”You were wonderful,” Kelly said to Carola. “That was so much fun to watch.”
“Sure was,” a voice said behind them. Kelly turned and saw Philip standing there. “Carola, I'd sure like you to teach me how to dance like that. I'd even pay you, so I could get that close to you.”
Carola looked at him coldly and said, “No thanks.” She turned and walked away.
Jack heard the interchange and said, “Little harsh, weren't you, Carola. Maybe the poor guy just wants to learn how to dance salsa.”
“Sorry, Jack. That man is not someone I want anything to do with. And I sure as heck don't want to be close enough to him to dance. He makes my skin crawl. The mere thought of being that close to him makes me want to retch,” she said as she walked out the door and stood next to the bus that was waiting to take them to their hotel.
Kelly was standing nearby and had watched and heard the interchange between Carola and Philip. She turned to Mike and said, “I don't trust Philip. When Carola turned him down on his offer to pay her for teaching him how to salsa dance he gave her a downright murderous look. Don't think he's used to being turned down much.”
“Yeah, I noticed it too. I'll keep an eye out for him. My internal radar kind of goes on high alert when he's around. Come on, time to get to the resort for our next adventure, and right now I'm ready for a sleep adventure, although at this early hour I doubt if our room will be ready."
After a short drive from the airport the bus pulled up to a large yellow and white resort which had numerous detached two story housing units for guests scattered around the five acre complex. Check-in consisted of showing their passports to the clerk, signing a form, and being told that their rooms would be ready in about two hours. They were invited to have breakfast at the open-air buffet restaurant that was next to the lobby. Kelly and Mike counted the minutes until they could go to their room and take a nap. The head guide of the fishing group that had invited Jack to Cuba, Bartolo Fishing Adventures, told Jack he would pick Mike and Jack up at 3:00 that afternoon for an orientation at the nearby fishing club.
CHAPTER 4
When their room was ready Kelly and Mike had a bellboy drive them in a golf cart to the building where it was located. It was on the second floor with floor to ceiling windows looking out at the Caribbean and the beach. The blue and white room reflected the blue color of the Caribbean and the sparkling white sand beach. They looked approvingly around at the room they would call home for the coming days and thought it was perfect for their needs.
A few hours later, Kelly and Mike woke up from their naps, put on shorts and gauzy shirts, and headed for the reception area to meet Jack and then go to the fishing club for an orientation on how the fishing for the upcoming days was going to be managed. Kelly had never liked to fish, but she was curious about why Cayo Largo was considered to be a fisherman's paradise. She decided to go with Jack and Mike to the orientation, plus she wanted to know what the plans were.
Bartolo Fishing Adventures maintained a small clubhouse at the nearby marina that was used by their fishermen clients to refresh themselves before and after they went fishing. Beer, water, snacks, and a bathroom were available. The clubhouse walls were covered with photos of successful fishermen holding their catch.
Guido, the head fishing guide, and one of his guides spent the next hour telling Mike and Jack what to expect for the next few days and showing them maps of where they would be fishing and what kind of fish they would be targeting. Guido explained they would be fishing out of sixteen foot outboard motor boats equipped with a 70 horsepower motor. Each boat would have two fishermen, however only one person could fish at a time. He told them that after a fast trip to the nearby saltwater flats the guide turns the motor off and then stands on a small metal four foot high platform mounted at the rear of the boat. While standing on the raised platform the guide is able to quietly move the boat by pushing it with a long twenty-five foot plastic pole.
“The fish you are trying to catch are quite skittish and spook very easily,” Guido said. “That’s why it’s important to quietly pole the boat until you are within easy casting distance. The water on the salt flats is only two to three feet deep and it is quite clear, which makes it easy for the guide to spot the location of the fish. A good experienced guide can pole the boat so quietly you can often get to within ten to twenty feet of the fish, and it will never hear you.”
At the end of the one hour orientation they were given special flies they could use for their catch and release fishing. They also received instructions on how to cast and a walk-through of the protocol they were to follow while fishing from the boat. As they were walking back from the dock where the boats were tied up, Kelly spotted a door with three brightly colored fish painted on it surrounded by brilliantly blooming purple bougainvillea plants. “Excuse me, could you tell me what the meaning is of the words on that door?” Kelly asked Guido.
“Si, senora,” the handsome Cuban man said. “The words on the door, ‘Grand Slam Club,’ is in reference to an exclusive club, but very few fishermen achieve a grand slam.”
“Pardon me for being ignorant, but I have no idea what you're talking about,” Kelly said.
“In fishing jargon here on the island a grand slam refers to a fisherman who catches a tarpon, a bonefish, and a permit all on the same day. It allows them to apply for membership in this very exclusive club which is called the Grand Slam Club. Very few people are able to do it.”
“Is the clubhouse behind the door with the fish painted on it?” Kelly asked.
“No, there isn’t a physical clubhouse anywhere. If someone qualifies, they fill out an application form that asks when and where they caught their fish. Then they’re sent a certificate by an international fishing organization. There’s also a super grand slam club, but it's even harder to qualify for it. To qualify for the super grand slam the fisherman must catch the three fish I mentioned plus a fish called a snook, all in the same day.”
