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Authors: Erica Spindler
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you wanted me to check out.”
“Yes, but I don’t want that idiot going along.”
So much for pleasantries. “Sheriff Langley?”
“If I thought the locals could handle this, I wouldn’t have asked Raymond for his assistance.”
“Raymond”, Tully realized, was FBI Assistant Director Kunze – his boss. It sounded odd having someone call him by his first name. A little like calling Hitler “Adolf”. It made Tully even more uncomfortable going over the heads of local law enforcement. This was their turf, their territory. Forget about pissing contests. Usually it made sense to have them leading the way, or at least along for the ride. Local law enforcement had the contacts. They knew the players as well as the shortcuts. It saved time. Mostly, it spared Tully a lot of headaches. But this was a United States Senator. Both he and Maggie had been told to “assist her” in any way possible that would return her family safely ashore.
“Where is it that you want me check?”
“A friend of my husband’s.” She hesitated, looking for the correct word. “Not really a friend. More of a business associate.”
“What exactly to do you think happened here?”
She glanced back at the two men. “Can we have some privacy, please?”
The bigger one nodded and gestured to the other. But they didn’t go far.
“Not my idea,” she told Tully under her breath, her eyes darting back to the men to indicate it was them she was talking about.
“From what I understand, your husband simply took your houseboat out for a ride. Your husband and your children – two, right?”
She nodded, and Tully could immediately see that just the mention of the kids caused a reaction. There was a shift in her posture, her shoulders actually slumped forward if only for a moment or two, as though she had been carrying a heavy weight and just remembered it was still there. Her eye contact had been piercing but now there was a flicker in the brilliant blue that betrayed the fatigue, maybe even a hint of panic.
“George builds boats for a living. He built our houseboat. And he can certainly handle it on stormy waters.”
“This was supposed to be a family outing?”
“Yes. I was meeting them but I got delayed.” Her eyes slipped past Tully and past the parking lot toward the emerald green water of the Gulf.
Tully studied her face, thought he saw regret. He could tell it wasn’t the first time she had been late for a family outing. Maybe her husband was driving home that point. Teaching her a lesson. Tully’s ex-wife used to work late all the time. She’d cancel out on him and his daughter Emma constantly, so much so that after the divorce he and Emma hardly missed her at all.
Pensacola Beach had quieted in the time since Tully and Maggie arrived. A few tourists were still out on the beach. Despite the red flag, a couple of daredevil surfers were riding the waves. Others had gone indoors. Tully could see a full deck at the restaurant, Crabs . The dark sky had even set off the parking lot lights.
For as much as the Senator had appeared in a hurry, now she seemed contemplative, still watching the gulf as if she hoped to see the houseboat crest over the next set of waves. Tully couldn’t imagine George Ramos taking his kids out with a monster storm coming, even if he thought he could teach his Senator wife a lesson. But then Tully had seen people do a lot of strange things to each other. Still, he knew when to keep his mouth shut. She must have suspected what he was thinking.
“I know something’s terribly wrong,” she said.
Finally she looked at Tully, met his gaze. There was a firm resolve in her eyes but he caught a glint of sadness before she could stow it away. “And they wouldn’t have left without me.”
Chapter 4
BY MAGGIE’S CALCULATIONS, Liz Bailey had been down on the houseboat for nine minutes. Shouldn’t that be enough time to know if anyone was aboard? If there were injuries? Whether or not they needed
“Yes, but I don’t want that idiot going along.”
So much for pleasantries. “Sheriff Langley?”
“If I thought the locals could handle this, I wouldn’t have asked Raymond for his assistance.”
“Raymond”, Tully realized, was FBI Assistant Director Kunze – his boss. It sounded odd having someone call him by his first name. A little like calling Hitler “Adolf”. It made Tully even more uncomfortable going over the heads of local law enforcement. This was their turf, their territory. Forget about pissing contests. Usually it made sense to have them leading the way, or at least along for the ride. Local law enforcement had the contacts. They knew the players as well as the shortcuts. It saved time. Mostly, it spared Tully a lot of headaches. But this was a United States Senator. Both he and Maggie had been told to “assist her” in any way possible that would return her family safely ashore.
“Where is it that you want me check?”
“A friend of my husband’s.” She hesitated, looking for the correct word. “Not really a friend. More of a business associate.”
“What exactly to do you think happened here?”
She glanced back at the two men. “Can we have some privacy, please?”
The bigger one nodded and gestured to the other. But they didn’t go far.
“Not my idea,” she told Tully under her breath, her eyes darting back to the men to indicate it was them she was talking about.
“From what I understand, your husband simply took your houseboat out for a ride. Your husband and your children – two, right?”
She nodded, and Tully could immediately see that just the mention of the kids caused a reaction. There was a shift in her posture, her shoulders actually slumped forward if only for a moment or two, as though she had been carrying a heavy weight and just remembered it was still there. Her eye contact had been piercing but now there was a flicker in the brilliant blue that betrayed the fatigue, maybe even a hint of panic.
“George builds boats for a living. He built our houseboat. And he can certainly handle it on stormy waters.”
“This was supposed to be a family outing?”
“Yes. I was meeting them but I got delayed.” Her eyes slipped past Tully and past the parking lot toward the emerald green water of the Gulf.
Tully studied her face, thought he saw regret. He could tell it wasn’t the first time she had been late for a family outing. Maybe her husband was driving home that point. Teaching her a lesson. Tully’s ex-wife used to work late all the time. She’d cancel out on him and his daughter Emma constantly, so much so that after the divorce he and Emma hardly missed her at all.
Pensacola Beach had quieted in the time since Tully and Maggie arrived. A few tourists were still out on the beach. Despite the red flag, a couple of daredevil surfers were riding the waves. Others had gone indoors. Tully could see a full deck at the restaurant, Crabs . The dark sky had even set off the parking lot lights.
For as much as the Senator had appeared in a hurry, now she seemed contemplative, still watching the gulf as if she hoped to see the houseboat crest over the next set of waves. Tully couldn’t imagine George Ramos taking his kids out with a monster storm coming, even if he thought he could teach his Senator wife a lesson. But then Tully had seen people do a lot of strange things to each other. Still, he knew when to keep his mouth shut. She must have suspected what he was thinking.
“I know something’s terribly wrong,” she said.
Finally she looked at Tully, met his gaze. There was a firm resolve in her eyes but he caught a glint of sadness before she could stow it away. “And they wouldn’t have left without me.”
Chapter 4
BY MAGGIE’S CALCULATIONS, Liz Bailey had been down on the houseboat for nine minutes. Shouldn’t that be enough time to know if anyone was aboard? If there were injuries? Whether or not they needed
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