Read Online Ron Base - Tree Callister 03 - Another Sanibel Sunset Detective by Ron Base - Free Book Online

toenails. He also tries to sound dangerous.”
    “Tries?”
    “You don’t take him too seriously until you find out that the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague was going to indict him, but then had second thoughts.”
    “About what?”
    “The number of people he murdered. Apparently, he didn’t kill enough people for it to qualify as a crime against humanity.”
    “You meet the nicest people, Tree.”
    “And let’s not forget Dr. Edgar Bunya, the latest addition to the growing list of Elizabeth’s admirers.”
    “Who is this guy?”
    “I’m not so sure about him. From what I can figure, he may be some sort of rebel from Sierra Leone. Dr. Bunya owns a machete.”
    “What’s he doing with a machete?”
    “Actually, the correct term, according to him, is cutlass. He says he’s going to use it to give me short sleeves unless I tell him where Elizabeth is.”
    “What’s this about short sleeves?”
    “That is Sierra Leone rebel speak for cutting off your hands.”
    “Good grief, Tree.”
    “That’s why I had better find Elizabeth.”
    “But you don’t know where she is.”
    “Zoran thinks she might be in Key West. I’m going to check it out tomorrow.”
    “I don’t think you should go to Key West.”
    “I know.”
    “‘I know,’ as in ‘You’re right, honey. I’m not going.’ Or ‘I know’ as in, ‘I’m going, anyway, and to heck with what you think?’”
    “I’m being driven by Miram Shah’s money, not to mention Javor Zoran’s. And I’ve got visions of Dr. Edgar Bunya’s cutlass, and what happens if I don’t find her.”
    “Do I have to tell you to be careful?”
    “Careful is my middle name.”
    “No, it isn’t, but you’re past the point where I can talk any sense into you.” He couldn’t tell whether she was angry, suspected she was. She looked at her watch. “I’ve got to get out of here. I’m to meet my people in a few minutes.”
    “Your syndicate that’s going to buy Dayton’s,” Tree said.
    “Investors. They’ve flown in from Milwaukee and Chicago,” she said.
    “I didn’t even know you knew anyone in Milwaukee.”
    “I know someone in Tulsa too, but he couldn’t make it.”
    “So this looks like it’s going to happen.”
    “Nothing’s happening yet,” Freddie cautioned. “It’s just a get-acquainted meeting.”
    “I’m amazed it’s moved this quickly.”
    Freddie put her hand on his arm. “Are you all right with this?”
    “Of course,” Tree said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
    “You have to admit this whole situation is a little weird.”
    “Listen,” Tree said, “life in general is weird these days. I’m encountering doctors armed with machetes. Buying supermarkets is nothing. If this is what you want, I’m all for it.”
    “Thank you, my love.” She leaned forward and gently kissed him. Then she looked at her watch again and said, “Are you going to stay?”
    “For a few minutes. Chris said he might show up. I’ll meet you back at the house.”
    “If I’m going to be late, I’ll call you.” She gave him another peck on the mouth before making her exit.
    The music stopped. Rex was saying, “Hollywood always messed Hemingway up, maybe that’s why he hated the town. I mean look at what Darryl Zanuck did to the 20th Century Fox version of The Sun Also Rises .
    “The novel is about a lost generation of young people in Paris in the 1920s. So who does Zanuck get for the movie? Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn, who were both in their forties. Even Ava Gardner was too old for Lady Brett Ashley. What was Zanuck thinking? But that was the town in the 1950s. They always cast everything too old because there were all these ancient stars hanging around. So young actresses like Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn played against guys old enough to be their fathers.
    “I mean, when Grace married Gary Cooper in High Noon , he looked like her grandfather . But Coop was good in For Whom The Bell Tolls , although I don’t think Hemingway liked that,