Sneak Peek At My Next Novel, “Death Lover”
Entering the Buttonwood Canal the first reptile we saw was a crocodile sunning on a log with its mouth open like a dog panting in the sun to eliminate body heat. At the water’s edge the exposed roots of the mangroves looked like bent stilts. Bird species beyond my recognition swarmed the trees. Shore waders foraged nearby. Unfortunately, the namesake flamingoes were slaughtered for their feathers a century ago.
Fortunately, mosquitos hadn’t returned yet. We had a week at most before they swarmed and drove everyone mad. Cruising along the canal in our power boat, a hundred yards in I spotted a skull on an embankment. Retrieving it required a tough scramble. The steep slope was created when the Army Corps of Engineers dug the channel. I lifted a mature adult skull. Yorik it was not. The sutures were closed, three worn intact teeth remained. Not a youngster for sure.
Where is the rest of him? Or her? No cervical vertebrae lay nearby. In separate locations we had located a femur, foot bones, and now a skull. Animals scatter the skeleton of exposed bodies. Once the flesh is gone they become disarticulated. None of our finds had a long enough exposure for that to happen. Yet we found no other skeletal remains. Someone had sliced appendages from a corpse and tossed them in the swamp. (I hoped they were dead at the time).
We searched the area and found no other remains. It was as though someone had tossed a severed head from a boat. It was an impressive distance for an Olympic shot-putter to launch a large object. The skull lacked signs of trauma, but it was hard to make this a death from natural causes. An explanation awaited. Meanwhile, my imagination ran wild. Our discoveries shouted, “serial killer!” Why else would body parts from different people be strewn around the tip of Florida? Who did the scattering?
We completed our visual search of the canal. Hal told me it was dug after World War One for flood control but introduced salt water to the coastal lagoons, discouraging freshwater species and creating a habitat for crocodiles adding to the inventory of reptilian predators. Of course, the pythons were the worst addition. The canal connected Snake Bight (no pun) and Coot Bay to Whitewater Bay. The coots disappeared after the saltwater intruded into their habitat.
Death Lover is the story of a medical examiner in Monroe County, FL (The Keys), who receives isolated bones discovered in the Everglades and begins his investigation into a spree of killings. The story also delves into the murky waters of local politics, while searching for someone who has an agenda associated with mercy killings. Keep a watch here and at Amazon for the upcoming release.
“To transform empathy into euthanasia requires an absence of boundaries. If I pity you so much that I’m willing to kill you I’m actually treating my own personal fears.”
