Hungry Darkness: A Deep Sea Thriller Read Online Free PDF

phrase in casual conversation.

 
    Chapter Seven
     
    Gabe lived in a tiny 8-unit building called Macaw Apartments. For years he’d moved around, trying to find places that focused on serving the local population instead of the tourists that came to Caye Caulker to stay for a week or two. His one-bedroom apartment was less than a thousand dollars per month and came with cable, a decent bed, a sofa, fully functional kitchen, and a six-drawer wooden chest with four working drawers. Despite the less than stellar condition of the place and the fact that it was slightly over what he wanted to pay, Gabe had decided to live there because Asunción, the woman who owned the place, allowed him to use a huge utility closet to keep his diving and fishing gear at no extra cost. On top of that, the place was also relatively close to three different docks, so he always found a place to leave his boat that didn’t have him walking for half an hour to reach his place.
    The sun was shining as Gabe made his way down the three blocks that separated him from the dock at the end of Estrella Street. He knew he had a full tank of gas, so getting to Belize City and back would be no problem, but that meant he would have to fill it up again before leaving for the reefs with his 2:30 p.m. group. The price of gas was getting ridiculous, so he hoped whatever was waiting for him at the Belize Tourism Board office quickly translated into a decent chunk of change.
    ***
    By 10:02 a.m. Gabe was off the boat in Belize City and halfway up Dean Street. His stomach had also woken up and had growled a few times on the way over, but breakfast was something he could take care of once the real business was over. He knew a good place near the dock where an old lady with no teeth cooked some mean eggs.
    At the end of the street, he turned left on Regent Street and made his way to a yellowish two-story building with old windows and a few water stains creeping their way down from the roof. They made the walls look like the faces of Goth ladies with their mascara running. The letters BTB were painted on the side of the building, along with a toucan perched on the second B. The whole thing was as tacky as anything else in Belize City. Gabe guessed tacky was something tourists enjoyed.
    Gabe pushed the white doors of the building’s main entrance open and was surprised at the blast of cold air that hit him in the face and wrapped around his arms. Despite the building’s less than stellar exterior, the lobby was as nice as any other government building in town, and now that he was here about a job instead of giving them money so they would allow him to do his thing and help them make even more money, Gabe noticed that even the plants looked like someone was paying attention to them regularly.
    A short woman with a headful of long brown curls, a button down white shirt, and a grey skirt that ended a few inches above her knees stepped forward and smiled at Gabe with a mouth full of shiny pearls framed by the fullest pair of lips he had seen in a very long time.
    “Mr. Robles?” Her voice was even sweeter than it had been on the phone. Gabe returned the smile as he took his sunglasses off and stretched out his right hand.
    “Good to meet you, Rebeca. Please call me Gabe.”
    “Good to meet you, Gabe. Thanks again for coming down here so fast,” she said, the smile never wilting from her face.
    “To be honest, I’m curious. I’ve been working with tourists for about a decade but I’ve never received an email or call from this office that didn’t have to do with renewing my tourist guide license.”
    “Well, what we want to discuss with you today is something of a different nature, Gabe. Please follow me, Mr. Suarez is waiting for us in his office.”
    Rebeca turned to the left and started walking toward a hallway with too-bright halogens hanging from the ceiling and beige carpet on the floor. Gabe admired the woman’s calves and the way the skirt hugged her