Mango Key

by Bill H Myers

  He thought for a moment then said, “Yeah, I can do that. I'll get Boris to take us out on his boat. The girls won't be able to pass that up. A day on the water on Boris' yacht. They'll have a good time and they'll be safe with him around.”

  “Good idea. Get them out on the boat and I'll track down Vincent. In the meantime, don't let them go near Wiener Girl.”

  “Walker, what are you going to do if you find Vincent?”

  “I'll try to talk to him. Give him a good reason to forget his Wiener Girl plans.”

  “That might work. But it might be better to break his legs first.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, right. Problem is I don't have much experience breaking legs.”

  What Buck said next surprised me. “You don't need to do it yourself. You're going out on a date tonight with a woman who can get it done for you.”

  Before I could ask him what he meant by that, my phone chimed with an incoming call. The caller ID showed “Marine Sat.”

  “Buck, I need to take this. I'll get back to you later.”

  I ended the call with Buck and answered the incoming one.

  “This is Walker.”

  “Um, yeah, this is Freddie. I just talked to you at the dock.”

  “Yeah Freddie. Vinnie show up?”

  “No, but I remembered something. It might help.”

  “Okay, tell me.”

  “Vincent's minivan. It has a vanity plate. It spells out VINCENT. Does that help?”

  “Maybe. Is the plate on the front or back?”

  “It's on the back. It's not a Florida plate. I think it's from Mississippi. Or maybe Alabama. One of those Dixie states.”

  “Good. That'll help. Anything else?”

  “Yeah, Vincent is always talking about things he sees on the internet, so he's using a computer somewhere. He doesn't own one, I think he uses one at the library.”

  “Good to know. Anything else?”

  “Not right now, but if I think of something, I'll call.”

  “You do that.”

  I ended the call.

  It was six forty-five. I was supposed to meet Kat at the motorhome at seven. I'd been warned not to be late.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  When I got to Uncle Leo's, Kat was waiting for me.

  “You're late.”

  I looked at my phone. It was still a few minutes before seven. I wasn't late. But I wasn't going to argue. “Sorry. You been waiting long?”

  “No, I just got here. Found this on your door.”

  She handed me a yellow sheet of paper. In blue ink it said:

  Just a reminder.

  Check out time is 11:00AM tomorrow morning.

  We hope you enjoyed your stay at Uncle Leo's and will visit us again in the future.

  I read the note and shook my head. Lori had made the reservations and I'd forgotten we needed to be out Friday morning. I'd need to check with the office to see if I could stay a couple extra days.

  “Problem?”

  “Maybe. You read the note?”

  “Yeah. It says you have to leave in the morning. You have a place to go?”

  “Not yet. But I'll figure out something.”

  “Good luck with that. Tomorrow is Friday and most places in Key West are going to be full.”

  “Like I said, I'll figure out something.”

  I unlocked the door and invited Kat in. She'd been inside before when she'd brought the Prius over for Buck and again when she'd picked out a shirt for me to wear to the meeting with her father, but she hadn't stayed very long either time.

  “You live in this? Full time?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Alone?”

  “No. I have a cat. You'll see him in a minute. His name is Bob.”

  When he heard me say his name, Bob came out of the back bedroom to see what was going on. He walked up to me, rubbed against my ankles and I bent down to give him a pet.

  Kat moved over to the couch and sat. She patted the space beside her and said, “Up here, Bob.”

  Without hesitation Bob jumped up on the couch and checked her out. He sniffed her pants then moved over onto her lap. Instinctively, Kat started petting him.

  I smiled. “Looks like you've made a friend. Mind if I go in the back and clean up while you stay up here with him?”

  “Go ahead, but don't be long. We've got dinner reservations for seven thirty.”

  Ten minutes later I was back up front. I'd washed up, changed into a clean shirt and filled Bob's food and water bowls. Kat was still on the couch, Bob in her lap. She had a phone in her hand. Mine.

  “You got a call when you were back there. Guy named Freddie said to tell you Vincent showed up. He said he didn't stay long, but said Vincent was going to be back tomorrow. He wanted to make sure I gave you the message.”

  She handed me the phone. The call log showed Freddie had called nine minutes earlier. I called him back.

  “Freddie. I got the message. So Vincent showed up?”

  “Yeah. He was here. Wanted me to take him out in the boat but I told him, 'No.' Couldn't do it. Told him I'd do it tomorrow around noon. He said he'd be back then. That work for you?”

  “Yeah. You did good. I'll get there tomorrow before he does. If he shows up early, don't leave without me.”

  I ended the call.

  Kat had heard everything. “So who's Freddie?”

  “A guy at the marina.”

  “What about Vincent? I heard you mention his name. Who's he?”

  “Just another guy. You ready for dinner?”

  She lifted Bob off her lap and gently put him on the floor. “So you're not going to tell me about Freddie or Vincent?”

  I shook my head. “No, I'm not. It's a private matter.”

  “Does it have anything to do with what happened at Wiener Girl this morning? With the dead chicken?”

  “What do you know about that?”

  She smiled. “Probably more than you do. You're looking for the guy who did it. I don't know his name, but I'm guessing it's either Vincent or Freddie.”

