Orchid Beach (Holly Barker 1)

“Yeah,” she replied. “You’ll like this, Jackson. I’m pulling Cracker Mosely’s security-guard an

d gun licenses. I told Barney to have them on my desk by noon tomorrow, or I’d come out there and get them.”

“Why’d you do that?” Jackson asked.

“He showed up at my office and demanded to know why I was running criminal records checks on his people; he apparently got a call from his contact at the state level. I concocted a story that satisfied him, but he was annoying me, so I built a little fire under Cracker. Then he called John Westover and bitched about it to him, and John came down to my office and asked me to change my mind.”

“What’d you say to that?”

“I pretty much told him to go fuck himself. He didn’t have a leg to stand on. Did you know that he sells Palmetto Gardens their vehicles, including the Range Rovers?”

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Jackson said.

“I want to get inside Palmetto Gardens,” Harry said.

“Yeah? How you going to do that?” Jackson asked.

“I don’t know. I was hoping you and Holly would have a suggestion.”

“They don’t use any local help that I’ve been able to learn about,” Holly said. “They seem to do all their own maintenence.”

“You know anybody who’s ever been in there?”

“Yeah, I have. Barney Noble gave me a superficial tour of the place, and I played golf out there with him once. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, except that some of the help were wearing guns under their jackets.”

“Tell me about the security you saw when you were there.”

“There are two gates, main and service. Both of them have steel barriers and tire spikes that are operated by the guard on duty from his booth. The guards wear sidearms and have assault rifles in their booths. Barney showed me security headquarters, but I didn’t go inside. He told me they had a lockup there, said it was like a small-town police station. That’s about it.”

“What do you think would happen if I went to the front gate, flashed my badge and said that I wanted to look around?”

“You’d be told that it was private property, and Barney would probably come to the gate and tell you you’d need a search warrant. He might give you the same tour he gave me.”

“Oh.”

“Why would you want him to know the feds were interested?”

“I wouldn’t. I’m just exploring possibilities.”

Jackson spoke up. “Might be nice to know who the owners are of the airplanes that fly in and out of there.”

“Good idea. Could the local tower give us that?”

“I doubt it, since they don’t land at Orchid airport,” Jackson said. “Air Traffic Control would have the registration numbers from the flight plans in their computer—Miami Center would be the place to call. They could also tell you where the flights originate.”

“Jim, you get onto that first thing tomorrow,” Harry said.

“Right,” Jim replied.

“Bill, you talk to customs and immigration. See if you can interview whoever they send to the Palmetto Gardens airfield when flights come in. I want to know everything about the people who’re flying in there.”

“Right,” Bill said.

“I could fly you over the place for a look, if you like,” Jackson said.

Harry shook his head. “I don’t think I’d see anything that isn’t in your aerial photographs. Besides, they’ve seen two low overflights already; we don’t want to make them nervous. Bill, while you’re talking to customs, find out if any boats have come into the Palmetto Gardens marina from out of the country.”

“Okay,” Bill replied.