by David Berens
He saw Frank—or rather Buff Summerton—at the back of the room, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, standing over a desk like a general planning an invasion. He stood up when he saw the two men walk in.
“Can I help you?” he said through gritted teeth.
“It’s over, Buff,” Troy said. “It’s time to end the charade.”
For a second, a flash of fear raced over the man’s face, but then he caught himself and put on a stone face.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Country and Jed are gone,” Troy continued. “The guns, the drugs, everything … It’s all gone.”
Buff looked over their shoulder and yelled, “Security. Let’s get these two bums out of here, please. I have a campaign to run.”
Michael stepped forward. “You don’t know me, sir, but I knew your wife. She and I went to school together. She wasn’t exactly the most kindly woman I ever knew, but I’m sure she didn’t deserve what you did to her.”
Buff shoved a finger into Michael’s chest, “Listen, old man. You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. That bitch got what was coming to her.”
Troy was surprised he was talking like this in front of his staff, but then again, they loved him unconditionally. Buff crossed his arms.
“Now, I have no idea what may or may not have happened to Florence. I’m still in mourning over my loss, of course. She’s gone without a trace and that’s the end of it.” Buff sneered at them.
“We have her, Buff,” Michael said. “We have her body.”
Buff’s face froze in a stoic expression. He blinked a few times.
“Doesn’t prove a damn thing.”
“Actually, it does,” a voice called from behind Troy.
They all turned to see a man walking through the door wearing a black suit and tie. He pulled his sunglasses off his face and tucked them into his jacket pocket. Everything about the man screamed Fed.
“Hello, Troy,” he said as he reached out and shook Troy’s hand.
“Howdy, Chris. Good to see you.”
“Likewise. And you must be Michael?”
“That is correct, sir.”
“A pleasure to meet you. Chris Collins, CIA. Thank you for your service.”
Michael nodded and ducked out of the way as more men in suits crowded past them. They grabbed Buff’s arms and escorted him out. He was babbling about how nothing could be pinned on him, but Chris assured them between the DNA evidence at their pool and the evidence on Florence herself, there was more than enough to build a case against him. He also thanked Troy for detailing everything he saw at the Airbnb, and added that T.J.’s and Prosperity’s testimony about the abandoned prison would end the cartel activities for good.
“We’ve been trying to figure out who was running this operation for years now. You broke it wide open for us. Winchester Boonesborough is already in custody and singing like a bird. With all that we have on these two, they’re going to be going to prison for a long, long time.”
“Just glad Prosperity wasn’t hurt. Wish we could’ve stopped them before the other maid and Buff’s wife were killed,” Troy said.
“You did as much as you could,” Chris said, putting his sunglasses back on. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do. Stay in touch. We’ll need statements and all that stuff.”
Troy nodded and tipped his hat as the man walked away.
“You hungry, Michael?”
“Starved.”
40
Moving On
Troy shoved the empty plate back on the table and took a sip of his Corona. The conversation around him was light and happy, considering all they had been through in the past week. Prosperity sat across from him, leaning close to T.J. He was smiling and looked happier than Troy could remember. He had to admit, they were a match made in heaven.
Michael sat next to him, clearing his second plate.
“Dang, this place is good,” he said. “We gotta come here more often.”
Troy nodded but didn’t say anything. Michael looked at him.
“But that ain’t gonna happen, is it?”
“Not likely.”
“You can’t ramble forever, Troy,” he said. “You know that, don’t you?”
“I do. And I don’t plan to. But it’s clear this place ain’t for me.”
“How will you know the right place?”
“I’ll know.”
Prosperity interrupted them. “Hey, what do you guys think about us calling our new cleaning business A Guy, A Girl, And a Broom?”
Troy laughed. “Well, it is to the point.”
“I like it,” Michael said.
Prosperity clapped her hands. “Yay! That means I don’t have to go back to the funeral classes.
She slid out of the booth and pulled T.J. along with her.
“We’ll catch up with you guys later. We’ve got some planning to do.”
As they walked away, Troy thought about how much he liked the kid. He was basically a younger version of himself, but only the good parts.
“He’s a good kid,” Michael said, echoing his thoughts. “Reminds me of me when I was that age.”
“I was thinking that, too.”
“Ya know,” Michael slapped Troy on the back, “you remind me of me when I was your age, too.”
Troy laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Michael clinked his beer bottle on Troy’s and took a sip.
“So, what’s next for you, Michael?”
“Well, if my doctor will clear it, I’m gonna take my bike down the coast for a vacation. I was thinking of somewhere in South Carolina. Pawleys Island, I think it’s called. Ever heard of it?”
Troy arched his eyebrow. “I have. Nice place.”
“You could ride along if you want.”
“Absolutely not,” Troy said, sliding his empty beer bottle across the table. “Ain’t never goin’ back that way again.”
“Come on now, partner.” Michael slid out of the booth and put his arm across Troy’s shoulder. “Never say never.”
They walked out of the Black Dog Tavern and into the late afternoon sun. The breeze was warm and the boats were jostling for position to get out of the dock. Gonna miss this place, Troy thought.
He shook hands with Michael and watched him get on his bike as another man walked up. Ronnie “Wayfarer” Hobgood smiled broadly as he grabbed Troy and wrapped him in a bear hug.
