Clearwater Retirement

By Al Rennie

Joe has retired until Big Mac has a job for him that he can't refuse. Jeremy suspects that Lisa is cheating on him and asks Joe to find out for sure. A client fears that her son is being scammed by a 'gold digger' and wants Joe to wreck the relationship. A town bully needs to be sorted out. Joe and Mia go dancing at Big Mac's club. Stevie helps Doc track down a monster. Another romp in Paradise!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Al Rennie
• Release date: Feb 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370679812

Al Rennie

I was born and raised in Toronto. I attended Upper Canada College before taking a degree at Queen's University. I have worked as a lifeguard for the Toronto Harbour Police, a youth worker for the Toronto YMCA, and an English teacher in Lakefield. I am married with two great daughters and an extended foster family. My interests include Maple Leaf hockey - this is our year - New England Patriot football and writing.

Book preview

Clearwater Retirement

By

Al Rennie

Dedication

For my wife

Marsha

And to all the kind and supportive readers of the Clearwater Series.

Copyright © 2017 by Al Rennie

All Rights Reserved.

Cover Credit: Rita Toews – probably the most caring, patient and inventive cover creator ever!

Cover Image Credit: Publicdomainpictures.net … Petr Ktatochvil

Formatting Credit: Lucinda K. Campbell – as always, just great… thank you!

Acknowledgements:

Thank you Gerry Pielsticker and Nancy Fox who, once again, supplied a few jokes that left me laughing so hard, I just had to find a place for two of them.

Due to a long distance move and job change for one editor and an artistic dispute with another, I have been reduced to having only three excellent editors on my team. At their current rate of pay, I may be down to no editors shortly. It might be difficult for anyone to believe that, as a former English teacher, I would ever need three editors. The scoop is that the three remaining ones are looking for yet another one. In any case, the three remaining editors, Gail, Ben and Donna have once again returned to make my life miserable but your reading experience that much better. I’d like to thank them for their masterful work in editing yet another episode of The Clearwater Series. The Tim Horton gift cards are in the mail … hold on, what Gift Cards?

Nancy’s Amendment to Annie’s Amendment – she’s blonde!

This is the Clearwater Series in the sequence that the titles were written.

The Clearwater Series in the sequence the titles were written.

1) Clearwater Journals

2) Clearwater Diaries

3) Clearwater Ambush

4) Clearwater Abduction

5) Clearwater Heat

6) Clearwater Kiss Off

7) Clearwater Showdown

8) Clearwater Magic

9) Clearwater Intrigue

10) Clearwater Danger

11) Clearwater Predator

12) Clearwater Extortion

13) Clearwater Killer

14) Clearwater Oops!

15) Clearwater Crazy

16) Clearwater Undercover

17) Clearwater Hunter

18) Clearwater Justice

19) Clearwater Skip Trace

20) Clearwater Assault

21) Clearwater Folly

22) Clearwater Homesick

23) Clearwater Hustle

24) Clearwater Stakeout

25) Clearwater Fit

26) Clearwater Double Cross

27) Clearwater Vice

28) Clearwater Escape

29) Clearwater Bubba

30) Clearwater Betrayal

31) Clearwater Penalty

32) Clearwater Deception

33) Clearwater Confession

34) Clearwater Promises

35) Clearwater Nemesis

36) Clearwater Glitz

37) Clearwater Mirage

38) Clearwater Witness

39) Clearwater Cowboy

40) Clearwater Retirement

A very few Reader Responses to Clearwater Series:

On the advice of the critics, editors and Ellen, I have limited the number of reader responses to a few of the more recent ones. The suggestion was that no one reads them anyway. I know that I do. Apologies go out to those critics who didn’t make the cut.

Al Rennie is still rocking in the world according to Doc!!! I eagerly await each new book and I am not disappointed. This one has another current story line which lets you know that the author is on his toes and doing his homework. I am very glad that the youngest little fellow is finally being brought into the house….good move. Keep on writing Al Rennie and we will keep on buying, reading and enjoying. I have read many stand alone books and many series and this series rates right up there in the top two. Al Rennie rocks!!! M.M.S.

Al Rennie's Clearwater series always gets a 5 star rating from me. This series never gets old (even after the 32nd book), and the stories are clever and funny with mystery, thrills, and sometimes even a little sadness thrown and romance the Joe and Mia way. Start at the beginning and read it, you won’t be able to put it down. Sharon R.

I love all of the Clearwater series books. Al you have created another great book that I will be thinking about for quite some time. I love that you brought out bullying, a lot of that going on. My sister's granddaughter was just bullied at school this past week. She nipped it in the bud. Lol All the jokes we're great, love each and every character in the book. If we all were more like Joe Holliday, this world would be a better place as he always wants to give everyone a fair chance. You bring each character in to grab our attention from the first chapter Until the End. Great read, can't wait for the next book. Bonnie W.

