by Matt Lincoln
“Are you alright?” Ethan’s warm voice lifted her out of her thoughts, and she looked up and saw the kindness in his blue eyes. He pulled out the chair across the table from her and sat down, not taking his eyes off of her as he did so.
“Yeah,” she muttered, looking down at the red checkerboard tablecloth. She grabbed the bundle of silverware off the table and began slowly unwrapping them, laying the black cloth napkin down on her lap. She smoothed it out, avoiding his gaze as she spoke. “I’m worried about my brother, is all. This is taking a long time.”
“I know,” he replied softly. He mimicked her movements, although he wasn’t as meticulous as she had been. “I’m sorry. I know this must be hard on you, being so close to the investigation on a personal level. Personally, I don’t think you should even be on this case. It hits too close to home. I understand why, though. If you need to step away to take a breather, that’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” she replied, shaking her head resolutely. “Nothing will be okay until I know that my brother is safe. I won’t stop until we find the answers we need. I just wish I could do more. I feel helpless and…” She looked up at Ethan and sighed, sinking back into her chair. “I hate feeling helpless.”
“I know the feeling,” Ethan assured her. “It’s torture, feeling that way. I promise you that we are doing absolutely everything we can.”
“I know,” she replied, collecting herself and sitting up a bit straighter. “Thank you.” She looked up into his eyes again. “Thank you for last night, too.”
“Yeah.” Ethan sat forward, resting his forearms on the table. “You said that a few times already. It’s not a big deal. We’re a team. We stick together.”
Now that she thought about it, she had thanked everyone more times than she could count last night. Maybe she was overdoing it.
“Good morning!” Alejandra turned to see Robbie walk into the sunny hotel restaurant, the light glinting off his blonde hair. He slid into the seat next to Ethan, all smiles and enthusiasm. “What’d I miss?”
“Well,” Ethan replied, a hint of humor in his voice, “Alejandra was thanking us again.”
“Again?” Robbie feigned exasperation. “Listen, you have to stop. You’re going to give Ethan an inflated ego. It’s big enough as it is.”
“My ego?” Ethan chuckled.
Robbie shot him a look. “Shut up,” he chuckled. He turned to Alejandra. “Did you order yet?”
Alejandra swallowed a laugh. These two men had obviously been friends for a very long time, and she enjoyed the banter between them.
“No,” she replied, feeling a bit more cheerful in their presence. “I told her to wait for the two of you.”
“You didn’t need to do that,” Ethan pointed out.
“I know,” she acknowledged, looking between the two of them. “I have to admit, I wasn’t feeling too hungry this morning. My stomach has been in knots.”
“What can we do to help?” Robbie asked, the concern plain in his eyes.
“You already have,” she assured him. “Thank you.” She pursed her lips as she realized she’d done it again.
Robbie laughed as he picked up his menu. “You’re welcome,” he replied softly.
The server came by, and they each put in their breakfast order. Alejandra opted for the pancakes. She needed the unhealthy comfort food to settle her stomach and refocus her mind. She opted against the coffee, though. Her nerves were already on edge, and she didn’t need the caffeine to add to that.
“So,” she sputtered after the server had left with their menus, “tell me something that has nothing to do with this case. I need to take my mind off of it.”
“Like what?” Ethan asked, taking a sip of his water.
Alejandra fidgeted with the loose threads on her napkin. The color was a bit faded and the edges worn. “I don’t know.” She looked up at him. “Tell me something about yourself. What do you do in your spare time? Any strange hobbies? Fun stories?”
“Oh, man,” Robbie laughed, sitting back and looking over at his friend.
“What?” Ethan chuckled.
“The Dragon’s Rogue,” Robbie declared as if it should have been painfully obvious.