  She'd guessed right. She must have spoken to Summer and gotten the story from her.

  “What else did Summer tell you?”

  Kat smiled. “A lot more. If you're nice, I might tell you over dinner.”

  She headed to the door. “It's time to go. We don't want to be late.”

  She stepped outside and I followed. There were two white Prii waiting for us, the one I'd been driving and the one Kat had arrived in.

  “Which one we taking?”

  She smiled and said, “Both. We're going to drop one at the guest house in Old Town. Follow me and try to keep up.”

  Chapter Forty

  It took us ten minutes to reach the guest house. When we got there, Kat pulled over to the curb and I pulled in behind her. Almost immediately, my phone chimed an incoming call. The caller ID said “Kat.”

  I answered and she said, “Wait here. I'll be right back.”

  She ended the call and I watched as she pulled away from the curb, drove a short distance and turned right onto a narrow drive that led up behind the guest house.

  Three minutes later, she walked up and tapped on my window. “Get out. I'm driving.”

  I started to say, “No,” but figured, since she knew the streets of Key West better than I did and she knew where we were going for dinner and I didn't, it made sense for her to drive. I got out and moved over to the passenger seat. Kat took the driver’s side and as soon as I was buckled in, she took off.

  We didn't go far. Four blocks south then a right onto Caroline Street. Kat slowed as we passed Wiener Girl then pulled into the parking lot across the street. She killed the motor and said, “We're here.”

  “We eating at Wiener Girl?”

  “No, they're closed. We're getting takeout from the Fish Wagon. You OK with that?”

  “Yeah, sounds good to me.”

  I didn't mind eating at the Fish Wagon instead of some upscale restaurant. At the F
ish Wagon, it wouldn't matter how I was dressed or whether or not I knew which fork to use.

  Still in the car, Kat picked up her phone and made a call. “Yeah, this is Kat. I want a to-go order. Two grouper sandwiches, two orders of fries, two sides of coleslaw and two large teas. I'm outside in the parking lot. Call me when it's ready.”

  She ended the call and turned to me. “I ordered for both of us. I figured it'd be easier that way. They have great food, but it gets crowded in there this time of night, and I'm not much for crowds.”

  I wasn't either. I was perfectly happy to sit in the car and have the food brought out to us.

  Kat looked around to make sure no one could hear us then said, “Summer said you 'took care' of two of the guys who've been bothering her. Exactly what does that mean? Took care of? Are they still breathing?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, they're still breathing. Or at least they were when I left them. No telling what's happened since.”

  Summer nodded. “What about the third guy? His name is Vincent, right? What are you going to do about him?”

  “Don't know yet. Depends on how he acts when I find him.”

  The truth was I didn't know how I was going to deal with Vincent. If he was a hardened criminal who fantasized about being the hit man from Pulp Fiction, I needed to be careful. I needed to find out more about him before I got too close. Rather than talk about this with Kat, I changed the subject.

  “When's the food going to be ready?”

  She smiled. “Soon. You want to get out and walk some?”

  “Yeah.”

  I opened my door and got out. The night air felt good. It was warm, heavy with humidity and smelled of the nearby marina. If it were ten degrees warmer, it would have been uncomfortable, but that night it was perfect. A tropical paradise.

  The sidewalk leading to the Fish Wagon was crowded with people, many with drinks in hand, all in a party mood. This was Key West and we were in the party district. We were parked just a few blocks from Duval and Front Streets where crowds packed into Sloppy Joe's, Hog's Breath Saloon and other famous bars.

  I had a feeling that Kat wanted to avoid those places as much as I did.

  She grabbed my hand and led me away from the crowd toward the middle of the parking lot. When we stopped it felt like she was about to tell me something, maybe about Vincent or Freddie. She knew a lot of people in Key West and maybe she knew them or someone else who did.

  I was waiting for her to say something when her phone chimed. She answered, “Okay, I'll be right there.”

  She ended the call and said, “Meet me at the car.”

  She walked away and I watched as she pushed through the crowd standing outside the Fish Wagon and went inside. Two minutes later, she came back out carrying a large bag of food. She handed it to me and pointed across the street. “We're going over there. To Wiener Girl.”

  The hot dog stand was closed. The awnings were rolled in and the alley behind it looked empty. That didn't bother Kat. She walked around to the trailer's back door and knocked twice.

  After a moment, it opened.

  Buck stood inside, bottle of water in hand, a smile on his face. “Katrina, good to see you. You too, Walker. Will you be dining with us tonight?”

  I looked inside to see who else might be in there, but it was just Buck. No one else. Behind him, a folding chair facing a small TV. Beside the TV, a police issue stun gun.

  I knew about stun guns. We'd trained with them when I was in boot camp. I'd seen how a fully charged one could take down an adult quicker than a bullet without the nasty side effects. The one on the counter wouldn't kill but would definitely slow anyone it was used on.

  If Kat saw the gun she didn't say anything about it. She didn't ask what it was, how to use it or where it came from. I had the distinct feeling she already knew what it was and how to use it. She probably also knew where it came from.

