A Tank Full of Trouble: A Citrus Beach Mystery (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 5)

by Victoria LK Williams

  The first thing Megan saw when she opened her eyes the next morning was the box of mysterious gifts she had carried upstairs. She smiled as she wondered just what Aiden was up to. He was very serious, as befitting an ex- FBI agent, and she often teased him about loosening up and adopting a more carefree Florida lifestyle. She had finally gotten him to lose his old black sedan, and she had to admit she was thrilled with the old Cutlass he’d bought.

  She looked around for her animals but they had already gotten up and wandered out to start their day. Megan didn't worry about them, a doggy door now took up part of the kitchen door, letting them come and go as they wished. She turned on the electric fence the surrounded her side of the property every night or when she was at the house during office hours. Barney knew to stay away from vehicles, but there was always heavy traffic in the morning, coming in and out of the business. Between her crews and Paul’s work trucks, she never wanted to take a chance. The cats ignored the area where the cars were, more interested in the property’s more remote area for exploring and hunting.

  It would be another cool morning, and like any good Southerner, Megan dressed in layers. By midmorning it would warm up, and she would peel her sweater off. As she dressed, she remembered her plans for the day and felt excited. She would work all morning in the office, and then it was off to pick up Toby and Sammy from school. Today was early dismissal, and she had promised to take them to the beach. Afterwards they planned on a cookout at her house, poolside, with Emma and Taylor. Megan loved playing the part of the favorite aunt, and anytime she could, she spoiled the two children.

  By the time she arrived over at the main office Janice had things under control and she was going over Zoe's progress at the dealership office with her. They filled Megan in and then, after getting her input, Zoe left. They were striving to have everything re-organized before Joe came back Sunday night.

  Remembering the condition of Joe’s terrace, Megan called Ben Davidson. She had clearance from the sheriff and she wanted Ben to get out there. She wanted to clean it up, while not putting too much work into it. Overnight, she’d thought of a way to redesign the section of the terrace where the attack had taken place, obliterating any reminder of what happened. Ben agreed to stop by her office so they could discuss her plans.

  The rest of the morning sped by in a blur. Ben arrived as promised and agreed with her ideas for the changes to the terrace. Making notes of his own, he left her to start on the cleanup and alterations to the original plan. After he left, and the office calmed down, Janice asked about the package Megan had picked up the day before. Her arched eyebrows and knowing expression made Megan suspicious.

  “He’s got you in on this, doesn’t he?”

  “Aiden has asked me to do a few little favors for him while he is out of town, but that’s all I know.”

  “That’s all you’re willing to tell me?”

  Janice laughed out loud at the expression of indignation Megan shot her way, but held her ground. She would not tell her boss what Aiden was up to --even if she was privy to his entire plan.

  “You’re just going to have to be patient and see what happens, Megan. Relax and enjoy it. Personally, I think it is all very sweet and romantic.”

  Megan made a face, but in fun. Janice was right, it was romantic. It had been a long time since Megan had been courted and wooed, and she had to admit, she was enjoying it. Before she could comment, one of Paul’s foremen, Eric, wandered into the office to talk about a mutual project they were working on. Because their clients often shared the services of both businesses, Janice and Megan often found themselves working alongside Paul’s employees. It was also convenient for supplies to be delivered here and stored in one of the outbuildings until needed. Today was a perfect example, and while Megan and Eric went over a work order, Janice dealt with a delivery at the front security gate. After verifying the delivery, she buzzed the gate open and walked outside to meet the driver.

  Things kept coming at the two women, one after the other. Work orders, client requests, phone calls to answer and return. Before they knew it, Janice was reminding Megan that she needed to leave to pick up the kids on time. Thanking her assistant as she finished her call, Megan scurried out the door. Running over to her house, she grabbed the bag she’d already packed and called to her dog. She grabbed the set of keys on the counter and started to lock up. Then, at the last second, she changed her mind, and digging in her purse found the keys to the Jeep instead.

  “Come on, Barney. It’s time for some fun. Let see if Sammy and Toby approve of the new car.”

