Hidden in the Everglades. Margaret Daley

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СКАЧАТЬ was all too familiar with a person agonizing over the disappearance of a loved one. “Most people thankfully don’t.”

      “Flamingo Cay is a small town. Things like this don’t happen here. I know that Gabe has been the police chief for twenty-three years, but is he capable of handling these multiple murders?”

      “I know for a fact he can. When I was thirteen, there had been a family murdered here not far outside of town. He wasn’t the police chief yet, but he’s the one who solved the case and brought the man in. A fine piece of detective work. He and Dad were friends. He used to come over, and I would overhear the details about the case. Of course, they didn’t know I was listening. But that’s when I started wanting to be a police officer.”

      “That must have been right before we moved to Flamingo Cay.”

      “Yeah, if I remember correctly you all moved in a couple of months after that case was solved.”

      “Still, I’m glad you’re helping him with the case. Ginny told me about some of the murders you worked on in Dallas.”

      The idea he and Ginny had talked about her warmed her face. Yes, she’d talked about Michael with Ginny, but she had also discussed Amy. A friend curious about a friend’s family.

      He shoved away from the railing and descended the steps. “I wonder if he’s checked the swamp area behind the Pattersons’ place.”

      “He probably will after he finds Amy’s trail. I didn’t see anything while I was in the swamp that would point to who the killer is, but then I was ducking bullets.”

      Michael clamped his jaw tightly, his neck stiff. “You make it sound like it was no big deal.”

      “It is a big deal, but I refuse to let it get to me or I’ll hesitate when I shouldn’t.” She descended the front steps. “You said Amy loves the swamp. Any particular place she liked to go?”

      “She had a kayak she kept sometimes at the old pier at the end of the trail, but usually at the public dock off Main. She asked me about a few places, but I never heard about one area she spent all her time. She gave me some story that she needed to help preserve places like the Everglades and that she liked moving around.”

      “Why don’t you think she meant it?”

      “There was something in her tone. A certain look on her face. She kept her gaze averted. Just a feeling.” He headed across the yard toward Gabe and Harvey.

      The police chief came to a halt at the curb in front of Michael’s house and removed a toothpick from his mouth. “We followed a trail across several neighbors’ yards until it reached the middle of Bay Shore Drive and suddenly ended like someone had picked her up in a car. I’ve called Nichols and Connors to check with friends and to begin a search of the town. What was she doing yesterday? Who was she with?”

      “Amy loves spending time in the marshes.”

      “So she spent most of yesterday in the swamp?” Gabe rolled the toothpick between his thumb and forefinger as he started toward the Pattersons’ house. “Alone?”

      “She never mentioned anyone, but I think Laurie sometimes went with her.” Michael pointed toward the thick cluster of trees edging the undergrowth.

      As they came closer to the border of the swamp, Harvey quickened his pace, following behind his bloodhound. They entered where the killer had when Kyra went after him, not on the well-worn path ten yards away.

      “Let’s see where Boomer takes us. Since it’s summer there’s a lot of water.” Gabe peered at Kyra’s tennis shoes. “You might want to wear something else.”

      “I don’t have anything else. And as you can see, I’ve been in mud up to my ankles. Don’t worry about me.”

      Harvey directed Boomer into the underbrush with Gabe trailing next, then Kyra and Michael. With nose to the ground, the bloodhound took off, charging through the vegetation in the same direction Kyra had gone only hours ago after the assailant.

      They emerged from the undergrowth onto the path, and Michael fell in right behind her. “When I was a child, I use to come here like Amy. Loved the adventure. That’s why I really couldn’t say much to Amy about coming here alone. But I’ve been back for four months and have only gone into the swamp a few times.”

      “Things change when we grow up. I can’t say I liked exploring the swamp when I was a child.”

      One corner of his mouth tilted up. “And now all of a sudden you do?”

      The rotting smell of vegetation coupled with the incessant noise of insects brought back childhood memories. “Maybe I should amend my earlier statement. Some things change. That isn’t one of them. I prefer pursuing an adventure somewhere else. At the moment somewhere air-conditioned.” Beads of perspiration rolled down Kyra’s face, blurring her vision for a second until she blinked to clear it.

      Michael swiped a hand across his damp forehead. “I haven’t gotten used to the humidity yet either, and it’s been four months.”

      When Boomer approached the short pier, the dog lumbered over the wooden planks, some broken and missing, going back and forth from one side to the other until he reached the end. The bloodhound stopped and sat, looking up at Harvey as if to say this was as far as he would go.

      “Good boy.” Harvey scratched behind Boomer’s ears.

      Michael went to the edge and leaned over. “Amy’s kayak isn’t here so she must have it at the town dock.”

      “One- or two-man?” With her hand shielding her eyes, Kyra scanned the open waterway that stretched across a few hundred yards to more tangled vegetation, one mangrove island after another. Where did the killer go? Who was the second man? Why had the man killed Preston and Tyler?

      “Two, like my kayak I keep there.”

      “I’ll have Wilson check to see if her kayak is at the dock. Someone could have given her a ride there. If it’s gone, then we’ll need to search the swamp for Amy.” Gabe dropped the chewed-up toothpick into the top pocket of his shirt.

      Harvey took off his beat-up straw hat and mopped his face with a handkerchief, then stuffed it back into his jeans. “I’ll have Boomer check around the pier and see if he can come up with anything else.” Harvey plopped his hat back on his head and indicated to Boomer to get up. “Then we’ll head back along the path.”

      “So this was a waste of time.” What had Amy gotten caught up in? Michael went back over the past few days in his head, trying to remember anything she might have said to him to help them find her. He’d been gone a lot because his partner had been on vacation. Thankfully his partner had got back yesterday evening and could fill in for Michael this morning at the clinic. But that consolation didn’t give him the answers he needed.

      “No, not totally. We know wherever Amy went she used a car most likely. Yeah, it would have been nice to have Boomer lead us to her.” Gabe waved his hand toward Harvey and his dog beginning their trip back to Pelican Lane. “I’m heading to the station. We need to expand our search of the town and see if Amy’s kayak is at the public pier.”

      Michael stared at the canal gently flowing past the old pier. The water’s smooth surface—like a СКАЧАТЬ