Ray gave him a droll look.“Does that guy live in Coral Cove?‘Cause nobody here is making bank off the stock market.”
“Somebody might be,” Mike muttered.
Ray sighed.“Okay, but they’re not making bank off the fishing right now.That I can tell you with certainty.”
“So then, how do you suppose Gil came by all that money?”I asked.
“I have no idea,” he said.Then, after a beat, he added, “I don’t know anyone making that kind of money unless they’re doing something they shouldn’t be.”
Oh, really?
My excitement ramped up, but I did my best not to show it.I usually got the best gossip when I didn’t act too interested.“Oh, come on.There’s no way Gil’s doing anything like that,” I said casually.“Wouldn’t Fish and Wildlife catch that pretty quick?Between inspections and everything else, it feels like you’d get caught fast.”
Ray shrugged.“People get away with it.”
“I don’t know, it seems impossible.”I watched him out of the corner of my eye.Ray had been harbor master for a long time, and he didn’t like his wisdom being challenged.Hopefully, if I annoyed him enough, he’d give me lots of reasons why he was right and I was wrong.
He puffed out his chest.“Pfft, you’d be surprised.Guys bend rules sometimes.Run a few extra pots.Set up pots a little closer to where they shouldn’t.Small stuff that usually flies under the radar.”
“But would the small stuff add up to the kind of money Gil seems to have?”
Ray frowned, suddenly looking uneasy.“Now, understand, I’m not accusing Gil of anything.”
“No, of course not,” I said reassuringly.“But let’s say, hypothetically, how would someone who isn’t Gil do it?”
Ray hesitated but then admitted, “If you do it often enough, the small stuff adds up real quick.”
For the first time since Eddie had died, I felt like maybe I was actually on to something.An angle I could dig my teeth into.“But Fish and Wildlife does patrols.They do inspections.They board boats sometimes.How would anyone get away with that?”
Ray shrugged.“Fish and Wildlife can’t be everywhere.”
“I see,” I murmured.
Mike nodded.“The authorities check what you bring in.They don’t see everything you pull out of the water.”
“Exactly,” Ray said.“People sell off the books.They try selling their catch at different ports.They put effort into finding buyers who, shall we say, aren’t picky about how you got your crab.”
“Do you think Eddie would have gone along with something like that?”I asked softly.“If Gil was doing something shady?”
Ray’s face hardened.“Absolutely not.Eddie was an honest man.He’d never have done anything illegal.”
I felt a little sick as I considered what that might mean.If Gil had been doing something shady and Eddie had found out about it, would Gil have killed Eddie?Was that actually possible?Gil had seemed so devastated by Eddie’s death.
“Ray is right,” Mike said, undoing the cape at the nape of my neck.“I forgot to charge Eddie once, and he could have just walked out without paying.But he didn’t.Eddie was an honorable guy.No way he’d do anything unlawful.”
I stood and pulled out my wallet, following Mike to the counter where the cash register was.“I sure hope Gil didn’t do anything like that.”
“Me too.”Mike met my gaze as he ran my card.“I’d rather believe he was just good at saving his money.”
“It’s not like I want to think bad of Gil.”Ray sounded defensive.“I was just shocked to hear he suddenly had a bunch of money.It’s news to me.”
Mike laughed.“Maybe a rich relative kicked the bucket and left him a fortune.”
Ray straightened and headed for the exit.“I think I’ll go with that.I just can’t accept that Gil is dirty.”
***
After work, I ended up at the Rusty Anchor at happy hour, but not by accident.I’ll admit, a part of me hoped I might run into Declan, even though I already knew he was too busy to meet up.But there was a small chance he might get off work and come here for a drink.I figured it wouldn’t hurt to “accidentally” run into him, should the stars align.
