Page 84 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

“I already did.”

Bella hadn’t been kidding when she said she was good with a knife. While Cole helped to lower theTide Podinto the water for Dr. Blaylock’s first dive, she’d chopped up most of the vegetables in the galley.

The survey area was mainly on the western side of the archipelago, and today, they’d covered the waters around Penguin Rock. There were no penguins, of course, but a rock on its northeastern shore looked kind of like one, and that was how the island had gotten its name. At some point in the past, an enterprising visitor had stuck googly eyes on the “penguin” and painted it black and white.

The island was uninhabited, but folks occasionally sailed over to spend the day and feed the motley crew of pigs that roamed through the undergrowth. Nobody knew how the pigs had arrived there. The main beach had a small shelter built out of driftwood and palm fronds, a firepit,and a board giving information about the island and its inhabitants.

After Cole had anchored theCrosswinda ways offshore where the water was deep enough for the boat’s draft, the three boys had taken the small tender and set off for the beach with a selection of food to grill over their campfire, plus carrots, broccoli, mangos, and apples for the pigs.

Dr. Blaylock had opted to stay on board to analyse data, and there was plenty of that. Environmental metrics, species counts, plus the sonar and LiDAR data collected by Clint. The side-scan sonar device could be towed by theCrosswindor theTide Pod, and the LiDAR sensor was attached to a drone. LiDAR only worked in shallower water, hence the combination of the two devices. Cole suspected that Dr. Blaylock had leveraged his position as one of the world’s foremost oceanographers to obtain equipment for Clint that a typical grad student could only dream of, not unless they had wealthy parents.

Clint seemed to be taking the project seriously, at any rate. In past years, he’d spent time joking around, but after he climbed out of theTide Pod, he’d barely looked up from his laptop until he’d left for Penguin Rock. Good. In a quiet moment, Dr. Blaylock had told Cole that if Clint wanted to get his PhD, then the work had to be his and not his stepfather’s, although he’d of course be there to help with questions on anything Clint didn’t understand.

“It looks as if Clint’s put a lot of thought into his mapping project,” Cole said over dinner. “That’s some nice kit he’s using.”

Dr. Blaylock nodded. “Yes, when he first mentioned the idea, I got in touch with several of my contacts and they agreed to loan him pieces of equipment, plus he found funding for the sonar towfish himself. In truth, it’s a relief he has something to focus on. At one point, I thought hewas going to drop out of school.” A pause. “Did you hear about the divorce?”

“I did, and I’m sorry.”

“Nothing’s ever far from the marine biology grapevine.”

Cole had only been on the edge of the community since he graduated college, but he’d still heard the news from three different people.

“Did Clint take it hard?”

“He moved out for a while and stayed with Jon’s family. I’m glad Jon was there for him.”

“He didn’t stay with his mother?”

“She went on a road trip with a girlfriend. Last I heard, they were in Paris. She said I was stifling her.”

“I’m sure Clint can see that’s not true.”

“He moved back into the house, and then Witt came along. I think he was feeling lost after his discharge from the Navy.”

“He’s staying with you as well?”

“Yes. When Clint asked, I agreed to rent Witt the pool house. It’s nice for him to have his friends around. The three of them spend most of their time out there. I feared Witt would be a bad influence, seeing as he doesn’t have any particular career ambitions, but the opposite turned out to be true. Clint and Jon have both knuckled down and studied harder over the past few months.”

Bella forked a piece of fish into her mouth. “What’s Witt doing now? Does he have a job?”

“In a manner of speaking. He’s into some cryptocurrency nonsense.” Dr. Blaylock wrinkled his nose. “No, no, I shouldn’t say ‘nonsense.’ Clint says he’s doing rather well at it, and he’s paying his rent on time.”

“Cryptocurrency?” Bella asked. “All that Bitcoin stuff?”

“I don’t know that much about it,” Dr. Blaylock admitted. “My hope is that Clint will be offered a researchposition at the University of Miami once he’s gotten his PhD, but I think the three of them might go into business together. I overheard them discussing the possibilities. Witt suggested joining forces and finding themselves a vessel in the Caribbean. Cole, I think you’ve been quite an inspiration.”

People had called Cole many things over the years, but an inspiration wasn’t one of them.

“They want to run a charter boat?”

“A little competition is a healthy thing.”

Cole would be disappointed to lose the annual booking, but he’d never been short of business, and so many of the younger generation were leaving San Gallicano in search of better jobs than the island nation could offer. New blood wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“If they need advice, I’d be happy to offer it.”

“I’d appreciate that. Even though I’m not Clint’s biological father, I’ve always thought of him as my son. I’m glad he shares my interest in the ocean.”

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