The Quake

By E. Thornton Goode Jr.

Josh Logan has come on his vacation to the house he and his late partner had built on the SW coast of Mexico. A localized earthquake the day after he arrives creates a situation where Fate and Destiny step in and completely turn his life upside down. He doesn’t realize what has actually happened until he discovers information regarding his neighbor, Enrique Salvador, and the delema Enrique is facing. Somehow, he knows he must take action to try and prevent a major disaster from happening. With every step forward, there are stumbling blocks in the way that he must deal with. He has no idea that the entire event will completely change his life forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781663244055

E. Thornton Goode Jr.

Well, Folks... this is my 10th novel going to press. I still have 3 more completed but they need some editing and additional work. I hope to get them published in the not-too-distant future. After they are in print, I will be working on getting my short stories published as a collection. Check my biography section to see the titles of my previous novels and where you can order them from. I love it here in Mexico. It is summer all year round. I highly recommend you consider living here when you retire. So many things are much less expensive than in the States. My Social Security dollars go miles here.

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Copyright © 2022 E. Thornton Goode, Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6632-4404-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-4405-5 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 08/18/2022

CONTENTS

In Appreciation

Biographical Information

Prologue

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Chapter VII

Chapter VIII

Chapter IX

Chapter X

Chapter XI

Chapter XII

Chapter XIII

Chapter XIV

Chapter XV

Chapter XVI

Chapter XVII

Chapter XVIII

Chapter XIX

Chapter XX

Chapter XXI

In Appreciation

I want to thank my friend, Galen Berry, for his work in the proofreading and editing of this novel. He has been very helpful in the past with several of my other books that have been published. I consider myself very fortunate to have him helping me as well as calling him a friend.

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Here is a picture of Galen when he was younger. I am using it, so the reader can get an idea what the character, Josh Logan, looks like in this story. I must tell you that Galen is much taller than the five-foot-six character of Josh Logan but Galen was fine with that. GRIN. Thank you, Galen.

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This is my friend and partner, Phillip McDonald, who is the image of the character, Jack Harris. This character does not show up until the virtual end of the novel. He is also the character, Lane. The reason why the same person is two characters will become apparent when you read Chapter I.

Phillip was a fireman by profession, not a policeman like Jack is in the story. I met Phillip in 1977 and we became partners for nineteen years. He caught a cold in early May 1996 and it went into rampant pneumonia. He died on May 10th at the age of 48.

I miss you very much. It is sad, you left this life too soon.

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I want to thank my friend, Alejandro Barbosa, for letting me use his picture, so the reader can get the image of Manuel Rodríguez in the story.

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Mario Figueroa has allowed me to use his picture, so readers can see what the character, Hector Hidalgo, looks like in this story. Thank you, Mario, for letting me do this.

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Last but not least, I want to thank my friend and partner, Julian Green, for letting me use his picture. He is virtually the image of the character, Enrique Salvador.

I still find it so hard to believe you are gone, leaving this life on Christmas Day, 2017. I miss you so much.

Biographical Information

Well, Folks. This is my eighth novel to go to press. There are five more completed but they need some proofreading and editing before I can send them for publication.

I have been living down in Mexico since November 2014 and it is now August of 2022. I love it here. The people are wonderful and so many things are very inexpensive. It truly is a terrific place to retire.

This May I had 28 solar panels installed on my patio roof for $15,000 US. Electricity is one thing here that is not cheap. The more you use, the more you pay per KW hour. I have been using around 1800 KW hours every 2 months to the tune of around $700 US. In June, the panels made 1490 KW hours and in July they made 1628 KW hours. It’s possible I may never pay another electric bill. The panels will pay for themselves in less than 4 years.

Life is treating me well. I’ve been trying to get my friends, who have shown an interest in possibly moving here, to come for a visit and check things out. Yes, moving here does require thinking out of the box.

In case you don’t know about the seven novels already in print, check the following websites, using my name to find them:

buybooksontheweb.com

iUniverse.com

Prologue

I’ve heard if someone ever developed a time machine and went back, he’d have to be extremely careful. I think the comment indicated if he even accidentally stepped on an ant and killed it before it was supposed to die, it would have profound consequences regarding the future.