  The dog gave a bark, but she wasn’t sure if it was approval at taking the Jeep or his excitement at hearing the kids’ names. The two of them lavished attention on the dog whenever they saw him, and he loved every minute of it. They raced to where Megan had parked the Jeep Sunday night. In no time the Jeep was following one of Paul’s crews out the drive and onto the main road. As she headed towards the school, Megan let the memories come flooding back. It wasn’t all that many years ago that she was getting in the pickup line, with the other parents to get Emma. With a sigh, she wondered why the years had to fly by so fast. Then she saw the two kids running towards her, Barney’s happy bark guiding them to the right car.

  “Wow, great car, Aunt Meg!” Toby proclaimed his approval as he claimed the front seat, leaving Sammy to climb in the back. Not wanting to leave her sitting there by herself, Barney jumped in the back seat with her, accepting her hugs.

  “Yeah, Aunt Meg -- this makes you look awesome. But maybe next time you should pick a prettier color.” Sammy also gave her approval, but she was becoming quiet the fashion diva and wasn’t shy about voicing her disapproval of the color.

  “Na, Sammy. This color is more authentic; she could play the part of a female Rambo in this.” Toby had watched the old action movie with Paul and Aiden. It was his first adult movie and had made quite the impression. This was high praise for the Jeep and Megan laughed out loud.

  “What’s in the bag?” Sammy asked, already bored with the talk of cars.

  “Well, I thought we would head out to the lighthouse and search for some sea-glass and keep an eye out for sharks. What do you think, guys?”

  Megan was careful to suggest something that would interest both of the kids. They were the best of friends, and during their time in the orphanage, and later as runaways, always did things together. But the adults in their life were working hard to help them build the confidence they needed to develop independent interests.

  Megan knew that Sammy loved to help Lucy with her jewelry making business. She had a natural talent for the craft, and was always on the lookout for a special piece of sea-glass or the perfect seashell. Toby, on the other hand, was fascinated with the sea. That included the many animals that lived in and around it. Megan had shown him how to spot a shark swimming out past the reef and pointed out the difference between the dorsal fins on a dolphin and a shark. Now he was constantly clamoring to go to the ocean to see how many of each he could spot. Paul bought him a journal, and the young boy now logged his wildlife spotting – sharks as well as the other animals he found around Citrus Beach. After a stern warning about respect for the animals and safety for himself, Paul encouraged Toby to explore and learn all he could.

  When the two passengers gave a shout of approval, Barney barked along with them. With a laugh, Megan pulled away from the curb and headed to Neptune’s Trident, the local nature preserve and residence of the old lighthouse and beach. The preserve provided nature trails, a playground for younger children, and an old train depot left over from the Henry Flagler rail system. The preserve got its name from the unusual shape it took on at low tide. When the clear waters were low enough, sand bars were visible coming off each side of the end of the preserve where it jutted into the Atlantic Ocean. The shape clearly made a trident, like the one King Neptune was famous for holding as he commanded the seas. It was Megan’s favorite spot in Citrus Beach, and even though she’d lived through
a couple of dangerous episodes here, she still felt at peace when she was there.

  “Wow, Aunt Meg. I guess a lot of people drive Jeeps to the beach. See how pretty that blue one is?”

  They were pulling into the parking lot when Sammy leaned forward from the back seat to point out the shiny blue Jeep to Megan. It could have easily been the same one she had pointed out to Joe when he had shown her the Jeep they were now in. As she pulled into an empty parking spot, Megan glanced around her, noticing what type of vehicles were parked in the sandy spaces. Sammy was right, she had never noticed it before. The Jeep population at the beach easily outnumbered the sedans or sports cars. Before she could think about it any further, the kids had the doors open, and they were climbing out with Sammy hanging onto Barney’s leash.

  The two of them knew the rules, and they didn’t run too far ahead of her. Megan grabbed her tote bag and followed, not worried or trying to keep up with them. They had two big advantages over her -- speed and youth. As she dug in the bag for her sunglasses, she didn’t notice the gathering of young adults around one of the Jeeps that Sammy had pointed out. One young woman stood rubbing the large head of a dog sticking out of the open side of the Jeep. Hearing her name, she looked closer and saw Jake in the middle of the group. She stopped to say hi and immediately felt the tension in the group.

