by Stuart Woods
“What can I tell you?” Tommy said, accepting a drink from the room service waitress. He raised his glass. “Here’s to unsolved murders; what would cops do without them?”
“Maybe you’re underestimating old Eli Keating,” Dino said to Stone. “Just because he’s old doesn’t mean he can’t hate, and God knows, he must have hated Warren for stashing him in that nursing home.”
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“I’ll give you that,” Stone said, “but remember, Evan was shot at first, and even your Connecticut cop commented on how warm the relationship was between Evan and his grandfather.”
“Okay, but there’s one other solution to this, although it may seem improbable,” Dino said.
“I’ll take improbable, if it works,” Tommy replied.
“First, Warren hires the hit man to kill Evan. The guy takes his shot but doesn’t get the job done. Then either Evan or Eli, or both in collusion, hire the hit man to kill Warren, and that one takes. And both Eli and Evan had motive to kill Warren, you’ll admit.”
“And they hired the same hit man?” Tommy asked.
“That’s the improbable part,” Dino said.
“But how would two of them, or all three, know about the same hit man?”
“The answer has to be, they both, or all three, knew Manny White, in Miami, or knew about him.”
“How’s that?” Tommy asked.
Stone spoke up. “The law firm I work with, which was representing Warren, got in touch with Manny for a skip trace on Evan. Warren needed Evan’s signature on the contract to do the deal on selling the family business. Dino and I paid a visit to Manny, and we think he’s the middleman, the connection to the hit man.”
“Okay, so Warren, after he uses Manny for a skip trace, also uses him to find the hit man,” Tommy said. “I’ll buy that.”
“Manny was the one who warned us—well, sort of—
that
Evan was a candidate for a hit,” Dino said. “He said somebody had called him about some dirty work, but that he had hung up on him.”
“But he didn’t hang up,” Tommy said. “He arranged for the guy to come to Key West and plug Evan. I buy that. What I don’t quite buy is how Evan or his grandfather managed to hire the same hit man to go after Warren. Did either of them have a connection through the law fi rm, Stone?”
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“No,” Stone replied. “Evan doesn’t know anybody at the law fi rm, and there’s no reason for him to know Manny White. His grandfather knows the managing partner at the law firm, Bill Eggers, but Bill would never help Eli find a hit man. He wouldn’t even put Eli in touch with Manny; if he needed Manny for something, Bill would deal with him himself.”
“Are you saying that this Eggers guy is involved?”
“Of course not. He’d have no motive to have Evan killed. He did the legal work on the sale of the family business, and he’d want it to go through.”
“All right,” Tommy said, “we’re agreed that both old Eli and young Evan would have motives for killing Warren— Eli because he got locked away in the nursing home, and Evan because his father tried to have him killed. Are we all agreed on that?”
“Agreed,” Stone said.
“Yeah,” Dino chimed in.
“But,” Stone pointed out, “how did one of them get in touch with Manny White? How did they know about him?”
“You got me,” Dino said.
“You got me, too,” Tommy agreed. “Why don’t we ask Manny?”
“We sort of already did,” Dino said. “Stone and I went to see him and talked like we wanted a hit man. He didn’t throw us out at fi rst, but eventually he did. I don’t think he’d look forward to another visit from us, since he never liked us much in the first place, when we were all NYPD.”
“Maybe he’d talk to me,” Tommy said.
“Does he know you from New York?” Dino asked.
“Yeah, I was around. He’d know my face, if not my name.”
“Does he know you know us?” Stone asked.
“That wouldn’t be hard to fi gure out,” Tommy replied.
“Then we’re fucked,” Dino said.
“Not if we can think of somebody else to approach Manny, some-2 2 4
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body with a plausible story of who recommended him, and somebody with a bunch of cash to wave at him.”
“You got somebody in mind?” Dino asked.
“No, but I’m thinking,” Tommy replied.
“Well, that’s a relief,” Stone said. “Let us know when you’ve fi gured it out.”
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STON E A N D ANNIK A sat up in her bed, watching a DVD of An American in Paris.
“Isn’t Gene Kelly wonderful?” Annika said.
“Absolutely wonderful. He’s America’s best dancer ever, in any discipline.”
“You know about dancing?”
“No, but I still have an opinion.”
“You think Kelly is better than Fred Astaire?”
“Astaire was great, but he was a ballroom and tap dancer; he didn’t have Kelly’s balletic training and sense. Kelly could do everything, often at the same time.”
“Better than Baryshnikov?”
“Baryshnikov is a product of Russia, although I think he’s Latvian or maybe Estonian by birth.”
“Good point.”
“Would you like to go to a wedding tomorrow?” Stone asked.
“Oh, Stone, are you proposing?”
“I’m just proposing that you accompany me to the wedding of Evan Keating and Gigi Jones.”
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“They’re getting married?”
“That’s why I’m inviting you to their wedding. It’s at noon, at the Marquesa, in their cottage, and there’s lunch afterward in the restaurant there.”
“I’d love to. Let me see if I can swap shifts with someone.”
“Would you like me to put the movie on hold?”
“Yes,” she said, reaching for him.
