********
A dark haired man, sitting in a booth at the back of Burger King, looked sharply at Suzette as she left the boarding area. Hastily leaving his meal on the table he grabbed a sack and hurried up to the flight attendant who had followed Suzette.
“Miss, miss.” As she turned toward him, he continued, “I think the lady that was ahead of you dropped this. Is she coming back to the plane?”
The flight attendant said, “Yes, do you want to give it to me? I’ll make sure she gets it.”
“Well, my plane doesn’t leave for more than an hour. I’ll just wait and catch her on the way back, since I’m not really sure she was the one who dropped it. If she didn’t, I’ll take it to the lost and found.”
As soon as the blond flight attendant was out of sight, he walked over to the counter. “This plane is going to Orlando?”
The uniformed attendant pointed to the sign. “It is.”
The dark haired man held up his cell phone. “My company just changed my itinerary. I’m supposed to go to Orlando instead of Miami. Is there an available seat on this plane?”
********
The flight attendant looked sharply at the big, dark haired man who thrust past her to the back of the plane. He was tall and very good looking but there something about him, something in the look in his eyes that made her nervous. She glanced at the black carry-on he pushed in front of him. When he didn’t act like it contained anything dangerous, she relaxed a little. As she helped settle the passengers just getting on, she kept watching him. Finally, she touched the arm of one of the attendants that worked the back of the plane.
“Hey, Sue. See that guy in Seat C on the back row?”
Sue glanced over her shoulder. “Sure, what about him?”
“He makes me nervous.”
“What has he done?” Sue was concerned since they got more their share of perverts in the traveling public.
“He hasn’t done anything except push past me when I was helping a passenger put some stuff in the overhead compartment. But he acts angry–I’d swear I saw a flash of red in his eyes when I didn’t move fast enough for him.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him, but if he hasn’t done anything dangerous, the airline won’t put him off.”
“I know. I don’t think I’ll even report him. I don’t have enough to go on, just an itchy, twitchy feeling. It’s not even strong enough to be called a bad feeling.”
“I hate those. But I’ve had them enough times to know that they mean something even if we haven’t figured out what. I’ll keep a close watch on him.”
“Thanks.”
********
In the bookstore in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, Suzette paid for several computer books and a novel she had wanted to read but hadn’t had time to buy before she left.
She nodded to the flight attendant in First Class, then stood for a moment looking back into Tourist, but she didn’t see the man in the back row. As soon as she had entered the plane, coming into view, he bent over, fiddling with the strap of his briefcase.
*********
About half way through the flight, the man in the last seat rang for the flight attendant. When she arrived, he said, “I’m feeling a little air sick. Would it be possible for me to take that seat up front by the window since no one is sitting in it?”
“Let me check,” she said, softly. A few minutes later, she told him he could move.
The man was now sitting directly behind Suzette, separated only by the metal bulkhead. He leaned back and closed his eyes. So far so good, he thought.
********
As soon as it was okay, Suzette opened her laptop and began planning her strategy regarding the fire. She organized the notes Amy had given her, then made a list of the men she would need to see. Then she, too, leaned back and closed her eyes.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now beginning our descent to the Orlando International Airport. Because of a severe storm lying in our landing path, we will be swinging out over the Gulf of Mexico, turning south, and then turning again east over the Atlantic. If you look down as we turn you’ll be able to see Miami and the Atlantic. This flight pattern will make us about five minutes late but that shouldn’t keep anyone from catching other flights. If you think you will have a problem, please contact one of the flight attendants who will be glad to help you. They can contact your connecting flight if necessary to let them know you are on your way. We are sorry for the unavoidable inconvenience.”
When the plane finally touched down, Suzette picked up her carry-on luggage. Thanking the flight attendants and the pilots, she hurried up the boarding walkway. “I’ll just grab my luggage from the carousel, jump the bus to the rent-a-car place and be on my way. I’m glad I have a few minutes to get myself sorted out before I meet the family.”
Suddenly, she felt like someone was staring at her, someone whose eyes were boring hard into her back because they didn’t like her. Her ability to feel when others were looking at her had been honed to a fine skill during her bout with the San Francisco Stalker. Hastily she looked around. She couldn’t see anyone she knew, just the passengers following her into the terminal.
The black haired man was stooping to tie his shoe.
The first thing she saw as she entered the terminal was a very small woman in a pale purple jogging suit with wind-blown, grey hair holding a sign that said ‘Suzette Bishop’. The woman matched Amy’s description of Cordelia Campbell.
Gritting her teeth, she made her way to the old lady. “I’m Suzette Bishop.”
“Oh, my dear, I’m so very glad you’ve come. My name is Cordelia Campbell, as I’m sure you’ve figured out because you look very intelligent as well as pretty. I’m sure that you are surprised to find me here. I was hoping that you wouldn’t mind if I met your plane. Amy told me that you planned to drive out. I thought that maybe I could talk to you on the way. The house is so full, that there isn’t really any place where we can talk privately.”
“Let me get the rest of my luggage, then we can go find your car.”
