by Matt Lincoln
Prologue
“What do you think?” Rhoda called out as she repositioned the oversized American flag above the bar. She was balanced precariously on the top rung of the ladder, her arms outstretched over her head as she tried to keep the flag level.
“Slightly to the left,” Nadia replied thoughtfully from across the room. Her bar rag was momentarily forgotten in her left hand as she studied Rhoda’s movements. “That’s it! Right there.”
Rhoda shoved a pin into the corner of the flag to secure it into the wood while Nadia continued to wipe down the tables. Classic rock pumped out of the new jukebox that Rhoda had installed for us, and the red, white, and blue plastic cups were separated by color and stacked in the corners of the bar.
“This place just screams Fourth of July,” I pointed out as I came around the bar to help myself to a drink. “I’ve never felt so free.”
“Good, that’s the vibe we were going for!” Rhoda teased as she worked her way down the ladder.
I reached for my favorite bottle of bourbon, moving some patriotic streamers out of the way. “You know, I have a sneaking suspicion I’m telling another story tonight.”
Rhoda flashed me a thousand-watt smile as she took the Four Roses out of my hand and reached for an empty glass. She carefully poured my favorite bourbon into the glass as she chuckled to herself. “Most likely! I think tonight’s theme is perfect for a tale about one of your adventures.”
I heard the distinct sound of the front door swinging open, and I turned to see my good friend Mike Birch standing in the doorway. He had been the previous owner of this joint, and despite the overly tacky tiki hut decor, I had quickly warmed up to the bar and its owner. Mike definitely had his own stories to tell, but he could tell the rest of those on his own time.
“Look who the cat dragged in,” he announced. Mike stepped to the side and held the door open. Behind him was a woman I hadn’t seen in years.
I immediately slid off the bar stool as I processed what I saw. “Linda?” I gasped. “Linda Reyes.”
“The one and only!” She held her arms out wide as she approached and wrapped me in a bear hug. Through her mop of curly hair, I spotted another woman standing behind her. She was young, maybe college-aged, and looked strikingly familiar.
“Wait,” I mumbled into Linda’s hair. I slid my arms to her shoulders and broke the hug. “Is that…?”
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “This is my daughter, Claire. Claire, this is Ethan.”
“Hi,” Claire greeted, a beaming smile on her face. “Nice to meet you. Mom’s told me a lot about you.”
“Have you now?” I asked Linda. My eyes stayed focused on Claire, though.
Linda chuckled softly. “We’ve been on our annual Mother-Daughter trip. This year, we are traveling the country in my new RV.”
I peeled my eyes off of Claire and re-focused on Linda. “You got an RV? That’s exciting! You’ve been wanting one for a while now.”
“Yes!” Claire replied cheerfully. “Mom finally got what she wanted. It’s been a great trip so far!”
“Where did you go?” I settled into the nearest bar stool and gestured for Linda to join me. Claire walked over to stand between us, and Rhoda appeared with my bourbon glass. I slid it off the bar and took a slow sip while I waited for Linda to order a glass of water for both herself and her daughter. Rhoda swiped two of the colorful plastic cups from the stack closest to her, shoveled them full of ice, and began filling them with water.
Linda swiveled to face me. “We’ve been visiting a lot of my friends from my time down in Puerto Rico. Claire has been interested in some of my Coast Guard stories, so we’ve been spending a lot of time going down memory lane.”
“That would explain why you’ve heard so much about me then.” I looked over at Claire for confirmation.
“Yes! We agreed that Mom wouldn’t tell any more stories until we got here, though.” Claire snapped a stretched-out hair tie from around her wrist and started collecting all of her thick, dark hair up into a knot on the top of her head. When Rhoda came back with the water cups, Claire reached across the bar to grab one and took a few thirsty gulps.
“Ahh, so you’re looking for a story.” I looked over at Mike, who had sidled up to the bar a few bar stools down. “Why do I get the feeling you set me up?”
