“Do criminals bother with thorough cleaning before going on the lam?” I joked.
“This one does.”
The deep male baritone jolted me, causing Vera to drop the binoculars. They landed with a muted thud on the forest floor. We swiftly turned around, leaning on the rock for support.
There, standing between us and the canal, was Bruce.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Vera and I gasped at the same time, only hers was like a high-pitched squeal.
“Is that him? Bruce?” she asked. “What. The. Fluff?”
“That’s me all right,” he said, a sinister smirk on his face. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Bruce Doyle. Maggie, this must be that twin sister you were talking about. You don’t look anything alike. No offense, but she’s prettier.”
“Fraternal twins,” I muttered. “And I know.”
Bruce waved his beefy hand in the air, indicating that he truly wasn’t interested in my answer. Today he wore a sleeveless white tank top with sweat stains, and cargo shorts. Sweat mingled with the thick hair on his shoulders.
“It’s nice seeing you again, Bruce,” I said briskly, hoping that I could bluff my way out of this. “We were back here tracking a gator and didn’t anticipate we’d end up behind your house. Imagine my surprise when I saw your—”
“Save the explanation for someone who cares. I know you were casing my house then came back here to spy on me.”
Vera shook her head. “Not at all. We were—”
Again, Bruce interrupted. “I was following you the entire way from the police station. Don’t lie.”
“What? Why? How dare you?” I couldn’t hold my shock or anger in any longer. “You happened to see us downtown and decided to follow us? What’s wrong with you?”
“Creep,” Vera added.
Bruce shook his head and chuckled. It was a low, menacing sound. “I was following you on purpose. You see, a little birdie told me that Tyler spilled his guts to you.”
The background hum of the forest—the insects buzzing, the birds chirping, the occasional rustling of leaves—fell silent. I opened and closed my mouth, not quite believing his words. My eyes drifted to my backpack. Did I have enough time to reach for my gun... no, I didn’t.
Because the cops still had my gun for the ballistics tests. Hell.
I started to snicker from nerves, then forced myself to shut up. “Who told you what Tyler said to us?” I asked.
“Tyler. He called me after you two left. He was crying and everything, wanted forgiveness and money for a new lawyer. He told me what he said to you, and I put two and two together that you’d go straight to the cops.” Bruce lifted a shoulder. “That guy Tyler can’t keep a secret. He was like that other one. Gene. Can’t believe I came down here to this godforsaken place and did business with two snitches. Idiots. Gene and Tyler were the sorriest excuses for men I’ve ever met.”
Tyler!What a worm. No, that was an insult to worms.
I edged closer to my sister, until our shoulders touched. “Well, that’s unfortunate for you. Sorry your Florida dream didn’t pan out. We’ll let you... do whatever it is you were doing, while we go home, okay?”
I grabbed Vera’s wrist and was about to pull her away when Bruce took a step toward us.
“I don’t think so. You ladies are coming with me.”
I cleared my throat. How were we getting out of this? Bruce loomed large and was blocking us from the path to the car. “I’m sorry, but we have some things to do at the bookstore. We really need to be moving on.”
Vera wrenched her wrist out of my grip and folded her arms. She glared at Bruce. Hoo boy. The last thing I wanted was an angry Vera.
“Bye now,” I said, taking a step forward. Maybe if I ignored Bruce and showed bravado, he’d let us go.
“Nope.” Bruce said. His hand slithered to his back and came up with a gun. “You two know way too much. I’m not feeling charitable because I’ve had the worst time in this stupid town and I think I’m gonna take it out on the two of you. Since you two wrecked my real estate deal.”
I held my hands up, palms facing him. My heart wasn’t just racing, it was like a hummingbird’s wings against my chest. “We don’t know anything. And what we do know, we’ve forgotten. Or will forget. So, no harm no foul.” At this point, I wasn’t above begging for my life. “Please, just let us go. You don’t need to kill two innocent women...”