Читать книгу Evil in Paradise - R. B. Conroy - Страница 7

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The Villages, Florida, 2011

The huge red-orange sun dropped slowly beneath the distant palms, rays of sunlight filtered through the gangly trees and glistened on a nearby lake. A gentle breeze rippled across the water, pushing tall, willowy reeds into a rhythmic dance. Ed Roberts stood still on the sixth green, putter in hand, admiring the beautiful scene. He was shaken out of his temporary trance by the jabbing voice of his playing partner.

“Hit the ball, Ed! We don’t have all night, ya know. I told the little lady I’d take her out for ribs tonight at 6:30. It’s 5:35 and we still have three holes to play.”

Ed Roberts chuckled at the barbs from his old friend. Then he quickly fired back one of his own, “Then why did you insist on playing Pelican? The Mississippi River doesn’t hold as much water as this place!”

“Because I like a challenge, that’s why,” Dave groused. “Besides, it’s close to home.”

Ed shook his head. “Okay, let’s play ready golf then. When you get to your ball, just hit it.”

“Okay, ready golf it is. And, how about just a couple of practice swings, Ed. You act like you’re playing the U. S. Open or something.”

“Okay, okay.” Ed loved his friend Dave, even if he could be irascible at times. They had been the best of friends since their high school days at Wawasee High School in Syracuse, Indiana, where they played football and basketball together. The stubby Dave was a tenacious, ball-hawking, little guard who made life miserable for whomever he was defending and Ed was a tall, lean, forward with great hand-eye coordination and exceptional leaping ability. Together, they led the Wawasee Warriors to a Regional Basketball Champion-ship title in 1963-a huge accomplishment for a small town in Indiana. Their friendship extended on into adulthood with Ed attending Ball State University where he was a four year starter in basketball while majoring in Business Administration, and Dave, attending Purdue where he received a degree in Pharmacy. After college, they both settled in their hometown of Syracuse and resumed their friendship. Ed eventually became President of First Bank and Trust and Dave worked as a pharmacist at a local drug store. After raising their families together, the two of them, along with their wives, Cathy and Sally, who were also best friends, decided to retire to The Villages, a huge retirement community in north central Florida. They had been living at The Villages for nearly five years. Known as the “Disney World for Adults”, life had been good for the Roberts at The Villages, at least so far.

The deliberate Ed shaded his eyes from the nasty glare filtering between the palms and lined up his putt. Then he stroked the ball and watched it slide two feet past the hole.

“The two-footer is good,” Dave chortled.

“Gee, you’re all heart.”

“Six is enough for anybody.”

“Yeah, and you got a three footer for a four.”

“Eat your heart out!”

Ed had always been the better athlete of the two with his graceful motions and tall, muscular physique, but the stubby Dave wasn’t going to let that happen with golf. His short, five foot seven frame was better suited for the game than Ed’s six foot three torso. As a result, Dave had become the better golfer of the two. He maintained an impressive six handicap, while Ed’s was a respectable twelve.

He took his stance, wiggled his backside and quickly rammed the short putt in the hole.

“Nice putt, sandbagger. So, what do I owe you?”

Dave slid the scorecard and small, green pencil from his back pocket, and scribbled down the scores. “Let’s see, I won three holes and you won one.”

“So, I owe you four bucks.”

“Not so fast, it’s double on birds, remember? I birdied the second hole.”

Ed lifted his money clip from the mesh sack on the side of his bag and peeled off six bills and handed them to Dave.

Dave snatched the money from his friend, the corner of his mouth turned up in a mocking grin. “You should let me give you strokes. I get tired of taking your money all the time.”

“I like donating. You look needy.”

Dave laughed; he loved the friendly teasing between the old friends. “I don’t have the money you have, that’s for sure.”

“It’s a little after six, Dave, I think you’re going to make it to dinner if you get your butt in gear.”

“Wish you could join us, buddy, we have room, you know.”

“Thanks, Dave, but Cathy has tennis again this evening. It’s mixed doubles tonight.”

“Mixed doubles and you’re not there?”

“With my bad back I can’t play that game, it’s too fast. Wish I could.”

“Cathy must love it-seems like she has a tennis match going all the time. We never see her anymore.” Dave held his eyes on his friend, begging more information.

Ed noticed the increased attention and explained, “I know. I don’t see her much either.” Ed’s voice lacked its normal enthusiastic tone.

Cathy was becoming more and more involved with tennis and had become one of the best female players in The Villages. As a result, their social life was suffering. At least his was. She seemed to be coming home more and more often with the smell of alcohol on her breath. When he mentioned it to her, she would just flippantly tell him that she liked to have an occasional drink with the girls after tennis, just like he liked to have a beer after golfing with the guys.

Dave slipped off his glove and stuck it in his bag. “Sally misses Cathy.”

“She misses you guys too. She said to tell you ‘hi’ and she hopes we can all get together soon.” Ed was spinning the truth just a little. Cathy seemed about as interested in their friends as she was in him lately. He didn’t want to offend his friend, so he fibbed.

