Plum Island

CHAPTER 27

At about noon, I stopped by Whitestone Florist and delivered the chamber pot. I hadn't had breakfast so I asked Emma to lunch, but she said she was busy. Fridays in flowerland were busy days — parties, dinners, and so forth. Plus, there were three funerals, which by their nature are unscheduled events. And, she had a standing order from Tobin Vineyards for flowers every weekend for their restaurant and lobby. And, of course, there was Fredric's big soiree the next evening. I said, "Does he pay his bills?"

"No. That's why I get it up front with him. Cash or credit card. No checks. And I cut off his house charge."

She said it in a way that suggested she'd like to cut off more than that. I asked, "Can I bring you a sandwich?"

"No, thanks. I really have to get back to work."

"See you tomorrow."

I left and took a walk on Main Street. Somehow the nature of our short relationship had changed. She was definitely a little cool. Women have a way of frosting you, and if you try to thaw them, they just turn the temperature lower. It's a game that takes two to play, and the deck is already stacked, so I always choose not to play.

I bought a sandwich and a beer in a deli, got in my Jeep, and drove to Tom and Judy's acre on the bluff. I sat on the rock and had my lunch. Captain Kidd's Ledge. Incredible. And I had no doubt that the numbers 44106818, which were known history, would be made to fit the eroded spot on the face of this bluff where the treasure was going to be found — forty-four paces or forty-four degrees, ten paces or ten degrees, or whatever. You could play with numbers and their meaning and work backwards toward a spot of your own choosing. "Nice going, you two. I wish the hell you'd confided in me. You wouldn't be dead."

A bird chirped somewhere, as if in reply.

I stood on the rock and with my binocs, I looked south, scanning the farms and vineyards until I spotted the Tower of Tobin the Terrible, rising above the flat glacial plain, the tallest thing out there: Lord Freddie's penis substitute. I said aloud, "You little shit."

I decided I wanted to get away — away from my telephone, my house, Beth, Max, Emma, the FBI, the CIA, my bosses, and even my buds in the city. As I looked across the Sound at Connecticut, I had the idea to go to Foxwoods Resort Casino.

I went down the bluff, got into my Jeep, and drove to the Orient ferry. It was a calm crossing, a nice day on the Sound, and in one hour and twenty minutes, my Jeep and I were in New London, Connecticut.

I drove to Foxwoods, this sprawling gambling casino and hotel in the middle of nowhere — actually on the land of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe — a sort of Fuck-You-White-Man-We're-Getting-Even kind of place. I checked in, bought some toiletries, went to my room, unpacked my toothbrush, then went down to the cavernous casino to meet my fate.

I was very lucky with blackjack, broke even on the slots, lost a little at craps, and got taken a wee bit at the roulette wheel. By eight p.m., I was down only about two thousand dollars. What fun I was having.

I tried to put myself in Freddie Tobin's light shoes — babe on my arm, down about ten Gs a weekend, winery pumping out the juice, but not quick enough. Everything that is my world is about to come crashing down. Still, I'm holding on and even becoming more reckless with my gambling and spending because I'm about to hit the jackpot. Not this jackpot at Foxwoods; the jackpot that has been buried for three hundred years, and I know where it is, and it's tantalizingly close — I can probably see where it's buried as I go past Plum Island on my boat. But I can't grasp this treasure without the help of Tom and Judy Gordon, whom I've taken into my confidence and recruited to be my partners. And I, Fredric Tobin, have picked well. Of all the Plum Island scientists, staff, and workers I've ever met, Tom and Judy are the ones I want to recruit — they're young, they're bright, they're stable, they have a little flair, and most of all, they've shown a taste for the good life.

I assumed that Tobin recruited the Gordons not long after they'd come here, as evidenced by the fact that within four months the Gordons had moved from their inland house near the ferry to their present house on the water. That had been Tobin's suggestion, and so had the boat.

Obviously, Fredric Tobin had been actively on the prowl for his Plum Island connection and had probably rejected a number of candidates. For all I knew, he'd once had another Plum Island partner, and something had gone wrong, and that person or persons were now dead. I'd have to check and see if any Plum Island employees had met an untimely death two or three years ago.

