Clearwater Blackmail

By Al Rennie

A televangelist is being blackmailed; Joe is hired to find the blackmailer; Luke learns that he has an ISIS price on his head; a local minister has scooped his church's building fund and CHIPs is hired to catch him; an old couple is the victim of the grandpa scam; Penny doesn't come home after school; Mia hires Joe to 'beat the crap' out of an abuser tenant - another interesting week in Paradise!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Al Rennie
• Release date: Sep 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463588598

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 Blackmail

By

Al Rennie

Dedication

For my wife

Marsha

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

Copyright © 2019 by Al Rennie

All Rights Reserved.

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

Cover Image Credit: Gerd Altmann of Frieburg/Deutschland by Pixabay.com

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

Table Of Contents

Prologue: Saturday, September 13th, 1969 – The Off-Campus Frat Party that started it all!

1. Monday, August 12th, 2019 – An Interesting request!

2. Tuesday, August 13rd, 2019 – OMNI-13

3. Wednesday, August 14th, 2019 – Field Trip

4. Thursday, August 15th, 2019 – Off to see the wizard!

5. Friday, August 16th, 2019 – Answers!

Epilogue

Acknowledgements: Thank you Gerry Pielsticker and Nancy Fox who, once again, supplied a collection of jokes that left me laughing so hard, I just had to find a place for only a few of them. Thank you Sally Wynn for keeping me updated on things of interest in Clearwater. Thanks also to Ken Jackman, City of Peterborough Deputy Chief of Police (ret.) for our occasional morning coffee time spent at Tim Horton’s. I always come away laughing with so many ideas to include in my books. You have the right to remain silent, sir… for about as long as you can withstand the pain.

I’d like to thank Donna VandenBroek and my wife, Marsha, for their masterful work in editing yet another episode of The Clearwater Series. The Tim Horton’s, Amazon or Starbucks gift cards are in the mail… hold on, what Gift Cards?

This is the Clearwater Series in the sequence that 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

41) Clearwater Spring Break

42) Clearwater Gun Thug

43) Clearwater Flip Flop

44) Clearwater Kidnap

45) Clearwater Seduction

46) Clearwater Resue

47) Clearwater Blackmail

What Readers Are Saying About the 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.

I Loved Clearwater Rescue!

I love to read, but the story has to keep my attention and it is very rare that I find an Author and series that does that. There are books that I have read that take me a long time to get through, and I have come to realize that the Author has to have a 3-way gift. That is what Al Rennie has, he has an amazing imagination, plus a gift for telling the story that he artfully writes into this amazing series of stories that is The Clearwater Series. Clearwater Rescue is a bit different and that's what I loved about it. Mr. Rennie throws us these curve-balls every so often to keep us on our toes. The intelligence, humor, humanity, love, and mystery surrounding the characters in these books are addicting and inspiring. Clearwater Rescue is all that we come to expect from Mr. Rennie with a curve-ball thrown in. A Fantastic Read!—Sharon

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

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

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!

Clearwater Kidnap may have been the best of the forty plus books comprising Al Rennie's Clearwater Series. Al is a master storyteller, the plot twists are outstanding. The series is populated with memorable characters, characters I might add, that after 40 plus e-books, you start to take a personal interest in their well being. My preferred reading is adventure/action, written by the likes of Thor, Child, Sanford, Cussler, in my opinion Al Rennie does not take a backseat to any of these better known authors. Do yourself a favor, download Clearwater Journal and start the adventure that is the Clearwater Series.

Loved it! Another great adventure in Paradise.—Merle

This action packed book makes me salivate for the next one. You can practically feel yourself in Florida with the pelicans begging for food while the shenanigans of the PI life go on. And as my old grandma would say, A dull moment is one that’s not lived! A real spitfire she was herself!—Christine H

Reading the Clearwater Series is always enjoyable. Clearwater Seduction entertains us, continuing the chronicles of Joe Holiday, CHIPS and all the rest. Al Rennie has set the standards high with his developing characters and true-to-life situations. This book does not disappoint. There is insane humor, action, familiar people, and a slice-of-life vibe going on. No spoiler alerts. However, I will say I could not put it down until I finished it. The storylines threaded throughout keep you reading until you are through. He continues to keep us up to date with the familiar characters and introduces new ones. He does not disappoint. Five . He keeps us looking forward to the next escapades.—Ellen

How can this latest book be the best one yet? I don't know but I'm certain it is. I swear I feel like I'll pass you on the beach one of these days soon. Wait, what beach? I'm in Arizona.... Thanks!

