by Mac Fortner
“Wow,” Kailey said, “You’re not pulling any punches are you?”
“I’m not asking as an FBI agent. I’m asking because I still love Cam and I don’t want him to be hurt.”
“You think I would hurt Cam?” Kailey snapped.
“I don’t know. I hope not,” Robin said softly.
Kailey picked up one of the glasses and downed the contents. She sat it back on the table and refilled it.
“Tracy tried to hurt Cam. I warned her I wouldn’t allow that,” Kailey said wagging an angry finger, “I shot her, not Cam. You see, I will never allow anyone to harm Cam. As for Bloodshot. Yes, I did. My real name is Elizabeth Kailey Wessel. I watched William Arlington murder my father, when I was ten years old. My whole life’s plan was to seek revenge for him. I finally achieved that goal. The money was never a part of that plan, but when I saw the opportunity, I thought I deserved it.”
Robin picked up one of the glasses and drank it down. She refilled hers too.
“Sheriff Reynolds is missing,” Robin said.
“Probably left town so he wouldn’t be arrested. Or maybe so Martin Filbekie wouldn’t kill him,” Kailey theorized.
“Yeah, maybe.”
Kailey smiled and downed another drink.
Robin looked at her questionably. Then she smiled.
“Will we ever know what happened to him?” Robin asked.
“I doubt it,” Kailey said.
Robin downed another drink, refilled it and held it out to toast. Kailey clinked her glass to Robins.
“To revenge?” Kailey questioned tilting her head.
“To justice,” Robin whispered.
They drank, set their glasses down, and hugged each other.
“What are you going to do with the information I gave you?” Kailey said.
“What information?” Robin said. “Shall we take the party outside?”
They kissed lightly, picked up the tray and joined the others.
The next morning my airplane was returned to Key West International. It was a beautiful day, and I was itching to fly.
“Where does everyone want to go,” I asked.
“Unfortunately,” Robin said, “I have to go back to LA. My work is waiting for me.”
“We’ll fly you,” I said.
“Thanks, but there’s already a jet in route to fly me home. One of my perks.”
“When do you have to leave?” Kailey asked.
“Tomorrow at ten,” Robin said. “But if you two want to go somewhere, don’t let me stop you. I haven’t had a chance to lie on the beach since I got here.”
“Mind if I lay with you?” Kailey said.
“Not at all. We’ll make it a girl’s day.”
“I’ll see you two tonight for supper then,” I said. “We’ll take you to the airport in the morning.”
“Perfect,” Robin said.
“Tootles,” Kailey said as they left.
It felt good to be alone and not have any doom looming over me. I spent the day catching up on life. I wrote a song and played it on my guitar. It wasn’t bad, but it needed a little refining.
I called the airport and filed a flight plan for tomorrow.
“That’s right,” I said. “Ten-thirty—Aspen.”
Epilogue
We had a peaceful evening sitting on the patio eating steak and drinking wine.
“I didn’t think I would be saying this Robin,” Kailey said, “But I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too, Kailey,” she said.
Jack and Diane had joined us for Robin’s last night.
“It’s been a wild couple of weeks,” Jack said.
“Yes, it has,” Diane said thinking back to her kidnapping. “But the important thing is that we’re all safe.”
We toasted to that. The rest of the evening went by calmly. I played my new song and received a less than vigorous applaud.
“I warned you it needed a little tweaking,” I said feigning insult.
“It has great potential,” Diane said. “I can’t wait to hear it when you’re finished.”
“Thank you,” I said. “It’s nice to have a fan.”
“We’re all your fans,” Robin said.
I played a few more old favorites while everyone sang. I would miss this when it’s gone. In my heart, I knew that day would come, but for now, I couldn’t have a better life.
Kailey and Robin stayed up for a while after Jack and Diane left. I went to bed to let them have their time. No doubt they would discuss me.
When Kailey finally came to bed, she brought Robin with her. Like I said, I couldn’t have a better life.
The next morning I told Kailey of our plans for the day. We were going to Aspen. She was thrilled and started packing immediately.
At the airport, Kailey hugged Robin and excused herself. “I need the little girl's room,” she said. “I’ll see you the next time I’m in LA.”
“You have an open invitation, anytime,” Robin said.
“Tootles,” Kailey said as she left.
Robin and I both knew she was just giving us some alone time to say goodbye.
I walked her to the gate holding her hand. “It seems as if we’re always saying goodbye,” I said.
“We’ll see each other again someday,” she said. “I’m sure of it.”
“Yes, I think we will.”
“Cam,” Robin said, “I feel I need to warn you. I had a long talk with Kailey last night, and I get the feeling she might have caused Toby to disappear.”
“You mean, kill him?”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to think she did, but she never denied it. It just seems to me that Kailey can be a little violent. Especially to anyone who tries to harm you.”
“Well, I know she’s a little overprotective, but I don’t think she would kill for me.”
“What about Tracy?”
“She told you about that, huh?” I said.
“Yes, and I’m glad she killed her. From what I hear, Tracy was about to kill you,” Robin said.
“Yes, I’m glad she did too,” I said.
“Just keep an eye on her, Cam. I’ve grown to love her too, but I don’t want you to get caught up in the middle of something that could turn bad.”
“I will,” I said. “Thanks for the advice.”
The voice on the speaker announced it was time to board. I hugged Robin and kissed her. “Goodbye again,” I said.
“Goodbye, Cam.”
Kailey watched from afar, “Goodbye Robin.”
~***~
I did a preflight on my plane before loading Kailey’s three suitcases and my overnight bag. She didn’t know what Aspen was like and wanted to make sure she had the right clothes.
