by Bill Myers
“You want to go in, see what it's like?”
Polly shook her head. “I already know what the office looks like. I've been in there many times. What I really want to know is if you're absolutely sure the old manager won't be coming back.”
“He's not coming back. I can guarantee that.”
“Well if you're sure, we can go in, take a look around.”
I unlocked the door and we went in. Me first, with Polly following and Oscar in tow.
The office looked the same as it had the night before. No sign that anyone other than me had been there recently.
Polly flipped on the overhead lights and looked around.
“So if I agree to be the manager, what am I supposed to do?”
“The normal stuff. Answering phone calls, replying to emails. Running the reservation system and checking in guests.
“You'd also be in charge of everything that went on here in the park. So if a guest had a problem or needed something, they'd come to you.”
Polly nodded. “I'd be in charge of everything?”
“Yes, for the most part, you'd be in charge. But there is something you need to know, and you can't tell anyone about this.
“The manager took off with this month's rents. About twenty thousand dollars. And he didn't pay the park's utility bills. Electric or water. So you might get some calls about that.
“If those calls do come in, just tell them the owner is making arrangements to pay the bills. Do not tell anyone that the manager ran off with the money.”
Polly frowned. “The manager took off with all the rent money? Does that mean there's no record of who paid and who didn't?”
“That's a good question. One that the new manager will have to find an answer for.”
Polly pointed at the office computer. “Whenever I paid my rent, he'd entered it into the computer. So maybe it's all there. If it is, it shouldn't be too hard to straighten things out.”
I nodded. “So what do you think? You interested in being the new manager?”
Polly smiled. “I wouldn't mind being Queen of Serenity Cove. But only if you're sure the old manager is not coming back.”
“Polly, he's not coming back. But just to be on the safe side, as the new manager you can have someone come in and change the locks today.
“And if you want, I can get business cards printed up showing you as the manager. So what do you think?”
Polly bent over and gave Oscar a pat on the head, then stood back up to face me. She had a smile on her face.
“I'll do it.”
I handed Polly the office keys. “You are now officially the new Serenity Cove park manager. Any questions?”
“Yes, what's the job pay?”
“Polly, as Queen of Serenity Cove, you'll get free rent, and if I can arrange it, a starting salary of two thousand dollars a month.”
She smiled. “Free rent is good. And the salary isn't too bad.
“Just one more question. Can me and Oscar go back to our trailer? I didn't know I'd be starting a new job today and would like to get changed into something nicer.”
I laughed. “Polly, as Queen of Serenity Cove, you can do anything you like. You're in charge.”
She smiled again. “In charge. I do like the sound of that.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
When I got back to my motorhome, I called Anna.
“Anna, good news. Polly agreed to take over as temporary park manager. She's going to start today and will be working to get everything caught up.”
“Walker, the owner will be happy to hear that. But what about the missing money? I spoke to the owner last night and she said if the money doesn't show up soon, she'll have to sell. She's still thinking the quickest way is to sell to a developer.”
“Anna, you already told me that. So has she given you a price yet?”
“No, not yet. As soon as she does, I'll let you know.”
We ended the call.
I was supposed to meet Agent Harris at ten, which gave me just under an hour to get things ready. He hadn't said to come alone, and I figured having a witness might be a good idea, so I decided to pay Buck a visit.
Polly had told me that Buck enjoyed our little Homeland Security adventure, and wanted to tag along next time I went out. So maybe he'd want to go with me to meet with Harris. Buck could be my wing man – a witness should something unexpected happen.
I walked down to Buck's bus and pressed the doorbell. Instead of the normal 'ding dong', the doorbell played the first few bars of the theme song from Buck's long ago TV show. Funny how after all these years, I still recognized the tune.
A moment later, Buck met me at the door, wearing a silk western shirt, jeans, cowboy boots, and a smile on his face.
“Walker, good to see you. What have you got going on today?”
“I've got a meeting with Agent Harris in about an hour. Thought you might like to go along. Not sure what the meeting's about, but it could be interesting.”
Buck smiled. “That sounds like fun. Let me grab my things and we can head out.”
“Buck, no gun. Leave it here.”
Buck shook his head. “Couldn't take it if I wanted to. Homeland Security took it from me the other night, and they still have it. Maybe Harris can get it back for me.”
I nodded. “Yeah, maybe.”
While Buck got ready for our meeting with Harris, I walked back to my motorhome, got the Jeep and brought it up to Buck's place.
He was waiting when I pulled into his driveway. He got in the Jeep and said, “Walker, hanging around with you is like being a character in one of my movies. You just never know what's going to happen next. I like it.”
We arrived at Lemon Bay Park about ten minutes early. There were no other cars in the parking lot, and unless he was hiding, Agent Harris hadn't shown up yet.
I got out of the Jeep and walked over to the park bulletin board to check out the map displayed there. It showed several walking trails, a kayak launch, and something called 'Alligator Pond'.
I turned to Buck. “They've got an alligator pond. You want to go over there and take a look?”
