on the stack with the others.
Lynn sat at the end of the long table in the lunchroom of the Thomas Brothers supply company. She had takeout from Wendy’s, but had just picked at her spicy chicken sandwich and allowed all of her French fries to go cold.
Materializing from the side door, Leon slid onto the seat across from her. He had not spoken directly to her about Dale’s arrest since the big man had been carted off, but now he gave her a sly smile and a wink. It made her realize he was younger than she’d originally thought. That weathered skin, the outdoorsy look so many boaters in North Florida developed, made him appear to be fifty when she now thought he was probably not forty.
After a few moments of silence, without any preface or reason, Leon said, “I did all my time in federal prison.”
Lynn wondered where this was going and simply said, “Uh-huh.”
“State time is tough. No rehab, nothing but lock-up and bullshit. But the federal holding center in Atlanta and my last two years at Eglin gave me a chance to take classes and learn from some of the big-time fraud guys. So now I can read people really well.”
“So what?”
“So I can tell you have a secret. A big one.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Leon looked both ways to ensure no one was nearby. “Coming from someone else I might believe you, but knowing your family I’m pretty sure I’m right.”
Lynn was silent.
Leon said, “And I can help.”
“Help with what?”
“Whatever you’re doing.”
Lynn just held eye contact but didn’t say anything.
“Look, I need to do something or I’m gonna go crazy. This lack of excitement is killing me.”
Without meaning to, Lynn said, “I don’t know.”
Leon smiled and said, “Trust me. Besides, I never let things go. Now you’re stuck with me.”
Sergeant Yvonne Zuni felt a hint of claustrophobia with all the blinds drawn and the door closed to her office in the Land That Time Forgot.
Sergeant Zuni had briefed Lieutenant Hester on all the information they had concerning the death of the fraternity brothers. But as she looked across her desk at Lieutenant Hester, crammed into a simple wooden chair, Sergeant Zuni had a sickening feeling in the base of her stomach that the lieutenant was looking at political issues as much as investigative issues.
The lieutenant said, “You understand that the city has worked very hard to attract young people to the universities and events like our growing spring break.”
“I’m not sure I see why that’s relevant to this investigation.”
“Let’s just assume that all the information you have is accurate. Let’s assume that these deaths were intentional. And that’s a big assumption. One death occurred in Atlanta and another in Daytona.”
“The victim in Daytona isn’t dead. He is in a coma.”
“Regardless, the killer, if there really is one, could just as easily live in Atlanta or Daytona or anywhere in between. I’m not sure there’s a reason to bring media scrutiny just on Jacksonville. I’d like to see your detectives work on this as quietly as possible.”
Before Sergeant Zuni could express her true feelings, which was what she was about to do, there was a rap on her office door.
The sergeant called out, “Come in.”
The door swung open and John Stallings stood in the doorway, surprised to see the lieutenant sitting inside the small office.
The lieutenant glared at him and said, “C’mon, Stall, spit it out.”
“I, um, I just needed to speak to the sergeant for a moment.”
The lieutenant said, “Go ahead, speak to her.”
The sergeant looked between the two former partners and saw neither was going to give ground in this standoff.
Stallings nodded and said, “I have some news.”
It was the lieutenant said, “On what?”
The way Stallings glanced at the sergeant told her the news was about Zach Halston. He was weighing the dangers of revealing his continued investigation after the lieutenant had taken him off the case.
Sergeant Zuni said, “I let John work on the missing fraternity brother because he’s the best there is at finding people. I take full responsibility for putting him on the assignment.” She held the lieutenant’s stare, not wanting to back down. This was one of the most important jobs a sergeant had.
Lieutenant Hester was silent for a moment as her eyes shifted back to Stallings.
He said, “One of my snitches says Zach was alive just a few days ago.”
Sergeant Zuni said, “What else did he say?”
“Zach had been in a business hassle with a couple of other pot dealers. One of them was someone dealing to the college crowd.”
“You think that’s why he’s laying low?”
“It’s a reasonable assumption.”
The lieutenant’s poker face made Sergeant Zuni uneasy. The lieutenant didn’t mind sitting in silence either. That made everyone uncomfortable.
Finally Stallings said, “C’mon, Rita, put me back on this thing. I’ll find Zach Halston and maybe he can shed some light on all this other bullshit.”
Now Sergeant Zuni understood just how close Stallings and Lieutenant Hester were. She had never heard anyone talk to the lieutenant like that before. Sergeant Zuni also recognized the lieutenant hadn’t gotten to where she was by sitting back. She got results and knew who could get results for her.
After almost thirty seconds, the lieutenant said in a very even voice, “Will you give me your word you won’t look for Jeanie while you’re on this case?”
Now it was Stallings’s turn to hesitate. He said, “No, I can’t do that.”
Sergeant Zuni said, “John.”
He just shrugged and mumbled, “Sorry, I’m not a liar.”
Then the lieutenant said, “Fuck.” She shook her head, then stood to face Stallings. “I’ll have to take my chances with you. There’s too much potential for all of this to blow up in our faces if we don’t get a handle on it now.”
A slight smile broke across Stallings’s face.
The lieutenant said, “Don’t count on me changing my mind too many times. I know what the girl means to you. It broke my heart too when she disappeared. But I’ve already given the photograph to other detectives and I expect you to pass on anything you find out about her to them.”
Stallings just nodded.
Patty Levine sat on a bench in a large common area of the University of North Florida. The campus was one of the nicest in the South and the school had a reputation for looking after its students. On the bench next to her was a junior majoring in business administration and a former girlfriend of Zach Halston’s. Patty had found the girl through other students who had been at the Halloween party two years before. That’s how most police investigations evolved; one interview led to more and more.
The pretty young woman had a wistful smile when she recalled meeting Zach at the party. “He was down because some girl had just dumped him. You know how it is, a guy who needs fixing is hard to resist.”
Patty didn’t quite share those sentiments, but she nodded anyway to keep the girl talking.
“Anyway, he was busy during the party keeping everyone happy and the beer flowing. I mean it got wild. Then we started talking and he seemed really sweet.”