“Oh, my dear, I don’t drive. I caught a ride with a young neighbor of mine. He brought me in on his motorcycle. I’ve always wanted to ride one of those contraptions. That’s why I’m wearing trousers.”
“Did you enjoy your ride?” Suzette looked down at the small, wind-blown figure.
“It was interesting. Did you know that you seem to go faster on a motorcycle even though you are actually going the same speed as a car would go? It was a little disconcerting. He even made me wear a helmet, which didn’t do a thing for my hair.”
Suzette chuckled. “You’re very brave. I don’t think I’d have the courage to ride a motorcycle on an expressway.”
“Well, I didn’t want my family to know why I really wanted to come to Orlando. They are used to me doing strange things, like body surfing and motorcycle riding.”
“Then let’s get my luggage and we’ll get on the shuttle to the car rental place.”
As they waited for Suzette’s luggage, Cordelia looked around. She grabbed Suzette’s arm. “Do you know that very rude man over there?” She pointed across the terminal. Suzette looked up just as the dark haired man turned away.
Chapter 7
“There is something about him that seems familiar but I certainly can’t place him.”
“Well, he keeps glaring at you. I’m really tempted to go tell him to keep his eyes to himself.”
Suzette stifled a shudder as she imagined the scene Cordelia would make.
“I think we should just ignore him. He’s probably just got me mixed up with someone else.” When they had loaded luggage into the Camry that Jeremy had rented, Cordelia ran her hands along the smooth white fender. “Do you think I’m too old to learn to drive?” She asked wistfully.
“I really don’t see why. If your eyes and reflexes are in good condition, I think you could learn to drive quite easily. You certainly have the courage to learn and it really isn’t hard.”
“Why, thank you, my dear. How is it that a stranger knows me better than my kin?”
Suzette shrugged, then smiled, “probably because we become used to what we are always around. I think families can sometimes hold a person back–usually it’s out of fear for the person’s safety.”
“I don’t think my family is in the least concerned with my safety,” Cordelia said tartly. “I think most of them would like nothing better than to have me kick the bucket.”
“Which I’m sure you have no intention of doing. Families can be such a pain in the as–, neck.” Suzette blushed as she changed the last word.
With Cordelia acting as navigator, Suzette found her way down Semoran Boulevard to the Beeline Expressway. As they passed the Central Florida Greenway exit, Cordelia began scrambling in her purse.
“What’s wrong?” Suzette asked without taking her eyes off the busy road.
“This is a toll road. People get very frustrated if they have to wait for you to find the money to pay the toll. They honk, swear and flip the bird at you.”
“How much is it?”
“I think its fifty cents, but it could be seventy-five cents. I don’t come into Orlando very often so I don’t remember what it is.”
Suzette felt in her jacket pocket. “I have three quarters.” She handed them to Cordelia.
“Oh, there’s a sign,” Cordelia said. She squinted. “It says fifty cents. Well, my memory is better than I thought it was.”
Once they were past the toll booth, Suzette said, “why don’t you tell me what’s going on at your house? I know the Fire Marshal is not returning your calls and I know that you have a sister, Dorothea, and her son, Derek living with you.”
“I’m afraid I have more than just family there, just now. I didn’t tell Jeremy because I knew he would be angry at all these people living off of me but--”
“It’s hard to turn down requests from family, right?”
“Especially when we’ve had a death in the family.”
“Who is staying with you besides Dorothea and Derek?”
“Well, Jeremy’s younger sister, Hallie lives there. Hallie goes to the university. She has Ph.D in Marine Biology, but she taking extra classes.” This was said in a very mournful tone of voice.
“I would think that she must be very intelligent to be a Marine Biologist.”
“She is specializing in Sea Turtles.” Her voice went deeper and even more mournful.
“You sound like you don’t like the idea. What’s wrong with Sea Turtles?”
“There is nothing wrong with Sea Turtles unless they are drummed into your head, morning, noon, and night.”
“I can see that they might get old, if you have to hear about them that often.”
“Oftener. Sometimes I think that Hallie and Dorothea should be mother and daughter. They have the same personalities. When they are excited about something, that’s all they can talk about. Between Turtles and Pirates, I sometimes think I’m going to lose what Derek has left of my mind.”
“What do Sea Turtles have to do with the Pirates baseball team? I wouldn’t have thought they were remotely related.”
“Not baseball–sea pirates. The sea is home to both of them. Isn’t that enough?” Cordelia said bitterly.
“I wouldn’t think so. Who’s into pirates?”
“Dorothea. I have a hard time believing this myself, but she got interested in pirates from some museum she went to. Although she keeps telling me that it wasn’t pirates. It was a Spanish Galleon that sank during a hurricane back in 1602. She did a lot of reading and figuring and decided that this ship loaded with Spanish gold sank near my home. Somehow or other, she persuaded some of the men who were looking for it that they were looking in the wrong place. Since she is a genius with figures, she convinced them that she was right.
She paused and shook her head. “Sadly, she was. They found it just where she said it would be. They also found evidence that it was the ship she said it was. Anyway, she gets a 10 percent finder’s fee on the total of the stuff they bring up. She needs more money like she needs another hole in the head for her brains to leak out.”
