“Sloan and I found her body over on Government Road. She left the kids at the Sands Motel on the other side of town. Her body was out there a ways. She was kind of scratched up so I don’t think it was just a body dump.”
“Eat,” Cynthia said. “You’re getting close to figuring it out. After lunch go over what you know and what I suggested and see if it fits.” Cynthia suggested.
Alex munched on chicken and fries, took a long drink of coke and sat back.
“She was in love with the father of her baby,” Cynthia said. “She would have trusted him. Her husband didn’t want to give her money for the new baby, or couldn’t, but she figured her lover would. He refused. They fight. She might have even gone berserk with frustration when he refused, and she saw herself standing on the edge of the abyss. They fight and he kills her, intentionally or accidently, and takes the kids.”
“That’s all very logical, but why take the kids? His baby maybe, but why take the seven-year-old from Carl?”
“So the kid doesn’t talk to the police about who showed up to take the baby?” offered Cynthia. “They don’t hang you any higher for two bodies than for one, even if the first one was accidental.”
“Maybe. That would be bad news for Tyler. Now all I have to do is find him before it’s too late.”
Cynthia smiled. “You always get your man.”
Alex looked tenderly into her eyes. “If only that were true. I love you. I better get going. Thanks for your help.”
“We’ll talk again tonight. In the meantime, stay safe.”
“I will. I’ll pick you up at six.”
“Can’t wait.” She watched him leave through the doors. Please God, help him find the children alive and well…
Alex had a hunch and he called Cynthia back at the hospital.
“Hey, Cynthia, I’ve got to make a run up to Miami. I should be back on the first flight back in in the morning.”
“Okay, what if Harris calls?”
“Tell him I’m working. I’ll call him tonight.”
“All right. Stay safe. Love you.”
“Will do. I love you too.”
* * *
Carl Abbott took a small picture of Javier that was on the business card he had left at Susan’s and took it to the hotel business area and had it scanned, enlarged, and printed, then headed out to the bars. He headed up Duval and started stopping at each bar to ask if anyone remembered seeing him Friday night. Mostly he got answers like, “are you kidding me? Friday night the place was packed with tourists. Besides, who can remember back that far, dude.”
Carl stopped at six and called Stephanie. “You want to meet me at Hard Rock Café for some dinner?”
“All right. I’ll take a cab and meet you there in about twenty minutes.”
“See you then. I’ll be the guy watching the street and drinking beer.”
The cab pulled up and Carl waved to her from the first row of outside tables closest to the street. She climbed the few stairs up to the first terrace level and made her way over to his table.
“This is nice. We can sit outside and watch the people go by. Where have you been all day?” she asked, looking a little annoyed.
“Looking for Javier. I got a picture of him and I’m going place to place to see if I can find where he was the night of the murder.”
“Any luck?”
“Nope, none. I hope to have more luck tonight when the night shift starts.”
“You really think this is going to work? It’s a small town but it has a lot of bars,” Stephanie said.
“Yeah, and I’m told a lot of tourists, especially on the weekends. It seems they are so busy running food and beer that they don’t notice the people unless there is something special about them. Javier is good-looking but watch the people trooping by here for a while and special is not the word that comes immediately to mind in this river of humanity. Even if it’s hopeless I have to do something.”
“I suppose so. Nothing from your friends the police?”
“No, nothing. I’ve even read on the internet about the authorities finding kids who were sold on the black market.”
“You think they’re for sale?”
Carl shook his head. “No. I think that Javier has them. All we have to do is find him and we find the kids. With the police looking for them, I bet he’s just laying low somewhere until the case cools down. So not likely he’s wandering through the streets. Unless he is so sure of himself that he thinks no one can find him in this flow of people. He’ll take them out of here, if he hasn’t already.”
* * *
Harris returned home to find Amy fixing food for him.
“Looks good but I don’t know how much I can eat,” Harris said. He sat down and took a few bites.
“Amy, I need some time. I’m not shutting you out, I would never do that. I just need time to think…alone. I’m a detective and I need to wrap my head around this case and try to get the facts straight. More than that, I need to know a little more about my daughter. I’m thinking of going to her house and see what I can find.”
Amy looked concerned. “Burt, don’t do anything that might get you in trouble with your boss. Let Alex do it.”
“Alex won’t know how to put things together. Personal things. My ex-wife hates me, she’s of no help. I need to know what Susan valued, what she really thought, and why she came to Key West with those two kids and then left them alone to be taken.”
“I doubt that she knew that someone would steal them. I’m sure she thought they would be safe there for the short time she would be gone. She never intended on leaving them alone for a long time. Not a three-month-old baby. That’s speaking from a woman’s and a nurse’s point of view.”
“And it makes sense,” Harris said.
“Look, Burt,” she said holding his hand, “if you need to go, I’ll cover for you if anyone should ask where you are. Just be very careful.”
“I’ll do that. I just need to know her a little better and I don’t know how else to do it.”
