Teddy had breakfast, got Maitland’s car back from valet parking, and drove down to the dock. He went into a bait-and-tackle shop and bought a fishing rod, a creel, a net, a beer cooler, and two extra-large coolers.
The salesclerk grinned and inquired in halting English, “You plan on catch that much?”
“If your equipment’s any good,” Teddy told him.
Teddy found the French equivalent of a Home Depot and bought two fifty-pound bags of cement. The salesman helped him carry them out. He headed for the trunk, but Teddy stopped him.
“Throw them in the back seat.”
The salesman was surprised. “Really?”
“Trunk’s full,” Teddy told him.
After a couple of blocks Teddy stopped, got out, and poured the cement into the two large coolers. He crumpled up the bags and threw them in a garbage can on the street corner.
Teddy stopped at the first convenience store he came to and bought a bag of ice and two six packs of Bud Lite. He took them out to the car and filled the beer cooler.
Teddy got back in the car, drove down to a marina, and rented a boat. It was expensive—even more so because he didn’t want a pilot. He had to sign a zillion forms exempting liability in the event anything happened. He signed them as Floyd Maitland. If he wrecked the boat, Teddy figured, Floyd was in a lot of trouble.
It was a while since Teddy had piloted a boat, but like riding a bicycle, Teddy didn’t forget. A sailboat might have been trickier, but a cabin cruiser was a piece of cake. Teddy maneuvered easily through the harbor and headed for the open sea.
As soon as he was more or less alone he killed the motor, dropped anchor, and went to work.
First he took out the fishing rod, unwound the line, and cast it off the stern of the ship. He was terrible at casting, but no one was looking. He stuck the handle of the rod into one of the round metal holders built into the rail for that purpose. He left the net and the creel lying on the deck to complete the picture. He realized these were hollow gestures that would only fool the most casual inspection. There wasn’t even bait on the hook.
Teddy popped open the beer cooler, grabbed a few cans, and poured them out in the sea. He popped another can, chugged half of it, and poured the rest out. He tossed the empty on the deck with the others, and turned his attention to the task at hand.
Teddy unzipped the duffel and took out his tools, which he had packed carefully around the body. He took out a roll of duct tape and taped up the coolers. They had latches, but Teddy wasn’t about to trust them. He wound the duct tape around the coolers, taping them crosswise and lengthwise again and again.
When he was satisfied, he took out a coil of rope and fed it through the handles of the coolers. He tied it off with knots he knew would hold, whether they would have impressed a true seaman or not. He reinforced them with duct tape nonetheless.
He pulled Maitland out of the duffel bag. It would have been easier to leave him in the bag, but if the body was ever discovered, the duffel could conceivably be traced back to the sporting goods store where it was purchased by Devon Billingham. That could lead to complications.
Teddy tied the rope to Maitland. He tied his legs, his arms, his neck, and his body, each with a separate length of rope, so if one gave, the others wouldn’t.
Teddy had just finished tying up the body when he noticed a boat bearing down on him. It was still in the distance, but it was coming fast. It was a police boat, and within minutes it would be close enough for them to see what he was doing.
There was nowhere to hide, not with a dead man lying faceup on the deck. Teddy stooped down, grabbed the coolers and, keeping low, heaved one after another over the side. Maitland’s body skidded across the deck and disappeared in the deep.
That left Teddy sprawled out on the deck. His actions would seem incomprehensible to the police in the boat. They’d want to know what he was doing. He needed a useful prop. He lunged for the beer cooler, pulled out a can, and popped the top. Teddy staggered to his feet and careened in the direction of his fishing pole just as the police boat pulled up alongside.
Teddy waved and saluted them with a beer.
Whatever the police had been expecting, a drunken cowboy wasn’t it. The police captain yelled something in French.
Teddy yelled back, “No speako le French!”
The policeman visibly rolled his eyes.
“Monsieur, have you been drinking?” the police captain asked.
Teddy looked surprised. He looked at the beer in his hand, then back at the officer. “No.”
The officer stared at him.
Teddy laughed a hearty, good-ol’-boy Texan laugh. “I’m not drunk, just seasick. I love to fish, but I hate the water. And the water doesn’t like me. I drink a little beer to take the edge off. I assure you, I’m not drunk.”
The captain frowned. “Do you have any identification?”
“You bet I do. Here’s my driver’s license from the state of Texas. Photo ID. And here’s the rental agreement for the boat.”
The captain perused the agreement. “This is one of Francois’s boats. Did you rent it from him?”
“If that’s his name, yes, I did.”
“And he let you take it out alone?”
“He charged me enough for it.”
“What security did he ask for?”
“He has my Platinum card and my passport. He knows he’ll get his boat back.”
“Were you planning on staying out here long?”
“Not anymore, I’m not. No offense, but you guys kind of took the joy out of it.”
“Just doing our job.”
“Of course.”
The police asked him a few more questions and let him go. Teddy knew they would. If they declared him drunk and unfit to pilot a boat, they would have to tow it in, and they didn’t want to do that.
As soon as the police were gone, Teddy packed up his gear to go. He cleaned up the beer cans and stowed his equipment. Without Maitland, the fishing gear fit in the duffel bag.
Teddy packed up the fishing pole. He got a surprise when he pulled in the line.
There was a fish on it.
57.
TEDDY PULLED THE cabin cruiser up to the dock. The man from the boat rental company was surprised to see him.
“Quitting so soon?”
“It gets boring after a while,” Teddy said.
“What happened to your coolers?”
“I filled them with fish and dropped them off at the market.”
“Yeah, sure.”