by Lynn Ambers
“It’s Blake Dalefort, I didn’t take you for a party girl,” I said. “Yeah, I am not, but today is so beautiful, I thought I’d take advantage. How are you? Is that your boat?” I said looking the boat up and down and all around.
“Yeah, you know just brought some tourists out here to enjoy our sandbar parties,” he said.
“Yeah, that’s great, hey Blake, can I ask you a question?”
“Yeah, shoot,” he said.
“Um, I’d rather not yell it up to you, any chance you could come down here, if you are not too busy?
“Ah, yeah sure, Hey Bry,” he yelled to what I assume was a crew member or friend, “I’ll be a sec can you just keep an eye.” He yelled. Blake flipped over the side of the boat but hung on to break any fall. The water was waist deep shallow, so a jump from the side could hurt anyone who was not careful.
Blake supported himself with his feet on the boat and then dropped gently into the water. He was remarkably close to me. Blake was close enough to see is tanned muscles and handsome looks. I can see why Julie had a crush on him for forever.
“Hi, what did you want to ask?” he said.
“Hi, well I am not sure how to ask this, but were you and Valerie an item?” I said. He shifted oddly.
“What do you mean an item?” he said.
“I mean like were you and Valerie romantically connected in any way,” I said. He flinched a bit and got a little somber but recovered fast.
“No, why, you mean the flirting we did, oh that was nothing,” he said and then put his head down.
“Well, I just don’t think Valerie’s suicide was real. Do you?”
“I can tell you I really don’t know what to think, but when you put it like that, I mean yeah it really doesn’t make any sense. It is incredibly sad what happened to her. You know though this is Florida and there are people you would never suspect who take drugs. Maybe she did it to keep up with the demands of the bakery, I don’t know. Why do you ask?
“Well for one,” I said, “my farm manager is in jail on suspected murder. I know he did not do it. Every day he sits in jail that is a day that my farm slips behind and he loses faith.”
“I never thought about that, I am really sorry. Is there something I can do to help?” he said.
“Thanks, are you sure you were not in a relationship of any kind?” I said.
“No, I mean I would not have minded being with her, but I think she was in a relationship with someone else.”
“What if I told you a reliable source saw the two of you getting overly friendly in a lagoon area?” Blake tensed.
“Who me, no, you must be mistaken,” he said.
“They were sure it was your boat and you since they had tried to be in a relationship with you, but you turned them down,” I said. He put his hand to hi chin and was trying to figure out which one was that.
“Are you accusing me of murder?” he said.
“No Blake, you do not strike me as the murdering type, but maybe anything you know could help us find the murderer so we can get David free and avenge Valeri’s murder.”
“Felicity, I know nothing about that lady. I just knew her as the baker lady with the big, well ah, sorry about that. The big cupcakes with the cherries on top. I don’t know anything about her murder,” he said.
“Okay, no worries. I am just trying to help David, but if you know anything please tell the police,” I said.
“If my interrogation is over, I have guests to pour tequila shots for,” he said.
“Oh, yes go ahead I did not mean to keep you.”
“No worries Felicity, if I hear anything or think of anything, I will let you know.”
“Okay, thanks Blake. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
I pushed through the water back to where Angela was chatting up the guys in the boat next to ours. I smiled.
“Hey, you guys want some snacks to go with our drinks, “I said.
“Sure,” they shouted. I motioned for Angela to come help me. She looked at me. I nodded my head to come up on the boat.
“What did he say?”
“He lied and said it was not him.”
“How do you know it was him. Julie has no reason to lie. Blake on the other hand has many reasons to lie. He is a handsome guy and not one you forget or mistake. She also knows his boats,” I said.
“Yeah, but that is still not quite enough to know for sure,” Angela said.
“You’re right, I don’t know. I’ll have to keep digging,” I said.
“Okay, is work done because I want to splash around and have some fun. We have two doctors over here we are talking too,” Angela said.
“Wow, I am interested come help me put cream cheese and smoked salmon on these crackers.”
“Gladly. Is there one of these guys you are more into then the other. I really like the brown headed one,” Angela said.
“Ang, he is all yours,” I said.
“I just feel like flirting a little. You know nothing serious. It is nice just to let loose a little and forget I own a business and all the stress that goes with it.”
“I know what you mean, let’s find out what kind of personalities these guys have.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
It was a couple of market Saturday’s after the death of Valerie. My stock was low as things were running behind with David not working. I was unable to find any temp workers this whole time. The Homestead farmers up by Miami did not have any extra workers. The agencies that I was referred to did not have anyone available. Everybody who did odd jobs seemed to be working on other odd jobs. It was season and not easy to find available help.
All the deliveries to the different restaurants, cafes, and homes were getting backed-up. We were slow on getting the harvest done and replanting had not even been done. The morning was busy as usual. I had to spend all the next week getting these tasks completed with the crew.
“Felicity, that is a fifty-dollar fine,” Shelley said.
“What,” I looked up from pulling out boxes of fruit from below. Shelley was pointing to no sign on the outside of the booth.