  She spoke to Buck. “Walker and I will take it from here. We dropped your car off at the guest house. You want Walker to drive you over there or you feel like walking?”

  Buck stepped outside and looked up at the sky. “It's a nice night. Feels good out here. I think I'll walk. By the way, the girls are over at the resort and won't be hitting the bars tonight. Tomorrow we're going out on Boris' boat.”

  He turned to me. “You going out with us?”

  I shook my head. “Probably not. I've got a few things I need to take care of.”

  “Well, if you change your mind, give me a call so I can give Boris a head's up.”

  He turned to Kat. “You need anything before I leave?”

  She shook her head. “No, looks like we're covered. I'll see you in the morning.”

  Buck turned and winked at me. “You kids have fun.”

  After he had gone, I asked Kat, “What was he doing here and why are we here?”

  She pointed inside the trailer. “See that little TV in there? It's hooked up to four security cameras. We had them installed today. If someone messes with the trailer tonight, we'll have them on video.

  “Buck was on watch until we got here. You and I will be on watch for the next three hours. After that, one of my security people will take over.”

  She pointed at the bag of food. “You ready to eat?”

  I was.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Kat dragged two folding chairs from underneath the trailer and set them in the alley so we could enjoy the weather but still be able to see the security monitor.

  After she divvied up the food, we ate. My grouper sandwich was good. The fries were a little soggy and probably would have been better if we'd eaten them right away instead of letting them cool in the bag. I wasn't complaining. Not much to complain about when dining under the moonlight in Key West with a beautiful woman.

  After we'd eaten, Kat pulled her chair close to mine and said, “So tell me about this project you're working on for my father.”

  Boris had told me not to tell anyone and I figured this included his daughter. “Kat, you remember when we first met I asked you if Buck was staying in your guest house? Remember what you said? You told me your clients valued their privacy and you never reveal any information about them. You remember that? The same goes for me. My clients value their privacy and I never reveal anything about what I'm doing for them.”

  She smiled. “Glad to hear it. But if you're working for my father, you are, by extension, working for me. So tell me what he's got you doing.”

  I shook my head. “No, I'm not telling you anything. If you want to know, ask your father.”

  She stood and stepped into the trailer. She came back out holding the stun gun. Pointing it at me, she asked, “You sure you don't want to tell me?”

  I smiled. “I've never had a woman pull a gun on me on the first date. Maybe on the second, but never on the first. Truth is I'd rather you not use that thing on me, but I'm not telling you what your father and I talked about.”

  She pushed the “Charge” button on the gun. I could hear the capacitor inside buzz as it began building up a charge. She moved the business end of the gun closer to me and pushed its two silver electrodes against my chest. “You sure you don't want to tell me about it?”

  Her finger danced over the trigger, waiting for my answer.

  I waited a moment then said, “Kat, I promised your father I wouldn't tell. I'm a man of my word.”

  When she pushed the gun against my chest I tensed up, expecting to feel the electric shock burn through my body.

  But it never happened. Instead, she pulled the devil stick away, hit the discharge button and put it on the ground beside her.

  Using a paper napkin, she wiped off her hands and looked at me. “Walker, I'm impressed. Not many people can keep secrets. Especially when facing pain. ”

  She reached out and put her hand on my knee. “Let me ask you a question. Does your meeting with my father have anything to do with the robbery on his boat?”

  It was an interesting question. Boris hadn't me
ntioned anything about a robbery. But Freddie had. I wanted to know more, to see if it somehow connected Freddie and Boris.

  I smiled. “Tell me what you know about the robbery and if it matches what I talked about with your father, I'll tell you what he's got me doing.”

  She nodded. “Okay, it's a deal. As my father probably told you, about two months ago he and some of his business associates took his boat out for a private meeting. While they were out on the water, another boat pulled up next to them. A man climbed out of it and onto my father's. The man pulled a gun and stole something very valuable.

  “As you might imagine, my father and his associates were pretty upset about being robbed. The meeting was supposed to be secret and no one outside those who attended knew about it. Some of the men think my father set them up. He says he didn't have anything to do with it and I believe him.

  “But the others aren't so sure. To prove his innocence, he's had his security team looking for the guy who robbed them. If he can find him, he'll be able to find out who on the inside set it up.

  “So far, the security team hasn't had any luck. So my father put the word out that he's offering a five thousand dollar reward for information about the robber.

  “I'm guessing he got an anonymous email from someone who wants the reward and he's asked you to track down the person who sent it. Am I right?”

  I smiled. “That's an interesting story. But it has nothing to do with what I'm working on for your father.”

  She picked up the stun gun and pointed it me again. “I should shoot you with this. You said you'd share.”

  I shook my head. “No, I said I would tell you what I was working on, if what you told me matched what your father had me doing. It doesn't. So there's nothing for me to tell.”

  She still had the stun gun pointed in my direction, her finger on the charge button. “You sure you don't want to tell me?”

  “Kat, I promised your father I wouldn't tell. If you want to know, ask him yourself.”

  In the distance we heard the rumble of thunder. Kat pointed the stun gun toward the sky. “It's supposed to rain tomorrow. Good day for Wiener Girl to be closed.”