The Double-Cross In Paradise; Episode 35, The Doldrums

This is episode thirty-five in the sixth novel of The Troy Adventure Series. It is titled The Double-Cross in Paradise. Here are the links to  The Double-Cross In Paradise: paperback, Kindle. 

The Doldrums

Three days at sea passed.

Trace sat on the foredeck against the cabin. He was reading a book. Cooper was at the rudder. Kelsey walked around the boat as if looking for something to do. He did deep knee bends, push-ups, and ran in place.

Exasperated Kelsey said, “How do you put up with this!”

“Sometimes I read,” Trace said.

Kelsey bent down to read the title of the book. “Moby Dick!”

“Yeah,” Trace said, “it’s a good book. You ought to read it.”

“Doesn’t the ship sink in the end, and they all die?”

“No,” Trace said, “Ishmael, the main character, lives.”

“If you know how it ends, why read it?” Kelsey said.

“Actually, this is the fourth time I’ve read it.”

“The sea has made you stark raving mad!” Kelsey said.

Trace laid the book on his lap. He smiled softly as if he understood Kelsey's condition of boredom. “There’s portions of this book where there is no wind. When there’s no wind, there’s nothing for sailors to do. In the book, it’s a difficult time. I sometimes think Melville wrote that portion of the book to inform others how taxing with monotony the sea can be. And reading about it eases the boredom.”

“I think a good workout does a man better,” Kelsey said. “Ya don’t want your muscles to atrophy.”

“I won’t argue the point with you,” Trace said. “But the mind can also atrophy. Cooper has a couple of good books below.”

“Like what?”

“I think there’s The Bobbsey Twins, The Mystery of the Deep Blue Sea, that’s if you fancy sea stories.”

Kelsey sneered.

“What! You've got to start somewhere,” Trace feigned concern. 

“You don’t trust anyone, do you?” Kelsey said. 

“Not so,” Trace said. “I trust my buddy back on The Tramp Islander, Sage. I trust his dad; they call him Coyote. I trust my grandpa and my dad. I trust cows, my dog, and my horse. But it does keep one eye open when it comes to the cows.”

Kelsey disdainfully sniffed.

“Here’s the deal, Kelsey, you don’t trust anyone—not one person. The guys over you, under you, and beside you. You can’t trust them. The guys beside you and under you would do almost anything to move above you, and the guys above you want to keep you where you are.”

“It’s that place everywhere,” Kelsey said. 

“Not back in Texas,” Kelsey said.

“Texas ain’t any different than anyplace else,” Kelsey grinned. “I’ve watched Dallas.”

“Where I’m from, that’s kiddy show stuff, Saturday morning cartoons,” Trace said. “In my parts, people show up like that, we spit in their coffee and send them back to Austin, Houston, or Dallas. It’s a big state. It’s like a big house; by the time you clean from right to left, right is dusty again.”

“Given what you’ve just said,” Kelsey squatted in front of Trace and came eye to eye, “why do you stay here? There’s deceit all around. I’ve read a file on you. I’m sure it doesn’t tell the whole story, but you’ve been involved in stuff that’s enough to make a sane man curse the good lord and die.”

“What keeps you going?” Trace asked. “What is it? Certainly, you don’t think that this is a Hollywood movie, once the bad guys are chased out of town, the whole valley is at peace? There is no closing scene or last chapter when all is good. When you retire, it will be worse than when you started. You should go back to the station or ranch or whatever you call it. Get yourself a good dog and horse.”

“And look at you,” Kelsey said. He stood from his squatted position. “I’m going below and look for that Bobbsey Twins book you mentioned, what was it?”

“The Mystery of the Deep Blue Sea,” Trace said. “It’s really not down there.”

“I know that,” Kelsey said, “but I’m going to look for The Bobbsey Twins in La La Land. It’s something that would be right down your alley, or in your wheelhouse, or whatever you call it.”

The Double-Cross In Paradise; Episode 34, Seasick

This is episode thirty-four in the sixth novel of The Trace 
Troy Adventure Series. It is titled The Double-Cross in Paradise. Here are the links to  The Double-Cross In Paradise: paperback, Kindle. 

Seasick

Shortly past midnight, Cooper staggered and stretched his way up the companionway. 

“Ya ready to take over?” Trace said.

“Yeah,” Cooper yawned, “Kelsey snores just loud enough to keep me awake. If I were really tired, no problem.”

“I’ve been nodding a bit,” Trace said.

Trace stood, and Cooper took his place.

Trace turned to Cooper just before disappearing below. “I took a reading no more than half an hour ago. Keep the current heading, three hundred, and we’ll be fine.”

“Aye, aye.”

