Tide and Reckoning
Relegated to the service entrance of a luxury coastal estate, an offshore auditor reveals her true federal authority when a high-stakes maritime seizure unfolds.
Fictional story. Contains mild depiction of family conflict and federal law enforcement operations.Chapter 1: The Salt on the Hem
Evelyn Mercer stood on the salt-bleached timber pier outside Blackwood Manor as the late autumn rain began to turn to sleet off the coast of Maine. Cold Atlantic spray drifted across the dark water of Penobscot Bay, soaking steadily into the heavy canvas shoulders of her waxed work coat. Across the manicured lawns, the historic granite estate stood illuminated like a beacon, its arched floor-to-ceiling windows casting warm amber light across the formal terraces. Inside, her younger brother Julian was celebrating his engagement to Gemma Sterling, the sole daughter of international shipping tycoon Harrison Sterling.
Evelyn adjusted her grip on the heavy canvas blueprint case slung over her shoulder. At six o'clock that morning, Julian had called her from his suite at a boutique hotel in Portland, his voice sharp with impatient entitlement. He needed the vintage brass-bound nautical chart tube from their late grandfather’s defunct boatyard delivered before eight o'clock—a decorative prop intended to add historic maritime authenticity to the Sterling Foundation’s exclusive annual gala. Evelyn had spent four hours behind the wheel of her battered Ford F-250 service truck, navigating slick coastal roads while freezing rain lashed the windshield.