Po Thang zeroed in on it pretty fast and we dragged the toilet to shore, retrieved the vase, and I reluctantly turned it over to Chino, along with the gold bars (okay, all but one) I'd snatched from Kazoo's cabin and managed to save from the Nao de Chino. As Jan said, it was the least I could do after sinking the man's ship. And since this gold wasn't from a galleon, he could sell the bars and get a new research vessel.
I hate it when I do something noble.
After losing my summer job due to me sinking my work place, I went back to Guaymas and took the Raymond Johnson to La Paz, where it was hot as hell, but my air conditioner worked just fine. Once we were settled in at Marina de la Paz, Po Thang and I drove back north, to spend the rest of the summer at the fish camp.
My new summer job entails cleaning fish and patting handmade tortillas into perfect rounds. I'm getting pretty good at both, and am considering opening a taco stand.
Chino came back from Santa Rosalia one day with a newspaper in hand and gave it to me. The article, on page three, was headlined: BAJA REAL ESTATE BROKER FOUND BEHEADED, FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED.
Jan, who was reading over my shoulder, snorted. "Ya think?"
It went on to identify the victim as Ricardo Luján, but that was about it. Everyone in Mexico knows when someone gets his head removed, it is at the hands of a cartel. And, everyone in Mexico also suspects it is because the victim either had it coming, or was, at the very least, involved in the drug trade. And besides, some folks just need killin'.
On another front, Chino's cousins reported spotting a mysterious submarine that surfaced one night near where the Nao de Chino sank, so we figured the Japanese were retrieving their gold. Not that anyone who knows what actually took place that night wants to talk about it for fear of losing fingers, or worse. And since Jan is the only person who knows I sank Chino's boat, I keep a sharp knife handy, just in case she even thinks about ratting me out.
The missing airliner Ishikawa was reportedly aboard has never been found. However, before Dickless went headless he told Fujikawa's fingerless buds where in the Baja desert they'd dumped Ishikawa's body. Fujikawa must have confessed the sad truth of her husband's demise to his widow, for Chino received a small box of ashes to scatter in the lagoon where Ishikawa learned to commune with whales instead of canning them.
We received news from Japan that Mr. Fujikawa went to that place where Japanese mobsters go to meet up with the many they had a hand in sending there ahead of time. He probably got better treatment here on earth, as he was buried with full military honors and, in my vivid imagination, many three-fingered salutes.
Jan and I, as a reminder of our summer adventure, now wear silver coins around our necks, as I managed to hang onto twenty of them I'd stuffed into my drysuit before we bailed out of Nao de Chino. We're still looking for a fence for the other eighteen. Chino was suspicious of their origins, but I told him I bought them on eBay.
And then there is Nacho. He never returned my calls, but one day when I left my bi-monthly meeting at the mine, a camera identical to the one I'd handed off to the panga driver the day Po Thang was returned to me was in the driver's seat in my pickup.
I soon discovered it couldn't be my lost camera, because the lone photograph I downloaded into Jan's computer was taken earlier on that day I got my dog back, and before I handed over my own camera. The photo showed a man, and Po Thang, sitting cozily side by side on the balcony of what I recognized as the resort where this whole mess started. It was shot from behind, and captured a Kodak moment, which I would call it if it didn't show my age. The man and dog, their heads nestled together ear to ear, were the picture of contentment. Just by the back of his head, I recognized Nacho.
Photo shopped across the bottom of the picture was a message: DON'T EVER CALL ME AGAIN!
Jenks, who is due in any day for a one month stay at the fish camp, is bringing me a new laptop, as mine now resides with the fishes. I'm on pins and needles awaiting his return. He says he's heard some disturbing rumors, and that I might have some 'splainin' to do.
Fabio returned to Ensenada right after Nao de Chino sank. His annoyance at being the captain of a ship lost at sea was tempered somewhat by Chino paying his entire salary for the summer, and a promise of his part of the cannon loot once they were raised. His parting words to me were, "Do not ever call me again."
Am I starting to detect a pattern here?
Hasta luego!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award-winning author Jinx Schwartz has spent most of her life traveling the world for work and pleasure. She spends as much time as possible afloat in the Sea of Cortez, and pulls many of Hetta's adventures from her boating experiences there. When not in Mexico, Jinx finds herself high and dry on the Arizona border.
You can reach her at: [email protected]
Note from the author: I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to contact me at any time. And should you spot a boo-boo in this book, let me know about it! I have some pretty darned sharp readers, and appreciate the input.
Books by Jinx Schwartz
The Hetta Coffey series
Just Add Water, Book 1
Just Add Salt, Book 2
Just Add Trouble, Book 3
Just Deserts, Book 4
Just the Pits, Book 5
Just Needs Killin', Book 6
The Hetta Coffey Boxed Set, Books 1-4
Troubled Sea
The Texicans
Land Of Mountains
All available at http://amzn.to/o0gXOy
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/OegHma
Twitter handle @jinxschwartz
Twitter page: http://bit.ly/peOlj6
Website: http://jinxschwartz.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As always, my first reader and hubby, Robert "Mad Dog" Schwartz, is my first line of defense. His unflagging patience with the techie stuff that has me screaming at my computer is priceless.
Holly Whitman has been the editor of every one of my books, and she keeps me out of the ditch when my story heads there. Thanks, Holly, once again for your wise input.
Also, I have beta readers! Thanks so much, Mary Jordan and Barbara Novak.
And then there is Donna Rich, who has the final, final, say. And very sharp eyes.
Just Needs Killin'
Published by Jinx Schwartz
Copyright 2014
Book 6: Hetta Coffey series
All rights reserved.
The characters and events in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to persons, whether living or dead, is strictly coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning to a computer disk, or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without express permission in writing from the publisher.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE<
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CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
CHAPTER FORTY THREE
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
EPILOGUE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Just Needs Killin' (Hetta Coffey Series, Book 6) Page 23
