“Of course, sir,” the guard said. He beckoned to his supervisor and whispered a few words in his ear.
The supervisor smiled. “Will you come with me, please, sir?”
Manny put on his shoes and belt, collected his carry-on and followed the man. How could he have forgotten about the form?
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The supervisor opened a door and ushered him into a small room, where a man in a business suit with a plastic I.D. clipped to the pocket waited. The supervisor gave him Manny’s passport and money, then left. “Sit down, please,” the man said. Manny sat down. “I’d like to fill out the proper form, please,” he said. “My flight leaves in half an hour.”
The man was leafing through the passport. “Let me compliment you Mr., ah, Bernstein,” he said.
“What?”
“This is the best example of a counterfeit passport I’ve seen for some time. Show me some authentic I.D., please.”
Manny sighed, produced his wallet and handed the man his driver’s license.
“Thank you, Mr… . Manfried White?”
“That’s me,” Manny replied. “I can explain about the passport. You see …”
The man held up a hand. “No explanation will be necessary, Mr. White,” he said. “We’ve been expecting you.” He pressed a button under the table and two other men in suits entered the room. “This, gentlemen,” he said, “is the Manny White your colleagues phoned about. Mr. White, may I introduce Detectives Marino and Copeland, of the Florida State Police?”
Manny sagged. “I can explain all this,” he said. The two men stood him up and began handcuffing his hands behind his back. “And we’re looking forward to hearing your explanation, Mr. White,” one of them said. 2 8 7
62
ST O NE S H OO K THE hand of Greta Swenson, Annika’s sister, and walked her to the departures door at Key West International.
“I want to thank you for your courtesy, Stone,” she said. “Annika spoke highly of you.”
“She was a wonderful person,” Stone replied, handing her the package containing Annika’s ashes. “I hope you have a comfortable fl ight home.”
She kissed him on the cheek.
Evan, who was on the same flight to Atlanta, where they would both change planes, shook Stone’s hand. “I can’t thank you enough,”
he said. “I’m sorry I gave you such a diffi cult time.”
“Will you return to Key West?” Stone asked.
“Maybe, eventually. I’d like to spend some time with my grandfather now. We have a lot to talk about.”
“They’ll want you to come back to Miami for Manny White’s trial,” Stone said.
“That will be a pleasure,” Evan replied.
“Have you heard anything from Gigi?”
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“No, nor the boat. She’s not answering her cell phone; I’ve left several messages.”
“Good luck to you, then.” They shook hands again, and Evan walked Greta into the terminal.