Read Online Amber Beach by Elizabeth Lowell - Free Book Online Page A

of the world.”
    Like Kyle Donovan, Jake thought grimly. And his family. Don’t forget them. They’re the folks who gave orders that shut every door in your face that might have led to the truth. And when all was said and done, Honor was a Donovan. He had to remember that.
    He applied power, turned the boat, and accelerated. Very quickly he brought the SeaSport up on plane so that it skimmed over the water, balanced between speed and fuel efficiency. He adjusted the trims tabs the same way he did the throttle, unconsciously. The controls were as familiar to him as breathing.
    That left him plenty of time to look around. He saw pretty much what he had expected to see, but had hoped he wouldn’t: as the Tomorrow raced back out into the strait, three other boats changed course and poured on the power to follow him. Two of the boats had appeared shortly after the Tomorrow left its little dock. The third one was new, a big Coast Guard Zodiac in high-visibility orange. It was on an interception course with the Tomorrow. As the Zodiac got closer, one of the four men aboard began signaling for the SeaSport to stop.
    “So much for fishing the tide change”, Jake said.
    “Did we miss it?”
    “Not yet, but we will.”
    “Why?”
    “See that orange Zodiac?”
    There was only one orange craft on the water, so identifying it wasn’t hard.
    “It’s more a raft than a real boat”, Honor said.
    “It can go ashore without a dock and catch anything on the water it’s likely to chase.”
    Jake brought down the power to idle, but he did it slowly enough not to alarm Honor.
    “Is something wrong with our boat?” she asked warily.
    “I hope not. We’re about to have a ‘random’ Coast Guard inspection.”
    The brightly colored Zodiac was closing rapidly with them now that the Tomorrow was floating dead in the water.
    “Do they inspect every boat?” she asked.
    “Nope.”
    “Most boats?”
    “Nope.”
    “A quarter of the boats?”
    “Nope.”
    “One in ten?”
    “I doubt if they stop one in a hundred.”
    “Then why are they bothering us?”
    “Just lucky, I guess.”
    The cynical tone of his voice was echoed in her answering smile.
    “Cops on land and cops at sea”, Honor said. “Gosh, am I ever protected.”
    “Yeah. Makes you feel all warm and squishy, doesn’t it?”
    “So would a full diaper.”
    Jake was still laughing when he grabbed the Tomorrow’s papers from the drawer and went out to the stern to give the Coast Guard “permission” to board.
    They didn’t even go through the motions of asking about a previous Coast Guard inspection. Likely they knew exactly what Jake did; according to the papers in the galley drawer, Kyle had voluntarily taken the Tomorrow in for inspection less than six months ago. It had passed without a hitch. Normally, the boat wouldn’t be up for inspection again for another six months.
    The first of two Coast Guardsmen came over the Tomorrow’s stern by way of the swim step at the stern.
    “Afternoon, gentlemen”, Jake said. “What can I do for you?”
    “Standard safety inspection, sir”, the younger man said.
    “Then we’ll still have time to fish the tide change”, Jake said. “This boat was inspected within the past six months. No violations. I have the ticket right here. If that’s not good enough, call home base and check your own records.”
    The young man hesitated and looked over his shoulder toward the stern.
    So did Jake. He stifled a curse and tried not to give the second official the kind of smile that made people nervous.
    “Hello, Bill”, Jake said. “Who did you piss off enough to be put on pleasure craft inspection?”
    The second man winced. “Jake? What are you doing here? This boat is registered to Kyle Donovan.”
    “I’m teaching Honor Donovan how to use it.”
    “Oh. Well, uh, I’m sure she won’t mind if we look around.”
    Jake turned and glanced back into the cabin. Honor was standing in the open doorway.
    “How about it?”