Pleasure Cove: Where love is hot on the beach!

by Nash, M. G.

“Did he ever admit to you that his contact had come to see Pleasure Cove?”

  “No, he implied that his contact saw the motel at the same time he looked at The Spa several months ago.”

  “Did you do any sabotage for Felix at The Spa Motel?”

  “No, the family members couldn’t agree on selling so Felix walked away.”

  “How did Felix find you to do this work for him?”

  “We started talking in The Spa bar one night. I was there looking to work on a fishing boat, and he bought me a beer. He took me out on his boat and we became friends. He promised me a job if I would help him buy the motel for a good price.”

  Hugo handed Miguel a print-out of the email with the Royal Hacienda address. “Is this the email you mentioned before?” When Miguel nodded, Hugo asked, “Are there more like this?”

  “Maybe one more, I don’t remember. I only used Mary’s computer. That’s where you got this one – right?”

  “Yes, we have that computer. Did Felix ever mention any other Jacada names?”

  “No, he just said “my guy inside Hacienda.”

  “Did he ever refer to any other guys, maybe at other motels like my guy at Los Suenos?”

  “No, we only had contact four-five times either on his boat or at the bar.”

  “Where does he keep his boat?”

  “I assumed it was at The Spa since that’s where I went on board. Felix came into Cabo and picked his boat up at the marina and brought it up the coast.”

  Hugo looked at Jose who jotted down a quick note.

  “This is a good start, Miguel. I need to take a short break. Would you like something to drink? I could bring you some water or soda.”

  “Yeah, an ice cold beer sounds really good. I haven’t had a cold Corona in weeks.”

  “Sure, I understand. We’ll have a cold beer together. I’ll be right back.”

  Bob and Hugo walked outside Jose’s office and quickly headed for the bar.

  “What are your first thoughts, Hugo?”

  “His story is consistent with all the evidence you shared over lunch. I think he’s telling us the truth. We need to check out that boat. It’s probably still at The Spa.”

  “We have someone we can send over. I’ll go talk with her right now.”

  “Okay. Anything else we need to know?”

  “Yes, ask him about timelines. If there was a critical date, it might help us link it to something inside Hacienda.”

  “Will do, I’m going to go get those beers.”

  “Thanks again, Hugo,” Bob extended his hand and patted his friend’s shoulder before heading off to find Juanita.

  Back inside the office, Hugo passed a cold Corona to Miguel who took a long draw.

  “Thanks,” he smiled at Hugo.

  “Sure,” Hugo nodded. “Let’s talk about the timing of the sabotage. You had a spreadsheet with a series of events you had to do by Memorial Day.”

  “Felix wanted to hurt the motel’s revenues early in the season so Jose would be forced to sell by hurricane season in September.”

  “Did he mention any other deadlines or dates?”

  “No, not to me, he just slowly wanted to drive the value down so he could walk in and get the motel cheap.”

  “Wait,” Miguel paused. “He did talk about the ‘line-up’ he called it – Cabo, Los Barriles and Los Suenos. There has got to be a connection. I thought it was the location so guests could move from one motel to another by boat.”

  “Very good, Miguel. Now, we’re getting somewhere. You’re right; those towns make quite a line-up to Pleasure Cove.”

  “Did he ever mention bringing anyone else on the boat – name dropping, maybe, or someone he wanted to impress?”

  “One night he met me offshore and he’d just come from Los Suenos where he had a meeting.”

  “Did you notice anything on the boat that night, maybe wine glasses sitting around or food still out?”

  “No, it was dark, and I had financial papers to turn in.”

  “Was Pedro with you that night?” interrupted Alfredo.

  “Yes, but he only helped with the skiff. He didn’t come on board the boat.”

  “Where is Pedro?” Miguel asked.

  “Doing his time,” quipped Jose.

  “Let’s stay focused, Miguel. You met Felix on the boat, at the bar. You never saw his cell phone. Did he ever take calls in front of you?”

  “Oh, yeah, all the time, but I didn’t pay any attention. He even called me a few times.”

  “Really, do you have his cell phone number? That would be useful to us.”

