by Bill H Myers
With most of the parking spots empty, we had our pick. Normally, when choosing a campsite, I'd look for one as far away from the campground entrance as possible. I want a site that has the least amount of drive by traffic and the most privacy. But we weren't looking for a campsite. We were looking for the people in the Ford truck.
I figured our best chance of finding them would be to set up camp near the entrance of the RV area. This way, everyone going in or out would have to pass by our site. When the people in the Ford camper came in, we'd see them.
Most people shy away from camping near the entrance, so there wasn't a problem finding a spot. I pulled lengthways into the first slot; it would give us a clear view of every passing vehicle.
After parking, I asked Lori to watch Bob while I ran the slide room out. He was still in the back bedroom, but I didn't want to risk him getting caught up in the moving wall.
After getting the slide out, the place started feeling like home. But, unlike home, the view out our driver's side window was of a paved parking lot with a hi-rise hotel towering above a casino.
On the passenger side, our view was the wilds of the Everglades with no buildings to disrupt the view.
Lori had moved over to the couch and was checking on the panther kitten. It'd been sleeping since she'd fed it and it was still sleeping now. After making sure it was okay, she looked up at me. “So we're here. Now what?”
I pointed to the main casino building. “The sign says RVers have to check in with casino security to get an overnight pass. I'll go do that. If you want, I can pick up some food while I'm in there. You can go with me if you want.”
“Food sounds good. Get me a burger or something. But I'm staying here. I'm not interested in going into the casino.”
I nodded then checked my phone. “Looks like we have cell service. If you need me, call.”
“Will do. Bring me some fries and a Coke with the burger.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
I headed out across the parking lot to check in with casino security and pick up some food. Instead of taking a direct route to the front door, I walked the full length of the RV parking area looking for a silver Ford truck with a white camper on the back.
That was the description we had gotten from the ranger at Monument Lake and from the clerk in the pet store. We suspected whoever was in the truck had the panther kittens.
I had no luck in finding the truck in the RV lot. It looked like they hadn't arrived yet. This worked in our favor as it would give us a chance to come up with a plan before they pulled in.
While heading to main entrance of the casino, I noticed a white van pull up and park. The van matched the description of the one that Bud, the exotic animal buyer, said he would be driving.
I watched as a man in a uniform got out and went to the back door and started unloading an industrial carpet cleaner. The guy was probably doing work in the casino and wasn't Bud the animal buyer.
But seeing the white van gave me an idea. I'd discuss it later on with Lori.
I continued through the parking lot and into the casino entrance. Inside, it was like most casinos. Garish colors, flashing lights, and lots of people walking around holding plastic cups filled with coins that would soon end up in the slots.
To the left of the entrance was the help desk. I walked over and asked the lady behind the counter about getting an overnight pass for the RV parking area.
She smiled and said, “Welcome to Miccosukee Resort. We're happy you're here. If you're going to be staying overnight in the RV section, I need to see your driver's license.”
I pulled out my license and handed it to her. She looked at it, wrote something down on a clipboard, and handed it back to me. “So you're from Florida. Have you been to the casino before?”
“No, this is my first time.”
“Well, in that case, you'll want to sign up for our free player's card. It includes two passes for the buffet and a thirty dollar slot credit. Would you like to sign up now?”
I shook my head. “It sounds like a great deal but my wife is back in the motorhome and I'd rather she sign up. She likes to do that kind of thing herself.”
The woman nodded. “I understand.”
She produced a yellow card from under the counter and, using a magic marker, wrote a date on it. “How many days you staying?”
“Just tonight. Maybe tomorrow tonight if we get lucky.”
She wrote another date on the card and handed it to me. “Put this on your dash so our security people can see it. We're here twenty-four hours a day. If you have questions or problems, be sure to let us know.
“And bring your wife back so she can sign up for the player's card.”
I smiled. “I'll do that. Now, where do I go to get something to eat?”
She pointed to her left. “Those stairs will take you up to the buffet. If you want something lighter, our Hammock Cafe has gourmet sandwiches and burgers. It's right next door.”
I thanked her for her help and walked over to the Hammock Cafe. There wasn't a line. I ordered two burgers, two orders of fries and two Cokes to go. Ten minutes later, the food was ready. I paid and headed back outside.
It was a quick walk from the casino to our parking lot campsite. As I got closer, I could see that at least three more RVs had pulled in while I was away. The Ford truck with the white camper wasn't one of them.
Lori had locked the motorhome door, and I had left my keys inside. I knocked, letting her know I was back. She opened the door with a smile on her face. “A man bringing me food. What else could a woman want?”
“A lot of things,” I replied.
She laughed. “Yeah, it'll take more than food.”
I stepped up into the motorhome and put the bags of food on the kitchen table. Not wanting to handle a burger after touching casino doors, I headed to the back to wash up. When I returned, Lori was sitting at the table and had a French fry in her mouth. “Hope you don't mind, but I started without you. I'm starving.”
