threw the case toward him. It landed at Chick’s feet. He bent over to pick it up and Jock launched himself, covering the four feet in a split second. He caught Mantella while he was bending over to pick up the case, the force of his body taking Chick back onto the asphalt. Jock quickly disarmed him and stood. “Stay on the ground,” he said, pointing the pistol at Chick.
“You’re not cops.”
“No.”
“Don’t kill me.”
“I wouldn’t think of it,” said Jock. “Let’s get him in your car, Matt. I don’t want anybody calling the real cops.”
I pulled a pair of flex cuffs out of a bag in the back of the Explorer. We secured Chick in the backseat and Jock and I sat in the front, turned so that we could see him.
“What do you want?” Mantella asked.
“Tell us about EZGo Travel.”
“Shit. Nothing to it.”
“You formed the business, right?”
“Yes. But it never got up and going.”
“You used it to lure Katherine Brewster to Anna Maria Island. Why?”
“You don’t understand. We were in love. I had to get her away from her boyfriend so we could be together.”
“You sick fuck,” I said. “She didn’t want anything to do with you.”
“Yes she did.”
“She told you to leave her alone.”
“That was just for the boyfriend’s benefit. She didn’t really mean it.”
“Why Anna Maria Island?” I asked.
“It’s romantic.”
“Did you meet her there?” I asked.
“No. I was going to, but I got delayed in Charlotte.”
“Why the delay?”
“Come on, man. I don’t want to talk about this.”
“I’m going to shoot you if you don’t,” said Jock.
“Okay, but it’s kind of embarrassing,” Chick said.
“I don’t know what can be more embarrassing than laying dead in a Hooters parking lot,” I said.
“I got a dose of clap,” Chick said, resignation in his voice.
“Clap?” I asked. “Gonorrhea?”
“Yes.”
“From one of the Hooters girls?” I asked.
“No. I paid for a whore one night. I started having burning when I peed and went to the doctor. He shot me up with penicillin, but it took a few days to clear up. I didn’t want to give it to Kat, so I stayed in Charlotte getting the treatment.”
“Geez,” Jock said. “You’re some piece of work.”
“Hey. How was I supposed to know the bitch had the clap? Cost me a hundred bucks. You’d think for that price you’d get one who wasn’t diseased.”
“You went to Anna Maria eventually, didn’t you?” I was thinking about the gasoline he bought in Bradenton on his EZGo credit card on the night of the Dulcimer murders.
“Yes.”
“Did you talk to Katherine?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I went to the inn where she was staying and parked outside waiting for her. She came out but got in her car before I could say anything. I followed her to the restaurant where she went on the boat.”
“If you were in love, why didn’t you just call her and tell her you were on the island?” I asked.
“You don’t understand. She had to keep up appearances for the boyfriend. I couldn’t just call her. I had to bump into her somewhere. Like in a bar.”
“Did you get on the boat?”
“No.”
“Why not? Couldn’t you have bumped into her there?”
“I saw the boyfriend buying a ticket.”
“Doug?”
“Yeah, whatever his name is.”
“What did you do?”
“I went to the bar in the restaurant. I figured I’d wait for the boat to get back and talk to her then.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“When the boat docked, I saw the boyfriend. He was one of the first to get off and he went directly to the parking lot and got in his car and left. I waited for Kat, but she never showed up.”
“Did you stay around?”
“For a while. There was a coast guard boat docked right behind the dinner boat. I heard the dispatcher say over its radio that they’d found a couple of bodies and that one of them was Katherine. I was devastated.”
“I bet you were,” said Jock, his voice dripping sarcasm.
“Don’t make light of my grief.”
“Why did you leave?” I asked.
“I figured her boyfriend did her because she was going to leave him for me. I didn’t want him to find me anywhere near Kat.”
“Where did you go?”
“I stopped by my uncle’s house and got my stuff and drove back to Charlotte.”
“How did you know we were following you?” I asked.
“I’ve got some problems. I have to be careful.”
“What kind of problems.”
“The mob kind.”
“What does that mean?”
“You know. The mob. They’re after me.”
“Look, dipshit,” said Jock, “you can pull that mob stuff on waitresses, but I’m not buying it.”
“It’s real. Honest.”
“Tell