The par 3, 145 yard, 12th is Bradford’s favorite. The pin was tucked into the front of the green, just over the water and only eight feet from the greenside bunker. He selected 8-iron and aimed for the center of the green. Unfortunately, he hit the ball too well and it rolled off the back. It would be a difficult up and down.
Last week Buzz had ended up in the right side bunker with a pitching wedge. He had managed to save par with a beautiful sand shot. Today, with a slight tail wind, Buzz hit sand wedge. He hit it perfectly and got help from the wind. For a moment he thought he had a hole in one, but the ball stopped two feet short of the pin leaving him with a tap in birdie.
Nothing much changed between Buzz and Dave over the next few weeks, despite several attempts by Buzz to rekindle their friendship. They were paired together in the Friday golf game, but that had been a disaster. Dave barely spoke the entire round except for the perfunctory “nice shot” or “good putt” asides. It was clear the other two players were uncomfortable. The relationship was cool and getting colder.
Ken and Buzz continued to be friends and in late August found themselves on a dive trip in the Turtle Islands off Key West, Fl. The islands were almost two hours by boat from the Keys with some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving in the world. There are no hotels on the islands so they chartered a 50-foot sailboat with six other members of the Tampa Bay dive club. Sleeping quarters were cramped, but comfortable. Ken and Buzz shared a cabin with two twin-size beds, a small safe for their valuables and a 20-inch television.
They had just completed their 2nd dive and were relaxing on the deck. The captain suggested they visit the fort and grab a bite to eat before their night dive. “Ken, get me my cutoffs and shirt that are on the bed; I’m too comfortable to move.”
“Not a problem, master. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“You’re not my type but I’m sure I can come up with something.”
Ken went below and quickly changed clothes, grabbed a camera and started up the steps when he remembered Buzz’ request. He reached back and snatched the clothes with his free hand and started back up when Buzz’s wallet came tumbling out. The wallet hit the third step and tumbled down with credit cards and bills scattering everywhere. One item, a picture ID in a thin case had flipped open and Buzz’ face stared up at him. Below the face that Ken thought he knew so well, was a description that came as a total shock:
Buzz Peters
Special Assistant
FBI
Surprise, surprise, Ken thought. Who would have thought it? He recovered quickly and gathered the rest of the cards and stuffed them into pouches in the wallet. Ken decided to wait for a different time before he asked Buzz about his other life. In fact, maybe it’s something he was better off not knowing. Ken needed time to think.
“Where you’ve been? We were about to call the coast guard. We’re ready to go.”
“If you didn’t leave your wallet hanging out of your clothes I would have been ready 10 minutes ago. I’ve spent the last 10 minutes crawling under the bed trying to find your worthless credit cards that fell out. Don’t worry, I only kept a few bucks for my troubles.”
Buzz took the wallet and checked to see if anything was lost. “Other than a few C-notes, it looks like everything is here. I guess that means you are buying drinks tonight.” Ken thought Buzz hesitated when he fingered his ID.
“I’ll buy you all you can drink before the dive tonight, Buzz.” Ken’s offer wasn’t as generous as it sounded, because few divers drink at all before they make a dive, particularly a 100-foot wreck dive that they were planning that evening. Depending upon the depth you are diving to, alcohol can severely hinder a diver’s ability to clear their sinuses and ears which is necessary to equalize the pressure between their body and the water. If you can’t equalize, you run a risk of popping your ear drums and permanently losing your hearing.”
“I’ll take a rain check, Ken. Let’s see what this fort looks like.”
As Ken wandered through the fort dating back to1832, he was thinking of other things and trying to recollect job-related conversations he had with Buzz. Other than to express some general suspicions about the Swiss lenders, he did not recall that Buzz had ever pressed him for details or had seemed overly interested. Maybe Buzz’ FBI job had nothing to do with him, but again, maybe it did. Why hadn’t he mentioned it?
Bradford needed to make his chip to tie and was forced to be aggressive. His bump and run shot from the back of the green flew past the pin and into the water. The match was all square.
Chapter 13
Par 4 – 350 Yards
Redemption