Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

the Everglades
the Everglades
the Everglades
Ebook152 pages2 hours

the Everglades

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

After the big fire at the Rod and Gun Club, money for most of the residents of Everglades City was difficult to find. Hotel workers and fishing guides were hit the hardest; tourism for this small town at the edge of the Florida Everglades shut down.
But Robert Earl had contacts, and he found some easy money.
On a prescheduled night, once every two weeks, Robert Earl and his two companions went on a midnight fishing trip. They would gas up their 21 foot 1959 Glasspar Seafair Sedan, load minimal bait and head out through the ‘Ten Thousand Island’ area of the Everglades.
Leaving Chokoloskee Bay, they traveled out the Barron River through Capri Pass. At ‘Turtle Island’ they set their compass on a 180-degree reading and the throttle to 20 miles per hour. Tides must be taken into account and speed adjusted accordingly, but the plan was a 2-hour/40-mile run, headed directly south into the Gulf of Mexico.
At the designated rendezvous point, they brought the engine to idle and turned on large lights – providing an easy sight for the plane that would soon be searching for them.
The small plane always circled twice before dropping 6 large packages, which looked much like bales of hay. Then Robert Earl and his two associates would retrieve the floating packages, store them on board and begin the two-hour trip back to Chokoloskee harbor. Arriving before daylight, they would dock and leave their cargo stored in the lower ‘cuddy’ section of the boat. The next morning the cargo would be gone, replaced by a small plastic bag containing cash - substantial cash. This was easy money!
Their final trip would be very different. A hurricane was rolling across South Florida, and Robert Earl had tried to delay the regular scheduled drop. However, his Mafia contacts were simply not interested in his concerns. Either Robert Earl makes the pick-up or they would find somebody else; Robert Earl had no choice. This was easy money and he needed it.
Seas were 12 – 15 feet, and just getting to the rendezvous point was a challenge. However, they somehow managed to reach the drop area and maintain their position for over an hour. When the plane finally arrived, it had difficulty flying in the storm and the bales were dropped much farther away than normal. After another hour of fighting the waves, Robert Earl and his two associates finally boarded the last bale and headed for the safety of harbor. That trip didn’t last long.
The first wave crossed the bow at a 45-degree angle – turning the boat sideways and making it an easy target for the next one. Within moments, the boat was engulfed with seawater and began to sink; it was gone in less than two minutes – the engine still sputtering as it slipped beneath the surface of the water.
In desperation, Robert Earl and his two associates clang to debris and floating wreckage, while bouncing up and down in the 15-foot seas. They had no life jackets, but that really didn’t matter. There was no life 40 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico during a hurricane – only death.
At daylight the sharks came quickly and relentlessly. Within an hour, Robert Earl and his two associates became victims of the sea and the hurricane. All was lost of them, their boat and their existence. All except the floating bales!
It took weeks, but eventually the floating bales found their way to shore. Most of the bales made landfall around the ‘Lost Man’s’ River area and a nearby Ranger Station. They were quickly recovered and a massive FBI investigation began. More drugs were making their way into the United States and the Florida Everglades appeared

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 14, 2015
ISBN9781310544903
the Everglades
Author

Gerald Darnell

AUTHOR’S BIO -Gerald W. DarnellGeralddarnell@msn.comhttp://www.geraldwdarnell.comA Florida native, Gerald grew up and attended high school in the small town of Humboldt, Tennessee. Following graduation from the University of Tennessee, he spent time in Hopkinsville, KY, Memphis, TN, Boston, MA and Newport, AR before moving back to Florida – where he now lives.Gerald worked as a Senior Manager with several Fortune 100 companies, before officially retiring in 2007. His non-fiction book, ‘Don’t Wake Me Until It’s Time To Go’, is a bio-narrative including humorous stories and events spanning his life from pre-high school to retirement.His fiction books are what he calls ‘Fiction for Fun’. They use real geography and include pictures and characters some readers might recognize. The ‘Carson Reno Mystery Series’ are adventure mysteries set in the early 1960 time period, with the primary geography being Memphis and small southern towns. Core characters continue through each book, along with new and unique characters for each story.During the early 70's the author worked from an office in the Memphis Peabody Hotel, so many of the events about the hotel in Carson Reno’s stories are real, as well as many of the characters you meet.His books are available at selected bookstores, gift shops, on-line and through Amazon and Barnes and Noble . e-books are available at Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes and Noble’s Nook formats.Carson Reno Mystery SeriesWritten by author Gerald W. Darnell, the Carson Reno Mystery Series currently contains 14 adventures. The main character, Carson Reno, is a private detective with an office located in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. The setting is the early 1960’s, and while the many adventures take Carson around the country, most of the stories are centered in West Tennessee and the Southern United States.Carson is a tough, hard drinking and womanizing private detective – but the author blends humor and character involvement to make the stories an easy read for all ages. Many of the characters continue through each book, but it isn’t necessary to enjoy them in any particular order; each is standalone in story and content. Real geography is mixed with real time events, reflecting the dangerous and turbulent times of our country in the 1960’s. Books are lightly illustrated with real pictures (when available), and they are all rated PG-13 – minimizing language and graphic violence.Most books are offered in both hard and soft cover, and ebooks of all adventures are available in Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook formats. Six books have already been created as audio books - these can be found on Audible.com, Amazon.com and iTunes. Additional books are currently in audio production.All Carson Reno Mystery Series books can be purchased on Amazon.com, Lulu.com, Authorsden.com, selected bookstores/gift shops and through the author’s website – http://www.carsonrenomysteryseries.com‘Life is cheap, make sure you buy enough’®

