璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第132章

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e。　He　took　his　time　giving　the　rudders　a　look；　and　decided　that　they‘d　be　okay　for　the　rest　of　the　year；　though　Sam　should　keep　an　eye　on　them。　It　was　a　relief；　as　usual；　to　climb　out　of　the　water　and　breathe　air　that　didn‘t　taste　like　rubber。
‘What　do　I　owe　you？‘　Rosen　asked。
‘For　what？‘　Kelly　took　off　his　gear　and　switched　off　the　pressor。
‘I　always　pay　a　man　for　his　work；‘　the　surgeon　said　somewhat　self…righteously。
Kelly　had　to　laugh。　‘Tell　you　what；　if　I　ever　need　a　back　operation；　you　can　make　it　a　freebie。　What　is　it　you　docs　call　this　sort　of　thing？‘
‘Professional　courtesy　…　but　you‘re　not　a　physician；‘　Rosen　objected。
‘And　you‘re　not　a　diver。　You‘re　not　a　seaman　yet；　either；　but　we‘re　going　to　fix　that　today；　Sam。‘
‘I　was　at　the　top　of　my　Power　Squadron　class！‘　Rosen　boomed。
‘Doc；　when　we　got　kids　from　training　school；　we　used　to　say；　"；That‘s　fine；　sonny；　but　this　here‘s　the　fleet。"；　Let　me　get　the　gear　stowed　and　we‘ll　see　how　well　you　can　really　drive　this　thing。‘
‘I　bet　I‘m　a　better　fisherman　than　you　are；‘　Rosen　proclaimed。
‘Next　they‘re　going　to　see　who　can　pee　the　farthest；‘　Sarah　observed　acidly　to　Pam。
‘That；　too。‘　Kelly　laughed　on　his　way　back　inside。　Ten　minutes　later　he‘d　cleaned　off　and　changed　into　a　T…shirt　and　cutoffs。
He　took　a　place　on　the　flying　bridge　and　watched　Rosen　prepare　his　boat　for　getting　under　way。　The　surgeon　actually　impressed　Kelly；　particularly　with　his　line　handling。
‘Next　time　let　your　blowers　work　for　a　while　before　you　light　off　the　engines；‘　Kelly　said　after　Rosen　started　up。
‘But　it‘s　a　diesel。‘
‘Number　one；　"；it"；　is　a　"；she；"；　okay？　Number　two；　it‘s　a　good　habit　to　get　into。　The　next　boat　you　drive　might　be　gas。　Safety；　doc。　You　ever　take　a　vacation　and　rent　a　boat？‘
‘Well；　yes。‘
‘In　surgery　you　do　the　same　thing　the　same　way；　every　time？‘　Kelly　asked。　‘Even　when　you　don‘t　really　have　to？‘
Rosen　nodded　thoughtfully。　‘I　hear　you。‘
‘Take　her　out。‘　Kelly　waved。　This　Rosen　did；　and　rather　smartly；　the　surgeon　thought。　Kelly　didn‘t：　‘Less　rudder；　more　screws。　You　won‘t　always　have　a　breeze　helping　you　away　from　alongside。　Propellers　push　water；　rudders　just　direct　it　a　little。　You　can　always　depend　on　your　engines；　especially　at　low　speed。　And　steering　breaks　sometimes。　Learn　how　to　do　without　it。‘
‘Yes；　Captain；‘　Rosen　growled。　It　was　like　being　an　intern　again；　and　Sam　Rosen　was　used　to　having　those　people　snap　to　his　orders。　Forty…eight；　he　thought；　was　a　little　old　to　be　a　student。
‘You‘re　the　captain。　I‘m　just　the　pilot。　These　are　my　waters；　Sam。‘　Kelly　turned　to　look　down　at　the　well　deck。　‘Don‘t　laugh；　ladies；　it‘ll　be　your　turn　next。　Pay　attention！‘　Quietly：　‘You‘re　being　a　good　sport；　Sam。‘
Fifteen　minutes　later　they　were　drifting　lazily　on　the　tide；　fishing　lines　out　under　a　warm　holiday　sun。　Kelly　had　little　interest　in　fishing；　and　instead　assigned　himself　lockout　duty　on　the　flying　bridge　while　Sam　taught　Pam　how　to　bait　her　line。　Her　enthusiasm　surprised　all　of　them。　Sarah　made　sure　that　she　was　liberally　covered　with　Coppertone　to　protect　her　pale　skin；　and　Kelly　wondered　if　a　little　tan　would　highlight　her　scars。　Alone　with　his　thoughts　on　the　flying　bridge；　Kelly　asked　himself　what　sort　of　man　would　abuse　a　woman。　He　stared　out　through　squinted　eyes　at　a　gently　rolling　surface　dotted　with　boats。　How　many　people　like　that　were　within　his　sight？　Why　was　it　that　you　couldn‘t　tell　from　looking　at　them？
Packing　the　boat　was　simple　enough。　They‘d　stocked　in　a　good　supply　of　chemicals；　which　they　would　have　to　replenish　periodically；　but　Eddie　remembered　the　spot；　well　enough；　and　the　water　was　still　clear。
‘Sweet　Jesus！‘　Tony　gasped。
‘Gonna　be　a　good　year　for　crabs；‘　Eddie　noted；　glad　that　Tony　was　shocked。　A　fitting　kind　of　revenge；　Eddie　thought；　but　it　was　not　a　pleasant　sight　for　any　of　them。　Half　a　bushel‘s　worth　of　crabs　were　already　on　the　body。　The　face　was　fully　covered；　as　was　one　arm；　and　they　could　see　more　of　the　creatures　ing　in；　drawn　by　the　smell　of　decay　that　drifted　through　the　water　as　efficiently　as　through　the　air：　nature‘s　own　form　of　advertising。　On　land；　Eddie　knew；　it　would　be　buzzards　and　crows。
