the Gandy Bridge. It took the EMTs eighteen minutes to get to him. By then, it was too late. He was gone.
“ I was alone after that. Living in Tampa. In a big house, without Jack. Just me and Oscar.
“ After I got over the shock of his death, I put our house on the market, and when it sold I bought an Airstream trailer and set it up here in Serenity Cove. Been living here ever since.”
“ Jack was your husband?”
“ Yes, we were married forty years. He was a good man. And a good father to Lucy. I really miss him.
“ But Oscar here keeps me company these days. It's because of him that I get out and walk around the park. He needs his daily exercise and to take care of his personal business. So I get out and walk with him.
“ And when I'm out with Oscar, everybody wants to stop and talk. They want to know what kind of dog he is, and then after we get to talking, they tell me their life stories.
“ So Oscar is kind of like the ice breaker. Everyone here knows him and most admire his regularity.”
I laughed.
Polly laughed as well. “You'll find out that Serenity Cove is a nice place to live. There's nice people here. And there wasn't much crime until recently.”
“ Something happen?”
“ Yes, a few things have gone missing. And a couple of trailers were broken into.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“It started right after PT and Spider showed up. I thought they were part of the Monday mowing crew. But these guys didn't seem to do any work.
“ They drove a beat up pickup truck. Black with dark tinted windows. Busted front windshield. A camper shell on the back.
“ Never saw them working with the mowing crew. They'd drive up to the office, go in with a twelve pack of beer and hang out for a few hours.
“ You'd occasionally see them walking around the park, acting like they were looking for something. Up to no good.
“ I reported them to the park manager, but he said don't worry about them. Just old friends of his.
“ I never saw them do anything illegal, but it just didn't feel right with them around.
“ I even saw them in the park after midnight once. Oscar needed to go out to take care of business, and while we were standing in the grass over there, we saw them driving slowly with their lights out.
“ They pulled up to the dock and parked. Not sure what they were up to, but when Oscar was done with his business, we went back inside and those guys were still there.”
Two non-residents in the park after midnight did seem suspicious.
“So Polly, you said these guys names are PT and Spider. Do they have last names?”
She shook her head. “We don't know their real names, first or last. So we made up names for them.
“The taller guy has a pony tail. It's kind of funny because his hair is gray, like an old man. But he has this long pony tail, so we dubbed him PT, for Pony Tail.
“ The other guy is covered with tattoos. Everywhere except his face. A big spider web tattoo covers his arms, legs, and neck. So we call him Spider.
“ Of course, we never call them this to their face. They don't seem real friendly and never spoke to me or anyone else in the park that I know of – except for the manager.
“ Of the two, PT seems to be the leader. He always drives the truck.
“ Spider seems more like PT's sidekick. Always a few steps behind him. Maybe it's because he is younger, in his forties.”
I nodded, thinking about PT and Spider. They certainly didn't fit in with the older crowd living here in the park. But just because someone looked a little different, didn't automatically make them criminals. These guys could have been good old boys who liked to drink beer and hang out in the manager's office.
Nothing criminal about that.
“ So Polly, when was the last time you saw PT and Spider?”
She thought for a minute. “I guess it's been about two weeks. Come to think of it, I haven't seen them since that night I saw them hanging out by the dock.”
I nodded. “Maybe they're gone. Headed
“ I was alone after that. Living in Tampa. In a big house, without Jack. Just me and Oscar.
“ After I got over the shock of his death, I put our house on the market, and when it sold I bought an Airstream trailer and set it up here in Serenity Cove. Been living here ever since.”
“ Jack was your husband?”
“ Yes, we were married forty years. He was a good man. And a good father to Lucy. I really miss him.
“ But Oscar here keeps me company these days. It's because of him that I get out and walk around the park. He needs his daily exercise and to take care of his personal business. So I get out and walk with him.
“ And when I'm out with Oscar, everybody wants to stop and talk. They want to know what kind of dog he is, and then after we get to talking, they tell me their life stories.
“ So Oscar is kind of like the ice breaker. Everyone here knows him and most admire his regularity.”
I laughed.
Polly laughed as well. “You'll find out that Serenity Cove is a nice place to live. There's nice people here. And there wasn't much crime until recently.”
“ Something happen?”
“ Yes, a few things have gone missing. And a couple of trailers were broken into.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“It started right after PT and Spider showed up. I thought they were part of the Monday mowing crew. But these guys didn't seem to do any work.
“ They drove a beat up pickup truck. Black with dark tinted windows. Busted front windshield. A camper shell on the back.
“ Never saw them working with the mowing crew. They'd drive up to the office, go in with a twelve pack of beer and hang out for a few hours.
“ You'd occasionally see them walking around the park, acting like they were looking for something. Up to no good.
“ I reported them to the park manager, but he said don't worry about them. Just old friends of his.
“ I never saw them do anything illegal, but it just didn't feel right with them around.
“ I even saw them in the park after midnight once. Oscar needed to go out to take care of business, and while we were standing in the grass over there, we saw them driving slowly with their lights out.
“ They pulled up to the dock and parked. Not sure what they were up to, but when Oscar was done with his business, we went back inside and those guys were still there.”
Two non-residents in the park after midnight did seem suspicious.
“So Polly, you said these guys names are PT and Spider. Do they have last names?”
She shook her head. “We don't know their real names, first or last. So we made up names for them.
“The taller guy has a pony tail. It's kind of funny because his hair is gray, like an old man. But he has this long pony tail, so we dubbed him PT, for Pony Tail.
“ The other guy is covered with tattoos. Everywhere except his face. A big spider web tattoo covers his arms, legs, and neck. So we call him Spider.
“ Of course, we never call them this to their face. They don't seem real friendly and never spoke to me or anyone else in the park that I know of – except for the manager.
“ Of the two, PT seems to be the leader. He always drives the truck.
“ Spider seems more like PT's sidekick. Always a few steps behind him. Maybe it's because he is younger, in his forties.”
I nodded, thinking about PT and Spider. They certainly didn't fit in with the older crowd living here in the park. But just because someone looked a little different, didn't automatically make them criminals. These guys could have been good old boys who liked to drink beer and hang out in the manager's office.
Nothing criminal about that.
“ So Polly, when was the last time you saw PT and Spider?”
She thought for a minute. “I guess it's been about two weeks. Come to think of it, I haven't seen them since that night I saw them hanging out by the dock.”
I nodded. “Maybe they're gone. Headed
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