8 MONTHS LATER
Jose stood in the wheelhouse of the thirty-three special-purpose craft, guiding it out of the Baytown Harbor. Fellow VMP officers Joseph Newman and Callan Ward joined him on morning patrols. Jared Dobson, Andy Bergstrom, and Bryce Townsend were in a similar vessel just ahead. All good men. All good law officers. And all good friends. It dawned on him usually at least once a day that he was damn lucky to have the career and life he did.
Each day was a little different with the ever-changing weather on the bay. Today, the water reflected spring in the cloudless blue sky. It was still chilly enough for jackets to be worn, but he’d been able to forgo the heavy coat needed when on winter patrol.
As the other vessel headed toward the south, he steered toward the north. Besides routine patrols of the shoreline, bay, and the many inlets, they would randomly check and board some of the fishing vessels today. Many of them were local, and they knew and recognized the fishermen. They’d stop anyway just to have the connection with those who made their livelihood harvesting the oysters and clams, or fish for crabs, rockfish, and drum fish.
They also would stop and check recreational fishermen’s catches and licenses. Vacationers were often intrigued with the idea of fishing from their boats, giving no thought to following the regulations or obtaining the required licenses.
“Is Jimmy out today?” Callan asked as they approached some of the oyster beds.
“As far as I know, he is.” Looking ahead, he laughed when he spied his brother’s bright red cap. Their mom had knitted it, saying that she wanted him to be easily seen in an emergency. It didn’t matter that he had followed in their dad’s footsteps and had been fishing since he was little. Their mom had never gotten used to him choosing to be an oyster fisherman rather than working on one of the larger boats like their dad.
Carlos had worked the crab boats, pulling up the pots. But Jimmy liked the low, flat bottom boats, and then standing in waist-deep water with his waders on, digging through the oyster beds with the rake to pull them up. No matter how many times Jimmy had explained to their mom, she always assumed that only his head would be sticking out of the water. Hence, she knitted the red cap to make him more visible in case a boat came too close.
“Never mind!” Callan called out. “I see his hat!”
They slowed as they neared, not wanting the waves from their boat to interfere with what the oystermen were doing. Gently maneuvering closer, Jose waved in return as his brother grinned up at him.
“What are you going to wear when it gets too hot for that hat?” Joseph called out.
“Hell, I figure my mom will have me wear this every day of the year!” Jimmy yelled back. “And if she doesn’t, then Katy will!”
They all chuckled, then Jimmy sobered and called out, “Did you hear about Richard Grissom’s boat being stolen?”
Shaking his head, Jose glanced at Callan and Joseph to see if they knew what Jimmy was talking about. From the expressions on their faces, they didn’t either. “Did he report it? Because we haven’t gotten anything on that.”
“I don’t know. We passed his dock coming out here, and he was still cussing and fuming!” Jimmy said.
One of the other fishermen standing next to Jimmy added, “He said something about going out in his other boat to see if he could find who took it.”
Rolling his eyes, Jose sighed. Richard was a hothead under the best of circumstances, and the last thing they wanted was him out on the water, accosting anyone in a boat that looked like his.
“Okay, thanks. We’ll keep our eye out for him. But he’d better report it because the sooner he does, the sooner we can start looking.”
By the way, brother,” Jimmy said. “Katy told me that Mom’s already talking to one of the women at church with a granddaughter who recently graduated from the community college. You’d better stay away unless you want Mom trying to hook you up with a twenty-year-old.”
“Well, shit,” he grumbled, trying to ignore the smiles from the others.
They said their goodbyes and pulled away. He continued to steer the boat up the shoreline while Callan got on the radio to see if Richard had called in a stolen boat report.
Their dispatcher, BobbieJean, radioed, “You got me just before I was going to call it out. It seems he called into the sheriff’s department first, and they relayed it to us. And from what we can tell, he’s already been out on the water trying to find who might have taken it.”
“Yeah, we heard. Send over the boat specs, and we’ll keep our eye out.”
“When you finish patrols, come on in. Chief Coates will meet with Sheriff Hudson during lunch, and then he’ll bring the rest of you up to speed at your staff meeting.”
The rest of the morning’s patrols went smoothly, with only a few citations given out. It was one of their calmer patrols on the bay. And despite their efforts, they didn’t see Richard or anyone in a vessel that matched his boat’s description.
By lunchtime, they headed back to the harbor, and once their vessel was secure, they walked to the Seafood Shack where the other officers were already at a large table. Once they gave their orders to the servers, they settled in for their break.
As the conversation flowed, Jose looked around the table, once again considering himself lucky with his choice of profession and friends. And whereas many of them had been single when he first started working for the VMP, now it seemed that most of them had found what still eluded him.
Callan married his high school sweetheart, Sophie, after years apart and a long road to get back together. Joseph, a player-bachelor before he met his wife, Shiloh, was now utterly devoted to his new family, including helping to raise Shiloh’s niece, Rachel. Jared had met his wife, Billie, who also worked on the Bay for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as a water analyzer. Andy had also fallen for a woman he rescued before realizing she was someone he’d known in high school. And, of course, their captain, Ryan, had fallen for the new doctor in town, Judith.
It hit him that he and Bryce were the only single officers at the table. Others worked at the station, but with this group, he was now in the minority.
“So,” Andy began, grinning at him. “Is your mom seriously still trying to play matchmaker?”
“And with a twenty-year-old?” Callan laughed, shaking his head. “I can’t even imagine trying to have a conversation with someone that young right now.”
He couldn’t help but wince at his mom’s latest attempt to find a potential wife for him. “Somehow, because I’m the oldest, I think I’ve become her poster child for who she needs to get grandbabies from. But hell, you’re right. A twenty-year-old? Jesus, eleven years might not seem that much of a difference to some people, but I can’t fathom going on a date with someone that young.”
“You’d feel like an old man, for sure!” Joseph agreed. “Rachel is seventeen now and super mature. But hell, that’s a whole different age bracket!”
“I keep thinking that if I ignore my mom’s machinations, she’ll stop. But this is my mom we’re talking about.”
The server brought their food, and he was glad for the interruption. But as the others talked, he ate his burger in silence as his mind rolled to his mostly nonexistent dating life. The occasional, mutually agreed upon one-night stand was fine, but those were becoming rarer and rarer. He wasn’t opposed to finding someone to fall in love with, but he knew it couldn’t be forced. Until then, he was willing to wait for the sparks.