No Place for Vengeance Read online

  As soon as she got onto the highway, Olivia was once again awed by the beauty of the place. The incredible sky stretched above her was fleeced with late afternoon clouds. The sea, on her side, alternated from turquoise to blue and then deep green as she drove along. It was even possible she would see one of the dramatic sunsets, where a giant red ball of sun plummeted into the blue water, sending pink, orange, and purple streaks up across the evening sky.

  As Olivia drove along it struck her that somewhere, caught in the fantastic lushness of the islands, nature had turned dangerous. A woman was struggling for her life.

  The weather was unusually warm and humid for so late in the afternoon, but Olivia reminded herself that this was to be expected in July. She opened the car windows, letting the warm but beautiful breezes from the ocean come in. Olivia wondered about the young woman who had gone missing. Who was she? What happened? She and her husband had come down to Key Largo to celebrate their anniversary. Was he with her on the tour? How could he have let this happen?

  Olivia turned on the radio then to hear any more news that might be available. Most of the stations were playing different kinds of music, pop, soft jazz, and even country. Olivia turned to the station playing jazz and waited for a news break. It didn’t take long. In a few minutes, the announcer came on, at first warning about the extremely humid weather conditions.

  “The stifling heat is to be expected down in the Keys at this time of year,” he reported. “But the infestation of insects and mosquitoes down in the glades is worse this year than usual.”

  Olivia shuddered. She’d had a long-term aversion to bugs of all kinds. Time to get over it fast, she thought.

  The announcer continued describing sailing conditions, the winds over the water, and then switched to other news abruptly.

  “A full-out search is going on for the woman missing in the glades,” he went on. “Police are doing all they can and volunteers are still needed. If you can give a hand, call the police in your location. The young woman has never been down here before, doesn’t know the territory. And the gators are out in full profusion. It’s possible to survive this, of course, but unlikely.”

  Olivia momentarily felt faint. The thought of the gators swarming around the victim filled her with horror.

  Olivia put her foot on the pedal. She would do all she could, for sure.

  Olivia drove on pointedly, remembering her brief meeting with the Key Largo police during her last case here. She was surprised that they’d reached out to her now, didn’t realize she’d made an impression upon them. Last time she was here was different, though. She’d been here with Wayne, the Key West police force, and other private investigators who’d been hired. Now she was arriving on her own. Olivia was eager to hear what more the police could tell her.

  As the light of the day faded, her car made its way up through the exquisite islands to Key Largo. The moment she arrived there, Olivia quickly pulled off the highway and slowly entered the sprawling town.

  *

  It was good to be back in Key Largo once again. Although the island didn’t have the glamour, fascination, or culture of Key West, Olivia liked it. A total of about thirty miles, Key Largo was the longest of the group of islands in the Florida Keys. It was an extremely popular diving resort and attracted divers the world over. With many reefs and areas of natural beauty around its shores, Key Largo also offered the best scuba diving and snorkeling. The many national parks offered a chance to hike, bike, kayak, and more. But the most fascinating part was that Key Largo was also in easy reach of the Everglades National Park. Daring tourists could come down here and go on all kinds of incredible tours, see parts of the Everglades few people ever see or venture into.

  The police station wasn’t far from the highway, only a few blocks down the center of town. Olivia pulled up at the station and parked. She got out of the car, straightened her lime summer dress, tossed her long, blonde hair off her face, and walked right to the main entrance.

  As soon as she entered, Olivia saw a tall, young officer was seated at the front door.

  “Olivia Wells?” the officer asked, almost as if he were waiting for her.

  “Yes,” said Olivia, relieved that she was being greeted.

  The officer stood up quickly. He was slender, toned, and energetic, with short dark hair and no-nonsense dark eyes.

  “Officer Weston Garland,” he introduced himself and held out his hand.

  Olivia shook his hand briefly. “Thanks for waiting for me.”

  “My pleasure.” Weston smiled, looking a bit taken aback by Olivia. “The guys will be pleased you got here so fast.”

