Key Manatee Read online

  “I got you. However, I think if you could work in this charter in the morning, the folks I been talking to wouldn’t try to get in the way if you had some plans for tomorrow night.”

  “Well, I reckon I need to call a meeting then, since I suppose you need to know something right away.” I gave a nod. “I gotta call in the lookout. You interested in maybe being a honorary member of gang long enough to stand watch while me and the rest have our meet?”

  “Sure. In fact, I could probably talk Consuelo into doing it instead in case y’all have any questions for me.”

  “The lil blond gal? Hell yeah! I done seen her credentials,” I got a big wink. “I reckon I could just make you both honorary members for a couple hours.”

  ♦

  I sat out in the cockpit while the lot of them had a closed-door meeting in the cabin. The lookout Consuelo relieved for the meeting turned out to be Danny the Dreamer, still a little spaced but smiling a lot. After just a few minutes I heard the old man yelling at me.

  “Taco! Come on in here!” I went inside and left the door open hoping Queequeg would take a walk. He didn’t, so I stayed close to the door and breathable air. Shawn had put the charts away, his face a storm of suspicion.

  “Who’s this that wants us to play nice and take a scummy lawyer fishing? We had some plans for tonight. Big plans.” This got some grunts and snickers from the assembled group.

  “Shawn, I can appreciate your concern, but I’m gonna have to say I can’t say.” This wasn’t too well received. “But it’s someone I trust who’s representing them.” Shawn pulled at his goatee while pondering this. He needed more.

  “Can you give us a hint?”

  “Okay. Let’s just say it’s the same outfit that brings the mail.”

  “The post office?”

  “The feds.”

  Immediately everyone in the room had a weapon out and looked ready to use it. The dog had a teeth-showing growl going.

  “Hold the phone, folks! I think it’s mostly the IRS and they aren’t interested in you anyway.” There was a distinct air of disappointment in the room. Guns, knives and at least one machine gun slipped back out of view. “You let Shark do this charter tomorrow and I think they might be willing to look the other way at anything y’all might have cooked up for Blue Manatee.” They didn’t look too convinced so I threw in a little joke. “I mean, as long as you’re not going to blow up Key West or anything.” Which was met with blank stares all around.

  ♦

  An hour later we left the old marina with things set, or mostly set. I needed to get Consuelo up to speed on a few things while she drove us over to take a look at what Blue Manatee was up to.

  “I think we got things worked out. The old shark man is taking me and Grizzel out in the morning, that should give Slip and Jimmy plenty of time to do what they’re going to do.”

  “I’m coming with you tomorrow.”

  It wasn’t a question, and I didn’t really have a good reason why she shouldn’t come along. I didn’t want to say, but as lousy as I still felt it might not be a bad idea to have her around.

  “Okay. His mate is in the hospital so it’s probably just Shark, us, and Grizzel.”

  “Sounds like a fun trip.” She looked away from the road to give me a sick look. “How many are in Shark’s outfit anyway?”

  “You seen Danny when you took the lookout post, and like I told you, Julie’s with them. And of course Shawn the newspaper guy, who’s actually the brains of the operation. Levita’s part of it somehow. Shark told me before I left she’s been in a deep trance for two days laying as much bad ju-ju on Blue Manatee as she can.”

  We did a drive-by on the Blue Manatee park. I was surprised there wasn’t more done on the fill island since I’d seen it last. The short stretch of causeway was finished, but the actual area of fill wasn’t all that big. We swung around and got a look from a different angle and could see dozens of the huge sand barges lined up out on the horizon. Consuelo answered my question before I could ask.

  “Had a bad storm with some wind while you were out. Slowed things down a little. Maybe Levita conjured up the storm.” I thought that was kind of funny, but the lady behind the wheel looked dead serious. Maybe I was just tired.

  “I think I’ll have a little lay-down when we get back to the marina. Maybe this evening we’ll go over Slip and Jimmy’s bit and you can stop by Grizzel’s to remind him.”