“Who me?” he teased, a telling smirk on his face. “I would never.”
“Yeah, sure.” I shook my head in disbelief and turned back to the two women.
“Set you up?” Linda took a cursory sip of her water without breaking eye contact.
“Yeah,” I replied, shooting Mike a sideways glance. “I’m apparently known for my stories around here.”
“It just so happens that there’s a story he needs to tell that involves you, Linda.” Mike took a sip of the beer Rhoda had placed in front of him.
“Oh, really?” Linda met my eyes with a raised eyebrow. “You’re telling me I came into town on just the right night?”
“Seems like it,” I shrugged.
“Well, now I’m excited,” Claire added. I looked over to find her beaming from ear-to-ear. “I’ve heard so many stories so far, and I am so excited to hear yours!”
I smiled warmly at her. “Well, I’m happy to tell it.” I shook my head in amazement as I took in her features. “Damn, you are the spitting image of your father, you know that?”
“Yeah, I get that a lot,” she nodded. “It’s a good thing I got my mom’s eyes, or it would be even worse.”
I chuckled at that. “You know, he and I go way back.” I winked at her before glancing over at her mother. “Is he the reason you guys are here?”
“Yup,” Linda confirmed. “I can’t ever pass up a stop in Miami when he is in town.”
“He can’t join us, though,” Claire informed me. “Kinda ruins the whole Mother/Daughter concept if he does.”
“Well, tell him he better come in and see me if he’s around long enough. I haven’t seen him in ages.” I took another sip out of my glass and heard the main entrance open. When I glanced back, I saw a bunch of familiar faces walk through the door. I may have called them kids, but they weren’t, really. They were young Academy graduates that came in one day and got roped into a story I was telling. Since then, they’d been here for every story I’ve told so far, and tonight was no exception.
“Hey, guys, welcome to the party!” I announced, raising my glass momentarily before taking a sip.
“Wow.” Charlie led the group into the bar. “I’m loving the patriotism in here.”
“Yeah, it’s not half bad,” Mike teased from his spot at the bar. I looked past him and noticed a glass of bourbon sitting in front of the last stool. It was different from the rest of them, the last holdout from the days when Mike ran the joint as Mike’s Tropical Tango Hut. It would stay that way, too. No one was going to mess with Holm’s seat.
“I’m still having a hard time seeing you the same way, Mr. Cartwright,” Mack laughed, coming in right behind Charlie and eyeing Mike.
“Please, just call me Mike,” he insisted. “It’s a cool story, but I’m still the same guy.”
Jeff and Ty were the next two into the bar. “Yeah, no, you’re not,” Ty argued, his eyes flashing like he’d seen a celebrity. Mike groaned, but he didn’t protest further.
“So, what’s going on?” Mack asked, sidling up to the bar and scanning it for the bartender.
“Funny you should ask,” I said, shooting Mike a sideways glance. He flashed me an innocent grin and took another sip of his beer. “Guys, this is Linda Reyes and her daughter Claire. Linda, Claire, this is Charlie, Mack, Ty, and Jeff.”
I waited for everyone to greet each other before continuing. “Linda is actually here at the perfect time,” I announce
d, looking around at the small group in front of me. “She played a major role in one of our cases at MBLIS.”
“Not the one with the coquí?” Charlie called out.
“The one and the same,” I smirked.
“Where is the coquí?” Ty asked, his elbows on the bar and his chest pressed up against the ledge as he scanned the walls.
“Right over there,” I gestured with my chin.
Rhoda walked over and slid it off the shelf behind the bar where we stored some infrequently used glasses. She sauntered over and placed it down in front of me at the bar. The carved wooden coquí was only four or five inches long, but even at that, it was still about three times the size of a real one. The Taíno symbols painted onto the wood stood out sharply, and I realized that I suddenly had everyone’s attention.
“Oh, my God,” Linda breathed, picking the tree frog up gently and turning it over in her palm. “I remember this!”
