The Water Keeper(53)

Summer laughed again. And the sound was even more delightful. Almost medicinal.

He paused. “Summer?”

“Long story.”

“You’re good at those.”

“You’re on speaker. Say hi.”

Summer waved at the phone and said, “Hello.”

I could hear him smiling. He liked it when I came out of my shell and interacted with other humans. It meant something in me was alive. “Summer, everybody round here calls me Bones. Nice to make your acquaintance. A friend of Murph’s is a friend of mine. You need me, you call me. I have two words of caution, and you should listen because I know what I’m talking about.” Summer sat upright. He continued, “Don’t let him get you on the back of a motorcycle. He’s an idiot and can’t drive one to save his life. And whatever you do, I don’t care how he makes it sound enticing or if it’s the end of the world and the last meal on planet earth, don’t—under any circumstance—let him cook anything. Ever.”

She laughed.

I said, “We’re in that uneasy lull when a whole lot can go wrong and a little bit can go right.”

He knew what I meant, but he was being cute for Summer. “Meaning?”

“Meaning I just sent you a link. There are fifteen new faces and I think the number is growing. Somebody, somewhere is looking for them.”

“We’re on it.”

“They are not going to take kindly to my busting up their boat and taking their drives. These guys are smart, financed, and they won’t sit. They may well move. Possibly even split up. We may have hurt ourselves more than helped.”

“The trader’s dilemma.”

Summer looked confused. “What’s he mean?”

I spoke loud enough for Bones to hear. “It means the guys who do this live in this tension: at the first sign of trouble, do they wholesale everything and disappear, ensuring they’re not caught and they can live to trade another day? Or do they continue doing what they’re doing, shake the money tree for all it’s worth, make as much cash as possible, and try to stay one step ahead of us?”

Bones picked up where I left off. “Choosing the latter means doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling their money. And we’re not talking chump change.”

I continued, “Just do what you do and get back to me. I just uploaded the videos and will FedEx the actual drives to you soon as I eat something. I found nothing on the boat to tell me where they’re going, and other than a GPS signature on a couple of the videos that suggest where the boat spent a few hours, my trail is cold. Ask the guys to listen closely to the audio. And bring in Nadia. She speaks Russian.”

“I’ve already forwarded the link. Get me the drives.”

Before he hung up, he paused. “Summer?”

She leaned in closer. “Yes?”

He spoke with the gentleness for which he was so well known and loved. “What’s your daughter’s name?”

Summer’s eyes watered. She leaned in close to the phone and whispered, “Angel.”

“Ah . . .” I could hear him scratching his chin. “It’s a good name. Was she on that boat?”

“Yes.”

He must have moved inside, because the background noise grew distant and muted. “How well do you know Murphy?”

She looked at me. “I’ve known him for about four days.”

“Has he let you read his book?”

I stiffened.

“It’s etched across his back.”

I breathed out.

She glanced at me. “Read? No, but I did glance at it.”

“I realize there’s not much I can say to make you feel better in this moment, but you might ask him to tell you the stories of 87 and 204.”

Her eyes found mine. “Okay.”

“And don’t let him leave out the good part.”

She continued looking at me but spoke to the phone. “What’s the good part?”

He chuckled. “You’ll know it when you hear it.” He paused. This time speaking to me. “You going to check out that GPS location?”

I nodded but not for his benefit. “Shortly.”

“Want me to send some help?”

“Maybe when I leave. Let me snoop around first. There’s always the chance we get lucky.”

“Watch yer top knot.”

“Watch your’n.”

He hung up. And I unwrapped my Publix sub. One of my simple pleasures in life. I was starving. Summer looked confused. “Top knot?”

I spoke around a ginormous bite of food. “Robert Redford movie. Jeremiah Johnson. Something he and I have watched a few dozen times.”

“What’s it mean?”

“It means don’t let somebody with a knife peel the top of your head off while you lie there and scream helplessly.”

“Pleasant thought.” She pointed at the phone. “Who is he?”

I weighed my head side to side. “Bones is the guy who taught me how to do what I do.”

“Where is he?”

“Colorado.”

“What exactly does he do?”

“He does a lot, but right this minute he’s babysitting.”

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”