We landed at the Aspen Airport at one-fifteen. There was a car and driver waiting for us and took us to The Ritz-Carlton Club, where we checked in.
“Fantastic,” I said.
I turned to Kailey. She had a tear in her eye. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I can’t believe it’s so beautiful here,” she said. “I love it.”
I hugged her and held her tight. Not just for her but for me too. She had a way of making me feel as if I was looking at the world through her eyes. I never wanted to let her go.
That’s when I decided that I wouldn’t ever let her go.
We dressed in shorts and long sleeve shirts, the uniform of the day according to the people we saw on the way here and went to The White House Tavern for an early supper. We dined on the patio and watched the people pass by.
“I love it here,” Kailey said. “Can we stay for a few days?”
“I don’t see why not, but I’ll have to buy some clothes.”
“Cool,” she said and hugged me. “We’ll go shopping after we eat. You can go your way, and I’ll go mine. I’ll meet you at the hotel around seven.”
“Sounds good to me. Don’t buy anything extravagant,” I joked.
She giggled, “I don’t think they
sell yachts here.”
We walked the streets together for a few minutes then Kailey said she wanted to go into a jewelry shop.
“Alright,” I said, “I’ll see you around seven.”
We kissed and parted.
I found plenty of men's shops where I could buy a verity of clothing. I have to admit, it was nice to wear something other than t-shirts and shorts. I purchased a turquoise bracelet and belt, and then I saw a ring and bought it also. I felt like a real local now.
I stopped at another jewelry store. The diamond rings caught my eye. I was tempted to buy one for Kailey. An engagement ring.
I pondered life with her for a minute, and then remembered what Robin had told me. Against my hearts wishes, I left the store empty-handed. I decided to feel Kailey out a little more first.
I arrived back at the hotel precisely at seven o’clock. Kailey wasn’t back yet, so I fixed a drink and sat on the deck, taking in the mountains.
I could live here. At least half the year. Maybe winters in Key West and summers in the Rockies. My thoughts were interrupted with a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, Kailey. Did you have a magical shopping spree?” I said as I returned her kiss.
“Yes, I did,” She said softly.
I turned to look at her. “Did you buy something big?”
She was quiet.
“What’s wrong Kailey?” I said sensing sadness in her expression.
She started to cry. I held her tight. I had a bad feeling. I wiped away a tear that was slowly running down her cheek.
She stared at me with watery eyes. Running the back of her hands across her eyes, she said, “I bought a house.”
“A house?” I said shocked. “You can rent a nice house whenever you come to visit and not have the headache of owning.”
“I’m not going to come visit,” she said. “I’m going to move here.”
My heart stopped beating for what seemed like an hour. She just told me she was going to leave me.
“Move here?” I said. “But….”
Nothing else would come out.
“I’m sorry, Cam.”
“How did you find a house so quickly?” I asked when what I should have asked is— why?
“I started looking a few days ago on the Internet,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Not necessarily here, but somewhere. When I saw this place, I knew this was it.”
“But what about us?”
“I love you more than anything in the world,” Kailey said. “But sooner or later I’ll bring a lot of trouble your way. I can’t control my anger when it comes to you, and I don’t think that's healthy for either one of us. I want to live here and get some help. They have an excellent anger management facility here.”
I thought about what Robin said about Toby. Did she kill him? I decided I didn’t want to know, so I didn’t pursue it.
“Will you stay with me here for a few days,” she asked.
“For as long as you want,” I said.
“I think I need a drink,” she said.
I stayed with Kailey for another two weeks. Her house was vacant and ready to be moved into. We shopped for furniture, some we found locally and some she ordered off the Internet.
The house was a beautiful log cabin if you could call five thousand square feet a cabin, on the edge of town. Diane was going to fly here in a couple of weeks and help her decorate, with the assistance of a local interior decorator.
I flew back to Key West alone. It was the worst flight I have ever taken. I felt empty, but I understood. We promised to see each other at least once a month. I hoped we would. I knew I would see her in a few weeks when I’d fly Diane there. We would probably break up slowly until she was over me and I was over her. Right now though I don’t think that day will ever come.
Back in Key West, I was sitting on my boat thinking of Kailey when Chief Leland stopped by.
“Hey, Cam,” he greeted.
“Chief,” I said, “Have a drink?”
“No, not this time. I just wanted to give you a little update. We found Sheriff Reynolds body in the Everglades yesterday, at least part of his body; the alligators had a little feast. We think maybe Martin Felbeckie made an example of him, but so far we don’t have any proof.”
“That's too bad,” I said. “Even though he did try to frame me, he didn’t deserve that.”
“No he didn’t,” Leland said, “But if you live by the gun you die by the gun.”
“Yes, that’s what our last Sheriff used to say, and he did.”
“Yeah, well, I just thought I would let you know. If we learn anything else, I’ll give you a call.”
“Thanks, Chief,” I said.
He left, and I started thinking about Kailey again. This time my thoughts were on her well-being though. I hope she can find the help she needs in Aspen.
The End
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About Mac Fortner
Mac grew up on the Ohio River in Evansville, Indiana.
He lived in the Philippines and Vietnam for two and a half years while serving his country as helicopter crew chief.
Mac started writing novels in 2010 and now has two series. If you missed any of his books you can get them at:
www.macofortner.com
Sunny Ray Series:
Rum City Bar
Battle for Rumora
Cam Derringer Series:
Knee Deep
Bloodshot
Key West: Two Birds One Stone
COMING SOON:
Murder Fest Key West