“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.
45
S t u a r t W o o d s
“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, picking 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?”
4 6
11
THE O LD E I SL A N D 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?”