Welcome to Hurricane Bay, Florida, where the act of arson isn’t uncommon. When a popular gay bar, the Flaming Flamingo, burns to the ground with bartender Rudy inside, fear rocks the Gulf-side community. Bar owner Peter Rotunda wants to learn who destroyed his business and committed murder. Soon after the incident, Rotunda hires adorable and sexy private investigator Axle Dupree to take the case.<br><br>Axle is a fresh private eye with exemplary charm. Not only can he woo the pants off his boyfriend Casey, but also just about every other guy in town. Soon a list of alleged suspects builds: wealthy Laura Monigal, who has a history of arson; mysterious faux-cowboy Clifton Monigal; a Daisy Dukes-wearing circus performer; and a “fluff” romance writer.<br><br>As June unfolds, conversations are sharp, road trips into the Everglades become overwhelming, and spying is necessary. But after applying heat to the suspects, Axle learns who the murderer is ... and so much more about his community.

Heat

“It’s about something else. We’ll talk about it when you get home.” I paused, wishing I hadn’t bothered him. I fretted telling him that his intern was an arsonist and killer. He couldn’t recover from that predicament, I assumed. “If you’re not with Bruno, where is he?”


“Don’t know. He has the evening off. Besides, I’m not his keeper.”


“Fair enough,” I said, realizing our conversation took a nosedive and my call to him had ended pointless. “I’ll try to wait up for you, Casey. I can’t promise anything, though.”


Before terminating the call, he said, “Hey, Axle.”


“Yeah.” My voice cracked and wavered with nervousness, which I couldn’t contain.


I didn’t lie and replied, “Not really. I just have a lot on my mind.”


“That’s what I thought. I’ll wrap things up here and be home soon.”


Chapter 49