The short par 4, third hole, dogleg left, was rated as the second easiest hole on the golf course. Bradford wasn’t sure how they handicapped the various holes, but did know this hole gave everybody fits. Tall pine trees lined the left side of the fairway and blocked your view of the green until you reached the 220-yard mark where the fairway opened up. Anything short of 220 left you no shot at the green.
There was plenty of room to the right, although the rough had grown to about two inches making it difficult to reach the green if your ball landed in it. The hole was easy if you drove the 220 yards down the middle. Aren’t they all?
Bradford decided to hit driver. The wind seemed to be picking up and was still in their face and 3-wood might not be enough club to get past the trees. As it turned out, he couldn’t get past the dogleg with driver either. Ken had warned him about the tendency to overswing when the wind is in your face. “It’s counterproductive!” A smooth, easy swing generates more distance than trying to overpower the ball.
Dave’s drive was straight, but his body got out in front of his hands and he popped it up. The result looked more like it was made with a 7-iron than a driver. He doubted he had reached the corner of the dogleg where he could see the green.
Buzz didn’t have the same problem; a 3-wood was all he needed to give him a short iron to this green. Surprisingly, he pushed the ball off the tee. It had plenty of distance, but disappeared into the heavy rough. Everything would depend upon the lie.
Chris’ first two years with the DEA were routine. After an extensive three-month training period during which she graduated at the top of her school, she was assigned to a task force headed up by Steve Wilson. The unit was responsible for drug interdiction for the southern region that included Florida and most of the Caribbean Islands. They also worked closely with the FBI to uncover distribution channels and money laundering schemes, Steve’s specialty.
They had been watching Mario for two years, trying to determine his role in Romano’s organization. Their first big break came when they received the anonymous tip about a drug shipment coming into Naples. Not only did they recover the drugs, the phone call that Sam and Ron made to Mario provided the first real evidence of Mario’s role in the heroin distribution ring. Chris had participated in this bust and several others during the first two years. Although exciting, it wasn’t really what she was looking for. She was becoming somewhat disenchanted with the DEA. Tommy’s death was still in the front of her mind and somehow she felt she was not making enough progress in avenging his senseless death.
Her break came when Mario invited Dave on the boat trip to the Bahamas. The DEA and FBI tried to figure out Dave’s role in the operation and came up empty. They saw their opportunity when Bradford placed an advertisement in the newspaper looking for help in his mortgage company. Steve made a decision that would impact the lives of many people.
“Chris, are you ready for an undercover assignment?” Steve asked as he showed Chris the help-wanted ad. “I want you to apply for the job. It might just provide an inside source to Mario’s organization. He told Chris what they knew about Mario and Bradford.”
Chris jumped at the opportunity. “I’m your girl.” It turned out to be an excellent decision.
Bradford’s fears were confirmed when he reached his drive. Maybe Tiger could reach the green by hooking a shot around the corner of the dogleg, but he wasn’t Tiger Woods. Ken and Dave had numerous discussions about the need to take your poison and move on to the next shot. His only option was to chip the ball forward 30 yards to get a look at the green.
Buzz also had a problem; the lie was horrible and it would take all of his strength to reach the green. Last week he would have cussed up a storm. This week was different. Rather than complaining and trying to hit an impossible shot, he calmly took a pitching wedge and dug it out of the rough and advanced it 100 yards, with a good chance of getting up and down for par. This was a new Buzz today.
Dave hit 8-iron from 140 yards and came up short right, stopping on the fringe. Buzz had only 40 yards to the pin, but his pitch rolled 12 feet past. Both players two putted for bogeys. Bradford was still one up.
Chris and Ken soon developed an excellent working relationship. Ken was about a dozen years older than Chris and more experienced in the financial markets. He was also one of the few men that Chris had met that was as smart as she. They made a good team.
Their affair started during their second trip to Zurich. They had just met with Sven and his Board and received confirmation of funding for the next phase of the project. They had decided to meet Dag for golf in Lucerne and then spend a few days exploring Switzerland. Three hours after the meeting broke up they arrived at the Romantik Wilden Mann Hotel. Dag pulled up behind them as the porter took their luggage.
