“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?”

“He saw me play at Wimbledon, the year I, ah, fi nished second. Seems like half the world saw me fuck it up.”

“Was Keating driving a car when you met him?”

“Oh, yeah, he was driving a Chrysler convertible; that’s a common rental here.”

“Color?”

“Ummm, silver—no, white. Oh, and he brought a guy with him to help him move the boat. I spent an hour showing them around it. The girl drove away in the convertible.”

“Can you describe his helper?”

“A little under six feet, I guess, fairly scrawny. Full beard. Oh, and Keating called him Charley.”

“Aha,” Stone said, “Boggs lied to us.”

“What did you expect?” Dino asked.

“Want to play another set?” Chuck asked.

“I think we have to go see Charley Boggs,” Stone said.

THEY DROVE BACK to Garrison Bight, parked near the sport fi sherman fleet and walked over to Boggs’s houseboat. Nobody home. Stone and Dino looked through the windows. The boat was sparsely furnished.

“Can I help you?” a voice said from behind them. They turned to find a woman on the next boat looking at them.

“We’re looking for Charley Boggs,” Stone said.

“Haven’t seen him since yesterday,” the woman replied. “A couple came and got him in a boat, and he hasn’t come back yet.”

“What kind of boat?”

“Old, pretty; white hull, mahogany everything else.”

“Right. Do you know Charley well?”