by Mac Fortner
“I’ll fix you some breakfast if you want to shower. You smell like perfume.”
I showered, shaved and then returned to the living room where Diane was setting omelets and bacon on the table.
“Coffee or juice?” she asked.
“Both.”
“So, who was the lucky girl?” she said, smiling at me .
“What makes you think there was a girl?”
“This note that says, “Thanks for the wonderful night. See you soon.”
“Oh, that girl. It was Jenny. I made supper for her to thank her for helping me.”
“Good for you. It’s about time.”
“Nothing happened.”
“Still, a step in the right direction.”
I ate my breakfast and drank my juice before speaking again.
“I miss Malinda,” I said softly.
“So do I, but it’s been five years, Cam. It’s time to start a new life. You deserve it. You did all you could do.”
“Yeah, I know your right, but it still hurts.”
She reached out, took my hand and just held it. We didn’t speak for a long while.
“So, what’s new?” she asked, breaking the silence.
“I got a new case.”
I told her about Mrs. Crane and the sheriff’s blundering investigation.
“That doesn’t sound like the Sheriff’s office. They always seemed to do a halfway decent job,” Diane said.
“Yeah, halfway decent. It’s like they don’t really care if this one is solved.”
“What’s the next move?”
“I’m going to Marathon today to talk to the local police. I want to find out all I can about any recently stolen boats. I’d like to talk to the owner of the one Bill was investigating. There are no records here, only his wife saying he was on the case. Maybe someone there filed an insurance claim.”
“Maybe I should go with you?” Diane offered.
“No, I can handle it. I’m feeling pretty good now. I’m just a little sore.”
“Let me change your bandage before you go.”
She did, and I was grateful. The last thing I needed was an infection. The wound was healing nicely. She placed the new bandage on and kissed it. I thanked her and told her it felt better already.
“You can have the day off if you like,” I told her.
“Not really. I have some scheduled appointments today. You know a girl has to work at a job that pays too. I can’t donate all my time.”
“Oh, I see. Now you’re going to start asking for pay.”
“No, of course not. I figure you paying for my education was enough.”
“That was money your dad had put away for you,” I said guardedly. I wasn’t sure how much she knew. I thought she might just be guessing.
“Cam, I know we’re just kidding, but I know my dad lost all his money in the ploy that got him killed. I know you and Malinda are the ones who paid for my education. I found out two years ago. I love you for doing that and making me think it was my dad.”
“I didn’t know you knew. Your dad did have your college money put aside. He had to use it but thought it would be returned in a few days. Then he was killed, and the money was gone. It was the least I could do. I owed him that much.”
“You were a good friend to him and like a father to me,” she said putting her hand on my arm.
I hugged her. “You’ve been a good daughter to me.”
We stood there for a minute just looking at each other.
“Well, I guess I better get going. I’ll be back tonight,” I finally said.
“Be careful. This sounds like maybe there is some foul play going on.
Chapter 12
I left the boat and headed to my car.
“Hot chick last night,” Barbie said as I passed their boat.
“And this morning,” Stacy said.
“Thank you for noticing,” I said and kept walking.
I was thinking about Jenny as I sat in the northbound traffic jam, so I gave her a call.
“Cam, do you miss me already?” she said.
“Actually, I do.”
“What are you doing today?”
“I’m leaving for Marathon. I’ll be back tonight.”
“Business?”
“Yes,” then I paused for a minute. “Would you like to go along?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” she said excitedly.
~*~
She gave me her address. I told her I would be there in ten minutes.
I pulled up to a neat little house she was renting on South Street. She was standing on the front porch waiting for me. Today she was dressed in a very sexy blue flowered dress and white sandals.
“You look lovely,” I said as she got in the car.
“Thank you. You dress up very well yourself.”
We headed north on the Overseas Highway. It was a magnificent day for a drive. Of course, having a stunning girl in the seat next to you didn’t hurt anything either.
“I need to stop in at the police department for a few minutes. I’ll be glad to drop you somewhere if you’d like, and pick you up later,” I said.
“I wouldn’t mind going with you if it’s okay.”
“No problem. Just thought it might not be your cup of tea.”
~*~
A young man in uniform greeted us at the front desk. He didn’t look old enough to be a policeman. He did a double take on Jenny and smiled. Maybe it was a good idea to bring her with me.
“May I help you?” he said, looking directly at her.
She looked at me, deferring the answer.
“Maybe,” I said. “My name is Cam Derringer. I’m a private investigator from Key West.”
His eyebrows rose.
“I was hired by a Mrs. Crane to find her missing husband. He is an insurance investigator and is working on a case here, involving a stolen boat. I was wondering if you might have reports of any lately.”
He opened a book that was lying on the desk next to him and paged through it.
“Looks like four in the last couple of months,” he said, closing the book.
“I wonder if I might be privy to the names of the owners and any other information you might have on these cases.”
