Burn Out (9 page)

“
Thank you, but I already
ate,” Rachel politely declined. “I don’t want to do anything to
compromise the investigation. I’m only interested in any
information about Sam.”

“
Yes, I could get in a
shit-load of trouble…on top of everything else that is going on.”
Paul nervously picked at his nails. “But Sam is in trouble and I
figure I am part of the reason.”

“
Why is that?” Rachel
asked.

Paul looked at her like she was an
idiot or something. “Because.” He said his words slowly and
quietly. “Of what Ken and I did. The marijuana
operation.”

“
But what would it have to
do with Sam’s disappearance?”

Paul looked around the restaurant and
leaned over to whisper, “We put those Mexicans out of business.
They didn’t take lightly to that. They are out for blood. Don’t
matter if it’s mine or Ken’s. They start with our family and work
their way in.”

“
You think Pedro Gonzalez
may have done something with Sam?”

Paul nodded his head.

“
Pedro would know Sam’s
schedule?”

“
Yeah. It wouldn’t be hard
to figure out, especially if he was following her. She works every
three days, twenty-four shifts. Like I said, he was out for
revenge.”

“
What kind of relationship
do you have with Sam?”

Paul thought about it for a minute
before he answered. “I grew up with Sam. We have known each other
since grade school. I was best friends with her older brother
Breck. We all went to firefighter school down in Ocala together.
Sam and I joined the department within a couple of months of each
other. Breck went down south to Miami and got a job at Dade County
Fire Department.”

“
I heard Breck died in a
fire a couple of years ago?”

“
Yep. About killed Sam and
her mom. They were really close. He wasn’t even supposed to be
working that day. He came in to cover for a buddy who had a family
emergency.”

“
What happened?” Rachel
asked.

“
There was a fire in a
furniture store. He was on the roof when it caved in. He broke his
neck when he fell. Sam and her family were devastated. Now with Sam
missing, Nora is beside herself.”

“
Is Sam having an affair
with Mack?” Rachel asked.

The question caught him off-guard.
Paul stared at Rachel for a few seconds before answering. He waved
his hand away, dismissing the question. “Just rumors. Mack and Sam
were always close.”

Paul’s food arrived and he started to
dig into his meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The meatloaf was covered
in tomato gravy and the potatoes were smothered with melted butter
and topped with parsley. It smelled heavenly and Rachel wished she
had gotten a plate, even though she had just eaten lunch with
Stacy.

“
How was Sam getting along
with Ken in jail? I heard she was planning on putting the house up
for sale.”

“
I know she was having a
hard time making ends meet. They had a second mortgage on the
place. With the way the real estate market is, I doubt she could
have sold it for what it’s worth.”

“
If Sam were to have run
away, any idea on where she would have gone?”

Paul thought about it for a minute,
slowly chewing his food. “I have wondered the same thing myself. I
don’t know. She didn’t have any friends or close family I know of,
outside of here. And apparently she didn’t have any money.” Paul
picked up a napkin and wiped his face. “I don’t think she ran. I
think Pedro got her.”

Santa Rosa Beach, Thursday
2:40 pm

Paul Hart had a cabin he used for
fishing and hunting. It was about an hour north of Santa Rosa
Beach. The cabin had been in his family for years. When his father
died a couple years ago, he willed the place to Paul, his only son.
Since being put on suspension by the fire department, he spent more
and more time at the cabin. He liked to go there to relax and get
away from it all. The stress of the impending trial was beginning
to wear him down. He checked in with his attorney to let him know
he was going back there for a few days.

After lunch with Rachel, he went to
his house and started packing. His supplies at the cabin were
running low and he would have to make a pit stop at Wal-Mart. He
was loading up the truck when he heard the crunch of the gravel
driveway and was surprised to see Mack’s black truck easing down
around the curve to his house.

“
Hey there. I have been
trying to call you,” Mack said as he got out of the
truck.

“
Yeah, sorry. I got your
messages. I’ve just been trying to get some things done around
here.”

“
You didn’t show up for the
search for Sam,” Mack said with a bit of an accusing
tone.

Paul shuffled his feet in the dirt. “I
didn’t hear about it ‘til the last minute. I was already up to my
eyeballs in painting. Want to see what I have done?”

Mack followed him inside the house.
Paul bought it as a fixer- upper a few months ago. Rumors had
swirled around Paul used the money from the marijuana operation to
buy his new home.

Paul had all the windows open to air
out the paint smell. The dining room, which was once covered with
dark wood paneling, had been covered with new sheet rock and was
freshly painted a bright yellow.

“
Looks good,” Mack said as
he walked around, paper crinkling under his feet.

“
Well, I know you didn’t
come all the way out here to look at the house. What’s up?” Paul
asked, getting a beer out of the refrigerator. He handed one to
Mack.

“
I just wanted to talk to
you about Ken.”

“
What about
him?”

“
You met Rachel? The lady
from Florida Omni Search?” Mack asked.

“
We met for lunch today.
How did you know?”

“
Cleve called me and said
he saw you two at the Donut Hole. Anyway, Rachel is working with a
theory the drug cartel may have had something to do with Sam’s
disappearance. But I’m starting to doubt it.”

Paul wasn’t surprised Mack knew about
his lunch meeting with Rachel. Cleve worked at the fire department
and the Donut Hole was a local hangout for firefighters and police
officers. Santa Rosa Beach was a small town and everyone knew
everyone else’s business.

“
Yeah, she mentioned the
same thing to me. I happen to agree with her.”

“
I don’t doubt they would
be out for revenge. But to kidnap Sam? If they did have something
to do with the fire, why not just leave her there to burn? Or put a
bullet in her head?” Mack took a swig of his beer. “It just doesn’t
make sense to go through all the trouble to snatch her and hide her
somewhere. Swift, painful deaths are their specialty, so I
hear.”

