The Turtle Mound Murder (27 page)

“I don’t think the finders have anything to
worry about.” Penny Sue laughed. “I doubt that Al or Gino will come
forward to claim the money. A fitting end to the vacation, don’t
you think?”

“It seems a shame to leave now” Ruthie
replied, “with everyone celebrating because of the windfall—”

“That’s good, Ruthie. Very punny,” Penny Sue
said.

“—and Biketoberfest starts today.” Ruthie
winked at Penny Sue, who grinned devilishly.

Biketoberfest? I thought of Jonathan
McMillan, Penny’s biker-banker friend, and the prospect of
thousands of men, many wealthy executives, swarming New Smyrna
Beach decked out in black leather. “No,” I said forcefully. “I
really must go home to pack up the house.”

“Just kidding” Ruthie added quickly. “Have
you thought anymore about what you’re going to do?”

I glanced at Penny Sue and smiled. “I’m
coming back to stay here for a while. The Judge says I can use the
condo for as long as I’d like.”

“Besides,” Penny Sue paused to suck jelly
from her index finger, “Ruthie and I will have to return to testify
at the hearings, so we DAFFODILS can have a little reunion. Next
time we’ll just relax on the beach.”

Yeah, right, the thought had hardly formed
when I heard the doorbell rang.

“Who could that be?” Penny Sue fluttered
down the hall in another cotton gauze outfit. She returned a minute
later with Zack and Woody.

The men bellied-up to the counter like old
friends, gratefully accepting a cup of coffee from Ruthie and a
bagel from Penny Sue. Zack even agreed to try some of the pepper
jelly. I knew they were up to something.

“Everything’s straightened out,” my ex said
to Penny Sue. “Pete and Charlotte gave statements which clear you
completely. The police will have to keep your gun, though. Pete
stole it during your party and used it to kill Clarence.”

Penny Sue inclined her head solemnly, eyeing
Woody.

Woody cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for the
trouble I caused you,” he said. “I hope you know I was only doing
my job.”

Penny Sue nodded coldly. She toyed with her
bagel, scooping cream cheese on her finger and licking it.

Zack honed in on me. “Al is a big drug
kingpin. The FBI and DEA have been after him for years. The man in
the red pickup truck was a DEA agent who’d been following
Rick.”

Zack definitely wanted something.

Woody stepped in. “You girls—”

“Women,” Penny Sue corrected forcefully.

“Women,” Woody said quickly. “No offense
intended.” He paused, searching for words.

Penny Sue looked Zack in the eye. “What do
the two of you want?”

Zack cleared his throat. “As I said, Al was
a key drug kingpin—”

“And?” I asked. “Get on with it, Zack.”

He swallowed, hard. “CNN would like to do an
interview.”

“With us?” Penny Sue asked.

“You, Ruthie, Leigh,” he almost choked on my
name, “Woody and I.” The last two names were mumbled under his
breath.

I regarded Zack and Woody with amusement.
The two bums just wanted to be on TV! Their humble apologies were
nothing more than a manipulation to get thirty seconds of fame.
Before I could chastise them for being shameless hams, the doorbell
rang, again. This time it was Deputy Ted Moore and Special Agent J.
D. Westcott, a.k.a. Mr. Red Pickup, of the Federal Drug Enforcement
Administration. Deputy Moore shook hands with Zack and Woody, who
were unusually humble.

“You ladies are incredible,” Special Agent
Westcott said enthusiastically. “I’ve been after those guys for
months. You’re very brave—a lesser person would be dead now.” He
shifted uncomfortably. “I want to apologize for frightening you,”
he said, glancing at Deputy Moore. “I was about to arrest Rick when
you came on the scene. After our encounter in the parking lot, I
wasn’t sure whose side you were on. So, I followed you for a while.
I hope you understand, it’s standard procedure.”

We all nodded.

Deputy Moore jumped in. “Westcott wasn’t
trying to run you off the road that night at JB’s. He was trying to
thwart the motorcyclists. If you remember, Westcott stayed on their
tails when you made the U-turn, so the cyclists couldn’t
follow.”

That was right. I’d never seen it that way
before.

“Were you watching us the whole time?” Penny
Sue asked blandly.

The DEA agent nodded.

“Damn,” she said, taking a big bite of her
bagel. “All that worrying for nothing.” She chewed a moment,
thinking. “Why didn’t you tell him,” she canted her head at Woody,
“to get him off my back.” She looked Woody in the eye. “You ruined
our vacation, you know that. Vindictiveness, wasn’t it, for my
dumping you years ago?”

Woody coughed loudly. “Penny Sue, I’m a
happily married man. The past had nothing to do with this.”

“He was only doing his job,” Zack said,
rushing to Woody’s defense.

Ruthie smiled, suppressing a laugh. “Yes,”
she muttered.

I elbowed her and whispered, “What does that
mean?”

“They’ve made up, the karma is satisfied.
That’s good, they won’t have to do another life together to correct
old mistakes.”

Another life! “What’s this other life stuff?
Are Zack and I straight?” I asked in a rush. I sure didn’t want to
do another life with him.

She smiled slyly. “Maybe.”

Penny Sue interrupted our conversation. “Why
are all of you handsome men here, sucking up to us?” she asked
demurely.

“Don’t you know? CNN wants an exclusive
interview with the three of you.”

Three. I smirked at Zack, shaking my head.
He was incorrigible.

“The truck’s outside in the parking lot,
now,” Moore said.

“Well,” Penny Sue drawled, morphing into
Scarlett O’Hara. “It’s rude to keep them waiting.” She found her
purse, refreshed her lipstick, and fluttered down the hall to face
the public, Ruthie and me following in the trail of her Joy
perfume.