Octopus Alibi (41 page)

Beyond the yellow tape, Sheriff Liska had wedged his personal car into a patch of puddles, palm trimmings, and toppled garbage cans. Ahead of the Lexus my old nemesis, Deputy Billy “No Jokes” Bohner, leaned against his green-and-white’s front fender. He turned an eye to me, then looked away. A Kevlar vest under his starched white shirt bulked his torso. He mopped his doughy face with a paper towel.

Liska lowered his passenger-side window. Cool air escaped the leather-scented interior. “You doing okay?”

I leaned down to speak. “What’s with your lady detective?”

“Is she stressed out with no one to choke?”

“That about gets it.”

“She told me your cute ‘air dance’ remark,” he said. The electric window started upward. “Hop in.”

I opened the door, sat, checked my shoes for mud. The cold, dry air hit me like a wash of ice water.

Liska said, “How do you feel about what you saw?”

“It wasn’t random. Someone hung him for show.”

“You just stated two facts,” he said. “I asked how you felt.”

“What, is touchy-feely the new fad in crime-solving? She had me visualizing sci-fi back there. She didn’t tell you about the praying mantis?”

“Answer my question.”

“Start with numb. I didn’t know the guy. He didn’t have much style, but he had a right to not be dead. Someone hung him and not a single neighbor is out here bleeding sympathy or demanding justice. I guess I’m in the same category. I mourn humanity more than him.”

“Perfect,” he said. “You’re getting better at this.”

“Perfect for what?”

“Another year, you might be a good cop.”

“Thanks for the upbeat words,” I said. “I’ve seen too many bodies the past few years.”

“But you’re getting used to it, in spite of yourself.”

“Given my choice, I’d rather sell used cars in Tampa.”

“You could do well,” he said. “It’s a growing town.”

I didn’t answer him. I watched a postal worker drive box-to-box.

“Why the fucked-up attitude?” he said. “You too good for the work?”

“I take pictures, ninety percent of the time not of dead people. Except for the crime work, it’s been a rewarding occupation. Do you feel some need to transform my life?”

“I want to help you reach your true potential.”

“I guess I’ll be going.”

“Like I said, I need you up the road. You can stay on the clock.”

“I have thirty hours to prep my house for a two-month illegal rental. I’m low on film. I wish to decline.”

“Okay. We pull you off the clock, send you up there against your wishes, chalk it up to civic duty. Take it from an old civil servant. You’ll find it harder to cash that unsigned check.”

“If it’s civic duty, it’s another crime scene. I don’t want to audition for the part. Right now, that check is the last thing I need.”

“I forget how rich you are.” He turned to face me. “Why’d you even come here?”

“My inner need to be choked.”

Liska stared out the windshield. He looked tired, whipped.

I said, “Why do you want me there instead of one of your detectives?”

“I respect your input.”

“It’s getting deep in here.”

“I guess you’re right,” he said. “The truth is, I want you to go in place of me.”

“You want to deputize me?”

“Call it what you want. You’re a consultant on photographer’s pay.”

“Can I have some truth on why?”

“That’s for another day. How did you get up here?”

“My motorcycle.”

“It’ll be safe. These officers aren’t leaving soon.” He pointed to Deputy Bohner. “I want your opinion and a few pictures.”

“I ride with your county bully and take his crap? His venom is his reason to live. I don’t want to deal with it.”

“You’re not going to let that doofus intimidate you. You’re more than his match. Give me your exposed film. I know the argument. You own the rights and negatives. Like you could ever want keeper photos of low-life death.”

“Do I invoice you straight hourly for this road trip?”

“Hit me for a full eight hours,” he said.

“I could stand ten.”

Liska slapped his palm on the steering wheel. “You see? Natural-born cop.”

ST. MARTIN’S PAPERBACKS TITLES BY TOM CORCORAN

The Mango Opera

Gumbo Limbo

Bone Island Mambo

Octopus Alibi

PRAISE FOR TOM CORCORAN AND HIS NOVELS

OCTOPUS ALIBI

“Tom Corcoran’s
Octopus Alibi
is a true marvel of a mystery, a deeply engrossing guidebook to the mango opera that is life in Key West.”

—Jim Harrison, author of
Off to the Side
,
Dalva
, and
Legends of the Fall

“A nifty little ragtop of a tale.”

—
The News Observer
(Titusville, FL)

“Corcoran is a superb writer.”

—
St. Petersburg Times

“Alex Rutledge should be investigating Key West for years.”

