The Wrong Key: A Cam Derringer Novel (Tropical Adventure Series Book 8) by Mac Fortner

Author:Mac Fortner [Fortner, Mac]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: crime fiction, Private eye with daughter, Tropical Adventure, Sea Stories, Action Adventure
Publisher: Mac Fortner
Published: 2021-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

We touched down at Barkley Regional Airport at 3:00 p.m. It's a rather small airport employing around 100 people located on the Ohio River between Paducah, Kentucky and Metropolis, Illinois. Metropolis is a smaller town and boasts statues and exhibitions of Superman. It also has an action-packed casino and an underwater adventure on a 747 Boeing airplane.

I called ahead to inform the airport we would be there most of the day if not overnight and we were directed to taxi toward hangar four. A young man guided us in with his flags and we stopped in front of the hangar. He chalked our wheels as we were getting out. When he saw Diane he straightened and puffed out his chest. Here we go again. I thought.

“Will you be here long?” he asked Diane, smiling.

“Probably all day. Maybe tomorrow,” she said. The boy turned and looked at me but didn't say anything.

“I called ahead and rented a car at Hertz,” I said. “Could you direct us to the office?”

He turned to look at Diane again. “I’ll do better than that,” he said. “I'll take you myself.”

I've always found that the service is better anywhere I go as long as Diane is with me.

“Right this way,” he said as he reached out for Diane's bag.

I picked up my bags and followed the two of them through the hangar and into the office. A man working behind the counter also straightened up when Diane walked in. Geez.

“Mr. Derringer?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“We have your car ready.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Where might I find it?”

“Aisle two, space five,” he said, sliding the paperwork and the keys across the counter to me.

“I'll show you the way,” he said as he took the bag from the young man's hand and directed Diane through the door.

“That's okay,” I said. “I can carry my own bag.”

Diane turned and looked at me with a big grin on her face.

He showed us to the car and opened the door for Diane as I opened the trunk and put our bags in. Once we were settled inside, I looked at her and shook my head.

What?” she asked.

“You know what.”

“Well, maybe if you weren't so fat, some girl would come out and carry your bags.”

“I knew it. You set me up with that donut.”

Diane just laughed, which made me feel good. She wasn’t as down in the dumps as she was when we left Key West.

The Appletons had a modest bungalow on Third Street. We pulled to the curb in front of the house and shut off the engine.

“Are you sure we shouldn't call first?” Diane asked.

“Even now, if I called, they could tell me no.”

“If you say so, but I think it's a bad idea. They might not be ready for visitors.”

“I'll have to take my chances. Maybe when they realize I'm trying to find out the truth they’ll be more receptive,” I said.

We got out of the car together and walked to the door. I rang the doorbell and waited. In less than thirty seconds a woman opened the door and stared at us.

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