Corner Office (From the Tales of Dan Coast Book 12)

by Rodney Riesel

  “I'm about to show you the proof,” said Dan.

  “You can't handle the proof!” Red hollered.

  Everyone looked at Red.

  “It's truth, ya idiot,” said Rick. “You can't handle the truth.”

  “What truth?” Red asked.

  “The truth that you're an idiot,” Rick replied.

  “That's really hurtful,” Red said.

  “Moving right along,” said Dan. He looked over at Lyndon. “The other day, when Red and I were here, you had a splinter in you foot, Lyndon. You said you got it from walking on the deck with bare feet. The only problem with that story, is that there's a rug that covers your deck. How would you have gotten a splinter? Unless you just put the rug down to hide something.”

  “I got the splinter on the step,” said Lyndon.

  “I don't think so,” Dan replied. “I think while Branson was here, there was a struggle.” Dan slowly backed across the deck. He bent down and took hold of the edge of the green polyester carpeting. “And Branson was shot!” Dan yanked back the carpet to reveal the bloodstain, but there was no bloodstain. “Crap.” He let the rug drop to the deck.

  Rick was shaking his head.

  “What did you think was under the rug, Mr. Coast?” Marilyn asked.

  “Nothing,” Dan replied.

  “A bloodstain,” said Red.

  “Shut up, Red.”

  “I'm outta here,” said Rick. “I gotta lotta shit to do today, and none of it involves standing around listening to your bullshit.” He turned and started down the steps.

  “Wait!” Dan said. He side-stepped to the chest freezer. “Whether there's a bloodstain or not, that doesn't change the fact that Lyndon killed Branson and stuffed his body in this freezer.” Dan yanked open the freezer lid. The freezer was empty. “Crap.”

  “Bye,” Rick said. He turned and hurried down the stairs. Everyone else was silent.

  “I thought for sure … ” said Dan.

  “Okay,” Lyndon said, standing up. “If all y'all could please get the hell off my deck, I have some fishin' to do.” He crossed the deck and went inside. Shelby stayed with her mom.

  “What now, Mr. Coast?” Marilyn asked.

  Dan didn't answer. He continued to stare into the freezer.

  “Mr. Coast?”

  “I don't know,” said Dan. “You can all go home. I'll call you ladies later.”

  Lola stood. “Don't bother calling, Mr. Coast. “I'm going to the police. Are you coming with me, Shelby.”

  “Yes,” Shelby replied. “Let me grab a few things out of the house.”

  “Mr. Coast?” said Marilyn.

  “Yeah?”

  “Don't bother contacting me either. I think I'll go to the police station with Lola … if she doesn't mind.”

  “I don't mind,” said Lola. “I think we have a lot to talk about.”

  Shelby packed a little backpack and left with her mother. Marilyn followed them in her own car. Dan and Red were last down the stairs. Dan turned and walked under the house, and out back to the canal. He reached down and picked up a handful of crushed stone.

  “I thought for sure I had it all figured out,” Dan said. He tossed the small stones into the water one at a time.

  “Now what?” Red asked.

  “I don't know.”

  “Maybe it is a job for the cops.”

  Dan turned to see Red glancing around the property. “What are you looking for?”

  “Something to sit on,” Red replied. “There was a couple concrete blocks out here the other day.”

  “There was?”

  “Yeah, I sat on one, and Lyndon sat on the other one.”

  Dan surveyed the area. Then he walked to the edge of the canal. “Hey!”

  “What?” Red asked.

  Dan pointed down at a metal cleat that was bolted to the concrete. A piece of clothesline rope was tied to the cleat, with the other end disappearing into the water.

  “When we were here before,” he said, “didn't we have to duck underneath a clothesline up on that deck?”

  “Yeah,” said Red, “we sure did.”

  “Well, this must be the clothesline,” said Dan. He peered into the murky water, shading his eyes as he tried to see the bottom. “And there's the cement blocks.”

  “Lemme look,” said Red. “Holy shit! There's something tied to them. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?”

  “I seldom do,” said Dan. “but in this case, yes. Let's pull it up.”

  The two men tugged on the clothesline hand over fist. They had to keep backing up to get traction. At last, the cement blocks and their ghastly cargo breached the surface.

  “Yecch! That's the deadest looking dead guy I've ever seen,” said Red. “And he stinks like all get-out. Think it's Branson?”

  Dan said, “It's Branson, all right.”

  “You bet your ass it is,” said a voice behind them. “That prissy little prick got what was coming to him.”

  Dan and Red let go of the clothesline and turned to see Lyndon with Judge's .38 trained on them.

  “Crap,” said Dan.

  “Ya couldn't just leave well enough alone, could ya?” Lyndon said. “Ya couldn't just get in your car and drive away. Nobody would have missed that little shit.”

