Mexico.”
“I wish I could help, Buddy, but you probably know more about this than I do.”
“I also heard that you almost got killed a couple of times this weekend. Do you think there might be some connection with the guys you found on the beach?”
“I don’t see how. All I did was find them and call it in.”
“The cops think this has to do with drugs. I know Pepe wouldn’t be using. He had too much to lose.”
“Could he be in the importing business?” Jock asked.
“I doubt it. Call me if you hear anything, Matt. Take it easy Logan.” He went to the bar to order lunch.
We finished our meal, and Logan left for the airport. Jock and I had another beer, paid our bill, and walked out of the resta u rant. Just as we got to the sidewalk my cell phone rang. It was Bill Lester.
“Where are you, Matt?” His voice was agitated, louder than normal.
“Just leaving Lynches. What’s up?”
“Get back inside and stay away from the windows. I’m on my way.” He hung up.
“Back inside,” I said to Jock. He didn’t question me, just headed for the door. “That was the police chief. He’ll be here in a few minutes. I don’t know what the problem is, but he said to get inside and stay away from the windows.”
I patted my thirty-eight in its holster and asked Jock if he were armed.
“Yes,” he said. “I brought it in checked luggage.”
We sat. In about ten minutes Bill Lester strode through the door. I introduced him to Jock. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Your Explorer’s been shot up again. The guy from the auto-glass shop went to the crime lab to pick it up . He wa s coming out of the parking lot when somebody shot through the wind shield with an assault rifle.”
“ Shit,” I said. “Anybody hurt?”
“Yeah. The shooter got the driver right between the eyes. A hell of a shot.”
I said, “This had nothing to do with my habits.”
Jock shifted in his chair. “I wonder if somebody put a locator beacon on Matt’s car,” he said. “That’d make it simple to find him whenever they wanted.”
“I’ll have the crime lab check for one,” said the chief. “In the meantime, Matt, you’d better lay low. I’ll let you know what I find out. Any more of this and we’ll have to change the name of the island to Murder Key.” He left.
“I think we need to get out of town,” Jock said.
“That’s a hell of a note,” I said.
“Well, at least until we can get some idea of who’s trying to kill you.”
I thought about it for a moment. I had to do something more than sit around waiting to be shot. “Let’s go to Orlando,” I said. “I’ve got an old friend in the U.S. Attorney’s office who might be able to find out what’s going on with this mess.”
“What are you thinking?” asked Jock.
“We’ve got two dead Mexicans and one in a coma. The guy who tried to kill me Friday at Tiny’s was most likely Mexican. Conley was an immigration lawyer. I think I may have somehow stumbled into some kind of war involving imm i grants. If there’s anything going on in that area of law e n forcement, the U.S. Attorney’s office would be involved. It’s worth a try.”
37
Murder