Kelly turned to Mike and Jack who had followed them up to the clubhouse from the dock. “Well, guys, if we're going to come all this way down here to Cuba, might as well see if either one of you, or hopefully both of you, can become members of the Grand Slam Club. Don't know how important it is in the scheme of things, but sure might give you some major bragging rights when you get back home.”
“Don't worry, Kelly, I'll do my best to see that Mike qualifies to become a member of the Grand Slam Club,” Jack said with a smile on his face.
They were interrupted by the sounds of a taxi arriving along with loud German and English voices. “Sergio, go get the rest of the guides,” Guido said. “Sounds like Dudley's group has arrived. Oh, and remember to tell the cab driver to come back at 6:00. Philip insisted on fishing today and being shown where the other groups are going to be fishing.”
“Why would Philip want to know that?” Kelly asked. “Where Mike and Jack fish doesn't affect him.”
“That's true, but evidently he paid his guide quite a bit extra if he would give him that information. He said he wanted to outfish them. I have no idea why,” Guido said.
That's weird, Kelly thought. I have no idea why that would be important to him unless he wants to try and show the Bartolo Company that he's a better fisherman than Jack, and that he, rather than Jack, would be a better person to have as a business partner.
Just then Dudley and his noisy group rounded the corner, and he began yelling at Guido in a loud voice for him to get his group some cold beer and that he wanted it immediately. When the guide turned towards the small room that held the refrigerator containing cold water and beer, she saw Guido roll his eyes heavenward.
Don't think I'd want to be a guide if I had to deal with people like Dudley and Philip. Jack and Mike must seem like a slice of heaven if the typical clients are anything like that group and Philip. The next few days should be very interesting.
CHAPTER 5
“Have a wonderful time today, and here’s hoping you get a grand
slam,” Kelly said as Mike got ready for his first day of fishing. “Do you have everything you need?”
“Yeah, but I can't find that special chapstick I brought that has a 30 SPF rating. Jack said he'd heard the sun was brutal out on the water, and since we'll be in it all day, he told me I need to cover every part of my body. He even brought a special thing for me to wear that's kind of like a hooded mask we wear under our hats.”
“Better you than me. I intend to do nothing more than eat some Cuban food, take a dip in the Caribbean Sea just so I can say I did, and maybe get a massage. See you tonight, love.” She gave him a kiss and opened the door for him, since his hands were full of fishing gear.
An hour later the phone rang, and it was Carola asking Kelly to join her for breakfast, if she hadn't already eaten. Kelly told her she'd meet her in the main dining room which served a large breakfast buffet. As soon as she walked into the dining room, she easily spotted the beautiful Chilean woman sitting at a corner table, smiling and waving her over.
“I thought you'd probably like some coffee, so I had the server bring some. I've never had coffee quite like this. It's frothy, and it almost has a chocolate taste. I wondered if the server had misunderstood me and brought hot chocolate instead, but she assures me it’s coffee. It's very good, it's just different.”
“I couldn't agree more with you,” Kelly said after her first sip. “I read a little bit about Cuban food before I came, but I must have missed the section on coffee.”
“Jack told me you own a coffee shop in Cedar Bay, Oregon. I thought you might be interested in the food they have here at the hotel. If you try something you like, since you don't speak Spanish, and it's my native tongue, I might be able to get some information about it for you.”
“That would be wonderful. I was concerned about how I could get the recipe for a dish if I liked it, given the fact I don’t speak Spanish.”
“I’d be happy to help you. The people here at the resort seem to be very accommodating. Are you ready to make the rounds of the different food stations?”
“Absolutely. My stomach just woke up and says it has to try something different than what we usually have in the States.”
A few minutes later they both sat down, plates laden with sausages, meatballs, different kinds of homemade breads, and a few things that hadn't been labeled. As Kelly picked up her fork she said, “Carola, I understand you handle the business side of Jack's fishing guide business. Tell me what you do, and how a Chilean woman happened to marry a fishing guide from Northern California.”
“I met Jack when he was guiding for a group he’d brought to Chile. He’d taken them to a bar for a beer after they’d been out on the river all day. I happened to go there after work with a friend. I worked for a travel company that arranged fishing tours for groups from all over the world. Jack’s Spanish was so-so,” she said wiggling her flattened hand back and forth. “He was trying to tell the bartender he wanted six very cold beers. He had the word ‘cervaza’ down, but the very cold part was beyond his limited Spanish.
“I heard him try to order and realized the bartender couldn't figure out what he was saying, so I walked over and told the bartender what he wanted. As they say, the rest is history. He came back to the little town where I lived two more times, and when he got ready to leave with his group the last time he asked me to marry him. We got married in Chile, and I moved to Northern California.”
“Wasn't that hard, I mean you must have had a lot of family there.”