‘What　do　you　figure？　Two　weeks；　maybe　three；　and　then　no　more　Angelo。‘
‘What　if　somebody　…‘
‘Not　much　chance　of　that；‘　Tucker　said；　not　bothering　to　look。　‘Too　shallow　for　a　sailboat　to　risk　ing　in；　and　motorboats　don‘t　bother　much。　There‘s　a　nice　wide　channel　half　a　mile　south；　fishing‘s　better　there；　they　say。　I　guess　the　crabbers　don‘t　like　it　here　either。‘
Piaggi　had　trouble　looking　away；　though　his　stomach　had　already　turned　over　once。　The　Chesapeake　Bay　blue　crabs；　with　their　claws；　were　dismantling　the　body　already　softened　by　warm　water　and　bacteria；　one　little　pinch　at　a　time；　tearing　with　their　claws；　picking　up　the　pieces　with　smaller　pincers；　feeding　them　into　their　strangely　alien　mouths。　He‘d　wondered　if　there　would　still　be　a　face　there；　eyes　to　stare　up　at　a　world　left　behind；　but　crabs　covered　it；　and　somehow　it　seemed　likely　that　the　eyes　had　been　the　first　things　to　go。　The　frightening　part；　of　course；　was　that　if　one　man　could　die　this　way；　so　could　another；　and　even　though　Angelo　had　already　been　dead；　somehow　Piaggi　was　sure　that　being　disposed　of　this　way　was　worse　than　mere　death。　He　would　have　regretted　Angelo‘s　death；　except　that　it　was　business；　and　。。。　Angelo　had　deserved　it。　It　was　a　shame；　in　a　way；　that　his　gruesome　fate　had　to　be　kept　a　secret；　but　that　was　business；　too。　That　was　how　you　kept　the　cops　from　finding　out。　Hard　to　prove　murder　without　a　body；　and　here　they　had　accidentally　found　a　way　to　conceal　a　number　of　murders。　The　only　problem　was　getting　the　bodies　here　…　and　not　letting　others　know　of　the　method　of　disposal；　because　people　talk。　Tony　Piaggi　told　himself；　as　Angelo　had　talked。　A　good　thing　that　Henry　had　found　out　about　that。
‘How　‘bout　crab　cakes　when　we　get　back　to　town？‘　Eddie　Morello　asked　with　a　laugh；　just　to　see　if　he　could　make　Tony　puke。
‘Let‘s　get　the　fuck　outa　here；‘　Piaggi　replied　quietly；　settling　into　his　seat。　Tucker　took　the　engine　out　of　idle　and　picked　his　way　out　of　the　tidal　marsh；　back　into　the　Bay。
Piaggi　took　a　minute　or　two　to　get　the　sight　out　of　his　mind；　hoping　that　he　could　forget　the　horror　of　it　and　remember　only　the　efficiency　of　their　disposal　method。　After　all；　they　might　be　using　it　again。　Maybe　after　a　few　hours　he‘d　see　humor　in　it；　Tony　thought；　looking　at　the　cooler。　Under　the　fifteen　or　so　cans　of　National　Bohemian　was　a　layer　of　ice；　under　which　were　twenty　sealed　bags　of　heroin。　In　the　unlikely　event　that　anyone　stopped　them；　it　was　unlikely　that　they‘d　look　farther　than　the　beer；　the　real　fuel　for　Bay…boaters。　Tucker　drove　the　boat　north；　and　the　others　laid　out　their　fishing　rods　as　though　they　were　trying　to　find　a　good　place　to　harvest　a　few　rockfish　from　the　Chesapeake。
‘Fishing　in　reverse；‘　Morello　said　after　a　moment；　then　he　laughed　loudly　enough　that　Piaggi　joined　in。
‘Toss　me　a　beer！‘　Tony　manded　between　laughs。　He　was　a　‘made　man；‘　after　all；　and　deserved　respect。
‘Idiots；‘　Kelly　said　quietly　to　himself。　That　eighteen…footer　was　going　too　fast；　too　close　to　other　fishing　boats。　It　could　catch　a　few　lines；　and　certainly　would　throw　a　wake　sure　to　disturb　other　craft。　That　was　bad　sea　manners；　something　Kelly　was　always　careful　to　observe。　It　was　just　too　easy　to　…　hell；　it　wasn‘t　even　hard　enough　to　be　‘easy。‘　All　you　had　to　do　was　buy　a　boat　and　you　had　the　right　to　sail　her　around。　No　tests；　no　nothing。　Kelly　found　Rosen‘s　7　x　50　binoculars　and　focused　them　on　the　boat　that　was　ing　close　aboard。　Three　assholes；　one　of　them　holding　up　a　can　of　beer　in　mock　salute。
‘Bear　off；　dickhead；‘　he　whispered　to　himself。　The　jerks　in　a　boat；　drinking　beer；　probably　half…potted　already；　not　even　eleven　o‘clock　yet。　He　gave　them　a　good　look；　and　was　vaguely　grateful　that　they　passed　no　closer　than　fifty　yards。　He　caught　the　name：　Henry‘s　Eighth。　If　he　saw　that　name　again；　Kelly　told　himself；　he‘d　remember　to　keep　clear。
‘I　got　one！‘　Sarah　called。
"；Heads　up；　we　got　a　big　wake　ing　in　from　st