“No,” he said dismissively.
“Captain?” Jenny said in a soft, southern voice I‘d never heard before and offering a sensuous smile, “I know it isn’t customary for the police department to share information with just anyone who walks in here, but this is a life and death situation. Without your help, we’ll never be able to find this poor man. His wife is worried sick.”
“It’s sergeant, ma’am,” the officer said, smiling and puffing up a little. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to let you see the reports.”
“Thank you very much. That would be a great help,” Jenny said and smiled at me.
He handed me the book, never taking his eyes off Jenny.
Two of the reports filed were on twelve-foot johnboats. One was on a pontoon. The last was the one I was looking for. It was a forty-two-foot, Sea Ray. Just like the boat I was looking at when I got clobbered.
Its owner, Gary Bartley, reported the boat stolen six weeks ago. It was fully insured, and a claim had been filed with Florida Key’s Mutual two weeks ago. I wrote down Bartley’s address and phone number.
When I looked up, I saw Jenny standing close to the desk. The sergeant had moved around it and taken a seat on the edge. He was so occupied, I could have taken the whole book to his printer and copied it. Jenny saw I was finished and moved a step away from him and broke the spell.
“Thank you again, sir, for your help,” I said, laying the book back down on the desk. “I’ll let you know if I find out anything.”
Jenny handed him her card and said, “Would you mind calling me personally if you discover anything new on this case.” She let her hand linger in his as she released the card.
“Yes, ma’am, I will. You can count on it.”
“
Thank you. It was a pleasure meeting you.”
Chapter 13
We walked back to the car, and I opened the door for her. “That was a marvelous piece of flirting you did in there,” I said.
“It looked like you needed the help. I don’t think he liked private detectives.”
“They never do.”
“Where are we going now?” she asked.
“We’re going to the Florida Keys mutual insurance company in Islamorada. I want to find out more about a claim on a stolen cruiser. It sounds like the one I was looking at when I was attacked.”
“Whose boat was it?”
“You ask as many questions as I do.”
“Well, if I’m going to be your partner, I need to know what’s going on.”
“My partner?”
“Yeah, how much do you pay?”
“Pay? I don’t pay my partners. They usually work pro-bono, just for the pleasure of being with me.”
“Well, I do like being with you. Okay, I’ll work for free,” she said, using her southern accent again.
She extended her hand to me. I took it, and we shook.
We drove north toward Islamorada. On the way, I called my real partner, Jack Stiller. Still no answer. I must have had a frown on my face.
“What’s wrong?”
“My partner, Jack. I haven’t been able to get in touch with him ever since I got out of the hospital.”
“Is that unusual?”
“Yes. He calls me every day to check in.”
“Where was he the last time you talked to him?”
“He was going to the marina to talk to the security guard.”
“Why don’t you call them and see if he showed up there?”
“I think I’ll pay them a visit in person. I like to see their faces when I ask questions. You can tell a lot from a man’s face.”
We found the insurance building and pulled into the lot. It was a three-story, white stucco structure.
“Would you like to wait here or come with?”
“I’d like to come with. I am a partner now. But I need to make a phone call first.”
“You go right ahead. I’ll be inside,” I said, getting out of the car. I couldn’t help but wonder who she was calling. She was a mysterious woman.
I entered the building into a small vestibule that housed a gray-haired woman behind a large desk that almost took up the whole room.
“May I help you?” she asked.
“I hope so,” I said with my most charming smile. “My name is Cam Derringer. I’m a private investigator. I’ve been hired to find a missing person. I think you might know of him. He has done work for this office in the past.”
“A missing person? Who is it?” she said with an astonished look on her face. Most people who don’t deal with this type of thing fall into a type of bafflement and even mild shock. It’s best to strike before they come around.
“William Crane, a private insurance investigator,” I said.
“Oh no, not Bill,” she said in disbelief. “He was such a nice man.”
She used the past tense. She already had him dead.
“When was the last time you saw him?” I asked.
“Well, I think about a week ago. He had an appointment with John Trapper. That’s who he always dealt with here.”
“Is Mister Trapper in?” I asked, still smiling at her.
“Yes, just a minute and I’ll page him.”
She did so and told him he had a visitor in the lobby.
“I’m sure he heard the page. He’ll be down in a minute. I hope nothing bad has happened to Bill,” she said, now coming a little more to her senses.
“Me too. How well do you know him?”
“Only what I know from our short talks here while he waits for John to come down.”
I knew I wasn’t going to get anything else out of her now.
Jenny came in a minute later, picked up a magazine and thumbed through it while we waited for John to appear. I was afraid I had made a mistake asking her along on a business trip. I knew she had no interest in watching me ask questions. I would have to do something nice for her when we left here.
Mister Trapper came down the stairs and stepped into the lobby. He was a tall and very heavy man. Not a muscular heavy, but a fast food heavy man. He shook my hand with a weak, feminine grip.