  “Hey Jake. What’s going on?”

  “You just missed all the action! Bingo here saved the day, it was awesome.”

  As Jake started to tell Megan what had happened, so did every other person there. Holding her hands up, Megan stopped them and asked for just one person at a time to tell her what she’d missed. Getting a nod from the rest, Jake started again.

  “We were in the middle of a seriously intense round of volleyball, when Lynn’s dog, Bingo, went nuts. Now, he looks fierce, but you couldn’t ask for a milder dog. When we heard all the barking and yelling, we hurried over to make sure everything was okay.”

  “Bingo is such a hero,” the young woman said as she hugged her dog, breaking into Jake’s explanation.

  “Is everyone okay? What happened?” asked Megan

  “We’re all okay. But one of the guys who tried to break into Lynn’s Jeep may not be. Bingo got a good hunk of his pants during the break in. And it looks like he broke the skin, too.”

  Megan looked at the piece of checkered cloth that Bingo was protecting like a prize possession. Judging by the look the dog gave her, Megan assumed he wouldn’t give it up all that easily either. From what she saw, it looked like a back pocket had been ripped right off, and as Jake suggested, there was a trace of blood on the material.

  “What a brave dog you are, Bingo.” Gently reaching out she let the dog sniff her hand and then once accepted, gave the dog a congratulatory pet.

  “Jake, has anyone called the police? There has been a rash of car break-ins and the sheriff should know about this one too. Lynn, can you stay here and wait for the sheriff? I’m sure he will want to talk to you all.” Looking at the group around her, Megan saw them nod their heads, and knew that they would be responsible and wait to talk to the sheriff.

  “Did the thieves break in -- or try to break in -- anyone else’s car?”

  They assured her they had checked not only their own vehicles, but every car in the parking area. It seemed as if Lynn’s Jeep was the first one the burglars attempted to break into that day. It was their poor luck to find Bingo peacefully sleeping on the floor in the backseat.

  Realizing that she had two kids of her own to look out for, Megan asked Jake to find her before he left and let her know what the sheriff had to say.

  “As a matter of fact, we are meeting Emma and Taylor at my house later for a cookout, why don’t you join us.” She invited for incentive.

  Jake promised to catch up with her, and Megan turned to follow the directions her three companions had gone off in. As she waved goodbye to the group, she heard a distant sound of a police siren. The sheriff or his deputy were on their way.

  Chapter 20

  “What took you so long?” Sammy looked at her with concern and waited for an explanation.

  “I’m sorry, kids. Thanks for following our beach rules. Someone tried to break into one of the cars in the parking lot. Jake was there, it was one of his friends. The sheriff is on his way and will take care of everything. Now, let’s see what you’ve found so far. Toby, any shark sightings yet?”

  Both children talked over one another to report their findings, both on land and out to sea. Megan deliberately made light of the activities by the cars. She wanted the kids to stay focused on having fun. She knew both Jake and the sheriff would keep her updated on what was going on in the parking lot. Putting thoughts of any activity except those she planned on spending with the kids, Megan looked at the shells that Sammy was holding out for her to examine.

  Soon they were involved in a game of tag, with Barney joining in, barking as he ran from one to the other. It took little effort on Megan’s part to keep their attention away from the parking lot. It wasn’t long before she began to enjoy her time with the active additions to the Cassidy clan. The sun was setting when Megan called a halt to the fun and helped the worn out kids gather their treasures and add them to the tote bag. As they put in shells, driftwood, and sea-glass, she pulled out a sweatshirt for each kid, ordering them to put them on. She had also pulled out a towel. As she threw it over to Toby, she informed him he would be in charge of making sure everyone wiped the sand off their feet before getting in the Jeep.

  “Toby, don’t forget that Barney has four sandy feet right now. Don’t let him in that back seat until he’s gotten at least some of the sand out of his paws, please.”

  Toby agreed and ran ahead of Megan and Sammy with Barney. As they walked behind him, Sammy grabbed Megan’s hand and thanked her for a fun afternoon. Megan agreed with the young girl it had been fun and swung her hand as they stepped up their pace to catch up with Toby.

