And they hadn’t closed the blinds the night before.
Terror erased all thoughts of romance. She grabbed Doogie’s collar and raced for the house with him in tow. She shut the door and locked it behind her, closing all the blinds in the living room. Rob walked in and looked at her.
“What’s wrong?”
She pointed out the path, visible from the living room window. He disappeared into the bedroom and came back with her gun.
He slipped into a pair of sneakers and went out the door. “Lock it behind me.” She did, watching from the window while he jumped the back fence and followed the path out of sight.
Fifteen minutes later she was about to call 911 when Rob emerged from the underbrush, apparently unharmed. She unlocked the door for him. He walked in, locking it behind him.
From the grim look on his face she knew he’d found something. “What is it?”
“The trail leads to a small sandspit in the mangroves. Looks like someone dragged a small boat up out of the water. The tide hasn’t come in yet, meaning it’s recent.”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “Laura, I don’t want to scare you, but nobody ever comes into these mangroves. It’s too shallow for any decent fishing, and there’s too many mosquitoes.”
Her throat felt dry. “You’re saying someone watched us last night, Sir?”
The grim set of his mouth was all she needed to confirm her suspicions.
“We need to call Det. Thomas,” he said. “Let me get some stuff together and we’ll go back to the condo and decide what to do. Steve’s got that seasonal rental house over on Manasota Key. I’m sure if it’s vacant he’ll let us use it.”
While Rob packed, she called Thomas and left a message asking him to call her on the cell. Rob made a point of making sure all the doors and windows were locked and all the blinds closed before they left for her condo. Her cell phone rang as they walked through the door and she handed the phone to Rob, still too stressed to talk.
Thomas was there in twenty minutes, along with a deputy in a marked cruiser. It looked like they’d gotten Thomas up early because he was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, his badge clipped to his belt and his pistol tucked into a holster in his back waistband.
Leaving a deputy to watch Laura, Thomas had Rob take him to the house and show him the area. They returned an hour later, Thomas looking grim. He waited while Rob got in touch with Steve and got the okay to use the rental house. Steve called Carol and she brought the keys to them. Laura packed a weekend bag, her laptop, the journals, and got Doogie’s food and toys ready to go.
“Give me your keys and the alarm code,” Thomas said. “I’ll spend the next couple of nights there at the house. I want you to leave Laura’s truck there, too. Maybe we can bait this guy.”
“So you think it was him watching us last night?” she asked.
He nodded. “It’s a reasonable suspicion. This guy didn’t just fade into the woodwork. He didn’t get to finish what he started. I think he’ll try again, sooner or later. You’re a threat to him if you get your memory back.”
Carol spoke up. “How about Rob’s Explorer? Won’t the guy know it, too? They can take my car if someone can take me home. I can use my husband’s truck.”
“That’s a good idea,” Thomas said. “We’ll leave Rob’s truck here.” They made the arrangements and a deputy in an unmarked cruiser followed them to the key.
Chapter Thirty
Manasota Key had a split personality. For years, Charlotte County commissioners let developers run rampant on the southern end, while on the north end Sarasota County stymied them. Therefore, when you reached the green and white sign reading Now Entering Sarasota County, the demarcation line was obvious by the sudden lack of condos, beach houses, and trailer parks, replaced by greenbelts of mangrove and oak trees native to the island. There were still houses built there that had no business being on a barrier island, but at least it was more pleasant to the eye and you could kid yourself that the developers weren’t running the show.
Steve’s rental house sat nestled in a thick tangle of mangroves, oaks, and palm trees on the Intracoastal side of the key, with a Gulf beach right-of-way access across the road. A two-story stilt house, with a screen porch circling it, it sat almost completely hidden from the road by trees.
It was completely furnished but empty of food. A deputy stayed behind with Laura while Rob went out for provisions.
Doogie wasted no time exploring the new territory. He proudly brought Laura a desiccated lizard he’d found that had gotten trapped inside. He presented her with the mummified reptile, his otter tail wagging so hard his whole body wiggled with glee.
“Out. Give it.” He spit it into her hand and she praised him, wasting no time throwing it away and washing her hands.
Rob finally returned and the deputies left, promising to return after dark.
“What’d you get, Sir?” Laura tried to peek inside the bags but he gently slapped her hand away.
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll find out later.” He wouldn’t let her help him put up the groceries, so she sulked into the den and set up her laptop to catch up with her email. Rob made frequent checks of the property with Doogie, and at one point he returned and found her curled up on the couch with one of her old journals.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m up to my senior year of college.”
He tried to read over her shoulder but the handwriting made him dizzy. “You’re going to go blind reading that.”
She looked up at him. “I’m used to it, remember?”
“Good point.” He left her alone.
I can’t believe it’s almost over. I made it through. One of the girls in my BizAd class laughed when I said I was going to take over Dad’s shop. I’m sure she thinks it’s funny, never lead anywhere. She’s the kind of person who has visions of a corner office and corporate Jag. She wasn’t laughing so hard when I casually mentioned the two freelance writing contracts I’d already snagged will probably pay me more in the next six months than she’ll make in the next year—if she manages to get a job that entails more than asking if you’d like fries with that. Graduates are a dime a dozen. Good solid careers are rarer than perfect emeralds. She’ll learn that soon enough.
I have to admit that I felt a little smug. Most of what my classmates learned, I was raised on. Balance sheets, employee management—been there, done that. I did learn stuff, but some of it was applicable to larger businesses. Still nice to know.
I’m glad Dad insisted I stay with it. I know I can make money with my writing, and that’s a dream I’m dearly grateful for. The shop is security. I don’t resent taking it over like some might. Why should I open my own business when I’m doing what I’m happy doing? Some people would say I’m not living up to my fullest potential. Screw that. I’m happy, I pay my bills, and I enjoy going to work every day. How many people are that lucky? Not very damn many.
Even back then she had determination and spirit, direction, foresight, self-confidence. That was the person she wanted to know—to be—again. She didn’t feel anything like her now.
Rob finished cooking and brought out delicious pork chops and risotto.
“Are you some sort of gourmet chef or something, Sir?”
He laughed. “No, but sometimes we’ve got a lot of time on our hands at the station. Firemen are notoriously good cooks.”
“The guys must love you.”
“Yeah, John Baker’s been standing in for me, and everyone said they need stock in Mylanta.”