  Miguel looked at Alfredo. “Your buddy, the cop, has my cell phone. He’s in my voicemail. I didn’t return Felix’s last couple of calls.”

  “I’ll check on that right now,” Alfredo rose to leave the room. “I’ll be right back.”

  “I see you’re almost done with that beer. Would you like another one?”

  “Sure, I’m hungry, too. The food is lousy in jail.”

  “Jose, would you go get Miguel a couple of tacos? They will go good with his beer.”

  Jose walked out to the bar to see Bob and Alfredo talking quietly. He joined them for a minute. “Well, is your cop on duty this weekend?”

  “I just left him an urgent cell phone message. I can’t believe he didn’t check out Felix’s cell phone records. It sounds like we need his credit card records, too, so we can see just how often he’s been in Cabo for the past six months.

  Bob shook his head. “I’m not sure we need to worry about that. We may have enough for Hugo to call the CEO. Let somebody else take Felix down a notch. We just want him away from Pleasure Cove.

  “Oh, before I forget,” Bob continued, “I want you both to know that Juanita has gone to look for Felix’s boat at The Spa Motel. She promised to call when she finds it.”

  “At least, Miguel sounds more credible today. He’s fighting for his life in there so he’s being more co-operative. Jose stopped and nodded to Bob, “I agree someone should bring Felix down a notch. Why don’t you do it? After all, he did try to steal your woman.”

  “No, I’ve got better things to do. The Jacada family will take care of him when they find out what he’s been doing,” Bob replied sarcastically.

  “I’m more worried about Miguel. What if this ploy works?” asked Alfredo. “We’ve run out of time hiding him in jail.”

  “Is there some place we can send him like you did Pedro – maybe somewhere on the mainland?” hinted Bob. “He could work on a farm or a ranch so far away we don’t have to worry about him getting a cell phone or the internet.”

  “How about a mango orchard in Belize?” joked Jose with a nasty chuckle.

  “First things first,” countered Alfredo. “Hugo has to finish his job. Can’t we keep Miguel in the local jail for one night?”

  “Maybe,” Jose said hesitantly. “I’ll make a call after I take in his tacos.”

  “We all need to take a break. I bet Carrie’s cell battery is running down about now.”

  “OK. I’ll go retrieve it while he eats his food. Nodding his head, Jose turned to the hallway, “We should have enough video recorded.”

  Alfredo’s phone rang as Jose walked away. Bob sat while he took the call in Spanish. The conversation didn’t last long.

  “Our cop got called in on another case,” explained Alfredo. “We have to formally charge Miguel to get specific police action. So far, we’ve just been scaring him making him think charges have been brought against him.”

  “I see. I wonder if Juanita could do some research tomorrow. She just might find some more dirt on Felix, and a safe place to hide Miguel while Hugo does his thing.”

  “Couldn’t hurt. The more ammo we give Hugo, the better job he will do. You did the right thing bringing him here, Bob. He’s got more out of Miguel than we did in two weeks. Everyone has calmed down a bit.”

  “It’s that patriarch thing, Alfredo. It works on those young boys every time.”

&
nbsp; They waited as Jose delivered the beers and tacos. He was walking back down the hall holding Carrie’s cell in his hand within minutes.

  “Let’s see what we’ve got,” Bob said as he took the phone from Jose’s hand. “It’s still got a little battery left. He hit replay and the three men crowded round to watch the video play. It was a little dark but the sound was good and the faces recognizable.

  “We got it,” Bob smiled as the men patted each other on the back. “I promised I’d show it to Carrie. You guys can handle the rest of this. I’ll be back shortly.” He headed out to the palapa looking for Carrie.

  Pausing on the sidewalk, he stopped and simply admired her profile while she read a book. She was going to be so happy. “I’m back, love,” he greeted sitting down beside her. He passed her phone over so she could watch the video.

  “It’s good enough for me,” she commented after watching for a few minutes.

  “We all agree,” Bob smiled, “Thank you, my dear. We couldn’t have done it without you.” He leaned forward to give her a soft kiss.

  “How did Hugo take the interview? Is he willing to call the CEO for you?”

