Amber Beach Read Online Free PDF Page A

second drawer.”
    He backed up and turned away. The tiny galley was just behind the driver’s seat. In addition to the small propane stove, there was a cabinet and four drawers. He checked the coffee water, saw that it wasn’t quite boiling, and settled for the papers. A quick jerk up and out released the catch on the second drawer.
    Two large waterproof envelopes lay inside. The first envelope had the documents and certification he was looking for. The second envelope had warranties, instructions, and manuals for everything on the boat but the electronics.
    “I’ll make the coffee while you do whatever”, Honor said.
    He nodded absently and sat at the small galley table without looking up from the papers. For a time the only sounds were the small clatter of coffeepot and mugs and the mutter of the engine as it warmed up.
    She handed him a mug of coffee.
    “Thanks”, he said, still reading papers. He took a sip and then glanced at her in surprise. “How did you know I liked cream, no sugar?”
    “I smelled cream on your breath. Lucky for you, I like milk on my cereal.”
    She turned away and put the milk back in the small refrigerator under the dinette seat.
    Jake watched her closely, wondering if she was flirting or just answering his question. He couldn’t tell, because he couldn’t see her eyes.
    “As for the sugar…” She straightened, picked up her own coffee, and climbed into the pilot seat. “If you like sweet things, it hasn’t made a dent in your personality.”
    Smiling slightly, Jake went back to scanning papers. When he was satisfied, he returned everything to its proper envelope and shut the drawer.
    “Well?” she asked.
    “All in order.”
    What he didn’t say was that there were more warranties and instructions than there were items of equipment on the Tomorrow. Two auxiliary outboard engines were mentioned. One was permanently attached to the stem of the boat for use as a trolling motor while fishing. The other, smaller, engine was presumably for a Zodiac, which also had papers in the file.
    Then there was the handheld Global Positioning System receiver unit whose warranty and receipt had been stuffed into the envelope as though Kyle had been in too much of a hurry to worry about keeping neat records. The date on the receipt was thirteen days ago.
    Kyle had vanished four weeks ago in Kaliningrad and reappeared halfway around the world, in the Pacific Northwest, only to vanish again. The smaller engine and the Zodiac apparently had disappeared with him. Probably the GPS unit as well.
    Jake made a mental note to pick up the portable GPS receiver from his own SeaSport tonight.
    “Did your brother have any kind of tender?” Jake asked.
    Honor looked at him blankly. “Excuse me?”
    “A small boat.”
    “Another one?”
    “No, just a little runabout. A skiff to take ashore when he anchored in a place without docks.”
    “I don’t know. Is it important?”
    “It’s not required by the Coast Guard, if that’s what you mean.”
    She didn’t know what she meant, so she kept her mouth shut. Her tongue had already gotten her into trouble with this man. Her tongue or her hormones, or both working together without benefit of her brain.
    “Where does he keep the PFDs?” Jake asked.
    “The what?”
    “Personal flotation devices.”
    “Oh. I don’t know.”
    The look Jake gave her said he wasn’t surprised. He bent low, quickly scanned the V berth in the bow, and found nothing that looked like it would pass a Coast Guard inspection.
    And he suspected they would be having one. It was the sort of thing he would have done if he couldn’t think of a better way to get a look around the Tomorrow.
    Honor tried to see past Jake into the V berth, but couldn’t. He blocked the entrance and then some. A big man.
    “Are the, uh, PFDs up there?” she asked.
    “Nope. Nothing but clothes, fishing rods, a landing net, and two down-riggers.”
    “I take it that down-riggers aren’t