Of course, I thought long and hard about it and could not imagine how killing one ant could have such a significant and profound effect on the future. But, that’s what I heard.

Now, if killing one ant would be revolutionary, what would it be like if someone went back and killed Hitler when he was a child? Wow!!! Would there still have been a Third Reich or an Auschwitz? Or if someone raced to the bridge of the Titanic and turned the ship just five minutes sooner than what actually happened in history, would it have hit the iceberg so badly that it would have still gone down?

You can go on all day long, asking the ‘what if’s, regarding certain moments in history and the consequences if they hadn’t happened. Think of all those who would have still lived and the effect it would have had on history. Is it possible the Fates would step in and correct any tampering to prevent any major changes in the outcome? Something to think about.

This story brings into account such questions.

CHAPTER I

Before I begin, I must tell you several things to try and explain what you need to know. I realize they will not seem to make sense and might be rather confusing but they will all be pieces of a puzzle that once they are all put together you will see the complete picture. So, as weird as some of the things I am going to tell you are, they are important and will eventually be explained and you will understand. At least, I think you will. Let me begin.

To start, my name is Josh Logan. But that’s not my real name. In this story, some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Okay. I’m sitting here snickering. Why? Because what I just said reminded me of the opening lines of a very old TV show. Yeah. Dragnet with Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday. Sorry. I digressed. Now, back to the story.

I told you this story was going to be strange and weird. This should give you your first clue. Where I am right now and those around me, it is early September. Four months ago, for those around me, it was early May. For me, four months ago it was early January. Okay, I have a feeling you might be shaking your head and laughing, knowing that’s actually eight months before September. Yes, I know it sounds stupid, confusing and insane but it’s a piece of the puzzle you will use to make the final picture. Not to worry, you’ll understand when you know the whole story. Hey, I told you this was going to be weird. You will understand as you read further.

So many questions and who could have ever known? If someone had told me a year ago I’d be sitting here, right now, telling this story, I’d have thought they were insane. Nothing like this could conceivably have happened. Well. It did. Here I sit, going over all my notes in my laptop and transferring everything about this story to paper. This is in case something should ever happen to the laptop. As for the pictures saved on it, I’ll have to get a camera and take pictures of the screen. It’s the only way I can think of to save them.

Okay. Yes, I am putting everything on a thumb drive but that doesn’t do me any good right now should something happen to my laptop. That will only be good for down the road. Trust me. It will all become evident later on. Just keep an open mind.

Yep. What can I say? I’m an artist and writer. No, you won’t find any of my artworks in famous galleries and you won’t find any of my novels on the ‘Must Read’ bookshelf or the best-seller list at your favorite bookstore. I basically write for fun. Hey! A few of my works will be in print and out there for sale when the subject matter of my writings is more acceptable to be published. Where I am at this point in time, novels regarding the kinds of relationships I write about would never fly. The reason why will become evident as you understand the story. But I have digressed. Let me continue on track.

First of all, I want to ask you a couple of questions. Do you believe in coincidence? Do you believe in the Fates or Destiny? And here’s another good one. What would you do for love? Don’t answer any of these too quickly, thinking you already know the answers. You should really think about all of them because your responses have consequences. Here is one more for you. Would you give up the world you know and everything in it for love? Yep. That is something to think about. I chuckle, imagining the look on your face. Yes, that’s correct. Everything you own. All your friends. All your family. What was that? Did I hear a ‘hmmm’ of hesitation?

From the very beginning, when I was much younger, I always questioned the concept of coincidence. And for some reason in my head, it just never seemed right. I finally came to believe that things happen for reasons and we meet some people for reasons. Sometimes we may never know why certain things happen. But if we take the time to reflect back on these events, we may possibly see how the paths of our lives changed. As for meeting certain people, I believe we meet them when we are supposed to and not before. Here again, we may not know why until sometime later or possibly never. But certain people have an influence that can change our thinking or possibly our way of doing things.

