Read Online Killer Listing by Vicki Doudera - Free Book Online Page B

giggle that he knew belonged to Kyle.
    _____
    Helen gave the waitress her credit card and waved away Darby’s thanks. “With all you’re doing for me, lunch is the least I can do.” Finishing her beer with a gulp, she suddenly gasped in delight. “Jack! I didn’t know you were here? Get over here and give me a hug!”
    Darby followed Helen’s gaze to the sturdy, tanned man making his way to their table. He had sandy blonde hair and deep blue eyes, and his grin revealed a set of perfectly straight white teeth.
    He hugged Helen tightly. “It’s good to see you,” he said.
    “You sweet boy. You haven’t been properly introduced to Darby.”
    Jack turned his blue eyes on Darby and she saw a flash of fear flit across his face, but it was quickly replaced by his boyish grin.
    “It’s the winner of the Jack Cameron treasure hunt,” he said. “I understand I have you to thank for finding me yesterday.”
    Darby nodded. “I hope you’re feeling better.”
    “Much. Thanks to Dr. Menendez and the miracle of pharmaceuticals, I’m back to my old self.” His eyes grazed over Darby and once more she felt an undercurrent of powerful emotion beneath his benign charm.
    “What brings you to Sarasota?” he asked.
    “A visit with Helen.”
    “Remember my partner, Jane Farr?” Helen pointed in Darby’s direction. “Darby is her niece.”
    Jack nodded. His eyes strayed over the tables, still full of diners enjoying the noonday heat. “Did you hear about the fire at Belle Haven?”
    “I did,” Helen sighed. “Jack, I’m sorry.”
    He shook his head and Darby thought he might cry. Instead he shrugged his shoulders. “Probably for the best. With Kyle gone …” He looked over the water and swallowed. “With Kyle gone I have to rethink everything.” He clenched his hands. It seemed to take a tremendous effort for Jack Cameron to converse. “Please excuse me, ladies, I’m needed in the kitchen.”
    Darby and Helen watched him weave through the tables. Moments later he had disappeared inside the restaurant.
    “That is one hurting man,” Helen whispered. “I can’t bear to see him like that.”
    Darby nodded. She knew the pain of losing loved ones in a sudden and random way, and recognized Jack Cameron’s agony. She looked into her friend’s concerned face. “He needs professional help.”
    Helen gave a sad nod. “I know.”
    “Aren’t Mitzi and Alexandra concerned?”
    “They are doing what they can. But John … he blocks every effort to help that boy.”
    “Why?”
    “Darby, I have asked myself that for years.” She picked up her purse. “Tell you what. Let’s stop at the office, then head to Casa Cameron and pay that family another visit. It’s high time you met John Cameron.”
    Darby grabbed her pocketbook and prepared to follow Helen. As she walked around the tables and past the bar, an angular man in a black baseball cap swiveled slightly in his seat and snapped her photograph, but Darby, deep in thought, did not see.
    _____
    From his vantage point on a stool at the Dive’s bar, Clyde Hensley put down his camera and watched the two women as they wove between the tables and out of the restaurant. He turned back toward the bar and motioned to the bartender for his tab. Plunking down a twenty-dollar bill, he forced a casual tone to his voice. “I know that woman who was here with the Asian girl,” he lied. “But I can’t for the life of me remember her name.”
    “Helen?” the bartender offered. He wiped the counter with a dingy rag. “That’s Helen Near. She’s a regular here. Old family friends with Jack.” He took the money and lowered his voice. “I didn’t know the other one. Quite the looker, huh?”
    Clyde licked his lips and nodded. She was attractive, if you were into that kind of foreign scene, and plenty of guys sure were. He himself liked the more traditional all-American girl, with blonde hair and blue eyes, a little on the plump side. He was pushing sixty-five years old