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As he neared Wilson, he could finally see how old his boss was. Older than Joey, older than all the others involved in this. Shane wondered how that felt, how tired Wilson was. How done he was with what he’d been doing for over sixty years. Or was he really done?
Wilson was already seated when Shane arrived at the high dock. Glancing over at the Brenda Belle, Shane saw no sign of the boat’s owner. Brenda must be biding her time to make her grand entrance. Or sleeping in so she’d have plenty of energy to let loose the dogs of war.
Shane sat down across from his boss. “Good morning.”
Wilson nodded. “Today’s the day. Casey Dean will?—”
“You knew about Frankie Fortunato.”
Wilson hesitated for a fraction of a second and then nodded.
“It would have helped if you had informed me,” Shane said.
“Doubtful,” Wilson said. “You had more than enough intelligence on Casey Dean to do your job. As you might learn, if you achieve my position, less information in the field is preferable most of the time.”
“I don’t agree.”
Wilson shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Given your recent failures, it will be difficult to convince my associates to have you replace me.”
“It might be difficult to convince me.” Wilson looked at him, displeased.
Shane stared back at him. “I took out Casey Dean’s girlfriend last night.”
Wilson stared at him, startled. “Why didn’t you or Carpenter report this? And where is she?”
“We were busy.”
Wilson’s lip curled. “Breaking a suspected murderer out of jail.”
“Yes.”
“I have allowed you a great deal of latitude here,” Wilson began, “and?—”
Shane interrupted him. “You’ve been testing me.”
“Very good,” Wilson said, practically patting him on the head. “And the girlfriend?”
“We have her. You knew Casey Dean used a woman as his front.”
Wilson shrugged. “There were suspicions to that effect.”
“That was also part of the test.” Shane tried to keep the bitterness from his voice. Carpenter and Joey had almost died so that Wilson could test a job applicant.
“Flexibility of thinking is critical for my job.”
Shane sat silent for several moments, staring at the old man. Finally he looked away. He could see Joey on the back porch now, a mug of coffee in his hand, looking out at them. Frankie was moving chairs around in front of the gazebo, getting it ready for the ceremony. Agnes was at the kitchen window, at the kitchen sink, making breakfast for the crowd again. Upstairs, Lisa Livia walked past her bedroom window in her bra, talking a mile a minute, probably to Maria. Even the flamingos were honking as usual.
“The test isn’t over, is it?” Shane asked, knowing that Wilson still held all the cards.
“No.”
“Yesterday I thought I might be Casey Dean’s target.”
“Why is that?” Wilson asked.
“Because my real name is Fortunato. My uncle Joey told me my father was the Don’s older brother, Roberto.”
“You were not Casey Dean’s target,” Wilson said. “No.”
