Sanibel Flats by Randy Wayne White

Author:Randy Wayne White
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery & Suspense
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 1990-03-28T07:00:00+00:00

He left Tomlinson's, jumping his skiff to plane, and ran through the darkness across the flats, picking up the canted wooden posts marking the channel that funneled to the mouth of the bay. Pelicans and cormorants flushed in mass off the rookery islands as Ford slid past, gray shapes ascending through the light of a waxing moon. Jessica's house seemed even smaller in darkness, its windows aglow within the shadows of the casuarina pines, and Ford could hear music coming through the screened door as he tied off his skiff. People singing in Italian, a tenor crying to a lofty soprano; some kind of opera.

"Anybody home?" Ford could see Jessica working in the next room. Concentrating before the easel, chewing at the end of her brush, she wore jeans and dark blue T-shirt, hair woven in a tight braid down to the middle of her back. "HELLO?"

She started, turned and focused, then smiled. "Hey, get in here. I'm pissed at you," talking as if she were kidding, but with an edge to her voice, as she found the stereo and turned down the music, then came and gave Ford a strong hug but no kiss. "You could have at least stopped this afternoon and said hello. Or asked me to go out collecting with you."

Ford said, "I thought you would be packing."

"Right. I throw a few things into a bag, and I'm packed. A New York auction doesn't require a fashion statement. And I'm only going to be gone a few days." She took his hand and pressed it against her cheek, then let it fall as if sensing his mood. "Hey, what's going on here, Ford? You mad about something?"

Ford followed her across the room as she motioned for him to join her, saying "I came to say good-bye" as they sat on the couch.

"I wish I didn't have to go."

"Me, too. I'm leaving for Masagua tomorrow. I'm going to try and get my friend's son back."

She said, "Oh," not liking the sound of it, and began to pick at the paint that stained her fingers, not looking at him. "Why do you have to do it? Why can't you just call the police and let them take care of it?"

"We already talked about that."

"I don't want you getting involved in all this. I was hoping you were upset about what happened Saturday night."

"About us being together? Why would I be upset about that?"

"Not us." She turned, studying his eyes. "I mean you and the woman who stayed with you. The blond woman. After you left me."

That was a surprise, and Ford didn't try to hide it. "News travels fast around this bay. "

Jessica said, "No, I was out for a ride on my bike yesterday morning and saw her leaving. Very pretty, Ford. I hoped that's why you felt bad." When Ford did not respond, she asked: "Do you?"

"No."

"Would you have told me?"

"Not unless you asked."

"Are you in love with her?"

"No."

She said, "Oh. Well, I guess we didn't make any commitments, did we.

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