Something worth reading at the KLC

[PalmettoSon]

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Paul, I'm a writer. Sorry, didn't mean to sound like I was introducing myself at a support group. Anyway, I've been writing a novel, and the good folks at the Key Lime Cafe have been gracious enough to post it on their site as a series. Chapter one is available now, and chapter two will likely post in a week or two. If you have any interest in crime novels, responsible real estate development, kidnappings, music, sex, shootings, cigars, wealthy drifters, beautiful reporters, Charleston, SC, or anything like that, check it out. http://www.keylimecafe.com/library/pm_chap1.htm And be sure to stop by the boards there and rop a not in the Palmetto Moon Discussion. Hope you enjoy it.
-Paul

[PHAW Webmistress]

Very Kewl Paul...........I will take a gander of if this weekend......and WHOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO once again to the KeyLime gang

[Key Lime Lee]

It's very cool by the way...

[big hat carmen]

If you have any interest in crime novels, responsible real k or twoestate development, kidnappings, music, sex, shootings, cigars, wealthy drifters, beautiful reporters, Charleston, SC, or anything like that, check it out.

Paul, those are some of my favorite topics. I will definitely check it out.

Charleston is my favorite city to visit, will be back in January.

[springparrot]

I started reading it, and am enjoying it, BUT
is there anyway the font could be larger?
Even with my glasses, I'm having trouble reading it.

(yes, I"m old )

[PalmettoSon]

I started reading it, and am enjoying it, BUT
is there anyway the font could be larger?
Even with my glasses, I'm having trouble reading it.

(yes, I"m old )

While Lee and Gary are in charge of that sort of thing, one easy thing you can do is change your screen resolution to 800x600 (right click on your desktop, click properties, click the settings tab, adjust the screen resulution slider to 800x600), this will help some, not only with this web site, but with a lot of things that have smaller fonts. You could also copy and paste it into a word processing program and change the font size. Hope that helps.

[st.somewhere]

I started reading it, and am enjoying it, BUT
is there anyway the font could be larger?
Even with my glasses, I'm having trouble reading it.

(yes, I"m old )

Or we could just do this... Lee, let me know if this a bad idea and I'll delete the post...

