Or maybe it was wishful thinking.Annabelle seemed like the type of woman who put everything on her phone.
At his hotel, Barry connected his phone, and while the information transferred, he changed his clothes.Would it be in poor taste to suggest keeping a change of clothes at Mac’s?Would it give the wrong impression he was trying to move in?
He wasn’t; he was just thinking of convenience so he didn’t clean up and then have to put the same dirty clothes back on.
Barry’s computer pinged, alerting him the transfer was complete.He sat down at the desk and started sorting through the data.He started with her phone list.She only had a handful of contacts saved in her phone.None stuck out to him.A few calls to Miles throughout the day.There were lots of unknown numbers.He set them in the program to check out who they belonged to.
While he did that, he looked at her emails.Everything was labeled in certain folders from personal to the project and from Miles himself.
Barry looked at the emails to Miles first.Nothing exciting or that stood out.Just things he needed to sign for projects.He looked at the hotel emails next.Most were with vendors.Copies of receipts and invoices.
Barry crosschecked the names on the emails to contractors on the island for the build.A few were upset about the constant setbacks, the land sinking, and replacement orders.Annabelle was good at smoothing their ruffled feathers and never made any false promises.She evaded answers about why the project was being delayed.
One email caught his eye.It was an invoice on the north side for a boat in Miles’s name.There was no name listed as who the receipt was for, only a ship name.
Barry opened his web browser and typed in the ship name Prometheus.It was registered to C.W.Inc.Prior to that, it was owned by Charlie Boudreaux.
Barry looked up C.W.Inc, but it was listed under a bogus ID and the I.P.address was untraceable.Miles had some pretty highly trained people to keep him out of the data.Why create a bogus company and buy this fishing boat?
Why pay a million dollars to a fisherman who was failing as a fisherman?Barry had more questions now than answers.
Barry needed to find Charlie.He was the only person who could give him clarity.The other fishermen said he had bought a yacht.That shouldn’t be too hard to track down.
Barry looked up Charlie’s name in the boat registry.He had bought a yacht of forty feet two months ago.Next, Barry tracked down the seller.They were actually from a different island.On Nassau for almost eight hundred thousand dollars.
Maybe the boat seller knew where Charlie had taken it.
Chapter 29
Barry didn’t want to have to deal with Jacques and being overcharged, so he drove to the north coast and chartered a boat for a reasonable price from a fisherman name Danny to take him to Nassau.
It also gave him a chance to probe the fisherman about Charlie and fishing in the area, but once again, Mac had been right.Danny knew him to be an outsider and stayed tight-lipped.The other fisherman’s warning came to mind as well.About asking the wrong questions to the wrong people.Needless to say, it was a pretty quiet boat trip to Nassau.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“No worries,” Danny said, laying back in his captain’s seat with his feet propped up next to the wheel, looking like he was about to take a nap.
Nassau was a fairly large island that mainly catered to tourists either flying in or coming in via cruise lines.Where Charlie had bought the boat was on the west coast, near Clifton, away from the tourist hotspots.
Barry followed the directions from his phone to the boatyard.It was a mile up from the marina he had docked at.There was a large array of boats to choose from.Barry could see why Charlie had been drawn to this seller.
It was a much larger selection than could be found on Mac’s Island, which was mostly charter boats and speed boats.But this was the big money island where people came to be wined and dined.Not just jet down the waters.
Barry was used to seeing this lifestyle in Vegas on the strip.People showed off their Lamborghinis and other expensive cars.These boats were different.
A salesman saw him walk in and immediately made a B-line for him.A smile plastered on his face even though he was halfway across the lot.The man wore an expensive-looking navy blue suit and tan shoes.Barry caught the gleaming of his gold Rolex watch.Either the man made a considerable wage or was just trying to look the part.“Welcome to Paradise Boats, I’m Louis, and you are?”
“Roger Crane.”Barry offered his hand.The salesman had a forceful handshake that almost ripped his arm out of the socket.Good thing it was his good arm, or the man could have risked ripping it out.
“Well, what kind of boat are you interested in, Roger?A large luxury yacht.”He waved his hand to the left of them.“Or we have speed boats, charters.Just about every kind of boat you could imagine on the waters.”His arms fanned out.
Barry had to take a step back so he didn’t get hit.The man was very animated.He reminded Barry of those used car salesman ads.“I’m not here for a boat, per se, but a boat owner.”
“Oh.”Louis’s shoulders deflated like a week-old balloon until he looked weary.“An owner.Has there been a complaint?”
“No, I work for Inner Coastal Investigation.We’re looking into Charlie Boudreaux.He purchased a forty-foot yacht from here two months ago.”
“I don’t remember everyone we sell to.”Louis chuckled nervously.Whether because he thought Barry was a cop or he knew something about Charlie, Barry didn’t know yet.
