BooksBarbecue
Back Loitering With Intent Save as PDF
Chapters (64)
  1. Stuart Woods
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. AUTHOR’ S NOTE

“Well,” Dino said, “I guess we’ve solved this crime. Except for the part about who killed Charley and where the cocaine is now.”

“Yeah, except for that part,” Tommy said.

“I don’t think Evan is our guy,” Stone said.

“Why not?” Dino asked. “I like him for it.”

“Okay, let’s say that Evan bought Chuck Chandler’s boat for the purpose of picking up packages at the reef and delivering them to Miami. Was Chuck’s old boat good for that, Tommy?”

“Yeah, I know the boat, and it was pretty fast. It also doesn’t look like something a drug dealer would use, it being an old classic and all.”

“But why would Evan hide the coke on Charley Boggs’s houseboat? Why wouldn’t he pick it up at the reef and just keep going until he got to Miami? Why trust Charley with a hundred and fifty grand worth of powder? Charley didn’t look all that trustworthy to me. And if Evan and Charley were in business together, why would Evan have to kill him to get the product?”

“Partners can disagree,” Dino pointed out.

Tommy sighed. “I don’t think we’ve solved this crime yet.”

15

15

THE THREE OF them had lunch at the Raw Bar. Dino looked across the table at Stone. “Why are you looking so glum? Are you sad that Charley Boggs is dead?”

“Well, yeah, since he was our only connection to Evan Keating.”

“We know what kind of boat Evan is driving now. How about that?”

“Dino, you remember the whole afternoon we spent in a rented boat looking for Evan?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Do you recall seeing anything that answered the description of Choke?”

Dino thought about it. “Now that you mention it, no.”

“That’s because ninety-nine percent of all boats in Key West are white plastic tubs. There aren’t that many 1930s craft around.”

“But at least we have a boat name now.”

“Probably not,” Tommy said. “It’s awful easy to change the name on a boat these days. You don’t have to wait for a guy to paint it on—you just go to a graphics shop and they print it out on a sheet of polyethylene, and you slap it on the stern of your boat. The whole thing takes maybe a couple of hours, and that includes lifting the old name off with a hair dryer. If Keating doesn’t want to be found, you can bet he’s changed the name of his boat.”

“Now I’m feeling glum,” Dino said.

“You’ll feel better when Genevieve gets here,” Stone said.

“She isn’t coming; she couldn’t get the time off.”

“Okay, so we’re both glum.”

“I don’t know why you’re glum; you’ve got the Swedish doctor.”

Stone brightened. “That’s right, I do. We’ve already made dinner plans for tonight.”

“Where are you going?” Tommy asked. “You need a recommendation?”