Palmetto Moon by Paul Johnson Chapter 1rn rn“Woooohooooo!” Sure it wasn’t the most intellectual thing to say, but in this situation, Les didn't need vocabulary to express his feelings. It was one of those perfect Charleston afternoons, when the rivers are like glass and the harbor is awash in rolling swells. Les lived for this kind of day. With cigar clenched tightly in his teeth, he put the hammer down on his two hundred twenty-five horses worth of Johnson Ocean Runner and felt the twenty-two foot McKee Craft slip completely out of the water as he crested the swell. This was indeed life.rn The truth was, for Les, this was not unlike most other days. He had lived in Charleston all his life, but nobody was sure who he was. No record of him existed before ten years ago. He lived in a well-kept shack on Bull’s Bay, to the Northeast of Charleston. It was the kind of hovel that you don't need to be a hermit to appreciate. It was a cozy, surprisingly well appointed blue-gray wood building with a red tin roof and several palmetto trees as the only landscaping. The bookshelves were well stocked with everything from Hemingway to Hiaasen, and the kitchen was always ready with Budweiser and Black Angus steaks for those occasions, rare though they were, when his friends dropped by for dinner. He was obviously well funded, but his only extravagances were his boat and a navy Land Rover Defender with the palmetto and crescent of the South Carolina flag emblazoned on the hood. The boat was his life, the truck was simply so he could get around on land, but always in style. He spent his time fishing for anything he could catch, chcking his crab pots, and running around the waterways of the South Carolina Low Country.rn This was one of those days that he had to hang out in the harbor; the weather was just too perfect. Today, however, was also the day his life would change. Feeling a twinge in his stomach, he cut the McKee to the east and made for Shem Creek for a Cuban sandwich at Vickery's.rn Downtown on King Street Jasper McLeod Wentworth, or Jack as his friends call him, was walking into his appointment with his tailor at Ben Silver. Jack's family had been in Charleston for centuries, and he was proud of his heritage. He relished in the idea of being the perfect Southern Gentleman, and was famous for his seersucker suits and bow ties. He was also the head of a major chemical company called WentChem. It was an organization that had recently come under fire for neglecting EPA guidelines in its waste disposal program. Jack was rarely directly involved in the day-to-day decisions anymore, but he remained the public face of the company. He tried to compensate by increasing his philanthropic efforts, but certain people were still out to get him. rn He tried not to think about the problems he was going through as he entered the haberdasher, set down his walking stick, and slid his Palm Pilot back into the breast pocket of his tan linen suit. His weekly appointment with his tailor was the highlight of his week when things were looking down. Ralph, his tailor, reached out to shake his hand and as they exchanged pleasantries, he adjusted Jack’s striped bowtie. Ralph had just come across a silk and linen blend in Italy that Jack loved, and Jack wanted to order a couple suits while the material was still available. As Ralph fine-tuned the measurements and started to suggest some ties to accompany Jack's new suits, his phone rang.rn rn“Jack Wentworth”rn “Is this Mr. Wentworth?” said a gravelly voice on the other end.rn “That’s what I said,” replied Jack, trying not to sound irritated.rn “This is John Warburton from the EPA. Is there any chance you are free for lunch?”rn “For the EPA, absolutely.”rn “Your office said you were on King Street, can you meet me at the Peninsula Grill in fifteen minutes?”rn “I’ll be there.” He turned to his tailor as he hung up. “Ralph, I have to go, can you have a few shirts and ties delivered to the house?”rn “Sure thing Mr. W,” Ralph said, as he watched Jack walk out the front door.rn Before the end of the day, WentChem would issue an internal memo that their founder was missing.rn rn As Les pushed off from the dock at Vickery’s he noticed an old, familiar sight. The “Joanie Sue” was docked at the mouth of the creek, and its captain, Tom Feldman (or Ace as those who knew him best called him) was perched on the bow like a pelican scanning the water. Just as Les was about to blow his horn, Ace’s eyes met his, and Ace raised one of his thick tanned arms to wave him in. As Les pulled along side the big shrimp boat, Ace hopped into the McKee to help Les dock, years in the shrimping business has made Ace both incredibly strong and incredibly nimble. It wasn’t until they began climbing the ladder that any sort of conversation started up.rn “How’s the shrimp business Ace,” Les’s voice was warm, and any observer could tell this was not a casual inquiry.rn "I’ll tell you the truth, Les, it’s been slow lately,” Ace genuinely sounded concerned, but he had been known to be prone to exaggeration.rn “How bad is it really?”rn “Oh, I’m sure it’s just temporary, don’t start worrying yet, but for the last few days I’ve felt like Forrest Gump before the hurricane.” He lifted his cap to run in fingers through his thick black hair in frustration.rn “s*** Ace, hurricane season is just around the corner, maybe that’s what you need; a good storm to waste your competition and stir up the water a little bit. Is Lieutenant Dan ready to pull an all-nighter in the clutches of a raging hurricane.” Les was referring to both the movie and Ace’s real life right hand man Pablo Gonzalez.rn “Actually, Pablo’s been bringing in his quotas just fine.”rn “Now here you had me thinking that your company was in trouble, when the truth is, it’s just you that can’t get the job done,” Les ribbed, chuckling.rn “Yeah, I’m seriously considering having to let myself go,” laughed Ace.rn “Don’t be so dramatic all the time, you had me worried for a minute. If you close up shop, who else is gonna let some crazy idiot like me tag along on shrimp runs.”rn “Hell Les, you could buy a shrimp boat and crew if that was all you wanted. I know you come out with us just so you can see me working without my shirt on,” the words were awash in classic Feldman sarcasm.rn “You figured me out, Ace,” joked Les. “Don’t tell Joan.”rn “It’ll be our little secret.”rn “How are Joan and little Chuck doing these days? He’s what eight now?”rn “Yeah, he’s in second