Buck shook his head, “Not me. I've seen plenty of gators. You go ahead, I'll wait here.”
Buck stayed in the Jeep while I headed to Alligator Pond. The trail wound through a tropical forest bounded by tall ferns and shaded by oaks and large palms. Thirty feet in and it felt like civilization was a thousand miles away.
After a hundred yards, the trail rose slightly to a narrow wooden bridge overlooking a pea green water feature. A small placard on the bridge railing said 'Alligator Pond'.
Visitors were warned not to feed the alligators nor to swim in the water. You'd think a warning sign near an attraction called 'Alligator Pond' would be unnecessary. But having seen my share of tourists doing stupid things, the signs were definitely needed.
In the six months I'd lived in Florida, I'd seen several alligators, mostly around creek banks and in slow moving rivers. I was always amazed that these prehistoric creatures lived so close to so many humans, and yet there were so few alligator attacks each year.
I was thinking about this when I heard a horn honk back in the parking lot. Buck letting me know that Agent Harris had arrived. Not wanting to keep them waiting, I turned and headed back the way I had come.
When I reached the parking lot, I saw that a black four door Suburban with heavily tinted windows had pulled up beside my Jeep. Agent Harris had gotten out and was standing near the passenger side of the Jeep, talking with Buck. They were both smiling and acting like old friends swapping war stories.
I walked up to Harris. “I see you made it.”
He smiled. “Yeah, just go here. See any gators in the pond?”
I shook my head. “No. But I don't doubt there's at least one in there.”
Harris nodded. “There is. I've seen it.”
He pointed toward his Suburban. “Let's me and you have a talk.”
“Sure, but let's talk
out here.”
Harris frowned. “I'd rather talk to you privately. Inside the car.”
I shook my head. “No, I'd like Buck to hear whatever you have to say. Just in case there is a misunderstanding later on.”
Harris looked around. There were no other cars in the lot. No reason not to talk out here.
“Here is fine.”
He looked up at the blue sky, then back at me.
“Walker, here's the thing. We lost you and the drugs. And the GPS tracker in the package doesn't seem to be working.
“Since we have to account for the drugs, we need to find them or the person who has them.
“And since you were the last person who had the drugs, we start our search with you.
I nodded. “That makes sense.”
“So Walker, the question is, do you still have the drugs?”
I shook my head. “Of course not. I did the exchange as planned. You know that.”
“No I don't know that at all. In fact, all we really know is we gave you the drugs and you were supposed to do the exchange in the funeral home parking lot. But it didn't go that way, did it?”
I shook my head. “No, it didn't go that way. If your guys had been there as planned, they would know that Darrell called and had me meet him on an island near Stump Pass.
“That's where the exchange took place.”
Harris nodded. “But where's the proof? How do we prove the deal went down the way you say it did?”
I was starting to get angry, but didn't want to show it. I took a breath, then said, “Look, if your guys were in place like you promised, they would have seen everything. They would know the exchange took place on the island.”
Harris smiled. “Okay, so let's say I believe you. What did the guy look like? The one you gave the drugs to?”
I shook my head. “I don't know. He was wearing a mask.”
“A mask? What kind of mask?”
“A full face fishing mask. The kind that fishing guides wear to protect them from the sun.
“The mask covered his face, dark sunglasses hid his eyes. A long sleeve shirt covered his arms. Other than him being about two inches shorter than me, there's not much else I can tell you.”
Harris frowned. “So let me get this straight. You exchanged ten pounds of pot, worth about forty grand, with some guy wearing a mask?”
When he put it like this, it did sound kind of fishy. But it was the truth. I didn't hesitate to tell him so.
“Harris, I delivered the drugs to Darrell. And I got the dog back. Your guys screwed up, not me.”
Harris crossed his arms and stared at me. He pressed his lips together and slowly shook his head.
A minute passed, then he said, “Tell me everything. Start with when you got to the funeral home parking lot.”
I told him the whole story, leaving out no detail. From the time I reached the funeral home parking lot until I was rescued at Chadwick Park.
When I finished, he said, “I've got a couple of questions.
“First, what did you do with the phone you found on the dock? The one that Darrell used to give you instructions?”
“I left it in the boat. Darrell's got the boat now, and the phone.”
“Okay, after you gave him the drugs, you say he took off south toward Stump Pass?”
I nodded. “That's right, he went south.”
Harris shook his head. “See, there's a problem with that. The Coast Guard was set up at the mouth of Stump Pass and checked every boat that came through.
“Your guy never made it to the checkpoint.”
I thought about it for a moment. “Well, maybe he turned around, went behind the island and headed back north. That'd make more sense than him taking the small boat through the pass.”
Harris nodded. “Yeah, he could have done that. But the Coast Guard had another checkpoint at the Manasota Key Bridge. If he had come north, they would have stopped him there.
“So whether he had gone north or south, he should have run into a Coast Guard checkpoint. But there's no record of someone in a small boat being stopped that morning.