  Red side-stepped toward an oar that was leaning against a mooring post.

  “Don't move,” Lyndon warned.

  Red froze.

  “What happened?” Dan asked.

  “It was an accident.” said Lyndon. “She was just tryin' to protect me.”

  “Who?” Red asked.

  “Shelby,” Dan supplied.

  Lyndon nodded. “Branson came to the house Thursday evening, just like you said,” he explained. “He had this gun. He told me and Shelby if we didn't keep our mouths shut, he'd kill us. He said he'd done it before. He said we weren't the first people to get in his way.”

  “He admitted to killing others?” Dan asked.

  “He insinuated,” Lyndon replied.

  “What happened next?” Red asked.

  “Branson turned his head when he heard a car drive by. I knew that was my only chance, so I slapped the gun out of his hand and jumped on him. We wrestled around on the deck for awhile, threw a few punches. We got to our feet and Branson pushed me up against the railing. He was trying to push me over the edge. Shelby picked up the gun, and pulled the trigger. Branson stumbled backwards, and he fell over the railing. Landed right on his head. He was dead by the time I got down the stairs to him. Looked like his neck was snapped. Shelby only shot him in the arm. He would have been fine if he hadn't fallen.”

  “Sounds like Shelby had no choice,” Red said.

  “You can go to the cops,” said Dan. “It was self defense.”

  “I ain't gonna risk it. I don't want my baby goin' to jail. She's just a kid.”

  “We'll help you,” said Dan.

  “Can't risk it,” Lyndon said. “But you're right, you are gonna help me. Now, reach down there and untie that rope from the cleat and pull the bastard up again.”

  Lyndon used the pistol to motion Red over to the cleat.

  “What about us?” Dan asked.

  “We'll all ride out in my boat, dump Branson's body way out on the ocean, and then dump y'all's.”

  “So, you aim to kill us,” said Dan.

  “Sorry. I really don't want to, but I got no choice.”

  Red moved cautiously toward the cleat, which meant walking past the oar and mooring post. He figured it might be his only chance.

  “Hurry up,” Lyndon ordered. He looked around at the houses behind his, on the opposite side of the canal. There was no one in sight. “Come on, come on! Move your fat ass.”

  As Red walked past the mooring post, he grabbed the oar and swung.

  Lyndon fired the pistol, shattering the oar's spoon.

  Dan ducked. The oar soared over his head, just missing him.

  Lyndon fired again, hitting the mooring post.

&n
bsp; Red threw the oar as hard as he could, just as Lyndon fired a third time.

  The oar hit Lyndon's arm.

  Red lunged at Lyndon, trying to grab the weapon. Lyndon's smaller skinny frame was no match for the 265-pound man careening toward him. Red grabbed the pistol with his left hand and threw his shoulder into Lyndon's chest. Lyndon landed on his back, and Red landed on top of him.

  Dan could hear Lyndon's ribs crack. “Ouch,” he said. “That's gotta hurt.”

  Red yanked the gun out of Lyndon's hand and stood up. Lyndon was out cold. Red stood over the unconscious man.

  “Is he dead?” Red asked.

  “I don't think so,” Dan said. “He hit his head on the concrete.”

  Red stuffed the .38 into the side pocket of his cargo shorts. “I better call 911.”

  “You know the number?”

  “That never gets old,” Red chortled.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  A week later Dan drove his Porsche down Flagler Avenue. “I can't believe I'm doing this,” he said. Red sat in the passenger seat, and Skip in the backseat.

  “You promised The Amazing Gary you would be back,” Red replied. “Amazing Gary was right: Branson was in a cold dark place. According to what Lyndon told the police, Branson was in the freezer, until Lyndon took him out. Then he was near water.”

  “He was in the water,” said Dan.

  “Ya can't get closer than that,” said Skip.

  “And the two things that were holding him down,” Red said, “it wasn't his wives. It was the two cement blocks. And the green carpet … Lyndon did put it down so no one would see the blood. There wasn't a big bloodstain, but the cops did find some blood spots. Amazing Gary knew it all.”

  “Whatever,” was Dan's reply. “Lucky guesses.”

  “Besides.” Red said, “I still need to talk to The Amazing Gary about Char and her brother.”

  “You didn't hire him yet, Red Man?” Skip asked.

  “Not without talking to The Amazing Gary.”

  “Has Chief Carver kept you up to speed since Lyndon's arrest?” Skip asked.

  “Pretty much,” Dan answered. “So far there's no proof that Branson was ever the common-law husband of Marilyn or Lola, or anyone else for that matter. When they ran his fingerprints through the data base they got a hit. Branson's real name was Carter Hastings. He had a couple bad check charges back in 2009 and 2010, then he just disappeared.”

