Ed leaned over and offered them a hand but both Luciano and Farley reached instead for the ladder railing. After they pulled themselves on board, Luciano shook his head and said, “Nothing. There’s nothing down there.”
Ed pointed west. “The guy who made the 911 call says he found the boat over there.”
Farley stood and looked west and then shook his head. “He’s wrong. That area is too shallow for the Amante to have been there and the current doesn’t flow in that direction.”
Luciano nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we’ve been all over the place. There’s nothing down there. Time to call it a day.”
Brenda put her Kindle in her bag, positioned herself behind the wheel and we headed back to Ed’s. I said, “I’m surprised Floyd could have been so wrong about where to look. He paddles this area daily. I would have expected him to know where he was.”
Ed said, “Yeah, well. It’s tough to keep track of things when you’re high.”
We docked at what Ed liked to call Port McCarthy and everyone disembarked the Shimmering Sea . We said our goodbyes and I headed home.
When I arrived at the house, Mariel was antsy and wanted to go out so I asked her, “How’d you like to go out for a drink?”
“I’d like that. Bobbi and Jack’s?”
“I thought we’d take the water taxi to the Hidden Harbor on Ponce Inlet.”
“We’ve never been there and we’ve also never been on the water taxi. That could be fun, but wouldn’t you rather stay on the island?”
“I’d like to see where Brenda had dinner that night and find out if anything happened.”
“Oh, so this is business, not pleasure.”
I shook my head. “When you’re involved, it’s always pleasure… but I am going to bill Ed for this.”
“Give me a few minutes to shower and dress.”
More than a few minutes later, we walked up to the dock at the Riverview Grille restaurant on Flagler Avenue and caught the water taxi. It was a fun ride and we saw a pair of dolphins swimming alongside the boat as we crossed the inlet to the Hidden Harbor restaurant. The taxi docked and we joined the small group of people leaving the boat for the bar. Mariel and I took seats at a bistro table on the deck and I could see New Smyrna Beach across the water.
I noticed a young attractive woman taking an order from a couple on the other side of the deck. She seemed to be the only server on duty. I admired the view of the river for a moment and when I looked back, I saw the waitress delivering drinks to a large group at another table. I said to Mariel, “Wow, she’s fast. Just a second ago, she was taking an order on the other side of the place.”
Mariel said. “These are a lot of tables for one person to handle. She must be very good.”
I looked for the waitress and saw her enter the kitchen only to exit a second later carrying a big tray of lunch plates. I turned back to Mariel and heard a voice behind me as the waitress placed two coasters on the table in front of us. I looked down at her feet to see if was wearing roller skates. She wasn’t.
“Welcome to the Hidden Harbor. I’m Tiffany. What can I get you?”
“Two vodka tonics, please.”
Tiffany smiled and nodded. Just before she turned away, I pulled out my phone and brought up the picture of Brenda that Ed had emailed me. I showed her Brenda’s photo and asked, “Do you recognize her?”
Tiffany took my phone and looked. “Pretty. I wish I could get my hair that straight.” She handed back my phone. “Your daughter?”
“No, did you see her here Friday night?”
“No, but maybe Amber did.” Tiffany looked towards the kitchen door and as her twin sister exited, Tiffany waved her over. Mariel and I exchanged “We should have seen this coming.” glances. Tiffany pointed to my phone and said, “Amber, you recognize her?”
Amber took my phone, handed it back and said, “Yeah, Friday night.”
I asked, “Any idea what time they left?”
Amber said, “Hang on,” and