“Don’t remind me.” But it wasn’t the meeting with Principal K that consumed Parker’s thoughts on the ride across the bridge to Everglades City. Not that he wasn’t dreading it. It was just that right at this moment he couldn’t get his mind off Maria. The nicest girl he’d ever known—a one-in-a-thousand—tangled up with the biggest jerk of a guy living south of the Tamiami Trail. Or north of it, for that matter.
And now Parker’s dad—and Maria’s—were going to do something that could get them in a swampload of trouble if something went wrong. He thought of how things had worked out last night with the tires. Even the simplest plans can take unexpected turns. Maybe if Parker stepped things up a little—to keep Kingman and Maria apart—Dad wouldn’t have to risk everything by launching his plan with Uncle Sammy.
Wilson rode in the lead position. “I’m going to go way out on a limb here. You told your dad we improvised our plan last night—and slashed those tires.”
Funny the way Wilson said we. Parker didn’t answer.
“I knew it,” Wilson said. “I wouldn’t tell my dad in a million years. You’re such a boy scout, you know?”
It was the right thing to do. “I’ve got no regrets. No secrets. And that feels good.”
“I’ll bet,” Jelly said.
“Boyscout Bucky.” Wilson shook his head and smiled at the stupid little nickname. “So did your dad ground you?”
“I was honest with him,” Parker said. There was no need to tell Wilson about paying for the tires. “He hasn’t pulled in the leash.” Which was amazing, really.
“I need a dad like that,” Wilson said. “Either he’s really smart—or he’s totally clueless.”
Parker didn’t need to point out the obvious. At that moment he wanted to tell him about what he’d seen—and overheard—last night. Jelly too. But something made him hold back, and he wasn’t sure why.
Jelly pulled up beside him, standing on the pedals to keep up. “Worried?”
He shrugged. It wasn’t exactly the kind of thing a guy wanted to admit to a girl, even if it was only Jelly.
“It’ll be okay,” she said.
He glanced over at her. How could she possibly know that? He wished he had her confidence. Then again, if she knew that her dad was planning something that sounded really risky, maybe she’d be a little less positive herself. “How long do we need to keep them apart? I mean, before she starts seeing how lucky she is to be free from him?”
Jelly gave him a confused look. “Maria and Clayton?”
“Weren’t we just talking about them?”
She angled her head slightly and gave him one of those looks like she sometimes did when she was trying to figure him out. “I was talking about your meeting with the principal.”
“Oh.” Parker nodded. “Right. Actually I’ve been trying not to think about that meeting. So, how long before Maria gets her 20/20 back?”
“If she saw what we saw last night,” Wilson said, “she’d be over him already.”
Jelly didn’t answer. Not like she was ignoring him. More like she’d zoned out.
“Jelly?”
“She thinks she’s in love. You two are ridiculous, you know that? You think a girl can stop loving a guy just like that?” She snapped her fingers. “It’s going to take more than a couple days for her to get over him—even if Clayton is a total creep.”
Wilson raised his eyebrows in mock offense. “Gee, Jelly, we’re all on the same side here, remember?”
Jelly didn’t seem to appreciate that comment. But she kept her mouth shut—and suddenly the whole ride got awkward.
Parker pictured the envelope Uncle Sammy handed Dad last night. How much money was there—and what was it supposed to buy? Obviously, whatever it was, they wanted to keep it secret. So secret that Uncle Sammy didn’t hand off the money at work. Parker would have to tell Jelly about this, but maybe he wouldn’t bring Wilson in the loop just yet. The more people who knew—the greater the chances were that Dad and Uncle Sammy would get caught. But doing what?
Parker needed Jelly’s take on the mysterious conversation. But it would have to wait until they were alone—and Jelly wasn’t so edgy. “So how are we going to keep Kingman and Maria apart while your dad is on shift tonight?”
Jelly shook her head. “No idea. I’ve begged and pleaded with her. Nothing I say is going to change her mind.”
