Chapter Text
“Okay, everybody sunscreen up, we’ve got a long, productive day ahead of us,” Jesse Boone called out to his family as they exited the Subaru. He took in the palm trees and sandy beaches of Bellows Field Beach Park and smiled. Heather stepped up beside him as he closed his eyes and breathed in the ocean air.
“Did you volunteer us to clean up campsites for conservation’s sake, or did you just want to take in the sights, smells, and sounds of the beach?” she asked, putting an arm around his waist and taking in the view. He grinned and pulled her in for a sideways hug before heading back to the Subaru for supplies.
“For that, we could have just gone to the beach and got some surf time in!” Gracie groused. She picked up a stick and used it to unearth a bikini bottom half buried in the sand near their car. Wrinkling her nose, Gracie continued, “Ugh! Instead, we get dragged out here to clean up after strangers who can’t clean up after themselves.”
“We all have to do our part to help the wildlife survive, Gracie,” Jake admonished his sister, while pulling on his bucket hat. “Imagine what could happen to a sea turtle if they got caught up in what you just found.”
Heather couldn’t help but laugh as she pictured a sea turtle walking up the beach dragging bikini bottoms from one of her flippers as she looked for an appropriate place to nest. She turned to share her thoughts with her husband and spotted Jesse frowning as he stared down at his phone. From the look on his face, Heather figured their day cleaning out campsites at Bellows Field was about to be cut short by work.
Lucy Tara loved the weekends. It meant sleeping in, catching up on reading and reality shows. It meant eating real meals instead of whatever she could snag while investigating some case. It meant forgetting what she did for a living…the things she and her NCIS teammates saw on a daily basis…and having fun. Right now, Lucy was catching up on sleep. The last case had them working late into the night the entire week and she was more than happy to sink into her bed Friday night when the case was done.
A buzzing noise made Lucy pop one eye open and stare at the phone vibrating on her nightstand. Groaning at the interruption of her rest and relaxation, she reached for the phone and cleared her throat before answering the call from her boss.
What was the expression? No rest for the weary…or was that the wicked?
“Got it, Boss. See you at Pearl.” Lucy sighed as she disconnected the call and swung her legs out from under the covers.
Whatever the expression was, there would clearly be no rest for her this Saturday.
Ugh, and it’s my turn to pick up coffee, she remembered as she headed to the bathroom for a quick shower.
Jane tried Kai Holman’s number a second time and glanced at her watch. Kai had only been working for her for a couple of weeks, but he seemed like the kind of guy who liked to make a good impression. Ignoring a call from his boss was not something she would expect him to do, but she might have been wrong about him. Sighing, she headed into HQ to get started on investigating the death of Navy Pilot Walters. She’d have a discussion with her junior agent about answering his phone later.