Page 12

CHAPTER 11

Dawson leaned against the hood of his patrol car and rubbed his temple. He’d gotten all of a few hours of sleep before the call had come in. He was running on fumes.

“Thanks for meeting with me,” Silas said, startling Dawson.

He jerked, smacking his elbow on the window. “I don’t like games, and I hate secrets even more.” He sighed. “Why are you being so cagey about the statement you made?”

Silas plucked the toothpick from his mouth and narrowed his stare. “Nothing cagey about me reporting what I saw.”

“You’ve asked us to keep it quiet. Not discuss it with anyone, especially Paul. Why?” Dawson had planned on keeping everything about this case buttoned up tight now that it had turned into murder. He needed to keep things from the public eye. Speculation would happen no matter what he did, but he had to protect not only the townspeople—but Audra.

She was taking a beating in the court of public opinion, and Dawson took that personally.

“For all we know, Paul was signaling to his son.” Silas folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the driver’s side of the car. “Or even Dewey. They might not be registered as a team, but they worked in tandem last year, and we all know how Dewey gets when he sees a breakdown in the density of the mangrove. He wants to protect it. At first, I didn’t want to make a big deal about things because Paul could’ve been trying to get someone’s attention. He’s pulled shit like that before.”

“You’re backpedaling.” Dawson arched a brow. “And making excuses.”

“I gave them the benefit of the doubt until Tim accused Audra and Paul and lied to my face. He had no idea I was standing in a river of grass, so he didn’t see me.” Silas nodded, waving his finger toward the waterfront. “Ever since those damn pythons were introduced to the Everglades, I’ve been hunting those slippery bastards. I don’t need no stinking challenge to go out there and do it. I don’t do it for a stupid prize or the notoriety but because the Everglades is my backyard. I want to protect the beauty of this place and the ecosystem. That little girl knows exactly what I’m talking about. Her father was the same way, and he raised her to respect this land.” Silas lowered his chin. “Paul’s my friend. Has been for years, and he and I have always believed the same thing when it comes to this shit. He’s out there hunting pythons not because he gives a shit about this stupid challenge but because we do this year-round. So why did he lie? Why did he fire those rounds and let Tim accuse her? What’s their end game?” Silas shoved his toothpick back in his mouth and twirled it around. “Other than she makes us all nervous.”

“You all have an opinion about Audra and what happened the night her father died. None of you have any hard facts about that, yet you’re willing to toss her under the bus.”

“Come on, Dawson. That’s different. Hugely different. Paul knows she didn’t shoot anything, and he stood there like a damn moron and didn’t call Tim out on his bullshit. Why?” Silas plucked his toothpick out again and waved it around. “Even I wouldn’t do that, and I’ve admitted to doing some shady shit over the course of my life.”

“Let me ask you this—and I’d like an honest answer.” Dawson pushed away from the vehicle and glanced around. The crime scene had been cleared, and the hunters had begun to prepare the boats for a long day of python catching. “You didn’t believe she killed her dad at first. Why not, and what changed?” Dawson lowered his chin. “And be a little more specific than you have been.”

“Nothing’s changed,” Silas said. “It’s all pretty simple, and the truth is, I don’t know for certain she did kill him, at least, not in cold blood. The fight she had with her dad the day before he went missing was verbally vicious. No one who heard it could deny part of that little girl meant those words. Her mother was the glue that held that family together, and without her, Victor continued to lose his grip on reality.”

“You really think she went out there and took an opportunity to get rid of the town crazy?”

Silas let out a long breath. “No. Maybe. I don’t know. It’s possible that weird shit went down, and she made up a story to protect her own ass. Or it was an accident, and she honestly doesn’t remember. But the fact that Trip continued to investigate it—and no matter what that file says, I know he did—tells me he believed it was no accident. Add her slinking away in the middle of the night like a criminal?” Silas shrugged. “What’s a man to think? Especially after I was the only one—outside of Trip—who believed her. She might as well have slapped me across the face.”

“And based on the encounters that Audra has told me the two of you have had since her return, you’ve essentially accused her of killing her dad, and you’ve threatened her.”