They rode into the outskirts of Everglades City together, leaving Chokoloskee and the bridge behind them. Last year Maria used to bike with them to school. Now that she was a senior, all that changed. Scratch that. It was Kingman who changed her. He picked her up and drove her to school and back home again—until the breakup. Now Rosie was giving her a ride.
“The tire flattening was genius,” Jelly said. “Simple. Uncomplicated. Totally effective.”
Wilson jerked his thumb toward Parker. “That was all Bucky.”
“Except for the Miccosukee tire-knifing part,” Parker said.
“So come up with another plan before school is over today,” Jelly said. “I’m counting on you guys.” She looked directly at Parker.
Great.
“Knifing the tires again won’t work,” Wilson said. “If I were Kingman, I’d have the truck booby-trapped somehow. He’ll be ready for anybody messing with the truck again.”
“Agreed.” Parker had no intention of getting near Kingman’s truck.
“We’ve both got paintball guns,” Wilson said. “We could hide in the brush. If Kingman leaves the house and heads to the truck . . . blam, blam, blam, blam—ka-chow. We let him have it.”
“Until Kingman pulls out his pump-action,” Parker said. “I’m not sure paintball guns are going to be our best shot,” Parker said.
“Our best shot. I get it.” Wilson grinned.
They zigzagged their way to Storter Avenue and rode along the waterfront until Everglades City School came into view. They all slowed as if nobody wanted to be the first to ride onto school grounds.
“We’ll keep thinking,” Parker said.
“I’ve still got a stash of bottle rockets from the Fourth,” Wilson said. “And a killer Roman candle. Maybe we rain a little fire on him. Keep him pinned down somewhere.”
This time Jelly laughed. “Tell me you don’t do your best thinking in the morning. Please.”
“What?” Wilson looked at her, then back at Parker. “I’m serious.”
“Exactly what I was afraid of,” Jelly said.
Now Parker worked to hold back a smile. “We don’t have to rush into a plan. We’ve got all day to perfect it.”
Wilson nodded and gave Jelly a slightly disgusted look. He pulled ahead and hopped off his bike at the rack.
“Promise me you won’t go with Wilson’s plan—whatever it is,” Jelly said. Whatever burr was under Jelly’s saddle seemed to be gone now.
“We need to talk,” Parker said just loud enough for Jelly to hear. “Without Wilson.”
Jelly opened her mouth slightly like she wanted to ask a question. But to her credit she closed it without a word, her lips forming a tight line. She gave a single nod like she understood.
“After school.”
She nodded again. “Do you ever get the feeling this is going to get a lot messier before it gets better?”
He swung off his bike and pictured Uncle Sammy handing Dad the envelope. “You have no idea.”
CHAPTER 26
ANGELICA LOCKED HER BIKE TO PARKER’S. Keeping Maria and Clayton apart; was Parker doing all this for her—Angelica—or was it because he still had some kind of crazy boyhood crush on Maria? He wouldn’t be the first one to fall in love with his babysitter as a kid. But he’d outgrown that years ago, right? He wouldn’t be that stupid, would he? She pictured Parker’s expression when Maria walked into his hospital room. When she kissed his forehead. The truth was, guys did dumb things all the time. Parker was living proof of that. As far as Angelica was concerned, Parker was Exhibit A that God existed. Only God could have kept him aliv
e after all the crazy things he’d done and gone through.
Her mind drifted to the curse Wilson talked about. On the one hand, believing the Miccosukee superstition was ridiculous, and she knew it. But deep down she wasn’t ready to totally discount it. There was that little gnawing issue of that story of Jericho. A definite geographic area that was cursed—for real. Isn’t that part of why she’d volunteered to help the guys keep Clayton from Maria? Sure, it was about saving her sister from that gravy-sucking pig, but there was another motive there too, wasn’t there? It was about staying close to Parker before he left, to help make sure he got out in one piece.
“See you boys later,” she said. “I’ve got to stop by my locker.”