grade at Joanie’s alma mater, hard to believe, but he loves it, and Joan’s looking forward to him getting out in a few weeks. She loves those first few weeks of summer, but by July she is ready to send that kid back to school.”rn “I’d forgotten that he went to Porter-Gaud. Damn, that place sure has grown up.”rn “You should see it from the land, man. Friggin’ huge.” Ace turned to start putting away the nets.rn “I’m gonna run, I can see you have work to do, and I could use a nap after playing in the sun all day, but tell Chuck I said ‘hello’ and we’ll have to get out on the water once he’s out of school.”rn “I’ll tell him, you take care of yourself out in the middle of nowhere.”rn “Will do,” Les said as he hopped the gunwale into his pride and joy and fired up the motor.rn rn Elizabeth Hanlon got the call around three in the afternoon.rn “City Desk, Hanlon.”rn “This is Nash Sullivan, from Jasper Wentworth’s office.” Wentworth’s assistant even sounded smarmy on the phone.rn “Yes, Mr. Sullivan.” She put her hand on her forehead, irritated that she had picked up the phone. Her long straight hair fell across her hand as she leaned forward. It was that soft color of gold that all the Baywatch babes had tried to achieve through chemicals with a shine that could be seen from what seemed like miles away. She was a remarkably beautiful woman, and proud of the fact that she was all-natural.rn “Mr. Wentworth is missing.”rn “Missing, as in nobody knows where he is?” Confusion filled her brain, but she tried not to sound unprofessional.rn “Yeah, and I’m calling you because I think you can find him.”rn “That’s flattering, Mr. Sullivan, but isn’t this a police issue.”rn “I called the police, but it’s news too, and I thought you could help.rn “Where was he last seen?”rn “He left his tailor on King Street around twelve thirty, and just disappeared. He was supposed to be in a board meeting half an hour ago, and he’s never missed one before today. Even when he had pneumonia he called in to participate.”rn “Thanks for the info, I’ll get to work on it. If I find anything out, it’ll be in tomorrow’s Post and Courier.”rn “Can’t you call me back? I’m really worried.”rn “No offense, Mr. Sullivan, but I don’t know you, and I don’t trust you. Whatever I find out will go into the paper. Thanks again, and as you know I have a story to get to work on, goodbye.”rn “Bye,” said Sullivan, not hiding his disappointment.rn In all honesty, she did trust him, because she knew that Jack trusted him, but he was a stuck-up little p****, and she didn’t want anything personal to get in the way of this story. If Jack Wentworth really was missing, this was going to be huge.rn She checked the mirror to make sure her work related stress level wasn’t showing. She wasn’t wearing much make-up and had on a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that when she raised her arms exposed just a hint of her golden, tanned stomach. She knew Les would approve, and if she was going to crack this story, she needed to start with the one man who had relentlessly followed Jack Wentworth’s career, who also happened to be the man she loved.rn By the time she had finished up the work she had to do at the office before she could leave, it was already pushing five o’clock. She rushed out to her red Jeep and pulled out of the parking lot just in time to sit in traffic. With a potential hour-long drive out to Bull’s Bay, she turned up the Clapton, and tried to ignore the traffic.rnrnLes headed home satiated after his sandwich, a little fried squid, and a good, albeit brief, chat with his best friend. He ran nearly wide open up the Intercoastal back to his Bull’s Bay home. The sun gleamed off of his blonde hair. He was a regular fixture in these waters, but certainly not one that went unnoticed by the locals. Always friendly and occasionally chivalrous, his charm, and rough good looks had earned him quite a following among the local women, who today, as every other day, waved to him from their docks. It was summer, seeing as summer starts in May in the South, and the sun sat high in the sky despite the fact that evening was approaching. As he came up to his driveway, as he liked to refer to his creek, he noticed that there was a police Blazer parked next to his shack. Confused, but certain he was not in trouble; he approached his dock with his usual reckless precision. As he felt the nudge of the floating pine parking block, a shout echoed from the distance.rn “Mr. Hamilton?”rn “Officer?” he called back.rn “It’s Detective actually, Detective Hal Bennett,” he said, speed-walking down the boardwalk.rn “What can I do for you, Detective?”rn “I’m looking for somebody,” he growled, straining to help Les with the boat. He was slight of build with curly dark hair. Though he seemed to know what he was doing, he definitely was out of practice when it came to little tidal creeks like this one.rn “Well, there’s nobody out here but me, and I’m sure you aren’t looking for me.”rn “Not exactly, no.”rn “Well then?”rn “You came up on a list of people who have written threatening letters to WentChem, specifically, you were on the top of the list.”rn “You want to know what kind of things they are doing to our ecosystem?”rn “No, Jasper Wentworth is missing, and I was wondering if you knew anything about it.”rn “Jack’s missing?”rn “Yes, Mr. Wentworth hasn’t been seen since he left Ben Silver around 12:30 today. He missed a board meeting for the first time in twenty years. You know, perhaps better than I, how devoted to his work he is.”rn “I really wish I could help. I actually like Jack, it’s his company that I take issue with.”rn “Call me if you hear anything,” he said as he turned to leave the dock. He seemed in a rush, as if he was late for an important meeting.rn “Wait…is there anything to suggest he’s more than missing?”rn “No, we have no reason to think he’s been killed, if that’s what you mean, but we do take this seriously, give me a call if you think of anything, my card’s in your mailbox.” And with that he was bouncing down the dirt road putting up a cloud of dust in his wake.rn Les went inside; he was visibly shaken up. He lit up a cigar and fired up the grill. It was a little early for dinner, but the steak would help him take his mind off of Jack Wentworth. He knew what was coming, and he didn’t know if he was ready.rn rn [center] MORE CHAPTERS TO COME . . . KEEP CHECKING BACK <p align="center">Disscuss this chapter with the author and others right herern rnrn

