S t u a r t W o o d s
“What do you want?”
“Manny, it’s what you want. The FedEx tracking number, remember?”
“Yeah, gimme it.”
Stone recited the number. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
“So what’s your information?”
“I haven’t had a chance to call FedEx and track it yet. I’ll call you back.”
“Manny, the package is in the office of the Key West Yacht Club, waiting for FedEx to pick it up.”
“So it’s not in the system yet?”
“I guess not, but it will be.”
“I can’t track ‘will be.’ ”
Tommy and Dino were laughing so hard they couldn’t eat.
“Look,” Tommy said, pointing out the front window. A FedEx truck was leaving the parking lot.
“Okay, Manny,” Stone said, “the truck just left; it’s in the system.”
“I’ll call you back.” Manny hung up.
“It would have been easier to go to Miami and look for the guy myself,” Stone said. His cell phone buzzed. “Hello?”
“Is this Barrington?”
“Yes, Manny.”
“Your package checked out.”
“Good, Manny, now what’s the information you have?”
“Here it is—after a thorough search, the name Evan Keating does not appear on any hotel register in South Beach.”
“That’s it?” Tommy and Dino were in new paroxysms of laughter.
“That’s it.”
“That’s what you call information?”
“It’s what I call very hard-won information,” Manny replied. “My agent had to go to every hotel to get it.”
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L o i t e r i n g w i t h I n t e n t
“Okay, Manny,” Stone said, “cancel the rest of the search.”
“Whatever you say,” Manny said, and he hung up. Tommy spoke through his tears. “You gotta admit, it was information. Now you know where the guy is not.”