I have read MANY books and this is the first time I have ever written a review.

Al, you did it again! I couldn’t put this one down either! I have read all of your Clearwater books and a number of others you’re written as well.

You are a wonderful, talented writer! I feel like I know your characters and have come to love them! I cried when Mia lost the babies and laughed at all of Frank’s jokes!

Please keep writing! Your huckleberry.—Michelle

Clearwater Glitz

Loved the book… As usual I always want more… Looking forward to the next one!

This has been a great month for favorite author releases. First Cussler, then Sanford and finally Rennie. Oh you don't know of the Canadian Al Rennie, do yourself a big favor with summer 2019 just around the corner, start Al Rennie's Clearwater Series. Mr Rennie is one great storyteller, the series is easy reading, the books are populated with memorable characters, his sense of humor is second to none. Grab the 1st in the series, Clearwater Journal, you can work on your tan and experience many hours of pure entertainment! Rennie is simply one of the best!

Hey Al, how do you do it? I read this book in one sitting! This book kept me glued to my swing until I finished reading it. So many people, so much going on, how does Joe go on 2 hours sleep a day( lol ). One of your best books yet. So Bonnie is running for what was it.? Lol Great story line as so many women are kidnapped for sex trafficking or by perverts.

Your friend and avid reader—Bonnie

Al Rennie's CLEARWATER series is never dull. He is a very talented writer who can take current events and add just enough imagination to them to make the story familiar but yet different. His writings are so far beyond other authors I have read, that I find myself wanting more at the end of each book. There are so many twists and turns in the CLEARWATER series and just when you think you figured it out, then BAM, another twist. This book, CLEARWATER SEDUCTION is just a bit different and this book shows his talent and versatility in storytelling. Al Rennie, you wrote this one a bit different and I loved it just the same. You have the talent sir and that is what keeps me coming back to Clearwater and the Holiday Clan. You took a risk and I applaud you, it really paid off. "It's just another day in paradise.

Prologue

Saturday, September 13th, 1969 – The Off-Campus Frat Party that started it all!

Glenn Maxwell was a twenty-two year old freshman at Old Miss University in Oxford Mississippi. He had done his time in Viet Nam and was happy to be alive with all body parts intact and back in ‘the world’ where he could get on with the rest of his life. He didn’t really know anyone at the university, but earlier that afternoon, he had heard about this open off-campus party from one of the welcoming senior students at his residence. The senior – his name was Ben Walsh - had called it a ‘frosh mixer’. Ben had promised Glenn that the party would be ‘memorable’. He had been right about that.

It’s a great place to meet people from the school… a place where you can kick back and have some fun. Play some nickel and dime poker; shoot some pool; get drunk; meet some co-eds and dance if that’s what turns you on, man. And maybe you’ll get lucky and meet the woman of your dreams. Whatever it is that floats your boat, buddy, I promise you… it will be there. I’ll be there at the poker table… If you get bored, you can come and watch the master at work. Or you can just stick around with me and lose some money if you want.

So here he was, feeling about as much out of his depth as he did when the sergeant in charge of his basic training platoon had told him to check his parachute and jump out of a plane. The place where the party was being thrown was a big, old, run down, three story house sitting on a couple of acres set back from the road. It was everything Ben had told him it would be. The only check, done by the two big bouncers at the door, was that he was a student at Ole Miss, and that he wasn’t armed or too inebriated to stand up. After that, Glenn had been free to wander around the main floor of the place meeting other students, who were mostly younger than he was, with a few other veterans sprinkled into the mix. The rock and roll music was pounding out loudly from six foot high Bose speakers and many of the students were dancing in what, at one time, would have been the main living or sitting room of the old house. The drinking – mainly: bourbon, wine, and two varieties of beer – was happening everywhere. A few of the students were in one of the back rooms smoking weed. The nickel and dime poker game Ben had told him about was happening in the main hall foyer across from a curved stairway leading to the second and third floors. After drifting around through the lower floor for a while Glenn found Ben with a big pile of change in front of him. Glenn, being something of a poker player himself when he was in the army, stood across from Ben and watched the play trying to figure out who was a player and who was a payer. In that short period of time, he became aware of two guys sitting behind a folding table across the foyer at the foot of the stairs.

