“Well, it’s a good thing. Because he’s probably going to get arrested in a little while.”
Tracy held the cordless phone in front of her and squinted at it, as if she might see an instant replay. She put it back to her ear. “That’s seriously bogus.”
“It is not bogus. And I’m not supposed to know, and you’re certainly not supposed to. But I got all worked up about you, considering what a mess you’ve been lately and all.”
Now Tracy was fully awake. “I have not been a mess.” She realized that her messiness was not the larger issue. “What exactly is going on?”
“I still think this recent bitchy mood could be early menopause, but we can tackle that later. Here’s the scoop.”
Tracy listened, her eyes growing wider until she wasn’t sure there was room for them in her face.
“We’re going over there,” she said, when Wanda finished.
“No way, girlfriend. Kenny will skin me alive.”
“You can move in with me if he tries. Wanda! We have to go now and see what’s up.”
Wanda sighed. “I’m already dressed. Get your butt out of bed and throw some clothes on it. I’ll drive.”
“Well, I can kiss all future orders from Sally Statler goodbye, that’s for sure,” Wanda said as she swung left to the bridge. “That is unless she wants to take an Elvis Surprise to old Ed, with a file baked in the middle.”
Tracy couldn’t summon up a sense of humor. “You know that dinner cruise?”
“I wouldn’t say I know it firsthand. We don’t exactly hang out in the same social circles, you and me.”
“Be glad. CJ was everybody’s new best friend. He practically salivated over the other passengers. I wondered what he was up to. It was nauseating.”
“I kinda don’t think CJ was the reason your stomach was upset. It had to do with all that liquor you drank.”
“Wanda!” Tracy stared out the window. Unlike Southern California, this part of Florida rolled up the sidewalks at night. There was never much activity in Palmetto Grove after Early Bird Specials ended. Ahead of them the city was dark and quiet, and not at all the kind of place one expected to encounter a police raid.
“Go over it again,” Tracy demanded. “I’m fully awake now.”
“Kenny and a bunch of folks—and not all from the local office, either—are going to arrest Edward Statler for all kinds of things. The list goes on and on and on….”
In California Tracy had seen a list like that with CJ’s name at the top. It was amazing how many charges law enforcement agencies could drum up when they wanted somebody in custody badly enough.
“Ken told you all this?”
Wanda didn’t answer right away. “Well, not exactly, if you want the truth. See, Kenny’s good about not giving stuff away, and I needed more than what he was telling me. So I more or less made friends with one of the dispatchers who drops by for pie, and, well, I’ve been listening closely when the cops are gabbing at my counter. Molly, the dispatcher, knows I baked for the Statlers’ reception, so when Kenny called to say he’d be real late coming home, I called Molly to see what was up. And she told me.”
Tracy was all admiration. “You’re something else. You were born to pry and then to gossip about it.”
“I don’t want to make it sound like too much fun. I know you’re not all that sure how you feel about your ex.”
Tracy would have denied that, had it not been true. She wasn’t sure how she felt, and she wasn’t sure why.
“You think he’s involved?” she asked.
“I found those papers in the pool house, where he’s living, remember? How can he not be?”
“I don’t even know what to hope for.”
“This is one of those gated communities,” Wanda said, as if she knew changing the subject was a good idea. “How come we don’t have a gate out at Happiness Key?”
“If we had a gate, it would be the kind you get out and loop to a post.”
“I’m not getting in and out of my car to open and close some gate.”
“Well, there’s your answer.”
Wanda slowed a little and began to search the side of the road. “We’re going to have to park somewhere and find our way in.”
Tracy had a bad feeling about that. “Isn’t the development fenced?”
“Not the beach side. We’ll find a way.” Wanda made a left, then another left, and parked on the side of the road. “It’s just ahead. We’ll go down