[springparrot]

StS!!!!!
Thank you sooo very much!!!


Now, can you do that for all the chapters and send them to me

[Key Lime Lee]

I started reading it, and am enjoying it, BUT
is there anyway the font could be larger?
Even with my glasses, I'm having trouble reading it.

(yes, I"m old )

While Lee and Gary are in charge of that sort of thing, one easy thing you can do is change your screen resolution to 800x600 (right click on your desktop, click properties, click the settings tab, adjust the screen resulution slider to 800x600), this will help some, not only with this web site, but with a lot of things that have smaller fonts. You could also copy and paste it into a word processing program and change the font size. Hope that helps.

Or if you're using Internet Explorer, just select VIEW > TEXT SIZE > and then choose one.

[springparrot]

I started reading it, and am enjoying it, BUT
is there anyway the font could be larger?
Even with my glasses, I'm having trouble reading it.

(yes, I"m old )

While Lee and Gary are in charge of that sort of thing, one easy thing you can do is change your screen resolution to 800x600 (right click on your desktop, click properties, click the settings tab, adjust the screen resulution slider to 800x600), this will help some, not only with this web site, but with a lot of things that have smaller fonts. You could also copy and paste it into a word processing program and change the font size. Hope that helps.

Or if you're using Internet Explorer, just select VIEW > TEXT SIZE > and then choose one.

I just tried that...nothing changed.
I must be doing something wrong....

[PalmettoSon]

I started reading it, and am enjoying it, BUT
is there anyway the font could be larger?
Even with my glasses, I'm having trouble reading it.

(yes, I"m old )

While Lee and Gary are in charge of that sort of thing, one easy thing you can do is change your screen resolution to 800x600 (right click on your desktop, click properties, click the settings tab, adjust the screen resulution slider to 800x600), this will help some, not only with this web site, but with a lot of things that have smaller fonts. You could also copy and paste it into a word processing program and change the font size. Hope that helps.

Or if you're using Internet Explorer, just select VIEW > TEXT SIZE > and then choose one.

I just tried that...nothing changed.
I must be doing something wrong....

Yeah, that seems to be changing some of the fonts, but not the main text. Don't know why.

[PalmettoSon]

By the way, feel free to get the boards over at the KLC going http://www.keylimecafe.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=22 . That's why they're there. See you at the cafe!

[PalmettoSon]

Chapter Two is up, come by and check it out! http://www.keylimecafe.com/library/pm_chap2.htm