Dag and Ken had a 2:30 tee time at the Lucerne Golf Club leaving Chris to check in and explore the city. The five hours passed quickly.
“Dag, that’s as nice a golf course as I have ever played. The views are breathtaking. I just wish I could have played better,” Ken said as Dag pulled up to the hotel. “The hills and scenery reminded me a little of the golf courses in North Carolina where I grew up. Florida courses are flat and boring compared to this.”
“A 78 isn’t anything to complain about, Ken. Here we are. Are you sure you don’t want me to join you for dinner?”
They both laughed. Ken knew he was kidding and needed to get back to his family, and Ken was tempted to call his bluff.
“That’s okay Dag; I won’t need a chaperone. We have a strict rule in our company about not dating the people you work with, and you know I never break the rules.”
“There are always exceptions to the rules,” Dag said over his shoulder as he drove away.
Ken found out it wasn’t his decision. Rather than two rooms, Chris had booked a 1-bedroom suite. There was a bucket of various lagers on ice as well as a bottle of Kendall-Jackson, and a note that said Chris was shopping and would be back about six. Ken grabbed a beer and headed for the shower.
Chris came back in high spirits and said the suite was all they had available. Ken was on his third lager and was a little confused. They had been exchanging small talk for over an hour and Chris was sending out mixed signals.
She poured another glass of KJ and headed for the bedroom. “Excuse me for a minute, Ken. I bought you a little something this afternoon.” Ten minutes later Chris was back, modeling a shear, yellow negligee. He had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life.
“Chris, you are more beautiful than I could imagine. You look absolutely stunning.”
“Well, what are you going to do about it?”
After two hours of making love, talking, and making love again, they ordered room service. Their personal relationship had begun.
They checked out of the hotel in the morning and took a train to the St Moritz Ski Resort in Eastern Switzerland and checked into the Kempinski Grand Hotel. Built in 1366, the Kempinski was an incredible combination of luxury, ambiance and beauty, and adjacent to the main ski lift to St. Moritz Bad. If golf were compared to skiing, Chris was a two handicap and Ken was a 15, but it didn’t matter. They spent three wonderful days on the hills and between the sheets, with an occasional dinner and sauna mixed in. Ken had never felt like this about a woman before.
They kept their relationship secret by being discreet, particularly when they were in the office or in Tampa. Chris and Ken had begun as friends and progressed to lovers. She looked forward to their time together and was looking forward to that fatal weekend in Cabo San Lucas. They had booked adjoining rooms, and had planned to spend the night together.
She had been very tired that night and fell asleep after saying goodbye to Kurt and Pedro. She understood Ken’s desire to unwind before coming to bed. It was obvious that something else had happened in Zurich that was bothering him. He would talk about when he was ready.
Chris had wished a thousand times that she would have stayed with him in the restaurant that even
ing. She couldn’t help but wonder whether she was responsible for his death. Maybe somebody had found out about her role with the DEA. To her knowledge, he didn’t know, although it’s always possible that he had somehow found out. Ken was also highly suspicious of the Swiss funding group. He didn’t accept their explanation about private investors and tried several times to identify the source of their funds. Maybe he had gotten too close to the truth? She didn’t accept Sven’s statement that Ken was trying to extort funds from the Swiss group. This made her even more suspicious.
Ginny had taken her to the side at the funeral and said how sorry she was about her loss. Chris must have shown surprise because Ginny felt obligated to explain.
“Fred told me he had run into the two of you one evening in Zurich as you were coming out of the restaurant,” Ginny explained. “He asked me not to tell anybody and I won’t, but I wanted to let you know that if there is anything Fred and I can do for you, just let us know. We thought a lot of Ken and we think a lot of you, too.”
Somehow it made Chris feel better to know that someone else knew that she had cared deeply for Ken.
Chapter 4
Par 3 - 185 Yards
The Miami Prosecutor