Fallen Palm (Jesse McDermitt Series)

by Wayne Stinnett

  “Thanks, how far a drive is that? You know his address?”

  I was taking a drink from a beer bottle full of water and laughed so hard, I nearly choked. “You guys really aren’t from around here, are ya? You can’t drive there and there ain’t no address. I can take one of ya there, though.”

  “Watta ya mean, we can’t drive there?” Lester asked.

  “It’s an island, Les,” I said. Lester suddenly noticed the doubloon I was wearing around my neck. “No roads. But, like I said, I can take one of ya there. For a price.”

  “Everyone on this island is tight as a clam,” Walt said. “How come you want to help us?”

  I looked at him hard and said, “Asshole owes me money. You cover his debt and I’ll take you to him.”

  Lester was still staring at the necklace and Walt said, “How come only one of us?”

  “Boat’s small,” I said. “Plus there’s some really skinny water between here and his house. That means shallow water. Any more than about 600 pounds and we’d never get across the flats. I weigh 230 pounds and my dog weighs a hundred. That leaves 270 pounds. So, unless two of you guys are less than 135 pounds each, it’s only one guy.”

  “What dog?” Walt asked.

  “He’s on the boat,” I said, “taking a nap. Don’t go anywhere without him.”

  “I’ll go,” said Lester, puffing up a little. “He’s a pretty big dude, Walt.”

  “He ain’t all that tough,” I said. This seemed to puff Lester up even more.

  “Okay,” Walt said. “You go and we’ll wait at the boat. Call me when you get there.”

  “Mine’s the Maverick in front of Jesse’s boat,” I told Lester. “I’ll be a minute, need to get some bottled water and a thermos of coffee.”

  I went inside the bar and left the four of them outside. Julie was behind the bar and Alex and Angie were helping with the serving. I went behind the bar and grabbed Rusty’s thermos, which I knew he kept there, filled it with coffee and took four bottles of water from the cooler. I said to Alex, “Everything’s working like we planned. I should be back in a few hours and we can start that honeymoon. Where did you want to go?”

  “Up to the house,” she replied, “and do a little fishing.”

  “You sure?” I asked. “The Revenge has a three hundred mile range. We could go just about anywhere in the Caribbean.”

  “Maybe later in the winter,” she said. “Right now, I want to be in our home.”

  “I like the way you say ‘our home’,” I said. “Be back before supper.”

  I walked back out to the yard and the three men were talking. They stopped as I approached and said, “That’ll be cash. Up front.”

  Walt pulled a money clip out of his pocket and peeled off five twenty dollar bills and said, “You better be right about where that guys going, Stretch.”

  “Where else would he go?” I said. “Everyone’s here and his boat’s here.”

  “Why would he just leave his boat like that?” Lester asked.

  “It’s secure here,” I replied. “People don’t board someone’s boat down here without permission. Probably locked up tighter than Fort Knox and I’m pretty sure he has an alarm system on board.”

  “Okay,” Walt said, “You guys get going and we’ll head over to the boat. Don’t forget to call me when you get there, Les. And remember our timetable for tomorrow.”

  He must have meant the job that Beech had accepted to smuggle the four terrorists from the Bahamas, I thought. The two men walked toward the parking lot, as Lester and I walked down the dock, to my skiff. The dog was sitting right where he’d been when I went into the cabin a couple hours ago. Someone, probably Julie, had placed a bowl of water and a bowl of dog food on the casting deck for him.

  As we walked up, Lester asked, “Does it bite?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “But only if I let him.” The dog stood up and bared his teeth at Lester, the hair on his neck and back standing straight up.

  “Tell it I’m okay, man.” Lester said.

  “He thinks it’s his boat,” I said. “Like I told you, nobody boards another person’s boat down here without permission. You’ll have to ask him if you can board.”

  “You gotta be kiddin’,” he said. “Ask a freakin’ dog for permission?”

  “He won’t let ya board till you do,” I replied.

  Lester looked at the dog, looked at me, then back at the dog. “Can I get on the boat?” he asked the dog.