“That’s what she said?” Silas sighed. “I told her she should leave because something bad could happen if she didn’t. I didn’t say I was the bad.”

“Doesn’t matter, Silas. It’s how you said the words and the tone you used.” Dawson cocked a brow. “You did the same thing everyone accuses her of doing and accused her old man of doing.”

“Look. As crazy as Victor was, I considered him a friend. If she had anything to do with what happened, I want to know why. That little girl has always been a tad terrified of me, so I thought I could scare it out of her back then.”

“What about today?”

“Old habits die hard,” Silas said. “But none of this is what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Dawson knew when to stop beating a dead horse. “All right. I’m listening.”

“Now that Tim’s been murdered, there’s a lot of chatter about how Audra came at him last night with her fists ready to fly. She would’ve clocked him good had you not tossed her over your shoulder.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Dawson muttered.

“Yeah, well, it was amusing to watch.” Silas chuckled before clearing his throat. “But all that talk has taken a weird turn, and honestly, I don’t like it.”

“Outside of everyone thinking she killed Tim?” Dawson couldn’t imagine anything more absurd.

“Oh, yeah.” Silas nodded like an old man bobblehead. He waved his toothpick like it was a sword. “While waiting to get to my boat this morning, Paul, Benson, and Dewey discussed how they keep seeing Audra going to strange, out-of-the-way places, like the island with no name. Her going there’s not a big deal, and I’d honestly expect her to go there, but Reaper Island? That’s a bit out of the way. While I’m sure snakes are back there, there are so many other places to go looking than making the trek all the way up there. It’s too close to one of the other challenges, and we don’t cross streams, if you know what I mean. But they believe she’s hidden something there. They also talked about how she must’ve been doing something illegal back in the day and that her dad must have caught wind of it. Them saying that is strange all by itself, but they weren’t trying to be quiet about it. It’s spreading through town like wildfire.”

“Now that’s interesting, considering you mentioned that it was possible Victor could’ve been doing something nefarious out there.” Not that Dawson cared about other people’s opinions, but Silas had gone out of his way to call this meeting. Besides, it was a new and interesting twist that the town was taking, and he wanted to know why.

The why was always important.

“I like to talk smack,” Silas said. “Sometimes seeing people’s responses to the shit that comes out of my mouth gets me the answers I need.”

“Well, then tell me your thoughts. If Audra could’ve been hiding something sixteen years ago, why did she wait so long to come back and get it?”

“If that little girl was doing anything against the law, Victor wouldn’t have taken her out there with him to find out what it was. But outside of having a mouth like a truck driver and an attitude the size of Texas, Audra wasn’t a bad kid. Actually, I always found her to be amusing. I enjoyed her energy. Worse thing she ever did was take matters into her own hands when someone wronged her instead of taking it to her old man or the law.” Silas stepped from the vehicle. “I know I’ve been hard on her since she returned.”

Dawson snorted. “You flat-out accused her of killing her dad.”

“No. I implied it. Two different things.” Silas shrugged. “I struggle to believe she doesn’t know something about that night. Whether it was through those nightmares of hers she refused to tell me about or something else.” He waggled his finger. “But she didn’t fire her weapon, and I don’t believe for one minute she killed Tim or slashed Benson’s tire. She’s not ten anymore.” Silas sucked in a breath and let it out slowly.

“Well, you’re about the only one in town who believes that,” Dawson said. “Want to tell me why?”

“While I know she’s got reason to hate Tim, she’s got no reason to come back here and kill the man. That said, no one in this town, myself included, has made her return easy.” Silas scratched the side of his face. “You need to know that everyone is going to come gunning for her, hard. Harder than before. That means they’re coming for your badge, and while I haven’t always been your biggest fan, you’ve proven to me that you have Calusa Cove’s best interests at heart.”

“Are you feeling okay, Silas?” Dawson reached out and placed the back of his hand on Silas’ forehead. “Have a fever or something?”

