“I’ve got two answers for you: the first, not much; the second, maybe Charley was just doing Evan a favor. After all, we know that Evan’s father was looking for him, because he hired Manny White and me to find him, and Evan and Charley had been close friends since prep school, so it’s the sort of thing one friend might do for the other.”
“Yeah, okay,” Dino said, “but I think there’s another reason we don’t know about.”
“What’s that?” Stone asked.
“I don’t know. We don’t know about it. I just think there’s more to this story than we’ve been told.”
Another voice spoke. “That’s what I think.”
Stone looked up to see Tommy Sculley standing next to the table. He shoved onto the bench next to Dino.
“I’m willing to believe that,” Stone said. “But from my point of view, I know all I need to know. So do you, Tommy. You cleared a homicide, and you know what happened to Charley’s—excuse me, Evan’s drugs. Aren’t you happy?”
“No,” Tommy said, “and I don’t know why. Did Charley ask you to let Evan’s old man know he’s dead?”
“Yes, he did, and for a very good reason: He wants Warren Keating to stop trying to kill him.”
“That’s what I figured,” Tommy said. “That’s a good reason, also, for him to come in today and tell his story.”
“Yeah, I guess so. But he didn’t have to do that; he wasn’t a suspect, was he?”
“No.”
“So he could have gone right on being Evan Keating, if he’d wanted to.”
“Yeah, I guess he could have. And gone right on getting shot at. Doesn’t it bother you guys that this all wrapped up so neatly?”
“I like it when things wrap up neatly,” Dino said. “It’s just that they never do.”
“Sure they do,” Stone said. “Sometimes. All right, rarely.”
“There are always loose ends,” Tommy said. “Only this time, there aren’t.”
The three men sat and contemplated that in silence.
“You’re a troublemaker, Tommy,” Stone said.
“Sorry about that; I’m just not satisfi ed.”
“Try this,” Stone said. “If you find out Evan—ah, Charley—did commit some other crime associated with the murder, Rawlings has already given him immunity for it, so there’s nothing you can do, anyway.”
“Yeah, that’s very clever of what’s-his-name,” Tommy said. “I think Rawlings and I were snookered.”
“Now, wait a minute, Tommy, I haven’t snookered anybody. I didn’t know what Ev . . . what’s-his-name was going to say until I heard him tell you.”
“I believe you, Stone. That means you’ve been snookered, too. Doesn’t that bother you?”
“It would,” Stone said, “if I knew I had been snookered, but I don’t know that.”
“Well,” Tommy said, “when you find out you’ve been snookered, would you let me know how?” He got up and left, without waiting for an answer.
38
STONE SPENT YET another happily exhausting night with Dr. Annika Swenson but got up early and returned to the Marquesa for breakfast with Dino, who was already having his on the front porch. Stone ordered, then sat down.
“You missed Charley and Gigi from across the way.”
“They left?”
“They checked out last night, luggage and all.”
“Maybe they were planning a cruise,” Stone said. “Charley said yesterday that Gigi was shopping for groceries for the boat.”
“Maybe so,” Dino said. “Think we’ll ever see them again?”
“Who knows? I don’t particularly care.”
“Are you starting to get free of this business, then?”
“Annika makes it hard to think about anything else when you’re with her.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Genevieve can be like that. I’ve been late to work a few times.”
“When do you think we ought to get out of here?”
“I’m good for another day,” Dino said. “Tommy invited us for lunch and a boat ride to nowhere.”
“Sounds good,” Stone said. “I’ll ask Annika to join us; it’s her day off.”
“Tommy and I will protect you from her.”
“Let’s get an early start tomorrow. It’ll take us about fi ve fl ying hours, plus a fuel stop in South Carolina, and I’d like to get to Teterboro by three or so, before rush hour starts.”
“I’m fine with that,” Dino said.
Stone’s breakfast arrived, and he dug in.
A LITTLE BEFORE noon Stone dropped Dino at the yacht club, then went to pick up Annika. She wasn’t quite ready, and he took a chair in her bedroom and watched her get dressed. It wasn’t as much fun as watching her get undressed, but it wasn’t bad.
“Annika?”
“Yes?”
“You remember, you said you treated Evan Keating for a knife wound at the hospital?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Do you remember how he paid his bill? I mean, did he have medical insurance?”
“I don’t know; that’s not my department.”
“Where was the knife wound?”
“He was raked across the ribs on the left side. The ribs protected the internal organs.”
“How long was the cut?”
“Perhaps twelve centimeters.”
“That’s what, five inches?”
“A bit less.”
“Can you find out if he had insurance and, if not, how he paid his bill?”
“Yes,” she said. She picked up a phone, called the hospital’s billing department and spoke for a couple of minutes, then hung up.
“He didn’t have medical insurance,” she said. “He paid with his American Express card. The cashier remembered it, because it was black, and she had never seen one before.”
“A black American Express card? That’s the one you have to spend a lot of money to get, isn’t it?”
“I think so; I’ve never seen one. Why are you interested in this?”
“Idle curiosity. Did Evan Keating have a beard?”
“No, he was clean-shaven. There was a girl with him, I remember—very pretty.”
Stone’s cell phone buzzed on his belt. “Hello?”
“It’s Tommy; Dino and I are on the way to the airport. Paul DePoo called, and the guy with the red Cessna is there, waiting for them to get it out of the hangar.”
“I’ll be right with you,” Stone said, and he hung up. “Annika, are you ready?”
She presented herself in an outfit that showed off her long legs and considerable cleavage. “I am ready,” she said.
STONE MADE IT to the airport in record time. “Annika, do you mind waiting in the lounge for a few minutes? I have to do this.”
“All right,” she said, and she went inside. Stone followed her, then found Tommy and Dino in Paul DePoo’s offi ce.
“The guy’s in the waiting room,” Tommy said. “Did you notice him?”
“No, I wasn’t looking for him, I guess.”
“And he’s getting impatient,” Paul added.
“Give us a one-minute head start,” Tommy said to Paul. “We’ll wait for him in the hangar.”
The three of them hotfooted it to the hangar, where a lineman with a tow was just clearing the doors with the red Cessna.
“Okay,” Tommy said, “let’s just be looking at the airplane, until he gets close enough to talk to. Dino, are you carrying?”
“Yep,” Dino said.
“Nope,” Stone said.
“Then stay behind us, Stone, and let me do the talking.”
“He’s coming,” Dino said, pretending to inspect the airplane,
“and I don’t believe it, but he’s got the gun case slung over his shoulder.”
The man approached. As the counter woman had said, he was medium everything, and his yellow baseball cap was his only distinguishing feature. “Can I help you gentlemen?” he asked, unslinging the gun case and setting down a leather duffel.