Now, the Fates and Destiny. Yes, indeed. They do tie into my thinking of things happening and those we meet. I believe the Fates step in and place these events or individuals in our lives to change the path of our lives. And Destiny? It was the 17th Century French fabulist, Jean de la Fontaine, who said, A person often meets his Destiny on the road he took, trying to avoid it. What can I say?

Then, there are the times when we’re caught in a terrible dilemma. Some might say the Fates were unkind. My thinking is we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why? Because earlier, we took the wrong fork in the road. We hadn’t read the road signs properly. Fate may point the way in a subtle manner but if we can’t recognize and read the signs properly, we choose our own Destiny. And even if we do choose the right path, there are no guarantees or promises there won’t be rocks and ruts in the road. Life is not a process of smooth sailing all the time. Once in a while, there are the occasional storms. There’s a very good book, The Road Less Traveled, by Scott Peck. It discusses just that and the consequences. By the time this story is finally published, Scott’s book will have been written and will be available for purchase. Once again, in time, you will understand what I just said and it will make sense. Just another piece of the puzzle.

And what about love? To me, the most powerful influence of all is falling in love. Geez. Songs, poems and epic tales have been written on the subject. It’s one of the most powerful emotions in the entire world. Some have gone to war over love. Look at Helen and the City of Troy. Need I say more?

Oh, I heard that question. Good question, regarding my comment about giving up everything for love. I’ll repeat it for all those who didn’t hear it. The question was, Are there any guarantees the love would last? Now, everyone knows there are no guarantees in love. For heaven’s sake, look at the divorce rate. Get a clue. That should prove there are no guarantees. So, with no guarantee, would you give up everything for love?

Well, guess what? I did. In some respects, it was an act of necessity. But you’ll understand that when you know everything. And wait till you find out why. It might put a ‘WOW’ on your face. Believe me. It did mine.

Yep! For me, it all started around four months ago in early January. Stop laughing. I know you are. Just keep reading. You’ll get it soon enough.

I mentioned that my real name is not Josh Logan. Neither is the name of my first partner. For this story, my first partner’s name was changed to Lane. This was done due to possible legal ramifications that could arise when this work eventually gets published. All the other names are the real ones because I have their permission to use them in this work. So, now that you have a bit of a handle on things, let’s get started with the actual story.

It all began in January 2014, when I was 37 years old. I wouldn’t be 38 until June. I’d come to Mexico to just get away for a while in the house Lane and I had built for our retirement. It would be a time to think and a time of reflection. I remember it well. It was Sunday, January 5th. I had arrived just the day before. Yep. January 5th, 2014. That’s when it happened. The quake.

CHAPTER II

I sat there, sipping my morning coffee and remembering. It was the 5th of January 2014, and a little more than a year and a half since Lane died.

We had our whole lives in front of us. We’d made so many plans together. Things to do, places to see, it was going to be such a fun adventure. Several of the places we wanted to go were places I’d already seen in years growing up and before we met but wanted to share with him. I knew he’d have loved to have seen them and I’d have loved sharing them with him. But it wasn’t meant to be.

Suddenly, in my head, I could hear Dionne Warwick, singing her hit song, I’ll Never Love This Way Again. Tears began to stream down my face. I whispered, Lane, I know I’ll never love another like I loved you. There could never be another like you. After a few moments of silence, I gathered my composure.

I could hear the sound of the surf, crashing ashore on the volcanic rocks and the beach. Lane so loved the beach. I bent my head down shaking it. You should be here.

We’d been together for about three years when we first came to this area of Mexico on vacation and saw the wonders that were here. That’s when we knew. We could only look at one another and grin, realizing we were both thinking the same thing. Retirement was going to be awesome.

In earnest, we saved for several years and finally had enough to buy a lot here and build. Three years ago we did it. We bought the lot and got the builder started on the house we’d designed together. We knew our retirement was a long way off but we didn’t care. We had something to look forward to. I can still hear Lane, laughing and joking. I should live so long. What can I say?

The house was finished in just under two years but not soon enough for Lane to see it. I came down for the first time a year ago to get it organized for future visits. Most of the furnishings and things I knew I would need, I bought locally at that time. I wouldn’t move major items from the States until I was ready to live here permanently. It was not