Geezer Paradise (36 page)

             
"So, do you want to go back and get the boat?" I asked.

             
Willey said, "How about we stop and get something to eat.  I'm starving."

             
Willey, the skinny glutton.  But it did seem like a good idea since we might be up all night trying to catch Flaherty at home.

             
"There's a little place near here that has good fried chicken," Sofie said.  "It's called Spiro's."  We walked back to the Wrangler and headed for Spiro's with Sofie giving directions.  As soon as we pulled into Spiro's parking lot we could smell the fried chicken.  It smelled delicious.  We couldn't bring Oscar inside, so Sofie said to get two orders to go and she and Oscar will eat in the Wrangler.  Willey, Snydely, and I went into the restaurant with Snydely in the lead.  Suddenly Snydely came to an abrupt stop. 

             
"There he is," Snydely stage whispered, and pointed down the bar.

             
Willey and I looked down the bar.  "There is who?"

             
"Flaherty," Snydely said.  "He must have seen us and went out the back door."  We ran back out into the parking lot just in time to see Flaherty race out onto the road in a green BMW. 

             
"Damn," I said to Willey, who was standing right behind me.  "Now he knows we're onto him.  He'll never go back to the canal house now."

             
"He might go back to get his boat," Snydely said.  We hurried back to the Wrangler and piled in.  We got back on the road and headed to the canal house.

             
"That was Flaherty that just drove out of here," I told Sofie.  "We think he might be heading back to the canal house to get his boat."   When we pulled into the canal parking lot we could see Flaherty's boat lights disappearing into the night.  There was nothing we could do.  We went back to Spiro's and had some of the best fried chicken in the state. 

             
As we left the restaurant we realized we couldn't go back to Sofie's house.  Flaherty would probably set the house ablaze while we slept, and shoot us one by one as we ran out of the house. 

             
Sofie came up with a plan.  "We'll take the boat and sleep on board tonight at the marina where it has a mooring.  In the morning we'll check back at the canal house just in case he goes back there. 

             
We drove back down to Tarpon Springs, pulled into Sofie's driveway and looked the place over.  With our guns in our hands we got out and checked the back deck, looking for signs of Flaherty.   We scrambled onto the boat and Sofie started the engine.  So far, so good.  We watched to see if Flaherty was following us as we headed to the boat's marina.  We moved quietly, watching the lights go by on the shoreline.  It reminded me of the night we broke into the nursing home.  Oscar hung over the side watching the luminescence in the water, as he did that night.  And once again I held onto the back of Oscar's shorts so he wouldn’t topple into the water.  That trip had ended with someone getting killed.  I hoped that wouldn't happen this time. 

             
Soon we pulled into the marina.  The only light came from the security spotlights on the small marina building.  We idled down the length of the slips until we came to an empty one.  Sofie backed the boat in and we tied off.  Sofie turned on a few lights in the boat's cabin.  I hadn't noticed before, but the cabin was spacious.  Not luxurious, but comfortable.  There were two side berths in the cabin and a 'V' berth in the bow.  "I'll take Oscar with me and we'll sleep in the bow." Sofie said.

             
"We don't take up a lot of room, but one of you will have to sleep on the floor.  There's a sleeping bag in the drawer under each side berth." 

             
"I'll use the sleeping bag," Willey volunteered.  "If Barney has to sleep on the floor he'll be doing his Kabuki dance again."

             
Sofie and Snydely looked to me for an explanation.

             
"My back sometimes goes out on me," I explained.  Actually, it wasn't my back.  It was my hips.  And they didn't go out on me, it was arthritis.  But I didn't want to explain.  I didn't want Sofie to think I was an invalid.  We all settled down at the cabin's table.

             
"In the morning we'll go out looking for Flaherty again," Sofie said.  "He's hiding, so he might not want to go traveling around a lot.  He might be recognized.  Besides, he seems to want to kill all of you, and he probably won't leave the area until he gets what he wants.  He'll probably stay right around here and keep out of sight.  He'll know there's no one living at my house, and since he knows we saw him at Spiro's, he'll be looking for us in that area.  But the only way we can find him is by finding his boat. 

             
Sofie took Oscar's hand.  "Come on, Oscar.  It's past your bedtime.  You guys should get some sleep, too.  It might be a long day tomorrow."  A little while later we all turned in for the night. 

Chapter Twenty-Three

I WOKE UP for the last time about 8: am.  Every time a boat went by, the cabin cruiser rocked from side to side.  I don't know how people can sleep on a boat that keeps moving all night.  I guess it's something you have to get used to.  When we were all up and dressed--we didn't bother to shave--Sofie said we could have breakfast at Alex's, where boats pull up and have breakfast. 

              She said, "They have an outdoor patio where people can bring their dogs, so Oscar won't be a problem."  We untied the boat and headed to Alex's with Sofie at the wheel.  Fifteen minutes later we were docked and sitting at a table on Alex's outdoor patio.  It was a stone patio that rose up out of the water.  At one time it must have been a wharf.  The outdoor tables had brightly colored umbrellas coming out of their middle.  There were a few dogs there but Oscar was a minor celebrity.  He got lots of smiles.

             
The food was excellent.  After we ate we got back on the boat and went searching for Flaherty again.  We went back up to the canal house.  Flaherty's boat was gone.  No surprise there. 

             
"My guess is he's hiding at one of the islands," Sofie said.  "He's probably waiting for us to return so he can shoot at us again."  We headed for the nearest island and slowly circled it.  Nothing.  Then we moved on to the next island and did the same--with the same result.  We continued this process as we moved down river.  Finally we reached the last island before Sofie's house.  Sofie slowly circled the island.  "If he's not here," Sofie said, "then there's nothing more we can do on the water.  Then I think we should drive around to the bars and check them out."               