“That creates a problem for you. We can't verify that you gave the drugs to anyone. For all we know, you kept the drugs for yourself.”
I shook my head, the anger threatening to boil over. “I can't believe this. You set this whole thing up. It's your fault your guys weren't there to see it happen. And now you blame me?
“I didn't keep the drugs. I followed the plan and traded them for the dog. Then I sat out there on that sandbar for hours waiting for your guys to rescue me, and they never showed up.
“And there are witnesses to the exchange. At least one trawler went by while I was on the beach with Darrell. Three girls on top waved, and I waved back.
“If the Coast Guard stopped all the boats, they'll have a record of the trawler. Contact the boat's owner. Ask him what he saw.”
Harris smiled. “Walker, I believe you. But the problem is we don't have the guy or the drugs. And somebody has to take the fall for the missing product.”
Buck had stayed quiet until he heard this, but he'd had enough. “Walker isn't going to take the fall. He didn't take the drugs. He got the dog back. And he's got witnesses that saw the deal go down.
“If you try to pin this on him, I'll go to the media. I'll tell them everything. How you put this plan in motion and then pulled your agents and left Walker hanging, out there without backup.
“With me involved, this'll be a national story. All the networks will want a piece of it. It'll be a media feeding frenzy. 'Feds abandon civic-minded volunteer to fend off drug cartel on his own.' How does that sound?”
Harris studied Buck for a moment.
“There's no need to get the press involved. Maybe there's another way we can resolve this.
“All you need to do is find Eddie.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
“Eddie? Why do I need to find Eddie?”
Harris smiled. “Because Eddie is your connection to Darrell. If you can find Eddie, maybe he can lead you to Darrell.”
I shook my head. “So why aren't your guys out looking for Eddie? He's your confidential informant. Don't you know where he is?”
“Walker, believe me, if we weren't involved in this missile thing, we'd be out looking for Eddie. But we're kind of short handed right now.
“But you and Buck should have no problem finding him. You were with him the night the house on Pandora blew up. And before then, you were there when he crashed his bike into the car on River Road.
“So I figure you and Eddie must be good buddies.”
I laughed. “You've gotta be kidding. I've only seen Eddie twice in my life. And that was two times too many. I have no idea where he lives or hangs out.”
Harris shook his head. “That's too bad. Because if you could find Eddie, and Eddie could find Darrell, we could go pick him up.
“And you, Mr. Walker, would be off the hook. This thing would be over.”
I shook my head. “I cannot believe how messed up this is. You want me to do your work for you? To go track down Eddie and then Darrell?”
Harris didn't answer. He just smiled.
Buck tapped me on the arm, then whispered, “This is good. I can use it in my movie script. Let's do it.”
I turned to Harris. “Okay, so let's say we're able to find Eddie and he tells us where Darrell is. Then what?”
Harris reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone. “Use this to call me. There's only one number programmed into it. Mine. Don't call anyone else, just me. Don't try to apprehend Darrell on your own. Just locate him and call me.”
I took the phone and shoved it into my pants pocket. “Got it. Locate Darrell. Call you and we're out of it, right?”
Harris nodded. “Yes, if you can find Darrell, we'll pick him up and you'll be in the clear.”
He then looked at his watch. “Well guys, it's always good to see you. But I've got somewhere I need to be right now. Walker, don't
leave town until this is resolved.”
He tossed us a salute, walked to his Suburban and drove off.
Buck looked at me and smiled, “That went well.”
I frowned. “What are you talking about? He blames me for losing the pot. I can't leave town. Wants me to do his job and find the drug dealer.”
Still smiling, Buck said, “It could've been a lot worse. He could have put you in cuffs and hauled you off to wherever Homeland Security keeps people these days.
“As it is, you're still free. And I got my gun back.”
“You got your gun back? When did that happen?”
“When you were over at the gator pond. Harris drove up and I asked about my gun.
“He had it with him. Gave it back to me. No bullets though.”
“So you got your gun back, and I got screwed. Doesn't seem quite fair.”
“Walker, look at it this way. Homeland Security is asking for your help. All you have to do is find Eddie and ask him where Darrell is.
“That shouldn't be too difficult. You've got me to help. Plus we've got insurance.”
“Insurance? What kind of insurance?”
Buck reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his phone. He pressed 'play' on the audio recorder app.
The phone began playing back my conversation with Harris, starting with, 'See any gators?'
“You recorded it?”
“Yep, got everything. This'll be our insurance. We can give this to the media if Harris doesn't honor the deal.”
Suddenly relieved, I shook my head and laughed. “I like it. We've got insurance. Now all we have to do is find Eddie. Any suggestions on how we should start?”
Buck smiled. “I was in a movie once where we had to track some people down. We started by having lunch. It worked out fine.
“So I suggest we start by calling Polly. Ask her if we can bring her lunch. She's probably getting hungry about now, what with all the work you've got her doing in the Serenity Cove office.”
Buck was right. It was nearly lunch time, and it would be a good idea to offer to bring some food to Polly.
