Still Waters

by David Banner

  STILL WATERS

  THE LOWCOUNTRY MYSTERY SERIES: BOOK ONE

  David Banner

  Published by Golden Pineapple Publishing.

  Copyright 2017 by David Banner.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance or similarity to any person, place, or event is purely coincidental. While I try my best to keep the geography of the beautiful state of South Carolina correct, some of the places in this work are fictional. Some are omitted for personal reasons, such as the sheriff’s office. Which in this book will be referred to as the Charleston County Police Department. No part of this book may be reproduced without author consent.

  Other Books By David Banner

  The Dangerous Waters Thriller Series

  Echoes From The Water

  Secrets In The Breeze

  Dead On The Docks

  Shadows In The Gulf

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  Chapter One

  Ryan tightened his grip around the pole and began pulling in his catch. Fishing wasn’t something that came naturally to the man but his young daughter requested they spend their last morning on the water. Besides, his little girl was getting older and soon enough she would be too busy for things like easy mornings on the water. She was becoming a woman before his eyes. Sometimes he found it hard to believe just how fast time moved.

  “What?” Carly cocked her head. “You’ve been staring at me for like two minutes.”

  “Two minutes isn’t a long time.”

  “It is when someone is staring you in the face,” she mused. “Are you having a stroke or something?”

  “I was just looking,” he grinned. “You’re growing up so quickly.”

  “Dad,” she rolled her eyes. “Come on, not with this again...”

  “What?”

  “You’re growing up… you’re becoming a young woman.” The young girl deadpanned. “Soon enough you won’t have time for me. Blah, blah, blah… It’s cool. I’m getting older. We all are. Can we not make it a whole thing every time-“

  Carly’s pole snapped loose from her hands. She dove forward, catching it just before it fell over the side of her fathers small fishing boat. It was the first bit either of the two had gotten all morning and Ryan wasn’t about to let it get away.

  “Hold it tight,” he gripped her hands. “Steady yourself and start reeling.”

  “I know how to-” the pole snapped back as whatever was on the other end of that line tried desperately to free itself. A thick hot breeze blew his daughters curly blonde hair up and into his eyes. He shook his head free of the long tendrils and once again took his daughters hands.

  “Pull back, then quickly reel. Do it like that over and over again.”

  With her fathers help Carly Devereux began slowly working the large fish closer and closer. After a few moments her father stepped back and let her take the reigns. She had his strength, he thought. She was the perfect blend of his and Jillian’s best traits.

  “There!” Ryan snapped as a large catfish leapt out of the water. “It’s a catfish. Can you bring it in or do you-”

  “I got this!” She replied. “Just hang back.”

  “You got it,” he held up both palms.

  There are times in every persons life when they have to do things for themselves, when they have to take control and be independent. Sure, it was only a fishing line but for Ryan Devereux it was a symbol of something more, a sign of things to come.

  Carly was independent. Good, he thought. She would need to be if she were going to make it in this world. Ryan tried not to think about the world too much but every once in a while the bad parts seemed to seep in. Things like, crime, murder and the garbage fire of politics now permeated nearly every aspect of day to day life.

  “You okay?” he asked after roughly ten minutes.

  “Fine!” Carly snapped. “He’s not getting away!”

  “Good girl,” her father answered.

  Ryan took a seat and popped open a cold soda. There’d always been something about the way Coca-Cola tasted from a glass bottle that reminded him of his youth. The sweet flavor of better days filled his mouth, washing over his tongue in an ice cold medley of baseball games and drive in movies. He turned his eyes to the shore where he and Jackson Bennet had once spent so much of their days.

  There was a lightness to him now, something easy and more hopeful. Ryan Devereux had made a decision, he was going to take things slow. He was going to find happiness wherever he could, even if that meant leaving a part of him behind.

  “Got it!” Carly said as she pulled the large catfish from the water.

  “Twelve minutes.” Her father smiled. “Not bad, not bad…”

  “Psh,” she scoffed and pulled the hook from its mouth. “Faster than you could have done it.”

  “I’m not disagreeing with you there,” he answered. “I’ll bet that thing weighs seven or eight pounds.”

  Carly beamed from ear to ear as her father pulled out his cellphone and snapped a photo. She held the large fish high, making sure to exaggerate it’s size as much as possible. It was unnecessary her father thought, especially since the fish was already so big but he wasn’t about to say or do anything that might dampen her excitement.

  “Maybe we can do this more often,” Ryan said. “Now that I’ll have so much free time.”

  “Can I take the boat?” She asked. “Like… with my friends?”

  And there it was, he thought. Another step away from him and into her own life. He couldn’t blame her of course. After all he was young once too, just as the sweet taste of ice cold soda reminded him.

  Ryan looked down, keeping his eyes focused on the beads of condensation as they rolled down the side of his curved bottle. The water could be a dangerous place and no one knew that more than him. Still though, maybe he should let her go.

  “When?”

  “This weekend,” she struggled to place the large fish in the small cooler. “We should have brought a bigger bucket.”