Oh Wow. Clearwater Confessions is awesome. I have read every book in the Clearwater series and they are absolutely my favorite books to read. Mr. Rennie is such an amazing writer and scores another hit with Clearwater Confessions. This story keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Joe and his guys search for a missing girl, stop an incident in a Starbucks, find a meth lab, along with lots of other adventures that make you laugh, hold your breath, and not be able to stop reading till the end. Mr. Rennie gives us characters we love with Joe and his chips crew, his great family along with his brother Frank. Thanks Mr. Rennie, I can't wait for the next story. Merle

I love this series. The stories make me laugh, cry, and dream of adventures. I am always excited for the next one.

I am always so excited to pre-order my books from you, Clearwater Confessions did not disappoint! I have to tell you that this series is the only series that I can read the book in a day and a half because it is so hard to put down. I have to force myself to slow down and savor every word. My husband says, ‘lets take a trip to Canada, eh"? I love the story line of how Joe and Mia build their little, or should I say big family. The story line of Mrs. F and Ken Jackson had me on edge, but I love the riding in and shooting Joe’s way in to rescue them. I will be impatiently waiting for your next installment of Joe and Mia.

Thanks Bubba and my B&N card is ready for the next pre-order. I will be watching for it!

I wish to thank Mr. Al Rennie for the complete Valentine gift package. I am just waiting for the T. V. Series to come along. I have seen television series without this much so together. The writing and the plot (plots) are exiting and oh no, what could possibly go wrong. Ha, ha, ha. The character development has reached a point that we know each and every one of them, and love them, even the bad guys. I love bad guys. Every red blooded woman wants a bad guy, even if he is really just a bad boy. I will not give a spoiler, but, the whole book is an exciting read. The editing is professional and outstanding. The plot flows seamlessly and makes one wish there was a bag of popcorn and soda handy. One drawback, the next one is not out. I look forward to see what my Clearwater and their extended family is up to and what is the next speed bump they will have to hop over. Only Doc would call a dire situation a speed bump. Please, Mr. Rennie, keep writing. The suspense is killing your audience. Next stop, ladies and gentlemen, The New York Times Best Seller List!

I have enjoyed and waited in anticipation of every adventure with Joe and Mia and Max and Frank and Fred and Jeremy and all CHIPs fellow cohorts in the Clearwater series. I have read Best Sellers and Mainline authors in the Publishing world but these books are the ones that make me laugh, cry, hold my breath, and surprise me. I would be extremely unhappy if they stopped coming anytime soon. Please wait a little longer before you retire them and become a jockey, race car driver or whatever. Anything other writing these books would totally bore you to death!!

Cindy B

Clearwater Nemesis is the 35th addition to Mr. Rennie's Clearwater Series. I would highly recommend this series. First Mr Rennie is one great storyteller. All 35 books of the Clearwater Series are easy reading, action packed, populated with memorable characters, loaded with humor and filled with clever twists. I look forward to each new addition. Keep them coming Al, if possible write faster! You are becoming the Mark Twain of Canadian writers! E.J.

Hi Mr. Rennie, Once again you nailed it with Clearwater Penalty. You have an amazing sense of timing and a creativity that can’t be topped. I read about 100 books a year and you are by far my favorite author. I am thrilled by your ability to keep me engrossed by every one of your books. I appreciate Grisham, Brown, Balducci and many others; however, you are the guy that keeps me coming back as soon as you next book is released. You have an unbelievable gift and don’t let anything or anyone discourage you from entertaining your public. Thank you once again. Nancy

Love the books, can’t put them down and I even find myself slipping into some of the phrases!!! Not sure that will always be a good thing though! Carol

I found you first on Smashwords; after that, I kept hitting the buy button in iTunes. I laughed, cried, and told my patients how I almost went to You Tube to look for your video. I see patients in long term care facilities. I have shared your stories and with my patients living on the seawall in Galveston, Tx. You have brought life, love and a bit of silliness into the lives of my patients and have made me a better practitioner. I am forever in your debt. Katherine

Thanks Al for another chapter (Clearwater Hustle) in the lives of my favourite imaginary friends. I'll go and put some stars and comments on iBooks which is where I get my copies. Anthony Templeman

Double Cross is the most complex and surprising book yet. The plot lines completely surprised me and I loved the twists and turns. His ability to describe scenes made me feel like I was right there in Florida! Best of all, his ability to create in-depth characters and make me care about them is a rare gift and makes his books so much more enjoyable.

If you love slightly wacky mysteries, this book – in fact the whole Clearwater series – is a must read for you.

Hi, I have been a big fan since I discovered Joe and his family a few years ago. When I first began I could just order the next book as soon as I had finished the one I was reading but now I have to wait until the next one is written, weeks and weeks! So I have just spent the last fortnight (two weeks) rereading the entire series of 36 books back to back. Brilliant! I love the way Joe's family interact, and how he juggles all the elements of his life. Keep it up Mr Rennie. I will just have to manage until the next book comes out in July. I am hoping for at least 36 more and don't you dare kill Joe or any of his nearest and dearest off. Jane

I have read the entire series more than once and it keeps getting better. Can’t wait for number forty… 5 Stars …Thanks again Al!

