璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第122章

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‘What　are　those　things？‘　Pam　asked；　pointing　to　the　floats　decorating　the　water　to　port。
‘Floats　for　crab　pots。　They‘re　really　more　like　cages。　Crabs　get　in　and　can‘t　get　out。　You　leave　floats　so　you　know　where　they　are。‘　Kelly　handed　Pam　his　glasses　and　pointed　to　a　Bay…build　workboat　about　three　miles　to　the　east。
‘They　trap　the　poor　things？‘　Kelly　laughed。
‘Pam；　the　bacon　you　had　for　breakfast？　The　hog　didn‘t　mit　suicide；　did　he？‘
She　gave　him　an　impish　took。　‘Well；　no。‘
‘Don‘t　get　too　excited。　A　crab　is　just　a　big　aquatic　spider；　even　though　it　tastes　good。‘
Kelly　altered　course　to　starboard　to　clear　a　red　nun…buoy。
‘Seems　kinda　cruel；　though。‘
‘Life　can　be　that　way。‘Kelly　said　too　quickly　and　then　regretted　it。
Pam‘s　response　was　as　heartfelt　as　Kelly‘s。　‘Yeah；　I　know。‘
Kelly　didn‘t　turn　to　took　at　her；　only　because　he　stopped　himself。　There‘d　been　emotional　content　in　her　reply；　something　to　remind　him　that　she；　too；　had　demons。　The　moment　passed　quickly；　however。　She　leaned　back　into　the　capacious　conning　chair；　leaning　against　him　and　making　things　right　again。　One　last　time　Kelly‘s　senses　warned　him　that　something　was　not　right　at　all。　But　there　were　no　demons　out　here；　were　there？
‘You‘d　better　go　below。‘
‘Why？‘
‘Sun‘s　going　to　be　hot　today。　There‘s　some　lotion　in　the　medicine　cabi；　main　head。‘
‘Head？‘
‘Bathroom！‘
‘Why　is　everything　different　on　a　boat？‘
Kelly　laughed。　‘That‘s　so　sailors　can　be　the　boss　out　here。　Now；　shoo！　Go　get　that　stuff　and　put　a　lot　on　or　you‘ll　look　like　a　french　fry　before　lunch。‘
Pam　made　a　face。　‘I　need　a　shower；　too。　Is　that　okay？‘
‘Good　idea；‘　Kelly　answered　without　looking。　‘No　sense　scaring　the　fish　away。‘
‘You！‘　She　swatted　him　on　the　arm　and　headed　below。
‘Vanished；　just　plain　vanished；‘　Oreza　growled。　He　was　hunched　over　a　chart　table　at　the　Thomas　Point　Coast　Guard　Station。
‘We　shoulda　got　some　air　cover；　helicopter　or　something；‘　the　civilian　observed。
‘Wouldn‘t　have　mattered；　not　last　night。　Hell；　the　gulls　rode　that　blow　out。‘
‘But　where‘d　he　go？‘
‘Beats　me；　maybe　the　storm　sank　his　ass。‘　Oreza　glowered　at　the　chart。　‘You　said　he　was　northbound。　We　covered　all　these　ports　and　Max　took　the　western　shore。　You　sure　the　description　of　the　boat　was　correct？‘
‘Sure？　Hell；　we　did　everything　but　buy　the　goddamned　boat　for　‘em！‘　The　civilian　was　as　short…tempered　as　twenty…eight　hours　of　caffeine…induced　wakefulness　could　explain；　even　worse　for　having　been　ill　on　the　patrol　boat；　much　to　the　amusement　of　the　enlisted　crew。　His　stomach　felt　like　it　was　coated　with　steel　wool。　‘Maybe　it　did　sink；‘　he　concluded　gruffly；　not　believing　it　for　a　moment。
‘Wouldn‘t　that　solve　your　problem？‘　His　attempt　at　levity　earned　him　a　growl；　and　Quartermaster　First　Class　Manuel　Oreza　caught　a　warning　look　from　the　station　mander；　a　gray…haired　warrant　officer　named　Paul　English。
‘You　know；‘　the　man　said　in　a　state　of　exhaustion；　‘I　don‘t　think　anything　is　going　to　solve　this　problem；　but　it‘s　my　job　to　try。‘
‘Sir；　we‘ve　all　had　a　long　night。　My　crew　is　racked　out；　and　unless　you　have　a　really　good　reason　to　stay　up；　I　suggest　you　find　a　bunk　and　get　a　few　Zs；　sir。‘
The　civilian　looked　up　with　a　tired　smile　to　mute　his　earlier　words。　‘Petty　Officer　Oreza；　smart　as　you　are；　you　ought　to　be　an　officer。‘
‘If　I‘m　so　smart；　how　e　we　missed　our　friend　last　night？‘
That　guy　we　saw　around　dawn？‘
‘Kelly？　Ex…Navy　chief；　solid　guy。‘
‘Kinda　young　for　a　chief；　isn‘t　he？‘　English　asked；　looking　at　a　not　very　good　photo　the　spotlight　had　made　possible　He　was　new　at　the　station。
‘It　came　along　with　a　Navy　Cross；‘　Oreza　explained。
The　civilian　looked　up。　‘So；　you　wouldn‘t　think　…‘
‘Not　a　chance　in　hell。‘
The　civilian　shook　his　head。　He　paused　for　a　moment；　then　headed　off　to　the　bunk　room。　They‘d　be　going　out　again　before　sunset；　and　he‘d　need　the　sack　time。
‘So　how　was　it？‘　English　asked　after　the　man　left　the　room。
