Stone interrupted. “I should tell you that the FBI lab has confi rmed that Harry Keating died of thallium poisoning, a source of which was found in Warren Keating’s garden shed, and that prior to Evan’s visit to the police, he received a gunshot wound from a sniper, so he had good reason to fear for his life.”

“I thought that if my father heard that I had been killed, as Charley had been, he would stop trying to kill me,” Evan said.

“How did you come to be acquainted with Charles Boggs?”

Myers asked.

“We attended prep school together and were close friends until after we left college. After that, we lost track of each other, until I came to Key West and ran into him.”

“Where did you run into him?”

“At a bar on Duval Street. I didn’t recognize him at fi rst, because he had grown a beard.”

“Did you go into the drug business with Charley Boggs?”

“No, I did not. I realized early on that Charley was using cocaine, because he offered me some, which I declined, but I didn’t suspect he was dealing until I saw him hiding something on his boat that appeared to be packets of drugs.”

“How did you come to kill Charley Boggs?”

Stone interrupted. “Are you aware that Evan has received a guarantee of immunity from the county attorney which covers that incident?”

“I am,” Myers replied.

“Will you guarantee that you will not prosecute Evan for anything associated with the death of Charley Boggs?”

“Yes, since he has already told me that he was not dealing drugs. If he tells me anything to contradict that, I may reconsider.”

Stone nodded to Evan.

“Gigi and I, perhaps foolishly, removed drugs hidden on Charley’s houseboat and on his motorcycle and disposed of them in the sea off Key West. I had hoped to reason with him, to stop him from dealing. As you might imagine, Charley was upset with us, and an argument ensued. He seemed convinced that Gigi had persuaded me to get rid of the drugs, which wasn’t so, and he produced a gun and pointed it at her. He racked the slide, and I could see that the safety was off.

“I picked up another gun of Charley’s that was lying on a kitchen counter and pointed it at him. He fired a shot at Gigi, which missed, and I shot him before he could fire again. We disposed of both guns in the sea, off Key West.”

“And you never, at any time, bought or sold any drugs?”

“We did not, at any time.”

“Evan,” Stone said, “did Charley Boggs earlier infl ict a knife wound on you?”

“Yes, he did,” Evan replied, patting his ribs on his left side. “I’ll show you the wound, if you like.”

Stone interrupted. “So you see, Evan had good reason to fear violence from Charley Boggs.”