I’d appreciate it if you didn’t drag it into our house for Christ’s sake!”

  “Oh, for God’s sake, George!” Lisa exploded. “Your precious fucking boat is fine! I’ll gladly put gas in it to pay for what I used, since your damned boat is all you care about.

  “Now just a damned minute, young lady!” George snapped. “Just who do you think you’re talking—“

  “Don’t call me young lady, George! I’m twenty-eight fucking years old!”

  “Then act like it, for Christ—“

  “Stop it!” Aleja cried out, holding up her hands. “It’s not worth getting angry over! No more of this!”

  “Goddam it, Aleja,” George seethed, only slightly calmer. “You’re my wife. It’d be nice if you took my side on this. Your daughter and her friend here—“

  “That’s enough!” I roared, splitting the night open and probably waking the neighbors. I was secretly pretty pleased with how my voice carried over Biscayne Bay.

  Everyone looked at me with pie-eyes. After a moment I went on more calmly.

  “I can understand why George is upset. I might be mad in his place too. However, it’s all over and not worth fighting about. I certainly don’t want to cause any more trouble and certainly don’t want to create friction between Aleja and George. So let’s just take a deep breath and calm down. Tomorrow, George, we’ll fill up the boat with fuel. Least I can do. For now, Lisa, Jackie and I will find a hotel for tonight and however much longer we’re in town.”

  “Oh, no, mijo!” Aleja exclaimed. “You don’t have to go, especially at this hour.”

  “I think it’s for the best,” I said, casting a glance at Lisa who stood with her arms folded and her eyes blazing. Jackie only stood a little to one side, looking passive. “I really don’t want to bring any of my troubles to your shores. Also, I won’t be blaggarded for what I do. That’s unacceptable.”

  This last I directed at George with a hard stare. At first he met my gaze but quickly dropped his eyes.

  “We were just worried,” Aleja tried to reassure me. “George doesn’t mean anything…”

  “He’s right, though,” I said. “It’s better if we’re not here, just in case. Things are getting complex and dangerous. This case is far larger than I thought. Let’s get going, ladies.”

  “At least wait until morning,” Aleja pleaded. “It’s so late… or early…”

  “If they want to go, let em’,” George cranked.

  Aleja speared him with a look that I hoped I’d never have aimed in my direction, “They’re welcome to stay until morning.”

  George rolled his eyes and threw up his hands, “Fine.”

  As he turned on his heel and stalked off toward the house, I looked at Lisa. She drew in a breath and sighed, “It is like four a.m.….”

  “I’m with you guys, whatever you decide,” Jackie stated.

  Lisa turned to me and raised her eyebrows in a question. I blew out my breath, “Okay… let’s get some shut eye and we’ll figure things out in the daylight.”

  “Bueno…” Aleja said, hugging her daughter, then Jackie and finally me. “George will be fine in the morning, mijo, you’ll see.”

  After making sure Jackie had everything she needed, Aleja went off into her bedroom and Lisa and I went off into the guest suite. We took a fast shower together, being careful of my bandages. Afterward, Lisa had me lie on the bed on my stomach so she could re-dress the wound.

  She hissed in sympathy when she removed the damp gauze, “Oh, baby… this looks bad on your left shoulder…”

  “I think it’s still a flesh wound,” I said. “Think it needs stiches?”

  “I don’t know… maybe here…” Lisa said, touching close to the lefthand end of the furrow. Her voice took on a definite tightness. “I wish you wouldn’t take so many chances…”

  I turned my head to look at her better, “It’s my job. Yours too, don’t forget.”

  “Yeah but for Christ’s sake!” Lisa grumbled. “I don’t go looking for gun battles or dive off speeding boats and get myself shot!”

  I considered her for a long moment, “No, you get yourself practically blown up instead.”

  “It’s not the same thing,” Lisa snapped.

  “Isn’t it?” I asked calmly. “Is… is this one of the reasons you left me last year?”

  I saw her flinch a little. The entire situation around Lisa leaving me and coming back was unpleasant for both of us.