             
Sofie asked Snydely, "Does he have a habit of drinking in the morning?"

             
"Morning, noon, and night," Snydely said.  We were coming out from behind the last island when Sofie said, "There's a boat in the bushes over there!" She pointed.  The boat was well hidden from view by the bushes lining the shoreline, but we could see it was a large cabin cruiser.  My heart was beating like   a bongo drum.  It seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. 

             
As we idled past, Flaherty came charging out of the bushes at full throttle.  We hadn't counted on that.  We thought we would find him and sail off to call for help. 

             
"Hang on," Sofie yelled, and pulled the throttle all the way back.  Our boat's prow rose up as we tore through the water.  I held Oscar's hand. 

             
Sofie yelled, "If he comes out of the cabin to shoot at us, we'll turn and circle him so he won't be able to get a clear shot at us.  But instead of trying to shoot us, Flaherty charged straight at us.  We hadn't counted on that, either.  He was going to ram us!  Flaherty had to know he'd be killed if he rammed us.  Evidently he didn't care.  Sofie tried to outrun him, but he had a lot more horsepower than we did.  That was another thing we hadn't planned on.  We were in trouble. 

             
Flaherty got so close we could see him at the wheel, chugging from a bottle, and laughing like a mad man--with the emphasis on mad.  He pulled off in a wide arc until he was forty feet off our port side, no need to hurry now.  He knew he had us.  Then he came at us at full speed to ram us broadside.  We shot at him as he came closer, but with pistols, and the boat bouncing, we weren't accurate enough. 

             
When Flaherty was ten feet away Sofie pulled the wheel hard to the right, and spun the prow around.  Flaherty went whizzing past us, missing us by inches.  Sofie was completing the turn so we could run for shore when we started to slow down.  Then we came to an abrupt stop, which threw us all onto the deck.  We had run aground on a sandbar! 

             
Sofie threw the engine into reverse and gunned it, trying to break the boat loose from the grasping sand that held us--we were stuck solid.  Flaherty had turned and was heading for us again, but as he got closer, and he realized we had run aground, he slowed down.  He didn't have to ram us, he could just pick us off one by one.  Sofie was talking on the radio, no doubt calling for help. 

             
Flaherty came closer and I fired a shot at him.  He reversed engines and came to a stop.  Sofie came out of the cabin with a rifle.  I could have kissed her. 

             
"Where did you get that?" I asked. 

             
"Every boater keeps a rifle on board in case somebody pulls in a shark.  And it looks like we pulled in a big shark."  Sofie raised the rifle and shot out the left front window of Flaherty's boat.  Now that we were grounded our boat was perfectly still, while Flaherty's cruiser was still bobbing up and down.  With the rifle, we had the advantage.  Flaherty hit the deck, then he popped his head up over the rail and fired at us.  Oscar spun around and fell on the deck! 

             
"Oscar!" Snydely yelled, and ran to help him. 

             
"Is he hurt bad?" Sofie yelled.  Snydely was busy wrapping his belt around Oscar's leg to make a tourniquet.  "It's his leg," Snydely yelled.  I could hear Oscar whimpering in pain.  I was furious.  I turned toward Flaherty and emptied my gun at him--and then realized I hadn't brought any more ammunition.  Smart.  So far we had done everything wrong.  But Sofie still had the rifle. 

             
Willey was taking shots at Flaherty.  Sofie was taking her time, firing only when she could see Flaherty and had a chance of bringing him down. 

             
I borrowed Snydely's gun while he was taking care of Oscar.  "Did you bring any extra ammunition?" I asked Snydely.  Snydely shook his head.  Another genius. 

             
"Barney," Sofie yelled.  "Go below and look for ammunition for the rifle!"

What?  She was as bad as we were, running out of ammunition.  I dived into the cabin as bullets whizzed overhead.  I searched every cupboard, shelf, and drawer, and then I found it.  A box of ammunition.  I grabbed it and ran back to Sofie's side.  I paid no attention to how light the box of ammunition was. 

              "Here," I yelled, and handed the box to her. 

             
"Good," she said.  "I was down to my last shot."  She opened the box, and we both stared down at one single, solitary, bullet.  Sofie took it out and shoved it into the side of the rifle.  "Help better come soon," she said.

             
Flaherty kept shooting at us, most of his shots went flying harmlessly overhead.  From time to time we could see him swigging from the bottle.  I checked on Oscar.  His eyes were glazed over and his breathing was shallow.  He was going onto shock.  I crawled into the cabin and found a blanket.  I gave it to Snydely and he put it over Oscar to keep him warm.  He kept patting Oscar gently on the head, telling him he'd be alright.  By the time I got back to Sofie and Willey, Flaherty was moving in for the kill.

             
"This is my last shot," Sofie said, and fired at Flaherty.  We were grounded solid, but Flaherty's boat was bobbing around so much we couldn't get a good shot at him.  Sofie's bullet hit close enough to Flaherty to make him jump, but he kept coming.  I fired a shot at him with Snydely's pistol, but I couldn't get any accuracy. 

             
Flaherty knew we were low on ammunition because we were saving our shots.  He was going to have his revenge.  In the silence that followed I noticed the radio was chattering away.  I crawled back into the cabin and picked up the mic.  I squeezed the button, "Hurry," I yelled.  "He's coming to kill us!"  The radio broke into an explosion of voices, all of them talking at once.

             
Then I heard it . . . a boat horn sounding in the distance.  I looked through the blown-out front windows.  There were three sponge boats racing our way. 

             
Flaherty took another shot at us, and rifle shots from the oncoming sponge boats answered his.  Help was on thy way, but they were still too far out.  Could we stay alive until they arrived? 

             
I rushed back to Sofie and Willey.  "Look," I yelled, "Over to the left."