The Black Palmetto Read Online Free PDF

photos of it had been made.
    Fletcher Spikes.
    Lonnie entered his office. “I did some searches on Mackenzie, the dude from Miami. He looks pretty suspicious.”
    Boozler leaned back and scratched his head, still thinking about the e-mail. “Yeah? How so?”
    “I didn't find anything. No arrests, no credit rating, nothing. Not even a driver's license. It's like he doesn't exist.”
    “Maybe you made a mistake. We saw his Florida license.”
    Lonnie shook his head. “Could've been fake. I think we should bring him in.”
    ****
    Sam sat at the table in the interrogation room and stared at Police Chief Boozler. A cruiser had shown up at the diner at 9:45 a.m. while he and Simone ate breakfast. They probably didn't have anything to link him to the murder of Jake Bell, but there was no telling what else they might dig up if they talked to the right people.
    “What are you doing in Iguana Key, son?”
    “I told you last night why I'm here. I'm searching for Sean Spanner. Surely you don't think I had anything to do with that murder.”
    “Have you ever been here before this trip?”
    “No, never, except driving through to Key West.”
    “You sure about that?”
    Sam wondered where this was going. He thought he could see something sinister crawling in the chief’s eyes, but wasn't sure what it might be. He shifted in the chair. “Yes, I'm sure. I think I'd remember.”
    The chief nodded, took a sip from his coffee cup. “Sure you weren't here a couple of months ago?”
    Sam recalled the murder Lora had mentioned.
    Without waiting for an answer, the chief got up, stepped out of the office for a few seconds and returned. “We had another dead body turn up a couple of months ago. Stabbed, like Jake Bell.”
    An officer entered the door and handed Boozler a file folder. He opened it on the table and studied its contents for a few moments.
    “Can you verify your whereabouts on April 6th?”
    Sam tried to remember. “I think I was refinishing my boat deck during that time. The dock master helped me. Give him a call and he'll tell you.”
    He wrote down the man's name and telephone number for the chief, who didn't seem very convinced.
    “Will he know where you were twenty-four hours a day?”
    “Probably not, but he saw me during the day that whole week.”
    The chief shrugged. “Okay, I'll call him.”
    Sam hoped he was right about the dates, and if wrong, maybe his friend would catch the drift and give the right answer anyway.
    Boozler made a copy of his driver's license and let him go after a few more minutes.
    “We're not finished with you, so stay in town. I'm going to check out this license. My Lieutenant said it didn't show up when he researched it. You better hope that was some kind of mistake.”
    Check all you want. That's one thing I have that is legitimate.
    Sam left the room and called Simone to pick him up. She said she was in the parking lot, so he went outside and spotted the car, the engine running, the windows closed to keep in the cool air. When he reached to open the door, Lora Diamond pulled in beside them and lowered her window.
    “I heard they rousted you again. You have a few minutes to talk about it?”
    “I think I'm all talked out.”
    The sun bore down on his neck, tingling his skin with ultraviolet wattage.
    “You sure? I'll spring for a beer at Chopin’s.”
    After a moment's hesitation, he said, “Hold on.”
    He got inside the car with Simone and said, “You up for talking with the reporter?”
    Her lips tightened into a smirk. “She's the reporter you mentioned last night?”
    “Yeah, she's the reporter.”
    “Sure, why not. Let's hear what Cleo has to say.”
    Sam lowered the window and told Lora they'd meet her there.
    Simone backed out and drove away. “So, you weren't going to tell me about her, huh?”
    He grinned. “I didn't see any reason to go into it.”
    “That's the only reason? 'Cause, you know, I'm cool.”
    Glancing at her, he wondered if she really was cool, or