“Is the guy going to be armed?” Larry asked.
“He keeps a shotgun locked up, so he can’t get at it in a hurry,”
Manny replied. “If you can use your rifle from the end of the dock, that’s best.”
“Why can’t we approach from the landward side?” Gigi said.
“Too many neighbors to see you come and go.”
“What about people at the marina where the Whaler is?”
“It’s private and unmanned. You can sit in the car and see whether anybody is around.”
“This all sounds good,” Larry said. “It just came up today?”
“Yeah, a friend of mine in New York sent the guy, says he’s okay and …” He opened the briefcase and gave Larry and Gigi ten thousand dollars each. “He brought gifts,” Manny said. The two tucked their money away.
“You two had better get going before rush hour starts up,” Manny said. “Take the turnpike north; there’ll be less traffic than on I-95, and no trucks. I’ll get the check.”
“You’re a prince, Manny,” Gigi said.
“What are you going to do about the car?” Manny said. Gigi spoke up. “I’ll drop Larry off at his house in Jupiter and return the car to Key Largo tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll head back to Key West. I’ll let you know when Evan gets back from Connecticut, and we’ll get him taken care of.”
“I don’t want to go to Key West again, if I can help it,” Larry said.
“I’ve missed twice there; it’s bad luck.”
“I’ll see if I can get him to Miami,” Gigi said. “You’ll have a very nice payday when we get that done.”
The three split up and went their separate ways. 2 6 6
58
TOM M Y SCU L L EY S A T in the right seat of the amphibian Cessna 182 and watched the Intracoastal Waterway a thousand feet below them.
“You gotta get lower,” Tommy said, looking at the map, “and right now.”
“Okay,” the pilot replied, reducing power. The airplane, with the drag of the floats, slowed immediately and began to descend.
“Man, everything looks different from the air,” Tommy said.
“Always,” the pilot replied. He pointed at the map. “Is that the creek right before we get to your buddy’s house?”
“That’s gotta be it,” Tommy said. “That’s where the marina is.”
The pilot reduced power further and put in a notch of fl aps.
“Then we better get down fast; we’re nearly there. Watch for boats and other obstructions.”
Tommy peered ahead. The sun was low in the sky, and the western half of the waterway was in shadow. “Damn, we’re really cutting it close,” he said.
“We had headwinds,” the pilot replied, putting in another notch of flaps. “I see a dock up ahead. We clear of traffi c?”
2 6 7
S t u a r t W o o d s
Tommy checked ahead. A large cabin cruiser was moving south on the waterway, but was not a factor for them. “You’re all clear, as far as I can see,” he said.