  “It’s okay,” he answered. “We should probably head back.”

  “Alright,” she answered. “I should probably study anyway. I have a test in two days and I haven’t even cracked the book.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m sorry?” Carly sat next to him.

  “Why haven’t you cracked the book?” Her father asked. “If you knew you had a test coming then why haven’t you studied?”

  “I’ve been busy,” she answered. “Besides, it’s a science test. Science comes naturally to me.”

  “Tell you what,” he began. “Pass the test. Ninety four percent or higher. Do that and you can take the boat for a few hours on Saturday.”

  “Ninety four percent!” The young girl clapped back. “How about eighty eight?”

  “How about ninety four,” he repeated. “Ninety four or nothing.”

  “And you’ll hold to that?”

  “Have I ever lied to you?”

  “Well then, Detective Devereux. You have yourself a deal.” She extended her hand.

  With a slight glimmer in his eye Ryan shook her hand then turned his gaze back toward the shore. Jillian Kent, his ex-wife stood next to the water with her eyes fixed on the pair. Her long white sundress caught the breeze as she lifted her hand to wave.

  It had been just over a week since he’d last seen her.

  She was beautiful, he thought.

  It seemed no matter how often he saw the woman or how many days passed since they last spoke the sight of her always seemed new and fresh. Ryan kept his eyes fixed to her soft sweet face as the small boat slowly made its’ ways closer.

  The water was still and calm, like glass reflecting the bright sout
hern sky.

  “Hey,” he stepped off the boat.

  “Hey,” she replied, the right corner of her mouth curling into a clever little grin.

  It was that grin Ryan always remembered, the way it seemed to sneak through when he was least expecting it and send his heart fluttering. With a soft airy step Jillian moved toward him and extended her hand. Slowly she brushed a stray lock of hair from his forehead just as she had so many times before.

  “It would probably be easier if I just cut that damn piece of hair,” he said.

  “I’ve been brushing that same strand from your forehead for fifteen years.” Jillian answered. “Why stop now?”

  “Mom,” Carly called out. “Dad said I can take the boat this weekend.”

  “Really?”

  “If…” Ryan answered. “She passes her science test.”

  “The boat,” she sighed. “Really?”

  “Mom!” Their daughter stopped. “Don’t kill the buzz here. I want to go out with my friends.”

  “Go to a movie,” her mother replied. “There has to be something safer than a rickety old boat.”

  “Tell you what…” Ryan interjected. “How about we cut a new deal. You pass the test and I’ll let you and your friends have my houseboat for the night. But it stays anchored. No sailing.”

  “And where will you be?” Carly chirped.

  “Somewhere else.”

  “Deal!” She extended her hand again. “Thanks mom, you were right. That worked well.”

  In a flash she was gone, scurrying up the steps of her fathers houseboat and toward the kitchen. Ryan turned back toward his wife and watched as that corner of her mouth began to rise up once again. He’d been played.

  “So it was a ploy to get my houseboat?”

  “Oh come now Ryan. It’s not that way and you know it. What was I supposed to do? I knew she was going to ask for your boat and I knew you would give it to her. This way she’s docked and she thinks she pulled off something big. Just let her have her fun.”

  “I’m not upset about it,” he assured her. “It’s cute actually.”

  From the corner of his eye Ryan caught sight of his daughter as she zipped across the dock and toward her mothers waiting SUV. It was a new thing, with shiny chrome wheels and a large grill that gave the already imposing vehicle an almost angry demeanor.

  “Nice car,” he said.

  “Have you thought about it?” Jillian asked. “Does she know?”

  “She knows I’m leaving the police force,” he answered. “I’m not going to tell her anything else until I’m one hundred percent sure.”

  “She’ll be devastated.”

  “No,” he shook his head. “She’ll be fine. A few more months and she’ll be too busy for me anyway.”

  “No.” Jillian answered. “Not her, not you. She talks about you in ways she never talks about me. You’re her favorite. You always have been.”

  “Like I said,” he replied. “I’m not completely sure yet and until I am I don’t want either of us to say anything.”

  “It’s not my story to tell.”

  His eyes rested in the deep blue of his former wife’s as she stood only inches from him. He thought back to her recent wedding day and about the words they’d said. It was too much to go over, too much to repeated and too complicated to revisit.

  He knew better than to try.

  “So what will you do with all of your free time?” Jillian asked.

  “I’m still trying to figure that one out.”

  “You’re good at what you do. Maybe a private detective?”

  “What’s with the concern?” He asked.

  “I just don’t want you sitting around doing nothing. I’ve seen what happens when people stop. You’re too young for that. Carly still needs you.” Jillian’s eyes darted toward the still waters. “And so do I.”

  “I’m not going to just sit around and give up.” He assured her. “That just isn’t me. You know that.”

  “I know,” she answered. “But people change. It’s just part of life.”

  “Not me.” Ryan replied. “I’m more evergreen than most I think.”

  “Make sure it stays that way,” she headed for her car.