  Bob nodded quickly, “Oh, yeah, he’s having a field day with Miguel. He’s sure won Alfredo over.”

  “Great, then we’re going home on a good note. I know it’s been a busy day. Have you had a chance to check your flight plan for tomorrow?”

  Bob smacked his forehead. “See what I mean. I’d be lost without you. Let’s look up the weather so we know how early we have to leave.”

  He looked down at her phone while she brought up the weather. “Cloudy skies in the morning but looks like it will burn off by ten.” She looked up at him. “So, does that mean departing at ten?”

  “Yeah, that sounds about right. We can enjoy breakfast and still get home early in the afternoon. What would you like to do tonight, love? I feel like we should celebrate. We pulled off a miracle today.”

  “Let’s eat here in the café so we can say good-bye to Hugo. You may need to chat with Juanita when she gets back.”

  “She just called Jose letting us know she found Miguel’s boat but is being cautious about boarding it. Maybe we can have margaritas and some chicken enchiladas. It’s our last night for some real Mexican food for a while.”

  Engrossed in conversation, Bob and Carrie didn’t notice as the men walked down the hall toward the bar. Hugo and Miguel walked together behind Jose and Alfredo. Hearing their voices, Bob and Carrie turned toward them as they headed down the sidewalk to the parking lot.

  Hugo spoke up first. “Miguel has agreed to stay at the local jail tonight to give us time to check out new information he remembered today. I’ll come back tomorrow so we can double-check the facts before I make any calls.”

  Bob stood and shook Hugo’s hand. “Thanks again, Hugo, and thanks to you, Alfredo, for bringing Miguel back today. We really hope we can all put this behind us soon.”

  The men continued to their cars while Bob and Carrie lingered under the shade of the palapa. “Why don’t we treat ourselves to a margarita now, babe?” I think this merits a toast, and I can only have one since I’m flying tomorrow.”

  Chapter 35

  Carrie lifted her glass in a toast, “It’s Happy Hour here at Pleasure Cove.” She looked at Bob, “No wild and crazy hombre tonight, huh?” teased Carrie. “Maybe we should go look for shooting stars when it gets dark.”

  “A lady after my heart, it’s a date after dark.”

  Carrie woke up early to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. She was peaceful. It felt like something final would happen today so the motel would be safe. She turned to cuddle with Bob. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. “Hello, my love.” She pulled his head down to kiss him slowly nibbling at the corners of his mouth. “Um-m, I love your lips.”

  Crawling over his chest, Carrie pinned Bob’s arms with hers. “Do you feel like a hero this morning? You know you were the one who figured out the pieces of this puzzle.”

  “Only because you were beside me with your clever ideas. I would never have thought of Hugo without you.”

  Pressing on his hands, “Ok, we all helped but it was you who had the connections. It’s important that you feel that success. This place is better because of you.”

  Rolling her over so he was on top, he smiled down into her face. “I’m better because of you. What do you say about that?”

  “I agree,” Carrie laughed stretching up to kiss him. “I think we’re a great team.”

  “You got that right. Now come on, partner. We need to talk to Juanita. If she found anything on Felix’s boat, it puts a nail in his coffin.”

  “OK, coffee first, then Juanita.”

  Minutes later they walked out of the room and headed to the café. Juanita and Jose were eating breakfast as they walked in.

  “May we join you?” asked Bob as he pulled up a chair.

  “Of course, Bob. Hola, Carrie.” Jose set back a chair for her.

  “Let me get our coffee,” she smiled, “I’ll be right back.”

  “How did it go last night, Juanita?” asked Bob.

  “I was just telling Jose. Felix is still at The Spa, and his boat is anchored offshore. I swam out there late last night. I searched the boat and found a couple of receipts from Los Suenos. It gives us dates. We can go to the resort and get details from the bar staff.”

  “Can I see the receipts?” asked Bob.

  “Sure,” she opened a folder and passed them to him.

  Studying the receipts, Bob looked for dates and totals. The date matched the night he and Carrie were on the beach. The total showed he was probably having drinks with someone at Los Suenos.

