Fallen Out: Jesse McDermitt Series, The Beginning Read Online Free PDF Page A

old International 4x4 that probably wasn’t worth what I paid for the water pump.
    The auction manager quickly came over to us and said, “Congratulations , Captain. There’s no charge for putting her in the water and your entry fee is refunded if the winning bid is more than ten-percent over reserve. When will you want to take possession?”
    I pulled out my checkbook and said, “Right now. Get her in the water.” I never dreamed I’d ever write a check for that amount, but an hour later, I’d done that and was leaving the dock in my new boat.
    Jimmy showed me how to use the engines to maneuver away from the dock, putting one in reverse and the other in forward to make the boat spin sideways. Twenty minutes later, we rounded the tip of Virginia Key into the open Atlantic.
    “ Switch places, Captain,” Jimmy said as he got up from behind the helm. I sat down behind the wheel and took it in my hands. The feeling was indescribable. My own boat. “What do you think you’re going to call her, man?”
    “A name?” I asked. “Haven’t even thought about it. Hell, until three days ago when a waitress at Alabama Jack’s said I looked like a charter boat owner, I never even thought of being one.”
    “You mean to tell me you dropped three-hundred and ninety grand on a whim?”
    “Think it’s too late to get my money back?” I asked as Jimmy reached over and pushed the throttles forward. The big boat settled down at the stern and lifted those wide bow flares above the wave tops and in seconds we were skimming across the chop, which was hardly noticeable. The exhilaration I felt as she surged up onto plane was almost like that of being in combat. Different, but just as intense. We called it ‘the jazz’.
    Jimmy looke d at me and said, “Yep, sure is. The worm done turned.”
    I grinned at him and made a wide, sweeping turn in 40 foot deep water to the south. “Keep her a mile off Key Biscayne there,” he said. “There’s nothing but deep water all the way to Marathon, so long as you stay a mile off the reef line.”
    I looked down at the GPS, which showed we were traveling at twenty-eight knots. As I reached for the throttles, I said, “Why don’t we see what she’s got?”
    I pushed the throttles all the way forward and the big boat surged ahead, delivering much more power and acceleration than I would have thought. A moment later, the knot meter showed a speed of forty-two knots.
    “We’re bucking a fifteen knot head wind,” Jimmy shouted. “Once we make the turn down at Key Largo and have the wind on our beam, I guarantee you she’ll reach forty-five knots, dude. Hey, you mind if I smoke?”
    I’d never picked up the smoking habit, but never begrudged those who did. To me, it was a sign of weakness, but that’s just me. “Go ahead,” I said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic bag and a pack of rolling papers.
    “Pot?” I asked and grabbed the bag from his hands. Without a seconds hesitation I tossed the bag overboard. “Are you fucking nuts?”
    “Dude that was a hundred bucks of primo weed!”
    I thought it over for a second and said, “Look, I’ll pay you back. But no pot on my boat. No way. Ever. For all we know, this boat might have been confiscated from the previous owner for having no more than that on board.”
    “That’s harsh, man. It’s more than two hours to Marathon.”
    “Four,” I said as I pulled the throttles back to twenty-five knots. “I’m sorry, Jimmy. Maybe I overreacted. I’ll be straight with you. I don’t care what a man does on his own time, but I hired you to help me get this boat to Marathon.”
    “You didn’t hire me, dude. I volunteered to help you out, that’s all. Only reason I did was because Julie likes you.”
    “Well, let’s take care of first things first,” I said reaching into my pocket. I handed him four $100 bills and said, “You’re hired.”
    “ A days wage for a Mate is only two-hundred.”
    “The other