“I owe you one, Danger,” Nick said. “You sure ended Leslie’s fishing expedition in abrupt fashion.”
“Does this mean we get to stay another day? My friends said they wouldn’t be leaving until tomorrow. They’re visiting family here for another day.”
“We’ll stay another day if I can keep off the police blotter, Danger.”
“Nick, we have some time this morning, can…can we go buy some stuff to play softball with?” Jean continued on a roll. “Mom was going to sign me up for the Mini’s Softball League this year.”
“I did promise to teach her the basics,” Rachel added. “I don’t suppose softball is one of your many talents, is it?”
“I’ve played most sports,” Nick answered. “I’m sure between the two of us, we could give Danger some practice. Deke will, of course, want to play, which could be a hindrance or help, depending on if he retrieves balls, or plays keep away. I do have to spend at least a few hours on research today sometime between baseball and pool parties. I have a couple solid Tanus hits on guys I’m certain they will be using in Florida. They fit the profile with large paychecks and no expertise in anything resembling the import/export business.”
“I can monitor the pool party while you -” Rachel began.
“I think not,” Nick interrupted. “I don’t want either of you on your own without me. Now, if you two are done eating, let’s go find a sports store around here and get some equipment. We’ll be on the road again tomorrow, so another activity to pursue while traveling is a good thing. I know Deke will approve.”
“Yuck! He’ll make the softballs all slimy,” Jean complained.
“I’m telling him you said that,” Nick warned.
“Let’s get clear on our agenda for the next few weeks,” Nick said, as they entered the Sarasota, Florida city limits. “I contacted my friends who own condos down here shortly after hearing where the bank was located. We’re still in the off season. They were certain they would have one ready for us. I called them at the last rest stop after talking to Grace and -”
“How’d that go?” Rachel broke in.
“Don’t ask,” Nick cautioned with a shrug. “It’s a process. Anyhow, my friend has a condo we will all be happy to stay in. It’s part of a complex, where each building has a set number of condos and structures bordering different small lakes, with all the Florida wildlife inherent to the area, including alligators.”
“Wow, alligators?” Jean cried out excitedly.
“Yep. They can’t train them. They can’t make boots out of them. The damned dinosaurs traipse around anywhere they want.” Nick smiled back at Jean in the rear view mirror.
“Good. I like alligators,” Jean stated.
“Sure, they’re all cute and cuddly until someone’s pet or child ends up as dinner for one.” Nick supplied the counterpoint with some exasperation.
“Huh?”
“Nick, I don’t think -”
“I’m just giving Danger the Wild Kingdom rundown of Florida. Alligators are on top of the food chain. Everything else is on the menu for them. I could gun down five people in the street and everyone would be looking into my motives, childhood, and religious background. They would waive the death penalty and put me in a cushy cell with cable TV. If I put a bullet in an alligator, I’d be lucky to survive the week.”
Rachel was already laughing, but Jean watched Nick with uncertainty.
“What…what do we do about Deke?” Jean asked, hugging the dog.
“Teach him how to say ‘please don’t eat me’,” Nick quipped, earning an immediate punch to the shoulder from Rachel, who could not stop laughing. “We won’t let any alligators get Deke. Now, if we can move from the animal kingdom for a moment, I’d like to return to our actions while living at the condo. We can go swimming in the condo pool, play softball, and even fish in the lake. What we will not be doing is wandering around Sarasota. I have another friend who will quite happily look after Jean while you and I recon our target site, Rachel.”
“These friends of yours know something about you then?”
“I’ve used their condo as a retreat before when I’ve had business in the Gulf or down in the Bahamas. Gus Nason, the guy I’m having watch out for Danger, is an old associate. I have my own contacts. I’ve never revealed them to anyone.”
“Whatever made you establish a retreat in Sarasota? I mean, why not down further in the Miami area?”
“Weather plays less of a factor, and if something goes wrong I wanted to be further away from the trouble point,” he answered truthfully. “Your bank down here-SunTrust Bank-I’ve been looking at street level surroundings on Google. Everything about the place is perfect for our snatch and grab. It’s on Main Street and there’s a wooded parking lot across the street. We can set up very early in the morning and begin the tedious process of finding out who’s watching the bank at any moment. If a couple of the gentlemen I have pictures for turn up, we will definitely have some fun.”
“You scare me when ‘fun’ is mentioned anywhere in a dialogue we’re having. Although you did mention fun when we bought the softball equipment.”
“What was fun about that?” Jean questioned, looking around the seat at Rachel. “You beaned me on the second pitch, Mom.”
“I said I was sorry a hundred times!” Rachel lifted her clenched hands up in front of her. “Please…please…please forgive me.”
“Good thing Nick bought me a batting helmet,” Jean added, trying not to laugh as Rachel whipped around in the seat.
“Oh waaaahhhh! Get over it. That’s baseball.” Rachel gave Jean the wave off and looked at Nick’s solemn expression. “You got something to say, Hemingway?”
“Threw at her own kid in a Mother/Daughter softball game.” Nick shook his head mournfully. “Oh the shame! Oh the trauma!”
“Oh, barf,” Rachel retorted, hearing Jean laugh.
Ten minutes later, Nick turned into a gated community, complete with guard. Nick stopped and told the guard why they were there. He waved them inside. Nick drove to a picture-book residential street, stopping in front of a house with beautifully manicured landscaped palms and flowers.
“I’ll get the keys and we’ll be on our way.”
“Don’t you want them to meet us?” Rachel asked.
“Deniability, my dear.” Nick got out of the Escalade. “If they don’t see a woman, child, and dog, I’m a single occupant vacationer.”
“It’s okay to admit you’re ashamed to be seen with us.”
“Why you…” Nick reached in through the open window on the driver’s side toward Rachel, evoking squeals of protest from both Rachel and Jean, while growing a Deke head with jaws around his wrist. “Why you…traitorous mongrel…see if you ever get a beer again. I’m going to cut your Frisbee up into tiny pieces.”
Nick backed out amidst jeers from his companions. Five minutes later, Nick exited the house and slipped into the Escalade driver’s seat.
“Our condo is right across the lake we passed,” Nick told them.
“Can we go swimming?” Jean asked.
“Of course, but let’s get settled in first before using the pool.”
“This place is gorgeous,” Rachel exclaimed in open-mouthed awe, looking around the condominium after they split up the bags and took them into the separate bedrooms. “A full kitchen, laundry, and balcony overlooking the lake. I could be happy here for a few weeks. I only saw a couple people coming up here. Is that because it’s the off-season?”
“When the winter hits full bore up North, this is the retreat from the cold. Let’s take Deke down and play some Frisbee. He’ll need exercise after our final road jaunt here. The refrigerator is stocked. My friends always have cold cuts, bread, cereal, and milk too.”