“I thought you were going to make phone calls.”
“Later.”
Stone thought later was a good idea.
LAT ER , SH E M A D E the calls and swapped her shift, then she snuggled next to Stone. “When are you leaving?” she asked. Stone looked at his watch: past midnight. “Tomorrow morning,”
he said. “We’ll get an early start.”
“Is there room in your airplane for me?” she asked. He turned and looked at her. “Are you really thinking about moving to New York?”
“I have an interview for a job in three days,” she said. “It sounds good. Of course, I’ll have to let my house and find an apartment in New York.”
“You won’t have to find an apartment; you’ll be staying with me.”
“In your apartment?”
“In my house.”
“You have a whole house?”
“I do. It was left to me some years ago by my great-aunt, and I renovated it, did much of the work myself.”
“Tell me about it.”
“It’s simpler just to show you.”
“How much luggage can I take on your airplane?”
“Two bags, not gigantic. Anything you need more than that, ship it.”
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“Okay,” she said. “This is exciting.”
“Yes, it is.”
“We have had a great deal of lovemaking since you’ve been here, haven’t we?” she asked.
“More than I’ve ever had before,” Stone said.
“And you aren’t tired of me?”
“Not in the least. I’m not sure how long I can keep up the pace, though. I may need a little rest now and then.”
“Maybe now and then,” she said, throwing a leg over him. STON E W E N T B AC K to the Marquesa in the morning
, had breakfast and called Bill Eggers.
“Morning, Bill.”
“Good morning.”
“I thought you’d like to know that Evan Keating and his girlfriend, Gigi Jones, are getting married today.”
“Congratulate them for me,” Eggers said.
“I’ll do that.”
“You can tell Evan, if his grandfather hasn’t already, that the sale of Elijah Keating’s Sons closed yesterday, and that I’ve wired his share of the proceeds to his bank in Miami. And it’s more than he expected, because old Eli got another fifty million out of the buyers.”
“So Evan’s share is four hundred and
twenty-fi ve million
dollars?”
“How’d you know that?”
“Because Evan showed me the contract.”
“Oh.”
“What does a kid his age do with that much money?”
“He’ll think of something,” Eggers said.
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STON E PI C K ED U P Annika, who looked fetching in an actual dress, something he hadn’t seen her in, and they drove back to the Marquesa.
“Do you go to a lot of weddings?” she asked.
“Not if I can help it,” he replied. “I had to go to one last year that I couldn’t avoid.”
“How about you?” he asked.
“My only family is a sister, Greta, who lives in Washington, D.C., and she’s not married yet, so I’ve been to fewer weddings than most, I suppose. Once in a while one of the girls at the hospital gets married.”
THE Y P I C K E D UP Dino at the cottage and walked up the path to Evan and Gigi’s cottage, where Evan was seated on the front porch with a man in a suit. He greeted them and introduced the justice of the peace. Stone introduced Annika.
“We’ve met,” she said.
“Of course, in the hospital,” Evan replied. 2 2 9
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“I’m glad you recovered so well.”
“Thank you. Gigi’s inside doing God-knows-what,” he said.
“She’ll let us know when we can go in. I’d offer you some champagne, but Gigi says we have to wait until after the ceremony.”
Stone whispered in his ear, “I just heard that the deal for the sale of the business closed yesterday, and there’s four hundred and twenty-five million dollars in your Miami bank account.”
Evan laughed, the first time Stone had seen him do so. “Well, that’s a nice wedding present. Oh, I forgot.” He pulled an envelope from his pocket. “I’ve made a will, and I’d like for you and Dino to witness it, if that’s all right.”
“Of course,” Stone said, reaching for his pen. “Ask the JP to sign, as well. Three signatures is good.”
Evan put the last page of the handwritten will on the porch table and signed it, then Stone, Dino and the JP added their signatures and addresses.
“Be sure and initial all the pages, too,” Stone said. Evan did so, then put the will into the envelope. “I’d like you to continue as my attorney, so will you put this in your safe?”
“Of course,” Stone said, then he handed him his card. “Here’s my New York number, if you should need me.”
Gigi stuck her head out the door. “All right, you can come in,” she said.
Everyone filed into the living room of the cottage, where she had placed flowers here and there. She was wearing a white lace dress, and Stone thought she looked lovely.
The JP arranged everybody, then read the standard wedding ceremony, while Evan and Gigi made the appropriate responses. Stone noticed that Gigi didn’t have a problem with vowing to obey. The JP pronounced them man and wife, they kissed, then Evan opened a couple of bottles of Dom Perignon, while Gigi distributed champagne flutes. They toasted and drank for a few minutes, then they went off to lunch in the hotel’s restaurant. 2 3 0
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The JP accepted an envelope, then excused himself, leaving the five of them at a round table in a far corner of the restaurant. More champagne was drunk.
“Where are you going to live?” Stone asked Evan.
“Here, in the winter,” Evan replied. “We like living on the boat, but I expect I’ll buy a house pretty soon. The rest of the year we’ll just wander, until we find someplace we like for the summers.”
“Sounds like an interesting life,” Stone said.
