Donovans 01 - Amber Beach

murder and a fortune in hot amber.
    Without a word Jake screwed the cap back onto the port gas tank, unscrewed the cap to the starboard tank, and resumed pumping gas. A cool, salty breeze ruffled his short hair, bringing with it the promise of open water and a day without limits. Beneath a layer of high cloud, the air was “severe clear.” Visibility unlimited. The sea was gentle. A great day to go looking for amber treasure sunk beneath the sea with a missing anchor.
    Jake pumped gas and wondered if Kyle had done the standard pirate thing and sent a corpse to the bottom to guard the treasure. Maybe that was how the man with the missing fingers had died.
    And maybe it was Kyle who had died, Kyle who was sunk on the bottom of the sea with all his secrets locked behind dead lips.
    “What are you thinking?” Honor asked.
    “You don’t want to know.”
    “What does wanting have to do with this mess?” she asked in a rising voice. “Did anyone ask me if I wanted any of this to happen?”
    Jake held out his hand. The look of surprise on her face told him that it was about the last thing she had expected him to do. Yet she didn’t hesitate. She took his hand and allowed him to draw her close.
    “We’ll talk about it later,” he said against her cheek, “when the wind isn’t blowing every word we say right back to the chatty Miss Ringlets.”
    Honor drew a ragged breath and leaned her forehead against his shoulder.
    “Jake?” she whispered.
    “Yeah?”
    “I’m scared.”
    “It’s about time.”
    “For Kyle, not me.”
    “Be scared for you.”
    “I can’t believe he . . . stole anything. But I’d rather believe that than believe he’s dead.”
    Jake let out a long breath. Honor had gotten to the bottom line without his help, which meant that she wouldn’t waste time being angry with him for telling her what she really didn’t want to hear. Now if he were very, very careful, he might win enough of her trust to get past the solid wall of Donovan family silence to the truth about Kyle, amber, murder, and treachery.
    Unless Honor found out who her fishing guide was first.
    That wasn’t a happy thought. Jake hoped that Ellen would keep her perfectly painted mouth shut for two more days, as promised, but he wasn’t counting on it. When her boss put on pressure, she immediately would go to Plan B, whatever that was. Jake would just as soon not be around to find out.
    He finished filling the tanks and turned on the blower while Honor went to pay the bill. When she came back, she was suffering from a kind of sticker shock. She looked at the Tomorrow ’s gleaming length as though expecting to see fuel pouring into the marina.
    “This puppy sucks gas,” she said.
    “The price of getting there fast. I can keep it to sailboat speed, if you like. It wouldn’t take much more than a few hours to get home, if the tide and currents are right.”
    “Hours?” She stared at him. “How fast do sailboats go?”
    “Depends on wind, weight, sail, and hull design. If they’re burning fuel instead of wind, most of them go six to eight knots.”
    “What were we doing on the way here?”
    “Normal cruising speed, most of the time.”
    “What is that in miles per hour?”
    “Oh, maybe thirty-five, depending on tide and currents. We went faster when all four jets of the carburetor kicked in, but it’s hard on the fuel consumption.”
    “I’m glad my credit card is good.”
    “So am I,” Jake said, thinking of the plot charter and the stored routes he had found. “We’ve got a lot of places to go. Unless Kyle told you about any places he particularly liked . . . ?”
    “Every time he talked fishing, I changed the subject.”
    Jake wasn’t talking about fishing, but he wouldn’t get anywhere pointing that out. Nor was he getting any help from Honor in narrowing down the search. If she knew where her brother or the amber might be, she sure wasn’t giving out any hints.
    It looked like the bright lady hadn’t figured out the simple truth: there was no way she was going to learn enough to set out alone into the San Juans anytime soon. Yet she acted as though she had all the time in creation.
    If Ellen kept her mouth shut, Jake had until day after tomorrow. A big if .
    He bit back on his impatience and set about casting off from the fuel dock. None of the boats had been brave enough to follow him to the dock, especially the Olympic, but it wasn’t long before three small craft appeared from different