“Let’s get a close look,” Stone said.
“Okay, we’ll check every boat.”
Tommy’s cell phone rang. “Yeah? You’re sure? Where? Thanks, keep me posted.” He hung up. “We’re wasting our time out here.”
Tommy turned back toward Key West and pushed the throttle forward.
“Why?” Stone asked.
“Because they just got another beep about a minute long from back behind us. Looks like Keating’s boat is heading back to Key West. It also looks like Keating is using his cell phone only to make calls. When he finishes, he turns it off.”
“Shit,” Stone said. “You think he’s on to us?”
“Nah, but he’s sure being careful. If he was on to us he’d just buy a throwaway phone at the supermarket.”
“Okay.”
“I’d sure like to know what kind of boat that is,” Tommy said. “It’s very odd for a boat to be spending the night out at the reef. I mean, I suppose a guy might go out there to have a few drinks and get laid, then feel too drunk to drive home, but it’s not a usual thing to have a boat out there at two in the morning.”
“Maybe he’s meeting somebody out there,” Dino said.
“A drug delivery? That’s possible, I suppose, but the Coast Guard might notice two boats out together and take a look. Halfway up the Keys there are two balloons moored to cables that are fi fteen thousand feet long. They run them up and use down-facing radar to catch smugglers who are flying low in airplanes or doing odd stuff in boats. I think two boats out at the reef in the middle of the night might draw their attention, but probably not one boat.”
“Let’s make a pass at Key West Bight,” Stone said. “Maybe we’ll see the boat.”
“Okay.” Tommy ran past the cruise ship docks and the waterfront hotels and slowed as he passed the breakwater.
“Nothing but boats,” Dino said. “I think it’s too much to expect to get lucky doing this.”
“You’re right, Dino,” Stone said, looking around. “We’re just wasting Tommy’s fuel. Why don’t you let me fill up your boat on my expense account, Tommy?”
“Okay,” Tommy said, aiming at the fuel dock. They spent twenty minutes there filling the tanks, then headed back toward Garrison Bight and the yacht club.
Once Rosie was secured in her berth, they went into the club to get a sandwich and a beer.
“Stone,” Dino said, “how much longer is your law fi rm going to let you loiter in Key West before they pull the plug?”
“I don’t know,” Stone replied, “but I’m surprised Bill Eggers hasn’t already been on the horn.”
Stone’s cell phone vibrated.
“Hello?”
“It’s Eggers.”
“Speak of the devil.”
“Give me a report.”
Stone put aside his sandwich and spent five minutes bringing Eggers up to date.
“You mean you’re on an island that’s four by five miles, you’ve already spotted this guy once, and now you can’t fi nd him?”
“Yeah, that’s what I mean,” Stone said. “It would be nice if you would call his old man and get me some background on the guy—
how he makes a living, who his best friends are, anything that would give me a lead. This is a lot harder than you think.”
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do,” Eggers said. “I’ll call you when I know more, and I’ll expect you to know more by then.” Eggers hung up.
“Is he pissed off?” Dino asked.
“No more than usual.”
“You didn’t tell him about the cell phone.”
“That would just have raised his expectations,” Stone said, pick-ing up his sandwich again.
“So what are we going to do this afternoon?” Dino asked. “We’re sort of out of leads.”
Stone brightened. “Tennis, anyone?”
11
THE OLDE ISL AND Tennis Club was on the tourist map, next to and part of the Casa Marina Hotel, the first big tourist draw to Key West, built by the Standard Oil and railroad magnate Henry Flagler. Stone and Dino called Chuck Chandler, then dressed and drove over. They found Chuck in the pro shop.
“Hey, guys,” Chuck said. “You want to go hit some balls? That’ll give me a chance to look at your game.”
Stone and Dino had played together before. Stone had the better serve and stroke, and Dino was good at the net. Chuck stood back and hit against the two of them. After a few minutes, Chuck said,
“Okay, let’s play a set. I’ll use the singles lines.”
Half an hour later, when Chuck had won six-two, they took a break and had a soft drink.
“Have you taken the boat out yet?” Stone asked.
“Just the run from the Peninsula yard on Stock Island to the yacht club. It’s tough to get much time off during the winter season—I’m so booked up with students.”
“Are you living aboard?”
Chuck laughed. “That’s the only way I can afford the boat. I can’t buy a house, too, not with real estate prices the way they are down here. I’m comfortable, though. The old boat was a lot more cramped, and every time I bought a piece of clothing, I had to throw one away.”
“What did you do with the old boat?” Stone asked.
“I sold it to the first guy who looked at it. I think I may not have asked enough.”
“I’ve heard about the Peninsula Marina. Is that where you did the work?”
“Yeah, I rented a shed in the yard.”
“Did you ever run into a guy named Evan Keating in the marina there?”
“Sure did; I sold him my boat.”
Stone broke into a broad smile. “Finally!” he said.
“Finally what?” Chuck asked.
“We came down here to fi nd Keating; I’ve got some documents for him to sign. I saw him once, but he got away from me, and we haven’t been able to find him. Do you have an address for him?”
“No, but as far as I know, he’s living aboard my old boat. At least that’s what he told me he was going to do.”
“Where is he berthed?”
“I don’t know. I know the Peninsula didn’t have a berth for him.”
“Where did you keep the boat?”
“In the same slip at the yacht club where the new boat is.”
“Did you get an address from Keating or any other information that might help me fi nd him?”
“No. It was a cash deal, so I didn’t need an address, and, like I said, he was planning to live aboard.” He dug into a pocket of his shorts for his cell phone. “I’ve got his cell number, though,” he said, and he read it from his phone. It was the number they already had.
“Do you remember what bank his check was written on?”
“No bank. He showed up at the club with a paper bag with a hundred and thirty thousand in hundreds in it. I’d never seen that much cash before.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Yesterday.”
“The same day he checked out of his hotel,” Dino said. “At least we know what boat to look for now. What’s the name?”
“Choke, ” Chuck said.
“Can you describe the boat?”
“Sure. Thirty-two-footer, white hull, mahogany superstructure, twin screws.”
“That’s pretty small for twin engines,” Stone said.
“They’re small engines, but they give you a lot more maneuverability than a single.”
“Gas or diesel?”
“Gas.”
“Anything else you can tell us about it?”
“Prettiest boat in Key West, except for Choke II. ”
“Do you know anything at all about Keating, besides that he bought your boat?” Stone asked.
Chuck thought about it. “He has a pretty girlfriend, name of Gigi.”
“Anything else?”