Loitering with Intent

54

MANNY WHITE OPENED his desk drawer and picked up the throwaway cell phone that was ringing. “Yeah?”

“You know who this is?” she asked.

“Sure,” he said. “I wish you every profi table happiness.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“So how’s the new life?”

“On hold,” she said. “The old, old man has had a stroke, and he’s flown north. You should pull our friend off. He’s very hot here, anyway.”

“Okay. Shall I send him north in pursuit?”

“No. I don’t know how long he’ll be there; he hasn’t called me yet.”

“Call him, then.”

“I can’t; he left in a hurry when I was out, and he forgot his phone.”

“Okay, I’ll pull our guy out.”

“Tell him to avoid the airport. They’ll be checking cars on the highway, too.”

“You’ve got a boat, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Take him up the road someplace, where he can rent a car.”

“They’ll be watching up there, too.”

“Then take him up to Key Largo. I’ll meet you there and drive him home.”

“I guess I could do that.”

He gave her the name of a marina. “You know it?”

“Yeah.”

“When will you be there?”

“I can leave first thing in the morning,” she said. “Tell him to call me on this number, and I’ll tell him how to find the boat.”

“Okay, I’ll call him now. We should be in Key Largo by late tomorrow afternoon. I’ll call you a couple of hours out and give you a better ETA. Hey, since you got some time off, you want to do a little work?”

She laughed. “Are you kidding? I’m never going to work again.”

He laughed, too. “Can’t blame you. Call me tomorrow.” He hung up.

She hung up, too, and she didn’t have to wait long for the call.

“Yes?”

“Hi, it’s Larry Lee,” he said.

“That’s the name these days, huh?”

“Always has been.”

“Manny told you what he wants to do?”

“Yeah, and it sounds good to me; I don’t like being holed up like this.”

“You know where the Key West Yacht Club is?”

“Yeah, I’ve driven past it.”

“There’s a thirty-two-foot motorboat with no name on the stern—an old one, mahogany and white—just inside the main gate. Meet me there at seven A.M. tomorrow morning, and ditch your car somewhere else first. If you get there before I do, let yourself onto the boat; the lock is broken on the cabin doors.”

“Okay, see you at seven.”

“Call me ten minutes before you get there, so I’ll know you’re on the way. I’ll call you if anything changes.” She hung up, happy for something to do with herself. She liked being on the water.

A FEW BLOCKS away, late that evening, Tommy sat down with Evan next to a phone. “Here’s what we’re going to do,” he said.

“I’ve made some arrangements with the phone company. You’re going to call your grandfather’s number in”—he looked at his watch—“two minutes. There’ll be a click, and then you’ll get a dial tone. Dial Gigi’s number. She’ll see the Connecticut number on her caller I.D. Don’t be too definite about when you’re coming back.”

“I get the picture,” Evan said. He waited until Tommy cued him, then he dialed the number, got the dial tone and dialed Gigi’s number.

“Hello?”

“Hi,” he said.

“There you are,” she replied. “Where are you?”

“I just got to Grandfather’s house,” he said. “I’m sorry to run out like that, but it was an emergency.”

“How is he?”

“Hanging on by a thread, apparently. I sat with him for a couple of minutes, but he’s in a coma. His doctor didn’t want to take him to the hospital, said there was no point. He has a living will and a do not-resuscitate order.”

“Maybe that’s best, then.”

“It’s what he wanted. How are you?”

“I’m okay. I think I’ll move back onto the boat tomorrow, though; I miss being on the water.”

“Good idea.”

“I may even cruise around some. You can reach me on my cell.”

“Another good idea.”

“Do you know how long you’ll be there?”

“No way to tell; it could end tonight or in a couple of days, according to what the doctor said. I’ll arrange a small, graveside service. Most of his friends are dead, so there’s no point in doing the whole church thing.”

“Come back to me soon,” she said. “I love you, and I miss you.”

“Same here, babe. You take care.”

“You too.” She hung up.

EVAN HUNG UP.

“Did she buy it?”

“Sure she did,” Evan replied. “She has no reason not to. Does this plan you and Stone and Dino are working on provide for putting her away?”

“Not directly, but if we get Manny in a tight enough squeeze, he’ll implicate her.”

“I hope so,” Evan said.