Marlow:Something Wicked

By Bill Craig

A storm is approaching Key West and something wicked is blowing into town with it. Tina Cord had been on the run from a psychopathic stalker when she arrived on the island. Then she met Marlow. Now he may be the only one that can keep her out of the stalker’s hands. Lola Ponsberry, Walter’s secretary, had also arrived in Key West running from her past, and now it has caught up with her. A maniacal child seeking vengeance has re-entered Walter Loomis’ life. Yes, something wicked has arrived on Key West. The question is, who will survive?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AbsolutelyAmazingEbooks.com
• Release date: Apr 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311056948

Bill Craig

Bill Craig taught himself to read at age four and began writing his own stories at age six. He published his first novel at age 40 and says it only took him 34 years to become an overnight success! He has been publishing steadily ever since that first book Valley of Death and now has 27 books in print or ebook. Bill is the proud father of four children ranging in age from 38 to almost 8. He has 7 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Mr. Craig has worked a wide variety of jobs over the years from private security and corrections work to being a grill cook and dishwasher. He has been a news reporter, done factory work and even a stint as a railroad clerk. He currently does customer service work to support his writing addiction. His ultimate goal in life is to break the record held by pulp author and creator of The Shadow, Walter B. Gibson, for writing the most works in a single year!

Book preview

Marlow: Something Wicked

BILL CRAIG

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ABSOLUTELY AMAZING eBOOKS

Published by Whiz Bang LLC, 926 Truman Avenue, Key West, Florida 33040, USA.

Marlow: Something Wicked copyright © 2015 by Bill Craig. Electronic compilation/ paperback edition copyright © 2015 by Whiz Bang LLC. Cover: Judy Bullard.

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For my sons, Jerimiah and Jack. You give me hope for the future…

Chapter One

Key West, Florida.

A tropical storm was getting ready to descend on the Keys. Dark foreboding skies, clouds pregnant with moisture, stirred by a spinning front. Strong winds were blowing in from the Caribbean Sea. It was only a matter of time before it hit.

But something else was stalking the island paradise besides the storm. Something bent on doing evil and with evil in his black heart. He had come to the island a month ago in search of his prey. She had led him on a merry chase from Chicago. But finally he had caught up with her and had been savoring the fact that she never even knew he was watching. He had made up his mind that he would strike when the storm hit. It seemed somehow poetic to him.

≈≈≈

Rick Marlow wasn’t having a good time. He had chartered a boat to keep an eye on a guy that was possibly involved with a boat theft ring. What none of them had counted on was a sudden weather system that according to the latest warnings from the coast guard was now starting to build into a full-fledged hurricane. The rough seas were playing hell with whatever might be left of his breakfast and he was pretty sure he wanted a cigarette desperately to calm his nerves.

He had quit smoking three months ago. There were times he didn’t miss it, but there were times, like the present, when he wanted one desperately.

Marlow was tall and thin, with the wiry build of a runner. His brown hair was sun-streaked. His blue eyes were clear, and a two-day growth of stubble covered his cheeks and chin. His body was tanned and firm, and he looked better than he had since New York.

Rick, we can’t stay out here any longer. The seas are running too rough, Steve Campbell called out to him, shouting to be heard above the howling wind.

Okay, Steve. Let’s get some reasonably dry land under our feet, Marlow called back. He almost breathed a sigh of relief as the boat swung around and headed for the harbor.

"Shit, Marlow, with this storm there ain’t gonna be any dry land for miles. How about you settle for land instead?" Steve shouted. The wind and the waves helped them, driving the boat towards shore. Rain exploded out of the sky as they reached the wharf. Marlow grabbed a line and scrambled up onto the dock, winding the line around the cleat and pulling it tight as Steve shut down the engines and then scrambled up onto the dock to help tie the boat off.

You’re no sailor, Marlow, Campbell shook his head.

I never claimed to be, Marlow told him.

I can understand why, Campbell rolled his eyes.

Let’s go to Captain Tony’s and I’ll buy the beer, Marlow clapped the older man on the back.

Julie’s gonna throw a fit, Stephen shook his head.

I’m throwing in a hundred bucks for your time, Marlow told him.

That will make her less unhappy, Campbell agreed. The rain lashed at them as they climbed into Stephen’s car and headed for Captain Tony’s. Normally Marlow might have suggested The Smoking Tuna, but it really didn’t have a roof and they wouldn’t have been any better off.

You think this will turn into a hurricane? Marlow asked. So far, he had yet to experience one of the deadly tropical storms.

It might, according to what the Coast Guard was saying, Campbell replied as he found a parking space. They got out and ran across the street, slipping into the bar. The wind blew the door shut behind them.