Trace crawled into the empty bunk. He woke seven hours later. 

They had now entered deeper waters and rougher seas. 

Trace popped through the companionway. Cooper sat relaxed at the rudder, and Kelsey hung halfway over the side. He vomited.

Kelsey lifted his head. “What happened to the calm seas?”

“We’re away from the Fiji islands now,” Trace said. “Now it’s open seas.”

“Will it be like this the rest of the way?” Kelsey asked.

“No,” Trace said, sitting down beside Kelsey.

“Good,” Kelsey forced a smile.

“It gets worse,” Trace said.

“This is nothing,” Cooper added.

Trace and Cooper snickered.

“Go ahead,” Kelsey said disdainfully, “laugh your arse off.”

“Take it easy,” Trace said. “Few sailors don’t go through seasickness. I did, and I’m sure Cooper did.”

“I’m English,” Cooper feigned seriousness, “we don’t give in to minor inconveniences.” 

 “Let me take the rudder,” Trace said to Cooper. “You’re a terrible driver. You’re hitting every pothole in the road.”

Kelsey went below and fell asleep. He awoke a couple of hours later and climbed into the cockpit.

“Ya know,” he said, swaying with the boat. He looked pleasantly at the sea around him. “I’m feeling pretty good.”

“It’s always a matter of time,” Cooper said. “Usually it takes longer.”

“When I was on the Bering,” Trace said, “it took me a good two days to get over it.”

“Ya know something,” Kelsey said, “sometimes when you’re lying there sick as a dog, strange thoughts come to your mind. Some thoughts you might not think about when you have your wits about you. And what’s even more strange, you think with incredible logic and clarity.”

“The earth is flat, right?” Cooper said sarcastically.

“I’ll get to that later,” Kelsey said. He looked at Trace. “I can think of no other reason for me going along with you than you wanted to keep your eye on me.”

Trace smirked. “Well, give that man a cigar.”

“It kinda makes me feel as if I’m being used,” Kelsey said.

“That’s one way of looking at it,” Trace said. “But, if I had continued to disappear on you, you would have had a whole gaggle of AFP agents looking for me. This way you can keep an eye on me, also.”

The Double-Cross In Paradise; Episode 33, A Lonely Night

This is episode thirty-three in the sixth novel of The Trace Troy Adventure Series. It is titled The Double-Cross in Paradise. Here are the links to  The Double-Cross In Paradise: paperback, Kindle. 

A Lonely Night

Near sunset, Cooper woke and prepared ham and cheese sandwiches and tea. The three sat in the cockpit. Trace tethered the rudder and relaxed. 

They ate. Cooper and Kelsey got acquainted. Trace remained quiet and allowed Cooper’s and Kelsey’s relationship to grow. 

“Do you want to run all night?” Cooper asked Trace.

“Yeah,” Trace said.

“I can take the rudder for a while,” Cooper offered. “I got to admit, though, I’m beat.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Trace said. “I’m used to long days and nights. And if it gets to me, I’ll just bring in the sails, and we can drift for a time.”

“If you show me what to do, I can help out,” Kelsey said. 

“That’s okay,” Trace said. “There’s a few islands in our way for now. You have to be able to read the charts, the wind, and currents. It’s not hard stuff, but I think we’d all feel safer.”

“Aye, aye,” Kelsey agreed. “However, I would like to learn how to sail.”

“We will be at sea for almost a week,” Trace said, and assured, “You will learn how to sail.”

Kelsey grinned and added, “Or swim.”

“Nah,” Cooper said, “that would be a waste. Trace and I planned to use you as a drogue.”

“What’s a drogue?” Kelsey asked. 

“If the boat goes too fast, we tie you up and cast you overboard,” Cooper said. “It slows the boat.”

“I got the feeling I’m being messed with,” Kelsey said. 

“We have a drogue,” Trace said. “It’s beneath your seat.”

“You actually have to slow the boat down?” Kelsey said.

“Yeah,” Trace said. “Depending on the seas, you can lose control. Small sailboats, like this one, can flip or roll.”

“Ahh,” Cooper joked, “why didn’t you wait to tell him after we tied him up and were about to toss him over? That way, we’d have known how much he trusts us.”

“You’d have found out just how gullible I am,” Kelsey said, and added seriously. “So, almost a week at sea? Why not fly?”

“A rumor was started back in Fiji,” Trace said. “Rumors, what is it they say, ‘a rumor can go around the world before the truth can get out of bed.’ I want the rumor to  be there  long enough to become fact.”

“What rumor?” Kelsey asked.

“I transport drugs and have reliable sources,” Trace said.

“What will that do?” Kelsey asked. 

“It will get me close to the people who are framing the guy I know,” Trace said.

