LM: Hello? John? Are you there? Can you hear me? Everyone, my guest today is John Eagletalon, also known by his code name "Talon", from the book AEQUANA.JE: Hello. Yes, I can hear you quite clearly. That's part of the problem with living in the Colorado mountains. Sometimes reception can be iffy. How are you doing?
LM: I'm doing great! How about you? How's married life, you once confirmed bachelor?
JE: It's incredible. Of course, not many men can say they're married to a mermaid.
LM: Makes for some pretty strange moments, eh?
JE: That's putting it mildly. (chuckle) Just when I think I have this woman figured out, she ups and does something that throws me for a loop.
LM: Such as? Give us an example.
JE: Well, we just got back from a job up in Seattle where we were hired to find a yacht this guy was suspected of deliberately sinking. Maja found the boat in about three hundred feet of water, too deep for a regular diver to find, but not for her. But its location told us the guy had plotted out where to sink the boat. Anyway, Maja went inside the cabins to see if she could spot anything unusual, or maybe find a clue that could pin the crime on the suspect. What she found was appalling.
LM: What was it?
JE: A body. A young man. Maybe late teens or early twenties. I'd already radioed the Coast Guard the location. The discovery really shook Maja up. I mean, she was pale and shaking, but she said she had to go back down into the boat.
LM: Why?
JE: She didn't tell me. I figured she needed to check out a few more things. Instead, about twenty minutes later, she reappeared on the surface with the body!
LM: Oh, my gosh! No!
JE: I was shocked, too. She'd wrapped it in a sheet and dragged it up to the surface, rather than leave it down there. The body was in pretty sad shape anyway, and she was afraid that by leaving it down there any longer, it would fall completely apart and make any identification that much harder, if not impossible.
LM: I interviewed Maja yesterday, and she never mentioned the job. She did say, however, that she's enthusiastic about the new company.
JE: Yeah, well, what she did took a lot of guts. I'm very, very proud of her.
LM: Speaking of the company, is business pretty steady?
JE: Business couldn't be better. Buck, my grandfather, had to hire extra help to run the emporium because he wanted to handle the job offers personally. You know, screen the calls, schedule the jobs, and make sure that there's no major danger involved for me or Maja.
LM: He also runs the website for the company, right?
JE: Yeah, and he does a damn good job of it, considering he's in his late sixties. (laughs)
LM: How long do you think the company will remain open? Think you'll be doing this kind of work for the next twenty or so years?
JE: There's no telling. I do know that if and when we have children, we'll have to severely curtail the number of jobs we take. I don't know, Linda. Fortunately, money won't be an issue.
LM: That's good to hear. You are one very lucky man.
JE: That I am. No argument with you there.
LM: Thank you again for being here today, John. I wish you and Maja every happiness.
JE: Thanks again, Linda. It's been our pleasure.
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