mentioned the subject. Cryder wasn’t going to insist that his wife give up the place that made her so happy. He owed her that much. Umiko had already followed him around the world. It hadn’t always been easy for her.
But Walter Engel was persistent. He was determined to persuade the Robbinses and everyone else in the complex to sell their places to him. Cryder knew that Roz Golubock was also one of the holdouts.
Getting out of bed, he went to the picture window. He stared out, trying to spot Umiko. He recognized her wide-brimmed hat and slim figure down on the beach where Shelley Hart’s body had been found the day before. Cryder was certain that even a murder wasn’t going to convince Umiko to sell.
Chapter 44
P ropping the pillows behind her, Piper sat up in bed, grabbed her phone, and went straight to her Facebook page. She read through the comments that friends had written in response to the picture of the crime scene she’d posted the day before. Most of the twenty-odd comments advised her to be careful. A few asked who the shirtless beefcake was standing at the right side of the photo. One person even commented on Brad’s tattoo:
AS A TATTOO LOVER MYSELF, I ZOOMED IN TO SEE WHAT WAS ON THE HUNK’S ARM. MY BET IS THAT GUY HAS DONE TIME. HE GOT THAT TAT IN PRISON.
Good catch, thought Piper. She was reminded again of how increasingly difficult it was to get away with anything, what with better and better technology and a global village watching.
She clicked on the television in time to hear the weatherman describing what people on Florida’s western coast could expect. Another day of sunshine with temperatures in the seventies.
It had amused her years ago to notice how local news broadcasts here led with the weather forecast. She eventually realized that this was because the weather was so important to almost every Sarasota viewer. The threat of rain or an upcoming cold snap was of immense interest both to farmers and to businesses that depended on tourism. And of course tourists were interested, too.
But it was the story after the weather that Piper wanted to hear. The only new detail being revealed to the public was the identity of the woman’s body found on Siesta Beach. Shelley Hart was described as a lifelong Sarasota resident. Police were asking anyone with information on the case to come forward.
The following item wasn’t an actual edited news package. It was merely video voiced over by the anchorperson. The pictures showed a mangled yellow convertible being lifted onto a flatbed truck.
“Also on Siesta Key, a car driven by an Ocean Boulevard homeowner crashed at the base of the North Bridge last night. The driver, eighty-seven-year-old Roz Golubock, was taken to Memorial Hospital. Police say the convertible may have been deliberately run off the road by another car. They are looking for witnesses.”
Piper turned off the set. Shelley’s sandy grave, Roz’s treacherous crash. Would the police be able to solve the cases only if witnesses came forward with something they had seen?
As she got out of bed, Piper instinctively felt that there was just one person who knew all the details of each case. The person responsible for both.
Chapter 45
W ith her three children scampering around the small kitchen, Jo-Jo Williams opened the refrigerator and pulled out a gallon container of milk. Almost empty. She made a mental note to get to Walmart as soon as the kids left for school.
Add the milk to a very long list of things they needed. The cupboards were looking pretty darn bare. Try as Jo-Jo did to stretch her dollars, there just never seemed to be enough money to stock the shelves full again.
She hated living paycheck to paycheck and depending on the tips she made at the bar at night. Her credit cards were maxed out, and the bill collectors called on a regular basis now. Even if her baby daddy helped out like he was supposed to but didn’t, Jo-Jo doubted she would ever be able to climb
But Walter Engel was persistent. He was determined to persuade the Robbinses and everyone else in the complex to sell their places to him. Cryder knew that Roz Golubock was also one of the holdouts.
Getting out of bed, he went to the picture window. He stared out, trying to spot Umiko. He recognized her wide-brimmed hat and slim figure down on the beach where Shelley Hart’s body had been found the day before. Cryder was certain that even a murder wasn’t going to convince Umiko to sell.
Chapter 44
P ropping the pillows behind her, Piper sat up in bed, grabbed her phone, and went straight to her Facebook page. She read through the comments that friends had written in response to the picture of the crime scene she’d posted the day before. Most of the twenty-odd comments advised her to be careful. A few asked who the shirtless beefcake was standing at the right side of the photo. One person even commented on Brad’s tattoo:
AS A TATTOO LOVER MYSELF, I ZOOMED IN TO SEE WHAT WAS ON THE HUNK’S ARM. MY BET IS THAT GUY HAS DONE TIME. HE GOT THAT TAT IN PRISON.
Good catch, thought Piper. She was reminded again of how increasingly difficult it was to get away with anything, what with better and better technology and a global village watching.
She clicked on the television in time to hear the weatherman describing what people on Florida’s western coast could expect. Another day of sunshine with temperatures in the seventies.
It had amused her years ago to notice how local news broadcasts here led with the weather forecast. She eventually realized that this was because the weather was so important to almost every Sarasota viewer. The threat of rain or an upcoming cold snap was of immense interest both to farmers and to businesses that depended on tourism. And of course tourists were interested, too.
But it was the story after the weather that Piper wanted to hear. The only new detail being revealed to the public was the identity of the woman’s body found on Siesta Beach. Shelley Hart was described as a lifelong Sarasota resident. Police were asking anyone with information on the case to come forward.
The following item wasn’t an actual edited news package. It was merely video voiced over by the anchorperson. The pictures showed a mangled yellow convertible being lifted onto a flatbed truck.
“Also on Siesta Key, a car driven by an Ocean Boulevard homeowner crashed at the base of the North Bridge last night. The driver, eighty-seven-year-old Roz Golubock, was taken to Memorial Hospital. Police say the convertible may have been deliberately run off the road by another car. They are looking for witnesses.”
Piper turned off the set. Shelley’s sandy grave, Roz’s treacherous crash. Would the police be able to solve the cases only if witnesses came forward with something they had seen?
As she got out of bed, Piper instinctively felt that there was just one person who knew all the details of each case. The person responsible for both.
Chapter 45
W ith her three children scampering around the small kitchen, Jo-Jo Williams opened the refrigerator and pulled out a gallon container of milk. Almost empty. She made a mental note to get to Walmart as soon as the kids left for school.
Add the milk to a very long list of things they needed. The cupboards were looking pretty darn bare. Try as Jo-Jo did to stretch her dollars, there just never seemed to be enough money to stock the shelves full again.
She hated living paycheck to paycheck and depending on the tips she made at the bar at night. Her credit cards were maxed out, and the bill collectors called on a regular basis now. Even if her baby daddy helped out like he was supposed to but didn’t, Jo-Jo doubted she would ever be able to climb
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