“I’ll pack you a lunch and snacks and coffee. When will you leave?”
“Tonight. It’s an easy drive at night. I’ll be fine.”
“All right. I’ll get things ready.”
At five o’clock Harris headed for the door.
“Thanks, Love,” Harris said, holding her tight. She kissed him goodbye and watched as he drove off.
* * *
Amy closed the door and headed for the kitchen with a prayer for Burt’s safety on her lips. She washed up the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.
She had just settled down in the living room when the doorbell rang. Glancing at her watch she saw that it was not yet six-thirty. She opened the door and found a woman standing there.
“May I help you?”
“Where’s Burt?” she demanded. “I need to talk to him.”
“He’s not home.” The woman tried to look past Amy, obviously not believing her.
“Where the hell is he?”
“Who are you?” Amy asked.
“I’m Stephanie, his used-to-be wife. Who the hell are you?”
“Amy. His fiancée. Would you like to come inside and have some coffee? I just made a pot.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “Why not. I’m not leaving till I talk to him.”
“Come in,” Amy said. “Have a seat. I’ll get us some coffee.”
Stephanie looked around the room. It was a comfortable living room with a fireplace and overstuffed chairs and a couch that matched. The end tables and lamps gave the room a look of warmth without being heavy. The pictures were colorful and whimsical, reflecting a Key West tropical flavor.
Amy brought out a tray with coffee and a variety of cookies. “Here you are. Would you like cream or sugar?”
“Yes. I can fix it.” She poured cream into the cup and two teaspoons of sugar. Before settling back in her chair, she took a plate and put three cookies on it.
“I’m so sorry about your daughter
and grandchildren. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.” Amy said.
Stephanie eyed Amy from the corner of her eye.
“You knew about Susan and the kids before this all happened?”
“Burt told me about his daughter and mentioned that he had a grandson that he had never seen.”
“Susan hated him…just like I do, to this day.”
Amy thought her over-made-up face showed her age.
“I know that this is a terribly difficult time for you. I also know that Detective Sharkey and the police are working day and night to find Susan’s killer and the children.”
Stephanie took a long drink of her coffee, popped a cookie in her mouth, then took another sip of coffee. “Good coffee and cookies.” She studied Amy for a moment. “You’re such a little thing. I always thought Burt’s type was more like me. We had a really good time together for the first six months of our marriage. Then the baby came, and he went to work for the police department. That’s when it all went to hell. He’s a workaholic. You’ll find that out once you marry him.”
Amy smiled. “I know Burt very well, and I have every faith that we will be very happy for the rest of our lives. More coffee?”
“Yes.”
Amy refilled the cup.
“So, how is Susan’s husband holding up?”
“He’s out of his mind with fear of what might be happening to his son while the police are playing around.”
Amy set her cup down on the coffee table with a sharpness that made Stephanie jump.
“I have sympathy for what you’re going through, but I will not sit here in our home and have you bad mouth my fiancé and the Key West Police Department. Do you not have a shred of sympathy for what Burt is going through?”
Stephanie threw Amy a horrified look.
“Ha. He had no feelings or sympathy for what Susan and I went through when he left.”
“He paid you child support until she was eighteen. I know that for a fact. I really would like you to leave when you finish your coffee. If you have nothing that might help Burt or the police find those children, then I would suggest that you just let them do what they do best. That’s finding her killer and the children.”
Stephanie set down her cup, stood, and marched to the door. “Tell Burt I was here.”
Amy smiled. “Come back when you cool down. Maybe we can put our heads together and see if there is any way to help find the children.”
Stephanie glared at Amy and walked through the door that Amy held open. She closed the door and leaned against it. Dear God. She needs help.
* * *
Alex always carried an overnight bag in his car. It was part of his habit from his days as a fugitive recovery agent. He never knew when he would be directed to some distant place with no time to pack a bag before he left on the trail of those who did not want to be found. He drove directly to the airport where he got a ticket to Miami that was scheduled to leave in thirty minutes. He checked his bag with his gun in it, walked through the security gate and over to the deli to order a drink and then settled into a chair. Thirty minutes later he was walking out to the airplane. In another thirty he would be in Miami.
Pulling out his information notebook he double-checked Susan Abbott’s address. He was planning to go directly to her house and look for address books, letters, bank statements, whatever might give him a sense of why she would go to Key West with the kids.
The flight was a few minutes early getting into the Miami airport. He picked up his bag, headed for the car rental office, and pulled out his credit card. “I just need it until morning.”
He picked out a small compact gray Toyota and put the address into the lady of the dash to direct him to Abbott’s house.
“Good, it’s not too far away.” The house was in an older residential area with a yard slightly overgrown with plants and flowers that showed a lack of effort on the landscaping tasks. There was a small garage attached to the house. A high hedge surrounded the small yard. Alex noticed that the next-door neighbors were not at home.