  “It really pisses me off Blue Manatee, or DDT, or whoever, is getting away with all this.” Her jaw was set and I got a shot of the fierce look in her eyes. “We’ve got to make this work.”

  I was too tired to give that any thought, much less a response.

  ∨ Key Manatee ∧

  Twenty-Two

  I woke up on the couch. Consuelo was banging pots in the galley and Slip was across the room watching the news on TV. I saw a blond head peek around the galley doorway, then more clanging before she came and sat next to me on the couch. I must have been out a while since it was getting dark outside.

  “How do you feel?” A cool hand on my forehead.

  “Good, just weak still.”

  “I’ve got just the thing!” She bounced back into the galley and I noticed her shorts. Kind of shorts wanting to be a thong. Slip turned off the television and came over and took a chair.

  “We didn’t want to wake you and I didn’t want her going over there after dark. The shorts were her idea. She said they worked on Grizzel.”

  A big smile over a steaming cup of soup came my way from the gallery.

  “Yeah, Grizzel Dear did seem a little preoccupied with my apparel while I was reminding him about his chance tomorrow to show me what a big strong fisherman he is.” I shook my head.

  “You were wearing that old T-shirt?”

  “Of course not!” She pulled it off and turned once slowly so I could get the full effect of the shorts and bikini top ensemble.

  “Yeah, I reckon that got his attention. He’s all set then?” Thankfully the t-shirt went back on.

  “Yep! He’s going to meet us at Shark’s boat at six tomorrow morning. I told him we’d give him a ride but he insisted on driving his Hummer.” Consuelo did a quick eye roll. “Probably true in his case what they say about men with big fancy trucks.” She held up a bent little finger.

  “So, that’s set. Anything else?”

  “Yeah, he rambled on about his great Hummer and tried to convince me to ride with him in the morning, but he didn’t try to get me to come inside the houseboat. I figure he has company tonight.” She left us with that to mull over and went back to banging things in the galley.

  “Slip, you talk to Jimmy?”

  “Yeah, we’re all set. It should be plenty dark still when Butthole leaves in the morning. I’ll go up to the boat first, see if there’s a guard.” He acted like that was it. I knew better. He had a little twitch at the corner of his mouth going like he did anytime he was holding back.

  “And?”

  “Candygram.” He headed for the guest bedroom. Consuelo brought a platter of food out to the dining table and went back for more.

  I took another sip of soup and eased over to check out the food our lovely chef had prepared. I noticed there were only two place settings as she set bowls of mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans next to the platter of steaks and chops. She gave me a wink and turned towards the direction Slip had gone.

  “Put it back in your pants and get in here before it gets cold and I have to throw it to the hogs!”

  Slip came running for the table and stopped in front of me. He had on what looked like a Zorro hat and mask, and held a box wrapped in fancy paper. The man had a wide-open grin on his face.

  “Candygram!”

  Consuelo was already sitting and wasted no time piling food onto her plate. I gave Slip’s outfit a good look.

  “You found that in the clothes locker?”

  Slip stood there looking at me and stealing little glances at the food.


  “Yeah, you wouldn’t believe all the stuff in there, some of it pretty kinky. One of the previous owners must have had a lot of lively lady friends. That’s where Blondie found the shorts thing she’s got on.”

  “What’s in the box?”

  “Candy?”

  I doubted it but let it go. Slip took off the hat and mask and sat down and started eating. It looked like neither of them had eaten in a week the way they went at it. Consuelo came up from a big pull of beer.

  “Sorry. You need to take it easy since you’re still pretty sick. There’s more soup on the stove.”

  ♦

  I still refused to sleep in the master bedroom, which was enough for Slip to decide not to as well, he’d been sleeping on some boat cushions on the floor. A little before five the alarm on my cell phone woke me from another good night’s sleep on the old yellow couch.

  I lay there a minute and took stock. Other than still being weak I felt fine. As soon as I sat up and put my feet on the floor, the guest bedroom door opened and Consuelo came out dressed in fishing clothes.

