Page 46 of Secrets in Calusa Cove

Dawson reached for the walkie-talkies. “Audra, come in.”

“Did you hear those?” Audra’s voice crackled over the radio.

“I did,” Dawson said. “Are you okay?”

“Just ducky,” she said. “I’m headed toward the docks, but those gunshots weren’t too far from me.”

“We’ll meet you halfway.” Dawson adjusted his ear protection. He scanned the area as Keaton made a sharp turn around the second bend.

A man came flying around it at top speed, his arms frantically waving over his head. A smaller boat zipped right on past. It wasn’t a local, and he shouldn’t be driving like that either, but right now, Dawson had to deal with the man waving him down.

He pulled his ear protection off and tossed the set on the console. “That’s Tim O’Toole.”

Tim jumped to his feet. “Oh my God. That woman is crazy. She’s a goddamn Stigini,” he said. “And she’s a cheater. A fucking cheater, I tell you.” He pointed his finger. “Those two up ahead will agree with me. They saw it, too.”

“Calm down, Tim.” Dawson stood, leaning over the side of the boat, catching Tim’s before the two collided. “What and who are you talking about?”

“Audra McCain, that’s who.” Tim stared at him with wide, angry eyes. “Didn’t you hear those gunshots?”

“We heard them,” Keaton said. “That’s where we were racing off to, trying to figure out where they came from and why.”

“Well, I can tell you. I saw the entire thing. The damn insane woman was on Hog’s Island, shooting pythons. I watched her with my own eyes.” Tim pointed to his face, wiggling his index and middle finger in front of his bugged-out eyes. “When she saw me, she tried to dump the snakes back in the water real slick and coy-like, but I saw it. I swear. So did the guys from Pimp Creek who just drove past. Then she waved her gun at me. I raced off as fast as I could.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I’m shocked she didn’t try to chase me down to stop me from reporting her. I would’ve taken a picture of her crime, but I was too afraid she was going to kill me or something like she did her father. She had that wild look in those green snakelike eyes. You know her grandmother had eyes like that. She was half-gypsy, half-witch.”

“That’s a big accusation,” Dawson said.

“Are you calling me a liar?” Tim huffed.

“I didn’t say that.” Dawson knew damn well the man was lying. Audra was a lot of things. Feisty. Fiery. Passionate. A little left of normal. But she’d never use her weapon to kill a python. It wasn’t considered humane. Not that drilling a spike through their brain was nice, but it’s how they were told it must be done.

He might have only known Audra for two days, but that was long enough for him to make that kind of judgment call. Besides, he’d spent part of the morning reading some of her articles and glancing at her pictures. Audra had a real love for the wilderness. She respected it. Valued it. Understood how ecosystems worked and why each species was important.

In their own environment.

“Of course, you’re not going to listen. You’re sleeping with her, practically living with her,” Tim shouted.

Wonderful. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that,” Dawson said. “Now, head back to the docks. Remy is there. He’ll take your statement. Keaton and I will handle things from here.”

“You better, or your days as chief of police will be numbered in this town.” Tim pushed his boat off and punched the gas.

“Asshole,” Dawson muttered, pulling out his cell. At least he had two bars of service. He tapped Remy’s contact info. It rang once.

“What’s up, Chief?”

“Tim O’Toole is heading your way. He’s coming in hot,” Dawson said.

“Does it have anything to do with the shots fired?”

“Yeah.” Dawson sucked in a deep breath. “Try to keep his accusations quiet. You’ll need to take his statement. Try to do it somewhere private. He mentioned there was someone else who saw Audra do something, and they flew by me—the team from Pimp Creek.”

“I believe Benson knows that team. And Chief, if Tim’s accusing Audra of something, he’ll want everyone to hear it,” Remy said. “They have history.”

Jesus. Was there anyone in this town that woman didn’t have some kind of beef with? “What kind of history?”

“It started back in middle school.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Dawson shook his head. “I don’t want to know. Just take his statement. Keep it professional. I’ll be out of range for the next forty minutes. Text me when it’s over, and if I need to know anything, don’t use the radio. I don’t want anyone hearing it.” He ended the call and tucked his cell back in his pocket. “Does the entire town know she spent the night, and I moved her things into my cabin?”

“Pretty much.” Keaton laughed.

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