  Olivia nodded as Weston led her down the hallway to the main meeting room at the end. As she walked inside, a group of officers stood up to greet her. A large, heavier officer stepped in front immediately.

  “Chief of Police Mike Frande,” he announced. “Pleased to have you with us, Olivia.”

  “Thank you,” Olivia replied as he motioned for her and the others to sit down.

  “Your reputation precedes you,” he added. “And you lost no time in getting here. That’s good.”

  Mike Frande then walked to the long table in front of the room and pointed to a screen that stood beside it. “We have no time to lose so I’m going to start right away and give you an overview of what we’re up against. I’ll show you some slides of the woman who’s gone missing and the area where she was last seen.”

  Pictures of lush, wild greenery, trees, birds, insects, and swamps came up on the screen. “The Everglades is a rich and complicated place,” Mike started. “This is a wildlife preserve, filled with untamed and dangerous creatures, and filled with winding, swampy trails.”

  Olivia was mesmerized by the wild, shocking beauty she was looking at.

  Next, a large photo of a beautiful young couple flashed on the screen. The young woman had long, auburn hair and the man was blond and stately. They looked well suited, happy and smiling.

  “This is Amanda, who’s gone missing. Next to her stands her husband, Tye Fisher,” Mike continued. “The couple came down here to Key Largo to celebrate their anniversary. They live in Connecticut. Amanda teaches music at a private high school, and he’s a rather successful, established architect.”

  “They’re interesting,” Olivia murmured. Not exactly the kind of couple she’d imagine would come to the Everglades.

  “Yes, they are,” Mike continued. “Our research on them has turned up nothing out of the ordinary. A young, happy, successful couple. They have friends who speak well of them and their relationship.”

  “Was the husband with the wife on the tour?” Olivia asked immediately.

  Mike stopped speaking a moment as Weston smiled crisply.

  “Good question,” said Weston. “No, he wasn’t.”

  Olivia was startled to hear that. “Why not?”

  “Have you heard anything about the case at all?” Mike interrupted.

  “Just a few words on the car radio driving up here,” Olivia replied. “You have a hotline set up already, I imagine?”

  “A hotline is putting it mildly,” said Weston. “And we’re flooded with all kinds of bizarre tips, too. It’s par for the course. Nothing unusual. We’re getting sightings of Amanda as far as Alabama. Most of them are nonsense, of course. But everyone wants to be part of the action.”

  “That’s the problem with hotlines,” Mike added. “It takes thousands of hours to track the calls down and most of them are bogus. But back to the main point for a minute. You asked why Amanda’s husband didn’t accompany her on the tour in the Everglades. It is a good question. Tye told us that he woke up feeling ill that morning. He wasn’t up to taking a trip like that. He even asked Amanda to postpone it a few days, but she refused. He said she was determined to go that day.”

  Olivia listened carefully. “Is he telling the truth?”

  “We’ve grilled him thoroughly,” Weston broke in now. “But we want you to speak to him yourself, alone, at
his hotel nearby. A woman’s touch could help soften him up in case he’s got more information. We’ve been the bad cop in the case, you can be the good one!”

  Olivia smiled. Weston was tough and blunt, but his directness was refreshing.

  “I’d be happy to be the good cop,” Olivia replied.

  “Go give the guy some cookies and tea,” another officer, who had introduced himself as Tommy, chimed in.

  “Tye must be terrified,” Olivia said.

  “I wouldn’t call it terrified, exactly,” Weston replied. “Actually, he seems confident that Amanda’s well and we’ll find her.”

  That seemed odd to Olivia. Why would he be so confident?

  “No, Olivia’s right. The husband’s terrified,” Mike’s voice boomed loudly. “How could he not be? The guy’s holding it together as best he can.”

  “It’s almost like he’s used to trouble with her,” Weston added.

