again. “Oh, no,” she said. “He just started doing it during the war, and liked it;anyway, that’s what he said. He said having money is no excuse for a man’s sitting around on his can all day; that’s the way he put it. I believed him; why shouldn’t I have? It wasn’t until they fired him that I — that I began to think of little things that had happened, phone calls, people he’d go out to meet in the middle of the night... I didn’t want to turn against him when everybody else — But he didn’t need my help,” she said bitterly. “He didn’t want it. He had — her.”
Young said, “She’s just a kid.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Honey, she’s not that young; she graduated from college last spring. I declare, I feel kind of sorry for her. She’s a spoiled rich brat with a lot of wild political ideas; and she’s had a crush on Larry since she was in diapers. I’ve had to listen to heaven knows how many stories about the way she used to trail him around when they were kids; he was six years older, of course. I don’t think she knew what she was getting into; I think he sold her a bill of goods.”
Young said, “Well, it sounds reasonable; but the question still remains, just what the hell was he after? What’s the name of the boat down at the dock?”
“Larry’s boat? That’s the Amberjack. ”
Young glanced at the list again. “She’s not there, either. Yet here are the names of seven boats that he considered important enough, for some reason, tokeep with him, hidden in this fancy way. And he came here for his getaway, don’t forget that.”
Elizabeth looked startled. “Why, what does that have to do with—”
“Why did he take the risk of coming here, Elizabeth? Why did he want you to hide him here? Why did he show himself to you at all? He’d just committed a murder to make it look as if he were dead; why risk blowing the whole scheme apart by letting you know he was alive?”
“He said he wanted to make sure I identified the body—”
“If I’d burned up in the car as he’d planned, you’d have given the body one quick glance, lost your lunch, and then identified it as him on the strength of the wrist watch and belt buckle. Anyway, it was a better gamble for him than coming here to put pressure on you. No, I think he came here for another reason. I think he came here to catch a streetcar. A seagoing streetcar. All these boats mean something; and I think friend Wilson knew that one was coming here and was going to make you hide him out until it came to pick him up, after which he would either have taken you along or disposed of you in some plausible manner to keep you from talking. But he had to have a hiding place close by, because he didn’t know exactly when to expect his transportation. Small boats can’t keep an exact schedule; a storm willkeep them in port for a week —” Young’s voice trailed off. The list in his hand stared up at him: Shooting Star, Aloha, Marbeth, Chanteyman ... Boat names were never long on originality, he reflected sourly. Bosun Bird, Alice K., Estrella.
As he looked at the list, and remembered the character and suspected connections of the man among whose belongings it had been found, he began to see frightening implications in the commonplace names. A bunch of small, innocent-looking pleasure yachts puttering up and down the coast under secret orders... You don’t know, he told himself, you’re only guessing.
“Damn it!” he said aloud. “I wish I’d never —” He did not finish the thought. The girl beside him did not speak. After a while he said uncertainly, “Elizabeth, we really ought to—”
“What?”
He did not look at her. “Let the F.B.I. know about this.”
“Honey,” she said softly, “honey, are you plumb crazy?”
“But listen,” he said, “we don’t even know how many there are! I mean, this list of seven. Hell, it doesn’t have to be all of them. He might just have scribbled down the names of the
Young said, “She’s just a kid.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Honey, she’s not that young; she graduated from college last spring. I declare, I feel kind of sorry for her. She’s a spoiled rich brat with a lot of wild political ideas; and she’s had a crush on Larry since she was in diapers. I’ve had to listen to heaven knows how many stories about the way she used to trail him around when they were kids; he was six years older, of course. I don’t think she knew what she was getting into; I think he sold her a bill of goods.”
Young said, “Well, it sounds reasonable; but the question still remains, just what the hell was he after? What’s the name of the boat down at the dock?”
“Larry’s boat? That’s the Amberjack. ”
Young glanced at the list again. “She’s not there, either. Yet here are the names of seven boats that he considered important enough, for some reason, tokeep with him, hidden in this fancy way. And he came here for his getaway, don’t forget that.”
Elizabeth looked startled. “Why, what does that have to do with—”
“Why did he take the risk of coming here, Elizabeth? Why did he want you to hide him here? Why did he show himself to you at all? He’d just committed a murder to make it look as if he were dead; why risk blowing the whole scheme apart by letting you know he was alive?”
“He said he wanted to make sure I identified the body—”
“If I’d burned up in the car as he’d planned, you’d have given the body one quick glance, lost your lunch, and then identified it as him on the strength of the wrist watch and belt buckle. Anyway, it was a better gamble for him than coming here to put pressure on you. No, I think he came here for another reason. I think he came here to catch a streetcar. A seagoing streetcar. All these boats mean something; and I think friend Wilson knew that one was coming here and was going to make you hide him out until it came to pick him up, after which he would either have taken you along or disposed of you in some plausible manner to keep you from talking. But he had to have a hiding place close by, because he didn’t know exactly when to expect his transportation. Small boats can’t keep an exact schedule; a storm willkeep them in port for a week —” Young’s voice trailed off. The list in his hand stared up at him: Shooting Star, Aloha, Marbeth, Chanteyman ... Boat names were never long on originality, he reflected sourly. Bosun Bird, Alice K., Estrella.
As he looked at the list, and remembered the character and suspected connections of the man among whose belongings it had been found, he began to see frightening implications in the commonplace names. A bunch of small, innocent-looking pleasure yachts puttering up and down the coast under secret orders... You don’t know, he told himself, you’re only guessing.
“Damn it!” he said aloud. “I wish I’d never —” He did not finish the thought. The girl beside him did not speak. After a while he said uncertainly, “Elizabeth, we really ought to—”
“What?”
He did not look at her. “Let the F.B.I. know about this.”
“Honey,” she said softly, “honey, are you plumb crazy?”
“But listen,” he said, “we don’t even know how many there are! I mean, this list of seven. Hell, it doesn’t have to be all of them. He might just have scribbled down the names of the
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