Finished Fr 3/15/19
This is one of my ancient paperbacks that I bought at the library book sale on Fr 6/13/97 and had never read.
According to the cover, it is the No. #13 of the Travis McGee Series
I enjoy all of the the McGees series and everything MacDonald writes.
Meyer Meyer- Travis's Economist friend. His boat is the John Maynard Keynes
Travis's boat is The Busted Flush
Travis drives a Rolls Royce pickup that he calls 'Miss Agnes'
Travis is approached by Hary Broll who is distressed about his missing wife, Mary, and he's sure that Travis is behind her disappearance. He pulls a small handgun, and nearly wounds Travis in the foot.
Broll says that he needs Mary's signature so that he can close a very lucrative real estate deal.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED:
Paul Dissat is a criminal sociopath who works in the real estate company. He is a very fit and feminine looking man. He is scheming to get all of the money Harry Broll is to make.
Dissat has already killed Mary, but he has set up one of Harry's girlfriends to go to Grenada and stay at a beachfront cottage and pretend that she is Mary.
Harry learns that Mary is supposedly alive and well in Grenada, but something tells him that he must go and check it out.
SUBPLOT:
Travis has been involved with a beautiful rich woman, Jillian. She has offered to have Travis live with her as her 'boy toy'. Travis is agonizing about what he would have to give up in order to become a very rich man of leisure. And, also he is beginning to question his whole relation to women in general.
The girl playing Mary in Grenada is Harry's Canadian girlfriend, Lisa. When Harry locates her cottage she is with a thug and Harry beats him up. Lisa throws herself at Harry, but Harry will not take the bait. Again, more agonizing about his relationship to women.
Later, Paul Dissat shows up and blindsides Harry. Paul takes Harry to the beach and secures Harry with wire, so tight that his hands and feet are almost useless.
Paul has Lisa buried at the shoreline buried up to her neck. He wants Harry to witness her death as the tide comes in. Harry flops into the water and is carried out to sea by the riptide. He is rescued by a sailing ship full of naked women who are hired to 'take care' of rich customers. Harry knows the women and the female captain of this ship.
THE TITLE OF THE NOVEL:
It refers to Lisa's death..."I saw the spume of sand drifting out of her open mouth, like a strange cartoon balloon, a message without sound. A sandy, tan farewell".
Travis and Meyer return to the mainline and are lured to an abandoned gravel pit. They think that they are meeting the head of the company to give this man the information about Paul. But, it's all been arranged by Paul and he overpowers Travis and Meyer.
Paul has already killed Harry Broll and encapsulated his body in hot asphalt. This is the fate of Meyer and Travis, but Travis gets the drop on Paul, beats his legs until they are useless, and then Paul takes 'an asphalt swim'.
In the end of the novel, Jeannie Dolan comes to visit Travis. This woman helped Travis locate Mary Droll when she was missing. Jeannie is looking to change her life, and Harry is looking to get his life back. I guess he needs to get back into his blameless and guilt-free playboy lifestyle.
Essentially, Travis and Jeannie sail away together and Travis is still questioning his romantic self.
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