  Olivia found that extremely interesting. “If he’s used to trouble with her, do you think he’s complicit in her disappearance?” She wasn’t pulling any punches. Usually spouses were the first persons of interest.

  “What do you mean complicit?” Mike retorted. “You mean do we think he’s guilty?”

  “Do you?” asked Olivia.

  “Guilty of what?” Tommy burst in. “His wife’s missing. She isn’t dead. Nobody has any idea what happened to her.”

  “The tour set out early in the morning,” Weston continued. “Amanda went missing at five thirty p.m. Tye was seen at his hotel at five o’clock. He went downstairs to the restaurant at that time and had something to eat. His alibi checks out. Others saw him there, too.”

  “Who the hell knows what it means though?” Tommy burst in again, rubbing his big jowls. “I don’t put much stock in alibis. Why in hell was the husband down at the restaurant so close to the time she went missing? To set himself up as innocent?”

  Olivia shivered. Tommy was tough and seasoned, nobody’s fool.

  Tommy turned to Olivia then. “You can’t take anything for granted in a case like this. You’ve got to figure every single angle.”

  “Of course,” agreed Olivia.

  “We also talked to the main tour guide, Jack Healey, who runs the tour company Amanda was on. It’s an established company, very reliable,” Weston jumped in. “The tour went through alligator swamps. When they stopped for a break and were about to turn back, Amanda wanted to go on, past the place the guide said was safe. She insisted she was an experienced hiker. They told her it wasn’t a good idea. There was fifteen minutes downtime and the tour was then set to return.”

  “What happened then?” asked Olivia, transfixed.

  “Amanda decided to separate from the tour and hike further on her own. She said she would just be gone for ten minutes or less. They told her that she’d have to take the risk on her own. She said she’d take the risk, and set off. After half an hour she didn’t come back. When forty-five minutes passed, everyone started looking for her. No sign of anything. They called the news into the cops after an hour.”

  “People on the tour were the last to see her alive then?” Olivia exclaimed.

  “Sure, who else?” Mike looked at Olivia strangely. “If there was someone else, we sure need to hear about them.”

  Olivia was enrapt. Why would Amanda separate from the tour and go on her own into a life-threatening situation? It didn’t make sense. And how could it be that she disappeared completely, with no sign of her at all? All ghastly possibilities stirred in Olivia’s mind.

  “The alligators?” Olivia started.

  Tommy spun around and looked at her squarely. “Were the gators hungry? Of course. Did Amanda get caught by one of them, or more? We sure as hell hope not.” Tommy gave voice to Olivia’s silent questions.

  “How else could there be no sign of her, no remains, not anything?” Olivia replied.

  “That’s the question, isn’t it?” Weston chimed in.

  “The gators could have gotten her, but not likely,” Mike joined the conversation.

  “Why not?” asked Olivia.

  “The trails around the swamp are well carved out. It wasn’t a night tour. There was still enough light left for her to see where she was going.”

  “No one on the tour went onwards with her, though?” Olivia needed to be sure about every single detail.

  “Not that we heard of,” said Mike. “We’ve talked to Jack, and most of the passengers on the tour. There’s one left.”

  “That’s important,” said Olivia.

  “Of course it is. We’re well aware of that. This all just broke. One thing at a time,” Mike replied.

  “Clearly you didn’t find cause to bring Jack in for further questioning?” Olivia had to be certain.

  “Clearly we didn’t.” Mike suddenly seemed to be growing exasperated. “If we had, he would be here at the station, right now. Jack Healey’s tours are well known. He has a fine reputation.”

  “We have to trace that other passenger down right away, though,” Weston added. “Could be he’s traumatized and doesn’t want to speak to anyone right this second.”

  “He has to anyway,” Tommy grumbled. “To hell with his trauma! Amanda’s got more trauma than him right now.”

  “If she’s still alive,” Weston added slowly.

  A moment of silence filled the room. Olivia couldn’t entertain the idea that Amanda was dead. She had to hold onto hope and talk to every single person involved. She also had to learn more about the glades as well, go there herself. It was crucial to get a firsthand sense of where Amanda had been when she’d disappeared.

