to say about what she was planning. Something she didn’t want to hear.
She closed the door and turned the camera in her hand. The ominously dark skies reminded her of the afternoon when she had gone to Alice’s and seen the unraveled tablecloth. She had never been creeped out by thunder and lightning, but storms on the gulf were so impossible to ignore that she had developed an acute appreciation for their power. Now she wasn’t sure if it was weather or the permanent cloud that seemed to hover over Alice’s cottage that made her the most uneasy. She wished the evening were over.
Hoping to snap out of her funk, she stripped off her camp clothes and showered, slipping into comfortable shorts and a tank top. She dried her hair, then pinned it up off her neck. She was looking at the television listings, trying to figure out how to spend the evening, when the telephone rang.
“Miss Deloche?”
Tracy recognized Maribel’s voice. She almost complimented the Realtor on finally getting her last name right. Maybe Tracy had exorcized CJ’s ghost at last.
“Sold Happiness Key yet?” she asked instead.
“Well, not that cut-and-dried, but I do have a couple of developers who are very interested. We’ve been down twice to look at it.”
Tracy plopped down on the sofa. “You’re kidding.”
“I know it’s been touch and go, but didn’t I tell you somebody would be willing to take on Wild Florida and the economy? It was just a matter of wait and see. They’re talking less money than you want, of course, but we’re in the early stages of negotiation. Leave it to me. I’ll get them higher.”
“I talked to Lee a couple of days ago, and he didn’t mention anything. In fact, he was pretty pessimistic.”
“Lee?”
Sometimes Tracy worried about Maribel. “Lee Symington.”
“I’m not sure why he was talking to you at all.”
Tracy was confused. “Umm…he’s my neighbor. And he works for you.”
“Not anymore.”
If she hadn’t already been sitting down, that would have put Tracy in a chair. “I’m sorry? What?”
“Lee and I parted company a week ago. Maybe somebody else hired him and he’s still hoping to sell your property.” There was a pause. “Although nobody’s asked for a recommendation. I would have remembered that.”
Tracy wasn’t one to read between the lines, or at least she hadn’t bothered to very often. But she was quickly piecing together all the things Maribel hadn’t said.
She went straight to the heart of it. “I need you to be honest. Will you tell me why you parted company?”
“That’s not exactly legal.”
“Maribel, I’m not going to tell anybody, but it would help. He’s, you know, sniffing around this listing with a lot of energy. Can he be trusted?”
Another long pause ensued. “Sometimes it pays to be careful,” Maribel said at last.
“Can’t you be more specific?”
“Let’s just say I wouldn’t trust the man or anything he says.”
“Wow.”
“I particularly wouldn’t let him near my bank accounts.”
“Double wow.”
“You didn’t hear this from me, understand? I don’t want him suing me, and he’s the kind who will, if he thinks he can make a buck.”
Tracy didn’t triple wow, but her mind was racing. “Okay, you didn’t tell me a thing, and I didn’t listen. But while I’m not listening, let me get an opinion. Everyone here’s worried about Alice, his mother-in-law. Lee seems to be keeping her out of sight. Do we have cause for concern? Is he capable of violence?”
“I’ll deny I said this. You’re not recording me?”
Tracy knew more about spying in Florida than she’d ever expected to. “Can’t. It’s not legal.”
“A few months ago Lee was on the verge of making a sale to a family moving into Palmetto Grove. At the last minute the buyers changed their mind and backed out. The father’s new job started looking shaky, and he decided they’d better rent a little longer, just in case.”
Tracy remembered Lee being down about a sale that had fallen through. “And?”
“The morning after they told Lee they had changed their mind, the father went outside, and all his tires had been slashed. To shreds. On top of that, the car had been keyed. You know what that means?”
“Somebody took a key and scraped the paint.”
“Exactly. Only this was more than a few scrapes, this was extensive damage. Gouges, the kind somebody with a serious grudge inflicts. The father came to me, and of course I told him it couldn’t have been Lee, but now I’m not sure. I know he’s dishonest. I know he has a temper.