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Three-thirty in the afternoon and many miles still to cover. Dan stopped by the police station to return the car and then went into the Haida-Way to get a cup of coffee and a piece of their home-made lemon pie. It was so good he briefly thought about buying a whole one to take back to the boat, but decided against it. He wasn’t going to have a chance to eat it for a while. After he had spoken to Sensei Ishikawa he was going to head over to Sullivan Bay and that meant using the inflatable rather than Dreamspeaker. He needed speed, not comfort.
He knew the Sensei didn’t have a class until later in the afternoon after school got out and Dan didn’t want to disturb him before then so he lingered over the coffee, but he still arrived early. Both the blue house and the dojo were quiet when he got there. To kill some time, he walked around the block, checking out the houses that bracketed or backed onto Halvorsen’s. Most were older homes, probably built back in the forties or fifties when logging was booming, and mature hedges and gardens provided a solid barrier between them. It was unlikely anyone living in them would be aware of anything happening in the house beside or behind them.
By the time he got back to the dojo the doors were open and Dan went in, removed his shoes and bowed to the tiny man.
“I did not expect you here today.” Sensei Ishikawa returned the bow then continued to check the judoki lining the shelves. “You have solved the case you were working on?”
“I wish I could say yes, but I’m afraid not,” Dan answered. “In fact I’m working on it now. I am here to ask a favor Sensei. I can’t stay.”
Ishikawa was silent for a moment, and then turned to look at Dan. “This favor is something to do with your case?”
Dan nodded. “Yes.”
There was no hesitation. The Sensei indicated his agreement with a slight bow. “Then I will be happy to do it. What is it you need?”
“We think that the people in the house across the street are somehow involved. We need to talk to them, but no one answers the door.”
“You are talking about the son of Mr. Halvorsen?”
“No, although he’s probably part of it. There is another man we are particularly interested in. I was hoping you might call me if you see him.”
“That is all? It is simple. Of course I will be happy to do this.”
Dan bowed. “Thank you Sensei.”
He gave Ishikawa a description of the man he now believed was called Eric and a card with the phone number of the detachment and turned to go. “Please be careful Sensei. Don’t be too obvious. We think this man is dangerous. He may have shot two people.
***
THE SEAS WERE RELATIVELY calm as Dan steered the inflatable towards Sullivan Bay, but even so the jolting as the boat bounced across the water jarred his spine. Braced against the console, Dan could only hope no wind developed before he got back to McNeill. If it did, it would make what was already going to be a difficult trip much more dangerous.
He had seen the white launch—the SeaRay or whatever it was—when he was leaving the Quarterdeck marina after talking to Reuben Crosbie. It had come in around the outer floats of the neighboring commercial fisherman’s marina and tied up to the fuel dock. Dan had been sitting in his car writing up notes of his interview and the building on the dock blocked his view of the boat’s cockpit and anyone in it, but the shape had been unmistakeable. He put his notebook down and leaned back in the seat. Moving would draw attention and increase the risk of being seen, and he didn’t want to put Reuben Crosbie at risk.
It took maybe twenty minutes to fuel the boat. Dan watched the guy working the dock roll the fuel hose back up and then release the forward line and the SeaRay drifted over to the visitor’s float. He recognized the two men who stepped out instantly: Halvorsen and his buddy Eric. The two men split up at the head of the ramp with Halvorsen going over to the marina office while Eric headed straight towards the parking lot.
The car wasn’t big enough for Dan to completely slide down in his seat. All he could do was get down as low as he could, bend his head down over his notepad and hope for the best. It was enough. Eric headed straight for a blue pick-up truck parked one row over and climbed into the passenger seat. Halvorsen joined him a few minutes later and the truck headed out.
Now, as the inflatable took a particularly hard bounce off the top of a wave, Dan was hoping the two men were still out on the road somewhere. If he could speak to any of the crew on the yacht without Eric being around, maybe he could learn just who the man was.
***
WHITE LIGHTNING was back in almost the same berth as it had been when he and Claire had visited the marina. As Dan climbed the steps and walked across an empty deck to the open doors he could hear voices speaking and recognized the sound of a television. Someone was watching the news.
He rapped on the glass and two faces turned towards him. One was the man he had seen wearing the uniform on the Yacht Captain’s website, Captain Daniel Vienza. The other was much younger and was dressed in navy blue shorts and a white polo shirt with White Lightning embroidered on a blue shield on the pocket. Vienza reached for a remote and turned down the sound while the younger man approached the door.
“Sorry,” he said as he rested his hand on the door. “This is a private yacht. You’re not allowed to be here. You’re going to have to leave.”
“I’m looking for Eric,” Dan answered, ignoring the direction. “He said to meet him here. Is he around?”
The man relaxed a little. “Oh! No, I’m sorry, but he went out a while back. I don’t know when he’ll be back. You want to leave a message?”
Dan shook his head. “I really need to talk to him. I don’t suppose you know how I can contact him do you?”
“Not me. The Captain might though.” He turned to Daniel Vienza. “You got a phone number for Eric? This guy’s a friend of his.”
Something about the way he said the words made Dan think that Eric was not someone either man held in high esteem.
Vienza shifted on the leather settee, pulled a wallet out of his pocket, extracted a business card and held it out. “Here you go. Not likely I’m ever going to need it, but I’ve got another one up front anyway.”
The younger man took it and handed it to Dan who glanced at it and slid it into his pocket. “Thanks. Sorry to bother you.”
He started to turn away, then stopped. “By the way, did Melissa ever get her dog back?”
The young man rolled his eyes. “That’s something we don’t talk about, at least not when Mr. Masterton’s aboard. Biggest fireworks display I’ve ever seen. Even your buddy Eric almost got caught in the fallout.”
Dan waited until he was back in the inflatable to look at the card. Eric LaSalle. Import and Export. Richmond. B.C.