“Oh, man, where to start?” Ethan looked over at Alejandra, who was sitting forward in her seat, intrigued by this new turn in the conversation. “So, I’ve been fascinated by the Dragon’s Rogue ever since I was a kid. It was a ship that was originally owned by my ancestor, Jonathan Finch-Hatton, before the pirate ‘Mad Dog’ Grandel got his hands on it. My grandfather and I would look for clues as to where it could be, and it was something that always held a special place in my heart, even before I knew I was Finch-Hatton’s descendent. Then we stumbled onto something major while we were working a case in Miami, and that discovery sparked a renewed search for more clues.”
“He’s made a ton off headway since that case, too,” Robbie added enthusiastically. “Recently, he found a journal and more coins off the wreck of another ship that had ties to the Dragon’s Rogue, and I feel like we’re so close to getting some answers.”
“You’re right,” Ethan agreed. “I’ve never felt so close to the answers before.”
Robbie looked over at him. “Do you know if they made any more headway on the journal entries?”
“I haven’t reached out since we were assigned this case,” he admitted. “I should call to touch base, though. I’m itching to know if there are any updates, but we’ve had our hands full recently.”
“Yeah, you’re not kidding.” Robbie sat back as the server brought over piping hot plates piled high with food. Alejandra’s stomach growled as she realized just how hungry she was.
Once the plates were down and they had settled in with their food, Alejandra looked back up at Ethan.
“So, you’ve been tracking down a pirate ship,” she reiterated. “You know, when I asked what strange hobbies you have, I was looking for something more along the lines of knitting or collecting baseball cards, but this is way more exciting! This journal… is it the actual, original journal?”
“It sure is,” Ethan nodded. “I pulled it out of the shipwreck we found. I have digital copies of the pages, but I left the actual journal with a friend of mine. He can keep it well-preserved for us.”
“Wow,” she gushed. “Do you have the pages with you?”
“I do, actually,” he replied, a sheepish grin on his face. “I was kind of hoping that I could use some downtime to read more of it, but so far, I haven’t been able to dive into it.”
This was all fascinating to Alejandra. She loved history and all of the unique discoveries that came along with it, and she wanted to know how this journey of Ethan’s would end.
“I don’t know how you would feel about it,” she said gently, “but I would love to see the digital copies if you don’t mind. I love stuff like that.”
“Sure!” Ethan perked up at the idea. “I’d love to get another set of eyes on it. The more, the merrier. Maybe you’ll catch a detail that I’ve missed.”
“Oh, even better!” She was feeling so much better now that her mind was refocused on something less stressful. “I’d love it if I could somehow help you track the ship down!”
“That would be amazing,” Robbie added. He had ordered a breakfast burger, complete with the fried egg on top, and although Alejandra had simply glossed over that part of the menu, she was now staring at it with jealousy. It looked absolutely perfect.
“I’ll tell you what,” Ethan decided as he shoveled a piece of bacon into his mouth. “Next chance I get, I’ll get you those journal pages. Take as long as you need to read through it. When you’re done, let me know if you’ve found anything worth finding.”
“That sounds perfect.” She was smiling from ear to ear now and had to coach herself to dial it back a bit. “It will definitely help me to take my mind off of things during all of this. I’m more than happy to do it.”
“If it will help you keep your mind busy, then that’s e
ven better!” Ethan proclaimed.
As she dove into her syrup-coated breakfast, Alejandra was relieved to have some sort of distraction from the case. She’d been so focused on her brother that it had begun to consume every moment of her day, and she was desperate for an escape, however fleeting it might be. She had a feeling that Ethan’s journal entries would be just what she needed, and as a bonus, she’d have an excuse to get a little closer to Ethan while she was at it.
Chapter 14: Ethan
At Alejandra’s request, Holm and I joined her for a walk through San Juan after breakfast. She insisted that the fresh air would help to clear our heads and give us a better perspective on the case. With little else to do, it wasn’t hard to convince us, and we were now walking the crowded streets, stopping periodically to duck into small shops as we went.
