Aaron Holland nodded as if any of this made sense to him. He had needed luck to get to this point, and would surely need more in the weeks to come. This first spell, he hoped, would continue long enough to get him through the interior of Jamaica and to the west end of the island, into the parish of Negril and to the house that belonged to a man named Walt Jenkins. With no cell phone, and the Land Cruiser’s gas gauge pegged at just under half a tank, he figured he’d need all the luck he could find. Finally, he put the Toyota into gear and pulled away.

He was pulling away from more than just a rum distillery in Jamaica, and from more than just a stranger who had willingly surrendered his vehicle to him. Christopher Montgomery was pulling away from his old life. From the stress of spending years in hiding. He was pulling away from the role he unknowingly played as a portfolio manager at his father’s hedge fund.

But now, perhaps, he could be free of all that. As free as a man on the run could ever be.

PART VI - Repayment

PART VI

Repayment

CHAPTER 74 - Westmoreland, Jamaica Thursday, October 21, 2021

CHAPTER 74

Westmoreland, Jamaica Thursday, October 21, 2021

THE BOAT’S JOURNEY HAD STARTED IN SISTER BAY, WISCONSIN, WHERE it headed north out of Green Bay before wrapping around Washington Island and trekking down the entire length of Lake Michigan. It passed through the locks in Chicago where the boat rose and fell with other vessels and ships. The sails were never raised. Instead, the boat’s motor burned through gasoline and oil. It was the fastest way. The purpose of this journey was transport, not adventure.

Once through the Chicago locks, the crew pointed the Moorings 35.2 south and chugged down the Illinois River. From there they connected to the Mississippi and eventually found the Tenn-Tom Waterway, which took them to Mobile, Alabama. During one leg of the voyage, the masts had to come down to clear low-hanging bridges. But finally, after fourteen days of grunt travel, the Beneteau glided into the Gulf of Mexico. From there, it motored to the southern tip of Florida where, finally, the crew set the sails. By then the boat needed to spread its wings. America disappeared behind them. The island of Jamaica did not become visible for three more days.

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