And hopefully, us. We needed all the help we could get, from both this world and any other.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Afew hours later, in the early afternoon, Vera and I drove home. We discussed stopping at Blue Orchid, Wahoo’s only Thai place, for a late lunch. Vera loved the restaurant for two reasons. One was the kind couple who owned it, the other was the spicy shrimp soup that could peel paint off walls with its fire. It was even too much for me.
As we were about to turn down the road to the restaurant, the news came on the radio. Wahoo had a local station that mostly played seventies and eighties pop tunes, but it also kept the town abreast of current events. The announcer had been on air for seemingly my entire life, and when I heard the jazzy intro jingle, I instinctively turned it up.
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and all you delightful gators and flamingos out there, welcome to Wacky Waves 101.5 FM, your home for news that’s wilder than a Florida Man and hotter than a pelican wearing sunglasses! In today’s top stories, a January heatwave sweeps the Sunshine State, a Wahoo man discovers a secret mermaid hideout, and a local city councilor charged with corruption is released with an ankle monitor. But first, a word from our sponsor, Cheesy Does It!”
I reached to tune the knob to another station, but Vera stopped me. “I need to hear this,” she hissed.
Our Thai meal was about to be in jeopardy. I could sense it. I slowed the car and made a right toward the restaurant as the announcer came back on. My stomach started to rumble at the thought of pad thai.
“A federal judge has released a Wahoo city councilman and ordered him to house arrest pending trial. Twenty-seven-year-old Tyler Carr, who was arrested recently on election tampering and fraud charges, was released on bail this afternoon. Florida’s governor has also removed Carr from office. Today, Judge Marvin Brown ordered Carr to wear an ankle monitor and to have no contact with anyone at City Hall. He was released to the custody of his parents...”
“At least he spent the weekend in jail,” I muttered. “Wonder how that went for him.”
“Go home,” Vera commanded.
“What? What about Thai soup?”
“Since Tyler’s home, I need to bring him some things that he gave me. I don’t want them in the house.”
I gripped the steering wheel so hard that my fingers left imprints, as if I were trying to squeeze out every last drop of stress like toothpaste from a tube nearing its end.
“We should probably eat first.” The last thing we needed was Vera going to Tyler’s house and causing a scene.
“I’m not hungry. Go home.” She pointed toward the windshield.
With a sigh, I steered the car home and didn’t say another word. Once inside, I played with Catsy and checked on Harry while Vera disappeared into her room. Twenty minutes later, she came out with a tote bag bursting at the seams.
“Goodness, how much stuff of his do you have?” I asked from my perch on the sofa, where I was tickling Catsy’s soft belly.
She patted the bag. “Mostly books on business motivation and ethics, junk like that. Books he obviously didn’t read.”
Obviously. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
She nodded and made her way to the door. “I’ll be back in a while.”
“There’s no way I’m letting you go alone. I don’t trust that man.” I scrambled to my feet and grabbed my keys and purse.
# # #
Tyler and his parents lived in one of the giant Mediterranean Revival homes that circled a small, historic downtown park. The houses there were historic and gorgeous, all pink stucco and barrel-tile roofs. Beautiful old mango and avocado trees dotted the yards.
As a teenager, I’d always looked at this neighborhood warily, as if the sheer beauty of the homes might contain some sort of evil. To me, they’d looked like haunted houses, something I’d see on TV. Maybe I’d been right, I thought, as we walked up the perfectly manicured walkway of Tyler’s family home.
Vera raised her fist to knock, then turned to me. “You don’t have to come in.”
“Oh, I’m coming in.” I didn’t trust Tyler one bit.
She rapped on the door, then pressed the doorbell. Her face was pinched and hard and I could tell this took a lot of courage.
Footsteps came into earshot, then the door swung open.
It was Tyler. Gone was the cocky smirk and the knowing gaze. Today he looked like a broken man. A haunted expression clouded his eyes. He hadn’t shaved in days, and his shoulders drooped. His mouth looked like it had been stung by bees.
My sympathy remained unmoved. I glanced to my sister, worried that she’d lose her resolve and have sympathy for the jerk.