Dave dropped his putter in his bag and smiled, “See ya at Lopez tomorrow. Ten o’clock sharp and don’t be late. Bob and Pudge will be joining us.”

“Am I ever late?”

“No, and that’s because I always remind you not to be!”

“Kiss this, shorty!” A smiling Ed jabbed his finger at his protruding backside.

His old friend roared in laughter as he hopped in his golf cart. Ed watched him pull away from the ninth green and head for the street for his short trip home to Sunset Pointe Village. He was envious of Dave and his wife. They had a very close relationship and enjoyed doing things together. He longed for the old days when he and Cathy would play golf with Dave and Sally on Saturday afternoons and then go to dinner. Ed felt lonely as he bent over to stuff his ball and tees in his bag.

“Hello, stranger. Where’s that foxy wife of yours?”

Ed looked up from his bag to see a fast approaching Ann Southworth, a classmate and former girlfriend from his school boy days in Indiana. She pulled her cart close to Ed’s and jerked to a stop. Her still shapely legs extended out from under her short, pink, golf skirt. A little more than necessary, Ed thought. “How are you, Ann? What a surprise.”

“I’m fine, just finished playing nine with Sue and Laurie. I thought I saw you over here with Dave Mann. Wasn’t that Dave?”

“Yes, it sure was.”

“Is Cathy doing her tennis thing this evening?” Ann was now sitting very erect in her seat, eyeing Ed with scorching intent.

“What else?”

Ann studied his face for a moment and then replied, “Me and the girls are going to Cane Gardens Country Club and have a drinky-pooh or two. Why don’t you join us?”

Ed liked the ever-improving vision in front of him. The invitation sounded very tempting

Ann noticed the hesitation. “Wouldn’t hurt to have a quick drink with some old friends, Ed. It doesn’t look like you have much else to do.”

Ed’s relationship with Ann so many years ago had been torrid at times and he didn’t want to stir up those old feelings again. He felt it would be better to beg off and leave this situation alone. “Better not, I’m in the middle of a project at home and I need to finish it up tonight.”

Ann batted her eyes, “All work and no play makes for a dull boy.”

Ed smiled, “Maybe some other time, tell the girls I said hi.”

Ann scowled, “You always were such an upright guy!” She exhaled with exasperation and laid her hand gently on his forearm. “But, we had our moments.”

Ed’s stare locked on his old girlfriend for an instant. “Yes, we certainly did, Ann. How’s Frank doing?”

Ann pulled her hand back, her shoulders slumped. The reference to her husband had taken the wind out of her sails. “He’s home recouping from hernia surgery.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“Think so; he doesn’t say much, ya know.”

“Tell him hi for me, will you?”

“Sure, Ed. See you around.”

“Good-bye, Ann.”

Once again Ed stood and watched as an old friend pulled away from him. Alone again, he slipped the head cover over his TaylorMade driver and slid into the driver’s seat. He lifted his sunglasses from the console and stuck them on. He crammed the cart into gear and slowly accelerated down the cart path toward Sunset Pointe Boulevard. Ed and Cathy lived in Lake Miona at Bridgeport, an upscale neighborhood just north of Lake Sumter Landing, one of two large town squares in The Villages.

A short time later, Ed exited onto Bailey Trail and, after a brief ride on Bailey, he darted left across the approaching lane and sped toward Buena Vista Boulevard, one of the two main arteries in The Villages. A few seconds later, Ed braked hard and ducked into a short dark tunnel that took him under the road to the other side of Buena Vista. He climbed the steep hill on the far side of the tunnel and gunned it down the wide asphalt cart path toward Lake Sumter Landing.

Minutes later, Ed eased off the accelerator as he approached the next tunnel that would take him under Stillwater Trail and back to Buena Vista Drive. As usual, he was taken aback by the beautiful landscaping that surrounded the area at the Stillwater exit, one of the main entryways into Lake Sumter Landing. As he slowed down, Ed could hear “Old Time Rock and Roll,” one of his favorite rock tunes, blasting out from the center of Lake Sumter. Ed decided at the last second to take a right at the end of the tunnel and make a run through the town square, instead of going home. His favorite group “Rocky and the Rollers” was playing tonight. He thought it might be fun to stop and take in a few tunes. His excitement grew as he turned onto Stillwater and drove toward the bright lights and hard hitting sounds of the busy town square.

Lake Sumter Landing was composed of dozens of shops and restaurants, along with a movie theater showing the latest releases, and several popular drinking establishments. In the center of the square was a large gazebo that was surrounded by an ample dance area. A different band performed in the gazebo each night, filling the air with the pounding sounds of rock and roll music. When they first moved to The Villages, Ed and Cathy would go dancing at Lake Sumter almost every evening, and Ed loved it. Just like in athletics, Ed was smooth and graceful on the dance floor, but those were the old days before tennis. Tonight, as he approached the square; Ed would be alone-alone with the memories of better days.