Killing Time
Page 4
contracted to buy, Wyatt bought two and had the builder configure them into a much larger and more efficient living space for Lenore and her Mother who was still living back then. My plan is to scour the condo tomorrow morning to familiarize myself with the floor plan, to locate items of key interest such as a safe, guns, alarms, or any other hazards to my safety that could be used or triggered by Lenore. I abhor surprises when I'm in a session of reconciling with a client, so I do what's necessary to temper the chance of a surprise.
.The wind has changed direction and intensity. It was now blowing in from the ocean and was much cooler. I abandoned the lounge chair, went through the lobby and took the elevator to my room. I showered, changed into nicer clothes and went down for dinner. I went to the bar and sat on a stool. When the bartender smiled at me, I ordered a dry Rob Roy in an old-fashioned glass, not a stemmed cocktail glass. He flashed me another smile, popped a thumb up and went to the prep area on the center storage behind him to fill my order as well as two others. I was watching the waves pounding the shoreline and slowly enjoying the pleasant bite of the drink when my attention was drawn to the television set. There was a picture of Wyatt Hatchell in the right side of the screen and the reporter was in front of the old homestead giving his report.
One of the bar denizens jumped up and turned the sound up to where we could hear it. The bartender stopped his preparations and stood listening. The man that turned the TV up turned to the bartender and shouted, ".Oh, Hell! Wyatt used to be a regular here when he was in town. He was always flirting with the babes at the pool." The waitress groaned loudly and said, "And he always had his hand up our skirts when we served him. But he tipped very well."
The man looked at her and then the bartender before saying, "Yeah, a slow feel is always worth a few extra bucks isn't it, Ellen?" The waitress smiled at him and responded, "Yes, Jack, it is. That's what made you jealous when he didn't feel your ass." The bartender went back to his mixing while he continued laughing at Ellen's remark. Not knowing Jason I just assumed he was a little gay from the playful chatter between them. No one seemed overly shocked at the news of Hatchell's death. Maybe Hilton Head has so many billionaires with property there that the loss of one didn't warrant community bereavement. Tomorrow's newspaper will give me more insight to what the island thought of Wyatt Hatchell. But, you can imagine that I was a little smug when I ordered my next drink because I was the only one on the entire island who knew the correct story. Fortunately for me, another person who knows will be here Wednesday for a short stay like mine although she's not aware that it will be short.
I set the clock for seven. I dressed in my black bathing trunks, a plain white tee-shirt, and boat shoes with no socks. I had breakfast and read the Island report on Hatchell. Skimpy details, Sheriff's office reported no clues or suspect (s), not much in the way of praise, a passing reference to his condo here and little else. Lenore was not named in the article. I discarded the paper, finished my breakfast and left the hotel Monday morning near ten. I took a towel around my neck and jogged to the condo development. I stumbled down the rough path to the water across from the development and joined the frolickers on the small, narrow beach. I bided my time until a group of five began picking up their towels and coolers. When they started back up the rough path half covered with overgrown ferns, I tagged along at the back end of the group. We crossed the street, waved at the Gatehouse guard and went through the gate with no challenge. I broke off from the group when we reached the end of the first block of buildings.
The buildings were numbered up high so they could be seen at a distance from cars and trucks. They were all three story, each with four units of each floor except for Hatchell's. I was looking for building number 214. I was aware that the even numbers were on the left so I meandered south until I came to 214. His unit was 2140A, a first floor unit. There was no B as he had taken the entire ocean side of the building. I went to the back of the building, found the phone box for 2140A, used my Swiss Army knife to unscrew the bolt on the cover. I looked up and sure enough, there was the key lodged in the grove of the cover opening. I jimmied it free and pocketed it. I closed the cover but didn't put the bolt all the way back in place. I would return the key when my reconciling was concluded.
