Just Add Trouble (Hetta Coffey Mystery Series (Book 3)) by Jinx Schwartz Page A

then you go back to Chino, and since I gotta go north soon, you can take Trouble home with you. It’s a win-win.” Especially if I dump the critter .
    “Might I remind you that Chino is a Mexican? And who, on this boat, attacks Mexican men on sight?”
    Trouble fluffed up his feathers proudly.
    “And,” she added, “how in the hell does he always know we’re talking about him?”
    “It’s a gift? Listen, I think that, at some time in his life, Trouble was mistreated by a Mexican man. Chino, being a veterinarian and all, can surely retrain him.” Or lose his life trying?
    Jan looked askance, but I could tell she was considering my proposal. I moved in for the kill. “Come on. We’ll have a quick cruise across the sea, leave the boat at Marina Santa Rosalia, rent that car, and go find Gran. Who knows? Chino and Trouble might become best buds.” If Dr. Chino fancies living in full body armor .
    Jan tipped her head and squinted. “How long have you been planning on dumping this bird on me?”
    “Let’s see. Exactly when did you arrive, Trouble?”
     
    When Jenks called, Jan was off the boat, so I told him of my troubles with Trouble. For some reason he was quite amused with my chagrin, right up until I revealed my scheme to divest myself of the pesky parrot.
    “What? Let me get this straight. You and Jan are taking Raymond Johnson across the Sea of Cortez?” he practically yelled. Okay, so Jenks doesn’t yell, but it kind of sounded like yelling.
    “Jenks, it’s only eighty miles to Santa Rosalia. If we leave at first light, we’ll be there, easy, for cocktails.”
    “You do remember that there is no Coast Guard to bail you out if you two have engine problems, or some other disaster? And, knowing you, that is inevitable.”
    “Oh, come on. The boat is running fine and Jan is trained crew by now. I can always put out a cry for help on the ham radio if we get into a jam.”
    “You still didn’t get your license.”
    “No, but they announce, every morning before the weather report, that in an emergency they’ll talk to anyone. I’m anyone.”
    Jenks’s silence screamed: lazy, lazy, lazy. I had a French tennis coach like that once, only he yelled, “ Paresseux , Hetta, paresseux .” How about that, I’m bilingually lazy.
    “You still there, Jenks?”
    “Yes.”
    “Are you mad at me?”
    He sighed. “No, I’m not, but I just don’t understand why you constantly put yourself, and others, at risk.”
    “Oh, come on, Jenks, I’m hardly taking our lives in my hands, you know. It’s a simple cruise over and back in a very seaworthy vessel.”
    “Across the Sea of Cortez. Remember what Steinbeck said about the sea?”
    “That sissy?”
    “Okay, what about this? If Jan is coming back with you, what are you going to do with Trouble? Chino coming to get him in Santa Rosalia?”
    Oops. “Uh, maybe.”
    “Aha! Jan isn’t returning to the mainland with you, is she? Please tell me you don’t plan on re-crossing alone. That’s a long day for singlehanding, even on a powerboat with an autopilot. What if you have a mechanical problem?”
    “Okay, okay, I’ll see about crew.”
    “Now you’re talking. Who?”
    “I’ll call Fabio.” Fabio is the Mexican boat captain I’d hired to bring Raymond Johnson , Jan and me down the Baja from San Francisco to Cabo San Lucas.
    “Captain Fabio made it clear he never wanted you to call him again, if I recall. Last time he crewed for you he ended up in jail.”
    “Look, I’ll find someone, okay? I have to get rid of this damned parrot and this is the only way I can think of to do it. Maybe I’ll leave the boat in Santa Rosalia and take the ferry back, stay in a hotel for a week or so, then fly home. Lots of options.” None of which I plan to do, however . “You worry too much.”
    “You don’t worry enough.”
    “Yeah, well, if you’re so concerned with my welfare, how come you keep taking off and leaving me all alone?” Yuck, that sounded way too