Wilson waved—and was off.
Parker locked eyes with her. “Remember, we have to talk—after school.”
“Give me a hint,” she said. “What’s so important that—”
“Not here.” He looked over his shoulder once. “And I’ve got to get my game face on for the meeting with Mr. Kingman.” He turned and was gone.
She made her way to her locker and stood there staring into it. Her life was a mess. She was doing her best to hold everything together, but no matter what she did, Maria was slipping away. And Parker was taking greater risks. Now Parker had some mysterious information to share. Whatever was on his mind, it definitely seemed to have him spooked.
Angelica slammed her locker. “Heaven help me,” she whispered. She had an uneasy feeling she was going to need all the help she could get.
CHAPTER 27
PARKER CRUISED THROUGH THE DAY like he was golden or something. Mr. Kingman didn’t seem to have a single suspicion that Parker was the tire-assassin. He just railed on about the horrors of skipping the last five minutes of school after the doctor appointment the day before. Then he slapped him with a detention. Big deal. He never told Principal K that Dad had given him permission. Knowing the principal, he’d get Dad in here to learn about the Star of Integrity—and somehow he’d get Dad serving a detention too.
The hardest thing about the little meeting was trying to avoid looking at Principal K’s eyes—without being too obvious. Parker was sure the principal would see something—a tinge of guilt, maybe—and then he’d grill him about the tires. Parker kept his focus on Principal K’s nose instead. The principal’s schnoz angled off to one side . . . something Parker had never noticed before. But now that he did, it struck him as really, really funny for some reason. He drove one knuckle into his thigh to keep from laughing.
Parker spent the first half of his detention whipping through his homework, the second half trying to come up with a plan to keep Maria and Kingman apart. By the time he left school he was no closer to a solution than he’d been on the ride this morning.
Jelly was waiting by the bikes. Sitting on the asphalt cross-legged—and writing furiously in a notebook. Apparently, she was trying to get her homework done too.
She smiled when she saw him. “How’s the delinquent?”
“Ready to get out of here.” He unlocked his bike. “Why were you sitting on the pavement instead of the grass?”
“Fire ants.”
Like it was the most normal answer in the world. “And why is it you love this place so much?”
“Used to love this place.” She packed her books in her pack. “Not so much anymore.”
Parker smiled. “So you’ve had enough of the bugs and alligators and pythons and—”
“That isn’t it. I still love the wilds here—and the danger of everything living in the Glades.”
He nearly made a joke about Mr. Night Crawler—the guy they’d dubbed Creepy Crawley—but caught himself when he saw how dead serious she looked. “So what is it?”
She hesitated, like she was choosing her words carefully. “There is something wrong with this place. Something out of balance. And it’s robbing me of the people I love most in this world.”
Okay, that was heavy.
“My mom left us five months after we arrived. Just up and walked out. And Maria? I’ve lost her, Parker.”
“She’ll come around,” Parker said. “I promise you that.”
“I wish I had your confidence,” Jelly said. “There’s something evil about the place. And whatever it is, it won’t be satisfied taking my mom and my sister. It will keep taking and taking.” She looked at him for a long moment, and then off toward the stacks of stone crab traps. “Everyone I truly care about.”
Maybe she was more right than she knew. What if whatever her dad had planned went wrong—and got him in trouble somehow?
Jelly let out a deep breath and smiled. “Well, I never planned to say all that. You ready to go?”
Parker scanned the area. “Where’s Wilson?”
She straddled her bike. “His dad called. Told him to get his tail home. Pronto.”
“What was that all about?”
“Wilson had no idea. He said to call him after dinner. But honestly? It isn’t looking so good for his help tonight.”
“He said that?”
“He didn’t have to. I could hear his dad’s voice—and he wasn’t on speakerphone.”
Parker mounted his bike. “So no Roman candles tonight.”
Jelly giggled, then turned serious. “Now tell me what you couldn’t tell me this morning.”
