best thing: He cut a deal with the local office of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
'I don't like it any more than you do,' he told Harker. 'But we'll have to live with it.'
The deal took a long afternoon of often rancorous argument to arrange, but eventually an agreement was hammered out that had as many compromises as the Treaty of Ghent.
The DEA would take over surveillance of FL Sports Equipment, Inc., and responsibility for tracing the Haitian source of the coke-filled baseballs and trailing the vans and trucks that picked them up at the warehouse. In return, the DEA agreed not to bust the operation or collar Frank Little without Crockett's prior notification and approval. Hiram Johnson, one of Crockett's men and Roger Fortescue's buddy, was assigned to liaise with the DEA's investigative team.
So it happened that on a blustery night in late November, Fortescue conducted Johnson to his hideaway in the deserted fast-food joint adjacent to Little's warehouse. The hurricane season had ended, but the weather had turned mean and brutal. A northwest wind was driving gusts of cold rain, and both men were drenched before they could duck into the restaurant, Roger leading the way with his lantern.
'Loverly,' Johnson said, peering around. 'Perfect for weddings and bar mitzvahs.'
Fortescue showed him the office where boards covering the window could be moved apart to provide a clear view of the goings-on at FL Sports Equipment.
'All the comforts of home,' Roger pointed out. 'I even dragged in this swell crate so your guys will have a place to sit while they peep.'
'Primitive,' Johnson said. 'Definitely primitive. But as they say in real estate circles, the only three things that count are location, location, and location.'
Within a week, the DEA, working through a dummy corporation, had leased the empty building and were ostensibly converting it into a new restaurant. A sign went up-finny fun-and underneath a promise that read 'Coming Soon: Fresh Fish.'
The exterior renovation went slowly; the outside of the building showed little change. But inside, in the small office, DEA specialists built a fully equipped command post with telephones, two-way radios, video cameras, bunks for two men, a hot plate, and enough canned provisions to feed a regiment. The toilet was put back into working order, power was restored, and the kitchen faucets flowed.
The cameras were the first equipment installed, and were put into use immediately with hypersensitive film to record nighttime activities. The arrival and departure of vans and trucks taking delivery of Little's baseballs were radioed to teams of agents parked along Copans Road, and the shadowing began.
Having played his role, Roger Fortescue ambled into Anthony Harker's office.
'I guess I'm out of a job,' he said. 'Not quite,' Tony said. 'How would you like to go to Lakeland?'
34
The rain ended during the early morning hours. The air smelled of fresh-cut grass, salt sea.
Theodore mopped up puddles on the terrace and turned the cushions. Rita and David had breakfast out there: grapefruit juice, toasted raisin bread with guava shells and cream cheese, coffee laced with cinnamon.
'I forgot to tell you,' Rita said. 'I came home early, and the phone in your office was ringing. Why don't you put your office phone on the regular line so someone can take messages when you're out?'
'I don't want to mix my private life with business,' he said, smiling at her. 'If it's important, they'll call back. Probably one of my clients.'
'That Birdie Winslow you mentioned?'
'Oh, did I mention her? Yes, it probably was. She demands a lot of attention. Really more trouble than she's worth. I may have to drop her.'
'How old is she?'
'Older than you, believe me. And heavier. Much, much heavier.'
'Pretty?'
He fluttered a hand back and forth. 'So-so. Passable, but not my type.'
'Who is your type?'
'You. How many times do I have to tell you?' 'I never get tired of hearing it,' she said, squeezing his arm. 4 4 What're your plans for today?'
'I have to see my travel agent. I've got to go to England for a few days. Tomorrow if I can get a flight.'
'Me, too?'
'Nope. Not this time.'
''That's what you said last time.'
4'You'll get your chance,' he assured her. 'Maybe sooner than you think. We'll have to visit Irving Donald Gevalt and get you fixed up with ID and a passport.'
'Why can't I use my real name?'
'I don't think that would be wisfe,' he said.
He spent the morning in his office, reviewing the accounts of his clients and drawing up a schedule of investments each would make in the Fort Knox Commodity Trading Fund. Birdie Winslow called shortly before noon.
'I phoned you all day yesterday,' she complained. 'I suppose you were gallivanting around.'
'I wish I had been,' Rathbone said. 'But I had to attend a seminar in Boca on zero-coupon bonds. Very dull stuff.'
'Can we have lunch today?'
'Oh, I'm so sorry,' he said. 'I have a luncheon appointment with a Palm Beach banker. He's probably on his way here right now, so I can't cancel.'
'Then how about dinner?'
'I'm sorry,' he repeated. 'I'm flying to Germany tonight. Just for a few days. Maybe we can get together when I get back.'
'David, you're not avoiding me, are you?'
'Of course not. It's just that I've been so busy. Making money is hard work, you know.'
'Uh-huh. Well, I have something very important to talk to you about. I could come over to your office.'
'Oh, it's in such a mess right now,' he said, 'I'd hate to have you see it. Tell you what: I have to stop at my travel agent after lunch to pick up my ticket. Suppose I come by your apartment for a short time at about three o'clock.'
'Divine!' she said. 'I'll have your vodka gimlet all ready for you.'
'Wonderful,' he said.
He had lunch with Jimmy Bartlett at an outdoor cafe on the Waterway. They sat at an umbrella table and watched the big boats coming south for the winter.
'I had a visit from Termite Tommy,' Rathbone said. 'He claims the German doesn't want to engrave new plates for the bills. Says his hands aren't steady enough. Which is probably true; the old guy was half in the bag when I met him in Lakeland.'
'So the deal is off?'
'Not yet. The printer wants to buy one of those new color laser copiers, an office machine. He says it does beautiful work. Sharper than the original. If he can use his self-destruct paper to pick up copies of twenties and fifties, we're in business.'
'Worth a try,' Bartlett said. 'Even if it's a half-ass reproduction. We're going to salt it in with the drug cash anyhow. And from what you say, it'll disintegrate before anyone has a chance to spot it as queer.'
'Right. But I told Tommy to bring me a sample before I go ahead on this.'
'He still thinks you're going to deposit the funny money in bank accounts?'
'That's what he thinks. Which brings me to our big problem. To get this thing rolling, I had to promise
Termite Tommy a third and the printer a third. But that would leave only a third for you and me to split. Not enough, considering the risk we're running.'
'I agree. And the idea was ours.'
