J is for Judgement

every square inch put to use. There was a diesel stove on my left, and on my right an assortment of sea-going equipment: radio, compass, a fire extinguisher, monitors for wind velocity and the electrical systems, the heater, main switch, and the engine start battery. I was picking up the faint smell of varnish, and I could see that one of the berth cushions still had a sales tag attached. All the upholstery was done in dark green canvas with the seams piped in white.
    "Nice," I said.
    He flushed with pleasure. "You like it?"
    "It looks great," I said. I moved over to one of the berths and dropped my handbag, sitting down. I stretched my arm out along the cushion. "Comfortable," I remarked. "How long have you had it?"
    "About a year," he said. "The IRS seized it shortly after Wendell disappeared. I was a guest of the feds for about eighteen months. After that, I was broke. Once I got a little money ahead, I had to track down the guy who'd bought it from the government. I went through an incredible rigmarole before he'd agree to sell. Not that he had much use for it It was a mess when he finally turned it over to me. I don't know why people have to be such butts." He peeled off his suit coat and loosened his tie so he could ease the button on his shirt-collar. "You want another white wine? I have some chilled."
    "Half a glass," I said. He chatted about sailing for a while and then I brought the subject back to Wendell. "Where'd they find the boat?"
    He opened a miniature refrigerator and took out a bottle of Chardonnay. "Off the Baja coast. There are huge shifting sand bars about six miles out. It looked like the boat had run aground and drifted loose again with the tide." He stripped the foil off the neck of the wine bottle, took an opener, and augered out the cork.
    "He didn't have a crew?"
    "He preferred to single-hand. I watched him sail that day. Orange sky, orange water with a slow, heaving swell. Had this weird feeling to it Like the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. You study that in high school?"
    I shook my head. "In high school, most of what I studied was cussin' and smokin' dope."
    He smiled. "When you leave the Channel Islands, you sail out through a gap in the oil rigs. He turned and waved as he cast off. I watched until he left the harbor, and that's the last I ever saw of him." His tone was hypnotic, mild envy mixed with mild regret He poured the wine in a stemmed glass and passed it over to me.
    "Did you know what he was doing?"
    "What was he doing? I guess I'm still not sure." I said, "Apparently, he was skipping."
    Eckert shrugged. "I knew he was feeling desperate. 1 didn't think he meant to pull a fast one. At the time -- especially when his last note to Dana came to light -- I tried to accept the idea of his suicide. It didn't seem in character, but everybody else was convinced, so who was I to argue?" He poured half a glass of wine for himself, set the bottle aside, and sat down on the banquette across from mine.
    "Not everybody," I corrected. "The police didn't like it much, and neither did CF."
    "Will this make you a hero?"
    "Only if we get the money back."
    "Doesn't seem very likely. Dana's probably got it all spent."
    I didn't want to think about that. "How'd you feel about Wendell's 'death' at the time?"
    "Terrible, of course. Actually, I missed him, even with the flak I took. Strange thing is, he told me some of it. I didn't believe him, but he tried to let me know."
    "He told you he was leaving?"
    "Well, he hinted as much. I mean, he never spelled it out. It was one of those statements you can interpret any way you want He came to me, I think in March, maybe six or seven weeks before he sailed. Said, 'Carl, buddy, I'm bailing. This whole fuckin' gig is comin' down around our heads. I can't take it anymore. It's too much.' Or words to that effect I thought the guy was just blowing smoke. I knew we had big problems, but we'd been up against it before and we'd always come out okay. I figured this was just one more hairy episode in the 'Carl and Wendell Show.' Next thing I know they find his boat drifting in the ocean. Looking back, you think, well. . . when he said 'bailing' did he mean he'd kill himself or cut out'!'
    "But you were stuck either way, yes?"
    "Yes indeed. First thing they did was start checking back through the books. I guess I could have walked out the door then, with just the clothes on my back, but I couldn't see the point. I had nowhere to go. .I didn't have a cent, so I was