‘That　guy　is　shipping　a　lot　of　gear；　Cap‘n。‘　As　a　station　mander；　English　was　entitled　to　the　title；　all　the　more　so　that　he　let　Portagee　run　his　boat　his　way。　‘Sure　as　hell　he　doesn‘t　sleep　much。‘
‘He‘s　going　to　be　with　us　for　a　while；　on　and　off；　and　I　want　yon　to　handle　it。‘
Oreza　tapped　the　chart　with　a　pencil。　‘I　still　say　this　would　be　a　perfect　place　to　keep　watch　from；　and　I　know　we　can　trust　the　guy。‘
‘The　man　says　no。‘
‘The　man　ain‘t　no　seaman；　Mr　English。　I　don‘t　mind　when　the　guy　tells　me　what　to　do；　but　he　don‘t　know　enough　to　tell　me　how　to　do　it。‘　Oreza　circled　the　spot　on　the　chart。
‘I　don‘t　like　this。‘　
‘You　don‘t　have　to　like　it；‘　the　taller　man　said。　He　unfolded　his　pocket　knife　and　slit　the　heavy　paper　to　reveal　a　plastic　container　of　white　powder。　‘A　few　hours‘　work　and　we　turn　three　hundred　thousand。　Something　wrong　with　that；　or　am　I　missin‘　something？‘
‘And　this　is　just　the　start；‘　the　third　man　said。
‘What　do　we　do　with　the　boat？‘　asked　the　man　with　the　scruples。
The　tall　one　looked　up　from　what　he　was　doing。　‘You　get　rid　of　that　sail？‘
‘Yeah。‘
‘Well；　we　can　stash　the　boat。。。　but　probably　smarter　to　scuttle。　Yeah；　that‘s　what　we‘ll　do。‘
‘And　Angelo？‘　All　three　looked　over　to　where　the　man　was　lying；　unconscious　still；　and　bleeding。
‘I　guess　we　scuttle　him；　too；‘　the　tall　one　observed　without　much　in　the　way　of　emotion。　‘Right　here　ought　to　be　fine。‘
‘Maybe　two　weeks；　there　won‘t　be　nothin‘　left。　Lots　of　critters　out　there。‘　The　third　one　waved　outside　at　the　tidal　wetlands。
‘See　how　easy　it　is？　No　boat；　no　Angelo；　no　risk；　and　three　hundred　thousand　bucks。　I　mean；　how　much　more　do　you　expect；　Eddie？‘
‘His　friends　still　ain‘t　gonna　like　it。‘　The　ment　came　more　from　a　contrarian　disposition　than　moral　conviction。
‘What　friends？‘　Tony　asked　without　looking。　‘He　ratted；　didn‘t　he？　How　many　friends　does　a　rat　have？‘
Eddie　bent　to　the　logic　of　the　situation　and　walked　over　to　Angelo‘s　unconscious　form。　The　blood　was　still　pumping　out　of　the　many　abrasions；　and　the　chest　was　moving　slowly　as　he　tried　to　breathe。　It　was　time　to　put　an　end　to　that。　Eddie　knew　it；　he‘d　merely　been　trying　to　delay　the　inevitable。　He　pulled　a　small　。22　automatic　from　his　pocket；　placed　it　to　the　back　of　Angelo‘s　skull；　and　fired　once。　The　body　spasmed；　then　went　slack。　Eddie　set　his　gun　aside　and　dragged　the　body　outside；　leaving　Henry　and　his　friend　to　do　the　important　stuff。　They‘d　brought　some　fish　ting；　which　he　wrapped　around　the　body　before　dumping　it　in　the　water　behind　their　small　motorboat。　A　cautious　man；　Eddie　looked　around；　but　there　wasn‘t　much　danger　of　intruders　here。　He　motored　off　until　he　found　a　likely　spot　a　few　hundred　yards　off；　then　stopped　and　drifted　while　he　lifted　a　few　concrete　blocks　from　the　boat　and　tied　them　to　the　ting。　Six　were　enough　to　sink　Angelo　about　eight　feet　to　the　bottom。　The　water　was　pretty　clear　here；　and　that　worried　Eddie　a　little　until　he　saw　all　the　crabs。　Angelo　would　be　gone　in　less　than　two　weeks。　It　was　a　great　improvement　over　the　way　they　usually　did　business；　something　to　remember　for　the　future。　Disposing　of　the　little　sailboat　would　be　harder。　He‘d　have　to　find　a　deeper　spot；　but　he　had　all　day　to　think　about　it。
Kelly　altered　course　to　starboard　to　avoid　a　gaggle　of　sports　craft。　The　island　was　visible　now；　about　five　miles　ahead。　Not　much　to　look　at；　just　a　low　bump　on　the　horizon；　not　even　a　tree；　but　it　was　his　and　it　was　as　private　as　a　man　could　wish。　About　the　only　bad　news　was　the　miserable　TV　reception。
Battery　Island　had　a　long　and　undistinguished　history。　Its　current　name；　more　ironic　than　appropriate；　had　e　in　the　early　nieenth　century；　when　some　enterprising　militiaman　had　decided　to　place　a　small　gun　battery　there　to　guard　a　narrow　spot　in　the　Chesapeake　Bay　against　the　British；　who　were　sailing　towards　Washington；　DC；　to　punish　the　new　nation　that　had　been　so　ill…advised　as　to　challenge　the　power　of　the　world‘s　foremost　navy。　One　British　squadron　mander　had　taken　note　of　a　few　harmless　puffs　of　smoke　on　the　island；　and；　probably　with　more　amusement　than　malice；　had　taken　one　ship　within　gun　range　and　let　loose　a　few　sal