Chapter 16

I hurried into the kitchen and grabbed the telephone. My mouth felt so dry I could hardly speak, and my whole body tensed when I heard Hank Burdock’s clipped tones on the line.

“Brace yourself, Kitt, the perp slipped into a coma last night. He’s not expected to live.”

For several moments I couldn’t speak. I cleared my throat and took three deep breaths before my partner continued.

“You’ll get the news from official sources soon, but I thought I’d call and tell you first so you could be prepared when the chief calls. Kitt? Kitt? Are you there? Have we been cut off?”

“I’m here, Hank. I thank you for calling. Wh-what’s going on with the review committee? I’ve heard nothing.”

“Because there’s nothing to hear. It’s flu season up here, Kitt. Two members of the committee are hospitalized—even though they had shots. Committee won’t function without them.”

“So I wait.” The kitchen began to spin around me and I managed to sit down at the breakfast table before I fell.

“We all wait. Every person on the force is rooting on your side, Kitt. Rasty Raymore was a no-good. He’d be no great loss to his family, Iowa, the world. A druggie. Been in and out of prison all his life. But you know that. You may have saved the taxpayers the cost of a trial.”

“Hank, have you any idea, any idea at all of how it feels to have killed another human being?”

“No. And you don’t know either—not yet. The perp’s still in a coma. He’s not dead.”

“So can you imagine how it feels to have deliberately fired a bullet into another living human being? I think it’s a memory I’ll never get over, something I’ll never forget or recover from anytime soon, if ever.”

“I try not to imagine myself in such a situation, but I’ll admit I’ve thought about it. Thought about it a lot ever since I joined the force. All the guys think about it, wonder about it. They may not admit it. But they do.”

“And they still stay on the force, don’t they?”

Hank didn’t answer my question.

“Don’t let this get to you, Kitt. What you did was part of your job. You were doing what cops are hired to do—to protect the public from criminals and scofflaws. Far better to have a dead druggie than a dead cop any day of the week. Never forget that. Never.”

“You’re saying there are exceptions to the Ten Commandments—the do-not-kill one, for example?”

“There are mitigating circumstances. What about the one that says honor your father and your mother. You were certainly honoring your father. Why, I remember when…”

“I’ve got to hang up now, Hank. I appreciate your call and I’ll bear in mind what you’ve said. The line hummed between us for a few seconds before I could speak again. “Hank…do you have a new partner?”

“Yes. But only temporarily. Cops work in pairs. Your place will be waiting for you when that review committee finishes its job.”

“Sure, Hank. Sure.” I replaced the receiver and sat staring into space, trying to blank from my mind the reality of Rasty Raymore’s coma. I blinked, startled, when Janell stepped into the kitchen.

“He died, didn’t he?” For a moment she stood staring at me.

“No. He’s in a coma but not expected to live. If he dies it’ll be my fault. I’ll know I’ve taken a human life.”

Rex had followed Janell into the kitchen. “Look, Kitt. You were only doing your job. You were defending law and order.”

“I’ll try to remember that at night when I can’t sleep.” I ran myself a glass of water and gulped it down. “Forgive my sarcasm, Rex. I’m not going to let this get me down. I’m going to…” I hesitated, not having the slightest idea of what I was going to do—if I ever came to my senses.

Janell finished my sentence for me. “You’re going to talk to Teach in a few minutes after you’ve had time to compose yourself. The combo’s about to play “Harbor Lights,” and he needs to give you some last-minute instructions concerning your outing tomorrow morning.

“Outing. Tomorrow.” I let my brain toy with the words until they made sense.

Tomorrow. Fort Jefferson. Dry Tortugas. I stood and returned to the patio. Hella sat playing the drums. The combo was playing “Harbor Lights,” but it seemed like a tune I’d never heard before. I forced politeness as I declined Ace’s request for a dance and I busied myself helping Janell and Rex clear off the snack bar.

Teach sauntered toward me once most of the crowd had left the patio. “Got a few tips to help you and Hella make your trip tomorrow go smoothly.” He pushed his sunglasses onto the top of his head and looked directly at me, waiting until Hella joined us before he continued.

“I told you this’s a half day tour. We’ll take off tomorrow morning from Key West International at eight-thirty, so you’ll need to be at the airport thirty minutes ahead of take-off. My headquarters are a short distance to the side of the main airport terminal. You’ll have no trouble locating me. It’s one of the few spots on the island where you’ll find plenty of free parking space.”

“There’s no water at the airport,” Hella said. “How’s a seaplane going to take off with no water?”

“What kind of a plane do you fly?” I asked, thinking more about safety than about the obvious lack of water.

“I fly a top notch amphibious plane, ladies—a rebuilt Cessna. It has retractable wheels that I pull up into the floats. I use wheels for takeoffs and landings at the airport. When we reach Garden Key, I’ll use the floats for our touch down. Once we dip into the water, helpers will pull the plane onto the beach where we’ll leave it while we explore the park grounds and the fort.”

“So we should wear waterproof shoes?” Hella asked. “Or carry dry shoes along in a bag?”

“There’re usually park rangers on hand to do the plane pulling.” Teach glanced at Hella’s Birkenstocks. “Wear what you’ve got on. You’ll be fine.”

“Do you always go so early?” Hella asked.

“If it’s too early for you, I’ll be more than happy to take your spot.” Phud joined our group again, elbowing his way past Rex and Janell who stood listening to Teach’s tips. I thought Phud had left for home earlier, and now I held my breath, waiting to hear what Hella might say.

“I’m an early riser,” Hella said. “Eight o’clock’s fine with me.”

I breathed again.

