Dead in the Water (Stone Barrington 3)

“Start again.”

“I ran into him at the bar at the yacht club in Las Palmas, and we renewed our acquaintance.”

“Had he changed much in the years since you’d seen him?”

“Well, he’d gained a lot of weight, but he was still the same friendly guy.”

“Did he mention his wife while you were at the bar?”

“Yes, he said he was married to a beautiful girl that he was crazy about.”

“You didn’t mention that before,” Stone said. “That he was crazy about her.”

“Sorry; there were words to that effect.”

“Good, that will help. Now, how much time did you spend with him on this occasion, at the yacht club bar?”

“We were there an hour or so, and then he invited me to dinner on his yacht.”

“Did you accept?”

“Yes.”

“Did you then go down to the marina and have dinner on his yacht.”

“Yes.”

“Did he introduce you to Mrs. Manning?”

“Yes. She was already on the yacht, cooking dinner.”

“How long did you spend with them that evening?”

“Oh, I guess four or five hours.”

“And on that occasion did you form an opinion of the sort of relationship these two people had?”

“Yes.”

“How would you describe that relationship?”

“They were good together; they obviously loved each other. They touched each other a lot, and always with affection.”

“Good, I like that, the part about the touching; remember to say it.”

“Okay.”

“Would you say these people were happily married?”

“Yes, I would. Very happily.”

“And how long was it before they sailed across the Atlantic?”

“I believe they sailed the next day for another island, then started across the Atlantic the day after that.”

“Did you see them again?”

“Yes. I went to another island called Puerto Rico, and I happened to see them as they sailed out of the harbor into the Atlantic.”