I
grabbed a hotdog and a Yuengling draft for lunch. Everyone else had their lunch or were already getting ready to leave. The mood of the group gave me the impression the golf week was dying a quick death.
Normally we would sit with the foursome with whom we played, if we weren’t all sitting together at some large table or two. Looking around, I saw our gang scattered throughout the room. Streelman pulled a chair up to a small table where Larry and Ed were drinking beer. The stacked plates on the table indicated they had already finished lunch.
I sat down at an empty table. What had I said that irritated Streelman so much? His behavior made me suspicious of him, but was that simply a reaction that could be rationalized? He fit the size of the person who attacked me, but so did eleven others. I didn’t see a lot of my attacker, but did his eyes match? A good question, however the attack happened in near dark. I couldn’t swear to much more than my attacker had two eyes.
I needed to talk to LG next. He also flew with AirExpress, and even though I had talked with him briefly before, he might be able to shed some light on Streelman, too. I saw LG stand up with a group about to leave.
“Why are you all by yourself? Have a bad day?” Tom asked. He sat down next to me.
“You look like you’re ready to leave,” I said, taking a bite of my hotdog.
“I am, but finish your lunch. This crowd has me depressed, and my game didn’t help. How’d you do?”
“For the most part I played well. Broke ninety, and that’s my goal. Had a group behind us that should be on the tour. On eleven or twelve, a three-hundred-and-thirty-yard hole, one of their tee shots rolled up next to us as were putting.”
“Damn, love to be able to do that.”
“Me, too. So how has this crowd got you depressed?”
“I don’t know, but it has. It’s like Doug’s death has only just now sunk in. It’s also like Viv’s arrival has spooked everyone, and they all want to avoid what may happen next.”
“Anything specific?” I asked.
“No, but if we get everyone to come back and play tomorrow to at least finish out the team competition, I’ll be surprised.”
“That’s too bad.”
“People are starting to turn on each other, too. Larry, Ed, James, and Bill want to quit now, and they’re pissed that the others want to play one more day. We already agreed to skip Saturday’s scramble, so I thought that would be a good compromise.”
“I hit a nerve with Streelman today,” I said.
“I’m guessing not with a golf ball.”
“No, we were actually getting along fine, and then on seventeen, I mentioned that a couple of the guys suggested I talk to him about Doug. When he said that he didn’t know why, I mentioned about them both flying into South America with AirExpress. I also mentioned that Doug had made the comment that he had a business deal or concept that he thought would pay him enough to cover this golf trip.”
“How’d he react?”
“He got real tense. Blood vessels popping out of his head, and clammed up.”
“Sounds like you did hit a nerve,” Tom said.
“Yes, but was it something illegal they were planning, and was his reaction because of that, or is there more to it?” Or did I think I saw more there than there was? Either way he stopped talking to me.”
“Want me to talk to him?”
“If you want to. He may open up to you if it’s only something that he’s embarrassed about. I think the police will be interviewing him again based on what Viv has already told them. After all, only LG and him fly AirExpress.”
“No, Jim M also does. I’ll try to get to Streelman right after we get back,” Tom said.
“May be a good idea. I plan on talking to LG.”
We left the clubhouse and drove back to our hotel. I wanted to get in touch with Louise and ensure the police were aware of Streelman’s reaction.
“You know, I heard once a few years back, some of the international crews would bring back foreign currencies and then sell them to people going overseas at a rate better than the banks, but they could still make a small profit,” Tom said.
“I can’t imagine that would be very profitable,” I said. “There’s a spot,” I pointed at an empty parking spot in the garage.
“No, I can’t either. I think they do it mostly to help their friends and friends’ friends. You know, Streelman may have thought you were trying to accuse him.”
“Maybe.” I hoped LG could shed some light on the matter, but I had talked to him a number of times already and hadn’t learned much.
I found him stretched out on a lounge chair on the beach behind the hotel. He was wearing a rather small bathing suit. I hadn’t known any of the guys to use the beach, since most felt it was still too cool to go swimming.
“Hey, LG, you’re going to get burned.”
He looked over at me and grinned, “Heard you were looking for me.” He must have noticed my look of curiosity and raised his cell phone in his left hand. “Jim M warned me he told you where I was. Here to do a citizen’s arrest?”
“For wearing that suit, maybe.”
He grinned. “My wife says I’m too tall to wear this.”
“I think it’s okay with tall just not fat.”
“First warm sunny afternoon without a cold breeze this week. What can I do for you, special agent?”
I sat down on the dry sand next to him. “I’m trying to figure out a motive. We all had the opportunity and the weapon, but why would someone want Doug dead?”
“Can’t help you there, Jim.”
“Viv says that Doug had told her right before coming here that he was working on another business matter with one of us in the group. He said that it might provide him with enough profit to cover the expenses of this trip.”
“Can’t believe anyone would go into business with him after the fiasco with Bob and Eric.”
“That’s what she told him, too. She said he wouldn’t elaborate on the business or say who his partner or partners might be.”
“So, you think he might have been killed over this business?”
“I have no idea and was wondering if you’ve heard any rumors about any smuggling or other criminal activity that other AirExpress crews may have gotten involved in? Could he have been trying to set something illegal up?”
“Not to my knowledge. I got along fine with Doug, but I never flew with him in AirExpress or overlapped with him anywhere.”
“I asked the same questions with Streelman today, and he got mad, overreacted. Any idea why he may have?”
“No, although he’s an emotional guy. He can get mad quicker than most, but professionally, he doesn’t break the rules.”
“His reaction struck me as odd, that’s all. I didn’t accuse him of anything, I just mentioned the supposed business matter and wanted to know if he had any knowledge of it.”
“Can’t help you there. Here, Jim, use my towel, take off your shirt, lay down, and catch some rays. We’ve got a half hour before we’ll need to go up.”
The sun did feel warm. For the most part the beach was quiet. I took off my shirt and stretched out on the towel.
“Did you get those scars in the war?”
“No. Those all came after I retired for sticking my nose in where it didn’t belong.”
“Like this?”
“Yes, just like this.”
As I lay there in the sun, two older teenage girls ran past. Despite the cool air, both wore swimming suits that revealed more than they hid. They ran into the ocean just far enough to get their legs wet before turning around and sprinting back past us, laughing all the way. One of the girls’ swimming suits had oblong openings cut into the sides of the top piece of the suit clearly revealing the outer sides of each breast.
“Oh, to be young again,” LG said.
“Those looked like the suit came with those holes.”
“My mom would’ve whipped my sister if she wore anything like that. Those two couldn’t have been more than teenagers.”
“Late teens from the look of them. Their moms may not even know they have those suits,” I said.
“Pretty blue color though,” LG said and grinned.