Chuck himself was memorable. An ex-marine who still favored battle fatigues, he had a four-inch scar down the right side of his face that looked as if it had been treated by a bottle of whiskey the night it had been inflicted. He rubbed his scar as he considered.

“Yeah. That day was not the first time he had rented a boat from us.”

“He was a regular?”

“No. But he had been in a week or two before that.”

“Has he been in since?”

“Not that I know of.”

She took out Matt’s photograph. “Is this him?”

Chuck studied the picture and shook his head. “No. Schiller was blond. He had a beard and mustache. I remember that much.”

She glanced at the rental agreement. “He took the boat for two days?”

“Yes.”

“And he returned it in fine shape?”

“He must have or I would have charged him more.”

“Do you remember exactly when he returned it?”

“No. That was four months ago. What did this guy do?”

“I don’t know if he did anything. Did anyone else speak to Schiller when he was here?”

Chuck shook his head but then caught himself. “You know, I think Timmy spoke to him. Yeah, I remember now because Timmy said the guy loaded a dinghy onto the boat.”

“What’s so strange about that?”

“When he came in to rent the boat he said he was going fishing. But then he told Timmy he was going diving with some buddies on the far side of Catalina.”

“So this Timmy talked to him some?”

“Yeah.”

A dinghy, Kelly thought, and felt a thrill. Matt would have needed one to get back to shore if he parked a boat in the middle of the sea.

Timmy was out back, filling scuba tanks. He had straw blond hair and a goofy smile, a cartoon character who had been exposed to drugs at an early age. He must have liked the look of her—he leapt up and offered his hand and told her his full name. Asking about Schiller and last February, she was disappointed when he drew a blank. But the mention of the dinghy stirred his memory.

“Oh, yeah, I remember him,” he said. “He was kind of rude. I tried to help him but he kept trying to shoo me away.”

“What kind of dinghy did he load onto the boat?”

“Can’t tell you the brand, but it was the inflatable kind. It came with a heavy duty motor. That’s what I helped him carry to the boat.”

“Did he tip you?”

“What?”

“Did he tip you for helping him?”

“Yeah. I think he did.”

“Then he wasn’t so rude, was he?”

Timmy looked mildly insulted. “Well, he did lie to me.” “About what?”

“His lights. He had these lights in his trunk, and he said he wasn’t taking them with him. But then later, I saw him sneak them aboard.”