“Stone,” Gigi said, “I want to apologize for hitting you when we first met. I thought you were some sort of threat to Evan, and I just reacted.”
“Thank you, Gigi,” Stone said. “I seem to have recovered, and if not, I know a doctor who can help me.” He kissed Annika on the ear. “Where are you from, Gigi?” he asked, changing the subject.
“I’m from Coral Gables,” she replied.
“And what did you do before you were married?”
“Oh, lots of things,” she said. “I sold real estate, I sold boats, I started a couple of small businesses. I was even a private investigator for a while. That’s how I met Evan.”
The waiter interrupted them to present a huge crown roast of lamb, which, apparently, was the wedding feast. Everyone applauded and then, when the lamb had been served, began eating.
“Have you spent your whole career as a lawyer?” Evan asked Stone.
“No, I was a police detective, which is where Dino and I met; we were partners.”
“Are you still a cop, Dino?” Gigi asked.
“I certainly am,” Dino replied.
“Dino is the lieutenant in charge of the detective squad at the Nineteenth Precinct, on the Upper East Side of New York City,”
Stone explained. “That’s how we both knew Tommy Sculley, who moved down here when he retired.”
“Sculley seems like a good guy,” Evan said. 2 31
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“He is,” Stone replied. “We hadn’t seen him in years, until we came down here looking for you.”
“Well, I’m glad you found me,” Evan said.
“By the way,” Stone said, “you should see somebody right away about investing the proceeds of the sale; you’re losing a lot of interest every hour you wait.”
“My grandfather is already dealing with that,” Evan replied.
“He’s been heavily into investing ever since he retired from the company, nearly twenty years ago, and he’s done very well. He just has more to play with now. He’s put me on an allowance.”
“I hope he hasn’t been too strict with you,” Stone said.
“No, very liberal. And I don’t have to mow his lawn to earn it, the way I used to.”
Stone laughed. “I used to have to sweep out my father’s woodworking shop every day to earn mine.”
Annika, who was sitting next to Evan, reached for the bread basket and knocked over Evan’s champagne, some of it into his lap.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, half rising and bending over to use her napkin on the spill.
There was a sound of breaking glass, and Annika fell sideways into Evan.
Stone turned and saw blood on Evan’s jacket. “Gun!” Stone yelled.
“Everybody down!” He threw himself at Annika and Evan, while on the other side of the table Dino got Gigi to the fl oor. Stone lifted his head and looked out the shattered window behind him but saw no one. He turned his attention to Evan, who was covered in blood. “Somebody call 911 for an ambulance and the police!” Stone yelled, as he reached to pull Annika away from Evan. He couldn’t believe that Evan had, once again, been the target of an assassin. Then he realized that the blood on Evan’s jacket was not Evan’s. It was Annika’s.
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DI N O PU T H I S head up and caught a glimpse of a motorcycle turning the corner from Simonton Street. “Motorcycle!”
he yelled, pointing. He got a glimpse of a black helmet, before the machine disappeared down the block.
Stone tossed him the car keys. “Go!” he yelled. “I’ll call Tommy!”
Dino got out of the restaurant in time to see the bike turn left at the next corner. He leapt into the rental car, which was parked in front of an antiques store across the street, and burned rubber. He was turning the corner when his cell phone rang. “Yeah?”
“It’s Tommy. Where are you?”
“The motorcycle turned left a block from the restaurant.”
“Elizabeth Street?”
“Yeah, that’s it,” Dino said, checking the sign at the next corner.
“Now he’s turning right on that busy street, what is it?”
“Eaton.”
“Yeah.”
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“I’m going to block the bridge from the island,” Tommy said. “I’ll call you back as soon as I’ve given the order.”
“Okay.” Dino slapped his phone shut and made the turn onto Eaton, scaring the life out of a woman trying to cross the street. He could see the motorcycle, three or four blocks up the straight street, passing cars with abandon. His phone rang again. “Yeah?”
“I’ve got two cars on the way to the turnoff for U.S. One. Anybody leaving the island has to go that way.”
“The bike is red, looks Japanese,” Dino said. “I can’t get close enough for a plate, but he’s wearing a green windbreaker and a black helmet. He’ll be at the entrance to the Navy base in a few seconds.”
“I’ve got another car headed to the intersection of Eaton and Roosevelt Boulevard,” Tommy said. “I’ve told them to ram him, if possible.”
“He’s past the Navy entrance,” Dino said, “headed toward the bridge over Garrison Bight, where the sports fi shermen dock.”
“My car is at the light he’s coming up to,” Tommy said.
“I’m closing in on him just a little,” Dino said. He whipped around a car and jammed the accelerator to the floor as he ran up the bridge. He had to slow for a curve after leaving the bridge, and he looked up to see the intersection ahead. A police car on the other side of Roosevelt was plowing through the intersection as the motorcycle reached it. The rider braked, slid sideways, then regained balance, missing the cop car by inches. He turned onto Roosevelt and accelerated.
“Your guy at Roosevelt missed him,” Dino said. “He’s headed up the boulevard now, and he must be doing eighty. Your car is backing up to get onto Roosevelt.” Dino turned on his flashing caution lights and began using his horn.