an said, holding out an envelope.
Stone pointed at the cottage across the way. “See that cottage?”
“Yessir.”
“Knock on the door and give the letter to Mr. Boggs; he’s expecting it.”
“Okay.” The young man did as he was told, and Charley Boggs received the letter. He opened it, read it, waved at Stone and went back inside.
“Business concluded,” Stone said.
“It’s not too early for a drink, is it?” Dino asked.
“Of course it’s too early. Let’s go to the Raw Bar and get some conch fritters.”
“I’m game,” Dino said.
1 6 6
L o i t e r i n g w i t h I n t e n t
THE Y WE RE HA L F WAY through their fritters when Dino broke the silence. “There’s something I don’t understand,” he said.
“Tell me,” Stone replied.
“What did these two guys get out of switching identities?”
“They made it harder for their respective fathers to fi nd them.”
“My recollection, from what Tommy said, was that Charley’s father’s response to being told his son was dead was that he wasn’t surprised, that he’d thought he might be already dead.”
“Yeah, that’s what Tommy said the elder Mr. Boggs said.”
“Which means that Charley Boggs’s old man wasn’t looking for him.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“So what’s in it for him to switch identities with Evan?”
“I’ve got two answers for you: the first, not much; the second, maybe Charley was just doing Evan a favor. After all, we know that Evan’s father was looking for him, because he hired Manny White and me to find him, and Evan and Charley had been close friends since prep school, so it’s the sort of thing one friend might do for the other.”
“Yeah, okay,” Dino said, “but I think there’s another reason we don’t know about.”
“What’s that?” Stone asked.
“I don’t know. We don’t know about it. I just think there’s more to this story than we’ve been told.”
Another voice spoke. “That’s what I think.”
Stone looked up to see Tommy Sculley standing next to the table. He shoved onto the bench next to Dino.
“I’m willing to believe that,” Stone said. “But from my point of view, I know all I need to know. So do you, Tommy. You cleared a homicide, and you know what happened to Charley’s—excuse me, Evan’s drugs. Aren’t you happy?”
1 6 7
S t u a r t W o o d s
“No,” Tommy said, “and I don’t know why. Did Charley ask you to let Evan’s old man know he’s dead?”