“I would have thought that you’d have been interested and excited about a discovery like that.” Suzette looked at Cordelia thoughtfully.
“Oh I was. I even bought a scuba diving suit and began taking lessons so I could go down with them when they got into the boat.”
“You say you were excited. You aren’t now.”
“No.” Her tone was bitter and hurt at the same time.
“Why?” Suzette kept probing.
She sighed. “Partly because I gave in to Dorothea and let the head honcho that’s investigating the find and his daughter stay with us because Dorothea said it would be good to keep up on what’s going on. Dumb me, I thought it would give me more chance to go down with the divers to see the wreck.”
“Even though they are staying with you, they won’t let you go down? That’s pretty rotten.”
“I thought so. When I talked to Daniel Lin--that’s the man who’s over the excavation of the wreck, he said he didn’t think it was advisable because of security.”
“Well, I wouldn’t think you would pose a problem for their security. I could see it if he had said liability because if you got hurt he and his company could get sued, but you could sign a waiver.”
“Well, security is on his mind. Somehow, the media got wind of the discovery. Now everybody and their dog, literally in some cases, are out by the site trying to get in on the action. They have several boats anchored above the wreck, now, and full time guards both above and below the water. Because of the fear of theft, the whole area, again above and below the water, is brightly lit.” Cordelia glared out at the trees, “it’s the lights that make Hallie angry.”
“Why? Has she got something against power usage?”
“No, it’s the turtles. She’s afraid that it will interfere with their nesting habits. They won’t start nesting for a few months yet, but when they do, they come back to the same beach where they were born. My beach is part of the turtle habitat although not part of the preserve, but I try to keep people off the beach when the turtles are nesting. Hallie says that all the lights will keep the turtles from returning to my beach. So Hallie and Dorothea get in a fight every time they are together. Hallie says she’s going to get a restraining order to keep them from turning on the lights during the nesting period. Of course, Dorothea is absolutely furious about it because she thinks she’s very important and Hallie is impeding the excavation of this important find.”
She sighed. “They get so angry that they simply scream at each other, even at the dinner table. It gets very unnerving. I hate the fighting but if I try to interfere, then Hallie bursts into tears because none of us understand the pain she is feeling because of her mother’s death. Then after she makes all of us feel extremely guilty, she runs out of the room.
“Well, maybe I can find a compromise solution.” Suzette said thoughtfully.
“They will turn on you if you try,” Cordelia warned.
Suzette paused, then smiled, “No, Dorothea and Derek won’t, because they will know that Jeremy won’t hesitate to kick them out if I tell him about it. Hallie might, but I think, from what Jeremy and Amy said about her, that I could appeal to her in other ways.”
“True. I hadn’t thought about that, my dear.” Cordelia brightened. “Oh, I think I’m going to like having you around. You are a woman after my own heart.”
Suzette smiled. “I’m glad.”
The traffic had thinned out so Suzette could look around. “I can’t believe how green it is here. San Francisco, at this time of year, is brown and grey.”
“It’s green here all the time, but I really love this time of year.”
Suzette was silent as she looked out at the scenery. “Will we see any alligators?”
“Maybe. We’ve dodged some on this road but it’s usually been at night. If you want to really see gators we can go
to Gatorland.”
“Well, I’d really rather see them roaming loose.”
“Well,” Cordelia chuckled, “you could always stick your toe in one of the ponds or rivers. Trouble with that is, you have to be darn fast if they come in for a sniff.”
“Very funny.” Suzette said drily.
Cordelia pointed to what looked like a telephone box at the side of the road. “See those boxes?”
“Yes. They look like telephone booths.” Suzette looked closely at the one they were just passing.
“Those are alligator call boxes.”
She looked startled. “You’re kidding! The alligator’s use them? You have very talented alligators.”
Cordelia chuckled. “No. You find these boxes every mile along the Beeline. The local people call the Beeline Expressway Alligator Alley. It’s not the one you hear about all the time. That’s the Everglades Parkway, but the locals, here, call it that. If you have car problems, you don’t want to leave your car to look for a phone. Most of the time, if you have a flat tire, you can drive for a mile until you reach one of these phones. It’s better to ruin the tire and even the rim than leave your car. You don’t want to stray very far from your car if you have car trouble and you certainly don’t want to cut across any fields.”
“I’ll remember.” Suzette looked at the swamps along the side of the road. “There are alligators in those pools?”
“Well, in a lot of them. Just remember. You don’t want to walk on this road, if you can get out of it.”
“I’ll remember. I really don’t want to be chased by an alligator.”
After about 30 minutes, Cordelia pointed at a road that said Interstate 4. “That’s the road to Kennedy Space Center. Maybe we can take one of their tours. I wonder if there is a shuttle launch scheduled any time soon. I’d love to have you see one. They are an incredible experience. I think we should do some sight-seeing so that we keep up the fiction that you are Jeremy’s friend that’s down here to help me. Besides, all work and no play is boring.” She laughed, “And it curdles the brain cells.”
Sun, Sand and Murder: A Suzette Bishop Mystery (Suzette Bishop Mysteries Book 3) Page 4