Loved it! Another great adventure in Paradise … Merle

Clearwater Retirement

Prologue

The dance club was really banging. Cover charge was an exorbitant hundred bucks. This was not a place for the cash strapped, and yet, every night, many were turned away. That fee was paid at the door to one of the two expert martial arts, heavy weight bouncers. These two big guys were also charged with the task of keeping out what they referred to as ‘the trash’. The rules – ‘No drugs allowed; no weapons permitted’ and admittance limited to whether we want to let you in or not was strictly enforced. Hands against the wall full frisks were not that uncommon. Out on the street, limos of all varieties arrived with their entitled deposits, and then the chauffeurs departed with their early morning pick up times noted.

Although this club was small by comparison to some of these monster places that could accommodate five hundred people or more, it was that hundred buck exclusivity that made it so attractive to the wealthy. In fact, the Fire Marshall had set a maximum limit of only two hundred and thirty-seven attendees, but tonight there had to be more than three hundred fashionably attired twenty or thirty something men and women, many of them tourists, dancing, drinking and mixing, and most of them looking for that elusive someone who would complete their lives for tonight or perhaps for the balance of the years that remained to them. It could happen. And the expensive booze just kept flowing, helped along by the five besieged bartenders who fed the incoming piles of cash into the locked tills behind and beneath the bar.

The hunter, as he had come to think of himself, had visited this club on only two other occasions before tonight. On one of those memorable evenings, only a few months back, he had struck pure gold. On the other night, that would have been his first time here, sometime earlier in the year, he had come close to nailing a cute little blonde. He had been saved at the last minute when he got lucky and spotted one of the CCTV cameras high up on the wall opposite the bar. The camera functioned in the sometimes blinding play of the strobe lights. If he had spotted one camera, he knew that there must be others. Better safe than sorry, he decided to take a pass on the cute little blonde. There would be other nights and other blondes. Being caught on one of those surveillance devices was only one of a few chances you took when you were in this kind of business. Next time he visited this place, he would take precautions, just as he had done tonight.

Tonight looked promising though – the dark haired one with the gleaming white teeth and warm smile wearing that shimmering black mini dress that ended just below her shapely tight butt might just be the one – but if nothing else developed, he would not be back in here for a few weeks. There was no way he was going to become a well recognized visitor here or at any other dance club or bar. That would be totally counter-productive and dangerous … to say nothing of stupid. There were other cheaper clubs that he could try. And there were always plenty of bars if the need was desperate enough.

He made a show of checking his Rolex Submariner that he wore only for these ‘dates’. Hunter knew that the real players, like the dark haired one, were always looking for the dude with the big bucks. They could identify the wealth that went with this watch or the $17000.00 Bvigari Diagono Chronograph he sometimes used for the same purpose. Bait … all of it was bait, including the $4000.00 plus worth of wardrobe that he was sporting this evening.

The girl in the black mini was watching him closely, studying him, as he moved towards the bar to order a drink. This was when she would make her seemingly indifferent move. This would be the make or break on what happened next. The hunter shot another quick glance in the girl’s direction. He tipped his broad brimmed fedora and smiled to let her know he was interested. If she returned to a table to join friends, she was a bust, and he would have to find another. If she hung by herself sipping something exotic, just waiting for him to make a move, then he and his Rolex had done their job. After that, it became a question of how quickly he could separate her from the club and get on with the promise for what the rest of the night might look like.

After fifteen minutes of back and forth light conversation and ‘getting to know you’ with Tamara as well as giving her a false explanation for wearing his hat to a dance club, the hunter indifferently but carefully made his best pitch.

I’m just on my way to a small party with a few friends out in the sticks. If you care to join me, there will be some really fascinating guests there. I know that you would love to meet these people. One of them, Bernard, is a well known Hollywood producer. He’s on vacation with his wife to scout out locations for a coming Tom Cruise flick and another one is the film script writer. He’s gay, a nice guy, and really interesting to be around if you know what I mean. If you can’t join me, then I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I must say goodbye to you Tamara. Perhaps, with any luck we will meet again some other time.

The girl tapped her Fit-bit wristlet to check the time.

You must have guessed that I’m working here tonight? Right …?

I did wonder why a beautiful girl like you would be unaccompanied and available to so many. It was only a part of my fascination with you.

I can leave in eight minutes. Would that be too long for you to wait for me? I’d love to meet your friends. They sound really interesting.

Not at all, Tammy … I’m sorry. May I call you Tammy?

Sure … my mom and a few close friends call me that, even though I do prefer Tamara.

Okay, Tammy, so I’ll go and get my car and wait for you outside. I’ll be driving the silver Aston Martin Vanquish stopped as close to the entrance as I can get.

I’ll be with you as quickly as I can, Norm.

Three and a half hours later

Please … please, just let me go … I’ll do whatever you want … please don’t hurt me anymore. I promise I’ll never tell anyone what you did to me.

Why Tamara sweetie … you got that last part right, but we’re only just getting started. We can play together like this for a very long time. You may even come to enjoy it.

No, no … please don’t … please …

Chapter 1

Monday, January 5th, 2018 … Life of Leisure

The sky was clear; the sun was shining; it was 78 degrees at ten-thirty in the morning and it was ten days after Christmas. I was happily walking in what I like to think of as my particular version of paradise. The small waves were rippling up on shore as I ambled along barefooted