personal things aboard.” Kane lifted the thin mattress on one bunk and propped it against the bulkhead, then stepped aside to give me a better view. “There’s a small compartment under each bunk. Go ahead. Open it up if you’re curious.”
A pine board with a blue rope handle at each end lay fitted into a rectangular indentation. I grabbed the handles and tugged on the board. It didn’t budge.
“Let me give you a hand. That board’s been there since I bought the boat. The compartment underneath doesn’t get much use. Never thought it important to work on the sticky lid.” It took two tugs before Kane pulled the board up, revealing a small space that held a catalog of nautical equipment, a couple of salt water fishing magazines, and a deck of playing cards.
I laughed. “Enough recreational equipment to keep any sailor happy.”
“Dampness makes the lid warp, but no matter. Shrimping crews don’t have much time for fun and games.”
“What do you do for sleep space if you have several crewmen aboard?”
“There’s another sleeping compartment that opens into the hull next to the ice bins.”
Kane didn’t offer a tour of the hull and I didn’t ask.
“You ready to go? You can stay here and rest awhile longer if you aren’t up to talking to people yet.”
“I’m ready.” I leaned against the wheelhouse doorway. “Guess I hoped to hear more talk about the murder.”
“I haven’t heard any more talk this morning, but a week or so ago, Brick told me about some problems between him and Diego.” Kane gave a short laugh. “Sounded like labor/management stuff. I never thought too much about it at the time.”
“What kind of problems? Surely none that might escalate into murder.”
Kane shrugged. “You never know what sort of argument might precipitate a murder. Diego had worked for Brick for years as chief dock master—an important job at any marina and ship’s chandlery. After Brick read my letters to the editor and realized Diego and I stood at odds, he told me some of his problems with Diego that had nothing to do with Diego’s job as chief dock master.”
“They had to do with the working waters dispute?”
“Brick thought their differences more serious than that. The commissioners have a lot of say about the functioning of the ROGO.”
“The county’s Rate of Growth Ordinance. I’ve heard Mother scream about that—about the difficulties she met when applying for a permit to build a new work shed or even to add a windbreak onto the hotel’s back entryway. Laws forced her to wait for weeks for her name to reach the top of the ROGO list so she could buy a permit to add the dance floor in The Frangi.”
“Lots of people think the ROGO sucks. If someone tries to hide doing a little construction on his property without going through the ROGO, a jealous neighbor may report him in to authorities. And that usually results in the would-be builder facing a fine.”
“Mother mentioned a neighbor who had to buy a permit to build a simple pine box to cover his air conditioner.”
“Right.” Kane lowered his voice. “Rafa, this information must go no farther. It’s between the two of us. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“Brick wants to add a hotel to his marina and he wants his son, Jessie, to manage it once it’s in operation.”
“And the commissioners have a problem with that?”
“One commissioner did—Diego. Diego liked the idea of Brick building the hotel, but he wanted Brick to name him manager, not Jessie. That hotel manager job would have meant big bucks to Diego. Brick balked at that idea and so did Threnody. Guess we both know that around Key West, Jessie carries a bad boy rep. He’s a wild card, doing as he pleases, getting whatever he wants whenever he wants it—and his folks want to see him gainfully employed in the family business.”
“And what could Diego do about it? Seems to me that a guy’s son would be the logical person to manage his dad’s hotel if
A pine board with a blue rope handle at each end lay fitted into a rectangular indentation. I grabbed the handles and tugged on the board. It didn’t budge.
“Let me give you a hand. That board’s been there since I bought the boat. The compartment underneath doesn’t get much use. Never thought it important to work on the sticky lid.” It took two tugs before Kane pulled the board up, revealing a small space that held a catalog of nautical equipment, a couple of salt water fishing magazines, and a deck of playing cards.
I laughed. “Enough recreational equipment to keep any sailor happy.”
“Dampness makes the lid warp, but no matter. Shrimping crews don’t have much time for fun and games.”
“What do you do for sleep space if you have several crewmen aboard?”
“There’s another sleeping compartment that opens into the hull next to the ice bins.”
Kane didn’t offer a tour of the hull and I didn’t ask.
“You ready to go? You can stay here and rest awhile longer if you aren’t up to talking to people yet.”
“I’m ready.” I leaned against the wheelhouse doorway. “Guess I hoped to hear more talk about the murder.”
“I haven’t heard any more talk this morning, but a week or so ago, Brick told me about some problems between him and Diego.” Kane gave a short laugh. “Sounded like labor/management stuff. I never thought too much about it at the time.”
“What kind of problems? Surely none that might escalate into murder.”
Kane shrugged. “You never know what sort of argument might precipitate a murder. Diego had worked for Brick for years as chief dock master—an important job at any marina and ship’s chandlery. After Brick read my letters to the editor and realized Diego and I stood at odds, he told me some of his problems with Diego that had nothing to do with Diego’s job as chief dock master.”
“They had to do with the working waters dispute?”
“Brick thought their differences more serious than that. The commissioners have a lot of say about the functioning of the ROGO.”
“The county’s Rate of Growth Ordinance. I’ve heard Mother scream about that—about the difficulties she met when applying for a permit to build a new work shed or even to add a windbreak onto the hotel’s back entryway. Laws forced her to wait for weeks for her name to reach the top of the ROGO list so she could buy a permit to add the dance floor in The Frangi.”
“Lots of people think the ROGO sucks. If someone tries to hide doing a little construction on his property without going through the ROGO, a jealous neighbor may report him in to authorities. And that usually results in the would-be builder facing a fine.”
“Mother mentioned a neighbor who had to buy a permit to build a simple pine box to cover his air conditioner.”
“Right.” Kane lowered his voice. “Rafa, this information must go no farther. It’s between the two of us. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“Brick wants to add a hotel to his marina and he wants his son, Jessie, to manage it once it’s in operation.”
“And the commissioners have a problem with that?”
“One commissioner did—Diego. Diego liked the idea of Brick building the hotel, but he wanted Brick to name him manager, not Jessie. That hotel manager job would have meant big bucks to Diego. Brick balked at that idea and so did Threnody. Guess we both know that around Key West, Jessie carries a bad boy rep. He’s a wild card, doing as he pleases, getting whatever he wants whenever he wants it—and his folks want to see him gainfully employed in the family business.”
“And what could Diego do about it? Seems to me that a guy’s son would be the logical person to manage his dad’s hotel if
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