The crowds did little to detract from the beauty of the place. The buildings were all painted different colors, and they all sat flush against each other, a solid wall of colors up and down each narrow, cobbled street. In place of windows, there were plenty of shallow balconies and open doorways, giving us small glimpses into the living spaces tucked among the shops, exposing vibrant plants and cozy housepets as they soaked up the sun and watched us stroll by.
Despite the bright sunlight overhead, it began to rain, and Alejandra ducked into the nearest shop to get out from beneath the sun shower.
“Well, that puts a damper on things,” Holm muttered behind me as he stepped through the doorway. The floor was uneven, with a creaking ramp that led us up further into the building.
“It’ll be over soon,” Alejandra replied cheerfully. She let her fingers trail over a row of silks that hung from the wall. “If it’s anything like the rain in the Dominican Republic, it will be gone in a few minutes.”
I looked around at the little shop we were in. It appeared to be half trinket shop and half art gallery. Past the silks that Alejandra had touched, a myriad of colorfully painted canvases of varying sizes littered the wall, and wooden milk crates sat on the floor beneath them, holding stacks of cellophane-wrapped prints for sale. On the other side of the store, shelves of tropical-themed gifts lined the walls. Wooden machetes and maracas painted with the Puerto Rican flag sat beside multi-colored t-shirts with the words Puerto Rico emblazoned across the chest in fancy fonts. In the center of the store, the cash register sat on a glass countertop that wrapped around the cashier. Beneath the glass were a variety of smaller items. A lot of these were also wooden, but they were hand-painted, not mass-produced like the items on the far wall.
“Find anything interesting?” Alejandra sidled up next to me and glanced down through the glass.
“Yeah, what’s up with the frogs?” I asked with a light chuckle. “I see them everywhere.” I pointed down at the one I was looking at. It was a small wooden frog, with symbols delicately painted on its back.
“Those are the coquís.” The cashier behind the counter approached us with a warm smile. “You’ll hear them at night. They’re a lot smaller than this, though. Maybe an inch long?”
“I’ve seen them a lot,” I mentioned off-handedly as I studied the symbols. “I guess they’re a pretty big deal around here.”
“Oh, yes,” she confirmed. “You won’t usually see them in real life. They’re tree frogs. They can hide very well. Depending on where you are at night, they will sing you a symphony all night long.”
“What do they sound like?” Apparently, the cashier’s knowledge had intrigued Holm, because he came up beside us to listen.
“Just like their name,” she informed him. “Coquí.”
“Well, that makes sense.” I turned back to the woman behind the counter. “What about the symbols?”
“Those are Taíno symbols. This island belonged to the Taínos before the Europeans came along. They laid the foundation for how the island is today.” She pointed at each symbol across the little frog. “This is the symbol for the sun, and this one here is for the coquís.”
“I didn’t know any of this,” Holm muttered.
The woman looked up at us with kind eyes. “What brings you three to our beautiful island? You don’t look like you came off of a cruise ship with the rest of the crowd.”
I barked out a laugh. “Are we that obvious?” She smiled back at me but didn’t answer. “We’re here for work. We decided to take a walk while we had some downtime so that we could see as much as we could before flying back home.”
“I see,” she acknowledged, looking at each of us in turn. “Well, if you are interested in the history of this island, I would recommend this book.” She reached over and pulled a book out of a colorful cardboard display case. “This book actually goes pretty in depth about the history of our island and how we came to be. It’s a great read if you have time, of course.”
“I would love that,” Alejandra gushed beside us. She had been silently soaking in the information the entire time, and now she looked eagerly at the book.
“We’ll take it,” I said to the cashier as I pulled the wallet out from my pocket. “It would be nice to fill up our downtime with something other than this case.”
Alejandra was smiling happily beside me as I paid for the book, but when the transaction was over, and I picked up the book and handed it to her, her facial expression turned into one of surprise.
“For me?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Yes, for you,” I chuckled. “I know you need a bit of a distraction from everything we’re dealing with right now. If this helps, I want you to have it.”
