My mouth watered at his words. One thing I missed about Boston was all the delicious Italian restaurants. Wahoo had a lot to offer: my sister, crystal-clear springs, a cool tubing river, exotic wildlife, a great grilled cheese joint.
It did not have lasagna or tiramisu. Or maybe now it did. My stare was fixed on Jack, whose smirk brimmed with an unsettling confidence. His eyes were an abyss of black, reminiscent of the night sky. It begged the question: why wasn’t my sister hot for him? He had all the makings of a perfect match for her.
“That would be—”
The opening saxophone notes of the song “See You Later, Alligator” interrupted my words.It was a gator call. I pointed at my cell. “I need to grab that.”
“Of course. Thanks again. I’ll go to the hardware store today. After a while, crocodile.” He sauntered off and I watched him make his way down the white path. He could sure fill out the backside of those jeans.
Weird. OK. Shaking my head, I jabbed at the green button on my phone.
It was a blocked number and I braced myself for a telemarketing pitch about auto warranties.
“Gator Queen, this is Maggie. How can I help you?”
“We’ve got a nuisance alligator out here.” The male voice sounded faraway and tinny, like the person was on speakerphone in a windstorm.
“OK, sir, I can try to help. Can you speak into the phone a little more? I’m having a hard time hearing you.”
“Sure.” The muffled sound of thumps and crackles hit my ear. “Is this better? I’m driving.”
“Kind of. Anyway. Tell me about the situation and where you are.”
“It’s at the Palm Industrial Park. You know where that is? Off of State Highway 19?”
“Yes, I know it.”
“The gator’s out back, in the river. You need to come get it.”
“Sir, I don’t trap gators unless they’re a problem. If it’s swimming in the water, it’s not a threat. The river is gator habitat. That’s where it’s supposed to be.”
“Oh, this one’s a threat all right. It came into the parking lot and tried to attack one of my guys. Almost chomped his leg off.”
I frowned and went into the kitchen, where Vera kept a notebook and pen on the counter. Contrary to popular belief, gator attacks were pretty rare, even in weird Florida. “Was he hurt?”
“No. He managed to get away, but now the gator’s back. Listen, can you come take a look? Maybe find him and lug him off? I’ll pay big money.”
“I’ll assess the situation. That’s the best I can do. Can you repeat the address?”
“Palm Industrial Park. In the river behind the warehouse, almost right across from the back door. There’s a table outside. I was just looking at the critter before I left. He’s on the riverbank.”
“And what’s your name?”
“Bob.”
“Bob what?”
“Just Bob. But I won’t be there. One of my guys will be waiting for you. He’ll have the cash.”
I cleared my throat. Something about this call was off, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what. “What time will you be there? And what’s your employee’s name?”
“It’s nearly 5 p.m. and I have to get to a dinner with the wife. Go there and see what you think. I’ll call you back in a little while.”
He hung up before I could say anything else. A quick check of the time revealed that it was indeed almost five. I’d slept that long?
We still had another half hour or so of daylight so I had time to drive to the industrial park to check out the gator.
I tapped out a quick text to my sister.Where are you? Everything OK? I got a call about a gator and I’m headed to check it out. Palm Industrial Park, if you want to meet me.