  When they reached the parking area, most of the cars had already left. There was no sign of Lynn and her big dog, Bingo, and she hoped that everything had worked out with the sheriff. She was sure that Jake would fill in all the details when he joined them for dinner. She had no doubts he would show up; she’d never seen him turn down a meal since they had met when he was working as a valet for the Yacht Club.

  “Hey Aunt Meg, there’s a box here by the Jeep. It’s addressed to you.”

  She felt a moment of fear and was ready to yell to Toby to step away from it, but he yelled back that there was a note from Jake attached to the box. Her curiosity peaked, and she dragged Sammy, laughing, the last few yards to the Jeep. Once she reached Toby, she held her hand out for the box, but instead he put the towel in her hand and teased.

  “What do you tell us, Aunt Meg? First things, first!”

  She ruffled the boy’s hair as she took the towel. With a grin at his teasing, she sat with her feet dangling out of the car, brushing the sand off them. As the sand fell from her feet, she didn’t take her eyes off the box he held in his hand. But rather than giving it to her, Toby teased more, making her wait until they were all in their seats. Megan threw her shoes over her shoulder into the back seat, she was more comfortable driving in her bare feet. Holding her hands out, Megan demanded her box. With a smirk, Toby gave in and put it on the console between them.

  “I ought to wait until we get home--”

  “No, no, open it now,” Sammy didn’t let her finish. She wanted to see what was in the box, just like any other little girl would. Or the big girl the box was intended for. The note made her smile. By orders of the boss, Jake had explained.

  So, this was another mystery box from Aiden. Grinning over her shoulder at Sammy, Megan opened the box. Again, soft tissue paper hid what was inside, and she pushed it aside. She gasped at the beautiful, soft sweater. It was hand stitched, and the pattern was detailed, almost to the point of lacy. She felt tears in her eyes at the gift’s thoughtfulness, the color was almost an exact match to
the hat and scarf from Aiden’s first gift box. She didn’t know what he was up to, but she had to admit, she liked his style.

  Megan gently lifted the sweater out of the box so that Sammy could get a look at it and started laughing so hard that she snorted. Setting the sweater to the side, she reached down into the box and brought out a pair of slippers that looked like stuffed penguins. The others laughed along with her, but when Barney growled at the slippers, they lost control and laughed until tears were rolling down their cheeks. Putting the offending slippers back in the box, and then the sweater on top of them, Megan closed up the box and started the Jeep up. While the two kids joked about her new slippers and chatted about their beach day, Megan puzzled over the gifts. Aiden was leading up to something, but she was still in the fog about what it could be.

  Megan was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, she didn't notice Toby constantly looking in the side mirror behind to see what was going on behind him. It wasn't until he turned in his seat that she noticed his distraction.

  "Is something wrong, Toby?"

  "Not sure, Aunt Meg, but I think somebody's following us."

  Megan jerked her head up and looked in the rear-view mirror, but she wasn't sure what she was looking for. Traffic was light, so she figured that Toby would know what kind of car.

  "It's probably just a coincidence, Toby. What makes you think we’re being followed and by what kind of car?"

  Toby looked doubtful at the suggestion of a coincidence, but after his years of growing up in an orphanage he’d become used to adults not taking him seriously. Although, he had to admit the adults in Citrus Beach treated him with respect, and he knew if he told Megan the details of the car following them, she would know what to do.

  "The car is about three or four lengths behind us. He never gets close and seems to keep at least one car between us and them. Look, there it is, it's an old white Lexus."

  Megan didn't doubt Toby's ability to identify the car, the boy had become a walking encyclopedia of car types and styles, memorizing as much information as he could about all cars. Besides, once he had pointed the car out she recognized the L on the front bumper of the car identifying it as a Lexus. Megan decided to test Toby's theory and took a sharp right as she came to the next street and then looked up into her mirror to see this white car would follow. Sure enough the car was behind them. She glanced over at Toby and exchanged looks. Between Lewis’s attack and all the car break ins, Megan knew she had to be cautious. Driving directly to her home: not a smart idea. Why lead them to where she would be vulnerable? Instead she remembered something that Aiden had told her to do in a situation like this. A mischievous smile lit up her face as she addressed the others.