” Shelley please, I am so sorry, I completely forgot, I have had so much going on, is there any way you can allow me a pass this time,” I asked.
“Nope Felicity, you are one of the veteran vendors. You are supposed to be an example for everyone else. So, I will make you can example for everyone else. No sign, you get a fine,” she said. I just stared at her for a second and then ignored her.
“Add it to my bill, thanks,” I said not in the mood to argue. I look over to the coffee vendor where I see Mrs. Dalefort wagging her finger in a young ladies’ face. The lady looked about twenty-five.
The lady had a suitcase behind her and a cup of coffee in her hand. She looked like a flight attendant. I moved a bit closer so I could hear what was going on.
“I know that you and my husband have been spending time together,” Mrs. Dalefort said. It looked like Mrs. Dalefort went in real close to the woman and sniffed her.
“I don’t know what you mean Mrs. Dalefort, I am simply a flight attendant occasionally on his plane. I usually attend to the other fleet. I think you have me mistaken with Deana,” the flight attendant said.
“No, no,” Mrs. Dalefort said. “I can tell because I smell that perfume from the south of France on you. That was the perfume Mr. Dalefort bought me when we were there about five years ago.”
“Mrs. Dalefort, I ordered this perfume from online. I did see that it was from France. We just have the same taste in perfume that is all,” the flight attendant said. “I assure you I am not doing anything with your husband, but I would keep an eye on him.”
“I knew it. I will divorce that SOB and take half of everything when I find out who he is sleeping with,” Mrs. Dalefort said.
“I really must be going. I must catch a flight. I am sorry for your distress. Good luck with everything,” the flight attendant said and wheeled her suitcase towards the parking lot. Mrs. Dalefo
rt just looked after her with a scowl.
Chapter Thirty- Eight
“Can you get away for a coffee, Felicity?” Mathew said.
“I really can’t, I am super busy getting ready for the market this weekend. I really need the money to help me break even, Why?” I said.
“This is not something I really want to discuss on the telephone,” he said.
“Yeah, no that’s fine. How about you come, and I can take a coffee break here or you can talk while I am harvesting the beets and cucumbers. You can always help to if you want,” I joked.
“Yeah okay, I can do that,” he said, “I mean the come over part. I’m not sure I want to get my uniform dirty, but I’ll see.”
“Okay, whatever works for you. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“I’ll be right over, bye.”
Sometime passed as I did some work in the still humid November air. I saw Mathew get out of his squad car. I waved to him from my spot in the field.
The crew was scattered about the farm doing different tasks. Fertilizing, harvesting, watering, bug control, and planting all our weekly jobs. It took a few minutes for Mathew to get to me.
“This is a great place to chat,” he said.
“Yeah, nobody is within earshot, so what did you want to tell me?” I said.
“Well, I was wondering if you would want to go on a sting with me in two days. Remember how I went on one before and well it was a bust, but they need us to do another one, different strategy this time,” he said.
“What kind of sting, it sounds exciting and maybe a bit dangerous?” I said.
“We just have to pose as a couple on a boat. I will be looking with my binoculars from down below the boat occasionally. You can swim and such. You will not be in any danger. We will be far from the actual action.”
“That sounds exciting, sure. I am in,” I said.
“Really, you’ll do it,” Mathew said.
“Yes, of course. I love the chance to be a detective.”
“Okay, well you just have to looked relaxed and just enjoy the water and you will get paid for your time,” he said.
“Oh, that would be great, I need the money. I am for sure in,” I said.
“Okay, it will be at five am to start,” he said.
“You know me, I am up at that time anyway,” I said.
“Great, thank you Felicity.”
“Your welcome. We can leave all the doggies here and the crew will take care of them while we are gone.”
“Awesome, that was my next question. Okay so it is not tomorrow but the next day, okay.”
“Perfect, hey have you gotten any leads on Valerie’s case,” I said.
“Not really, we are working on it. I mean we have a strong case against David, we got a toxicology report showing a mix of sodium nitrate and nitrite killed her what do you want us to do? I’m sure you are aware sodium nitrate is used in fertilizer and nitrite is a food preservative.” Mathew said.
Yes, but we don’t have any pure sodium nitrate on the farm. We are not the only ones in the farming industry you know. The Dalefort’s would have access to both sodium nitrate and nitrite. Those are only lethal in extremely high doses,” I said. “Not everyone is going to know that.
“I really must get back to work. We can discuss this more later,” Mathew said.
“Okay, be safe. I ‘ll see five am on Thursday.” I said.
“I’ll be awake and ready.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The feds borrowed a couple high speed boats, and two power boats that looked like millionaire’s leisure cruisers but could speed if needed. The confiscated drug dealer toys always came in handy. Mathew and I were one of the lookouts for the FBI. Mathew was using high powered binoculars to identify the boat they were looking for.
Mathew promised me I would be in no danger. We were at least two miles from where the action would be. Mathew and I were playing couple for a day. We were just going to be snorkeling in the area and relaxing. Mathew was my rich guy. The other lookout and DEA boats were there to fish and work on power racing. They would be hiding near Green Island so they could swing around if they had to.