  “Yes and no,” She replied softly. “It just scares me, but it’s also one of the things I love you for.”

  “It’s who I am, Lisa,” I stated.

  “I know… I know, goddammit!” She snapped.

  “So… you’re mad at me for what you love about me?”

  “That’s right!” She glared. Then she sighed and grinned at me. “I’m just being a girl, baby. We’re crazy and you know that.”

  “Uh-huh. And you’re crazy because we men make you that way, right?”

  “Exactly!” She giggled. “No… you’re just one of the things we get crazy about. I know it doesn’t make sense to your organized guy brain, but I can be mad at you for one of the very reasons I love you so much. I can be frustrated at having to look at this foot-long furrow in your back while at the same time it makes me horny. You’re just gonna have to learn to deal.”

  I laughed, “I see. Just let you yell at me whenever you want, huh? That’s fine… but you also have to learn to deal. And your case isn’t so strong when you run off and get blown up… just sayin’.”

  “Do as I say not as I do,” She mimicked… somebody. “Seems I’ve heard that someplace.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “So are you gonna dress that or keep yelling at me?” I asked.

  “I never yelled at you,” She chided.

  “Well… spoke to me with moderate frustration and disapproval in your tone. Same thing… I’m a sensitive flower and I’ve already been partially wilted by George.”

  She laughed, “You’re an asshole is what you are… and I love you more than I can say. And George was just being a dick.”

  “Don’t be too hard on him,” I said. “He was just worried and it had to come out somehow.”

  “Why do you always give people excuses?” She asked with a little consternation in her tone. “No matter what, unless they’re bad guys, you find some way to give people a pass when they act badly.”

  “I already told you, I’m a sensitive flower.”

  “Uh-huh… but you never give yourself that much of a break.”

  I shrugged, “I dunno… I’m flawed, what can I say?”

  We managed to get comfortable in bed. That is, I managed to find a way to lay without putting too much undo pressure on the wound and Lisa found a way to snuggle with me.

  “I’m sorry,” She said softly into my chest.

  “It’s okay, I don’t mind you getting mad at me once in a while… I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more, frankly.”

  She chuckled softly, “I was never really mad… it’s just a little fear for you.”

  “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate… hate leads to the dark side…” I said in a remarkably spot-on Yoda.

  Her body shook with her laught
er, “I meant I’m sorry that me being upset makes you worry about me leaving again… but don’t. That’s not going to happen. I’ve had my time to think and I know what I want, bullet wounds and all.”

  “Good,” I said, patting her spectacular ass. “Now how about you? You okay? George seemed more pissed than I thought he’d be.”

  She shrugged, “Whatever. Yeah, I know I stole his boat, so he’s got a right to be angry… but if he can’t get over it and wants us out, then that’s fine with me. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him overreact. It’s one of the things that keeps me from totally accepting him, I guess.”

  I sighed, “I’m sorry for that, but like I said, I think it was just a little steam being blown off. Okay… I’m starting to fade out here… let’s figure things out in the morning.”

  Morning came, as it so often seems to. Of course, at least for us, morning began around nine. My eyes popped open and I looked at the nightstand alarm clock with disapproval. I’m usually up by seven most mornings… but I’m usually in bed before four a.m., too.

  I sighed and went to extricate myself from Lisa’s warm body. She groaned and pressed closer.

  “No…” She mumbled. “You stay right here…”

  “Sorry, kid,” I replied. “Duty calls… for both of us.”

  “Just a few more minutes… I’ll touch your wiener…” She sing-songed this last.

  I chuckled, “you’re already touching it with your leg right now.”

  “No, I mean with my moist portions, as you would say.”

  I laughed out loud, “Good grief! Sides… I gotta tinkle.”

  “Blast!”

  We got dressed and packed and went out into the dining and kitchen area. Aleja was already there, sitting at the counter and drinking a cup of coffee.

  “Where’s George?” I asked after kissing her.

  “He had to go to a meeting,” Aleja said glumly.