Follow the Evidence (A Mac Everett Mystery Book 2) by Nick Vellis Read Free Book Online Page B

Roscoe
shivered. “Are you going to hold a séance or use an Ouija Board for this one?”
    “No smart ass, I’m going to do what
I always do, interview witnesses, if I can find someone to talk to. You should
have seen the girl’s father.”
    I left out the fact that the girl’s
mother had written her off.
    “Coast Guard do a report?” Roscoe
asked.
    “If you can call it that. All I’ve
got is a two-page idiot sheet, a Marine Casualty Report. It doesn’t say much of
anything.”
    “Who you gunna interview?”
    “I figured I go over to Canaveral
tomorrow and see if I can talk to the crew that found the boat,” I replied.
    “Not much of a plan,” Roscoe
chided.
    “Well, aren’t we just a ray of sunshine?”
I replied. “It’s a start.”
    “No, it’s not much of a plan and
the chopper crew won’t talk to you without clearance from their CO,” Ben said
as he pulled up a chair. “Mind if I join you?” he said.
    “Did I mention Ben’s retired Coast
Guard,” Roscoe smiled.
    “What you got goin’ Mr. Everett?”
he asked
    “I’m looking into those people that
went missing off that sailboat in Hurricane Eva,” I replied.
    “Bad business, that one, but I hear
a chopper crew picked up a couple of fishermen in the area. Maybe you could
talk to them,” Ben suggested.
    “I could if I knew who they were,”
I replied. “All I have is the Casualty Report.”
    “Yeah, the Marine Casualty Report
won’t give you much. It’s a basic run down on the accident they give to the
insurance companies. There ain’t much there you could use, I’d guess.”
    “Any ideas on how I can get more
information?” I asked, “I’m open to suggestions.”
    “You need the Investigative
Activity Report,” Ben replied, “and someone to pull strings for ya.”
    “Who do I have to kill,” I joked.
    “Nothin’ like that, but I can help
ya,” Ben said. “I know the Jacksonville District Commander and the CO out at
Canaveral. I brought em’ both up. They owes me a chit or two.”
    “I couldn’t ask you to do that,” I
said.
    “You ain’t asked,” Ben insisted. “I
said I’d do it.”
    We shot the bull until Ben had to
go shut the kitchen down. He promised me breakfast and a couple phone calls in
the morning.

Chapter 3 A Chance Meeting
     
    Friday, November 15 broke cool and
clear. Fall in Central Florida is unlike the season anywhere else. Cool nights
give way to misty mornings, followed by warm sunny afternoons. It’s the
perfect place to live, I thought, as I stared out my second floor window.
    I was out the door by five thirty,
and got in a run. I was doing forty-five minutes three times a week. I didn’t
want to know how far I ran, that would be to depressing. I’d done daily five
milers for ten years in the service. When I came home from Iraq, everything
went to hell.
    I downed a gallon of water and hit
the shower. Fifteen minutes later, I was pulling on a pair of jeans when there
was a knock at the door.
    “Just a minute,” I called.
    I threw on a tee shirt and opened
the door to find a special delivery breakfast.
    “Good morning,” Ben said a
Styrofoam container in each hand.
    “Come on in,” I said. “Make
yourself at home. What do you have there?”
    His smile widened as he said,
“Breakfast.”
    “You didn’t have to bring it to me.
What have you got?”
    “We got a couple eggs, scrambled, some
fried ham, and toast. Don’t think you goin’ to get this every morning. You got
a coffee pot up here?”
    “Yep, I’ll make the coffee,” I
said. “Come on in and make yourself at home.”
    I lead him through to the kitchen
where he took a seat at the table.
    I put the coffee on and a few
minutes later, we were enjoying a breakfast fit for a king. “Those were the
best damn eggs I ever had,” I said. “Thanks.”
    “Think nothing of it. I’d do as
much for any landlord,” he laughed. He sat back in his chair and pulled out a
pack of cigarettes.
    “You mind?” he asked.
    “Naw, go