Gina Cresse - Devonie Lace 04 - A Deadly Change of Power Read Online Free PDF

consider myself more of an inventor than a mechanic.  My father was an inventor.  I guess I wanted to be like him, but he died when I was little.  He designed steam engines and electric motors and — well, that’s beside the point.  He was killed before he could teach me everything he knew.  My mother died shortly after.  Lance pretty much raised me and put me through school.  He was racing right out of high school, and he was good.  Prize money was okay, but he really lucked out when he picked up a major sponsor.  After I graduated, I wanted to pay him back for all he’d done for me.  He’d just lost his lead mechanic and I volunteered for the job.  He wasn’t too keen on the idea at first, but after I made a couple of modifications that cut nearly eight seconds off his best time, he changed his tune.”
    Sam flipped to a clean page in his notepad.  He opened his mouth to ask another question, but I cut in before he could get a word out.
    “Who told you what time to meet the boat?” I asked.
    Sam scowled at me and cleared his throat.  “I’ll ask the questions, if you don’t mind.”
    “But it’s going to be important to — “
    “What happened next? ” he asked Ronnie, cutting me off.
    I glared at him, and then I noticed the puppy had disappeared into the kitchen.  I was on my feet in a matter of seconds to see what he was up to.
    “Well, I figured it was just as well.  I didn’t really want to go in the first place.  Lance has been hounding me to get out more.  Anyway, I was on my way back to my car when Charlie offered to take me down to the next port where he knew they’d be stopping for lunch.”
    “Charlie?” Sam questioned.
    “He’s the sailor who’d let me know the boat had already left.  He had his boat ready and was going that direction anyway.  I initially told him no thanks, but I just knew I’d catch nothing but grief from Lance, so I took him up on his offer.”
    Sam stopped writing and stared at her like she was a two-headed goat.  “You got on a boat, by yourself, with a total stranger?”
    “I know now that it was stupid, but at the time, it seemed perfectly fine.  He was an older man, maybe in his early sixties.  He was very polite, and he wasn’t pushy at all.  I’ve taken self-defense courses, so I figured if he did get fresh, I could take care of myself.”
    Sam shook his head and made more notes.  “A few judo lessons and these women think they can take on anyone,” he grumbled to himself.
    I scowled at Sam as I carried the puppy back into the living room and sat down.  “You’ll have to excuse Detective Wright.  He just graduated from the San Diego Academy for Neanderthals, where they apparently don’t offer a course in charm.”
    Ronnie smiled.  “That’s okay.  I’m used to it, working at the track and all.  Besides, it wasn’t a couple of judo lessons.  I hold a black belt in karate.”
    Sam gaped at her.
    She met our curious glances and must have felt the need to explain.  “I was mugged once.  I wanted to be able to defend myself, and guns scare me, so I took up karate.”
    I smirked at Sam.  “Black belt.  I bet she could have your sorry hide on the floor in ten seconds flat.”
    He ignored my comment.  “Did you get this Charlie fellow’s last name?” he asked.
    “Johnston.  Charlie Johnston.”
    Sam jotted down her answer.  “Okay.  So you got on Charlie’s boat.  Just the two of you?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then what?”
    “Well, we headed out of the harbor and started down the coast.  He said we should have caught up with the other boat by about noon, so I found a deck chair and enjoyed the trip.  Anyhow, about an hour later, the engine quit.  Charlie didn’t seem to know what the problem was.  I offered to go below and take a look.”
    “And he didn’t question that?  If I’m a Neanderthal, then a man born in the forties would have to be far behind me in the course of evolution.”
    “You know, now that