PATSY by Kenneth L. Ehrenthal (fantasy novels to read .txt) 📕

go down the beach for a great lobster dinner."  "You’re on, says Heidi".  As Sid sat in the restaurant he took a look, a long look at his companion.  Heidi's hair was pulled back from her oval face.  Her green bright eyes were so large that he seemed to be able to look directly into her soul.  They sparkled in the candle light of the lamp on the table.  For someone so small and dainty her small nose and rather full pink lips (kissable her called them) gave her a pixie appearance.  How could some one so beautiful and smart love him?  He sat back and smiled. "A penny for your thoughts", she grinned.  "I look into your eyes and they are sooo deep.  I am in awe of you.  Is it a cliché to wonder how you could love me?  "Oh Sid", she said, you have nothing to feel insecure about.  Sometimes it takes another to really help you understand and appreciate yourself."  In some ways I'm sorry that you underestimate how loving and lovely you are."  "Yah, but I still leave the toilet seat up."  Well, I said loving and lovely, not perfect."  "Touché' let’s eat!" 

It was Tuesday and Mary White walked into Sid's office.  She plopped her relatively large butt on a chair and sighed.  "I hate airplanes, I hate LA and Akron is no big deal.  In Akron I saw Alpert's folks. They really didn't want to talk about their daughter. According to them they rarely communicated.  They were convinced that justice had been served, but that didn't bring Margaret back."  They praised the work of the DA, especially Walter McGinty."  They called him the best.  They rarely mentioned Livingston.  That seemed odd to me, but that was their observation.  Take it as it is.  In LA, her other room mate, wasn't forthcoming either.  According to her, they really weren't friends, just room and rent mates.  She went out a lot, but she never mentioned any boy friends name or saw anyone she dated.  At some point the three of them decided to split and she thinks Margaret was the catalyst for the event, but she really wasn't sure.  By the way, from my observations, the Alpert's couldn't afford to pay or even contribute much for the rent on her new apartment.  That's it."
"Well", said Sid, "what do you think?"  "Besides being convinced that our client is innocent, not much.  But something about the McGinty thing smells funny."  "Thanks! Said Sid, Go home, get some rest, see you tomorrow."   


                                               
 
 
Chapter 21                        
 
 
Walter McGinty had two great passions: putting away the bad guys and golf.  He loved his kids and tolerated his wife of 20 years It was seven years ago, his life changed.  He had been perusing the ABA Journal when he came across an announcement of a golfing week in St. Croix sponsored by the ABA.  He had never played golf there and it whetted his appetite. He went home that night and laid it out to the family.  Each one had a different excuse to show little or no interest.  Walter decided he deserved this and made the arrangements.
 
It was the middle of winter and the lush flora of the islands and the warm sunny climate and the promise of great golf excited him.  With his carry-on on one shoulder and his golf bag on the other, he presented himself at the airport and was soon through the gate and airborne.  His plane landed in Miami and he walked to another gate to board the flight to St. Croix.  As he waited he looked around noting several “I stay.  Lawyer" types waiting for the flight.  This was going to be great, he thought.  While not a hansom man, McGinty was fairly tall, almost 6 feet and if he stretched he could go to 6 foot one inch.  He had open florid face and was about 15 pounds more than he liked.  With the golf and the heat, maybe he could lose some weight.
His flight was called and he walked down the jet way to board.  Walking in front of him was a svelte very good looking girl.  A girl he thought not really a woman.  As they walked up the aisle to their seats, the girl stopped and reached for the overhead bin.  She couldn't quite reach it, so Walter opened it for her.  She smiled at him, thanking him and then sitting down in her seat.  McGinty continued on and coming to his seat looked back.  All he could see of her was the back of her head, but he remembered how she looked as he helped her. 
 