  The dog growled at him, menacingly. I laughed and said, “You gotta ask permission to come aboard.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Lester said. Then he looked at the dog again and said, “May I have permission to come aboard?”

  To my surprise, the dog barked once and sat down, looking from me to his food bowl, which didn’t look like it’d been touched. “Go ahead,” I said and he started wolfing it down. Then to Lester, I said, “Just don’t get near him while he’s eating. He might mistake your balls for clams and he really likes clams.” Lester’s hands unconsciously went to his groin.

  I untied the bowline, stepped down onto the boat and told Lester to get in, then started the engine. I pointed to the second seat and said, “Sit there.” Then untied the stern cleat and pushed us away from the dock. Once we were clear of Alex’s boat, I pushed the throttle into forward and headed down the canal.

  “We should be able to see McDermitt’s trail, once we clear the canal,” I said. “That way, we’ll know for sure he’s headed to his house.”

  “His trail?” Lester asked. “You can’t follow a trail on water. Even I ain’t that dumb.”

  “Sure ya can,” I said. “You’ll see, once we hit open water.”

  “That’s a nice necklace ya got there, Stretch,” Lester said. “I got one just like it.” He pulled Russ’s doubloon out of his shirt and it was all I could do to keep from strangling him right there. “That’s the second one I seen down here. Everybody wear them?”

  “Only the one’s that can afford it,” I said. “This one, I found myself and had it made.”

  A minute later, we left the canal and I brought the skiff up on plane and turned westward, toward the Seven Mile Bridge. Sure enough, the disturbed water where Deuce had passed was still visible. “There,” I said, “see how the water looks different, heading around Sister Rock?”

  “I’ll be damn,” Lester said. “A freakin’ trail in the water.”

  We followed Deuce’s trail under the Seven Mile Bridge where it was visible, going straight as an arrow to the northwest, toward Horseshoe Key. I turned almost due west, toward the southern tip of Little Pine Key. “Hey, what the hell ya doin’, Stretch? He went that way,” Lester said, pointing toward Horseshoe.

  “Yeah, he did,” I said. “He’s headed to his house. Only thing up that way, but we can’t go that way with two of us in the boat. Water’s too shallow. We’ll have to hook around Little Pine Key, then head north up Big Spanish Channel. Don’t worry, his place is the only place out that way and I know these waters better than him. I was born here. He’s only been here a few years.” That seemed to calm the muscle head. I was worried he was one of those steroid users. Those guys have really short fuses and can blow up over the smallest things. We rode on in silence for ten minutes and then turned north into Big Spanish. I figured with the head start that Deuce had at the docks, the extra ten miles I was running and my going a little slower than normal, Deuce should have at least twenty minutes to tie up the skiff, get up to the deck, uncase the rifle, and get comfortable.

  31

  Earlier That Day

  Sunday morning, October 30, 2005

  At sunrise, Walt woke the three men up. It was cramped on the boat with all four of them. It had been a long night, Lester manning the boat and the rest of them going from one marina to another, all over the island and the next couple of islands to the north, until nearly midnight. It didn’t seem necessary to have a lookout all night, so they all got about five hours sleep. Tomas was nodding off
in the car on the way back, because he’d been up over twenty-four hours already. They didn’t see the big fishing boat anywhere. Who would think there’d be so many marina’s and docks in such a small area, or that a big fishing boat like that could be hidden so easy. The plan for today was to drive across the big bridge and check the marinas on the big island to the south. But they’d have to work fast, to be able to get to the party the marina manager where they were staying had told them about. They drove by there first, but there was a chain across the driveway, so they turned around and headed across the big bridge to the next island called Big Pine Key.

  After an uneventful morning, checking more than twenty marinas and docks, they headed back across the bridge to where the party would be. The manager was certain he’d show up there. Maybe not in his big fishing boat, but he’d be there. Walt had really hoped to find him at a marina, not a party where there’d be a lot of people. They’d just have to play it by ear, if and when they found the guy.

  Just a little after noon, they turned into the driveway where the party was supposed to be. The chain was gone, but there was a skinny, long-haired guy there, talking to everyone that was lined up to pull in. When Benny pulled up to the guy, he said, “Three people? That’ll be thirty dollars, plus ten to park the car. You guys were smart to car pool.”

