Chapter 4
Willow had no idea what Charlie had in mind as far as getting Richy back, but she did as he asked. She didn’t tell anyone she”d heard from him. Not Mark, not Tommy, not anyone. She felt like it was a must; to keep Richy safe.
The next day, she walked into the police station to visit Tommy. She wanted to apologize to him for the way she acted. Willow thought for sure he was playing games with her to get back at Charlie, but that wasn’t the case. Charlie himself cleared that up for her, which was surprising.
“Hey there.” She went in with his favorite dish from the tiki bar and a card for the halfway empty shelf in his office.
“Hey, Willow.” He smiled, looking surprised to see her there. “Are we better today?”
“Yeah,” she chuckled. “I wanted to apologize for the things I said last night. I was frustrated and felt like my back was against the wall. I didn’t mean to offend you or hurt your feelings.”
Tommy leaned back in his chair and stared at her for a moment. She thought he’d say thanks and tell her that her services were no longer needed, but he didn’t. Instead, he got up from his chair and gave Willow a warm hug.
“It’s all right,” he said. “I understand. You’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. Sometimes, we all have bad days and our judgments get cloudy. No sweat.”
Although his hug was warm, she still felt the distance between them. Something in him was different. His feelings had changed overnight. Willow was conflicted but she couldn”t blame him. Had someone blown up on her that way when her intentions were genuine, she would have probably retracted her feelings as well.
Willow sat down on the old couch in his office and focused her gaze out the window. It was a pretty gloomy day in Sanibel. The sun was covered by clouds, the people walked around with umbrellas and raincoats to protect themselves from the drizzling sky. The air in Tommy’s office felt so withdrawn and unusual that Willow wasn”t sure if she should stay.
“Did you come here to talk about something?” he asked. “A new lead? Heard from Greg after last night?”
She almost let it slip that she had, but Willow remembered what Charlie said about Richy. She couldn’t tell anyone that she”d talked to Charlie; otherwise, Richy’s life would be at stake.
“No,” she sighed. “Anything new on your end? How are his parents holding up? I know they must be worried sick about this.”
“Yeah,” Tommy groaned. “His dad has been drinking more and more. His mom can do nothing but cry. I didn’t think this thing would last as long as it has, but now it’s getting pretty serious. We gotta find this kid. Before it’s too late.”
That was the truth. They had to find Richy as soon as possible. There was no telling if he was even still alive at that time. Willow hadn’t heard from Mark since the night she went to the resort and Charlie wasn’t much help either. With him, it was a waiting game just as it was with Mark.
“Have you been able to find the money at all? No clues as to where it might be in the resort? Talked to that woman you mentioned yesterday? Maybe we should talk to her together, you know? Scare her up a bit.”
“I haven’t talked to her at all,” Willow said. “It might not be such a bad idea if you did talk to her. Maybe if she knows the police are fully involved now, she’ll be prone to spilling information. I didn’t see her when I left today though.”
When she thought back to leaving the resort that afternoon, she realized she didn”t see Shelly in her office or behind the front desk. She was completely MIA that day. Willow even called the clerk from Tommy’s office to ask if she was in. She wasn’t.
“Do you think she got suspicious since I”ve been staying there?” Willow asked. “Maybe she talked to Charlie and he told her I was on to him?”
“Could be,” Tommy said. “I looked around at her background. There’s nothing unusual. She seems like a pretty straightforward woman who lives a legit life.”
“Yeah,” she scoffed. “But that all could have changed when she started fooling around with Charlie. You know, last night…”
Willow quickly caught herself. She almost told Tommy all about how Charlie tried to guilt trip her into feeling sorry for him. She almost slipped up and told him everything! That was how comfortable Tommy made her. It was so easy for her to get lost in conversation with him. Willow almost blew her own cover.
“Last night what?” he asked.
“Last night, I was doing some thinking.” She rerouted the conversation before she gave Charlie up and ruined Richy’s chances of coming home. “Charlie’s a really smooth talker. He’s always been that way. I think maybe Shelly knows where he is, he might even be staying with her, so talking to her might be a great idea. I thought I would get close to the night clerk and see if she would tell me what I wanted to know, but she’s a young girl. I don’t want to feel like doing to her what Charlie did to me. You know?”
Tommy nodded, even though he didn’t look like he believed anything Willow said. She felt like he knew something was up with her. He knew there was something she wasn”t telling him; he just didn’t know what. Or why Willow hadn”t told him.
“Well then, should we get going? We can head over and talk to Shelly and after that, maybe go for a cruise to see if we can find anything?”
