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

two-hundred is to replace your pot and doing the boat survey. I’m serious though. If you ever come on my boat again, leave the pot in your car.”
    “Fair enough, man.”
    “Now what’s this about Julie?”
    He went on to explain how he’d had a crush on her since grade school , even though he was five years older. She’d never shown any interest in boys and never went out with anyone. She went fishing with the guys and was a better fisherman than any of them, but none had even gotten to first base.
    “How long have you known her?” he asked.
    “All her life,” I replied. “Rusty and I went through Boot Camp together in ’79. I was his best man when he married Julie’s mom. First time I met her, she was only three days old. I came down here with Rusty, when her mom died.”
    “You have kids?”
    “Two daughters from my first marriage. Haven’t seen them in a few years. Their mom moved them back up north.”
    We rode on in silence for a while and gradually started talking about boats, fishing, and local waters. Jimmy was born and raised in the Keys and seemed to know the water on both sides of the island chain as well as any man.
    “How much do you make shrimping?” I asked.
    “On a good week, about six-hundred. Most weeks only about four, though. Why?”
    “Well, if I’m gonna do any chartering, I’ll need some help. I thought you said a Mate makes two-hundred a day.”
    “I’m just a deckhand on the shrimp boat. Al Fader is my boss.”
    “I’ll pay you four-hundred a week, if you come to work for me and an extra two hundred a day every day we go out on the water. Might be slow at first, but I think we can drum up a couple of charters a week easy enough, just by putting a shingle on the dock behind this boat.”
    “Yeah, she’s a head turner that’s for sure. You’re serious about a job, man?”
    “Only if you leave the weed on shore, yeah.”
    He extended his hand and said, “You got a Mate. So, what about that name? Rusty said you were from Fort Myers?”
    “Yeah, so?”
    “You know Gasparilla Island?”
    “Sure, I grew up just across Charlotte Harbor from there. What about it?”
    “Did you know it’s named after a famous pirate?”
    He went on to tell me about the English pirate, Jose Gaspar and how he went down with his ship after mistaking the USS Enterprise for a merchant ship.
    “So, a man from Fort Myers buys a boat with no name,” he said. “Intending to make a fortune catching fish? What about Gaspar’s Revenge ?”
    “I like it. Gaspar’s Revenge . Has a cool ring to it.”
    “Where you going to dock her?” he asked and I suddenly realized that I had no idea. I should have thought about that before buying it.
    “I really don’t know,” I said. “You know some place?”
    “Let me make a call,” he said and reached for the mic on the UHF radio. He adjusted the frequency and said into the mic, “This is MV Gaspar’s Revenge calling Dockside . Aaron, do you copy?”
    Immediately a voice came back over the radio, “This is Dockside. Go ahead Gaspar’s Revenge. ”
    “Aaron, this is Jimmy. Hey , do you have dock space for a forty-five footer. I’m helping out a new charter Captain.” Turning to me, he said, “Aaron runs Dockside Lounge . They have dockage there for about twenty boats.
    “Hi, Jimmy,” Aaron replied. “Yeah, I have a slip for a 45 . How long will he be staying?”
    Jimmy looked at me and I shrugged. “ Permanently, if the price is right.”
    He keyed the mic and said, “Captain McDermitt is looking for a base to charter his Rampage on a permanent basis.”
    There was silence for a moment then Aaron said, “Ten dollars a foot per month, includes shore power, water, phone, and cable.”
    I knew I was being taken. I took the mic from Jimmy and said, “This is Captain Jesse McDermitt. I’ll take the slip for a week at $200, until I can find a better rate.”
    There was another moment of silence then Aaron said, “I’m sure I can convince the