“You’re lucky to be going so early,” Teach said. “Our flying time will be about forty minutes. Tourists going to the fort by boat will be on the water two to three hours. So you can see we’ll be there long before the sea-going crowd arrives and we’ll have the fort, the grounds, and the beach pretty much to ourselves during that time. There may be a few others who arrive as we do, by amphibious transportation, but not many.”

“What should we bring along?” I asked.

“I’ll pack you a lunch,” Janell said.

“We’ll love that, Janell,” Teach said. “In real life, we’d have to pack our own lunch, but there are drinks available for purchase at the park. If you plan to swim or snorkel, bring your swimming suits and equipment and your own towels. No air tanks are allowed. Remember that everything we take onto the island, we must take off the island when we leave.”

“What time will we be back?” Hella asked.

“Around noon. I have another half day tour scheduled for afternoon.”

“I’ll be ready, Teach,” I said. “I’ll drive Hella and me to the airport, and I thank you again for this opportunity.”

By the time Teach finished giving us our instructions, everyone had left the patio—even Phud. Rex, Janell, and I finished cleaning the snack bar, leaving it ready for tomorrow night’s business. Rex locked the gate, extinguished the torches and clicked off the other lights.

Once inside, I told Rex and Janell goodnight and trudged upstairs to bed for what I feared might be a sleepless night. I took a long, slow bath, enjoying the tepid water and rose scented bath oil until I was able to relax. When my fingers grew pruny, I left the tub, toweled off, and slipped into bed.

In spite of the relaxing bath, I lay awake thinking about the message from Hank and about my guilt in Rasty Raymore’s coma and impending death. Those thoughts did nothing to help lull me to sleep. After I’d blocked guilt thoughts into a far corner of my mind, I forced myself to think about tomorrow’s flight to Fort Jefferson. Why. Why. Why. Questions continued to pop into my mind. Why had Phud wanted to go along on the flight? He could go to Dry Tortugas any day of the week if he so desired. Why did he suddenly get interested in making the trip when he learned I was going? I could only wonder about his motivations—and Hella’s. Of course, Hella said she had put dibs on a seat earlier in the winter.

At first I had welcomed Hella’s insistence on taking tomorrow’s flight, thinking that perhaps she was trying to protect me from Phud. Maybe he was the person she saw surrounded by a dark aura. Or was I being too trusting of Hella? In our minds, Janell and I had dropped Hella from our suspect list. She was certainly strong enough to have overcome Abra Barrie—or me. But that was crazy thinking. Nothing sinister could happen to me with Teach and two other passengers aboard The Osprey.

When I thought more about Teach, I remembered that Janell and Rex had said he had talked with Abra Barrie on her last Thursday night, argued with her, tried to talk her into a trip to the fort. Teach might not have an airtight alibi for the afternoon of her murder, but maybe Abra could have said something to him that might reveal a clue to the identity of her murderer. That’s one of the things I’d think about tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow would give me more than an insight into Key’s history.

I fell asleep planning questions I’d present to Teach concerning his short contact with Abra Barrie and it seemed only moments later that I awakened to the jangle of my alarm clock.

“You have to eat some breakfast,” Janell punctuated her words with an extra swish of her caftan when I stepped into the kitchen. “You’re going to have an exciting morning. You’ll enjoy it more if you eat at least a bite or two. Come on to poolside. I’m serving some special cinnamon buns this morning. I already have a pot of coffee ready to pour and there’s orange juice out there, too.”

“You work too hard, Janell.”

“Fausto’s bakery and my electric orange squeezer did most of the work today. Come on. Hella’s already at the patio.”

Today Hella had abandoned her usual long shift for navy blue slacks and a cotton cardigan. She patted the chair beside her where she had laid a broad-brimmed straw hat. “Don’t forget to bring along a sun hat and plenty of sun screen, Kitt.”

“Right,” I agreed. “Red hair and sunscreen go well together.” I sat beside Rex and tried not to gulp my orange juice, but this trip had me more excited than I’d expected. Even Hella sat on the edge of her chair, trying to gulp coffee that was steaming hot.

“I’ll drive you to the airport,” Rex said. “No point in letting the Prius sit out there all morning. And we’d better get started right away.”

“Want to drive us in the Prius?” I asked.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Rex said. “This early go-to-work traffic is no place for a new car. We’ll take our car this time.”

I laughed. “Or maybe we could bicycle to the airport.”

Janell reached into her pocket and answered her cell phone. “Great, Teach. They’ll appreciate it.” Then smiling at us, she said, “Teach will pick you up at our gate in ten minutes and drive you to The Osprey.”

“How nice of him!” I exclaimed.

Rex ran his hand over his bald head. “Don’t kid yourself. He just wants an extra few minutes to regale you with more facts about Fort Jefferson.”

“I like a fellow who’s excited about his job.” Hella stood and headed toward her apartment. “Meet you at the gate, Kitt.”

Teach arrived in his old Ford, tapped the horn twice, although he could see we were ready and waiting. “Good morning, ladies.”

His mirrored glasses reflected the sun, but I assumed he was looking at us. “Morning, Teach.” Hella and I spoke in unison as Hella climbed into the passenger seat and I took the seat behind her.

“Have a great morning.” Janell and Rex waved and watched us until we were out of sight.

“We’re going to take the highway along the beach,” Teach said. “Should find less traffic there.”

As Rex had predicted, Teach spouted Fort Jefferson facts all the way to the airport. I found them interesting, but Hella sighed and spent most of the ride gazing out the window at the beach scene. We had passed East Martello Tower and entered the airport gate when Teach slowed the car.

“Would you look at that!”