I realized that I was displaying an unacceptable prejudice toward Fredric Tobin, that I really wanted him to be the murderer. Not Emma, not Max, not Zollner, not even Stevens. Fredric Tobin — Fry Freddie.

Try as I might to cast others in the role of murderer, it came back to Tobin in my mind. Beth, without actually saying so, suspected Paul Stevens, and all other things being equal, it was more likely him than Tobin. My thoughts about Tobin were too involved with my feelings for Emma. I just couldn't get the image out of my mind of those two screwing. I mean, I haven't felt that way in a decade or so.

I didn't want to railroad Freddie, but I decided to proceed on the assumption that he did it, and I'd see if I could make a case against him.

Regarding Paul Stevens, he might well be in on this, but if Tobin had recruited Stevens, why did he need the Gordons? And if Stevens was not in on the plan, was he on to the plan? Was he like a vulture waiting to swoop in and take his share after the long, hard work of the hunt had been done by others? Or was it Stevens acting alone without Tobin or anyone else? I could certainly make a case against Stevens, who had knowledge of Plum Island, the opportunity, the guns, the daily proximity to the victims, and above all, the personality to hatch a conspiracy and kill his partners. Maybe if I was lucky, I'd get Stevens and Tobin a hot squat.

And then there was the possibility of someone else…

I thought about all that had come before Tom and Judy Gordon wound up with their brains blown out. I could see Tom and Judy and Fredric living too high, spending too much, alternatingly confident and frantic about the success of their venture.

They were meticulous in laying the groundwork for the so-called discovery of the treasure. Interestingly, they decided not to locate it on Tobin's waterfront estate. They decided to go with a local legend, Captain Kidd's Ledges. Of course, they would tell the world afterward that their research led them to that particular spot, and they'd confess that they hoodwinked poor Margaret Wiley, who will kick herself for selling the land, and she'd be convinced that Thad was punishing her. The Gordons would have presented Mrs. Wiley with a jewel as a consolation prize.

Often, in a murder investigation, I look for the simplest explanation, and the simplest explanation was simple indeed: it was greed. Freddie had never learned to share and even if he wanted to share, I wondered if the treasure was big enough to cover his debts and save his vineyard. His share would certainly be no more than fifty percent, and the government's share, state and federal, would be about the same. Even if the treasure were worth ten million dollars, Freddie would be lucky to see two and a half million. Not nearly enough for a spendthrift like Lord Tobin. And if there was another partner — a live one, such as Paul Stevens — then certainly the Gordons had to go.

But I still had unanswered questions — assuming the Gordons had uncovered the treasure on Plum Island, did they have it all with them on the day they'd met their end in their own backyard? Was the treasure in that ice chest? And where was the original treasure chest, which had to be reburied and found in a way that might satisfy a nosy archaeologist or Treasury agent?

While I was mulling this over, I wasn't paying attention to the roulette wheel. Roulette is good for people with things on their minds because it's such a mindless game; like the slots, it's pure luck. But with the slots you can time your rate of loss and pass the night in a catatonic, slack-jawed state in front of the one-armed bandits and not lose much more than the grocery money. With roulette, however, at the ten dollar table, with a fast croupier and fast bettors, you could get hurt fast.

I got up from the table, took another cash advance on my credit card, and went to find a friendly poker game. Ah, the things I do for my job.

I did okay at the poker table, and by midnight, I was back to minus two thousand and change. Plus, I was starving. I got a beer and a sandwich from one of the cocktail ladies and played poker until one a.m., still down two large.

I retired to one of the bars and switched to scotch. I watched a rerun of the news on TV, which failed to mention the Gordon murders at all.

I reran the entire case in my mind — from the time Max stepped on my porch to here and now. And while I was at it, I thought about my love life, my job, and all that, which brought me to confront the question of where I was going.

So, there it was, about two in the morning, I was two thousand dollars poorer, I was alone but not lonely, I was slightly lit, I was supposed to be three-quarters physically disabled, and maybe a hundred percent mentally disabled, and I could have easily felt sorry for myself. Instead, I went back to the roulette wheel. I was unlucky at love, so I had to be lucky at gambling.

At three a.m., another thousand dollars down, I went to bed.