blowing in the wind, impossibly light and fragile, with skin desiccated into alligator hide.
“I’m not signing petitions, and I have my own political party and church, so I don’t need to hear about yours.” The woman recited the lines in a weary voice, as if she had said them too many times.
“I guess that’s the advantage of living on the key,” Wanda said, holding out her hand. “Too far for hustlers. My name’s Wanda Gray.” She introduced the others. “We’re not looking for signatures, votes or converts. Just trying to solve a mystery.”
Tracy watched the woman’s eyes light up. Silently she congratulated Wanda on an inspired approach.
The woman didn’t introduce herself, as if she was still wary, but she gave a little nod. “I like a good mystery.”
“Well, here’s the story. A neighbor of ours died. We think he was related to some folks who used to live on this street. It’s a long shot, but we thought we’d see if we can find them. As far as we can tell, none of his relatives know he passed on.”
“What’s the world coming to?” the old woman asked.
Again Tracy thought Wanda’s approach was inspired. No need to go into the Herb-Clyde-altered identity story. As far as Wanda had taken it, her version was true.
“Have you lived on Pelican Way very long?” Janya asked.
“Since back when it was Allamanda. Nobody’s lived here longer.”
“Then you’re the one we want,” Wanda said. “The way people up and move these days, we didn’t think we’d find anybody of consequence.”
“This is Florida. Where else would I retire?”
Olivia was sifting through pebbles in a nearby driveway, and Alice was leaning heavily on her cane. Tracy figured they ought to get right to the point.
“So did you happen to know the Franklins?” Tracy smiled. “Clyde and Louise Franklin?”
Tracy waited for the head shake that had been the answer of choice almost every time they asked a question. Instead, the woman shrugged.
“I didn’t know Clyde. I moved here after he died. But I sure knew Louise. We used to play gin rummy every Wednesday night. Is that who your neighbor was related to?”
“To Clyde.” Wanda’s eyes were sparkling, but she made her answer sound as if this were just a regular conversation. “We know Louise was killed in a car crash some years back.”
“Awful thing. Poor woman deserved better. Everybody on the street liked Louise, even if they felt a little sorry for her. That Clyde of hers?” She lowered her voice. “She had him declared dead, you know. Never found out what happened to the man.”
“It’s a crying shame,” Wanda said. “Living with something like that, then dying without knowing.”
“I felt bad for Pam. She was a good girl, serious like her mother, and kind. A hard worker, too. She finished putting herself through college, but she never came back here to live. She moved up north. Most of the houses left on the street are rentals now, you know, with people coming and going so fast I just stopped trying to keep up. I have a group of friends from church and my bridge club, and I spend summers with my daughter’s family in New England, so I’m not home a lot.”
Tracy felt her hopes deflate again. “Which house was Louise’s? Is it still there?”
“Oh, yeah, down at the end.” She pointed away from the footbridge. “Between the apartments.”
Tracy couldn’t see the house well, but they had parked right in front of it. From her vantage point it looked a little larger, a little more modern than the one they were standing in front of.
“It’s a rental, too?” Wanda asked.
“Right. Has been since Pam left. See, vacation apartments started going up, and people sold off their houses one by one to builders. A few of us held out, but after a while everybody who’d kept their houses moved away, and now they just rent them out. Except me, of course. We’d probably all sell if we could, but these days nobody wants to build apartments, not with all the condos on prettier streets around here. I guess when it’s time to move out for good, I’ll be renting mine, too, the way Pam does. Or sell it for peanuts.”
Tracy nearly missed the part about Pam, but Wanda didn’t. “So Pam still owns the house and rents it out?”
“Oh, right from the beginning. I’ve never seen a For Sale sign over there, although I’m not sure why. And some parade of tenants she’s had. From what I can