Swan Song (Julie O'Hara Mystery Series) (24 page)

•

It was amazing how a few beers and a belly-full of lobster – in Joe’s case, just the lobster - could start everybody on the beach yawning. Will’s other diver-friends, Dave Kirchner and Manny Sanchez and their wives, had just said “goodnight”, raving about what a fabulous time they’d had. Each man had pulled up twelve lobsters of varying sizes over the special two day “sport” mini-season. Will’s wife, Carolyn, and the other two women had prepared sumptuous side dishes to go with the lobster tails, which had been buttered, wrapped in tin foil and grilled. They had all agreed that it was their absolute, best
ever
cookout.

Carolyn was already in the front seat of Will’s black Hummer as Joe and Will finished loading all the beach stuff into the back.

“What’s the matter, old buddy? You looked bummed,” said Will. “You have a good time?”

“Oh, yeah, I had a ball. Just missing Julie, I guess. I should’ve made her come down.”

“Yes, you should have,” said Will, wagging his finger at Joe. “Why don’t you call her?”

“I can’t. My phone’s dead.”

“Call her from the house.”

“Nah, it’s late. I’ll call her in the morning…”

* * * * * 

Chapter 58

J
ulie was curled on her left side, facing the clock on her nightstand when she awoke. It was a quarter past six. She turned on the light and, out of habit, looked around for Sol. The big cat was still asleep, draped over the lower-right quarter of her queen-sized bed. Joe’s old gray tee shirt was crumpled next to him.

Julie didn’t remember stripping it off, but the room
was
warm.

She rolled onto her back, stretched and kicked the sheet down, waking Sol in the process. Slowly, she lifted her left leg straight up in the air and then lowered it, counting the repetitions. Then she repeated the exercise, flexing the leg as well. She finished the set - as her physical therapist had instructed – by making circles with her foot and ankle, first clockwise and then counter-clockwise.

Feels pretty good…

She got up, put on the tee shirt and padded, barefoot, over to the balcony doors. She opened them wide, stepping outside. Sol - not quite ready to start his day - stayed where he was on the bed, watching Julie with sleepy, half-closed eyes.

It was still dark and the early morning air coming across the lake was delightfully cool. Julie knew that wouldn’t last long.

It’s supposed to be in the middle nineties again today. Now is the time to go for a run, before the sun comes up. Wonder if I could?

She thought about it for a moment.

Sure, I could. Nice and easy…walk a little, run a little.

Smiling, Julie stepped back inside, locking the door behind her. Quickly, she pulled off Joe’s tee shirt, swapping it for a tank top with a built in bra and a pair of shorts. She twisted up her hair and fastened it with a tortoise-shell clip that was lying in a box on her dresser; then she rummaged through a drawer, retrieving a low-cut pair of white cotton socks. Grabbing her sneakers, she headed out to the living room to put them on.

Julie no longer needed keys since Joe had put in the new lock, but she did take her little cell phone, tucking it into a zippered pocket on the left seam of the sport top. Although Sol had yet to make an appearance, Julie checked to make sure that his food and water dishes were full before she left.

She took the elevator, deciding to forgo the stairs.

That would be pushing it.

It was balmy and breezy outside. The sky was lightening some, the sun lurking below the horizon making the stars invisible. Julie stood for a moment enjoying the beautiful temperature, looking up at a fading half moon through swishing palm fronds.

There wasn’t a car or a person in sight as Julie crossed Central Street to Lake
Eola Park. She made her way down the familiar broad steps to the walkway that circled the lake and was soon striding along at a brisk pace, quite pleased with herself. She began to run, being careful to roll smoothly off her heel to her toe, minimizing the impact on her legs. It wasn’t long, however, before she felt the strain and had to slow, once again, to a walk.

As she rounded the lake, Julie couldn’t help thinking about Dianna Wieland. Once a
lifeless stranger adrift on the lake, Julie now thought of Dianna as a friend. She had come to know her intimately…both the girl she had once been in Massachusetts…and the woman she had become in Florida. Dianna had been a complex human being, who had lived with regret and passion and hope. She would have been a good mother.

Julie stood at the entrance to the boat dock, where the big swans, silvery in the pre-dawn moonlight, were all tethered and accounted for. A tear slid down her face as she bowed her head and remembered that morning:

Two Orlando Park Service employees were pedaling toward her on their city bicycles.

She waved both arms at them to stop.

“Hey!” she said, pointing at the fountain, “There’s a woman in that loose swan boat!”

Their bikes had fallen to the ground as they hurried out on the dock.

“Christ, Hal. It is a woman!” the first one had said in shock
.

Julie’s head snapped up.

Hal.

The second guy’s name was “Hal”, and he never said a word. The other guy called it in. The other guy did all the talking to me and to the police, too.

Fiesta in the Park! The art show here at Lake Eola last November! Barry Costello said Dianna took a group of kids from the YMCA. That’s when he first saw her. He probably got her name from one of the kids.

She would tell Joe as soon as he got back.

There was a noise behind her…

Suddenly every muscle in Julie’s body was contracting in a total, mind-blowing charley horse. She collapsed immediately.

* * * * * 

Chapter
59

B
right daylight filtered through Carolyn Sawyer’s ruffled, white guestroom curtains and on through Joe Garrett’s eyelids. He blinked and held up his left arm, focusing on his watch.

Five minutes to seven. Shit.

His arm fell back on the somewhat short, but cushy, double bed. For all the femininity of the room, Joe had to admit it was comfortable; he’d slept like a played out puppy. The only problem was that he’d intended to be back in Orlando by nine. He’d forgotten to set the alarm on his watch.