  “Probably when he started going by an alias,” Skip offered. “Any family?”

  “Haven't come across any yet.”

  “I wonder how many other victims are out there wondering when Branson is coming home from his next mission?” said Red.

  “Maybe that's something The Amazing Gary can tell us,” Dan said. “And, why Branson brought both women to Key West at the same time.”

  “My guess is that it was just for the convenience,” said Skip. “He probably just got a little too cocky. Figured if he had them both here at the same time, it would be easier for him.”

  “I guess we'll never know.” said Red.

  “Unless The Amazing Gary tells us,” Dan said.

  “I wonder how Marilyn and Lola are doing?” Red asked.

  “Marilyn left Key West two days ago on a cruise,” said Skip, “and Lola is still in town. She said she's going to stay for awhile.”

  “How the hell do you know all that?” Dan asked.

  “Um … I, uh—”

  “What the Christ?” said Dan. “Don't tell me you've been spending time with Lola Paragould.”

  Skip grinned big. “I got my needs, bro.”

  “Isn't she a little old for you?” asked Red.

  “A lot old for him,” Dan said.

  “She said she likes taking care of me,” Skip said.

  “You gotta be shittin' me,” said Dan.

  “Bro, she said I could have my friends over any time I wanted, to go swimming,” Skip said.

  Dan shrugged. “Maybe it's not such a bad idea.”

  “Her sweet tea is really good,” Red added.

  Dan pulled to the curb in front of The Amazing Gary's place and shut off the engine. He turned to Red. “Would you guys care if I went in there and talked to The Amazing Gary alone first?” he asked.

  “Go ahead,” said Red.

  “Do what ya gotta do, Dan the Man,” Skip replied.

  Dan climbed out of his car and walked up the sidewalk to Gary's door. He gave one last glance over his shoulder at his friends. Red and Skip gave him the thumbs up. His stomach was in knots. He knew it was impossible. He wasn't one of those people who believed in fortune telling or speaking with the dead. The Amazing Gary was a scam artist, and Dan knew it … but what if he really was clairvoyant?

  Dan turned the doorknob and pushed open the door as he stepped through the doorway. The same funeral home-style music played on unseen speakers. After the bright sunlight, Dan's eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom.

  Gary sat at the round wooden table, behind his crystal ball, facing the door. His eyes were closed. A single bullet hole decorated the center of Gary's forehead like a rose in the first stage of bloom. The contents of Gary's head decorated the tapestry that hung over the doorway behind him.

  Crap, Dan thought.

  Red and Skip walked through the front door.

  “We decided to come in—holy shit!” said Red. “Is he dead?”

  “I'm gonna say yes to that,” Skip replied.

  “I wonder where Andre is?” Red inquired.

  “Maybe he's the one who dimmed Gary's lights,” said Dan.

  Skip snickered. “I see what you did there, bro.”

  “Are those The Amazing Gary's brains on the curtain?” asked Red.

  “No,” Dan said sarcastically. “Those are probably someone else’s brains.”

  “Dude don't look very amazing anymore,” said Skip.

  “You think he would have seen this coming,” Dan dead panned.

  “It's nice to know we can all laugh in the face of death,” said Red.

  “I wonder if Gary's ghost is in the room right now, and can hear us joking?” asked Skip.

  All three men looked around the room. There was no sign of The Amazing Gary's ghost.

  “I guess this means you can date whoever you want, Red,” said Dan.

  “And hire whoever you want,” Skip added.

  “Better call 911,” said Red.

  “You know the number?” Dan asked.

  “Ha!” Skip laughed. “Never gets old.”

  The End

  Coming Soon:

  Jensen Beach Mysteries

  TV or Not TV

  From the Tales of Dan Coast

  What He Doesn’t Know

  ALSO BY RODNEY RIESEL

  From the Tales of Dan Coast Series

  Sleeping Dogs Lie

  Ocean Floors

  The Coast of Christmas Past

  Ship of Fools

  Double Trouble

  Most Likely to Die

  Deadly Moves

  On the Wagon

  No Enemies Here

  Neighborhood Watch

  Another Mother

  Jake Stellar Series

  North Murder Beach

  Beach Shoot

  When Death Returns

  The Obedience of Fools

  Dead in the Water

  Excited About Nothing

  The Dunquin Cove Series

  The Man in Room Number Four

  Return to Dunquin Cove

  Local Hero

  Sunrise City Series

  Sunrise City

  Sunrise City 2: From Bad to Worse

  Sunrise City 3: Never Strikes Twice

  Sunrise City 4: Dig Two Graves

  Fernandina Beach Mysteries

  Maintenance Required

  High Maintenance

  Serial Maintenance

  Jensen Beach Mysteries

  As Seen on TV

  From Here to There: A Collection of Short Stories
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