“Just thinking about her.”
“Just crying over her is more like it. Okay, I guess you tried to save her. Don’t know how you screwed up the Heimlich. Any dork can do it.”
“I’ve never thought about learning such things. Things where I must actually touch people. There’s always someone around to do it. Of course I regret it. Someone trained might have saved her.”
“You drove here together. I saw you.”
“You saw us? Oh...I didn’t realize that. She’s sort of a friend.” He wiped his palms on the front of his trousers.
“I hope my friends do a better job if I choke.”
“She needed a ride, that’s all...she needed a ride.”
“A ride to the beach? That what you’re saying?”
The man folded his arms across his chest and didn’t answer.
“I stood up there at the top of that knoll and watched you. Funny, when she got out of your car and started changing into that bikini, it looked like you were trying to peek at her. You’ve never seen your girlfriend naked? She moved to the other side like she didn’t want you to watch her undress. She didn’t notice I had pulled in. I’m the one who got the show.”
“So she was modest. Stop saying things.”
“Modest then, won’t bother her a bit anybody looks at her now.”
“But it bothers me. You shouldn’t speak of her in that manner. It’s not...honorable. Just keep my coat over her.” He folded and unfolded his arms again. “You know I tried to help her. You know I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Relax, it’s an accident. Like you say, she choked herself to death. Crazy way to die.”
The older man said, “My cell’s in the car....”
“I’ve already phoned the police. Told them send along an ambulance.”
“Oh, you already called them? That’s good...I guess.” He turned away from the body and rubbed the back of his neck. “They’re not going to believe me...they’re not going to believe me.”
“You’re really sweatin’ this, aren’t you?”
“Of course I’m shaken. A person just died before my eyes. Her dead body is lying there.”
“I suppose you’ve got big deal friends, a big deal job, a big deal reputation.”
“You don’t know the half of it. You wouldn’t believe the fallout there’s going to be about this.” He tilted his head back and closed his eyes tightly.
“So take off.”
“What?”
“Go...leave. You’ve got nothing to do with this, it happened like you said. She happened to be on the beach. You happened to be on the beach. You tried to help her. That’s the way it was, wasn’t it?”
“I guess.”
“So, go. Get out of here. You don’t have to get involved. I’ll look after her. Things like this happen all the time.”
“I don’t think I should leave her. Should I go? I don’t think I should.”
“No sweat. Nothing else you can do here. Get moving the police will be here any second.”
“Then you’ll be in trouble.”
“No, they know me. I live around here. I take care of some things around here. Nothing bad happened. There’s been no crime. The M.E. will find she died of choking. Case closed.
“The medical examiner?”
“Yeah, like on TV. Now come on we’ll walk up to your car. You leave and I’ll wait up there for the police.”
“I should take my coat.” He reached back and picked it up off the body. He paused to look down at her.
“She should have something over her,” he said. “I don’t have a blanket in my car. Do you?”
The younger man shook his head.
They reached the top of the sandy knoll and could now hear the occasional hum of vehicles going by on A1A beyond the screen of foliage. The older man stopped abruptly and pointed. “Is that your SUV parked there? Wait a minute, I saw it at that truck stop up in Jacksonville. You’re lying. You’re not from around here. You pulled out right behind us on 95.”
“Not me, buddy. I’ve been here all day. Haven’t been out of town in a month. Now you should get out of here.”
“I was certain it was your white SUV that followed us.”
“You’re saying you gave Miss Universe a ride down here from Jax so she could go to the beach?”
The nervous man didn’t answer.
“Stop talking and go.”
“I can’t leave. I won’t do it.” He wondered just how much he owed her anyway. He could stay and identify himself to the police. That wouldn’t bring her back and might destroy him. Certainly he didn’t owe her that much. “I don’t know. Will she be okay? Nothing’s going to happen to her?”
“Nothing’s going to happen to her. I’ll keep an eye on her. Now leave.”
“Well, I guess it’s all right, since the police are on the way. I truly appreciate your doing this for me. So, you’ll stay up here and wait up here until they come, okay?”
“Sure.”
(End of excerpt from
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