Page 3 of Murder in Calusa Cove
“Somewhere in the middle.” Bear ran a hand down his dirty face. “He wanted out, no doubt about that. He talked about it all the time, and he thought at first it would be through college.” Bear sighed. “I had no idea Benson and his old man were running drugs. Everyone in this town still feels like a fool.”
“They ran a tight shop and used a chain that had been in place for decades, which was built on blind loyalty to the cartel. Unfortunately, small towns like this are ripe for shit like that, and I wanted to know if you thought Ken could’ve been involved in something else that we don’t know about.”
“Ken got in trouble just like the rest of us. He wasn’t some goody-two-shoes, that’s for sure. But he walked away from Paul and Benson and followed Fletcher—that’s something.” Bear scratched the side of his face. “What makes you believe Ken could’ve been doing something else, and why does it matter?”
Hayes didn’t like discussing Baily’s business behind her back, and he wasn’t even sure he understood the dynamic between her and her brother. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around some things.”
Bear glanced over his shoulder as a Range Rover drove past. “Jesus,” he muttered. “My first thought when I heard this place was on fire was that some kids were smoking weed in the building, but knowing that guy is still hanging around town, it makes me wonder if it wasn’t set on purpose—by him.”
Hayes squinted. “Are you talking about Decker Brown?” He didn’t care for the man either, but he also didn’t know him all that well. He’d seen him around town, hanging around the marina and Baily, but it wasn’t like he’d gotten to know anything about Decker on a personal level. The only thing he knew about Decker was that he was a rich land developer working on a big project on Marco Island. Plus, he had a thing for Baily, which was what had Fletcher on edge.
“You know him?” Bear asked.
“Not really, but what about him has your hackles up?”
“He showed up at the town hall meeting the other day, and one of the items on the docket was what to do with this place.” Bear waved his hand toward the rubble of what was left of the Crab Shack. “Old man Tomey had no family, and in his will, he left it to the town. I don’t begin to understand the legalities of that or even the possibility of the land going up for auction, but when a land developer sits in a town meeting when something like that is being discussed, I get nervous. The last thing Calusa Cove needs is a man like that building something that brings in too many outsiders and in a permanent way. I get we’re a poor town with little to offer in the way of tourism, but we don’t need someone like him.”
Hayes didn’t necessarily disagree. However, the town was hanging on by a thread, and his airboat business would benefit from the town having a bit of a facelift. Dawson had done a bang-up job with renovating Harvey’s Cabins, and now that the bed and breakfast was fully operational, it did bring more people to town, staying more than a night—but then they packed up and moved on to their final destination—wherever that might be because there was nothing to do in Calusa Cove.
Having another restaurant, a park, or any other reason to entice visitors couldn’t be seen as a bad thing. That said, Hayes understood the town’s trepidation. They didn’t want to become a highly populated area. They didn’t want condos, and they especially wanted to avoid the dreaded snowbirds. Their way of life wasn’t for the faint of heart. Their town survived on grit and hard work. Their citizens were humble, proud, and enjoyed their peaceful lives.
“Dawson didn’t mention anything about Decker being at that meeting.” Hayes polished off his water. “Decker’s told Baily he likes staying here because it’s far enough away from his job site that he can clear his head, but close enough that it’s not a bad commute.” He rolled his shoulders.
“Maybe so, but I don’t like land developers of any kind.” Bear let out a long sigh. “We had one come through a few years ago. Ask Baily about it. They wanted to buy the marina from her and all the businesses up and down that stretch of land. God only knows what they wanted to build. They put a fair amount of pressure on that girl, and I know her brother wanted her to sell, but she held her ground, something I, for one, am grateful for. I just wish it wasn’t so hard for her. Ever since that big marina down the way opened up, her business has taken a big hit.”
Hayes didn’t need to be reminded of that. It affected him and Everglades Overwatch because that marina also had an airboat tour company they now had to compete with. It was frustrating as hell. They had come to Calusa Cove to honor their fallen brother and to help his sister rebuild the family business. While they had done that, the new marina put a big damper on things.
“Baily told us about that.” Hayes nodded. “I’m still shocked at how much pressure Ken put on her. We had no idea.”
“Ken never wanted to be part of that marina,” Bear said. “He didn’t want it to be his legacy, and he didn’t want that for his sister. He always wanted her out of this town. Well, at least the Ken I knew did. But I lost touch with him, as everyone did, when he left for the Navy.”
“But you kept in touch with Fletcher.”
Bear raked a hand over the top of his soot-filled hair and cocked a brow. “It’s not like you didn’t know that since I first met you, something like ten years ago. But it always struck me as odd that when Ken came home, he acted like he was better than this place—him and that fancy wife of his.”
Hayes pulled up a few memories of the times the team had come to Calusa Cove. Ken hadn’t been filled with the same kind of fondness for the town that Fletcher had been. Where Fletcher had enjoyed taking the guys on tours and showing them his old stomping grounds, Ken could barely wait to leave.
“You didn’t like Julie?”
“I only met her a couple of times, but let's just say she looked down on me and my town.” Bear jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “We can talk more about this over a beer when our shift is done. Right now, I need you to do a preliminary search so we can start the fire investigation.”
“I’m on it.” Hayes collected his gear, snagged an extra hard hat and jacket for Dawson, and made his way toward his buddy. “Hey, man.” He shoved the hat at Dawson.
“What’s this for?” Dawson took it in his fingers and glared at Hayes.
“Preliminary search.” Hayes shrugged. “Come on.”
“Audra is going to feed me to the gators if I come home smelling like a campfire this close to the wedding.” Dawson chuckled. “She and Trinity are already worried that you’re going to reek of it and Keaton’s going to smell like fish guts.”
“Isn’t that what cologne is for?”
“Right, because we’ve all used that before.”
Hayes entered the Crab Shack first, checking for hot spots and not finding any, thankfully. He glanced toward the ceiling—what was left of it. The fire had mostly been contained to the kitchen, but there was some damage to the main eating area, and part of the roof had caved in—but that was more from years of neglect than anything else. There was an old door in the far-right corner. It was opened about two inches. Hayes stepped over a few singed two-by-fours. He tested the handle before pulling it open.
He gasped, jumping backward, stumbling over the rubble. His heart hammered in his chest. He swallowed. He’d seen dead bodies before. He’d stepped over them on the battlefield. He’d pulled one or two from a burning building or an overturned vehicle on the side of a road. He’d killed men while in the military. He’d seen his fair share of carnage, death, and destruction.
But nothing could have prepared him for a body hanging in a closet as if it were a coat.