  “I’ll have coffee in five.”

  We went over everything once more while sipping coffee. Slip kept looking out the window at the dark marina.

  “There’s lights on at Grizzel’s and I just seen Jimmy out across the lot right where he said to look. I’d say we’re ready.”

  A minute later we heard an engine start. I peeked out the window. “That him?”

  “Yep. Looks like it’s a go.”

  Consuelo didn’t have much to say, not even any wisecracks. She looked determined.

  “All right, Slip. Consuelo and I are out of here. Tell Jimmy to call me and let me know what’s going on. Where we’re fishing there should be decent reception for the cell phone.”

  Consuelo grabbed our lunch out of the fridge and headed for the door. I cut the lights behind her and left Slip in the dark houseboat.

  Jimmy came out of the shadows next to the car. I whispered we were set and he whispered the same. I asked about Slip’s candy box. He said he’d given Slip a sophisticated device that when pointed at a person and activated, would cause that person to lose consciousness for several minutes. Before I could say, he assured me it was foolproof. So I didn’t mention Slip’s problems with mechanical devices, figured Jimmy knew so much, he surely knew about that.

  ♦

  The Hummer was already there when we pulled into the old abandoned marina.

  “Taco, we got a problem.”

  “I see.”

  Grizzel was standing next to his truck, but so was another man. A man just as big as Grizzel.

  “I told the bastard to come alone.”

  “Well, let’s see what’s up.”

  It was still dark with just the first hint of light in the east. We parked and got out.

  “Morning, Harry. You ready to do a little fishing?” I could see his mean sneer in the poor light.

  “Ready to kick some ass. Then get some ass!” The sneer went to a leer when he looked over at my companion. I had to ask.

  “Who’s your boyfriend, Harry? I thought you were coming alone.”

  “Hutch here is my bodyguard. You got a problem with that?”

  “I reckon not. The boat’s right back in there and I’m sure he’s waiting on us. Y’all go on, we got your back.”

  I motioned for them to go ahead down the narrow path through the weeds and pulled Consuelo close as soon as they turned.

  “And what is this ass dear Grizzel is talking about?”

  “He started to balk yesterday, so I told him if he won I’d give him a hummer in his Hummer. What’s the problem? I mean, you are going to win, aren’t you?”

  She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and headed down the path.

  They were still grumbling introductions and instructions when I got to the boat. Shark fired up the engine and started barking orders getting ready to cast off. Consuelo went into the cabin but shot right back out.

  “Shit! I forgot the lunch cooler!” She started up the plank, then turned and looked at the bodyguard. “It’s pretty heavy, I could use some help.”

  More grumbling but he finally followed when Shark started in about hurrying the fuck up. We had the dock lines loose and we ready to shove off when Consuelo came back alone making a big show of carrying the heavy cooler. Grizzel was asking before she even got back on board.

  “Where’s Hutch?”

  I could see her shrug in the lights from the boat as she dragged the cooler aboard.

  “He tripped over something and banged his head in the dark. Then got a call on his cell. He said to go on ahead. Said he’d be back in time to pick you up.”

  Grizzel didn’t like this much, but Shark had us pulled away from the dock and heading down the channel as soon as Consuelo and lunch were aboard.

  “Gonna be a good day for sharks! Weather’s perfect and I got some of my secret chum!” The old skipper pointed to a rusty drum in the stern. Other than the chum, the boat smelled better. I realized the gang must have taken Queequeg along to wherever they were holed up while we were off with the boat.

  Grizzel sat in the fighting chair on deck smoking a big cigar with Shark at the topside controls. I helped Consuelo get the cooler stowed away in the cabin. It really wasn’t heavy.

  “What happened to Hutch?”

  Another shrug. “Snake bit him when he went in the bushes to pee?”

  “What’s that on your sleeve?”

  “Ketchup?”

  She wiped off a few red drops with a rag and gave me a quick wink before going back into the cockpit.