  “At this moment, what are your conclusions and plans?” Olivia asked Mike directly.

  “No conclusions yet,” Mike quickly engaged. “It’s way too early for that. First we need to find out a lot more about Amanda and also her husband. That’s where you come in. There are tricky characters down here in these parts. There could be hidden motives for what happened. For all we know others are involved in her disappearance. Before we say she came to harm from the gators, everything else has to be ruled out.”

  “Of course,” Olivia agreed.

  “We need to uncover everything about her. Secrets you could never dream of. People don’t go on tours and just disappear,” Mike went on.

  “Unless they purposely want to end their lives?” Tommy speculated.

  “Or unless somebody else wanted to end it,” Weston echoed.

  “Until we get some answers, this will look bad for tourism in the Everglades,” Tommy added. “It’s how they make a living and keep the preserve in good shape.”

  “I understand,” said Olivia.

  “Good,” Weston shot back. “So the next step is, you talk to Amanda’s husband at his hotel nearby. Find out if he’ll tell you anything he hasn’t told us.”

  He peered at her.

  “And find out if he’s hiding anything.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Olivia drove a couple of blocks and checked in to her hotel room. The room was large and airy with a good view of the sky. Fortunately, it looked out above over the other buildings around and a few evening stars could even be seen. Olivia threw her bag down on the small sofa and sat down to catch her breath. She realized how hectic the next days were about to become. She put her stuff down and was preparing to leave again when her cell rang.

  “Sorry to rush out of the café.” Wayne was on the other end. “There was a little emergency here and I got caught up. But I didn’t forget our date for dinner.”

  Olivia was startled to hear his voice. In all the excitement, she’d completely forgotten their dinner appointment. “Oh my goodness,” she breathed.

  “Is it too late now? Should we try for tomorrow?” Wayne continued.

  “Wayne, I’m in Key Largo now,” Olivia breathed. “I’m so sorry, dinner skipped my mind.”

  “Key Largo?” Wayne sounded taken aback.

  “It all happened so fast. I got the call right after I saw
you, and immediately came running up here,” Olivia explained.

  “Are you on the case of the woman who went missing in the glades?” Wayne was enthralled.

  “Yes,” Olivia whispered. “The call came in from the Key Largo police.”

  “My God,” said Wayne.

  “I know,” said Olivia, “I’m in my hotel room now. I went to the station first and they filled me in on all kinds of details.”

  “You’re working Mike Frande?” Wayne continued. “I know him well. Mike’s a terrific cop.”

  “I am working with him and also a few others on the force,” Olivia replied. “They all seem good.”

  “This is big time, Olivia.” Wayne was impressed. “It’s tricky too, be careful.”

  “I will be careful.” Olivia smiled. “I’m trained for this now.”

  “Your training has just started,” Wayne replied quickly. “Each new case is training,”

  Olivia realized he was looking after her. “Listen, we’ll definitely catch up later on,” she said. “I’ll take a rain check for that dinner.”

  “You got it,” Wayne replied. “And please, keep me informed. If I can help in any way, I’d like to.”

  “Thanks, Wayne,” said Olivia. “That means a lot.”

  “Of course,” he replied. “I’m just a phone call away.”

  *

  Olivia checked herself in the car mirror. Her clear blue eyes looked back at her. She looked different than she had a few days ago, stronger, more centered. She looked like someone who knew just where she was, and what she was doing.

  The drive to Tye’s hotel took about five minutes. Tye was up in his room, waiting for Olivia, not wanting to be downstairs in public right now.

  Olivia went right to his room and knocked on the door. In less than a second, it flung open and Tye stood there dressed in jeans and an expensive yellow summer shirt. Just as in the picture she’d seen of him on the slide show, Tye was blond and handsome with a regal air about him. And, despite his excessively calm exterior, Olivia noticed one of his hands trembling at his side.