  “Forty bucks?” Walt asked. “We’re just stopping by to see if a friend’s here.”

  The guy laughed and said, “Yeah, I haven’t heard that line yet today. Only like a dozen times, man. Forty bucks. The food’ll be worth it, plus it’s an open bar. Who’s your friend? I know just about everyone, maybe I can save ya the trouble.”

  “Jesse McDermitt,” Walt said from the front passenger seat.

  “Jesse?” the guy asked. “Yeah, he’s here, dude. Well, at least his boat is. I been out here since I got here, so I couldn’t tell ya for sure that he didn’t wander off somewhere.”

  “That’s good enough,” Walt said and handed the guy forty dollars.

  Benny drove on through the overhanging trees into a parking area that was nearly full with many cars and trucks parked on the grass. Benny maneuvered the little rental car into a space and the three men got out. Just like everywhere else they went, people turned and stared. Walt said to Tomas, “These people don’t seem to like outsiders much.”

  Tomas simply nodded as the walked past a guy that looked vaguely familiar and continued toward the large group of people around the tables. A fisherman said something to Walt and they stopped. Walt recognized him as the guy they’d met a few days ago that told them were to find McDermitt. They struck up a conversation and the guy pointed McDermitt out. It turned out that McDermitt and the guy, who called himself Stretch, weren’t friends and he offered to take one of them to the guy’s house. Apparently, McDermitt owed Stretch a hundred dollars and he’d help them if Walt would cover the debt.

  A deal was made and Lester was picked to go with the guy because since his boat would only hold two people. The guy went into the bar to get water and coffee and Walt said, “Les, once you get near McDermitt’s house, think you can take that guy out? Get my money back? We can’t have any witnesses to a kidnapping.”

  Lester thought about it for a minute and said, “Yeah, I can do that. Done it before.”

  Walt eyed Lester and said, “When did you ever punch someone’s ticket?”

  “A few weeks ago,” Lester said proudly. He knew that Walt had killed a few men and wanted to measure up. “Stole this from him, too,” he said showing off the doubloon necklace. “Some big shot scuba diver I was working for. He dove down to pull up a stuck anchor and I went down, pulled his regulator out, and grabbed him from behind with my legs and arms, until he drowned. Then I wrapped the anchor line around his regulator, dumped the air outa his tanks, and swam over a mile to shore. Stole his truck, too.”

  “Whyn’t ya steal his boat, too?” Walt asked.

  “Wanted it to look like a accident,” Lester replied. “When they found him the next day, that’s just what they figured it was, too.”

  “Pretty smart thinking’, kid,” Walt said, causing Lester to puff up a bit more. “So, what’s that necklace worth?”

  “About a grand, from what I found out,” Lester said, not wanting to have Walt think it was worth enough for him to try to take him out.

  Stretch came back and he and Lester went off in the guy’s boat, while Benny and Walt headed to the car. They would return to the marina and wait. As they were walking toward the car, Walt noticed one of the waitresses, a really hot looking blonde, carrying a platter of food to one of the tables. He eyed her from behind hungrily, and then went on to the car. He stopped halfway and turned around, looking for her again, but she was gone. He could have sworn she was the same woman he had seen on the docks up in Miami a couple days ago.

  Benny drove the car back to the docks and when they got to the boat, Tomas was sleeping in the chair behind the steering wheel. “Wake up, Rodriguez!” Walt shouted, as the climbed into the boat.

  “Huh,” Tomas said, startled. “Donde esta Les?”

  “We just missed McDermitt at the party. His boat’s been there all along. He musta recognized us somehow and spooked. The guy that tipped us he’d be in Miami was at the party and offered to take one of us to his house. Les went with him. I hope he can take the guy by himself.”

  “What about the guy taking him?” Tomas said. “Think he try to stop Les?”

  “Les is a guh keel him, when de get close to di mon’s house, ta tie up lass ends.” Benny said.

  “Lester?” Tomas asked.

  “Yeah,” Walt said. “Turns out our new boy has already got his hands dirty.”

