Free Fallen Angel: A Jesse McDermitt Novel (Caribbean Adventure Series Book 9) by Wayne Stinnett Page B

career, mostly through Frank, until he passed away about twelve years ago. Kept in touch with Jesse by letters since then. Yeah, all those events in his life is what made him the man you know today.”
    Somalia , Chyrel thought. “Others have mentioned a few times about something that happened in Mogadishu.”
    Standing and walking to the kitchen, Henry returned with two bottles of water and handed one to Chyrel. “What happened in that hellhole woulda broke most men,” Henry said. “But, that there is something you’ll have to ask Jesse about yourself, Miss Chyrel. And don’t be surprised if he changes the subject to fishing. It’s kinda touchy.”
    Just then, Rene Cook opened the door and came in. The front two rooms of Henry’s house facing the lagoon were the business offices, opened up in the middle to make one big room. A small eat-in kitchen was off one side, and a hallway leading off the other side went back to two bedrooms and the single bathroom.
    “Hi, Rene,” Henry said, standing to greet the man. “How’d your client make out?”
    “Went well,” Rene said, dropping a small duffle in the corner. “I got him on some bones and he boated three. The other two tossed the hooks. He managed to catch two nice snapper for his supper, too. Said he’d like to go out again in a couple of days.”
    Chyrel stood up, and Henry introduced them. “Chyrel’s hooking us up to the Internet through a satellite. We ought to be back in the charter business real soon.”
    Chyrel studied the man’s face for a moment as they shook hands, then returned to her work. She was sure she’d seen him somewhere, but she’d never been to Andros Island before today.
    “What about you, Henry?” Chyrel asked. “You said you and your wife never had kids?”
    “Nope. My wife took sick not long after we were married, just after the war. Left her barren. She passed away twenty years ago.”
    “And you never remarried?” Chyrel asked, connecting the last cable to the new computer tower.
    “A man’s lucky to find the kind of love we had, just once in a lifetime,” Henry said with a sigh. “My Betsy was a strong-willed woman. Don’t think there’s another like her in the world.”
    Chyrel stood up from where she’d been sitting on the floor and pushed the tower into position under the desk. “You should be all set,” she said. “The computer is programmed to locate and move the dish to lock onto the satellite automatically. That’ll take a few minutes.”
    Rene had been sitting in a chair in the corner watching her. “How does it do that?” he asked.
    Again, she studied his face. She was sure they’d met before. “The computer itself is equipped with GPS. It’ll use those satellites to locate itself, then turn the dish toward the general area of the satellite we use in geosynchronous orbit. Once it locates it, the computer will make fine adjustments to the dish to get the strongest signal.”
    “A government satellite?”
    “Yeah,” Chyrel replied, suddenly remembering where she’d seen the man’s face before. “But once it’s locked on, the GPS will turn off automatically, unless the signal weakens. Like if a storm moves the dish or something.”
    Rene picked up on the subtle change in Chyrel’s facial expression. He’d already figured out that she had once worked at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. “Can I speak with you outside a moment?” he asked her.
    Once the two of them were out on the dock in front of the little house, Rene turned and said, “Captain McDermitt already knows who I am. Now it appears that you do, too.”
    It was a statement, delivered flat and without emotion. “No, Victor,” Chyrel said, using the man’s real name. “I have no idea who you are.”
    “McDermitt pretty much said that I was safe here, even with his knowing. I don’t suppose I can count on your discretion as well.”
    Chyrel stared into the man’s eyes. She knew he was a field agent and his whereabouts