Summary for chapter 3

By the time Noah visited his father again, he had to tell him the bad news that the Coral Queen was ready to resume operations. Noah described his visit to Lice Peeking at the trailer park. Paine told Noah to offer Lice his bonefish skiff which was worth around ten grand. Noah didn't say anything but he was disappointed. He had hoped to get that skiff for himself one day. Paine explained that Shelly was either Dusty's second or third wife. One day she decided she was fed up with Dusty and moved in with Lice. Noah asked Paine to let his mother bail him out. She missed him. Paine was touched but was dedicated to the cause and had to remain jailed in order to make the most impact. Noah had been relieved when his mother unpacked her suitcase but he didn't know when her patience would run out. Paine told Noah that a reporter from the Island Examiner was going to drop by the house and interview Noah about Paine's situation.

Noah and his friend, Thom and Rado, went down to Thunder Beach to see how badly it was being polluted. There were no pollution warnings posted as yet. The three boys watched a big loggerhead turtle crawl ashore, probably preparing to lay her eggs. After they left, Noah made his way to Lice's trailer park again. Lice was passed out drunk but Shelly insisted Noah come in and have a soda. He finally worked up the nerve to ask her if she knew about Dusty and his illegal dumping of sewage off the Coral Queen. She had been the bartender there and didn't know about the sewage dump.