Finding Floyd by Melinda Peters Page B

starts to get
weird. He sent me to bed and slept on the couch in the living room;
at least I think he did."
    "You're not sure? What's with that?"
    "I don't know. When I got up this morning, he
was gone. His stuff was gone and his car was gone. The ice was
melted. It was as though yesterday never happened."
    "He must have left a note or sent you a text?
He didn't call?"
    "Nothing! No note no text, no call. He must
have snuck out in the middle of the night to get away from me. Men
are all such stupid bastards!" wailed Diane, tears filling her
eyes. "Maybe I dreamed it all and he was never even here."
    "There must be some reason. Maybe there was
an emergency. There must be a reason he had to leave in such a
hurry," she said.
    "Oh hell, I don't know," said Diane, rising
and going to look out the window at the back yard where a dozen men
were talking and stacking wood on what was growing into a
tremendous pile. "I never have any luck at all with men. You're so
lucky to have Jack." She sighed and shrugged. "I'll never find a
guy that likes me. You have Jack, my brother and Marsha are married
and having a baby, and John and your cousin Terry are engaged. I'm
the only one left."
    "Oh, Diane! Don't say that."
    She turned to Vicky and shrugged. "You know
John and Terry are coming down tomorrow?"
    "Yes. We all needed a little spring break
vacation. We thought you'd be lonely and bored with nothing to do
for two weeks."
    A musical ringtone sounded from Diane's
phone. She slipped it from her pocket, looked at the screen, and
frowned. "It's Ralph Spangenberg. Why would he be calling me?"
    "I don't know. I hope he's enjoying
retirement in Florida."
    "Hello?" said Diane. Listening, she nodded
and her frown gradually thawing became a smile. She looked at Vicky
and whispered, "He's driving up from Florida and wants to stay a
couple of days."
    "Great," Vicky mouthed in response.
    "That would be fine, Ralph. It's good to hear
from you. No no. It's all right, really. You know that Vicky and
Jack are here too. John and Terry should be here tomorrow. Let me
give you directions. Please don't use GPS to get here. It's not
accurate and will send you all over."
    Diane gave him directions, said goodbye, and
began to laugh. "I couldn't say no to Ralph. I guess I'm running a
bed and breakfast after all. Do you know that man has absolutely no
idea what GPS is?"
     

Chapter 6
     
    It was chilly and damp in the thicket where
Christopher Owen crouched, sipping his cold coffee from a Styrofoam
cup. The thin warmth of the sun hadn't managed to penetrate the
trees where he'd remained concealed all day. The gravel road to the
hunting cabin they had under surveillance looked deserted.
According to their sources, it hadn't been used for a few years,
but there were fresh tire tracks in the mud of the rutted road.
Agent Rodriguez was up there, somewhere behind the cabin. They'd
been waiting all day, with arrest warrant and handcuffs ready, for
their suspect.
    Owen had known worse stakeouts, but this one
was no picnic. They had a tip, from a credible source, that the New
Jersey mob boss they'd been sent to find was hiding in the deserted
cabin. He stamped his feet to stimulate circulation and looked down
at his mud caked boots. How long would they have to wait for the
perp to show up this time?
    He couldn't keep his thoughts from drifting
back to Diane. The girl had something that drew him irresistibly.
That moment, when the wind howled and blew powdery snow against the
window panes, just before the big tree came crashing down, had been
nothing less than magical. Rubbing his forearms, he shifted
position, trying to make himself comfortable. He was cold, but
nothing like she'd been when he'd found her out in the storm.
    Diane had clung to him, shaking, as he'd
stripped the frozen robe off her icy wet body and briskly rubbed
her down with dry towels. She hadn't seemed to notice that she was
naked, as his hands moved over her breasts, around her slender
waist, over that