They moved beneath the ceiling full of underwear to the bar. Stephen ordered a Budweiser and Marlow ordered a Miller Genuine Draft. They sat there nursing their drinks. The storm lashed at the building, rain and wind lashed at the windows and doors, rattling them.

Why do you do what you do, Marlow? Stephen Campbell asked.

Thinking of a career change? Marlow grinned at his friend.

No, just curious.

I never thought about it really. I always liked solving puzzles as a kid. Dad was a cop, so I became a cop. After I left New York and came down here, working as a private investigator, I guess it was a way of continuing to be a cop. Except now I don’t have a boss, other than Walter of course, Marlow shrugged.

≈≈≈

Tina Cord looked at the windows as the storm lashed at them. She had a bad feeling about this storm, as if it hid danger that was coming. Rick had gone out on a boat this morning, trying to track down pirates that were stealing equipment off boats. She prayed that he was okay.

El Meson de Pepe café was full despite the weather, and she was glad for it because it helped take her mind off Marlow. It had been a long time since she had allowed anyone to come as close to her as she had let him. The last one had been a mistake that had haunted her everywhere she had gone since.

She still hadn’t told Marlow everything about her past, not wanting to scare him off. She would have to tell him soon. Rick deserved to know about her past. About the demons that followed her.

Tina sighed. She should have told Rick about what he should expect. For the past week she had had an eerie feeling that she was being watched, but it was nothing that she could pin down or prove. Nobody stood out as giving her singular attention. But it was there, like a tingling on the back of the neck.

Thunder crashed outside and she jumped, nearly dropping the tray of food she was carrying out into the dinning room. It was full inside today, the storm having driven everyone inside. Tina delivered the food to the proper table and headed back to take the tray back to the kitchen. Once more she had the feeling that she was being watched. She shrugged it off and hurried to the back.

≈≈≈

He smiled to himself. She was starting to feel his presence, even if she couldn’t spot him with his altered appearance. He always took special care to never sit in her section, but also where he could observe her unnoticed. He was enjoying the cat and mouse, playing with his food as it were. He had made arrangements that were keeping her boyfriend busy for now, chasing a theft ring stealing things off boats. In fact, the ring was working for him and he was sending the profits to his twin brother in Chicago. After all, Alistair was filling in for him at the scheduled probation appointments so that nobody would know he had left the city, let alone the state.

Alistair had kept everything back home running smoothly so that he could stalk his prey. When the time was right, he would take her. But first he wanted to terrify her. He wanted to shatter her the same way he had been shattered when she sent him to prison. Oh the exquisite delights he had planned for her when he finally got around to taking her and going to his hideaway in the Thousand Islands State Park.

≈≈≈

Tina looked up as Marlow entered the restaurant. She smiled at him, thinking he looked like a drowned rat. But he was her drowned rat. He took a table in her section and Tina made her way over to take his order.

Rough day? she asked.

You could say that.

You got seasick, Tina laughed.

I did, but just a little, Marlow smiled at her.

I think anybody would have.

Even the guy driving the boat.

Steve too?

Yes. How much longer until you get off?

About thirty minutes, Tina replied with a wink.

I’ll wait, Marlow told her.

I thought you might, Tina bumped her hip against him suggestively.

Marlow grinned at her and ordered a beer. Tina went to get it and brought it back a couple of minutes later. Marlow took a pull on the beer as he watched her move away. It was amazing how much his life had changed since Tina had come into it. It had changed for the better too. His drinking was under control, he wasn’t craving cigarettes as much anymore, and for the first time since he had moved to this crazy island, he was happy.

Tina gave him both a focus and a reason to change. She had helped him finish what Della had started. Marlow felt a small twinge of pain in his heart when he thought of Della Martin. She had been his first serious relationship after arriving on Key West. Their relationship had often been adversarial, what with her being a cop and him a private ticket. That sometimes put them at odds.

Della had taken a bullet meant for him, fired by a Cuban spy. Then a few months later, while she was still recovering, she had been covering one of Marlow’s friends, had arrested her for getting a guy killed. Della had then been knocked nearly senseless and watched that same young woman be brutally raped and murdered before her eyes as she regained her senses. Della had pulled her gun and blown the guy’s head off, but it was too late for the other young woman. That was more than Della could handle or come back from. So she had put some Art Pepper on the stereo and ate her gun while Marlow was helping get a teenage girl away from traffickers in Miami.

Sometimes Marlow still had nightmares featuring Della. But since Tina had come along, those nightmares had become fewer and far between. Tina had held him after he had awakened and soothed him until he was able to go back to sleep again. Tina had nightmares of her own, but Marlow never asked her about them. He felt that Tina would explain when she was ready.

Until then, he would let Tina keep her secrets. Because they were hers to reveal. He and she both knew that he could look into them if he wanted to. But Marlow had elected to trust her to tell him when the time was right for her. He took