No one was visible when I entered the building. I keyed the lock and quickly stepped inside. It was a mite warmer than my hotel room as the air conditioning was set on eighty-two. The entire unit with the kitchen being the exception was carpeted in a thick, high pile ecru-colored rug. I started my search in the living room. I found no alarms, no safe, no guns or anything else that could be easily used as a viable weapon. The dining was room was next and after a thorough search yielded it no surprises. I stood and surveyed the kitchen, a large room probably made from the two kitchens normally found in these condos. I located the knife drawer and removed the larger knives. I put them in a paper bag I took from the pantry and hid them behind the paper towel stock. One of the drawers in the kitchen cabinet next to the fridge had a false front. I felt under the cabinet door and located the release. When it snapped open it revealed the home safe. I had no interest in what was in it. I only wanted to know where it was in the event Lenore had placed my money inside. I scrubbed the kitchen until I was satisfied that it was now clean.
The next room was small and was being used as a sort of office, sort of dump, sort of junk room. It had soft drinks, beer, cases of bourbon, and lots of bottled water. I assumed that it was stored in the event they were caught there during a hurricane event. The other items were probably there because of that fear. I checked the desk and saw nothing but old utility bills, grocery receipts, a few letters from the bank and an address book with phone numbers and e-mail addresses. No computer was in sight which meant they brought a laptop when in residence. I went through the bedroom with a fine tooth comb and came up empty handed. Evidently they had no fear because there was no burglar alarm evident. I guess with an armed gate guard and numerous residents, burglars didn't find much opportunity in this development. I went through the house and swung the doors back and forth to see if there was any squeal or creaks. None made much of a noise. That could be a danger alert in case someone wanted to sneak up on you. Now that I knew they could, I would have to be extra alert when I meet with Lenore.
I locked the unit, strolled back toward the gatehouse and then began to jog. I jogged through the gate, waved at the guard and received a smile in return. I jogged back to the hotel, went to the pool and grabbed one of the empty tables. It was now noon and the crowd would swarm at any minute. I wiped my face with the towel, put it across my lap and read the menu. I settled on the crab cakes which came with green beans and mustard potato salad. I ordered an extra side of cantaloupe with unsweetened ice tea. Sure enough, the poolside cafe was filling rapidly. Some who couldn't find tables opted to go inside to one of those tables. I was concentrating on the kids playing in the waves when I was tapped on the shoulder. I turned and there was a bikini babe smiling down at me. I grinned at her and asked, "What can I do for you, Miss?"
"We." and she pointed to the babe beside her, "We're wondering if we could join you since you have three empty chairs and there are no other tables?"
I jumped up, pulled two chairs out and said, "By all means. I don't want to hog the only available space left." She laughed and said, "I'm Cindy and this is Marilou."
"Good, Cindy and Marilou, I'm Keith and I would give you the menu but the server took it. I'll signal her and get you each one". I caught the eye of the young lady who had taken my order and pointed at the table where she could see the two babes sitting. She nodded, picked up two menus and two sets of utensils and rushed through the throng of milling bodies and delivered the menus. I asked her to hold my lunch until the two of them had ordered. I already had my tea so I took a sip and sat it down on my right near where Cindy had sit. She eyed it, looked up, eyed it again and I asked, "Would you like a taste?" She nodded, picked it up, sipped daintily and made a horrible face. She sat it down quickly an
d said, "Wow! No sweetener. That is strong."
I told her I grew up with no sweetener and couldn't take sweet tea. She asked where I grew up and I told her North Carolina. She and Marilou giggled and Marilou said, "That's where we're from. We live in Winston Salem. We're here for a pharmaceutical meeting to learn of new drugs coming on the market. I invited Cindy because she writes a number of prescriptions. "I smiled, nodded and said, "Charlotte. Or just outside the city limits about a mile. Been gone from there for years though. Probably wouldn't recognize it. I'd bet our old place is now inside the city limits." They both nodded vigorously with Marilou saying, "You'd win that bet." It's big now." I casually asked how the meeting was going and they both thought they were encouraged by what they'd heard in the first session. Before I could ask exactly why they were at the meeting, we were distracted when we noticed that the server was back and wanted to take their orders. They asked what I was having and they settled on the same items except they wanted a Pepsi instead of tea. Before the food was delivered, Cindy asked