Backwater Predator (Kurt Hunter Mysteries Book 11) by Steven Becker

Author:Steven Becker [Becker, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The White Marlin Press LLC
Published: 2021-10-31T16:00:00+00:00

17

A half-hour later, we were sitting once again at Bob Witherspoon’s patio table. I wondered if he had replaced the Ruger .22 for iguana control or downgraded to a .177 pellet gun. The original pistol used by Lauren Thompson to kill Henry Salazar now resided in an evidence locker deep in the bowels of Miami-Dade’s storage facility.

I wasn’t sure why he had insisted on meeting in person, but I had agreed to his request. The last time I was here, he had inadvertently solved the case for me by shooting an invasive green iguana with the murder weapon.

“So, before you have your tech wiz spend a hundred hours watching video, I’ve got a confession to make.”

He continued before I could interrupt—not that I was planning on it.

“I was out there. Saw most of what happened, but I had nothing to do with it.”

Some people just had bad timing. Looking around at the spacious lanai, the pool that included its own island, and the house beyond, I didn’t expect he suffered from that malady. I wasn’t sure of his past, but unless there was some family money supporting his lifestyle, you didn’t own a house like this and retire in your 50s without both brains and luck. This was a guy who planned everything. From wearing his Park Service uniform to the protest at Turkey Point to his proximity to Lauren Thompson when she shot Mark Salazar, his moves were calculated. Now he had been within sight of the latest incident.

As a rule I tried not to be manipulative, and because of that had a hard time seeing it in other people. In that way Justine was more perceptive than me, though she could be skeptical about anything. Lauren Thompson had told me that Witherspoon was in this for the action with women. I believed her. After watching his behavior in the time we’d spent together, that was at least part of his motivation. A lot of women were drawn to the environmental-hero-type.

“What were you doing out there?”

“I need an excuse to paddle now?”

I almost reminded him that he’d called me. I didn’t want him on the defensive and backed off. “Just trying to cover all my bases.”

“I usually paddle a couple of times during the week, then lead the BayWatch group on the weekends.”

I changed tactics. “So, what did you see?” I thought this might be the reason he had asked me here and was curious how his view of things aligned with the other witnesses and the video evidence. I pulled my notepad from my shirt pocket.

“Thought you might want an outsider’s view of what happened.” He cleared his throat. “This time of year the creeks to the south of Caesar Creek get a lot of fishing pressure, so I was checking out the coves around Elliott for someplace new to take the more experienced group. Instead of messing with the Featherbeds and the boat traffic from Miami, I usually head directly for Caesar Creek. At least the boats heading that way know where they’re going.

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