Highlights to Heaven by Nancy J. Cohen

Author:Nancy J. Cohen
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: ereads.com
Published: 2003-05-04T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Siesta Key turned out to be exactly what its name applied, a sleepy island just south of Sarasota, Florida. Veering off 1-75 to head west for six miles, they crossed the north bridge onto the key and cruised south along Midnight Pass Road. Joggers trotted along a sidewalk bordered by tall shrubs. Marla wondered if they were year-round residents or snowbirds as she studied the facades of beachfront motels, pastel condos, and apartment rentals. White sand beckoned from the west, quartz crystals glittering in the midday sun.

Her stomach rumbling, she eyed Granny’s Corner Cafe, which stood opposite Captain Curt’s Crab & Oyster Bar. She didn’t think Vail wanted to grab a bite to eat just yet. Like a bloodhound, his nose followed the scent of his quarry. He peered at the scrap of paper scribbled with Jenny’s beach-house address, then refocused his attention forward. So much for our romantic interlude. Hunger wouldn’t divert him, neither hunger for sex nor for food. When on the trail, he concentrated on only one thing: tracking a potential witness.

In a peculiar sense, that reassured her. While they often had diverging viewpoints about suspects, Marla respected his dedication to learning the truth. If he’d become jaded about the justice system, it wasn’t evident to her.

“Here it is,” Vail said, pointing to a sign indicating Sara Sea Circle.

As they turned in, she scanned the curved driveway lined by single-story buildings in a tropical setting where lush foliage sucked moisture from the air. Coconut palms, spiky crotons, crimson and pink hibiscus, and banana plants shaded a maze of gravel paths through a central park. Tangerine-colored fish swam in a koi pond, part of a cascade of shaded natural pools below a trickling waterfall.

Vail parked in front of a lemon-painted duplex. A salty sea breeze ruffled the hairs on Marla’s arms as she emerged from Vail’s car. Grappling for her sunglasses, she snapped them on her nose before proceeding to the given address.

Knocking on the beach-house door and ringing the doorbell produced no response, so they tried the adjoining neighbor. Deadsville. The house must belong to snowbirds who’d already gone north.

“We’ll check the exterior for signs of forced entry before I use the key Jenny gave us,” Vail said. “I’d rather not have any unpleasant surprises waiting for us inside.”

Marla swallowed, remembering the scene in Goat’s town house. That memory encouraged her to let him go first. Their trek through the yard yielded nothing remarkable, except that she gained some sticky green things on her sandals.

“You go ahead,” she told him when they returned to the front lawn. She waited until he called for her to enter.

Cushioned wicker furniture, potted silk plants, and Haitian paintings gave the house a completely different look than Jenny’s place in Mount Dora. Marla’s mouth dropped open in admiration. What a fantastic hideaway. A quick survey told her no one had brought any food into the kitchen recently, and the beds were neatly made. A stale, musty odor hung in the air. Tracking the hum of an air-conditioning unit, she found the thermostat.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.