February 2015
Officer Mike Wagner’s shift was almost over, and he sat at the station eating his sandwich with one of his colleagues, John.
“So, how was your shift?” John asked.
Mike took another bite and chewed, then shrugged. “Quiet, as usual.”
Some of the guys were playing darts at the other end of the room and were cheering loudly.
“Had a couple of speeding mamas and a drunk hobo annoying the tourists on the beach.”
“I hate the hobos,” John said, and drank from his Big Gulp. “Especially the drunk ones.”
“I know. It’s Friday, so there will be lots of teenagers on the beach tonight drinking and making bonfires. Make sure they don’t burn stuff that isn’t theirs, if you know what I mean.”
He swallowed the last bite of his sandwich. He could have waited till he got back to the condo to eat, but he liked to have the company. He would probably still munch on a bag of chips in the recliner while watching CSI, once he got home. He needed to grocery shop, but didn’t feel like it today. He still had enough chips and sodas for a couple of days. He’d get by. Then he’d hit Wal-Mart at the beginning of next week.
“Working next weekend, I hear?” John said.
“Yes,” Mike said. “Both days. But, it’s all good. I like work.”
John chuckled. “I’d rather be home with the wife and kiddos.”
Mike nodded. He didn’t want to talk about other people’s families. He didn’t like to hear about them or how happy they were. He had never had a family of his own and after reaching forty, he had stopped thinking it would come. Not that he hadn’t had girlfriends, he did, but they never wanted him long enough. They all split after just a few weeks. He’d never quite figured out why.
“Say, what’s that on your notepad?” John asked.
Mike looked at the table where he had put his things down. His phone, his radio, and his notepad.
His notepad with Shannon King’s autograph!
“Does it say Shannon King?” John asked, and pulled it to better see.
Mike put a hand to cover it. “Leave it,” he said.
“How did you get Shannon King’s autograph? John asked loudly. Too loudly. Now the dart-playing colleagues turned to look.
“What’s going on here?” George said, approaching them.
“Tell them, Sergeant,” John said. “Tell us how you got Shannon King’s autograph?”
“What?” George said. “The singer? Damn, she’s hot. You meet her somewhere?”
Mike still didn’t answer. “Come on, guys,” he said. “It’s private.”
“She’s here, isn’t she?” John asked with a grin. “Oh, my God. Shannon King is in Cocoa Beach!”
“Is it true, Sergeant?” George said. “Come on, tell us.”
Mike sighed. How was he supposed to lie to his buddies? He couldn’t. They were his family, his friends, and his entire life. Besides, he really wanted to tell someone about his meeting with the most famous country singer on the planet.
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, she was here. I pulled her over for speeding. She had her daughter with her. So, I asked for her autograph.”
His colleagues burst into a loud roar. Mike got up, trying to leave. He’d said too much. It made him feel bad.
“Hey, wait a minute there, tiger,” George said. “Tell us some more. What did she look like in real life? She is gorgeous, isn’t she? What is she doing in Cocoa Beach? Did she have bodyguards with her or anything?”
Mike shook his head. “No. It was just her and the kid. And she told me she wanted this to stay private. She wanted to keep it a secret from the press. And, we keep it that way, you hear me?”
“She can’t keep that a secret for long,” John said. “Someone will see her and tell the press.”
Mike looked at his boys. John was right. The place would soon be crawling with journalists looking for her.
“That might be, but it won’t come from any of us, you hear me?”
John saluted him with a grin. “Loud and clear, Sir!”
Chapter Fifty-Three
February 2015
Happy hour oysters are back!
I put the small sign up outside of the restaurant like my mom had asked me to. Today’s special was Mahi-Mahi and Grouper, she had written in chalk on the small blackboard.
That was the special every day, it seemed.
The kids had been playing so well, I had been able to go surfing for an hour. When I got back out of the water, I felt refreshed and new and helped my mother change the menu before the guests arrived for dinner…the few of them that chose to eat at the motel. It had actually been a slow winter for my parents, and as we were getting closer to the spring, it had my mother worried. Even though she tried to hide it.
“It’ll pick up,” she kept saying. “Snowbirds will come. They always do.”
But the season for snowbirds was almost over. My dad’s health still wasn’t too well, and he needed a lot of rest. There was another chance. Springer-breakers came in March, and even though they were often loud and caused trouble with their excessive drinking, they meant business. They liked to stay in cheap motels on the beach.
I helped my mother cook for the guests and for our family. I made a salad for Emily, who had been very into eating healthy lately, and I didn’t want to discourage her from that, even though my mother thought it was nonsense.
“Who doesn’t like meat?”
“Just let her be herself. She’s trying to figure out who she is, and we should let her,” I said.
We served burgers for everyone—except Emily—and sat down to eat all together. I loved these family dinners. We even had two extras sitting with us today, since Shannon King and Angela had agreed to have dinner with us. I really liked her, so I hoped we would all be on our best behavior.
It was a success, and while the kids ran onto the beach afterwards, playing ball, Shannon and I took a stroll with our feet in the water. I pointed out a pod of dolphins for her that were playing in the waves and she gasped in awe.