  Chapter Two

  Ryan’s shiny new shoes shimmered against the evening moonlight as he stepped out of his car and into the parking lot of Claw, a new and overly-hyped local restaurant. Reservations were hard to come by for most during opening week but a chance encounter with a speeding car three days prior secured him a table.

  Normally he would rather eat oysters from the half shell at any one of Charleston’s local fish markets but tonight called for something more special. Tonight marked the one year anniversary of he and Michelle’s relationship.

  While his feelings for the woman were true and genuine the relationship hadn’t been without its problems however. There’d been times when the normally ethical detective flirted with the idea of his former wife. It would be that way for any man, he assured himself. Jillian was his first love and would forever hold a special place in his heart.

  Ryan stepped around the front of his car and opened the door.

  Michelle was beautiful as she stepped out. Long brown hair danced across her neck and shoulders. A hint of cleavage peered through a small diamond shaped cutout in her tight black blouse. Ryan took her hand into his own and headed for the restaurant.

  Tall stained glass windows lined the front while freshly scrubbed bricks made up the rest of the building. Once a cotton mill the old building had been sitting abandoned on the edges of Charleston for nearly twelve years until a local restaurant group out of Myrtle Beach suddenly decided it was the perfect place to open a trendy new business .

  “Devereux,” Ryan said as he approached the young hostess.

  Something about the young woman looked familiar to him. She was tall with green eyes and the kind of smooth buttery skin that a man can’t help but notice. She was also young, he reminded himself. Too young for Ryan to look at her as anything other than a hostess.

  “Of course,” she smiled. Her perfectly straight white teeth glistened under the buildings colorful mood lighting. With a wide grin she lifted two menus and motioned for the couple to follow.

  Massive chandeliers hung high from the former factory roof. A patchwork of jagged green, blue and yellow mosaic glass cast shadows of every size and color across the room, creating the kind of environment Ryan had only seen in movies.

  “This is…” Michelle’s voice trailed off.

  “I know,” he took a look around the large dining area. “Like I said, I was given the reservation by the owner. I thought you might like to try something different.”

  “It’s nice,” she assured him, trying her best to pretend the whole thing didn’t seem completely over the top. “Certainly plenty to look at.”

  “Let’s just hope they put as much attention into the food.” He lifted the menu.

  Printed on a single sheet of what felt like sandpaper was the daily menu. Dinner consisted of only four choices. A pan-seared tuna, a scallop dish, shrimp over filet and a large Cajun steampot. The rest of the menu was equally small, with only a few items to choose from in each area.

  “They have fried green tomatoes,” Michelle noted. “With a crawfish butter glaze.”

  “Crawfish butter…” Ryan repeated. “Sounds interesting.”

  “I think I’ll start with that.” Michelle looked up. “What about you?”

  Ryan focused in on the small selection, trying his best not to get lost in his own head. He wasn’t sure how she would react once he told her the news. It wasn’t final, but it seemed like something she ought to know he was thinking about.

  “I don’t think I’m going to stay.” He placed the menu back on the table.

  “Are you feeling bad?” Michelle leaned in, grabbing the edges of her chair.

  “No,” he extended his hand. “I don’t mean the restaurant. I mean Charleston….”

  “Wh
at?”

  A look of confusion washed over the woman like waves on the shore. She may not have been expecting him to say this just yet but Ryan knew better than to think this came as a total shock.

  “I told you I was leaving the force.”

  “No,” she corrected him. “You told me you were thinking about it.”

  She was right, he realized. The last conversation the two had on the matter was days before Ryan informed Chief Evans of his plan to leave. He’d neglected to tell her once the final decision was made.

  “And what’s this about you leaving?”

  “Once I’m no longer an officer,” he answered. “I was thinking maybe I’d go somewhere else. That I’d try something new.”

  “You’re going to leave Carolina?” She asked. “The lowcountry?”

  “I think maybe it’s time,” he replied. “I think I could start over somewhere else.”

  “Anyone can start over. It’s not a question of if you can do it. It’s a question of if you should.” Michelle answered just a waiter stopped by the small table.

  “My name is Ja-”

  “Just some water for now,” Michelle interrupted the young man. “Sparkling if you have it.”

  “Of course,” answered the waiter. “And for the gentleman?”

  “Scotch,” the detective replied. “Rocks.”

  Silence fell across the small two person table like a wet blanket, smothering each one of them more and more with every passing second. Michelle kept her eyes glued to the menu while Ryan remained focused on her.

  “Where?”

  “Texas.” Ryan replied. “Austin maybe.”

  “Texas…” her face twisted into a mix of loss and disgust. “What the hell is in Texas?”

  “I don’t know.” Ryan replied. “Something…. maybe.”

  “What is this about?” She questioned. “Really?”

  It was the second time he’d heard this question, the second time he’d been asked for a deeper reason for his actions.

  “The truth is,” he stumbled over his own words. “The truth is that I don’t know where I want to go or what I want to do when I get there. I just don’t think I should stay here. That’s all.”