By the time they were halfway across the bridge to Chokoloskee, he’d filled her in on what he’d seen and overheard the night before.
Jelly shook her head like the whole thing was insane. “This whole place is cursed. What do you think they’re planning to do?”
Parker didn’t even want to share his theory, as if saying it out loud would make it somehow more likely to happen. “I was hoping you had some ideas.”
Jelly rode in silence for a minute. “There’s a payment involved—so our dads aren’t in this alone.”
Parker gave her a sideways glance. “I could have said that much.”
“And,” Jelly said, “whatever they’re paying to have done could end up with some kind of disaster.”
“If things don’t go just right,” Parker said.
“You think it’s something illegal?”
That was the crazy thing. His dad upheld the law. And so did Jelly’s. That was part of their job as rangers. “I just can’t see that.” But he couldn’t think of a thing that was legal that required mysterious payments, either. Maybe the lines of what was legal and what wasn’t got blurred a bit in times of war.
They passed the ramp at the Fishing Hole Marina. Parker instinctively looked for the Night Crawler where he’d seen the trailer before. Which was ridiculous. Of course, Creepy Crawley and his boat were gone.
“Here’s my theory,” Jelly said. “They’re hiring somebody to threaten Clayton good. To put a real scare into him.”
“Do you see that working?”
“Maybe they’re paying someone to rough him up.” Jelly made a fist and held it up. “Bang, zoom . . . to the moon and all that, you know?”
“Which would be illegal from the start—and I can’t see my dad doing that.” But how desperate would Dad need to be to do something like that? No, it just didn’t fit. “Besides, why would they need a massive bundle of money just for someone to knock Kingman around? I’ll bet people would line up and pay for the chance to rough him up.” Parker coasted to a stop and put a leg down. “Whatever they’re planning, it’s got to be pretty drastic, right?”
Jelly braked and stared at him. “You think my dad would put a hit on Clayton?”
“Our dads. They’re in it together, remember? My dad would never do that—and he wouldn’t let yours do that either.”
Jelly shook her head. “I don’t know, Parker. You’re not a dad—and neither am I. But good dads would give their lives to protect their kids, don’t you think?”
“Stop,” Parker said. “Don’t go there.”
“I’m just saying . . . my dad would die for me—or Maria. And your dad would die to protect you.” Jelly sh
rugged. “Is it so hard to believe that they’d kill?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Soldiers learn to kill just to protect those they love.” Jelly sat on her bike, deep in thought. “And we call them heroes. My dad is a hero too. So is yours. What if they’re going to hire some lowlife to get rid of a scumbag?”
“That can’t be it.” His dad was the most godly man he know. “Hiring a hit man would go against everything he believes. Everything he taught me.”
They rode down Smallwood Drive in silence for a couple of blocks.
“Or,” Jelly said, “what if the money is to buy something illegal?”
Was she crazy? Where was she going with this?
“Hear me out. They buy illegal drugs—lots and lots of them. Enough to supply an army of druggies for a month. Plant them in Clayton’s truck. Call in an anonymous tip—and he gets busted for dealing. That would keep him off the street—and away from Maria.”
He hadn’t even thought of that. “You’ve got a criminal mind, you know that? Where does that come from?”
“Has to be the company I keep.” She smiled back. “Maybe you’re wearing off on me, delinquent.”
The idea was crazy. Bold. But it could work. The thing was, it still didn’t sound like something a man of integrity would do. But if he were desperate enough? “I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“You said they were going to get things lined up, but not actually put their plan into action yet, right?”
Parker nodded. “That’s what they said.”
“Which means we need to come up with a plan of our own so they don’t have to use theirs.”
Easier said than done.
“Any ideas yet?” She looked at him like this whole thing was riding on him.
“Working on it.” He’d brainstormed with Wilson between nearly every period today. And he still had no plan. “Go home. Keep your eyes on her. Let’s touch base after dinner.”
She gave him a suspicious look. “What are you going to do?”
Escape from the Everglades Page 14