Salt River (A Doc Ford Novel, Band 26) - Hardcover

White, Randy Wayne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0735212724 ISBN 13: 9780735212725

Verlag: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2020

Inhaltsangabe

The sins of the past come back to haunt Doc Ford and his old friend Tomlinson in this thrilling new novel from New York Times-bestselling author Randy Wayne White.

Marine biologist and former government agent Doc Ford is sure he's beyond the point of being surprised by his longtime pal Tomlinson's madcap tales of his misspent youth. But he's stunned anew when avowed bachelor Tomlinson reveals that as a younger man strapped for cash, he'd unwittingly fathered multiple children via for-profit sperm bank donations. Thanks to genealogy websites, Tomlinson's now-grown offspring have tracked him down, seeking answers about their roots. . . but Doc quickly grows suspicious that one of them might be planning something far more nefarious than a family reunion.

With recent history on his mind, Doc is unsurprised when his own dicey past is called into question. Months ago, he'd quietly "liberated" a cache of precious Spanish coins from a felonious treasure hunter, and now a number of unsavory individuals, including a disgraced IRS investigator and a corrupt Bahamian customs agent, are after their cut. Caught between watching his own back and Tomlinson's, Doc has no choice but to get creative--before rash past decisions escalate to deadly present-day dangers.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Randy Wayne White is the author of the Doc Ford novels, the Hannah Smith novels, and four collections of nonfiction. He lives on Sanibel Island, Florida, where he was a light-tackle fishing guide for many years, and spends much of his free time windsurfing, playing baseball, and hanging out at Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille.

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ONE

 

It started in the galley of my wobbly old house during a lightning storm that fried a nearby transformer. A sizzling boom rattled the windows. Combusted ozone drifted bayward and sweetened the air while rain hammered the tin roof.

 

The lights went out.

 

"Perfect," my boat bum pal, Tomlinson, said. "Natural disaster is humanity's last hope. The internet has butt-ravaged us all and looted our privacy. I say bring on the pale rider. Might as well have another beer, huh?"

 

It was late but didn't feel late. In July on Florida's west coast, the sun doesn't set until almost 9. I waited in darkness for several seconds expecting my generator to kick on. It did not.

 

"If I don't get the darn thing started, my fish will be belly-up in an hour," I said. "And keeping fish alive has been tough enough lately. There's a kerosene lamp in the cupboard. Help yourself."

 

I'm a flashlight snob. Spend enough time in Third World countries, the dark becomes a foe. I have a phobia about being without a solid little LED handy, so they're in every room-including one on the bookcase, which I found before going to the door.

 

"Try not to burn the place down," I said.

 

"You're coming back, aren't you? I was just getting to the weirdest part of the story." Tomlinson had a little plastic lighter out. The way he stumbled around in the gloom, arms outstretched, reminded me of a scarecrow Frankenstein.

 

"It gets weirder? Good god," I said. "Shouldn't you be talking to a priest or something?"

 

"I am a priest," my Zen Buddhist buddy reminded me. "We're not into the whole confession thing-too risky, the way some monks are wired. Besides, donating to a sperm bank can't be considered a sin. Not two decades ago anyway . . . can it?"

 

I replied, "Forty-some donations in less than a month? If it's not a sin, it should be a felony." Going out the door, I added, "There's a six-pack in the fridge-but leave at least one for me."

 

I switched on the flashlight and crossed the breezeway to an adjoining structure, all built under the same tin roof. I call it my lab because I'm a marine biologist, and that's how the room is used. Inside was a row of tanks containing fish and other creatures that I collect and sell to schools and research facilities. I was careful with the flashlight. Deer are not the only animals that can be stunned by a bright beam. I'd read a recent study on retinal bleaching in benthic fish. Dazzling submersibles with video cameras are new to their ocular DNA.

 

I panned the light to a workstation where there were test tubes in racks, a microscope, other lab tools, and a desktop computer. A sign on the far wall read Sanibel Biological Supply-the name of my business.

 

For no rational reason, I confirmed that aquarium pumps and aerators do not work without electricity. The word methodical is preferable to the newer label, which is OCD. I unplugged the computer, went outside to the breezeway, and stood at the top of the stairs. The clouds throbbed with light. A storm cell freshened and battered the tin eave above my head. It was like standing behind a waterfall.

