Tuna Tango (16 page)

“They messed with our operation and I’m supposed to do nothing?” George asked.

“I’m telling you, they are about to connect the dots. If they put us together, we’re done. I think we need to get rid of them.” 

“Now you’re seeing things my way. I got this.” George looked him in the eye for confirmation. “You usually stay away from this kind of stuff, so maybe you ought to get out of town for a couple of days. Let me take care of things here.”

“Let him work a couple of days. We need him to finish the job. Besides being the perfect front for bringing in the fish, I need the building for my legal business. Being able to unload right from the boats as they come in will help the bottom line. With a restaurant and bar up front, that place will be a money maker.”

“Whatever you say.” George was skeptical. He didn’t care much for the legal side of things. 

“If we want that building finished, we need to see how he’s going about it. The only other guy that was willing to work on it wanted to take the whole roof off and bring in a crane. Besides the money it would have cost, the city was going to look at that as more than 50 percent value on the building, and make us tear it down. Will is the only guy I know that can pull this off. I’m going to get some guys to see how he’s going about it. Then he won’t matter.” 

“Damn right. I got a guy that knows some of that construction shit, too.”

Chapter 17

The heat in the v-berth was stifling, and although Will was exhausted, he had an uncomfortable night tossing and turning. Sometime during the night, he had gotten up and moved onto the deck, and now the sun woke him as it peeked above the horizon. He looked back at Sheryl, asleep on the couch, and it wasn’t lost on him that Jazmyn had slept in the same place the night before. 

He dismissed the women from his mind and tried to focus on the job as he climbed off the boat and looked at the building. Lance had been clear about wanting to see progress and quickly. He pulled out his phone and checked the time: 6:30. Counting on Dick showing up on time was delusional, and he knew it; he needed help, but with the single bill left in his pocket it was going to be hard to find anyone. So waiting for Dick it was.

Dispirited, he walked across the street and got a coffee, then walked back, opened the lock and went into the building. There were two twenty-foot-long poles sitting on the floor that he needed to set today. Then tomorrow, he would be able to set the beam on top of them, and a section of the floor would be done. That should be enough work to get a paycheck, and get Kyle back if Lance was true to his word. But he needed Dick to keep the schedule. 

He finished the coffee, set the cup down, and got ready to prepare the poles. A 1 1/4-inch auger bit in the drill, he set the bit to the wood and pulled the trigger. Holes needed to be bored through the top of each pole so a pipe could be slid through in order rotate them from above and drive them into the holes while he jetted the seafloor below with a high-pressure hose. Typically, poles were set by ramming them with heavy equipment, but without removing the roof, that would be impossible. 

It was slow drilling through the wet pressure-treated wood, but after a few minutes the end of the bit emerged from the other side. As he was about to start work on the second pole, he heard a car drive up. He went to the door, checking the time on his phone as he went. It was still before 7, and he hoped no one had complained about the noise. That was all he needed. Shorthanded, he would need to work some extra hours to show Lance any progress. 

He walked outside and saw a truck with two men in the front seat pull up next to his. He walked over to the driver’s side and was greeted by a cigarette butt flicked from the window. 

“Hey, this is private property. Can I help you guys?”

“We’re supposed to show up here and ask for this guy named Will. You him?” the driver said.

“Yeah. What’s this about?”

“Lance said we should come out here and help you.”

Will eyed the two men. He knew he should be grateful for the help, but these guys looked like they would have a hard time walking and talking at the same time. They didn’t have the sun-worn, fit look of a carpenter or even a laborer. Both were overweight, one leaning toward obese. Their greasy hair was covered with stained ball caps and their sleeveless T-shirts did little to hide their tattoos. First-class redneck wear. 

“You guys got any experience?” he asked skeptically.

“Got some, but Lance said we were working, and we’re here.” 

Will had to step back as the doors opened and the men emerged from the truck. He had little choice in the matter, but figured as long as they could do grunt work, they should be some help. 

“We have to wait until 7 to work around here, or the cops come. My guy should be here by then. He knows what to do up top, where you guys will be working. I’ll be underneath in the water.”

The man that stepped out of the passenger seat grabbed a large cooler from the back of the truck and brought it to the curb where both men sat. The lid opened and they started digging through the cavernous interior, each coming out with a large pastry.
At least they won’t be hungry,
Will thought as he went back inside to continue drilling the poles. 

Just as he started to drill, he heard another door slam and he went back outside, hoping it was Dick. Disappointed, but not surprised, he waited as another man exited a small truck, went to the toolbox mounted on the bed, and pulled out nail bags. He put them around his waist, reached back into the box, and pulled out a framing hammer, which he set into the loop. 

Will didn’t care who he was; this man was what he needed. You could usually tell a carpenter from a yahoo when they put their bags on as soon as they got to work. He glanced back at Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, still sitting on the curb stuffing their faces, and shook his head. 

The other man walked toward him and extended his hand. “James. Heard you need some help.”

Will wasn’t sure where he came from, but he looked like exactly what he needed. “Sure. Come on in and I’ll show you what we’re doing.” He looked over at the two men on the curb. “You, too. Let’s get to work.” 

Back inside, he finished the second hole and showed James what he had in mind. “We’re going to have to rig a block and tackle from the rafters, to lift the poles through the holes. They’ll still have to go through sideways, but it’ll help lift them.”

James looked up at the old rafters. “Gonna need to reinforce them first. You hook that load up to a single rafter and try and lift that weight, it’ll bring down the roof.”