I smiled. “I don't mind. We should have gotten something to eat sooner.”
It didn't take us long for us to work our way through the food. We both agreed the burgers were the best we'd eaten in a long time. It could be that we were so hungry anything would have tasted good.
After we finished, I asked, “How's the kitten?”
“Doing fine. Breathing is regular. Heartbeat is strong.”
“Good. What about you? How are you holding up?”
She looked at me and shook her head. “Considering I slept on the couch last night then started out today by crawling into a panther's den, I'm doing okay.
“But I'm worried about tonight. We have to figure a way to get those kittens back.”
I nodded and started to say something but was interrupted by an incoming call on Lori's phone. She held the phone so I could see the caller ID. It said, “Kenny.”
She put the phone in speaker mode and answered.
“Hi Kenny.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
We were in the motorhome and Kenny had just called. Lori had him on speaker phone.
“Lori, I'm returning your call. What do you need?”
Kenny's voice sounded strained. Almost hoarse.
“Kenny, thanks for calling back. Where are you?”
“I'm in Naples, why?”
“You didn't show up at Oasis today. I wondered if something had happened.”
“Nothing happened. I just decided to take a personal day off.”
“Are you sick? Your voice sounds kind of scratchy.”
He hesitated then said, “Yeah, I think I'm coming down with something. I'll probably take tomorrow off too.”
“Kenny, I hope you get better. The reason I called is I wondered if you’d heard from Callie today.”
“Callie? Why would I know anything about Callie?
“Kenny, don't play games with me. I know you and Callie were together last night. She didn't show up for her shift this morning. I'm thinki
ng you might know where she is.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone. For a moment, I thought Kenny had hung up.
But he hadn't. “Lori, you're right. Callie was with me last night. But she left early this morning. She didn't tell me where she was going. In fact, she didn't even tell me she was leaving. All I know is when I got up, she was gone. I haven't heard from her since.”
“You don't know where she is?”
“No Lori, I don't.”
“Okay Kenny, one more question. Any chance Callie knew about the panther kittens?”
He hesitated again then asked, “Lori, what's this about? Why are you so interested in Callie?”
Lori took a deep breath and said, “Kenny, someone got to the panther's nest this morning before we did. We think they took two kittens. We're trying to figure out who it was. Only a few people knew about the nest. You, me, and maybe Callie. Did you tell her?”
Again, he hesitated before answering. Then he said, “Yeah, I told her you were going to look for the kittens this morning. But I didn't show her the GPS data.”
“That's good, Kenny. Means she probably wasn't involved. But somebody got there before we did. You have any idea who it might have been?”
He hesitated again then finally said, “Lori, I don't know anything about panther kittens. I don't know where Callie is. All I know is I think I'm coming down with a cold or something and I need to rest.”
“Okay Kenny, I believe you. One last question and I'll let you go. Are you spending the night in Naples or coming back to Oasis?”
He answered quickly. “I'm staying here in Naples tonight, at my mom's.”
“Good. If Callie calls, please let me know.”
“I will.”
He ended the call.
Lori looked at me and shook her head. “So, do you think he is telling the truth?”
I shrugged. “You know him better than I do. What do you think?”
She hesitated then said, “I don't know. He sounded nervous.”
She was right; he did sound nervous. But then again, he was talking to Lori, his ex-girlfriend, about being with a different woman the night before. Almost any man would be nervous in that situation.
I didn't tell Lori this. Instead, I asked, “What about Callie? Think she's involved?”
“No, not unless Kenny is. She'd need him to pull it off.”
I thought for a moment. “Okay, let's think about what we know for sure.
“Someone got to the panther nest before we did this morning. We think they took at least two kittens.
“The ranger at Monument Lake saw two people in a silver Ford truck with a white camper, and they were on the trail leading to the panther nest.
“The man at the pet store said two people came in and bought kitten supplies. They were in a silver Ford truck with a camper on the back.
“Someone contacted Bud, the animal buyer, about selling panther kittens. They told him they were in a Ford truck with a white camper. They plan to meet the buyer in the casino parking lot.
“The one common thread in all this is the silver Ford pickup with the camper on the back. And Kenny has a truck that matches that description.”
Lori nodded. “So it sounds like Kenny is involved. But we won't know for sure until we see who's driving the truck when it gets here tonight.”
I thought for a moment then said, “How about this; you call the animal buyer and tell them the meeting is off? Tell them the kittens were taken by FWC agents.
“After you make the call, I'll call Enterprise and rent a white Ford van. I'll get them to deliver it to the front door of the casino. Once I get the van, I'll hide it where it can't be seen from the RV lot.
“A little after seven, I'll get in the van and find the Ford truck with the camper on the back. The people in the truck will think I'm Bud the animal buyer, and it'll give me a chance to find out who's really behind this. How's that for a plan?”
Lori thought about it then said, “That might work. I'll call the animal buyer, cancel the meet. Then you can go in his place. But when you meet up with the sellers, how are you going to get the kittens back?”