He walked directly around the end of the house and through a gate to the back door. The fence in the back was wooden and six feet tall. Again, the grass was not cut and the vegetation was a little on the wild side. A swing set was set up close to the house.
Alex opened the back door easily with his set of tiny tools. Inside he moved into the kitchen quietly, noticed a bag from a fast-food place, and stopped. Moving cautiously, he rounded the corner of the divider wall and into the living room.
There was a light on just down the hall from where he stood. He slipped off his shoes and pulled out the small gun that he always carried. Moving carefully down the hall he stopped just outside the bedroom door.
He rounded the corner and into the room swiftly. “Hand’s up,” he said pointing the gun. Then he shouted, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Alex, what a surprise,” Harris said. “I’m working the case.”
“You’re not supposed to be working the case, and you’re not supposed to be here. Are you trying to lose your job?”
“Na, I just thought I’d come see if I could find anything that might help.”
“I’m after the same thing.”
“I really messed up. I wasn’t there for her when she most needed me. Stephanie’s right. I’m good for nothing.”
“Life isn’t easy. We all make mistakes. We make decisions that are wrong. I left my family because I was too young and didn’t have an idea as how to handle a family. I ran off and if it weren’t for the help of a guy down on the docks doing longshore work, I could have really failed at life.”
“Yeah? So, what’d you do?”
“I thought I wanted to be a cop, but I didn’t’ want to work at it. So, this guy tells me about fugitive recovery agents. It worked out good for me and I jumped into it. I liked the travel part and the money. Didn’t think about the family I left behind till I accidently met Sloan, my son, here in Key West.”
“But he forgave you. My daughter will never do that. She died hating me,” Harris said his voice choking up.
“Come on, let’s see what we can find here then get the hell back to Key West and find Javier and the kids. Find anything so far?” Alex asked.
“I found a couple of what the ‘now generation’ calls love letters from Javier. He sounds like a slimy jerk.” He showed Alex a hand full of post cards and letters. “I can’t find a tie to Key West. No return addresses.”
“You check the bedroom closet?”
“Just clothes and a dozen boxes of shoes.”
Alex walked to the closet. He picked up a box and it was full of letters. “Ah, my wife used to keep her old love letters in shoe boxes.”
“Let’s take them and I’ll go through them later.”
Alex pulled out four boxes. “She was corresponding a lot.” He put the lid on the box without going through them.
“Look in the desk in the room off the living room on the left.”
“Okay,” Alex said. He started with the pile of bills with pink notices in them. “Electric, mortgage, all marked overdue. Her credit cards were full up. And she had only about five hundred in savings.”
He looked at her cell phone records, and the last bill listed a call to Santiago Chile. The number matched Javier’s. It lasted five minutes.
Opening the bottom drawer, he pulled out a closed double-framed picture. On one side was a young woman who must have been in her late twenties and the other half a man about the same age.
“Who’s this?” Alex asked.
Harris came into the room and took a quick look over Alex’s shoulder. “The handsome one is me.”
“That handsome guy, is you?”
“Yeah, where was it?”
“Bottom desk drawer on top of a bunch of papers. There’s one over there on the fireplace. Looks like a snapshot that’s been enlarged.”
Harris felt his throat close and he turned away. He took the picture off the mantel and h
is face reddened and he fought back tears. “That’s me. I’ll be back,” he managed to choke out. He headed for the bedroom.
There was a sharp knock on the door. Alex peered through the peephole then opened the door. A policeman stood on the front porch. “Checking security, the woman who lived here has been reported killed. Who are you?”
“I’m Susan Abbott’s father’s best friend, Alex Sloan. He’s very upset over her death. He just wanted to be near her. I didn’t want him to come here alone.”
“I need some identification.” Alex pulled out his driver’s license.
“You’re from Key West?” He noted the name and said, “I understand, Sir. I was just checking in case you were an intruder. Tell him I’m sorry for his loss.”
Alex nodded. “I’m going to keep an eye on him. We’ll be driving back to Key West soon.”
“Take care.” The Officer said.
“We will.”
Harris appeared back in the living room. “Who was that?”
“A cop checking on the house. No problem.”
Harris nodded. “I’ve got photos of the bills and I photographed her address book. Let’s finish up and you can drive my car back to Key West, with those heavy rain clouds, it will be a slower trip.” Harris looked all in.
Alex said, “We should have some coffee and a sandwich, then head back. I’ll drive. I’ll call and cancel my plane for tomorrow morning.”
“Okay, meet you at the airport rental return and we’ll head back.”
“I’ll drive,” Alex repeated. “You can get some rest and we’ll grab food on the way.”
“That’s a plan.” Harris followed Alex to the return car terminal, then he moved to the passenger side of the car.
* * *
Harris sat back in his seat and seemed to Alex that he was a little more relaxed.
“It’s something that she had my picture on the mantel…right?”
“Right. I would say that if she truly hated you, she wouldn’t have your picture in a place of honor in her home.”
“I guess I gave up on her.”
Key West Gone into the Night Page 7