  As soon as we cleared the channel Shark put the hammer down and the old wreck of a boat roared along into the dawn at a good clip. A few little pieces of rotten hull planking blew off the bow each time we hit a good wave. Being pretty sure that wasn’t supposed to happen, I pointed it out to our captain. He looked over from his high perch and shrugged.

  Consuelo went up top and he yelled instructions to her for a few minutes. She came down and got tackle ready while Grizzel watched her from the big chair rubbing himself and making lewd remarks. I went up to talk to the old man.

  “We going where I think we’re going?”

  “Yep. This time of year you can’t beat the Shark Hole. Should be plenty of big ‘uns for you boys to play with there.” He had a wild look in his eyes. Man did love his sharks. “I done told dipstick the rules like we talked about before. First with a fish on gets the chair until it’s landed. Biggest shark by noon wins.”

  Consuelo had the heavy poles ready by the time we got to the spot. The old man set the engine idling just enough to hold more-or-less in place against the current. I got baited up and started in fishing off the starboard side. Grizzel sat in the big chair like he expected Consuelo to do everything for him until Shark yelled at him to get off his fat ass and start fishing.

  Consuelo went up to the helm to steer when the old man came down to start in with the chumming. Grizzel had his bait out by then off the port side, and as the captain walked by the big man gave him a hard kick in the rear. Shark went down but when he came up he had a fish club in his hands. Grizzel started laughing.

  “You wouldn’t dare, you old fool!”

  It was still early enough the old captain hadn’t put on his sunglasses, so I could see Grizzel was getting the rage version of the holding eye and roving eye thing. The laughter tapered off. It looked like the barefoot old man was about to start in with the club any second.

  Consuelo yelled from up top and pointed. It broke the stare down when they looked. Shark flashed a deranged grin at the lawyer before answering the helmswoman.

  “Them’s dolphin, honey, not sharks!”

  I knew she knew the difference. Grizzel turned around and looked.

  “Dumb bitch probably never saw a real shark!”

  It wasn’t long after the chum slick got going we all saw real sharks. Several dark shapes could be seen in the clear blue water and a couple of times fins b
roke the surface, some of them good sized. All the bouncing around in the boat hadn’t done me a lot of good. I was trying to save my strength in case I had to deal with any sharks on my line.

  The old man acted different. He stayed at the stern, doling out the exceptionally rank chum and quietly taking plenty of verbal abuse from Grizzel who had obviously already forgotten the fish club. Once I caught the captain’s eye and he gave me the smallest wink.

  I snuck a look at my watch just as Grizzel hooked up and jumped in the big chair. Shark strapped him in to the chair so the pull of the fish would be on the chair as much as on the fisherman. Grizzel acted like he had a monster but with the big reel he had it up close enough to see pretty quick. The old man looked over the side.

  “Black-tip, maybe four foot.” He shrugged and looked at me just as something hit my bait hard. I braced my hip against the side of the boat, but the fish ran straight back and pulled me against the stern. It felt like something serious and I was just trying to keep from being pulled overboard as the fish ran and line peeled out. The old man appeared next to me, ready to grab my belt. He looked back at Grizzel still in the big chair, grinning.

  “Get your little fish in the boat and your fat ass out of that chair! He’s got something worthwhile here!” Grizzel let the chair straps hold his pole while he lit another cigar.

  “I ain’t got this brute in the boat yet! Rules is rules, captain!”

  Grizzel started in on a good hard laugh but stopped suddenly when Shark ran across the boat and cut Grizzel’s line with the knife that had suddenly materialized in his hand.

  “Hey! What the fuck!”

  Shark turned toward Grizzel, still holding the knife.

  “Out of the chair!”

  After a round of particularly nasty curses aimed at the old captain, Grizzel finally dislodged his bulk from the chair. By then I had my fish stopped, but I had a hell of a time getting across the deck to the fighting chair. Shark strapped me in and my aching arms got a little bit of a break finally.

  “What’s the matter, writer-man? That little shark kicked your ass already?” I reached behind me with one arm and felt along the seat.