Salvage and Tide
After being evicted from her family's Oregon shipyard and having her professional equipment stolen, marine surveyor Clara Vance unravels a fraudulent scheme that threatens her career and independence.
Fictional story. Depicts family conflict, financial deception, and corporate negligence. All characters and events are fictitious.Chapter 1: The Salt on the Porch
The rain over Cape Sentinel came in sideways off the North Pacific, stinging like crushed ice against the rusted corrugated iron of the Vance Marine repair yard. Clara Vance stood on the gravel apron outside the main dockhouse, her canvas work jacket soaked through at the shoulders.
At her feet lay two heavy plastic tool totes and a canvas sea bag, tossed into the mud like scrap iron. The heavy oak door of the office stood open just enough for the yellow light of an oil heater to spill out across the puddle-pocked driveway.