“Mike secured it for me recently,” I informed her, looking over at him with an appreciative nod. “It’s been a long time since I’d laid eyes on it.”
“May I see it?” I turned to find Claire peering over her mother’s shoulder. I sat back, allowing her to step forward to get a better look. “Oh, that’s nice.” She ran her finger across the top of the carving. “I recognize this symbol here. It’s the Taíno symbol for the sun.”
“Oh, yeah?” I teased. “What do you know about Taínos?”
“A bit,” she replied pointedly. “I’ve read up on a lot of it, but they’ve had such a huge influence on Puerto Rico’s history that it’s hard to ignore. Their influence prevails even today.”
I cocked an eyebrow up and looked over at Linda, who shrugged nonchalantly.
“Hey, I raised a pretty smart kid,” she chuckled.
“I’ve been to Puerto Rico a couple of times,” Jeff announced to the group. “It’s a beautiful place.”
“The perfect spot for a good story,” Mack teased.
I chuckled as I looked around at my group. A few other people had gathered around too, straining to get a good spot. Yeah, I guess these nights were growing in popularity.
“I’ll need a drink first,” I warned. I gave Rhoda a glance, but she was already there with a bottle to pour into my glass. “Thanks.” I grinned before turning back to the sea of expectant faces.
“You might think you know Puerto Rico,” I began, sitting back on the stool and taking one more sip, “but the island is so much more than meets the eye.”
Chapter 1
Puerto Rico’s Mona Island was not for the fainthearted. Miguel’s pack was heavy with necessities, but this was worth every second.
He’d been crushed when his good friend couldn’t make this trip, but now that he was here with Maria at his side, he was having a blast. They’d gone camping before, but it was nothing like this, and they were both up for the challenge.
Mona Island was a small island about forty miles off the west coast of Puerto Rico. It was part of Puerto Rico, even though it sat at the halfway point between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. It had absolutely no amenities. There were no hotels, no restaurants, not even cell phone service. Other than their small group and the tour guide, the only other humans on the island were the National Wildlife crew that kept an eye on things.
Miguel tried not to focus too much on any of that, though. It made his stomach twist up into knots, thinking of what could happen if something went wrong. Instead, he tried to focus on Maria and how they were finally getting to spend some quality time together. They’d both been so busy lately that he was really looking forward to the opportunity to reconnect.
The tour guide led them down a path that cut through some foliage, and Miguel had to watch his step on the uneven terrain. Maria was right behind him, and even though they tripped a few times, they somehow made it through to the clearing unscathed.
“We’ll set up camp here for the night,” the tour guide announced while making a wide, sweeping gesture around the clearing. “Pick a spot to set up on, and then we’ll get to exploring.”
Miguel dropped the pack off of his back. His shoulders ached from the strain, but he tried not to show that he was struggling. There were other campers in our group too, and he would be damned if he’d have them notice his struggle.
“Okay, Miguel, where should we start?” Maria asked, walking over to an even section on the ground to declare it for themselves. “Is this good to set up?”
“That looks perfect,” he agreed, nodding as he dug through his pack. “Let me get everything set up.”
Once Miguel pulled out everything that he needed, they made quick work of setting up their little tent. It was small and low to the ground. It had seemed cramped at the store when he had bought it, but now, looking around at everyone else’s similar setup, he knew that he had made the right purchase decision.
“Imagine if we had gotten that big one?” Miguel chuckled, looking around the clearing.
“There’s no way we could have carried it easily,” she pointed out, fastening the last bits into the ground.
“Yeah, and we would have looked ridiculous,” he added.
Maria looked around to see what he was referring to. “Mm-hmm,” she agreed as she turned back to her work.
Once the tent was firmly in place, Maria crawled inside and sprawled out onto her freshly rolled-out sleeping bag. She closed her eyes against the sun that was piercing through the fabric and rubbed her outstretched palm against my own sleeping bag.