He got up and went into the adjoining bathroom, remembering that he’d showered the night before, not wanting to get into Carolyn’s pristine white sheets coated with salt
water and sweat. He dug out his toothbrush from his leather shaving kit and began to brush his teeth vigorously while looking in the mirror. His skin was a couple shades darker and his hair was lighter from the weekend on the boat.

I need a haircut.

Maybe I’ll let it grow. Merlin hates the buzz cut.

Thinking of Julie made him smile. He’d really missed her the last couple days.

Joe had already loaded his diving gear into the Land Rover. Now he straightened up the bed, threw his remaining stuff in his duffle bag and made his way out to the kitchen.

Carolyn was there, barefoot, in her shorts and tee shirt, drinking coffee and reading the paper. Joe guessed that she was probably in her late forties like Will. She was one of those lucky women like Julie, who looked good in the morning without makeup.

“Hey, there, good morning,” she said. “Will said to say ‘goodbye’; he had to get to the airport early. Want some coffee?”

Will, a helicopter pilot, was the owner of Sawyer Aerial Photography
.
Joe had met him years ago in the military and they’d been friends ever since. He recalled Will mentioning that he had a customer this morning, someone who was interested in the Everglades.

“Yeah, he told me last night. I was planning to get up early, too. That’s one comfortable bed you’ve got there.”

“I know. Isn’t it great? It’s got that thick pillow-top. Coffee?”

“You know, I need to get back to Orlando, Carolyn,” said Joe, as he unplugged his phone from the charger on the kitchen counter. “I’ve got a travel mug out in the car, do you mind if I fill it?”

“Of course not. I’ll slice you a piece of coffee cake to go with it.”

•

Joe had finished his coffee cake and was cruising up the Florida Turnpike when he pulled his cell phone out of its holster on the dashboard and dialed up his voicemail.

“Received-July-twenty
-
fifth-at-ten-thirty-three-p-m,” said the mechanical voice. “Press one to hear your messages now. Press two to…”

Joe pressed one.

“
Hi, it’s Julie. Don’t get mad, but I’ve done some more investigating. Dianna had a stalker, Joe! I don’t have his last name, but his first name is ‘Hal’. He’s blond and blue-eyed – Nordic or Scandinavian – under six-feet tall and tan…probably works outdoors. I know you’ll be able to find him! He’s been identified at her office, at the YMCA and he followed her to at least one restaurant. And she pissed him off, Joe! I’ll tell you…”

The voicemail cut off the rest of her message.

“
That was your last message. Press one to hear your messages again. Press two…”

Joe pressed one and listened to the message again.

Then he hung up and quickly dialed a number.

“
This is McPhee.”

“McPhee.
This is Joe Garrett. The guy that killed Dianna Wieland…it’s Hal Johnson, the Parks Department security guy that was there that morning. Not Jesse what’s-his-name…the other guy, the blond guy with the reflecting glasses.”

“
How do you know?”

“He was stalking her. Dianna Wieland took some kids from the Dr. Phillips YMCA
to Lake Eola for an art show a few months before, then he showed up at the Y and her office and some other places. Merlin has people who can identify him,” said Joe.

“Look, I’m on my way home from Miami, Patrick. I won’t be there for two-and-a-half, three hours. I can’t get a hold of Merlin and I’m really worried. I think that prick is the one who broke her leg. Will you check out her apartment for me? She’s got keyless entry; I’ll give you the code.”

He hung up and speed-dialed Julie’s cell phone again, but there was no answer.

Joe pulled into the passing lane, pedal to the metal.

* * * * * 

Chapter 60

T
he little phone was vibrating again in the zippered side-seam pocket of her tank top.

The thought of the phone was Julie’s only hope, even though she had no way to get to it. Hal had dragged her to his SUV and thrown her in the back. She was lying on her side, gagged and covered with a blanket. Her shoulders were pulled back painfully, and her wrists were tied to her ankles with what felt like a plastic tie. He had driven somewhere close to Lake
Eola and parked and left her there. It seemed like hours went by as she lay there, trussed up and aching.

And then, suddenly, the car had started. They were on the move again. He was driving her somewhere…somewhere far this time.

Julie had never been so terrified in her life.

•

Hal Johnson drove slowly, passing only when he had to, being careful not to attract anyone’s attention. Angrily, he thought of his tied-up passenger in back.

The bitch had finally figured it out. Hal had been afraid of this ever since he learned who Julie O’Hara was. He’d read about her in the newspaper. It was just his luck that the first person he saw after that fuck-up with Dianna was
Merlin
, a goddamn body language expert. He was so scared that morning! He’d been surprised she hadn’t seen it. He felt in his gut that she would remember if she kept coming around the lake.

I should have killed her in the garage when I had the chance.

This was all her fault. He hadn’t wanted to go this far,
but no
…she had to clamp onto this thing like a pit bull! Now he had no choice. Dumping her where no one would ever find her was the only way to deal with the situation. She had to disappear…and he needed an alibi.

After he tied her up, he’d gone home to his apartment in College Park, ten minutes from Lake
Eola. The squat, U-shaped complex appeared to have been a motel at one time. It was a single floor, cement-block collection of twelve tiny apartments. Each one had a wall air conditioner positioned beneath jalousie windows, their front doors side-by-side. Hal left Julie in the SUV under a low-hanging tree, parked in the furthest space
behind
the building and entered through the rear door.

Once inside, he had called his boss at the Parks Department from his home phone and – coughing - said he was too sick to come into work. And then he waited. That was the hardest part, waiting almost two hours for his elderly, alcoholic neighbor, Tina Mae Cox, to wake up and turn on her TV. As soon as he heard it, he called her.