 

Through the screen door, I watched Tomlinson light a kerosene lamp. His long, stringy hair became a hood-a medieval monk, gaunt-faced, who carried the lamp to the fridge and rummaged for a modern version of beer.

 

"Want me to put a pot of coffee on?" he called.

 

"I'm not going to bother with rain gear," I replied. "I'll get soaked no matter what. Looks like the marina got knocked out, too."

 

Down the mangrove shoreline, Dinkin's Bay Marina was a community of shadows. A yellow mercury light flickered in its death throes. It showed a wedge of rooftop that was the marina office. Along A dock, a couple of the larger yachts had switched to battery power. Their windows cast blue oil-painting swirls on the bay and just enough light for me to notice an oddity. Someone was wading the mangrove rim headed my way-a beanpole person sheathed in glittering plastic as translucent as dragonfly wings. That was the impression anyway.

 

Internal alarm bells sounded. I checked my watch. Who in their right mind would be out in a storm two hours before midnight?

 

There was no benign explanation. Mack, the marina owner, always locks the gate by 10 on weekdays. Today was a Monday in July, the steamy off-season for tourism on Sanibel Island. And the dozen or so marina residents were savvy enough to stay safe and snug, buttoned up aboard their floating homes.

 

I am wary of strangers. More so on this rainy night because, three days ago, I had returned from a jungle rendezvous in Guyana, South America. It was unlikely, but a cadre of traffickers might be seeking revenge for the business I had completed there.

 

I went back into the house, telling Tomlinson, "Changed my mind. I'm going to grab my foul-weather jacket."

 

"A night as warm as this," he said, "you're better off going au naturel. Good for the hair, and it cuts down on laundry bills. Take it from an old sailor."

 

I went past him, threw a curtain aside, and entered the cubbyhole that is my bedroom. "Are you expecting visitors?"

 

"Tonight? What time is it?"

 

I told him.

 

"Nope, but I haven't given up hope. It's still early. How about we pop over to the rum bar and grab a pint? I can finish my story."

 

"I'm not sure I want to hear it," I said. "Hold on a sec."

 

My pal kept talking. "Geezus, Doc, twenty-some years ago if sperm banks had posted warnings about DNA testing down the road, I would've dated the damn nurse and gone back to drugs instead of whacking off in a jar. She-this nurse-was very strict about no drug use. Not even weed. I needed the money. Plus, my god, the woman had the face of a saint and the hands of a dairymaid. These days-or so I've read-they actually have a machine that-"

 

I interrupted. "I've got to use the head. Do you mind?" and pulled the curtain closed.

 

That shut him up.

 

I zipped on a foul-weather jacket, commercial-grade, made by GrundŽns. After confirming that Tomlinson had returned to the table, I knelt and unlocked my private hidey-hole. It is the equivalent of a fireproof safe built into the floor. There, among false passports, a few treasured artifacts, and a newly rendered stack of one-ounce gold bars, were several weapons. Three were conventional firearms, two were not. As backup, I chose a Sig Sauer P365-a pistol small enough to carry unnoticed three hundred and sixty-five days a year yet packs enough firepower to keep the owner alive for years to come.

 

Its clip-on holster slipped easily over my belt.

 

A less conventional choice was a military-grade laser. The gadget resembled a flashlight. It was silent, defensive in design, and not lethal. But it was also illegal. Either way, I had to be selective regarding usage. Hopefully, the person I'd seen was a drunken friend. Or a friendly drunk who'd lost his way.

 

I flushed the toilet and stepped through the curtain.

 

"Hey," Tomlinson asked, "where's Pete? It just crossed my mind he might be out there swimming around in this storm."

 

My dog, Pete, a retriever of murky lineage, had been staying with Luke O. Jones, a kid who works for me when I am away. I explained this with an edge that did not invite more questions.

 

"Another one of your mysterious trips," my friend responded. "Let me guess: Hannah got mad and dumped you again?...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: G.P. Putnam's Sons
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2020
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0735212724
• ISBN 13: 9780735212725
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 368
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar