Best-Selling and Award-Winning Author Serial killer loose on Longboat Key When a serial killer shows up on Longboat Key after a twelve-year absence, Matt Royal is stymied. The first woman killed on Longboat Key has ties to a secretive government agency for which Matt's best friend, Jock Algren, works. Was this a coincidence or was she a targeted kill? Matt's friend, Longboat Key detective Jennifer Diane (J.D.) Duncan, investigates the murders—but also seems to be a target of the killer. Why? And where has the killer been for the past twelve years? And why has he come to Longboat Key when his earlier kills were all in Miami? The mystery deepens when Guatemalan gangbangers try to kill Matt and J.D. and suspicions grow that Mexican drug cartels are somehow involved. The director of Jock's agency orders him to do whatever is necessary to find the killer because of the death of the woman with connections to the agency. Will Jock simply take out the murderer or allow J.D. and the law to arrest, try, and convict the bad guys? Matt's life is further complicated by J.D.'s growing dissatisfaction with island living—and her thoughts of returning to Miami. Perfect for fans of John Sanford and Robert Crais While all of the novels in the Matt Royal Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is: Blood Island Wyatt’s Revenge Bitter Legacy Collateral Damage Fatal Decree Found Chasing Justice Mortal Dilemma Vindication “A mixture of straight-ahead action and laid-back John D. MacDonald–style narrative . . . Matt Royal is definitely a hero in the Travis McGee mold.” — Booklist “This is a great investigative thriller with action that never stops. Every time one thing is solved, a new ‘clue’ arrives that completely transforms the face of the original case. Written by a superb writer who is the mind behind Wyatt’s Revenge , H. Terrell Griffin has once again hit it out of the park!” — Suspense Magazine “As comfortable as old clothes, yet relentlessly suspenseful and constantly surprising, Mr. Griffin’s latest in the Matt Royal Mystery Series confirms his place as a worthy heir to the John D. MacDonald tradition.” — Florida Weekly Praise for the Matt Royal Mystery Series “ Bitter Legacy is another solid cruise in the sun with H. Terrell Griffin. This story takes you in and holds you to the very last page. I enjoyed the ride!” —Michael Connelly, New York Times best-selling author “Witty, smart and highly entertaining. An intriguing mix of hopes and fears that combine into a pulse-pounding treat.” —Steve Berry, New York Times best-selling author “Welcome to the world of Matt Royal, the fun-loving beach bum lawyer who is as tough and smart as any character in modern American fiction.” ―Randy Wayne White, New York Times best-selling author “Full of Florida flavor and spiced with tension and humor.” ―James O. Born, New York Times best-selling author “This is an entertaining mystery . . . reminiscent of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novels, with a dash of Lee Child's Jack Reacher thrown in for good measure.” — Booklist H. Terrell Griffin , a former trial lawyer and soldier, is the award-winning and best-selling author of the Matt Royal Mystery Series set on the Florida Gulf Coast island of Longboat Key, and Vindication , set in The Villages of Central Florida. His novels have repeatedly been compared to John D. MacDonald for their setting, character, and style. Fatal Decree joins the Longboat Key series of Blood Island , Wyatt’s Revenge , Bitter Legacy , Collateral Damage , Found , Chasing Justice , and Mortal Dilemma . Fatal Decree A Matt Royal Mystery By H. Terrell Griffin Oceanview Publishing Copyright © 2013 H. Terrell Griffin All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-60809-122-5 CHAPTER 1 The corpse was floating at the edge of the channel that runs between Sister Key and its larger neighbor, Longboat Key. Only the back was visible above the surface, the body bent over as if tying a shoe, the head and feet submerged. It was moving north, its pace languid, matching that of the outgoing tidal current. Carl Motes was out early that Saturday morning, cruising at first light toward the Coast Guard station in Cortez. He was commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla based on Longboat Key, a small island off the southwest coast of Florida. He planned to meet his crew, have breakfast in the station mess, and head out for a safety patrol on Sarasota Bay. It was the first Saturday of fall, as it was measured in the temperate climes of Southwest Florida. Every year, between mid-October and early November, people wake up one morning and realize the humidity has dropped to the point that they don't break into a sweat simply by walking outside. Autumn has finally come to the peninsula, several weeks after the calendar suggested that summer had ended. The temperature will drop some more in the coming weeks, into the sixtie