  “Alfredo should take these receipts and go talk to his contacts at Los Suenos. He can get details for us, maybe even the name of the person Felix met that night.”

  Carrie returned with coffee and churros. She sat down joining the conversation.

  “Bob, did you give Juanita the jump drive?”

  Bob reached into his pocket and passed the jump drive to Juanita. “Please give this to Hugo today. It’s the video of his interview with Miguel yesterday. I want him to show it to Royal Hacienda. It sure looks like we have enough evidence to prove that Felix was and still is here to sabotage this motel and possibly two others,” Bob concluded. “We have to fly back today so we leave this in your good hands.” He nodded at Jose and Juanita.

  “Let’s get you a decent breakfast before you leave,” Jose commented. “Would you like some eggs and bacon?” He stood to take their order into the kitchen.

  “Sounds great,” mumbled Carrie through her mouthful of cinnamon churro.

  “Juanita, promise me you’ll stay in touch. I want you to do some work for a company in Texas that’s connected to my firm in California. Call me when you get back to San Diego. I’ll pass on the contact information to you.”

  Jose returned shortly with two breakfast plates and coffee.

  “Muchos gracias, Jose,” said Carrie as she dug into the scrambled eggs.

  “Por nada, amiga. You earned it.” He patted her on the back and smiled at Bob.

  “When will we see you two again?”

  “We’ll be back in about four weeks with my kids for a vacation.” His hand touched Carrie’s. “I just got the cell phone message this morning. They’ll be here in a month.”

  Carrie was surprised and pleased. “Wow that is good news.”

  Bob took a last sip of coffee, “We need to head for the plane. I’ve got work to do before we can take off.”

  Carrie nodded and took her last bite of eggs. She pushed the plate away and stood up.

  “Adios, Jose,” giving him a quick hug. Everyone waved good-bye as Bob and Carrie headed for the airstrip.

  “Ready to be my co-pilot?” asked Bob as he wrapped his arm around Carrie’s waist.

  “Sure, bring on that checklist.”

  Tossing their bags in the back seat, Bob began preparing for takeof
f. Carrie sat quietly watching him run down his list. She looked out at the horizon and saw a few clouds but nothing they couldn’t climb above.

  Bob started the engines checking outside before he began to taxi to the runway. Smiling at Carrie, he gave her thumbs up, “We’re going home.”

  Chapter 36

  Three hours later, they were close to the Santa Ana runway. Carrie had dozed off during the flight and she stirred as Bob began talking to the tower about making his approach. She still loved to watch the landing as Bob banked the plane and began his descent. He put the plane down with only a bump and she opened the airplane door to the hot Southern California sun.

  Carrie patted the nose of the plane before they headed to the terminal. “I will always have fond memories of this plane.”

  “Me, too, I was thinking about our adventure while you were sleeping. I wanted to reach over and undress you.”

  “Maybe you can do that on the way home,” Carrie said with a grin. “Sex in the afternoon sounds like decadence to me.”

  Bob laughed, “I wouldn’t mind sitting in the jacuzzi and then cooling down nude on the deck with you by my side.”

  “There you go surprising me again, Bob. I was sure you’d head straight for your desk to make phone calls.”

  “Oh, I might stop by for a minute, but there’s nothing that can’t wait till tomorrow.”

  “My thoughts exactly. After all, we’ll have kids running around in a few days.”

  Bob looked at her, “You’ll have a whole brood to spoil.”

  Putting their luggage in the trunk of the car, Bob opened the doors to cool it down.

  As they headed down the freeway, Carrie slid closer to Bob and whispered in his ear, “You’re the only one I want to spoil.”

  She ran her finger around his ear lobe. “Does this drive you crazy like it does me?”

  “No, afraid not, but I love the attention.” He stroked up her leg. “Um-m, you stayed bare for me. That’s sexy.”

  She wet her finger in her mouth and returned to her play by slowly moving it in and out of his ear. “That doesn’t feel sensuous to you?”

  “Sweetie, it feels good, but you’re the one with the sensitive ears. My sensitivity is all in one place.” He cupped his crotch. “Just talking like this turns me on.”