Ring of Lies (29 page)

‘
Have you been to the island before?
’

‘
No, but I’ve heard of it.
Jed Bush, onetime Governor
o
f
our state,
has a place
there
.
It’s also famous for
the
Tarpon fishing tournament
held each year
.
The
town
is
name
d Boca Grande
.
’

‘
What
Grande?
’

‘
Boca.
It means ‘mouth’.
Grande means ‘big
.
’
It’s Spanish for ‘big mouth’ and comes from the waterway at the southern end of the island.
’

‘
Oh,
’
said Grace, and continued staring out of the window.
The
deep orange
sun
slowly
sank
toward
the horizon
as
Jack
brought the
Explorer
to a halt
at the
tollbooth
.
He
paid the
four-dollar
fee,
and then
drove across
the
swing
b
ridge
.

‘
Sand Dollars—
I wonder why Daniel chose that name
.
’

‘
I think it’s rather apt
.
’

‘
How do you mean?
’

‘
A
S
and
D
ollar is type of
burrowing
sea urchin.
The name comes from the shape and
colo
u
r
of the
skeleton, which
resembles
a silver dollar.
They are very popular with shell collectors, but pretty hard to find, especially whole.
’

Grace frowned.
‘
I still don’t
understand
why he chose that name.
’

‘
I think
your husband
was sending a message to anyone who tries to
trace
the money
. T
he truth of where
the money
came from is
buried deep, like
a Sand Dollar.
’

‘
Oh,
I see.
Will you be able to
find the house?
’
Grace asked.

‘
I memorized
the
zip code
from the transfer deed
and entered it into the Sat-Nav
,
’
Jack replied
,
as they crossed
another
bridge
.
‘
That will
take
us
right up to the front door.
The
island
’s
only a few miles long
.
’

Grace stared at the
large colonial styled
houses silhouetted against the setting sun.
No two properties
appeared
the same, although m
ost had wide verandas, and windows bordered with plantation shutters.
Occasionally
,
sh
e caught a glimpse of a lush hedge of
pink
bougainvillea, and a trop
ical garden filled with palms
and hibiscus
.

‘
I
t’s
not
the sort of
place
where
I’d expect
some
one involved in
illegal
activities to
live
.
If
I were a criminal
,
I
’d
choose the anonymity of a big city rather than some
where
as quiet
and beautiful
as this.
’

‘
It’s December
. T
he time of year when the snowbirds come to Florida.
’

‘
Daniel wasn’t into bird watching; he didn’t even like sport
unless it was
—
’

Jack
’s rich laughter filled the car.
‘
Snowbirds
are
what we call
affluent
east coast
retirees
who
come here to get away from the worst of the winter weather.
’

Grace chuckled.
‘
Oh, I see.
You mean old age p
ensioners
or seniors as you call them
.
T
his is more like millionaire’s
paradise
than
skid row
.
’

‘
E
ven criminals can be snowbirds.
Tell me more about Daniel
. D
id he have
many
friends
?
’

‘
There’s
Shaun
,
and
the guys
at the golf club
.
Most of the people he knew were business associates
or clients
.
He spent his evenings in the study
, although what he did in there, I have no idea
.
’

‘
What about his old college buddies?
Did he ever attend any class reunions?
’

‘
He lost touch with them years ago.
’

‘
Which means he
met
whoever
is behind this scam
through his
accounting
firm
.
’

Grace turned to face him
.
‘
Are you
suggesting Shaun
or one of the junior
associates
is involved too?
’

‘
It’s possible.
Whoever it is
,
has
business interests on both sides of the Atlantic.
Importing, exporting, that sort of thing.
’

‘
That could
include
anyone of
the firm’s
clients
.
’

Jack grunted
and turned off Gasparilla Road and
onto
Fourth Street.
‘
We’re going
to need a list of them.
’

‘
I
’ll
ask
Liz
,
as
I doubt
Shaun would
comply
because
he’d be bre
aching client confidentiality.
’

‘
Okay,
I’ll give you a number she can fax it to.
If we need more information w
e can always subpoena
Shaun.
Let’s hope
Sand Dollars
reveals
what your late husband was up to.
In the meantime, a
re you hungry
?
I
spotted a restaurant back there
.
W
hat do you say we go
grab something to eat
?
’

‘
Good idea.
There
won’t
be a
ny food in the house.
’

‘
It’d be interesting if there was,
’
Jack murmured.