“Come and lay down next to me for a minute,” she sang to Miguel, opening her eyes just long enough to wink at him before closing them again.
He looked around at everyone else. The rest of the tents were mostly set up, but no one appeared to be in a rush to continue with the hike. At least for now, there was no urgency. There was a lot of idle chatter, and he figured he’d have plenty of time to lay down with Maria and take this all in before they had to get back onto their feet. He dropped down to his hands and knees and crawled into the tent with her, awkwardly shoving the excess fabric out of the way so that he could roll over onto his back and sidle up next to her.
“I hope this island isn’t too terrifying at night,” she wondered out loud. “I’m a bit nervous.”
“You, nervous? You’re never nervous. Don’t worry, though. I’ll keep you safe,” Miguel assured her. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“I trust you,” she replied softly. Her hand crept across the fabric, and she laced her fingers through his. “I’m glad I’m here with you.”
“Me, too,” he whispered. “It’s been a while since we’ve been able to get away together.”
“We should do this more often,” she mumbled. He glanced over to see her eyes closed against the sun’s warmth.
“Camping?” he teased. “Maybe we can revisit that thought at the end of this trip.”
Maria giggled and lolled her head to the side to meet his gaze. “Good point.”
The chatter outside began to grow louder, and the tour guide’s booming voice echoed over the rest of the noise.
“We’re going to be exploring this area here in a bit. I’d like you all gathered around in about five minutes.”
Maria rolled over and snuggled up against Miguel’s chest. He was already hot and sticky from the tropical heat that was bearing down, but he didn’t mind. Her hair smelled like coconuts, and her skin smelled like her suntan oil, and his body immediately began to relax next to her.
Five minutes felt more like five seconds, though, and he regrettably dragged himself up and out of the tent. Maria stumbled out a second later, and they made sure they had everything they needed before joining the group at the edge of the clearing.
“So, we all want to do a little exploring on our own,” the tour guide announced. “This is fine, but we need to ensure we are all accountable for each other at all times. We will stick together and branch out on our own only at certain intervals. If you’re ready, follow me.”
> They began to hike up a rocky path away from the campsite, and while Miguel maneuvered the tricky terrain, he took the time to listen to the sounds of nature around him. His job had him indoors, listening to clunky shoes echoing across tile flooring all day, so feeling the sun on his skin and hearing the birds and the other wildlife scurry about around him was a very welcome change. Beyond all of this, he heard the ocean crash onto the beach. They weren’t too far inland, then. This was good to know, in case they got ourselves turned around later.
Miguel heard a speedboat engine in the distance, but he didn’t think much of it. Like them, there were others who wanted to explore this uninhabited island. Maybe, if this trip went well, they could come back on their own, without a tour guide. They wouldn’t have to worry about sticking to a schedule or relying on other people. Miguel was confident that he could get his hands on his own boat to bring them out here. Sure, there was no cell phone service, but if they needed anything, the boat would be right there to take them home.
The tour guide led them to another clearing, but this one opened up to a small pond. The water was flowing in from somewhere else, but Miguel couldn’t see where it was coming from, and below the crystal clear surface, he could see a rainbow of jagged rocks covering the bottom. A few of the fellow campers began taking off their socks and shoes in order to wade into the water carefully. Maria crouched down and ran her fingers through it.
“It’s like bathwater,” she gushed, looking up at Miguel with her eyes wide with joy. “I’m going in.”
She found a smooth rock platform that stuck out from one of the edges, and she sat down and took her shoes off. She tucked her socks into her shoes and set them up on the platform to keep them dry.
“Are you coming?” she asked with a huge grin as she stepped toward the water.
“Not yet,” Miguel countered, pulling the camera out of his pocket and holding it up for her to see. “I’ll take some photos while you go in.”
She nodded enthusiastically and slowly entered the water up to her calves. The rocks beneath her feet could not have been easy to maneuver. Not only were they jagged, but Miguel was willing to bet they were also slippery.