“Yes, it was very hard, but what works so well is he goes back to Chile several times a year to act as a fishing guide for different groups and naturally, I travel with him, and I get to see my family. I make all of the travel arrangements for the groups that hire Jack, and since Spanish is my first language I can really help when we encounter problems such as a client needing emergency medical attention or whatever. I do the bookwork for his company, but that’s really easy, because it’s what I did before I met Jack.
“I’ve helped Jack expand his guiding services to the point where he's now considered to be one of the best fly fishing guides in the United States. I'm lucky I like to travel, because we go all over the world. It's really fun, and most of the people we meet are very nice. Actually, more than fifty percent of our clients are repeat customers. It's fun to keep up with what's happening in their lives and feeling like you're going to spend time with old friends. I love my new life with Jack. He’s such a wonderful caring man."
Kelly had been eating the whole time Carola had been talking. “I'm so glad to hear that. Mike told me Jack has never been happier, and I guess he and Jack go way back to a time before either one of them had met either one of us. Let me change the subject. I wonder if there’s any way I could get the recipe for these meatballs. I think the sign on them said albondigas in sauce. I'll go look and tell you specifically."
She stood up and walked over to the central hot food station. She’d brought a piece of paper and a pen with her, so she could write down the names of any dishes that particularly appealed to her. She was writing the specific name of the dish down when she became aware of a conversation taking place behind her. Eavesdropping came as natural to her as eating, and she couldn't resist spending a few moments seemingly writing down the names of several dishes as the two women behind her carried on a conversation.
“I've never heard such a loud and angry argument. They must be English, because Dudley is such an English name. Evidently she’d unpacked for him while he'd gone to the marina for his fishing group’s orientation after they’d arrived. From what I could hear, she'd found a receipt for a hotel in London in his suitcase on a date when he told her he'd been off guiding a group of fishermen in Scotland."
“So they were in the room next to you, and you could hear everything they were saying through the wall between the two rooms. What else did they say?”
“She was ranting and raving and screaming at him. She told him that was the final straw, and she'd suspected for a long time he was having an affair. She said she was leaving him when this trip was over, and he'd have to find someone else to pay his bills and support him. Then she told him she was pretty sure she knew who the woman was.”
“He told her he hadn't loved her for a long time, and that the only reason he'd stayed with her was because she was wealthy, but here's the part that kind of freaked me out. She yelled at him that he'd better watch it, because he was worth a lot more to her dead than alive, since she wouldn’t have to spend any more money on him.”
“Wow! Did you call security or anything?”
“No. I mean it would have been my word against theirs, and from what I hear, the English don't usually like to air their dirty laundry out for all to see, if you know what I mean.”
“Did you get a chance to see her?”
“Well, I'm not real proud of this, and I probably wouldn't admit it to anyone but you, but I heard the door slam and footsteps going down the stairs. I opened my door ever so slightly, and I saw a woman walking onto the path from the steps. I couldn't see her face, but I saw her blond hair. She was fairly tall and slender. That's all I know.”
“I'll definitely be on the lookout for a tall slender woman with blond hair. Since almost all of the people here at the resort are from South America and Europe, there can't be many women who fit that description. I think I’ll go over to the omelet station and have them make one for me. Any time there's a line that long I figure it means there's good food. Want to join me?”
“Definitely. I can't let you eat alone,” she said laughing.
Kelly walked back to the table and saw Carola smiling broadly at her as she approached.
“Kelly, this is going to be such fun. I was able to make an appointment with the chef during his quiet time this afternoon between lunch and dinner. We're to meet him at 3:30. He doesn’t speak English, so I'll have to interpret for you. I see that you brought some paper. Make sure you have plenty for our meeting. You were over there a long time. Di
d you get the names of some other dishes you're interested in?”
“Yes, but that's not the only information I got. Since Jack wasn’t very thrilled with Dudley Samms, let me tell you about a conversation I overheard.” She told Carola about the conversation that had evidently taken place between Dudley and his wife the evening before.
“Wow,” Carola said. “I remember when we were at the rooftop restaurant in Havana and Dudley was so rude to Jack there was a blond woman sitting at his table. It must have been his wife. Now I'm curious. If I recognize a tall blond woman who looks English, I'll see if I can start a conversation with her about what it's like to be married to a fishing guide.”
CHAPTER 6
After they’d finished eating, Carola said, “Since we won't have time for a swim in the Caribbean this afternoon because of our meeting with the chef, are you game for doing it now?"
“I'm game, but I want you to remember one thing. You're twenty years younger than I am, so please don’t comment on my sagging body parts. I'm way past the bikini years.”
“Kelly, you look wonderful. Don't sell yourself short, but I do want to remind you that this is a clothing optional beach, and European women seem in some ways to have a much healthier outlook towards aging bodies than American women do. I don't want you to be shocked by anything you might see.”
“I promise you I won't embarrass you by pointing or staring, but I have to admit I've never been to a clothing optional beach. Kind of makes me uncomfortable, but then again, I come from the small town of Cedar Bay where if anyone went topless they'd be arrested, and while I think I'm quite open to things, I'd sure as heck hope that the arresting officer wasn't my husband,” Kelly said laughing.
Cedar Bay Cozy Mysteries #3 Page 14