“Sure,” she said. “Yeah, that sounds good. I didn’t see Shelly on my way out though. I’m not sure she’s at the resort today.”
“That’s all right.” Tommy stood up, threw on his sheriff”s jacket and said, “I have her address.”
Honestly, Willow was impressed. She wasn’t sure why—because he was the sheriff and finding someone”s address was a piece of cake for him—but she was. Maybe it was his ability to keep his cool even though he knew she was hiding something from him. If he were Charlie, he might have flown off the hinges about her not telling him whatever it was she was holding in.
“We’re taking the squad car today, huh?” she chuckled as he opened the passenger door for her to get inside. “What’s the special occasion?”
“Instilling fear,” he said. “When people see me riding around in this, they know I mean business.”
Tommy wasn’t cheery or chipper that afternoon. Instead, he was more serious and focused on finding Richy. Willow appreciated his will to get down to the bottom of things to bring Richy home, but it was a bit weird to see him with such a serious look on his face the entire time.
“I think it’s a good idea to stop by her place first. That way, if she is at work, maybe her neighbors will give her a heads up about the police showing up at her house. If she is helping Greg out with this, she’ll most likely have a change of heart if she knows I”m on to her as well.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Willow agreed. “I have a pretty good feeling she is home today. She seemed to know I was up to something when I showed up at the resort.”
Tommy didn’t respond after that. It looked like he was deep in thought or just didn’t want to talk to her much that day. She felt really uncomfortable sitting next to him in his squad car. Willow knew the distance between them was her fault, but she couldn”t help how it made her feel.
When they got to Shelly’s place, Willow was surprised to see how nice it was. She looked to be doing very well for herself, for being the manager of a vacation resort. The size of her house and the luxurious car resting its engine in her driveway was the icing on the cake for Willow. She knew for sure that Shelly had to have helped Charlie out in some way.
“Nice place,” Tommy said. “I wonder how she can afford this.”
“I was thinking the same exact thing. I think this is a pretty good indicator of her involvement.”
“Could be,” he said. “But, we won’t know until we talk to her.”
Willow thought about waiting in the car while he went to talk to her alone, but he insisted she go with him. He said her being there would add more of a “wow” effect. Willow thought so too, but she didn”t want to be caught in the crosshairs of Shelly’s rage if she decided to flip out.
He rang the doorbell and waited for someone to come answer. For a moment, everything seemed quiet, like there was no one home. But the minute Tommy said he’d go around back and see if there was any noise or movement, Shelly came to the front door.
“Sheriff,” she smiled politely. “Can I help you?”
She looked at Willow with the same smile, though Willow could tell behind Shelly’s eyes that Willow’s very existence triggered her. It was awkward for Willow to be there, but she tried to play things off as if she were just finding out what was going on through the sheriff.
“Shelly Batista?” Tommy asked.
“Yes, that’s me. Am I in some kind of trouble?” she asked.
“Have you done something that would warrant trouble?” he chuckled and removed his shades. “I’m just here for a friendly chat. If you don’t mind we come inside?”
She hesitated for a brief second, but eventually stepped aside and allowed them in. Shelly didn’t say many words to Willow as she guided them into her kitchen for a cup of tea, however. In fact, she acted as if she didn’t even know who Willow was while Tommy wasn’t paying attention.
“You know a guy by the name of Greg Baxter, correct? He’s been a regular at your resort for the past few years.”
“Greg Baxter?” she pretended as if she didn’t know who he was. “We see so many guests coming in and out, I”d have to check my logs to know for sure who you’re talking about. If you say he’s a regular, I”m sure I’d know him if I saw his face.”
Tommy pulled a photo of Charlie from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. She stared at it, glancing it over as if she really had no idea who she was looking at. Willow wanted to vomit because she knew Shelly was putting on an act. She knew exactly who Charlie was and she knew exactly why they were at her house.
“Oh, yes,” she smiled and handed the photo back to Tommy. “Mr. Baxter. He has been a regular with us for quite some time. I haven’t seen him in a while, though. You’re his wife, right?”
She looked at Willow with that cheesy grin on her face as if she didn’t already know who she was either. It took every ounce of Willow’s being not to tell Shelly off in her own kitchen. But she kept her cool and played by Tommy’s rules.
“That’s right,” Tommy chimed in. “Mrs. Shorts and I have come across some very concerning information involving her husband. We’re wondering if you’ve had any contact with him lately. Seen him? Know where he might be or who he’s involved with?”
Shelly shook her head. Her cool, smug demeanor was one that could chill the flames of hell over. The more questions Tommy asked, the more they both knew Shelly was deeply involved. It showed in the way she denied ever even knowing who Charlie was.