“I was down at the Rusty Anchor the other night.”Ray ran his fingers through his fresh haircut.“Gil was there, and he looked stressed.”
“Can you blame him?”Mike asked, shaking his head.“He lost his livelihood and his best friend in one go.”
“He might get the livelihood part back soon,” I volunteered.
Ray’s expression shifted, just a little.“Yeah?”
“I ran into Tess the other day, and she said Gil made Rosa an offer on Eddie’s boat.A generous offer, is how she put it.”
Ray guffawed.“He did?With what money?”
I frowned.“That’s what she told me.”
“I’m ready for you now, Spencer,” Mike said, holding a clean cape in his hand.
I stood and went to sit in his barber chair.
He draped the black cape around me, meeting my gaze in the mirror.“Just a trim?”he asked.
I nodded.“Yeah, it’s long in the back.It’s starting to curl.I hate it when it does that.I look like a toddler.”
Mike chuckled.“You have good hair.Be grateful.Half the guys who come in around your age are already losing theirs.”
I shuddered.“Perish the thought.”
Ray stood up and wandered over.His expression was odd as he leaned against the cupboard where the mirror was.“So you’re saying Gil actually made Rosa a good offer on Eddie’s boat?”
Surprised he was still fixated on that, I nodded.“Yes.”
Ray rubbed his jaw, frowning.“Huh.”
Something in the way he said that made me take notice.“What?”
He shook his head slowly.“Nothing.Just… it doesn’t add up.”
“Why not?”
Mike glanced between us but kept working.
Ray drew his brows tight.“Gil’s never had a pot to piss in.How do you go from that to buying a commercial fishing boat overnight?”
Mike shrugged.“Maybe he’s doing better than people think.”
Ray let out a short laugh.“On crab?Not right now he’s not.”
I met Ray’s gaze.“To be honest, I thought the same thing.But Tess said he’s using his savings to buy the boat.If Rosa will sell it.”
“Savings?”Ray looked even less convinced.“How the hell would he have that much in savings?”
“All I know is what Tess said.”I grimaced.
Ray looked at me for a second, like he was deciding how much to say.“It’s hard to believe Gil would have any savings.The crabbing hasn’t been that amazing lately, not with the quotas and regulations they put on the guys.”
“So, you think he’s lying about where he’s getting the money?”My pulse picked up speed.
Ray waved me off.“I’m not saying that exactly, but most boats are barely making enough to keep going.Ain’t no one I know who has anything left at the end of the month to put into savings.”
“Maybe he invested his money in stocks or something,” Mike said, blowing hair off his scissors.“I saw on TV how this guy invested in stocks and made a killing.He started out just investing a hundred dollars.Now he lives in a mansion and has two yachts.”
