Joe thought back to where his mother had started her ill-starred acquaintance with Chuck Sheppard. “Do y’all have any Indian gambling casinos in your area?” Joe asked. “That’s where he liked to hang out when he was living up here, at the Seminole casino in Tampa. That is, when he wasn’t ripping off old people.”

“The Seminole tribe has a casino here in Immokalee,” the deputy said. “I’ll look into that. But from what I can tell, the last time Sheppard was detained, he was working with a couple of associates. A woman named Tanya Carnahan and a Declan Rooney. Do those names ring a bell?”

“They do,” Joe said. “Tanya Carnahan died about a month ago.”

“Natural causes?”

“No. She was murdered.”

“Well, damn. How about this Declan Rooney? I see he’s got a record. Any idea of his whereabouts?”

“Funny you should ask,” Joe said. “Rooney may have returned to the scene of the crime. I’ve got a witness who spotted someone who looked like him at a Publix right here on Treasure Island, yesterday.”

“That’s interesting,” the deputy said. “You think this witness is reliable?”

“If it was Rooney, he was wearing a baseball cap, so his face wasn’t very visible, but I think we’re going to go back to the store and ask for footage from their security cameras,” Joe said.

“Seems pretty surprising this Rooney character would resurface in a place where he just barely escaped the law the last time around,” the deputy said.

Joe pulled on his jeans and a clean shirt. “I think maybe Rooney left behind something the last time he was here. And he’s just getting around to looking for it.”

His phone beeped and he saw he had an incoming call from Vikki Hill. “Tell me your name again?”

“Warren Davis. Collier County Sheriff’s Office.”

“Okay, Warren. I’ve got to take another call. Text me your contact info, and any other pertinent info you have. I’ll get back to you about Rooney. And thanks for calling.”

Joe disconnected and clicked over to Vikki Hill. “Hey,” he said. “What’s up? Any word from Wingfield?”

“He wants proof that Maya’s with me. Then, he says, he’ll be in touch.”

“Okay, great. Did you call Letty?”

“I did, but she didn’t answer. So I walked over to her unit and knocked on the door. No answer. And her car’s gone too.”

“Dammit. I just left there, not thirty minutes ago. I’ll head back now,” Joe said. He shoved his feet into a pair of flip-flops and grabbed the keys to his truck.

“Okay, don’t panic. Maybe she went to the store or something,” Vikki said. “You haven’t heard from her this morning, right?”