“I see them all the time out there, when I surf,” I said.
“That sounds amazing,” she said. “You have quite the life here, Detective. A true paradise.”
“Maybe I should teach you how to surf while you’re here?” I asked.
Shannon chuckled. “Me? Oh no. I’m not cut out for that. Water isn’t my thing. Give me a horse and I can show you a trick or two.”
I laughed. “I forgot. You’re from Texas.”
She laughed lightly. It felt good to walk with her. I enjoyed spending time with her, but I also knew she was married. She never talked about her husband, but she didn’t have to.
“So, did he do that to you?” I asked, and pointed at her face where the scarf had fallen down slightly on the side and a bruise showed.
She went quiet.
I went too far.
Then, she nodded. “I had to get away. Mostly for Angela’s sake. She started to ask questions. I can’t let her grow up like this.”
I exhaled, then reached out a hand and touched her bruise gently. I hated men who beat their wives more than anything I could think of. Only cowards would do such a thing. I had seen so much of this when living in Miami.
She grabbed my wrist and held on to it. She looked me in the eyes. I held my breath. I hadn’t felt like this for a very long time.
“I…” she said. She removed her eyes from mine. “I should go.”
She turned around and went back to the motel.
I stared after her, feeling frustrated. I couldn’t fall for this woman. Could I? No, she was too complicated. She was married. She was a celebrity. It couldn’t be. I had just met her. No, it was just a crush. It was nothing, I told myself. But I knew I was wrong.
I was already in deep…in over my head.
Chapter Fifty-Four
February 2015
Shannon rushed back to the room, holding her phone in her hand. She found the key and lock
ed herself in. She ran to the balcony, where she could see Angela playing on the beach with the twins. She could see Jack. He was still standing on the beach where she had left him.
This isn’t good, Shannon.
She couldn’t fall for him. This was no time to start a romance. She felt so frustrated. She really liked the guy and they had just shared something. Was that a moment? Had they shared something on the beach just now?
No, she couldn’t let anyone into her life now. Not the way it was.
She looked at the display on her phone. Her manager, Bruce, had called and left a message. He was the only one who knew this number. She hadn’t told him where she was going, only that he could reach her at this number in case it was important. She listened to the message.
“Joe is looking everywhere for you, Shannon,” he said. “He was here earlier this morning, trying to force me to tell him where you were. I told him you had left…that you weren’t coming back. He went crazy. He trashed the mirror in my hallway, you know the beautiful one you love so much. He’s angry. Stay hidden and stay safe. Don’t let anyone know where you are. Not until we get the restraining order through. Shit, he scared me. He wants Angela, he said. Please don’t take your eyes off of her, promise me that. Well, I gotta go. I hope y’all are still safe. Don’t worry about the press. I got it covered, and I managed to cancel the rest of your tour. I told them you were sick. They will start to ask questions soon, though, so we need to figure out what to tell them.”
Shannon put the phone down with a sigh, then went to the window and spotted Angela again. She was still playing with Jack’s kids. They had been so sweet to Angela. Shannon found an old address book and a number. She stared at the number for a long time before she found the courage to call it.
“Hello?” a woman said.
“Hello. Is this Kristi?” Shannon asked.
“It is. Who am I speaking to?”
Shannon felt tears fill her eyes and tried to hold them back. She choked on her own sobs. “It’s me, Kristi. It’s Shannon.”
Silence for a little while, an awful silence, while Shannon wondered if she had made a mistake, if she should just hang up again. Then there was a shriek.
“Shannon? Is it really you?”
“Yes. It is me,” she said, crying.
She could hear Kristi was crying too. “I…I thought I’d never hear from you again.”
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s all been a little…” she paused and cried. She pulled away the scarf and took off the hat, then looked at herself in the mirror while crying. “It’s just been so awful. You know how you want to do everything for your kid, everything you can to make sure she grows up in a real home with a mom and a dad. It’s just…life is just not always like in the movies, you know?”
“Oh, dear sis. I’m sorry to hear that. Is it Joe? I had a feeling he was the one keeping you away from us.”
“He never thought my family was good enough. And then there were the drugs, and I couldn’t…I couldn’t stop it, not until we had Angela.”
Kristi was crying heavily at the other end. “I read about your daughter. I always wanted to meet her. I can’t believe I’ve never met my niece.”
“I’m so sorry you haven’t. You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to call you or just drive to Florida to visit you, but I was afraid of how Joe would react. And then you moved all the way to Cocoa Beach. I mean, when you lived in the Panhandle, I felt you were closer; this is just so far away.”
“We moved because of Jimmy’s job. He works at the Space Center now. He was one of those that survived the layoffs when the shuttle program stopped. We lucked out. Now he’s working on the Orion rocket.”
“That sounds really good. I’m so glad you guys are happy,” Shannon sobbed.
“So, why are you calling all of a sudden?” Kristi asked. “Did something happen?”
“I left him, Kristi. I left Joe.”