One of the boats, was near the Marina Key Bridge where the guys were coming from the Caribbean side of the keys. We knew we were looking for a sailboat because the guys doubled as charter boat captains.
They usually take couples for a 6-day voyage from Puerto Rico to the Keys. They dropped their unsuspecting passengers off on land for a two day/one night to stay at a resort. The DEA suspected that while the passengers enjoyed the land the men did a drug drop. The DEA just couldn’t figure out where they dropped or how.
The bad guys are expert sailors. They know what they are doing, and they are excellent at deflecting any suspicion of drug activity. Drug people are masters at coming up with new ways to funnel drugs into the United States.
The money is transferred in undetectable ways. There are cryptic underground web communications. The activity is hard to detect. The money and drugs exchange hands in dark places or in plain sight. Most notably it is all done through a disguise of everyday items that no one suspects are anything but.
We are on the boat and the day is beautiful and we are going to help bring these guys down. The sky is blue. The water is sparkly see-through turquoise. There is a small amount of wind, but enough to cool your skin when the sun begins to toast it.
I had a lifejacket and a bulletproof vest for safety nearby just in case I needed either. Although we were not going to be anywhere near the action, every precaution was taken for both our safety. John would have never allowed me to do this. I was glad for once in a long while that he was not around.
“I am going to go swimming, is that okay?” I said. I figured I might as well be normal.
“Yeah, that is fine, Mathew said, “just be ready if we hear or see anything.”
“Yes, of course,” I said. “Do you see anything yet?”
“All I see are the agents in the various spots shuffling around making sure their equipment is in place.” Mathew said.
I went to the back of the boat with my snorkel gear. I took my sundress off and jumped into the water. It was so refreshing. I could walk to the nearby uninhabited island if I wanted to where I could pick up shells. The water was not too deep about 20 feet from the boat.
I just laid on my back in the water with my snorkel gear in hand and appreciated the quiet of the underwater. It is a heavenly feeling under the water.
I sensed Mathew from the boat. I brought my head out of the water and saw him waving me in. I swam to the back of the boat and popped up to where he was down below with the pro binoculars, looking out the front windows.
Mathew handed me the binoculars. I looked through the eye piece and looked at a stunning medium size yacht sailboat slowly floating from the under the bridge from the Caribbean side of the keys.
There were two men moving around on deck. I also saw what looked to be two couples.
“We have a positive ID on these guys,” I heard Mathew say to his colleagues over the radio. We waited for a short time and Mathew left the radio on so we could hear what was going on with the other boats. One boat will approach the boat after they have dropped the passenger off at the resort. The agents have to have probable cause. Mathew kept looking in the telescope for the action to start.
It was important that the agents got the guys doing something illegal. Their arrest would never hold up in court unless they had some good concrete evidence to make the charges stick.
“Okay, we can relax a bit since they are headed to the resort just over the water there,” Mathew said. “The guys are shuffling around on the boat.
“What do you think these guys are running cocaine?” I asked.
“Your guess is really as good as mine as we were told nothing but to be on the lookout and the feds will do the rest,” Mathew said.
“Can we talk about David? I said.
“Felicity, you know I can’t talk about the
case,” Mathew said.
“I know but there is just no way that he did this. I don’t understand why you guys aren’t looking at other leads. What about the sale of her house?” I said.
“Look I feel a bit that you may be right, but a hunch does not make someone innocent. He will go to trial and his fate will be determined that way. I have a job to do and I am doing it based on what I have to work with. He is not the only thing going on in Marina crime despite the quietness of the town,” Mathew said.
“I know and I understand. I am doing what I can to dig up something to help,” I said.
“As far as the house goes, there was money donated in her honor by an anonymous seller. The name is protected by law and I respect it. Besides the money donated to the town of Marina Key as a thank you for being kind to Valerie. It also was a apology for an harm done or problems caused,” he said.
“See right there. Doesn’t that seem a bit odd to you?” I said.
“I’m not sure, wait what’s going on? The radio, the targets are back on the boat,” Mathew said. Matt looks through the binoculars.
“What is going on? I said.
“We are all just waiting and watching for them to do something we can approach them on,” Mathew said. “Wait, they are powering up in a no wake zone. Oh, how stupid. Perfect the feds are going in.”
I could see with my naked eye the target boat now as it headed in our direction from the resort. The feds boat pulled up alongside the target boat matching their speed. The target boat sped up. Then the Feds boat went faster. The feds were motioning to the guys to pull over. The target just went faster.
Now the two boats were racing each other. We could see them heading past the island’s areas and into the open waters. We lost them behind the islands to the north of us.
“What should we do, follow them?” I said. Just then a guy came on the radio.
“All units proceed to keep the two boats in view. D14 you proceed first since you are the closest,” the guy said, also known as Barns.
“That’s us,” Mathew said he scrambled to get back up to the deck. I followed.