I smiled. “I'll think of something.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The meeting with the people trying to sell the kittens was scheduled for seven, which meant we had three hours to get ready. I called Enterprise and made arrangements to have a white Ford van delivered to the casino. The driver would call and let me know when he arrived with the van.
Lori called Denise at Oasis to check on the condition of the mother panther. Denise said the panther was doing well and showing no signs of infection. She also said she hadn't heard from either Kenny or Callie, and there was a rumor going around they had left together.
She asked, “What about you and Walker? Are you coming back here tonight?”
Lori said, “No. We're not going to make it tonight. We've got some things to take care of in Miami. But we should be back at Oasis before noon tomorrow.
“If you hear from Kenny or Callie, or if the panther takes a turn for the worse, let me know.”
They said their goodbyes and ended the call.
After Lori had hung up, she turned to me. “She asked about you.”
“Who? Who asked about me?”
“Denise. She wanted me to tell you, 'Hi.' Wanted to know how you were doing. It sure it sounds like she has a crush on you. Should I be worried?”
I nodded. “Definitely. As your pretend boyfriend, I think you should definitely pretend to be worried.”
She laughed. “Okay, I'll pretend to be worried that another woman is trying to steal you away.”
She picked up her phone and looked at me. “You still think it's a good idea to call the animal buyer and tell him the deal is off?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think it is the right thing to do. Once we get him out of the picture, it'll be a lot easier to get the kittens back.”
She put her phone in speaker mode and entered the animal buyer's number. After three rings, a woman answered.
“Yeah, who's calling?”
“Hi, I'm the one who called earlier about the special kittens.”
“Yeah, I remember. What's up?”
“We no longer have them. We ran into some trouble with FWC—”
The woman cut her off. “Don't say anything else. We are only interested in legal animal transactions. We assumed you understood that when you called us earlier today. Any meeting we had planned with you is now off the table. Again, we only get involved in legal transactions. Do not contact us again.”
The woman ended the call.
Lori smiled. “That was easy. All I had to do was mention FWC and all of a sudden she doesn't want to have anything to do with the panther kittens.”
I nodded. “It sounded like she thought the call was being recorded. She was real careful with what she was saying. I bet she's on the phone with Bud right now, telling him not to go anywhere close to this parking lot tonight.”
Lori smiled. “I think you're right. I scared her off. They won't be coming here tonight.”
She looked at the clock on her phone and showed it to me. “It's time to feed the kitten. You want to do it this time?”
I pointed to my phone. “I would, but I need to be ready to meet the rental van guy. He should be calling any minute now.”
Lori shook her head. “Yeah, right. You go ahead and get ready. I'll feed him this time. But sooner or later, it'll be your turn.”
She got up and went to the kitchen to make the formula. While she was doing this, I went to the back and checked on Bob. He hadn't come out to visit us since we'd brought the kitten in, and he might have been feeling a little lonesome.
I found him on the bed, wide awake, on guard in case the kitten came back to challenge him. When I reached out to pet him, he hissed. He wanted me to know he wasn't happy about the situation.
I sat down beside him and said, “Bob, everything is going to be okay. That li
ttle kitten won't bother you. He won't be here long, and before you know it, things will be back to normal.”
I reached over to stroke him. This time he didn't hiss. He let me pet him and was soon purring. He eventually rolled over onto his side, put one paw over his eye, and pretended to go to sleep.
I left Bob and checked his food and water. His water bowl was empty, and his food bowl had only a few morsels.
Maybe this was what Bob was upset about. He didn't like it when his food bowl was empty. Even when he wasn't hungry, he wanted food in his bowl. I think it gave him comfort to know where his next meal was coming from.
I pretty much felt the same way.
When Bob heard me pour kibble into his bowl, he hopped down from the bed and came into the bathroom to check it out. He sniffed the food, looked up at me, and left.
Having taken care of his needs, I headed back up front to check on Lori and the kitten.
They were both still on the couch. Lori had finished the feeding and had the kitten on her shoulder, gently stroking its back. She continued until the kitten let out a small burp, accompanied by a wet dribble of milk down her neck.
“I think I need a paper towel,” she said.
“Yes, you do.”
I tore off a double sheet from the roll near the kitchen sink and handed it to her. She took the towel and handed me the kitten. “Your turn. You hold him for a while.”
I held the kitten and watched as Lori used the paper towel to wipe away the dribble on the back of her neck. “Did I get it all? Any of it on my shirt?”
“No, your shirt looks clean. You got it all.”
She looked at me and shook her head. “Walker, don't hold the kitten like you think it's a bomb about to explode. Hold him close to your chest. Close enough so he can feel your body heat and hear your heart beat.”
I nodded and brought the kitten to my chest, and almost immediately, it opened its eyes. It blinked and started purring.
Lori smiled. “That's better. Now just stand there like that for a minute.”
She picked up her phone and snapped off a few photos of me holding the kitten. Then she tapped in a number and sent the photos off to someone.
