Page 55 of Secrets in Calusa Cove

Dawson took the envelope and ripped it open as if he were a kid on Christmas morning. He unfolded the piece of paper and stared at the words on the page. “Jesus,” he muttered.

“What is it?”

“Remember those old wood pieces I had you take from the island with no name?”

Hayes nodded.

“I sent them over to the FBI and the DEA on a whim. Well, Agent Ballard with the FBI just got back to me. He can’t be sure, but it looks like it could be remnants of crates used to transport cocaine.”

“When Trevor Williams was chief of police?” Hayes asked.

“No.” Dawson shook his head. “This was from about seventeen years ago. He remembers the cartel markings. They would use out-of-the-way towns like Calusa Cove, where they’d find small fishing charters, touring boats, even personal yachts that wouldn’t draw attention, to bring them into places like the Everglades to hide product until they could move it.”

“Do you think Trip could’ve been doing the same thing his son did?”

“Anything is possible, but my gut says no,” Dawson said. “I requested to see Trevor in prison. He refused to see me. I think he’s scared.”

“Makes sense,” Hayes said. “Did you interview Silas yesterday?”

“I’m supposed to meet with him this morning.” Dawson checked his watch. “Here at the docks in about an hour.” He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a long breath. “I’m baffled by his statement. Silas is a lot of things, and he’s a royal pain in my ass on most days. But in the nine months I’ve been chief of police in this town, he’s never once come to me with a situation that was false. He’s always been honest about things.”

“He has insinuated that Audra might’ve killed her dad.”

Dawson pinched the bridge of his nose. “He questioned why she left the way she did. When Remy asked him about that yesterday, he said, what else could he believe based on her actions? He told him he didn’t want to believe it, but there wasn’t another logical explanation. He swore it pained him to even think it, and that if I could come up with a better explanation—one that worked—he’d listen.”

“Do you think he’s redirecting? Or trying to get you to look elsewhere?” Hayes cocked his head.

“It’s possible. Silas can be a slick bastard when he wants to be, but why would he turn on Paul Massey and accuse him of firing those shots—even if they were at nothing? They’re about as close as two men can be. That one doesn’t make sense, and to make matters worse, we couldn’t locate Paul last night to come in and take the damn test. I couldn’t find his son either, and that bothers me for different reasons.”

“I’ve seen him more than once with those city boys, but I’m sure he’ll show up here this morning, and you’ll get your chance,” Hayes said. “Whatever happened with Benson’s tire?”

“Nothing.” Dawson shrugged. “He decided to let it go. He figures we can’t prove anything, and he’s right, but I’ve heard he’s been telling those who will listen he still believes it was Audra. That he thinks I’ve got shit for brains and that this town would love to see me get canned.”

“We both know that’s bullshit. In the meantime, what do you want me to do?”

“Let’s get into that when Keaton and Fletcher get here,” Dawson said. “I called Baily and asked if she could go over and have breakfast with Audra. We’re not letting any boats out of here until we clear the crime scene. No point in Baily opening the marina until that happens, but I promised her I’d give her a heads-up when I think we’re about done.”

“How did Audra take the news?”

Dawson stuck his index finger in his ear. “Let’s just say that woman cusses more than a drunken sailor. She takes everything so personally.”

“Can you blame her in this instance?”

“Can’t say that I do, but she gets so fired up. She has two speeds. Out of control and barely in control.” Dawson sighed. “However, I find it very suspect that we couldn’t find Tim last night. My deputies searched for him for hours into the night before giving up. Then we get a call from his cousin at five that he found Tim dead in his boat after waking up to a series of texts that he was in fear for his life. He told him that he thought Audra was stalking him and that if anything happened to him, Audra was behind it.”

“Don’t forget the picture Tim sent to Dennis of Audra’s car parked at the marina,” Hayes said. “And of Audra sneaking around Tim’s house.”

“We both know Audra’s car was left here last night.” Dawson glared. “That other image is grainy as fuck. Hasn’t been authenticated, and I know exactly where Audra was all night.” He lowered his chin. “No one in this town wants to fuck with me or my integrity, and Audra didn’t leave my bed. She uses sex to deal with her problems, and I swear she?—”

“I don’t need the details, and there’s no need to get defensive with me.” Hayes jerked his chin toward the road. “What are you going to do about the press? Or about the gossip?”

“Remy will handle the press after we’ve had a chance to chat about the details of the case.” Dawson raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m not going to address the gossip. If I do, they’ll hang me. If I don’t feed the beast, they can only speculate. If it gets really out of hand, I’ll make some calculated corrections.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I get why you’re tiptoeing around this, but if you let things fester, it’ll only get worse.”

“Yeah, but if I bullet point the rumors, I look like I’m hiding something—or I’m ashamed of my actions. Which I’m not. I’m still the chief of police. I’m allowed to have a personal life. Technically, I don’t have to take a step back. I just can’t interview Audra since I’m her alibi.” Only this time, a gunpowder residue test wasn’t going to save her from further speculation since it appeared Tim had been killed by a hunting knife. It shouldn’t be too hard to rule out any knife that Audra had in her possession.

But an autopsy still needed to be performed. Prints needed to be run. Images needed to be run through all the tests.

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