Chapter 104

Again it's complicated. If I can get it cheap, and I might before the Hotel conversion starts, maybe we can afford to take it down and turn it into a park. That city maintained dock would be a great draw for boaters on the inter coastal waterway. You did know the bay was part of it?" I asked.

"Of course I knew that. I just don't know that high class apartments with short term leases would appeal to boat owners on the waterway. I also doubt that they would buy a condo here." he said.

"You do know there are two and three million dollar houses on the north end of Jefferson Island. The condo with a nice bay view should be easy to sell for a quarter of that. We probably would fill up with blue haired old ladies, if you ran a piano bar there." I suggested.

"Oh and I suppose that is how you are going to farm me off into retirement," he said with a laugh.

"Not a chance, but you know if they let you sing you would be there every night. We might have to have a fancy wine list though. I really hate places that have more then two red and two white wines on the menu," I said.

"Yeah those are so fancy," Wilson said and laughed. "You are a reverse bigot."

"Well that is entirely possible," I agreed. "Anyway all that can wait. We need to start reading the papers to find some action."

"Yeah let's try to get something that pays this time," Wilson said.

"Well even if we didn't get paid, we had a good resolution to the drug/rapes," I said.

"Ye, s I will agree with that," Wilson said. "When we get back to the dock, I will crank up searches. Anything in particular you would like to try next?"

"I'm adaptable, just make it interesting and make it soon," I said.

Wilson had a rule no cell phones on the boat. I sorta had to agree with him. I carried my cell phone in the canary since I never went far from home. There was a chance I might need to say my last goodbyes.

I mention this because we had messages waiting for us after out three hours fishing expedition. Mine was from the warehouse man I had spoken to that morning. I really hadn't expected him to call so quickly, but I was on a roll.

"Miss Porter, I spoke with my dad and he would like to sit down and discuss our property on Bayview street," the voice on the phone message said.

"A meeting is a fine idea. When would you like to have this sit down, and do I need to bring my lawyer?" I asked when I returned the call.

"No need for lawyers yet, but if things work out, you might need a lawyer," the voice suggested.

"Make it afternoon when we meet and I'll sit down any day you like,"I agreed.

"Okay how about tomorrow?" he asked.

"Okay 1PM for coffee at Mr.BJ's," I suggested even though I hated their coffee.

"Not my favorite place, but it will do for a neutral space," he said.

"I thought the same thing, and their coffee is shit," I said just to relax him.

"Yeah we been living here a long time, and it is. Not to many places in New Wales to get a decent cup of coffee and Jefferson Island isn't a good place to discuss business."

"I like the coffee on the pier there, but you are right there is no privacy. So I'll see you tomorrow at 1PM at Mr.BJ's," I repeated.

"While you were talking to the Bean, I was talking to your friend in South Carolina. His friend in New Jersey is insisting, we escort his diamonds. His friend isn't so sure that the South Carolina connection is secure." Wilson said.

"How long did you guys drive last time?" I asked.

"Twelve hours and that was eating from the seven eleven type stores, while we filled up the car. It was miserable. We were scared to death that someone had followed us." Wilson said.

"Yeah this time it is most likely that, if they still want the package they will figure out who has it. Find out how much they are willing to pay us to deliver their goods," I said to Wilson. I didn't mind making him work for his share of the money. Besides he seemed to like being involved.

"Negotiate with them and get as much as you can. We have to have a minimum of 20K for the job. If they pay it without a fight the people who were after the diamonds are still after them. If that is the case, it is risky, but I have an idea or two. We are going to Ellisboro this afternoon."

I drove the truck the hours drive to Ellisboro. At the Walmart store I bought a really nice mountain bike. I paid almost $250 bucks for it, but I expected it to be a nice ride. When we left, it was with a lot of other things, just to make the trip worthwhile. But the bicycle was the biggest item.

I spent the later evening checking out maps and gathering other information before I made the plan. The next morning I rode the bike air field. I flew the ultra light for an hour and a half before I brought it down in what was almost a dead stick landing. The engine was ready just in case but I tried to land it as a glider and it worked just fine. I used the mower to tow the plane to the hanger. I stored it carefully and then used the smart phone to call EZ's mechanic who made house calls. He agreed to meet me the next day after noon at the strip.

I rode the new bike back to the barge. I showered then dressed for my meeting with Beans, father and son. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I still needed to make a decision about the warehouse. The final decision about the hotel depended on getting the warehouse. It also had to be cheap enough or it might be a no go for both parcels. I just hadn't decided which way I would go.