Read more from Gerald Darnell

Related to the Everglades

Related ebooks

Mystery For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for the Everglades

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    the Everglades - Gerald Darnell

    cbook_preview_excerpt.html[KrGJ̮۬d?H # qUBfF*"bLfshֳCQt¼(ڌY[P_<|Q?EV߽0wCmԋGQ {}kѕ v}δSL& o|<|a0*#woM>WwiO/g~*\vUԓ'OxN"KpV?ms~ÿgGOo=_?BYPoMu>8k?(TCm*Qި¨1J9ѽwX/)m0WZ[~CAd{[uB_KK:nWxk zL[MJ,cK(͖ fvSKZ٧Ɔ)!wCس؝[7B%3^ "PVF-m9@n rƥ7jp [Q]Baٮ Mah!2:Al{ݡs;RWf08-E}dy4WZ|t&Od984o{nV3{̺оF64Ƶ iԵiL_Ψ 4 Nx ã ĆܺS?j3^zJu鰜9F7<$>)A]$ Ƶkۍc1ZB)ܬ]@X+?٨G.=:{oۨ}0Q|Wp#\ aR&}e=8t4o:|7 ѯ`wVjBpS|~p~хj؃^&øJkKC?c' ]_D i[\Y4yt+MF~6x`Dؼ3J f}ѝ;K=BA+D7sc`[0zҏ< КIg ;Kpոk:[9*PB g+SD]@36lxH'G]ɗlB^_ݩLt,:0k9' uU*8@ie+A̐m%K.NgWT,VgEaPEC|7XxiD_7|?Lǃ|ԓ_^2){[x}7a;lH2uj|kY mHN o;p>ܞ<9JUY  C7V& ̱H#rNYt4$ؐyy uץ^P6 Kp"A!#N@jq+\c `q%ďQk&#v3?$+,W)VrAҊw㪖+3HSĤڶ4\NhqF  oz4-B'0 W\ZOvU*aj cq԰2ora fFDns>"H5qh, 5"`4na݄m M7FwO9~H6(2+#,zFU$y,ld ;9P%xYj\YfWv2'IZPc §0db%q`-\rl$SN.y'1PZ9xJhA(5tjSL> PUa~S{|8ܒk =@f O/brr) A/ $`Q,3Ud&(|2 rX%~draMշOs~~HIQQ #F9·Dv 5;&ґM =wp%#"ZG bmfyέ8F7,(hpRo## a@ \'4V_!)!U_C4Ҥ' ".>0{`P>cWTHY<=a/Z4e~F\2s$03{fk4r#fEN`T5FApBww4ra7L&Yd>  #k޲܆ҐHR|xx9,2hTH$fOH+Ӭ'es&_&'TGR; bű-CU/еScY>R,!,}e l')~rB;BSB^zc;`W*̃ $ %i"?v񕛧{G >gޝS%\-Dxm5LY@I‚C+bY+/8F3 .͈Rb0uFNnPM~),2yْa9G=/BxS>I7y8IxHd'M9N$,1lA;Ze)cFd75,/t!ŵn:y} 8aKm¹/Ft<$3"|3#RR .kM+ 0Jc7R٤y_k3/Z xQ4u2c .mfZn(%B7" Kt2 ɬ/6C+ƌEP)J&XH cTdU+6K)W?(ShgGI[m,P@IN<3oɺ$m/#>˂ ůK^ b0?&Ӛ5m&Oφ \]Ml顖BdeFԳ7z(JY _ҙEn!UjAN9%Rki=VQYphj]iB쯧Sj4=v1olW6tݟT⧽uzvݺ>-M`WϓldtsCc-EK@"šdvT]t8QQH&ʛ|.l<6B737 } N+۷ۗ|ۂd6m~#hmpWxYrn._KQ$DHѕL HA@\ &uMdLO}"ɻ)ENT.J'a2Vt2۰5d#bb~%lnni"\r26Ay,HH{jeg:Sk٫oR(zX0ԏ@?K;K3ckd4'ώ:n=7DMҧmSq a+R97-"X -N:WįœTXHW]*6IBD .d"(qArCP&[qXaRnu#W<Ԗ':ᢉEzSc!ƶlRhawpF&{4<?w?z8}_wKC:Ydqqax?hp37cξ%LM% IJ]En 3ATJ^DEN;Ka@72U^z1(δ*b)1%Ÿ*:RhbOE)W?11\r5m8>,>,$6Eۀ>LgG\O1.Af1p$92J|B"ӰcI$,+^l %IU:bl Eyñ ooQp>]HO,gpS*Rܙ5ޫy06g?6eltqJDڨIII :wLzKЕUĸ$'ߙsl9Ƨ>pk) uhH 'oJZ>|xKmMkYs{m 0v2'GS$f3yJ.s0I\sQʊ"wӳ!0}> ڮ0atH}::7Kr|bem5c7lF*
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1