“
What does it have to do
with Ken?”

“
I’m thinking Ken may know
where Sam is. You and Ken are pretty tight. What do you
think?”

Paul took a long pull from his beer
bottle before answering.

“
I haven’t seen or talked
to Ken since he was arrested, so I don’t know what is going on with
him. But I do know he would never do anything to hurt Sam. Besides,
what could he do while he was in jail?”

“
Sorry, I think you
misunderstood me. I don’t think he has hurt her. He may have helped
her get away. She was supposed to testify at his trial this week.
Maybe he arranged for her to ‘go away’ for a while.”

Paul finished his beer in one long
gulp, belched, and threw it in the trash. He reached in the fridge
for another. He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess anything is
possible.”

Mack continued to stare at
him.

“
What? You think I helped
her? Is that what you are implying?” Paul asked.

“
Just covering all the
bases.”

“
I’m in enough trouble as
it is, Mack. Like I said, I haven’t talked to Ken in a few
months.”

“
What about
Sam?”

“
I went by her house a
couple nights before she disappeared. She called and asked me to
come by and pick up some stuff I had in her barn. When I moved out
of Mary Ann’s house, I stored some furniture there. Sam said she
was getting ready to put the house on the market and was trying to
clean everything up.”

Mary Ann Lipscomb was Paul’s latest
girlfriend. They lived together for about a year before Mary Ann
got bored with him and kicked him out. Having a felon for a
boyfriend didn’t appeal to her, either.

“
It was the last time you
spoke?” Mack asked.

“
Yes. I already told the
Chief that.” Paul was beginning to feel like this was an
interrogation.

“
How did she seem to
you?”

“
She was in good spirits, I
guess. She said she was ready to move on. Fresh start and
all.”

Mack noticed some small boxes lined up
in the foyer.

Paul said, “I am going out to the
cabin for some fishing this weekend.” He was getting tired of all
the questions and was ready for Mack to go.

“
It should be a good
weekend for it. Nice, cool weather, no rain.” Mack said, walking
back to the front door. A glint of silver caught his attention. “Is
that a new Halligan?”

Paul hesitated. “Yeah.”

Mack picked up the tool and examined
it. The Halligan bar was a common tool firefighters used to gain
access to locked doors. “What happened to your old one?”

“
Stolen. My whole toolbox
in the truck was lifted. Probably by some neighborhood
kids.”

“
Did you file a police
report?”

“
Yeah.”

Mack put the tool down and walked out
the front door. “How long are you going to be gone?”

“
Just a few days. Wanna
go?” Paul asked, even though he knew Mack wouldn’t take him up on
the offer.

“
I wish, man. I got to work
tomorrow. Besides I would like to hang around and help Rachel
out.”

Another jab, Paul guessed, at his
unwillingness to help search for Sam. He decided not to even
respond.

Mack got into his truck. “Have a good
time.” He waved as he backed down the driveway.

Paul was glad to see him go. Mack
could be a pain in the ass sometimes. All his insinuating questions
were bugging him. He cleaned up all the paint mess and locked up
the house. Throwing a suitcase in his truck, he decided it was time
to get to the cabin and check on things there. He didn’t want to
keep his lady waiting any longer than necessary.

Lake Juniper, Thursday late
afternoon

Paul made a hard right off the highway
onto a dirt road that seemed to go nowhere. The more he drove the
truck down the endless dirt road, the darker it became. Not many
people knew about this area. It was mostly hunting land and
agricultural farms. He made a turn onto another bumpy dirt road and
after driving about a mile, it was like the forest opened up. His
little log cabin came into view. It was built by his grandfather
many, many years ago.

Paul was about five years old when his
grandfather bought the land. It was over fifty acres of hunting and
fishing property and came with an older cabin his grandfather
deemed uninhabitable. So they made it into a storage place for all
their hunting gear. It was decided the new cabin would be built
closer to the lake. Paul, his dad, and his grandfather built this
new log cabin by hand. Log by log. It was a small, two bedroom
cabin with a living room, fireplace, tiny kitchen and one bathroom.
The wraparound porch had views of the lake where fish were in
abundance. This was an escape for the men in the family. Now his
dad and grandfather were deceased and Paul was the sole owner of
the cabin. He brought some of his buddies here for fishing and
hunting, but most of the time he came by himself. He relished the
quiet.

Paul had plans to eventually add on to
the cabin and build an additional bedroom and bath. If everything
went according to plan, he would need the extra room.

Driving to the cabin gave him time to
think. He was ready to get away from the mess that was going on
with the upcoming trial. He had already accepted the fact he was
probably going to lose his job at the fire department. A job he had
held for many years with an exemplary record until now. No one else
would hire him. He would be lucky to get a job flipping burgers at
McDonalds. It was ironic he would get caught in a drug dealing
scheme. He was never one to do drugs…yeah, he smoked a little in
high school, but he was mostly a beer drinker. Never in his wildest
dreams would he think he would be caught manufacturing and selling
an illegal substance. Marijuana. Never. But here he was. Arrested.
Awaiting his trial for manufacturing with intent to sell, among
other charges.

He blamed himself, but he also blamed
Ken. He let Ken talk him into the whole thing. The promise of big
money and never getting caught is how Ken sold the idea to him. He
made big money all right. That part of the promise came through.
But he also got caught. So now Ken had ruined his life twice.
First, he took away the girl of his dreams and now he was going to
lose his job. And he had no serious prospects of ever having
another job. And who would want to date an ex-con? No one he would
be interested in – that’s for sure. So he had to come up with a
plan. To get the girl of his dreams back and have a life which
should have been his to begin with.