Page 56 of Murder in Calusa Cove
“It’s the same for me.” Keaton nodded. “My family has a little bit of money to begin with, so I might have had a head start, and thanks to Trinity, we can definitely swing helping to put a bid on the Crab Shack.”
“I’m a little worried about that.” Fletcher tipped his beer back and downed the rest of it. “I’ve got some money, but some of it’s tied up in my parents’ old place, and I want to keep some set aside for Baily, if she’ll ever let me help her.”
Hayes rubbed his hands up and down his thighs. He’d never been good at talking about himself, and this felt like bragging, but considering the situation with the bad stock tips that Ken had given his old man, it felt important. “Ken helped make me a small fortune,” Hayes said. “I’m not just comfortable—I could retire today if I wanted.”
Foster raised an eyebrow. “You’re sitting on that much?”
“Yeah,” Hayes said, rubbing the back of his neck. “We sat down one night, and he walked me through ETFs, dividend stocks, whole portfolios. It was safe, smart, long-term stuff. Nothing flashy. Nothing high-risk. I found an investment firm, and they all said the same things. I started playing with it a little, asking Ken questions, along with this financial advisor I found, and I’ve got enough that we don’t need to ask Trinity for help to bid on the old Crab Shack if we don’t want to.” He waved his beer at Keaton.
“I’m glad that Ken helped us all with our futures, but why would he give Baily’s dad bad advice?” Fletcher asked, voice low and angry. “Why screw him over, which essentially screws his little sister?”
No one had an answer.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Hayes said. “Unless he was covering for someone else. Or someone else was whispering in Baily’s dad’s ear, and Ken got blamed.”
Fletcher glanced up. “Or Ken was lying to all of us and trying to push Baily and her dad out—but why?”
Hayes didn’t want to believe that. None of them did.
Dawson took another drink and exhaled hard. “We may never know the whole truth. But we do know one thing—Cole’s not our guy. I’m just waiting on one last thing from his military record, and then I can let him go.”
The shift to the case brought them all back.
“However, I want to talk with him one more time. I need him to walk me through all six sites where he found bones. I spoke with the idiot who took the bones from the first site. He thought Cole was a crackpot, so after he left, he dropped the bones back in the Everglades. I couldn’t believe it. When I asked him if he knew the difference between human and animal remains, he dared to tell me he knew without a doubt they were animal and hung up on me. I took it to his superior. No idea what will happen next, but that just pissed me off,” Dawson said.
“I want those maps, and I want to go to the other bone sites,” Hayes said. “And I want to take Chloe.”
“That’s up to Buddy, not me,” Dawson replied. “He’s a little pissed off that I let her question Cole, and that both of you spent the night at the station.”
Hayes nodded. “It was the right thing to do, and I’m sure Buddy knows that.”
Dawson clinked his bottle against Hayes’s. “He’s just covering bases, like I would if I were in his shoes.”
Just then, the screen door creaked open.
Chloe stepped out first, barefoot in her strapless dress, her hair falling in loose waves around her shoulders. She was followed by Baily and Trinity, minus the massive tiara—laughing about something—and then Audra with her arm looped around Mac’s, who looked like she’d known these women her entire life.
“There you are,” Chloe said, her gaze landing on Hayes.
He smiled, patting his legs.
She stumbled across the patio and plopped into his lap, giggling. She’d obviously been slightly overserved. He was glad to see her relax a little. She needed one night to forget about it all.
They all did.
“Whatever heavy thing’s going on out here,” Trinity added, “y’all better wrap it up. Because there’s cake, and Baily just brought out more wine. Not that I can drink any of that.”
“And Mac wants to learn how to catch a rattlesnake properly,” Audra said with a grin. “I think there’s one lurking in the bushes around the side of the house.”
Mac elbowed her, laughing. “Don’t listen to her. All I said was I’d like to see someone do that. Not that I wanted to do it myself.”
“Oh, sweet Jesus.” Dawson stood, looping his arm around his bride and pulling her back to the chair. “You are not wrangling animals on our wedding night.”
She traced her finger across his lower lip. “Oh, babe, I’m gonna wrangle your sna?—”
“Stop talking.” Dawson covered her mouth.
As the women spread out, laughter and music filtering through the open door, Hayes leaned back in his chair, running his fingers across Chloe’s bare skin, letting the tension ease from his shoulders.
