Merderer (Book 3, the Cryptid Chronicles)

Chapter 1

Jeff Johnston stood on the gangplank leading to a single-masted catamaran. It was docked on the north shore of Key West. He held his beautiful wife, Julie's hand. Their fingers were interlaced tightly together. The loving couple was six months from retirement, and we're exploring possible places to spend their winters.

Key West was nice, but the real estate was expensive. Sure, they'd saved a lot, so they could likely afford a small place on the island if they watched their expenses. However, they could get a bigger house in Mexico or Colombia for the same cost. Not being a citizen of those countries provided them a few difficulties as well as safety concerns, but those were worries for another time.

Tonight, Jeff was only worried about three things: watching the sunset on the Gulf of Mexico, keeping his buzz going, and making sweet love to Julie in their hotel room later. They'd spent the afternoon shopping in the many tourist traps along Duval Street and drinking in its many watering holes. Julie had promised him that their evening cruise would have an open bar and live music. He hoped it was true because the band at Sloppy Joes was sounding really good as they cashed out their tab.

"I love you," Julie said, pulling him close.

He squeezed her tight, his hand drifting down to her tiny bottom. "Love you too."

"Stop!" She slapped at him. "People can see."

Keeping his hand on her butt, he laughed. "Let them watch."

"Seriously. You can touch it later."

"Oh, yeah. What else can I touch later?"

She rolled her eyes. "You have to ask."

"Is that a promise?"

"Yes." Kissing him on the lips, she took a step back. "So what do you think of Key West so far?"

"I like it." He took the hint and moved his hand up to her hip.

If he played his cards right, there was a good chance she'd fulfill her promise. It all depended on how much she drank tonight. If Jeff could keep her in the zone with him, then she'd let him do those things that only seemed to happen in a hotel room. But it was a fine line— if he gave her too much alcohol, she'd pass out. Too little, and she'd offer him a rain check, claiming she was too tired while she stayed up late watching silly videos on her phone.

Julie asked, "Could you see yourself spending winters here?"

"Maybe, but everything is so pricey."

"We wouldn't have to eat out every day. I'd cook. And it'd be easier for the grandkids to visit if we stayed in the country."

"But there's no way we can afford a place big enough to fit everyone. That two-bedroom shack we saw a mile from the beach was over a million dollars."

"They wouldn't all have to come at the same time."

Jeff nodded as the wind ruffled his full head of hair. "True."

He and Julie had two children, Allison and Justin. Both were in their late twenties, and both were married with children of their own. Julie couldn't be happier; she loved being the doting grandmother. Not that she looked like much of a grandmother. Jeff and Julie had married right out of college, and she'd gotten pregnant on the honeymoon, so today they were both a youthful forty-nine years of age. They were young for retirement, but Jeff was a mid-level manager in the automotive industry while Julie was a high school English teacher. He didn't consider them rich by any means, but they'd invested wisely, so finances were never a concern for them. Though frankly, Jeff was surprised his wife would spend winters thousands of miles from her grandbabies. Yet, it was something they'd always talked about, so he was optimistic that it would happen, and it wasn't like they couldn't talk to them in video chats between visits.