Matt Royal Mystery - 03 - Blood Island by H. Terrell Griffin Read Free Book Online

the time we cleared the bridge and drove onto St. Armand's Key,
it was dusk. Too late to find the chief at the station. We parked and walked
to Lynches Pub and Grub for a drink. St. Armand's Circle is one of the
more upscale shopping areas in Florida, a rival to Worth Avenue in Palm
Beach. As we walked to the restaurant, I could see the area coming alive
with the evening visitors. It was dinnertime, and the restaurants and bars
would be full of vacationers. Foot traffic was picking up, people window
shopping, enjoying the quiet evening in a gentle climate. There was a freshness in the air, and people were smiling, nodding hello to each other. Our
barrier islands provide a sense of permanent vacation, even to those who
live here year round.
    We took a table on the sidewalk and ordered beer. I watched the
passersby for a minute, many of them red from the spring sun that surprised them with its strength.
    "What do you think?" Logan broke into my reverie about a twentysomething female tourist from Ohio, who wore shorts and a halter top. Or
maybe she was from Arkansas. I couldn't tell, and it didn't matter. I enjoyed the view.
    I shrugged. "Why would Varn use his real name, or at least the name
he was known by, and the Tampa address at the Sea Club if he was up to
no good? Maybe he told us a partial truth. He was just having a good time
getting to know young people. All that bullshit about his wife may have just been a cover. Maybe he's just a little hinky, and was embarrassed to be
found out."

    "Could be, but why would a muscle man for the drug mob be entertaining young couples?"
    "Maybe lie was taking a vacation."
    "I'd like to know who owned the condo he was living in."
    "I'd like to know why he was killed, and why on Longboat," I said.
    "Lots of questions and no answers."
    Logan had finished his beer.
    "Want another one?" I asked.
    He nodded. I signaled for the waitress.
    "Two more, darling," I said, wagging two fingers at her.
    We sat quietly, sipping beer and watching the people on the sidewalk.
Night had fallen. It was pleasant, the temperature in the low seventies and
none of the humidity that we'd get by mid-May.
    "Best time of the year," I said.
    "Without a doubt."
    "Another one?"
    "No, thanks. Time for me to get home. I've got a refrigerator full of
Chinese food to eat."
    I laughed. Logan's late-night forays to the Chinese food restaurant
were the stuff of legend. They always left him with enough food to last a
week.
    I paid the tab and we left. We drove in silence across the New Pass
Bridge and onto Longboat Key. A short way down the island, we turned
into the drive leading to Logan's condo. The gate guard stopped us and
then waved us through when he recognized Logan.
    We stopped in front of Logan's building. I said, "I'll call Bill Lester
in the morning and see if he can tell us anything about those disappearances in North Port and Venice."
    "Let me know what you find out."
    "See you tomorrow," I said, and drove the Explorer home.

     

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    The day begins slowly in our latitude. As the sun starts its morning trek
from behind the mainland, the bay takes on a gray color, lightening slowly
until the sun's rim rises above the horizon. Color seeps into the world,
and the eastern sky turns deep blue with bright orange streaks. Soon, the
whole round ball of fire is hanging above the mainland horizon, and
another day has begun.
    I was sitting on my sunporch, drinking a cup of coffee, watching the
morning unfold. Nature's display never failed to arouse a feeling of contentment in me. I was where I wanted to be, living on an island separated
from much of the world's troubles by a wide bay.
    The day's lead story told of a trial going on in the courthouse in
Sarasota. It was about complex civil issues growing out of the building of
a major hotel downtown. I smiled, relieved to be on the sunporch drinking coffee. The trial was in its third week and was expected to last two
more. I knew