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“The Everglades is one of the rarest sights in North America. You’ll find several species of trees here, but the most interesting is the mangrove. I have one mangrove joke but I’m too swamped to tell it . . . ha ha!”
Suki rolled her eyes. Jane Louise smiled. She held Suki’s hand as the airboat cut through the water.
“Right now, the water you see is pretty shallow, about four to five feet deep. In the peak season, it’s even shallower, sometimes only a foot deep. But we’re still faster in an airboat than walking. Not kidding!”
The airboat continued to accelerate, and Suki felt the wind and spray on her face. It was fun, but she was too distracted by the problem of the police to enjoy it.
“Okay, see the trees coming up on the left? Those are mangroves. The Native Americans called them ‘walking trees.’ The roots dangle from the branches and then form new units. The most popular are the red mangroves, but there are also black and white. Like chess pieces. They can survive in salty water, unlike most trees. They shed the salt through their leaves. In fact, those leaves can get pretty salty, along with some of my jokes.”
He turned the airboat into the mangrove forest, which consisted of a series of tunnels. The trees grew up overhead but left enough room for the airboat to pass in between, like a twisty highway on the water. Captain Tom began to show them the maneuverability of the airboat. It could easily pull off a 360 or a hairpin turn. He was a skilled pilot and continued to adjust the throttle to build up speed and take the turns. Other times, he’d stop and explain the wildlife, both the reptilian and mammals, before continuing to zoom through the maze again.
Suki looked back at Lund and saw that her mom’s head was dipping. Alarm coursed through her. Her mom looked tired and weak. How much longer would she last like this?
Lund tapped his wristwatch for her to see, indicating he was keeping track of time. Suki wasn’t sure how long they’d been gone, probably about an hour, when they reached a little lagoon. Captain Tom talked about piranha in the waters and, of course, asked if anyone wanted to go swimming.
“Well, it’s about time to head back to the shack,” he said. “We need to navigate the mangroves again. I hope I don’t get lost this time!”
Lund spoke up through the headset. “How close are we to Ochopee?”
“What?”
“How close are we do Ochopee?”
“We’re going back to Everglades City.”
“How much to drop us off at Ochopee instead?”
“Why do you need to go there?” His brow wrinkled in confusion.
“How much to drop us off there?”
“Oh. I see.” He was getting it now. He rubbed his nose. “So . . . I know this area pretty well. We’re only fifteen minutes from there.”
“That’s what I figured,” Lund said. “How much?”
“Two hundred? Call it a tip?”
“I’ll give you a thousand in crypto if you keep your mouth shut about where you dropped us off.”
Suki almost added, And if you can keep your mouth shut for the rest of the trip too.
“A thousand in crypto. That’s . . . that could be worth a lot more if I hold on to it.”
“Exactly. Just drop us off at another airboat dock. An out-of-the-way one.”
“Donna’s Wildlife check station is on the east side of Ochopee. It’s pretty small.”
“Works for us. Take us there now.”
He squinted at Uncle Steve. “You got it, sir.”
The rest of the tour wasn’t full of banter or jokes. True to his word, in about fifteen minutes, Captain Tom was navigating up a channel toward an old dock with two airboats tied up. No cars in the parking lot. When they got there, a woman in shorts came out and greeted Captain Tom. They obviously knew each other.
“This is Donna,” Tom said.
“What’s your e-mail address?” Lund said. “I’m sending the payment now. You’ll have to register to get it.”
“Of course!” He shared his e-mail address, and Lund showed him the screen from his crypto account. Suki saw the sum of one thousand on it before he clicked send.
