The Deep Blue Alibi

'I figure someone who wanted to stop Oceania.'

Victoria dropped a line into the water. 'Someone like Delia?'

'Strike me pink! You're still on that? Delia's a lover, not a killer. Just ask your partner.'

Steve smiled, agreeably. Annoyingly.

'Ever tell Mr. Griffin how you felt about Oceania?' Victoria asked Fowles, ignoring Steve.

'I told him how development killed the big reefs off Honolulu and Singapore and Hong Kong. I told him how pile driving so close to the reef would dislodge sediment that would clog up the coral. How the gas pipeline and the conduits for water and electrical would mess up the ocean floor. But he had a study to rebut every one of my arguments. Like I told Delia from the start, it's Mr. G's decision, not the guy who drives his boats and flies his planes. In the end, my opinion didn't count any more than Junior's.'

'What's that mean?' Steve jumped in. 'What was Junior's opinion?'

'All I'm saying is that father and son don't always see eye to eye.'

'Mr. Griffin told you to be open with us,' Victoria reminded Fowles. 'But you're holding back.'

When the Englishman didn't respond, Steve said, 'Just what's Junior got to do with this?'

Fowles rolled his pants legs back down. 'Nothing much, except when the financing fell through, Mr. G and Junior had a row. A real argy-bargy.'

'When the financing fell through. .'

What did that mean? Griffin had a huge construction loan in place. He had his financing. So what the hell did Fowles mean? Steve shot Victoria a look that warned: 'Don't let on we're clueless.'

As if she would give that up. She tried to remember something Junior told them. Jesus, what was it? Had her knees been so wobbly from seeing him that she'd forgotten? The word 'hoops' came back to her. Junior complained about 'all the hoops' the insurance companies made them jump through to get their financing. He'd been evasive about just who issued the binder, some double-talk about a foreign consortium. Then Steve made up the name of a Pacific Rim company that Junior seemed to agree was the one.

Victoria cautiously baited another line, cast it. 'Did the financing run into trouble because of the insurance problem?'

'It did indeed.'

'But Griffin landed insurance somewhere,' Steve added, 'or he couldn't have gotten a construction loan.'

Fowles barked out a laugh. 'You don't know shit, do you, mate?' Shite.

'Tell us,' Steve said.

'Oceania couldn't get insurance. The computer models showed the hotel would capsize in a Category Five hurricane. Mr. G argued that the chances of a Category Five hitting one tiny spot in the Gulf were infinitesimal, but it didn't matter. No one would insure the place.'

'So how'd he get a construction loan?'

'By putting up everything he owned as collateral. Every last piece of real estate. Every stock and bond, all his spare cash, too. That's what the row was about. Junior was ranting and raving that his father's ego had run amuck. That he was building a monument to himself that was sheer folly and he'd lose everything.'

Victoria remembered something Uncle Grif had said the day The Queen showed up. 'Lately, Junior's taken an interest in the business. Been riding me hard, telling me I spend too much money, take too many risks.'

'So Junior was scared shitless he'd lose his inheritance,' Steve emphasized, as if Victoria didn't get the point. As if she didn't know he was already pushing Junior to the head of the Reasonable Alternative Scenario class of suspects most likely to create reasonable doubt.

'And Mr. G was yelling right back,' Fowles continued, 'giving Junior a real bollocking, calling him a prima donna and a playboy.'

'A playboy,' Steve repeated, just in case Victoria had missed it.

'Mr. G said it was his money and he'd do whatever the hell he wants with it. So if you ask me, Junior Griffin had a helluva lot more reason to deep-six Oceania than Delia or me. Millions more, you might say.'

Steve's smile was so smug, Victoria longed to slap it right off his face.

Thirty

CROSSING THE BRIDGE

'Junior's not a killer,' Victoria said as they approached Big Pine Key.

'No way you can be certain.'

'But you know Delia's harmless, even though she throws a mean meat cleaver.'

Victoria was at the wheel of her Mini Cooper, headed south on U.S. 1. The car would have fit into the trunk of Steve's old Eldo, although the trunk was probably currently occupied by families of grouper and snapper. They were on their way to meet Junior, Steve insisting they confront him with Fowles' accusations.

'Look at the facts,' he said. 'Junior was angry that his father was going to build a hotel on top of a coral reef. But it gets worse. The old man's gotta put up everything he owns to secure the financing. Now Junior's afraid the fish aren't the only ones who are gonna be homeless. The two men argue, but no way Dad's gonna change his mind. Junior wants to stop the project, but how? He won't kill his father. And maybe he didn't even want to kill Stubbs. Maybe he just wanted to threaten him but things escalated.'

'Couldn't happen unless Junior miraculously gets back on the boat while it's under way.'

'No problem for Aquaman. You saw him climb on a seaplane that was under way.'

'The security video clearly shows Junior diving off the Force Majeure.'

'But not swimming away from the boat. He could have climbed up the dive ladder when no one's looking. He hides below, then confronts Stubbs in the salon, tries to get him to change his report. Stubbs says no. He's being paid a fortune to whore for Oceania. Junior threatens to expose the bribes, but Stubbs figures he's bluffing. If Stubbs is guilty of taking bribes, Griffin's guilty of paying them. Stubbs doesn't think Junior will take his old man down.'

'You're making this up as you go along.'

'That's what creative lawyers do, Vic. Now, just hear me out. Junior threatens Stubbs with the spear-gun. Maybe Stubbs tries to take the gun away and it discharges accidentally. Or maybe Junior just flat-out shoots him. Either way, Junior dives off the boat and swims to shore.'

'Too many maybes. And Uncle Grif? Who knocked him out?'

'I don't know yet. But remember that cruise ship that got smacked by a forty-foot wave on a calm day?'

'Yeah.'

'Maybe a rogue wave hits the Force Majeure as Griffin's going back up the ladder. He falls to the deck and is knocked out.'

'Way too many maybes.'

'Jeez, Vic. I'm just playing poker with ideas here. All I'm saying, we can toss Junior's Speedos at the jury and create reasonable doubt.'

'Uncle Grif will never go for it.'

'You're assuming he doesn't already think that's what happened.'

'If Uncle Grif thought all that, why wouldn't he tell us?'

'Because he wants us to win the case without involving his son.'

When they hit Big Pine Key, Victoria turned left onto Long Beach Road. Before leaving Fowles at Paradise Key, Steve had called Junior, who was looking at dive boats for sale in Marathon. Then he was heading to the Polynesian Beach Club to unwind.

Unwind from what? Steve wondered. The guy didn't work. What would wind him up in the first place?

Junior invited them for lunch at the club, which he said served a fine grilled ahi. So now Steve looked forward to tuna followed by cross-examination.