Missing in The Keys by Nicholas Harvey

Author:Nicholas Harvey
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2023-08-14T16:00:00+00:00

16

After watching the Grady White disappear, Charlie had stomped through the Blue Fin Marina boat yard, catching a glare from the guy she presumed was the owner, and a wolf whistle from one of the workers. The latter she acknowledged by flipping two fingers which he looked confused about. Upon reflection she recalled in America they used the middle finger for such responses, but it was too late to correct the error as she’d already reached Overseas Highway.

Bringing up a map on her phone, she spotted a place called Ballyhoo’s to the north. Their online menu was mouthwatering. She checked her pocket where she found a couple of dollar bills and a quarter she’d grabbed from Grant at some point, plus the credit card which had no chance of working. Across the two northbound lanes in the center section was a Denny’s. A quick check of their menu told her that the vast fortune in her possession would extend a lot further at Denny’s.

Sitting in a vinyl-covered bench seat in a booth by the window, Charlie watched the cars roll by in both directions, and simmered over Grant. The evidence was accumulating to suggest they were siblings, but in her mind, they couldn’t be more different. Why he’d be popping pain pills was beyond her comprehension. As a detective in London, she’d seen so many sob stories of drug-addicted losers and the scum who profited from peddling narcotics of every variety.

The waitress came by the table and Charlie thrust her coffee cup over for a refill, splashing a little over the table in her embittered haste.

“Are you ordering something, hon?” the waitress asked.

Charlie picked up the dog-eared laminated menu. “Still having a look.”

The waitress made a sound somewhere between a grunt and a sigh, topped off the coffee, and left. Charlie had already discovered her choices were a couple of pancakes or coffee, and she’d committed to caffeine, but the waitress didn’t need to know she was destitute. Her thoughts wandered back to the man she was now thinking of as her brother and her body tensed once more. How dare he accuse her of being unable to control her anger?

The fact that he was right wound her up even more. The realization that she had no more control over her issue than he likely did over his, made her swear out loud and thump the table. Heads turned, and she held up an apologetic hand, despite the fact she really wanted to tell them all to piss off and mind their own business. See, she told herself, I can control my anger. Sometimes.

Charlie melted into the seat, slumping against the windowsill until she felt something sticky on her elbow and sat up straight again. What appeared to be remnants of a marmalade incident was now evenly distributed between her skin and the faded wood of the windowsill. She quickly scrubbed her elbow with a paper napkin, instantly feeling like she needed a shower. As she mopped the mess off the wood, her mind drifted to her father.

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