the sea around us - rafe cameron, jj maybank

1.04

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On our way back, we stopped at the wharf because there was a bunch of commotion surrounding the police pulling a body out on a stretcher. We stopped and asked someone what happened, and we were informed that the body was none other than Scooter Grubbs. A lifelong pogue who somehow recently came into possession of, drumroll please, a Grady White. Which was now missing. My heart absolutely broke for his wife, Lana, as we saw her fall apart next to the stretcher. I truly couldn't imagine. Watching it was bringing me to tears, so JJ grabbed me by my shoulders and rubbed my back as he guided me back onto the HMS Pogue.

The drive back to the chateau was almost silent. Which we can hardly ever stand, but I could tell we were all just thinking so hard about what on earth happened. Why did Scooter end up with a gun, that much cash, and a Grady White?

We hop out of the boat back at John B's house, and Pope senses that now is the time to break the silence. "So, we saw nothing. We know nothing. We need to have total and complete amnesia."

"Pope is right," JJ says, unloading Kie's cooler from the Pogue. "Deny, deny, deny."

"Guys, we also can't keep that money JJ took," Kie says, shaking her head.

"And the gun!" I add, looking around at everyone to scan their responses.

"Yes, definitely the gun." Kie agrees.

"Kie, not everyone can afford unlimited data plans." JJ rebuts, John B agreeing.

"JJ, the girls are right. This is insane." Pope says. As I said, our collective voice of reason. "We have to pass that off to Lana Grubbs."

"It's bad karma waiting to happen," Kie says.

"Not to mention a felony," I mumble, crossing my arms. "We've got to go totally dark."

"Exactly, and keep the money. No one will know we took anything if we don't return it." Kie, Pope, and I all simultaneously roll our eyes at JJ.

"No... No way." John B says, shaking his head as we all get up on the porch of the chateau and I lean on the edge of a chair.

"What? Why?" JJ asks, turning his hat backward as he approaches John B.

"Just think about it, this is Scooter Grubbs we're talking about. Some dude that's been buying cigarettes individually at the porthole. I have literally seen him beg for change in the grocery store parking lot so he could pay for gas." John B is right, this guy has never had a dime to his name. "We're talking about a dirtbag marina rat whose never had more than forty bucks in his pocket and all of a sudden-"

Kie cuts him off. "He's got a Grady White..."

"Just saying." John B says, raising his hands, mocking surrender as he sits down next to me.

"There's only one way he could have got his hands on all this shit," JJ says and I raise my eyebrow at him. "Well, two. One: Prostitution," I scoff. "or two: square groupers." He says smugly.

"Oh my god, the hurricane... He was smuggling." I say quietly, seeing the realization show up on everyone else's faces as well.

"Bingo, Snowy. I guarantee he was using it for straight smuggling. Probably a serious amount of contraband on board."

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