Loitering with Intent

26

LATE IN THE afternoon, Stone and Dino were back in a rented Boston Whaler, patrolling the marinas, looking for Evan Keating’s boat, whatever its name might be.

“There’s a period piece over there,” Dino said, pointing at a motor yacht.

“Too big,” Stone replied. “Evan’s boat is a thirty-two-footer, and that one is at least forty feet long.”

“Oh,” Dino said, settling himself on the front bench under the canvas top and sipping a cold beer from a cooler. “You want a beer?”

“I’ll wait awhile,” Stone said, gazing at row after row of motorboats. Stone’s cell phone vibrated on his belt, and he answered it.

“It’s Eggers.”

“Hey, Bill. Listen, we’re looking for Evan Keating’s boat right now. He checked out of his hotel, and we think we’ll find him aboard.”

“You can forget about Evan Keating,” Eggers said.

“What, you got the signed papers?”

“I did not, and I do not expect to,” Eggers replied.

“What’s going on?”

“I’ve got a lot to tell you,” Eggers said, “so relax and enjoy.”

Stone cut the power and let the boat drift. He motioned to Dino for a beer. “Shoot.” He pressed the speaker button on his phone.

“After some of our conversations, I got more and more worried about what’s going on in this deal. For a start, and I’ll tell you this just once and deny I ever said it, the offer for Elijah Keating’s Sons is eight hundred million dollars.”

“Holy shit!” Stone gasped. “And he was offering Evan only twenty-one million of that?”

“I don’t have any more to say about the deal,” Eggers said. “Last night I hatched a plan: I made a phone call to a law firm we’ve dealt with in Torrington, one that has done no business with the Keatings, then I dictated some documents by phone that were typed up this morning. Then I went to Torrington.”

“To resign the account, I hope.”

“Shut up and listen, Stone. I’m enjoying telling you about this.”

“Sorry, go on.”

“I went out to the Happy Hills place that Warren had stuffed his father into, and I brazened my way in and got to see Eli Keating.”

“How was he?”

“A little woozy from whatever they’ve been dosing him with, but pretty sharp. Once I ascertained that, I put my plan into motion. First, my secretary faxed a letter of resignation to Warren Keating, specifically stating that I would continue to represent Eli until the old man fi red me.”

“Bully for you!”

“Then a call went in to the Torrington law firm, and one of their attorneys hotfooted it to the courthouse, armed with a court order freeing Eli and negating Warren’s guardianship, and barged in on the local judge. He also took an affidavit from me, saying that Eli is compos mentis and desires to leave Happy Hills immediately.

“Then I went down to Eli’s room, which was little more than a cell, really, stuffed his clothes into a suitcase and drove him to his home. By this time, Warren had found another lawyer and was arguing with the judge, but by the time we got to Eli’s place, the judge had signed off on it, a little late perhaps, but Eli is back in charge of his life.”

“Hallelujah!” Stone shouted.

“Eli called his old secretary, got her out of retirement and over to his house, and she’s taken charge of running his life. Warren will never get hold of him again, if I have anything to say about it, and Eli has withdrawn his permission for the deal to go through. In fact, he says he never signed it, so that means that Warren or somebody who works for him forged the document.”

“What happens now?”

“Eli likes the sale, but he’s going to be dealing directly with the buyers, and distribution of the proceeds will be made according to the original will of Elijah Keating.”

“I hate it that Warren will still get a bundle.”

“I’m going to see what I can do about that,” Eggers said.

“I’m really delighted to hear all this, Bill.”

“I’m pretty delighted with it myself,” Eggers said. “Warren may sue the firm, but with everything we’ve got on him, we’ll have him for lunch.”

“I’ll be very happy to testify to my part in this,” Stone said.

“Now, this is the sad part, Stone,” Eggers said. “Tonight is your last night in Key West on my dime. You get your ass out of there tomorrow or start using your own credit card, you hear?”

“I hear you, Bill.” Then he thought about that. “Dino and I may stick around for a couple more days and start enjoying ourselves, instead of working so hard.”

Dino had to put a hand over his mouth to keep from hooting.

“Do whatever you like,” Eggers said. “Oh, you might spend the rest of your time today trying to find Evan Keating and telling him to get in touch with his grandfather.”

“I’ll do that,” Stone said.

“Now I have to get back with Eli and paper over any cracks in all this,” Eggers said. “So bye-bye.” He hung up.

“Isn’t that great?” Stone said to Dino.

“Couldn’t be better,” Dino said. “We’re going to stick around for a couple more days?”

“Have you got the time?”

“I’ve got the days, and my captain is on vacation in the Bahamas, so he can hardly squawk. You still want to find Evan, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. I’d like to wrap this up neatly before we abandon ship.”

“Nah, you just want to see the Swede a couple more times,” Dino said.

“Well,” Stone replied, “there is that.”