“Fuck off.” Silas slapped Dawson’s arm away. “My point is, she’s going to need a protector now more than ever.” He pointed toward Paul, Benson, and Dewey. “They might have tolerated her presence yesterday. They won’t do it now.”

“And you will?” Dawson asked. “Tim worked for you, not Paul, though you’re all good friends. Either you’re turning on your pals, or you’re setting me up.”

“I’m not doing either.” Silas ran his hand over his beard. “I was going to fire Tim when this was over.”

“Nothing like burying the lead.” Dawson planted his hands on his hips. “Why?”

“He was stealing from me.” Silas cocked his head. “No, I wasn’t going to turn him in. Just wanted to humiliate the little bastard. And no, I didn’t kill him.”

Dawson raised his hands. “I didn’t say you did, but since we’re on the subject, where were you last night?”

“I was python hunting until midnight, and then I went home. You can check with my wife.” Silas moved the toothpick from one side to the other. “But seriously, any real suspects?”

“I’m not having that conversation with you.”

“Well, I need to get going. We’re going to have a moment of silence down at the docks. If you need me, you know how to get ahold of me.”

Dawson rubbed his jaw. Next year, he would for sure take this week off work. He turned and headed toward his patrol car when his cell phone went off. He reached into his pocket and stared at the caller ID flashing on the screen.

Florida Federal Prison.

He jogged to his vehicle and tapped the green button as he slipped behind the steering wheel. “This is Chief Dawson Ridge.”

“Hi. This is Warden Marsden. I have here in my office, Trevor Williams. He’d like to speak with you unofficially. Are you willing?”

“That’s an interesting request.”

“It’s for his safety. He needs to know that this conversation never happened.”

“Agreed.” Dawson rubbed his jaw.

“Hello?” a male voice echoed over the speaker. “Thank you for taking the call and agreeing to my terms. I need you to first listen and, second, never reach out to me again—unless you button things up, and then I’ll be at your beck and call.”

Dawson frowned. “That’s a bit cagey.”

“Look. If word gets out that I’ve said anything to you, I’ll die. My family will die. I’m taking a big risk even doing this. But I’ve heard some things have happened in Calusa Cove. If you think something is happening, it’s happening. Just probably not the way you believe. I didn’t do the things I was accused of. At least not like I was charged. I took the fall because I valued my life and was promised protection.”

“Are you saying you didn’t run drugs through Calusa Cove?”

“I wasn’t the one doing it, but I did turn a blind eye. I did allow it to happen. I am guilty of that. I could give you a million reasons why I did it. Blackmail. Money. Power. They all played a role.”

“Are you calling to give me names?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”

Dawson pinched the bridge of his nose. “Then why the hell did you call?”

Trevor sighed. “If you can get me and my family into the witness protection program, I’ll flip. I’ll testify. I’ll give you everything I’ve got. And trust me when I say it’s a lot.”

“What’s the difference between flipping now or later?”

“Because if I’m the one who gives them up, they won’t kill me, they’ll kill my family, and they won’t die quick. It’ll be slow and painful,” Trevor said with a slight tremor in his voice. “Do we have a deal?”

“First, I’m not the one who can make that deal, and you know that,” Dawson said. “Second, in order for me to help get you that deal, I need a hell of a lot more information…like for starters…I need to know exactly who you were helping? Give me names and I’ll go to my contacts with the FBI and the DEA.”

“I give you that now, my family is as good as dead.” Trevor let out a hefty sigh. “Why the hell do you think I’ve been so quiet this past year. I don’t know who I can trust.”

“What makes you think you can trust me?”

“Because your friends with Fletcher,” Trevor said. “He’s about as straight as they come. I know that from Ken.”

Dawson sucked in a deep breath. “How does Ken factor into all this?”

“He doesn’t,” Trevor said with a sharp tone. “Start with the cartel that was known to run drugs when my old man was chief. Talk to Anna. She knows those names. Get someone to agree to help me, and I’ll give you everything you need.”

“It’s a tall order and I can’t promise anything, but I’ll make some phone calls,” Dawson said. He had nothing to lose.

“Thanks. And good luck.” The line went dead.

Now that was interesting.