—
Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

BONE ISLAND MAMBO

“Corcoran’s insider knowledge makes him a terrific tour guide, and he spins a complex but extremely enjoyable yarn that includes murder, family squabbles, a stolen-car ring and a warm, folksy sense of community.”

—
Miami Herald

“
Bone Island Mambo
starts fast, never lets up. Key West’s crazies are a hoot, and Tom Corcoran’s plot and range of characters add to a series that won’t quit. Treat yourself to an exotic setting, laughs, and suspense.”

—Janet Evanovich, author of
To the Nines

“Vividly written and filled with hilariously eccentric Key West denizens, the novel is as twisty as a mangrove root and as fast moving as the local characters are laissez-faire.”

—
The Dallas Morning News

“
Bone Island Mambo
gives an atmospheric view of Key West, from a creepy deserted alley to the rush of Caroline Street … melding history with the present, Corcoran preserves Key West for tourists and residents alike.”

—
Philadelphia News

“
Bone Island Mamb
o is Rutledge’s third appearance in an excellent series by Tom Corcoran, who moves deep into Carl Hiassen territory with a story about murder mixed with the continuing development of old Key West.”

—
Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Exciting.… [A] fast-paced adventure.… Rutledge leads a fine tour of the area, from the Green Parro bar to fishing flats in the mangrove forests. The best aspect of this novel is summed up in the line, ‘Key West used to be a drinking village with a fishing problem.’ Corcoran captures this local atmosphere extremely well.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Corcoran writes in a concise and breezy style, and Alex Rutledge should be attracting more fans to his laid-back lifestyle, which always includes a murder or two.”

—Otto Penzler, Penzler Pick May 2001

“Corcoran has a real feel for the laissez-faire Key West style, and he knows how to meld island history into his stories … the mellow mood guarantees a good time.”

—
Booklist

GUMBO LIMBO

“No one—either genre or mainstream author—has crafted more evocative or resonant Key West scenes. In Corcoran’s hands, the island city becomes almost another character with its own heartbeat, personality, and rum-softened voice.”

—
St. Petersburg Times

“Corcoran lubricates his tangled plot with lashings of rum and beer and keeps it moving across shrewdly observed landscape that reeks with authenticity. The gumbo is spicy, the limbo swift in this hot pepper of a novel.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“
Gumbo Limbo …
is often amusing. Key West, as well, continues to be a terrifically atmospheric setting for intrigue, and Corcoran’s wacko cast of characters is colorful. It’s nice to be back in the tropics.”

—
Chicago Tribune

“Corcoran does for Key West what James Lee Burke does for the Louisiana Bayou country.”

—
Charleston Post & Courier

“In
Gumbo Limbo
, Tom Corcoran delivers a well-plotted, atmospheric mystery that even surpasses his superior effort,
The Mango Opera
. The author brings a vivid imagination and a unique view to the Florida mystery fold. Let’s hope Alex Rutledge never runs out of film.”

—
South Florida Sun Sentinel

“
Gumbo Limbo
positively throbs with Key West’s conch crowd.… Corcoran certainly knows his territory, and his characters.”

—
Florida Times-Union

“Tough, atmospheric noir.”

—
Cleveland Plain Dealer

THE MANGO OPERA

“[Corcoran] has put his ‘time on the water’ to great use and produced a book that reconnects my heart and brain to the Key West I knew.”

—Jimmy Buffet

“
The Mango Opera
is a powerful debut novel full of juicy characters, crackling dialogue, and thrill-a-minute action. Not since McGuane’s
Ninety-Two in the Shade
has Key West been rendered so vividly and with such spare poetry. Tom Corcoran is the real thing—a novelist with a mature voice, a powerful vision, and a great ear for the rhythms of human speech. This is a smart, exciting novel, one not to be missed.”

—James W. Hall, author of
Body Language

“It has its own quirky charm, a hard-driving pace, and a vividly colorful setting for its more-than-slightly eccentric citizens. Fast-moving and brightly written, this is a first novel that demands a second.”

—
Dallas Morning News

“Intricate plotting, memorable characters and honest feel for his terrain put the author picture-perfect out of the gate.”

—
The Clarion-Ledger

“
The Mango Opera
, with its tropical setting, fruity characters, and hard-boiled dialogue, is a delicious treat.”

—
St. Petersburg Times

OCTOPUS ALIBI

Copyright © 2003 by Tom Corcoran.

Excerpt from
Air Dance Iguana
copyright © 2004 by Tom Corcoran.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2002032504

ISBN: 0-312-99717-5

St. Martin’s Press hardcover edition / March 2003

St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / June 2004

St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

eISBN 9781466840386

First eBook edition: February 2013