Chapter 71

It was the 28th of September, three days later, and Julie sat out on the pool patio at Twelve Gulf Wind Drive across the table from Rolly and Joe. David had prepared a sumptuous “welcome home” breakfast for Rolly to celebrate his safe return. As for her and Joe, they were headed back to Orlando around noon.

It was a perfect day, and Julie was admiring the yacht anchored in the canal. It looked pristine in the sun, at least on the side facing David’s house. It rocked ever so gently now, in sharp contrast to a few days ago.

Julie reflected on the power and the mystery of the sea. It had provided her with an escape and hidden her from a killer.

Julie realized now that the sea had saved her before…all those years ago on Castle Cay. It had been impulsive and foolhardy to dive into that deadly current after Dan, and Julie had barely managed to get herself out of it. But when the adrenalin subsided and her own strength was gone, it was the breakers that held her up and deposited her on the shore.

The other side of the coin.

She sipped her orange juice and glanced over at Joe. He was chatting with Rolly. It struck her how handsome the two men were. Joe was taller, a little more muscular. Julie felt a warm glow in places the sun didn’t reach.

David had gotten up...again...to see if the newspaper had been delivered.

“I just hate it when I can’t read the paper with my coffee in the morning!” he had said, on the way to the front door. “Oh, good…it’s here, everyone!” David called from inside the house.

Joe shook his head at David’s theatrics and smiled at Julie.

David brought the paper out on the patio, and they each helped themselves to their favorite section.

“Anyone else want more coffee?”

“Yes, please,” said Joe.

“Thank you, my dear,” said David. “I’ll have some more, too.”

Julie refilled their cups, and then picked up the front section. There was a headline on page two that read, “DRUG RING BUSTED IN BOSTON”.

“Hey! Listen to this, you guys...”

She began to read:

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office, has just released information on a stunning, multiple-location drug bust carried out on Tuesday, September 25th. The late night raids resulted in the disruption of a major drug pipeline into the Massachusetts area, particularly in the city of Boston. Although there were simultaneous raids in Southern California and Utah, by far the biggest prize in this long-term investigation was taking down the distribution conspiracy in Boston and its suburbs. In this area alone, the Massachusetts State Police and the FBI arrested 32 individuals, and 18 separate search warrants were executed.

“U.S. Attorney Campbell Burns said, ‘The Boston area has been plagued with this deadly drug ring for several years. This successful operation is the joint result of the cooperation between the Drug Enforcement Administration, the local and state police, and the FBI.

‘We owe all of these men our gratitude, but we are especially grateful to FBI

Special Agent Richard Lynch, who was killed in the line of duty. Also, our wishes for a full recovery go out to FBI Special Agent Sherman Dixon, who was wounded in this operation.”

Joe’s face fell as she read the line.

“Ah, no,” he said. “Sherm wouldn’t have gotten involved in this if it wasn’t for me! I have to call him. Let me see that, please, Julie.”

He took the paper from her, turned the page and took over reading.

“It says the drug ring was ‘orchestrated by the Tambini crime family’ and that ‘many of them were arrested, including Silvio Tambini and his son, Guido Tambini’. According to this, they recovered a big stash of ‘drugs, firearms and cash’, too. It says, ‘the charges, if upheld, can carry anywhere from ten years to life in prison’.”

Joe paused, scanning for more information.

“Shit…listen to this,” he said.

“All the federal grand jury indictments were served, except for one related to money laundering, which charged Avram Solomon, a Boston businessman, under RICO, the ‘Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act’.”

“Except? What does that mean?”

“It means they didn’t find him, Merlin. It means he got away.”

* * * * *