Alejandra delicately took the book from me and then threw her arms around my neck in a grateful hug. I stumbled backward a bit as she caught me off guard, but steadied myself quickly and returned the hug.
“Thank you,” she whispered into my ear.
“You’re welcome,” I replied, my voice muffled by her hair.
She sheepishly pulled away from me, clearing her throat and adjusting her blouse. Damn, she was cute, even when she felt awkward.
“Oh, look, it stopped raining!” Holm blurted out loudly, making a beeline to the front door. Alejandra offered me a small smile before following Holm toward the entrance. I turned around to wave goodbye to the cashier and then followed them outside. I had no doubt that Holm would give me grief about this later, but I found that at this moment, I did not care.
As I stepped out into the muggy, warm air, I heard my phone ringing and dug it out of my pocket.
“Hey, Bonnie,” I answered, recognizing her number on the screen.
“Hey, Marston,” she replied quickly, “I have an update.”
“I’m all ears,” I assured her. Holm looked at me expectantly while Alejandra thumbed through her new book.
“Maria’s father’s name is Angel. I did some digging, and it turns out that he came to the island illegally. It seems as if his marriage to Maria’s mother was what kept him here.” I heard paper rustling in the background, and I was sure Bonnie had printed all of her research. “What I don’t understand is this: If Angel’s marital status keeps him safely on this island, why was his wife so tight-lipped about him? Is there more we should know? Are we missing important information here?”
“Sounds like it,” I theorized out loud. “She definitely didn’t give off a vibe like she wanted to help us, but I do believe she is innocent in all this. It seemed like she was trying to protect him, but that isn’t enough to warrant a reaction like hers. We are definitely missing a piece to the puzzle.”
“Alright,” Bonnie agreed. “I’ll keep looking into this. Let me know if you find out anything more on your end, as well.”
“Of course,” I assured her. “Talk soon.”
I hung up and met Holm’s gaze. “Maria’s father is Angel Gonzalez. He was an illegal immigrant until he married Maria’s mom. Bonnie is digging deeper. This isn’t enough of a bombshell to warrant being tight-lipped about his identity. There’s more to this. There has to be.”
“Oh, I completely
agree,” Holm concurred. “Hopefully, she’ll be able to find the information quickly.”
“Yeah, you said it.” I looked over at Alejandra. “I know this must be frustrating.”
“Yeah,” she chuckled humorlessly, her book momentarily forgotten about. “You’re taking baby steps, and I want to run a marathon.”
“I understand,” Holm assured her. “Remember, there’s a reason babies don’t run marathons. Without the proper foundation, you’ll never hit the finish line.”
“I know,” she sighed, fidgeting with the corners of the book pages. I exchanged a look with Holm. I wanted to say something to comfort her, but I was drawing a blank. There was nothing that could be said at this moment that would be any help at all.
Alejandra’s phone began to ring, and she looked a bit bewildered as she pulled it out of her pocket.
“Hello?” she answered smoothly. “Yes, hold on.” She covered the mouthpiece of the phone and mouthed her next words to us. “Excuse me.” She turned and began walking up the block, leaving us in front of the gift shop.
“You know,” I muttered to Holm, “time is of the essence if we want to save Miguel and Maria.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” he agreed. “What else can we do, though? We’re waiting on Bonnie’s information or something that would tell us where to go. Even Header would have called us with an update if he knew something.”
“Do you really think Header would call us before solving the case himself?” I looked over at Holm jokingly, but he wasn’t smiling.
“He absolutely would,” he assured me. “Think about it. He wouldn’t want anyone interfering with his mission, including us. He’d want to make sure we stay far away.”
I nodded as I watched a heavyset group of people walk by, all with recent tan lines, flip flops, and bathing suits. They were close enough as they walked by for me to catch a whiff of a combination of sunscreen and sweat. One of them had a towel hanging from their bag with a cruise ship logo stitched onto it.
