Chapter 15

Today was one of the very best Seattle has to offer considering it was early December. Many people think it rains all the time in Seattle, but early December can be beautiful. Cold, but beautiful. Everything that day was blue and clean. The smells that permeate a salt-water city get in the blood of anyone who has lived there for a very long time. The day was gorgeous. By the time I pulled Faithful out of the garage I knew even though it was cool outside, the day was going to be nice enough to take out the Corvette roadster. I headed for the storage building, pulled out the ‘Vette, put the top down and cranked the heat up to maximum. Headed off down the road, BJ stood on the passenger seat with her head hanging out her side of the car, and we both had big grins plastered on our faces.

On the way over to Wheeler’s office, I pulled up to a stoplight next to a very attractive dark-haired lady with sliver streaks in her hair. Her expensive European sedan was spotless, and the woman looked exactly like the kind of lady who should be driving such a vehicle. She happened to glance over at us, and then turned her head away. Evidently, she must’ve seen BJ, because immediately she looked back at us. This time with a huge grin on her face. It never fails. I have more women glance at me, and then look back a second time after they see BJ. I smiled back at her, but I doubt if she even noticed. Women’s reactions aren’t the reason I keep BJ, but her magnetic attraction sure does help, even when I’m ignored.

I’d never visited Wheeler’s office before, though I knew its location. The front of his office faces the street, but the rear of the building looks out over Portage Bay. His sales marina is only about a block away on the same side of the lake. Pulling up in front I spotted Wheeler’s sleek silver Teutonic sports car squatted down in his stall. After I parked and walked up to the front doors, I looked up the street and saw a Seattle undercover police vehicle parked in the fire lane.

As soon as I entered the lobby, I could see all the way back into Wheeler’s office. The young lady sitting at the front desk was gorgeous and I couldn’t help but notice Wheel was not skimping on his selection of a receptionist.

When this stunningly attractive lady asked me how she could help, I told her that I needed to speak to Wheel when he had a few moments. I’d no sooner told her what I wanted when Sakol came out the door of Wheeler’s office. We looked at each other for a moment and considering the look on his face, it was obvious he was surprised to see me. Sakol muttered some pleasantry, and I returned the same. By then, Jeff L. came out of the office and expressed his surprise to see me as well. “What the hell are you doing here?” Good old Jeffers, right to the point.

“I wanted to have a chat with Wheeler. I just found out from Scott yesterday that Wheeler owns the marina where the houseboat is moored.”

Wheeler was now standing in the doorway, his frame filling the opening. “Morning, Matt. Yes, as I was just telling these detectives I do own the marina where Slim’s houseboat was, or is tied up. I’ve also told them I didn’t know Slim except from our card games.” Both the detectives nodded their heads in agreement. Wheel continued, “If you’re here to talk me into letting you stay, the city says we have to have all houseboats moved out in a hundred and twenty days.” Wheel folded his arms across his chest and glowered at me. “Besides, why should I do you any favors? You didn’t do a fucking thing to help me at the last game.”

I was going to put a stop to this right now. “Bullshit, Wheel, you aren’t going to put that on me. You knew no one would take the ring! You also know about table stakes and the rules, and ... anyway, it wasn’t your first time at the game. Right?” I kept looking Wheeler in the eye until he finally looked down. I asked him, “Are you really going to hang that on me?” Wheeler looked back up at me for a second, then shook his head no, and smiled sheepishly at me.

“You know I tend to blow up, sorry about that. But I still can’t help you with the houseboat mess. Honest! The city has taken it out of my hands for now.”

I nodded my acceptance of his apology, thought for a moment, and then asked, “How come you never mentioned that you owned a marina to anyone, especially the one where Slim had his boat tied up?”

“It never came up. Later, the next day after the game, I heard you’d won his boat. I knew Slim was planning to move and that he was going to sell the thing off and give up his space. I was still pissed at you, so I didn’t tell you.

“My idea is to sell the spaces off instead of leasing them. Then if there’s a problem with the city, it’s up to the tenants to deal with it. Besides, the taxes keep going up, and it’s getting too damn expensive to run a marina. Matt, the sewer bill on those units is unbelievable. You know the city is always trying to figure out ways to shut down the houseboats. In reality, I only charge the tenants a pittance of what I should. To me the best option was to sell the spaces off and do something else with the money.”