Page 35 of Nightshade

“Yeah, we will. You take care, Baby Head. If I were you, I’d get myself a good lawyer—one of those slick guys from the mainland. You’re going to need one.”

“Yeah, but you’re not me, right? So why don’t you run along and fuck off.”

Stilwell nodded, noting that it was the second time so far in the day that he’d been told to fuck off. He took that as a good sign on multiple levels.

13

STILWELL’S ENCHILADA FROMMaggie’s Blue Rose had long been cold by the time he got to the harbormaster’s tower on the pier. Tash popped it in the office microwave, and he took it on a paper plate to a desk where she had set up a screen with a feed from the cameras that were trained on the harbor from eight different angles.

“Have at it,” Tash said. “Anything in particular you’re looking for?”

“Just want to check the weekend before last,” Stilwell said. “See what boats were coming and going.”

“Shit. I forgot to put that list together for you. I’m so sorry. I just was so busy in here till today.”

“It’s okay. The video will show me and then I might have some specific questions.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Well, let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help.”

“Actually, here’s a question: How many moorings does the Black Marlin Club have?”

“They have the eight balls right behind the club. The red onesare all theirs. Plus they have their own dock and they can put two to four boats there, depending on length. They usually keep the embarcadero open for drop-offs and pickups.”

“‘Embarcadero’?”

“The covered slip on the side of the club. The people who use the mooring buoys come in on skiffs to the side slip and there’s an entrance to the club’s restaurant right there.”

“Got it. I saw that this morning when I was over there. So do their members register with you when they come in and out of the harbor?”

“They’re supposed to. It’s best practice so we know who’s here, but it doesn’t always work that way. They have some members who think they’re above the rules.”

“Rich guys—got it. Do you keep a list of members?”

“Not really, but I could go through the logbooks and get you names of the boats that use their moorings. I’ll have some of the owners’ names. Those would be the most active members. You could get the registration information from the state if we don’t have it.”

“If you have time, that would be very helpful.”

“Do you think they had something to do with the woman Denzel found? I thought the mainlanders were taking that case.”

“They are.”

“But you’re working on it anyway?”

Tash didn’t seem concerned, just curious about what he was up to.

“The club reported a significant theft over the weekend,”

Stilwell said. “A valuable sculpture was taken, and the manager over there thinks it was grabbed on the weekend I want to look at.”

“But that’s not really what you’re investigating, right?”

“Uh…”

Stilwell paused. She knew him well, but this was a situationwhere it was too early to discuss case theory or the risk he was taking by investigating a case he had repeatedly been told to stay away from.

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