“Easy, Ronnie,” Troy said. “You’re gonna break my ribs.”
“Haha, sorry my friend. So, you’re sure about this? The bus station is where you want to go? We can take one of my brother-in-law’s limos, and I can drive you as far as you like.”
“Nah.” Troy shook his head. “I’m more of a Greyhound bus kind of guy.”
Ronnie nudged him on the shoulder. “What about a Merrymobile?”
Troy laughed. “Absolutely not.”
“Okay, then,” Ronnie said. “To the bus station it is. Where are you headed?”
“Haven’t made up my mind. But I’ll figure it out on the way.”
“Godspeed to you, my friend.”
“Thanks, Ronnie.”
Epilogue
As Ronnie and Troy pulled out of the parking lot, they didn’t pay attention to the other car pulling in carrying two blonde women with bright pink and purple, skin-tight sequined dresses on.
“I think we done missed it all,” Daisy Mae said.
“Well, how in the hell would you know that?” Ellie Mae asked.
“Ain’t nobody here.”
“Maybe they ain’t got here yet.”
“I’m sure they’ve done and gone. If’n you hadn’t spent so much time teasin’ yer hair, we coulda been here faster.”
Ellie Mae smacked her twin sister on the back of the head. “I don’t go nowhere without teasin’ my hair.”
Daisy Mae was about to reply when Ellie Mae interrupted her. “Hey, ain’t that Jed’s car over th
ere?”
“Which one?”
“That cruiser. I recognize it from the club.”
“I reckon it might be.”
They got out of their car and walked over to the empty police car. Daisy Mae reached down and opened the door.
“Hey, stop that!” Ellie Mae hissed. “What do you think yer doin’?”
Daisy Mae ignored her. She reached down into the floorboard and pulled out a black canvas duffle bag. She sat it on the hood of the car and unzipped it. Her eyes went wide and she zipped it shut.
“Ellie Mae,” she whispered, “There’s money in here.”
“Money?”
“Yeah. Lots and lots of money.”
Ellie Mae looked up at the sky. “Praise Jesus. Looks like we can finally buy that business we been talkin’ about.”
“Hell, yeah!” Daisy Mae whooped. “Looks like the Tail Spinner’s got new management!”
THE END
Read More
So, you made it. You found the end of the second Troy Bodean Tropical Thriller box set. But did you say you want more???
I have fantastic news for you. There are 4 spinoff series planned for release this year and a new Troy thriller is percolating around in my mind too.
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Also by David Berens
Tidal Wave - A Troy Bodean Tropical Thriller PREQUEL only available to members of my reader group. CLICK HERE to grab your copy today and find out just where Troy has come from and what makes him tick.
Troy Bodean Tropical Thrillers
#1 Rogue Wave
#2 Deep Wave
#3 Blood Wave
#4 Dark Wave
#5 Skull Wave
#6 Shark Wave
Jo Bennett Archaeological Mysteries
#1 Temple of the Snake - With Nick Thacker
#2 Tomb of the Queen - Nick Thacker & Kristi Belcamino
Afterword
Troy Bodean came into my life in the summer of 2012. My family and I always stay on Pawleys Island at a beach house for a week around July 4th. A tropical storm (Debby to be exact) raged through and threatened to ruin our vacation.
Luckily, we are not a group to sit around and be bored by a little rain. We sat at a giant table playing board games and cards and watching the next door neighbor fishing on the creekside dock. Enter Troy Bodean…or at least a man that we “imagined” was Troy.
We spent our afternoons watching this guy, who thankfully, wore a distinctive straw cowboy hat, and making up a backstory for him. Our version of his life became wackier and zanier as we built it and we had more than one laugh as we brought Troy to life.
In the end, I began to add a plot and extra characters and the result is what I began to call Rogue Wave - A Troy Bodean Tropical Thriller #1. He was wildly successful and people I didn’t know personally began to read the book and ask when the second book was coming out.
Um…I hadn’t really planned on a second book, but the public demanded. So, I grabbed another old plot I had collecting virtual dust in my laptop and Deep Wave - A Troy Bodean Tropical Thriller #2 came to life.
By now, Troy was becoming a very real character to me. I was happy to continue with a new mess for my plucky hero to get tangled up in. For Blood Wave - A Troy Bodean Tropical Thriller #3 - I started with a blank page. It was the toughest one I’ve written to date and has a lot of different plots and characters that I really like. I may revisit some of those people one day in stories of their own.
The three volumes contained in the set are the work of an author doing his best to come up with new, exciting, fun ways to torture this guy named Troy and hope he comes out a winner.
Anyway, enough blathering on about Troy. I hope you enjoy reading his stories. And as long as you do, I will continue to throw the poor guy into situations that only he could get out of…
If you enjoy my work, please be sure to drop by my website at www.DavidFBerens.com and there you’ll find everything I’ve written. You can also join my READER GROUP to be kept up-to-date with all the happenings around my writing.
Thank you Kind Reader,
Troy Bodean Tropical Thriller
Box Set 1-3
A Troy Bodean Tropical Thriller
All Rights Reserved © 2017 by David F. Berens
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.
Finegan Press 2017
Printed in The United States of America
Contact the Author at:
www.DavidFBerens.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.