  “I watch di boat, mon,” Benny said. “Guh get some sleep.”

  “Gracias,” Tomas said. “I am muy sleepy.”

  Walt was thinking about the blonde woman. Could she be the same one he and Lester saw? Les had gotten a better look at her. All Walt had seen was her walking away. But, in his opinion, a woman’s ass was as individual as her face and that blonde had an ass to remember. If it was the same woman, what was she doing waitressing down here? If she lived here, what was she doing strolling on a Miami dock two days ago? He decided to think on it some more and get a nap.

  “Here,” Walt said, handing Benny his phone. “Les should call within the hour. I’m gonna get forty winks.”

  “Guh rest, mon. Everyting is irie.”

  32

  Sunday evening, October 30, 2005

  Sonny was waiting, getting impatient. Walt had called two hours ago, to say they nearly had McDermitt, but he’d left in a smaller boat. They’d found a local guy that had a grudge against McDermitt and he’d offered to take Lester to his hideout on a deserted island about thirty miles north of Marathon. Sonny had really hoped to have McDermitt on ice by now, getting information from him about other treasure. He knew how these guys worked. Sometimes they’d work together and sometimes solo, but never really apart. And they were tight, keeping others at arm’s length. Also, he had the other job for the Arab guy to think about. From where the boat was in Marathon, it was a good six or seven hours to Brown’s Cay. Further, if they had to come here first to drop McDermitt off. Lester had finally told Sonny how he’d come into possession of the gold bar and he had been impressed that the kid could think quick and take advantage of a situation, even if it meant killing someone. He shouldn’t have any problem with McDermitt, he was nothing but a fisherman and Sonny had seen first hand just how strong the kid was. He was even having second thoughts about having taken advantage of him on the treasure he’d stolen from the old diver.

  Sonny’s cell phone rang. He picked it up and it was Lester, hopefully calling to say he had the guy and was headed back to the boat. “About damn time, Les. I was starting to worry about you. Thought maybe you decided to go solo.”

  “I had him, Boss,” Lester said. “They tried to pull a fast one. The guy called Stretch that was taking me up to McDermitt’s place was McDermitt himself.
They been on to us from the start.”

  “Wait, slow down,” Sonny said. “Who the hell is Stretch?”

  “We met a guy at the party,” Lester said. “His name was Stretch something. Walt paid him a hundred bucks to bring me out to McDermitt’s house. But it was McDermitt his self. When I got on his boat, his wallet was laying open on the dash and I caught a glimpse of his license without his seeing me do it.”

  “So, whatta ya mean you had him?”

  “He got away, Boss. I played like I didn’t know it was him. But I was sure he was taking me into a trap. The guy we were chasin’ must a been a buddy a his. Anyway, he said it’d take about thirty minutes to get up there, so when twenty minutes passed, I made out like I was seasick, ya know. He stopped on a little sand bar and I pretended to be puking over the side. When he stood up and came toward me, I grabbed him and we wrestled. My phone musta fell outa my pocket, ‘cause I just found it.”

  “What happened to McDermitt, dammit?” Sonny asked impatiently.

  “I caught him with an elbow and we both went over the side. I clobbered him good in the water and we went under. I went after him and figured I’d have to do him, like I did the old guy a few weeks ago. But, he broke loose under the water. It was deep and he just disappeared. I got back on the boat and had my gun ready, but he never came back up. His dog grabbed my leg and I’m bleedin’ pretty bad. I knocked the dog loose and he was yappin’ at me, then all a the sudden, the dog jumped off he boat and swam to an island a long ways off and he disappeared, too.”

  “McDermitt drowned?” Sonny asked.

  “I guess so, Boss,” Lester replied. “But, I never saw his body come up.”

  “Okay, don’t beat yourself up, kid. Things just went sour. Think you can find his house by yourself? See if there’s any treasure there?

  “I dunno, Boss,” Lester said, as he looked all around with a worried expression. “Everything out here looks exactly da same. Pretty sure we were headin’ northwest. If I can get da boat started, I might be able to find it. But, the other guy we were chasin’ is probly there.”