“Mister Trapper, my name is Cam Derringer. And this is my associate, Jenny Jacobs. I represent Mrs. Crane, Bill’s wife. Do you have a minute to talk?”
“Sure, right this way,” he said.
He led us into a small office off the vestibule and closed the door behind us.
He offered us a seat and asked if we would like something to drink.
“Not for me, thank you. How about you, Jenny?” I said.
“No thanks, I’m fine,” she said.
“What is this about?” he asked.
“Mister Crane has been missing for three weeks. His wife says he was working on a case that involved a stolen boat. The records at the local Police station show that someone from this office was handling a claim on it.”
“We handle a lot of claims in this office. I don’t recollect any particular claim involving a stolen boat.”
“The man’s name is Gary Bartley. He filed the claim five weeks ago on a forty-two foot Sea Ray. The name was ‘COUNT ME INN.’ I believe William Crane was investigating that claim. Your receptionist says you always worked with Bill. Is that right?” I asked, pointedly.
“Mister Derringer,” he said, accusingly, “are you insinuating that I might have had something to do with Bills disappearance?”
“Not at all, I’m just trying to follow his footsteps the last day anyone saw him.”
He looked at me and then at Jenny, then back at me. “I don’t think this is anything we should be discussing. How do I know you’re not after Bill? I don’t know that he is missing.”
“You may call his wife if you wish. She’ll be glad to tell you,” I said, pushing his buttons a little harder.
“Look, Mister Derringer, I know all about you. How you and your partner tried to set up those drug dealers, so you could have them captured by the police. Something you shouldn’t have done since you were defending them. Your partner ended up dead, and you disbarred. While I think it’s a good thing the serial killer-slash-drug dealers ended up dead also, I don’t think you are a man I want to be involved with. Ethics and all, you know,” he said sarcastically.
“Mister Trapper, as of now you are involved with me,” I said, trying to intimidate him.
It worked a little but not the way I had hoped. He got to his feet. “We are finished here. If you need anything else, please inform our legal department.”
“You sound like a man who has something to hide. I’ll be in touch with you,” I said and got to my feet, took Jenny’s elbow and steered her toward the door.
“Mister Derringer,” Trapper said, “I hope you find Bill. He’s a good man.”
“I will,” I said, and we left.
Chapter 14
Once outside, Jenny said, “Well, that went well.”
“Better than you might think,” I said. “He knows something. He might not know where Bill is, but he knows who does.”
We got in the car, and I put the top down. “It’s a beautiful day. Why don’t we enjoy it?”
“I already am,” she replied and kissed me.
A red mustang was sitting at the end of the parking lot. The driver started his engine and followed Cam. He stayed a safe distance behind so as not to be spotted. He picked up his cell phone and made a call.
“Mister Derringer just left John’s office,” he said to the man on the other end.
“Follow him. Is Jenny with him?”
“Yes, she is. They seem very cozy together.”
~*~
“Well, where are you going to take me now?” Jenny asked.
“I thought we would go to Marathon and talk with Mr. Bartley. Let’s see if he reall
y wants to get his boat back.”
“Oh, Cam, you know all the fancy places to take a girl,” she said, again in that southern drawl.
“Don’t fret; I’m going to treat you to a wonderful lunch first.”
“Good, I’m getting hungry.”
We drove to Marathon, and I turned into Key Colony and drove to the Key Colony Inn.
“Here we are, the best lunch in town. You may have anything you wish from the lunch specials.”
“Why thank you, sir.”
We went in and were seated by the window. The place was very tastefully done and the menu opulent.
We ordered, and each chose a glass of wine.
“So, Jenny, if I’m not being too nosey, may I ask where you are from and why you chose Key West to settle in?”
“Not at all. I’m originally from Fort Collins, Colorado. I stayed there until after I graduated from college and then took a job in St. Joseph, Michigan. Eventually, I took charge of a Hedge Fund. I felt it had run its course, so I resigned, with benefits. I finally got tired of the cold winters and decided to go as far south as I could. Now I live three blocks from the southernmost point.”
“Are you planning to remain retired or are you going to start another Hedge Fund?” I pried.
“Well, now that I work for you, I don’t have time for a Hedge Fund.”
“What am I going to do with you?” I said, shaking my head.
“I can make some suggestions if you can’t think of anything,” she said with a sly smile.
Our food came just in time. We busied ourselves with small talk as we ate.
“May I ask where you are from and why you chose Key West?” she asked.
“Touché,” I said. “I am from Key West. I went to college at Yale, came back here and wouldn’t live anywhere else.”
“Was your wife from Key West also?”
I felt a familiar pang, as I always do when someone uses Malinda’s name in the past tense.
“No,” I said. “I met her while in school. We married when I graduated, and she moved here with me.”