While the poker was interesting, he had to wonder what these two ‘pepper and salt’ guys – one big black dude and one skinny white guy were doing just sitting there talking quietly. That was when two obvious freshmen, a freckle faced boy who looked to be about the same age as Opie on television, and a young, blonde, blue eyed girl, who looked like she had already had too much to drink, plonked a five dollar bill on the table and talked briefly with the bigger student behind the table. Conversation over… and the five dollar bill quickly tucked away by the skinny guy, the two youngsters quickly headed up the stairs. They were holding hands and giggling. Maybe this was the first time for one or maybe even for both of them.

That was when one of the not so great poker players realized this wasn’t his lucky night. He got up, and shoved away from the table. Glenn asked if he could join the game and when Ben nodded and no one else objected, he put his limited supply of change on the table and sat down. In the inevitable ebb and flow of the poker hands that followed, Glenn noticed that there were more single guys laying down their money on the table at the foot of the stairs. Right away, he had figured the two students who had gone upstairs together had paid for time on a bed. Now, watching single dudes heading upstairs, he was guessing there were a few working gals making some bucks upstairs as well.

When Ben said he was ‘out’, Glenn followed suit. They stood off to the side of the poker table and counted their winnings. Not too bad… both of them were ‘up’.

So what’s with the activities upstairs, man?

Those two guys at the foot of the stairs have the bedroom concession. Five bucks if you bring your own dolly and only want a room for twenty minutes to a half hour. It’s more if you want one of the house girls and more again depending on what you want to do with them. There are eight bedrooms and two bathrooms, so you can do the math. Word is that there’s a classy high yeller gal up there named Glady that will do just about anything you want her to do… And, from what they say, I do mean anything.

How did they get to run that game?

No idea… initiative I guess… but they kick back a third of their profit to the frat. The big guy is an inside linebacker on the football team, Seth Black… on the playing field, the guy’s as mean as a wounded rattlesnake… but he’s likely to make the All American Team this year and the NFL next. The other skinny little dickweed with him is a student at the seminary in town… which I find kind of strange – a future minister making bucks as a pimp - but there you go. He’s the brains of the outfit… a real hustler, or so I’m told. His name is Kenny Roy something or other. How did you make out?

Up eleven bucks and fifty cents… Do you want to get a beer? I’m buying.

Sure…

As Bogart said at the end of Casablanca, ‘this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship’.

Chapter 1

Clearwater Blackmail

Monday, August 12th, 2019 – An Interesting request!

We could tell by 9:30 am, that, even by Florida standards, it was going to be a hot and humid day in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Natalie was busily riding the squeaky old recumbent exercise bike that we keep on the top deck, along with a full set of weights, for any staff person needing a fitness break. While she rides, she regularly plugs her earphones into her head and listens to her favorite sermon app on her I-Pad. In doing her theological escape, she doesn’t have to listen to the rest of us doing our regular Monday morning manly talk. Her husband of a few years now, Billy Ray Boyle, the former heavy weight runner-up of the 2018 Master’s – over 35 years of age - Mr. Florida bodybuilding contest was doing his sets of bicep curls with a pair of seventy-five pound dumbbells. Doing a single curl with that amount of weight would be well nigh impossible for a mere mortal. That is unless, like Billy Ray, that mere mortal has also been ‘pumping iron’ -five sets of eight curls with weights up to eighty pounds per dumbbell - for the last decade or so. In truth though, Billy had a little help from his friends - anabolic steroids and HGH chemistry - along the way.

The three less motivated members of CHIPs… that would be Sonny, Luke and me… were busy working on our tans and sipping chilled orange juice over ice chips. In the true spirit of multi-tasking, we were also flaked out on our padded lounges, and swapping lies about all that we had done during this past weekend. For what it’s worth, I was also watching a big brown pelican as it lazily circled over the water’s surface searching for its breakfast.

Sonny had been making steady progress in his wooing of an attractive twenty-one year old Missy, named Sandra. She held down a part-time server’s job at Cooters Bar and Restaurant. He was bragging - or was it complaining - that if all things of a sexual nature between the two of them kept progressing as quickly as they had been, he might actually get to see her in her under-drawers by 2022. Billy Ray and I talked about it and agreed that Sandra truly might just be the poster girl for the Victorian Age.

Luke had spent a quiet weekend working on a garage he’s been building beside the new home that he