Death in Her Eyes (A Mac Everett Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

beats longer than was comfortable trying to look through me, then said, “I’ve got trouble, son. Let’s talk.”
    Without waiting for a reply, he said, “Come on,” and led the way out of the gym picking up a red folder from a shelf. He led the way through a door toward the pool. We walked into the August heat, past the pool, where only wet footprints leading to a cabana house hinted someone had been there. We went down a wide gravel path toward the lake until finally we came to a large gazebo sort of affair built at the water’s edge.
    “Have a seat,” my host said as we entered the open wood frame structure. “This is my favorite place on a summer afternoon. No matter how hot it is, there’s always a breeze here.”
    I had to agree with him. It was sticky and hot, but out here by the water, it was downright cool.
    “You do much fishing out here, sir?” I asked. I was well past breaking the ice with this guy, but it never hurt to try. I could use a fresh start.
    “Most every day, I have a little Jon boat. Don’t catch much, but it’s a good way to relax and forget the past. History is a memory. You’d do well to forget the past.”
    I was about to give him an argument but thought better of it. Sitting there at a table, he gave me another hard stare. I’d had about enough.
    “Look General, I get that you want to size me up, but I need to know what you want of me.”
    “Hold on a moment, Captain Everett,” the general said as Norris appeared on the path.
    Norris came down the long path with a tray then served the iced tea.
    “You said you like it sweet, right?” He said as Norris finished.
    “Yes, sir,” I replied.
    “That will be all, Norris.”
    “Very good, sir.”
    We watched him go and when Norris was out of earshot the general said, “Tell me what you think of these.”
    He handed me the red folder. The rising afternoon breeze off the lake felt cool on my face. Spanish moss rustled in the trees and fluttered like ten thousand flags. I opened the folder to find three sheets of white paper. I held them down with the flat of my hand to keep them from fluttering away in the breeze. Each had letters cut from magazines. The first one read:
    WE HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED TO BRING YOU DOWN. ASK YOUR SON.
    It wasn’t a direct threat, but was certainly a problem for a wealthy man like Hunt. Ah, the troubles of the rich, I thought . The second note also made from cutout letters said:
    YOU WILL PAY. HAS YOUR SON CONFESSED
    The threat still wasn’t specific, but involved the general’s son. There was no demand for payment. That was in the third note.
    WANT THE SECRETS KEPT … 25 MILLION IN RANDOM UNMARKED BILLS … DATE AND INSTRUCTIONS TO FOLLOW.
    Now I was scratching my head. Maybe I would need that drink, twenty-five million for some unknown secret. General Hunt had a problem all right.
    When I looked up, I said, “Phew…. 25 mil! That’s a boat load of money, any idea what it’s about, sir?”
    I watched him closely and saw worry and something else, something he was suppressing.
    “Norris uses a golf cart to collect the mail every day. He goes down to the box by the road and then brings it to me. All three of these letters came in plain white envelopes with nothing written on them. They were about three or four days apart.”
    “Did anyone see who left them?” I asked.
    “After the second one, I installed a video camera over the mail box,” the general said. “The third note was left by some brat on a bicycle. Norris recognized him from Campbell, but when we asked the little snot about it, all he could tell us was some woman gave him $25 to put the three notes in the box.”
    “Any description of the woman?” I asked.
    “He couldn’t tell us anything except she drove a ‘fancy car’ and wore a big hat and sunglasses that nearly covered her face. It’s a damn dog’s breakfast Everett. What do you make of it?”
    “What do I think?” I said. I hesitated for a moment then plunged