Nuclear Winter First Strike by Bobby Akart (top ten books of all time .TXT) 📕

the word bam during his food presentations. She laughed and cried so hard she couldn’t manage to get out the words.

This did not deter Owen from beginning round two of the who am I? game. He dropped all of his props and rustled through the closet. He located an orange and black soft-shelled jacket bearing the San Francisco Giants logo on the back. Then he retrieved a wooden baseball bat out of the closet that had been autographed by Barry Bonds at a Yahoo corporate event he’d attended.

He rushed into the bathroom, found some hair gel, and worked with his sandy blond locks to get the raggedy surfer-dude look. Then he emerged, donning the orange and black jacket, with bat in hand.

“Who am I?” he asked with a straight face. He pulled the bat up and rested it on his right shoulder and struck a pose with his chest puffed out.

Lacey struggled to reply. Her sleeves were already covered with mucus mixed with tears that continued to stream down her cheeks. She waved her arms and tried to reply but couldn’t. Owen was glad to help her out.

“More clues?”

She nodded.

Owen proceeded to hop around the bedroom, slamming the bat toward the floor, yelling, “Yeet! Yeet!”

“Bam! Bam!” she joined in the shouting and nearly peed herself as she lost any semblance of composure.

Tucker’s voice invaded her subconscious. “Whadya think, Mom?”

“Um, about what?”

“The plan. Are you in?”

Lacey glanced at Owen, who nodded. She shrugged. “Yeah, let’s do it. But, um, can we go over it again?” She started to laugh to herself. It felt good.

“Go ahead, Tuck,” said Owen. “I’m gonna pour us a glass of wine.”

“Make it three,” said his son. “Sooo lit.” Cool, in teen-speak.

“Not a chance, pal.”

Tucker frowned and then explained what was happening with the cold front that had swept through the mountains and the other one that was approaching.

“They had a record snowfall in Lake Tahoe overnight. It kinda got lost in the news with all that’s happening over there, but some of my friends who are farmers are pretty stoked.”

Lacey was surprised. “Snow in October? I can’t even remember the last time that happened.”

“More than just snow, Mom. I’m talking GOAT levels.” GOAT was an acronym used for greatest of all time. It was often overused, but in the case of the unusual winter precipitation that was ongoing, it was the truth. The snowmelt to follow was much needed by Northern California farmers.

The horrific drought conditions had made it difficult for farmers to make ends meet. Pressured by banks to pay their notes despite the lack of crop production, many of them took to growing grapes to supply local wineries. Others in the higher elevations converted their lands to grow hemp and marijuana like so many others in California.

The drought had another significant impact. Wildfires had devastated hundreds of thousands of acres across the state. The drought conditions and high winds at that time of year created a worst-case scenario in the event a negligent camper or a careless smoker started what might ordinarily be a harmless flame. The fires had been burning since September but were largely contained.

“So you’re thinking South Lake Tahoe for snowboarding?”

“You name it, Mom. Wouldn’t it be great to get away? Heck, we can even unplug the television in the room so we don’t have to listen to that crap anymore.” He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.

Lacey glanced into the living room. She was tempted to turn it back on and see if there were any new developments. It was like watching a train wreck that you couldn’t take your eyes off of. Only it was much larger.

Part IV

One Week in October

Day four, Monday, October 21

Chapter Twenty-Two

Monday, October 21

Near Key Largo, Florida

Mike had raced up A1A after receiving the phone call from Jessica. She’d been called out to assist two snorkelers when they’d made a discovery. Fortunately, Mike was in Islamorada, only seventeen miles down the highway. To expedite matters, Jessica met Mike at the Calusa Campground Marina located on the Gulf side of the Overseas Highway.

When he arrived, Jessica stood on the dock, waving to get his attention. She had several MCSD deputies with her and a young couple sitting cross-legged on the dock with colorful beach towels wrapped around their shoulders. The young woman was still crying, and her boyfriend appeared to be shaken as well.

Jessica walked toward Mike to meet him halfway.

“Hey, whatcha got?” he asked. Ordinarily, the two would exchange a kiss on the cheek, but not while on duty.

“Another body. May or may not be related.”

“Out there?” Mike nodded toward Tarpon Basin, a circular body of water surrounded on all sides by land except for a couple of openings to the Gulf.

“Out at Bush Point,” replied Jessica, pointing toward the north and the mainland. “They’d taken their kayaks up Dusenbury Creek to do some snorkeling around the point. They didn’t tie their kayaks off properly, and they’d both floated away, too far for the couple to swim to. Fortunately, the young guy had brought his cell phone secured in a waterproof pouch, so he could call for help.”

“Okaaay,” Mike began, stretching out the word. “How does a dead body fit into all of this?”

Jessica led him by the arm toward the college kids. “I’ll let them explain.”

When they arrived at the end of the dock, the deputies stepped away, and Mike knelt down in front of them. “Hi. I’m Detective Mike Albright. I know you’ve told these other guys about what you found, but would you mind telling me, too?”

The young girl sniffled and nodded her head in agreement. Her boyfriend took the lead.

“Well, we lost our kayaks, so I called for help while we were treading water. She was gettin’ tired, so I looked around the point to find some solid ground or at least a few mangrove branches to hold onto.

“Anyways, we snorkeled around the point, and that’s when this large cluster of lobsters grabbed my attention.