Fallen Palm (Jesse McDermitt Series) (25 page)

“Yeah,” Angie said. “He’s down in Key West, trying to help my dad out of a jam.”

She went on to tell them how her dad had been having trouble making ends meet by pulling shrimp and had been approached by one of his deckhands on the subject of picking up pot and bringing it in for a friend of his. This made Jimmy even more nervous. She said that her dad did a few runs and then decided he wanted out and didn’t want to do it anymore. The deckhand’s so called friend turned out to be a Cuban smuggler and had threatened her dad and family. Jesse had gone down there to take over running the shrimp boat and get the smuggler out of their hair.

“Honest, man,” Jimmy said, “Carl ain’t the smuggling type. He just got in a little over his head, man.”

“Don’t worry, Jimmy,” Deuce said. “I’m not here to pop anyone for dope. I just need to see Jesse. I don’t begrudge a man doing what he has to do, to take care of his family. Shrimping’s a hard business.”

Turning to Julie he said, “Can you take me down there? I came in on a company chopper. Might blow Jesse’s cover, me arriving down there in it.”