The almost one hour flight landed at the airport at St. Croix and as he left the plane he was hit immediately hit his by a blast of hot air.  This is really going to be great.   He walked into the arrivals building he went immediately to the baggage claims to retrieve his golf clubs.  Waiting for his clubs to be delivered he noticed "the girl" waiting in line for the courtesy van which was the same van that would take him to his hotel.  The van wound its way out of the airport and soon reached the hotel.  The American Hotel was absolutely gorgeous.  Seven stories high and behind the hotel a white sandy beach.  Both "the girl" and Walter moved to the reception desk together.  "The girl" seeing Walter thanked him again for the help on the plane.  As they neared the desk, the agent behind smiled and gave a warm welcome to "the girl."  "Ms. Alpert, I’m so glad to see you again."  "Thank you Martin" she said.  "We have you room ready."  He hit several keys in front of him and handed her a plastic card.   Walter then asked her how many times she had been here on St. Croix the get that kind of reception.  She smiled and told him that all that was pure public relations since she worked in the travel business and inspected various property’s for her company.  "They go all out for me where Sarah, stopped. They want a good review and recommendation."  McGinty told her this was his first time there and was here for a golf tournament.  He wondered whether she could recommend a good place for dinner, since she obviously knew good places to stay.  Rather than telling you a good place, why don't you take me to dinner and I'll show you the best.  "I'll meet you down here at 6pm.  Walter got to his room, stripped off his New York winter cloths and put on what he considered his island garb.  It as now about 3pm and he would come back to the room, to change for dinner, after walking around exploring.  The golf tournament didn't start until the next day.

Sarah Alpert was growing tired of going place to place as an inspector.  Everyone in her office was jealous of her, but she had become bored with her job.  What began as a glamorous career was becoming common place.  That older man has seemed nice and gentlemanly, and she was also tired of pushing away all the young men that swarmed around like flies.  She put on her evening tropical wear and went down for dinner.  Walter came out of the elevator looking for Ms. Alpert.  He saw her standing near the concierge desk talking on the phone.  She was wearing an apricot colored wispy dress.  It surrounded her like a soft cloud.  She was kind of short and maybe a hundred pounds, soaking wet, he thought.  The part of the legs he could see were slim and she had very thin arms.  Her hair was dark and pulled back and she bad a lovely face, with apricot lipstick.  If truth be told, she looked about 15.  He walked up to her and she held out her hand.  He took it and they walked out of the hotel.  She nodded to the hotel bellman who motioned to a native cab.  When she sat down she gave the driver an address and off they were.  "I hope you don't mind that I've made all the arrangements, do you?"  Walter sat back in his seat.  'No young lady, “he said, why an oldster like me should question such a pretty lady who seems to know her way around here."  You don't look so old and my name is Sarah."  

Sarah took him to a small very noisy bistro.  The food was pretty good, but the noise kept any hope of a sustained conversation to a rare minimum.  He had joking asked if she was old enough to drink and she just smiled.  After the third tropical concoction the noise seemed to diminish. "Do you wanna dance?" she asked.  Why not Walter said, he could blame the drinks on any clumsy missteps he made.  After the first frenetic episode around the floor the music settled down is slow and romantic.  Moog moved closer to him and laying her head on his chest just began to sway with the slow tempo of the music.  Her eyes were closed and hers arms tightened around him.  When the music stopped they remained on the dance floor in a clinch.  McGinty gently parted from their clinch and quietly led Moog back to the table.  The girl was obviously slightly drunk.  Walter was fine; it would take a whole lot more of fruit and rum to get to him.  She looked at him.  He was really not sure if she could really see him.  "I'm going to order us some coffee." 

"American Hotel please", McGinty told the cab driver. He emptied Moog from the cab, half leading half carrying her into the lobby.  He sat her down on a couch and asked her for her room key card so that he could get her up and into her room.  Fortunately when he relived her key card from her bag and it was still in the sleeve with the room number on it.  They entered her room.  McGinty laid her on her bed.  He left.

The next morning, at the crack of dawn McGinty joined the 30 others for transportation to the golf course and the first day of the tournament.  The day was perfect.  At the course they drew for team mates and start times. The word around was that the early start times were best because after the sun was high it become really hard to play.  McGinty was in the third foursome to start.  His partner was a lawyer from Chicago.  The description of the weather and the golf course right on.  The lush green holes, the white, white sandy traps, the short Bermuda grass was cut right all perfection.  He considered himself a pretty good golfer; sneering at his partner was surely a duffer.  At this time in the morning a soft cool breeze blew in from the ocean nearby.  Walter did the first nine holes with, what he considered a 40.  After the turn for home, the night began to catch up to him and he shot a 48.  88 put him in tenth place.  His partner couldn't even break 100 and shot 105.

It was early in the afternoon when Walter returned to his room to shower and change.  Just after his shower he heard a soft rap on his door.  Looking though the peephole he saw Sarah.  Dressed in the Hotel Robe he opened the door.  "Sarah," this is such a nice surprise."  "Can I come in?"  You can if you don't mind coming in to see a half naked man, sure."  "I don't mind."  She sat down.  "I came to apologize for the way I was last night. I don't remember much after the second drink.  I really don't usually drink much."  "You were