Wreckers' Key by Christine Kling Read Free Book Online Page B

on your liability because you deal with these millionaires, and our friend Melvin Burke knows it.”  
    “You’d know. That’s the stuff I pay you to take care of. Okay, so our friend Melvin isn’t going to go away anytime soon. Man, I’m really starting to hate this guy. I can’t believe he did this on purpose. He had his daughter along, and if he put her at risk like that for some con, he’s an even bigger dirtbag than I thought.”
    “It is looking that way.”
    “Shit. But I don’t suppose that’s what you called me to ask me about.”
    “In a way, it is. The news just keeps getting better. The bill for the insurance on your boat just arrived.” I had a post office box for my business, and Jeannie was handling my mail during my absence. “They’ve nearly doubled your premiums. I’m sure it’s a combination of all the recent hurricanes here in Florida and the increase in boating accidents. I thought I’d ask if you want me to check around, see if I could get you a better rate somewhere else. We don’t have much time. The policy renewal date is only a couple of weeks away.”
    “Geez, Jeannie, almost double? Already it seems like I work a good week each month just to pay that bill. This business. Red must be rolling over in his grave.”
    “You had your father cremated, Seychelle.”
    “You know what I mean. It’s not like the old days when he built Gorda and started the towing business. Back then, he wasn’t getting ripped off every time he turned around—both by clients and by his insurance company. Hell, most of the time Red probably didn’t even have insurance.”
    “Times have changed.”
    I exhaled into the receiver and didn’t say anything for several seconds. I could hear Jeannie breathing on the other end of the line. “I know. There’s too much change for me sometimes.” I wanted to add, and too much death . Then it started again. Whenever someone died, there were the many days of having to tell people over and over what had happened. Both my parents, Elysia, Neal—and now I had to add Nestor to the list of those I had loved and lost. And I had to tell Jeannie without turning on the tears again. I was tired of tears. “Make the calls, Jeannie. See what you can do. But before we hang up, I’ve got to tell you about what’s happening down here.”

    Ted Berger’s room at the Hyatt was bigger than my whole house. Granted, I live in a little converted boathouse, and I don’t normally frequent the homes or hotel rooms of the rich and famous. But just the living room of his suite could have held my whole combined living room/kitchen and the tiny bedroom that I called home. Berger was sitting at an ornate desk in front of a laptop computer. Over his shoulder was a fantastic view looking out over the harbor, and I could just make out Gorda anchored in the lee of Christmas Tree Island. She stood out among the many cruising sailboats.
    Berger looked up over the top of a pair of half-glasses. “What the hell is wrong with you? How can anybody live today without a cell phone?”
    I held my hands out in a gesture of surrender. “You want me to work for you, you take what you get.”
    “Goddammit,” he said, whipping off his reading glasses and throwing them on the desk. Then he stopped, and his face broke into a smile. “Shit,” he said. “It’s been a while since anybody’s talked to me like that. Sit down.” He gestured to the small armchair on the opposite side of the window.
    Berger was dressed in khaki pants and another nearly neon Hawaiian shirt. This one was electric blue and yellow. Brand-new leather boat shoes completed the outfit. He ran a hand down the side of his head, smoothing his trim white hair.
    “Seychelle, what happened yesterday was a tragedy. No doubt about it. Nestor was a good kid. But we’ve got to press on. I called an agency up in Lauderdale and I’ve already hired a new captain. He’s flying down tonight. I want you to meet him in the yard