55
GIGI WAS ALREADY on the boat when her cell phone buzzed.
“Yes?”
“It’s Larry. I’m across the street—I’ve ditched the car.”
“Come ahead, then.”
“Okay.” He hung up.
She started the engines and checked the gauges. A moment later there was a knock on the hull, and Larry Lee stepped into the cockpit. “Good morning,” she said.
“Good morning. We ready to head out?”
“We’ve got to stop at Key West Bight for fuel, so you go below and stay there, until I call you up. I can handle the fueling.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to handle everything,” he said. “I know nothing about boats. I’ll try and do what you tell me, though.” He threw his bags below and took a seat.
Gigi tossed the lines ashore and edged out of the berth and into the channel. In an hour they’d be on their way to Key Largo. Larry looked pretty good, she thought. She had fucked him a couple of times before; maybe she would again. It would make an interesting change from Evan.
EVAN SAT IN the living room with Stone, Dino and Tommy while they briefed him.
“Okay,” Dino said, “Wally Millard is on board; he’s the guy who’s recommending Manny to you. If it should come up in your conversation with Manny, Wally is medium height, stocky, gray hair. He’s ex-NYPD, now a P.I. A lawyer friend referred you to him; you had all your meetings with him at Elaine’s. Be vague about what kind of work he did for you.”
“Okay,” Evan said. “What’s Elaine’s?”
Dino looked at Evan as if he felt sorry for him. “It’s a very popular restaurant in New York, at Eighty-eighth and Second Avenue.”
“Got it.”
Tommy handed Evan a typed sheet of paper and a map. “My friend Mike Levy has agreed to be the target,” he said. “I want you to commit all this to memory, except the map, which you can show Manny. There are written directions to Mike’s house, both from I-95 and from the Intracoastal Waterway, but I want you to strongly suggest an approach from the water. Mike has a Boston Whaler at a little marina just south of there; it’s marked on the map. Tell Manny the shooter can use the boat, then leave the keys in the locker under the steering wheel.”
“Why do you want an approach from the water?” Evan asked.
“Because it’s easier to see the shooter coming. If he comes by land, he could leave his car anywhere and sneak through the woods. Mike’s making a dummy that he’ll put on the back porch, which overlooks the waterway. There’s a floating dock there with the initials M.L. on a sign. He can shoot from the boat or from the dock.”
Evan read the instructions over carefully. “All right. Why do I want Levy killed?”
“A business partnership gone wrong—there’s some insurance money. Don’t try and give too much detail; you don’t want a guy like Manny to have any more information than he actually needs to accomplish the hit. The more you tell him, the more he’ll ask.”
“Okay.”
Stone handed Evan an envelope. “Here’s your money back. We’ve wiped all the fingerprints off, and all the bills have been marked with a tiny dab of a fluid that won’t show except under ultraviolet light. Also, we’ve left the bands from South Beach Security in place; that will lend credibility. Offer him forty grand, and go as high as sixty if you have to. You’ll give him half the money up front and let him propose how you give him the second half. That’s probably when the state cops will bust him, so you have to call us and give us a location. Otherwise, they’ll have to put a tail on you.”
Tommy gave him a wallet. “You’ve got a driver’s license, a Social Security card and some miscellaneous I.D., all in the name of Howard Worth. It’s an identity we did for a drug cop; all we did was make a new license with your photo from my cell phone camera.”
Evan put the wallet in his pocket. “Do you want me to identify myself by that name?”
“No, that stuff is just in case he searches you. Tell him your name is Joe, just Joe. All he should know about you is that name and the number for this phone.” Tommy handed him a phone. “Memorize the number. It’s a throwaway. Don’t call anybody but Manny from this phone.”
Stone handed him another phone. “Use this for general purposes, like calling us.”
“Am I going to have to wear a wire?” Evan asked.
“No,” Tommy said, handing him a well-used briefcase. “The briefcase is wired, so keep it within about eight feet of you and Manny. It’ll pick up everything and record it. It’s a solid-state recorder, very small, and it’s concealed under the lining of the case. We’ve put a few pens, paper clips and other junk in there, just to look like you use it every day, but there’s room for the money, too.”
“Got it,” Evan said.
“It’s okay if you’re a little nervous,” Stone said. “Anybody would be, under the circumstances. Try and stick to the script we’ve talked about, but you can improvise, if you think it will help. Just don’t talk too much; you might make mistakes.”
Stone described Manny’s office, so he would know what to expect. “Okay, you ready to make the call?”
Evan took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay.”
MANNY’S SECRETARY BUZZED him. “There’s a man who says he needs to talk to you, says it’s urgent.”
“What’s his name?”
“Joe, just Joe.”
Manny picked up the phone. “Manny White.”
“Mr. White, my name is Joe. I’d like to speak to you about a job, a very important job.”
“So speak,” Manny said.
“Not on the phone,” Evan said. “I can meet with you around midday today, if you’re available. In your office or wherever you choose.”
“Give me some sort of idea about what you want,” Manny said. “I may not do your kind of work.”
“Wally Millard, in New York, says you might be able to help.”
“Oh, okay, then. How about one o’clock, in my office?”
“Then we’re good.”
“You have the address?”
“No.”
Manny gave it to him, then hung up and called Wally Millard.
“Millard.”
“Hey, Wally, it’s Manny White.”
“Hey, Manny, how you doin’? Funny you should call. I sent you some business yesterday.”
“Yeah, he just called. Who is he?”
“He doesn’t want to do names. Calls himself Joe. But I’ve done a couple jobs for the guy, and he’s always been straight with me. Pays well and on the dot, too.”
“Okay. If you’re vouching for the guy, he can’t be all bad.”
“I was never sorry I worked for him,” Wally said.
“Thanks, pal,” Manny said, then he hung up.
WE’RE ON FOR one o’clock,” Evan said.
“Then we’d better get started,” Stone said. He called the airport and asked for his airplane to be refueled and pulled out of the hangar.