Saying the words made her cry again. It had been the hardest decision she ever had to make. For years, she had stayed with Joe because she didn’t dare to do anything else. For years, he beat the crap out of her whenever he wanted to, so she had to cancel concerts and lie to everyone about how she got her bruises. Before Angela came along, she had taken a lot of drugs just to put up with his abuse, but when she became pregnant, she had stopped. Finally, she had started seeing things clearly and realized she had to leave him. Especially now that Angela was older and suddenly understood what was going on.
“So, where are you now?” Kristi asked. “Do you want me to come up? I can catch a flight out of Orlando later today if you need me to.”
Shannon wept again. She hadn’t dared to hope that her sister would greet her with open arms after so many years. But, of course she would. They had been so close up until the day she had met Joe and Joe had told her that her sister was jealous of her and that she should stay away.
All those lies. All that deceit.
“You don’t need to,” Shannon said. “I’m here. I’m in Cocoa Beach.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
February 2015
He was disgusted. The Snakecharmer felt nauseated by what he had just seen. He had been observing Detective Ryder from afar, like he often did, and what was that he had seen? Had the dear detective had a moment with another woman?
With a married woman?
He couldn’t believe his own eyes. He knew perfectly well who the woman was, even though she did everything she could to keep it a secret. The Snakecharmer knew everything that went on in his town, and when a celebrity showed herself, rumors spread fast. He had always liked the dear Mrs. King’s music, but he certainly wasn’t going to anymore. Not after what he had just witnessed. She was coming on to another man? When she was still married? How despicable!
The Snakecharmer wondered for a little while what to do next. He was supposed to go to Satellite Beach and make the last arrangements for his abduction of the woman down there, the one he had been planning on taking for a long time. But, now he was suddenly not so sure anymore. A new plan was shaping in his head. One that was suddenly a lot more urgent than the original one.
But, would it work? Would it really work? It had to. Besides, everything he had done lately had been a success. He had punished all these women for their cheating ways. They had paid their dues. He wouldn’t be surprised if someday people would be grateful to him. He had, after all, rid the world of some of its worst scum. Once they figured out what he had done, why he had done it, they would understand; they would even applaud him for his accomplishments. Men would praise him all over the world.
Of course they would.
But, for now, he had to settle for being considered a simple murderer. It was okay. Most artists weren’t appreciated in their time.
The Snakecharmer chuckled to himself when thinking about the woman Detective Ryder hadn’t found out about yet. The Snakecharmer knew he had found out about the girl back in ’02. She had been the Snakecharmer’s first girlfriend. A lying cheating bitch like the rest of them. He had gotten away with it almost too easily. He still remembered her pale skin and how fragile she had felt when he had washed her to clean off all her impurity. To think she had slept with that Alex-guy from her class. Someone had told the Snakecharmer about it, and he had broken it off with her right away. Pretended he didn’t care. He had spent a year planning everything. Making it look like a burglary. He had read how to do that in one of John Platt’s books. How ironic, he thought to himself. But because he had waited so long, no one ever thought about him as a suspect in the case, and soon they ruled it out as a breaking and entering gone wrong.
Too easy.
To be fair, the Snakecharmer admitted that he knew that not all women were lying and cheating. Some were good women. They were out there. He had thought Shannon King was one of them. Until today. But that just showed that you never knew.
Even with your own damn wife, you never knew.
Detective Ryder was finally moving up towards t
he motel now, after the moment. He was walking right towards the Snakecharmer now. He felt so excited as Detective Ryder came closer and closer.
The detective smiled and nodded. “How are you, Ma’am?”
“Hello, Detective,” the Snakecharmer said with a big grin, as Jack Ryder walked past him. He could almost not hold back his resentment. What he had seen repulsed him to a degree where he knew he had to do something to solve this situation. Action had to be taken in this matter. And he knew exactly what to do.
Chapter Fifty-Six
February 2015
“What are we doing here, Mom?”
Angela had been asking questions all the way in the car. She had been playing with Jack’s twins all morning, and had started whining when Shannon told her they had lunch plans and had to go. “I told you. We’re here to see someone Mommy knows. They would like to meet you.”
The neighborhood her sister had bought a house in was called Snug Harbor. It was an area located next to the canals and the Intracoastal River on the backside of the barrier island. All the houses were waterfront and had a seawall with docks and boats or jet skis. You could still walk or bike to the beach. It was very nice, Shannon thought to herself.
You did well for yourself in life, dear sister.
“But who lives here?” Angela asked. “Who are these people? Do they have children?”
“No. They don’t.”
“Aw.”
Kristi was Shannon’s older sister by three years. She hadn’t been able to have children, something she figured out very early in her teens when she accidentally became pregnant and their mother forced her to have an abortion, something Kristi had never forgiven her mother for. The abortion destroyed her ability to become pregnant again, the doctors told her.
Shannon took in a deep breath before she rang the doorbell. Her stomach was tossing and turning, and she was about to turn around and run away several times before the door was opened.
She looks just like I remember her. Older, but still the same.