The Practical Navigator by Chris Crowley

Author:Chris Crowley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chris Crowley
Published: 2021-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

I paused for only a moment, then asked, perfectly calmly, “It was pretty clear, even with the fog, that it was Harry?”

“I’m afraid it was. His face was not two feet from mine. He didn’t notice me and I didn’t signal him, but it was Harry. He was dressed in normal sailing clothes . . . chinos, a peacoat, watch cap, and was walking normally.”

“No gun?” I offered. “No bloodstains or whatnot?”

“No, no! Of course not,” Sammy said impatiently. “He seemed perfectly normal. Except it was midnight. In dense fog. And he was coming up from the service float.”

“You took a peek at your watch?”

“It was ten of twelve, exactly.”

“Umph. Anything else?”

“No. But I suspect it may be enough to get them focused on him pretty hard. If they are not already. And I got the impression that Horton is indeed pretty heavily focused on him already. And I sensed that he knew a lot. To the extent I had been thinking about perjuring myself, I forgot about it.”

I just nodded. Then, with a deep sigh, I sat there for a couple of minutes and didn’t say a word. Sammy watched me closely, with a little sympathy, I thought.

“I didn’t know,” I said.

Sammy nodded. “Somehow, I didn’t think you did. That’s why I wanted to talk before you went up there. So you wouldn’t get blindsided.” He paused. “Horton also told me, on the phone, that they had had a tip and found what he assumes is the murder weapon . . . a ways off from Harry’s sailboat, right on the track to Java. Don’t know what to make of that at this point, but I assume it’s serious.” Now a long pause while we just sat there. I suppose that—at some level—I had had to know that something like this was conceivable, that Harry might have murdered Minot and lied to me and everyone else about it. But it had been buried pretty deep; I was stunned.

“So odd, Sammy,” I said at last. “Why wouldn’t he tell me, for heaven’s sake?”

Sammy shrugged, didn’t say anything, but I suppose the answer was obvious: Harry didn’t tell me because he had murdered Minot in the night and thrown his gun into the sea. And what was I going to do about that? That wasn’t the only explanation, but it was the only one I could think of on the spot.

I sat there and Sammy just watched me. Watched my life drift away.

“Pretty wild, Sammy,” I said eventually. We did not know each other well, and we were not going to have a heart-to-heart, but I was so taken aback I had to say some damn thing. “And why in the world would he let me take the lead on the investigation? I would have thought . . .” I stalled out.

“That he would have protected you? Me too. He must have thought . . .”

I took a deep breath. “He must have thought he was doing the right thing.” That

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