“It sounds like you are depending on the gullibility of men who prey on the gullibility of others,” Kelsey said.

“Those are the best kind,” Trace said. “The best place to steal a horse is from a horse thief. They think everybody else is honest.”

“How can you be sure?” Kelsey said.

“I can’t,” Trace replied. “But I can hedge my chances. If the lie comes from two different sources, it has to be true.”

“You were able to start that in motion?” Kelsey asked.

“One very reliable source and another eager for anything,” Trace said. “I’m sure it has already reached the ears of those I want it to. After it ferments a few days, it will be an established fact. In fact, it would not surprise me by the time I meet up with those folks, they think I’m the best and transporter of drugs in the South Seas. I’d have to be for them not to have heard of me before.”

“This is kind of scary,” Kelsey said. “That’s the way cops think.”

They finished eating. Cooper collected the metal plates they ate from. He rinsed them off by holding them overboard and then went below to wash them. He emerged from the companionway with three bottles of beer. He handed a beer to Trace, and one to Kelsey.

They each took a swig. 

“I brought a case,” Cooper said. “That comes to one a day for eight days.”

“Keep us honest, Kelsey,” Trace chided.

“An honest cop,” Cooper chortled. 

“Not when it comes to beer,” Kelsey smiled and took another swig.

They nursed the beers and talked until the sun set. 

Cooper collected the empty bottles and said, “Tell ya what, Trace, I’m going to catch a few more winks and relieve you. How does that sound?”

Trace gave Cooper a thumbs up, and Cooper returned below.

“How did you come across him?” Kelsey asked. “Seems like a real good mate.”

“Two years ago, I came to Suva on a long vacation,” Trace said. “I planned for a month. I didn’t want to pay for a hotel for that long, and I didn’t want to sleep on a beach. Cooper rented out a room. We became friends. He lent me The Tineytanic for a while. I sailed it around Fiji—had a great time—kinda. He trusts me and I trust him.”

“Trust means a lot to you, doesn’t it?” Kelsey said.

“One man can’t take care of a thousand head of cattle,” Trace said. “You know that. So you have to put your trust in other men. When you’re sleeping, they better be watchin’, cowboy logic.”

“Bush sense, we call it,” Kelsey said.

“Horse sense in Texas,” Trace said. “We don’t fool ourselves, sometimes it’s the horse that makes the cowboy.”

“You know,” Kelsey said, “sailing is a beautiful thing. I like it. I could do it. So calm and peaceful. It’s as peaceful as watching a dancing campfire.” He gazed at the stars overhead. “I’ve seen every one of those stars a hundred times over. It’s been long ago. I’ve changed, but the stars haven’t.”

“I wish I had written down the conversations I’ve had with them,” Trace said.

“And I wished I’d written what they’ve said back to me,” Kelsey said.

“Why did you ever become a cop?” Trace asked.

“I guess I wanted to fulfill my boyhood dreams,” Kelsey said. “I signed on and took classes to make advancement. I always wanted to put away the bad guys. We all look for purpose in our lives. I guess this is what I came up with.”

“For some reason, you don’t sound all that satisfied,” Trace said.

“Most days I don’t,” Kelsey said and added, “some days I do.”

“What about you?” Kelsey said.

“When I first took over The Tramp Islander,” Trace began, “there was no real plan, just deliver freight at a good price to places a lot of boats won’t go. I spend very little on fuel. The boat is paid for. I suppose satisfaction comes from delivering things to people without costing an arm and a leg. But in between time, other things come up.”

“Like the Patterson guy?” Kelsey asked.

“Yeah.”

“It’s almost like you’ve hung out a shingle,” Kelsey said and held up his hands like he was framing a sign. “‘Here I Am. Will Help Anyone.’”

“Is it really that bad?” Trace asked.

“Things seem to come your way,” Kelsey said.

Trace countered, “Trouble seems to come my way.”  

They stared at the stars for a while. They talked about whatever crossed their minds, anything to keep away the loneliness.

“I remember days like this in the bush,” Kelsey said. “I’m glad you’re here. Only a good ringer could be a good mate at times like these. I’ve been with townies when on the watch. They drive you crazy. They know nothing about being alone. They think talking about football or their many pub crawls looking for Sheilas is conversation.”

“You listen to an ole cowboy talk about life, it’s like sitting at the feet of Socrates,” Trace said. “It drips from their mouths like a spoonful of honey.”

A glowing meteor streaked across the sky.

“Millions of people missed that,” Trace said. “But we saw it.”

“My dad used to tell me, you can’t crash out until you see a shooting star,” Kelsey said.

“Goo’ night, mate,” Trace said. 

“Same to ya.”