Detective First Grade by Dan Mahoney

Author:Dan Mahoney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published: 2011-04-18T00:00:00+00:00

“Had a couple of burgers at McDonald’s,” McKenna lied.

“McDonald’s?” she said, disdainfully. Then she turned and pointed at the big boat coming in. There were three big fish hanging from the rear of the boat. Raoul did know his business, McKenna thought.

The Pescador II pulled into the dock. Raoul’s mate jumped off the boat and secured it to the dock. It was a fifty-foot fiber glass Bertram, which McKenna knew was an expensive boat. Like Raoul’s house, the boat was spotless. It was the prettiest boat around, and McKenna figured that it was also the fastest, just like the sign said.

When the boat was docked, the captain came down from the topside bridge and shook the hands of the four paying passengers. The passengers then jumped to the dock and the mate helped them carry the fish to their cars. Raoul was having a good day so far, McKenna thought.

Raoul waved at Rosa from the bridge and then he and the mate began cleaning the boat. They used fresh water from a hose on the dock to wash away the fish blood and salt water. Raoul was dressed in an old pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt that had PESCADOR II printed across the front. While Raoul and his mate were hosing down the boat, McKenna caught Raoul stealing a couple of glances at him. McKenna waved each time their eyes met. The mate left after they finished and Raoul went into the main cabin.

Ten minutes later Raoul came out dressed in Miguel Montoya fashion. When Raoul stepped off the boat, Rosa introduced McKenna to him. Raoul was polite but reserved. McKenna ignored his aloofness and said, “That’s the most beautiful boat I’ve ever seen.”

Raoul couldn’t help himself. He had to show off his boat, his first love. “C’mon aboard. I’ll show you around,” he said.

“I’d love that.”

Raoul showed McKenna the navigation equipment on the bridge, the twenty-five-mile Furuno radar, the LORAN, the depth finder, and the sophisticated fish finder. There was a galley where lunches were prepared for the paying customers. Then came the engine room. Twin Detroit Diesel 1200s with matched Allison transmissions. “This boat will do thirty-five knots all day,” Raoul said proudly. McKenna made a mental note of everything.

At the end of the tour McKenna asked, “What does pescador mean?”

“Spanish for ‘fisherman,’” Raoul replied.

As they were leaving the boat, McKenna heard Raoul ask Rosa in Spanish, “Why did you bring him to the boat? Aren’t we having enough trouble with the police here?”

She appeared to be annoyed with his question, but replied in Spanish, “Don’t be like that. He’s a nice man and he had nothing to do with searching the house. He doesn’t even like the FBI.”

“What does he want?” he asked her, again in Spanish.

“He’s just trying to find out about the man who was using your name. Don’t you care about that? Try to be polite. I invited him to dinner with us.”

Raoul didn’t look too happy while McKenna concentrated on trying to look as dumb as he could.

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