Will pointed at a pile of lumber. It was nice to know there was someone that would be working up here that thought the way he did. The two rednecks were looking around the building probably for a place to nap. 

“Over here, guys. Let’s get these poles positioned while James hooks up the tackle.” They walked over to the closest pole and stood there with their hands on their hips. “Take one of those steel pipes and slide it through the hole. Then you can drag the end here.” He pointed to a spot on the floor.

James had nailed a board across several rafters and had just finished drilling a hole in the center for an eye bolt, where the block would hang from. He climbed down the ladder and stood in front of Will. “I got it up here. You gonna work the water?”

“Yeah. I’m going to jet the hole with this pump. You guys need to set the pole and rotate it. Should work.” He looked James in the eye. “I’m glad you’re here. Those two would probably get me killed.” Will had been around construction to know that hiring was often sketchy and sometimes you had to work with what walked in the door.

James gave him a big grin. Will turned away and went outside to set up the dive gear and change into his wet suit. There was no sign of life on the sailboat as he sat on the seawall fitting the first stage of the regulator to the tank. With a wrench, he removed the air gauge and inflator hose from the first stage. He was not planning on using a BC in the ten-foot-deep water, and didn’t want the gauges getting in the way. The depth was fixed and his air supply would last for hours in water that shallow. The risk of the extra gear getting hung up on something was not worth the small safety factor it supplied. 

He screwed plugs into the vacant holes, turned the air on, and checked for leaks. Just as he had gotten into the three-mill wetsuit and was about to slide into the harness, he heard another car pull up.

Hoping it was Dick, he turned around, ready to give him a piece of his mind. But it was Lance, and he wished he was in the water already so that he didn’t have to deal with him. 

Reluctantly, he stood and walked toward him. “Morning.”

“Looks like you’re ready to get this done. I’m glad.”

“Well, I should be thanking you for sending the help.” He looked at Lance, who was watching something over his shoulder. Wondering what had distracted him, he turned and saw Sheryl walking toward them. “Hey,” he called over to her.

“Hey back,” she said as she approached. “Morning, Lance. Will, do you have some money so I can get some coffee and something to eat?”

Before he could answer, Lance moved toward her. “Give me a minute to have a look around, and I’ll take you to breakfast.”

She shrugged. “OK. Did you call anyone about Kyle?”

“As a matter of fact, I did. A friend from Fish and Game was going to talk to the sheriff. I suspect they’ll find him pretty quick.” He turned to Will. “I’ll keep you and the other boy out of it as long as this keeps moving along.”

The threat was not lost on him. He was about to ask Sheryl not to go, but she was already moving toward the SUV. Lance was somehow mixed up in this, he just had to figure out how. But from the way it sounded, as long as he kept working, Kyle would miraculously return. 

Once he had some cash and knew Kyle was safe, he could try and do something.

***

“You really think your friend is going to get him back?” Sheryl asked. They sat across from each other at a restaurant overlooking the water. She felt a little Machiavellian sitting there with him.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer
, certainly applied to this meeting. 

Lance sipped his coffee. “Good chance. But never mind that. I see you stayed on Will’s boat last night.”

She didn’t know what to think about that statement. Was he hitting on her, or just making conversation? She’d given him nothing to be jealous about. The suspicion that he was involved in this more than he let on still unsettled her, but despite his aggressive behavior yesterday, as long as they stayed in a public place, she felt safe. 

Why not play a little, she thought, maybe get some info out of him. 

“Yeah, but not like that. I had a couple glasses of wine and didn’t want to drive. I don’t have to work until Thursday night.” 

He continued to eat. Finally he put down the fork, wiped his face, and pushed the plate away. “I can give you a ride home, if you want.”

She hadn’t thought of that. They had used Kyle’s car yesterday, and Will might need the truck. Still mad about him spending money on the sailboat and not putting it toward a car for her, she had to put the anger aside and think of Kyle. If she took the truck and Will needed materials, it would slow down the job. And that might keep Lance from finding Kyle.

No matter what happened with her and Will, she wouldn’t be responsible for that happening. “That would be great, if you don’t mind.”

“No trouble. I have a couple of stops to make on the beach before I can take you, but if you don’t mind riding along, I’ll drop you afterward.”

“Sure. I don’t have any plans.”

They finished their coffee and Lance paid the check. She cringed as he put his hand on her shoulder and they walked through the door into the parking lot. Back in the SUV, he pulled out of the lot and headed north on Gulf Boulevard. Half watching where they were going and half watching the beach, she missed the street name as he turned right and then made a quick left. He pulled up in front of a house across from the water with a dock across the street. She looked over and thought the boat looked familiar. 

“Want to wait here for a minute?” he said as he got out of the SUV, leaving it running so she could use the air conditioning. 

She nodded and reached into her back pocket for her phone. It wasn’t there, and she had to think for a few minutes before she remembered that Dick had it. Anxiety took hold of her as she realized her safety blanket was gone, and thought about bailing out of the truck and walking back to the fish house. 

Her thoughts were interrupted when Lance came back out of the house. He walked to the SUV, but instead of getting in the driver’s side, he went around to the passenger door and opened it. Without asking he grabbed her arm, pulled her from the vehicle, and walked her across the street to the house. 

“You could at least ask.” She squirmed in his grip, but it was too tight to break away.

“Just behave, if you want the boy back unharmed.”