Rescue

from strange to wary, but he said only, “ Yes.“
    I outlined for him what had happened in Boston and New Hampshire. He started shaking his head about the time I got to the hunting camp with Lonnie Severn.
    “ John, I am glad to my heart that you are all right. Truly. But I do not see... I am not sure how a Miami attorney can help you in this.“
    “I’m hoping you won’t be able to.“
    “Now what are you saying?“
    “Justo, I’ll be trying to track the boy, Eddie, to a place called Mercy Key.“
    “Mercy.“
    “Yes. You know much about it?“
    “I have driven through it. Not too far south along U.S. 1. Just below Key Largo , I think, and that is the most northerly of them all.“
    I downed some of my drink.
    Justo joined me, then said, “So, what do you want me to do?“
    “I’d like to leave my ‘John Cuddy/ stuff here, and maybe some cash, then go to the rent-a-car place as ‘John Francis.’“
    “You will stay the night. It is... less safe to drive at night around the airport.“
    “Pepe gave me some tips.“
    “Heed them.“
    “I plan to.“
    “Anything else?“ #
    “I may need legal help with what happens down there. I’m hoping I won’t, but if it’s necessary, you may be getting a call from either ‘Cuddy’ or ‘Francis.’ “
    “And if I do, I handle it depending on which ‘John’ seems to be in trouble?“
    “Right.“
    “So far I understand.“
    “So far.“
    A small, wise smile creased the corners of his mouth. “All this you could have arranged with a pay phone and Federal Express. What else?“
    “Pepe said I might ask you about the Florida gun laws.“ 5
    “Carrying a concealed weapon, you mean?“
    “That’s what I mean.“
    “To buy a gun, you need a Florida driver’s license and must wait three days.“
    “Pepe suggested he could take care of that part for me.“
    Justo grunted out a laugh. “I told him to get you anything you wanted. Pepe has not been in this country long, but he is resourceful.“ Serious again. “However, it is one thing to buy a gun, and another to carry it. In order to get ‘John Cuddy’ a license to carry concealed, it would be sixty to ninety days, after photograph and fingerprints and processing through the Secretary of State’s Licensing Division up in Tallahassee. For ‘John Francis,’ impossible.“
    I thought of Sneezer back in Boston. “No... freelance license operations?“
    “Not that would stand up to a police check, and why else would you want a ‘license’ except for that?“
    “Okay.“ Picturing Pepe in the airport garage, I said, “How about if I keep a gun in my car?“
    “The law says it must be ‘securely encased.’ Trunk is best, hide it under something.“
    “Glove compartment?“
    “The law expressly says that is acceptable, even if you do not keep the compartment locked.“
    “Got it.“
    Justo grew somber. “John, one thing.“
    “Yes?“
    “I have a wife—Alicia—and three children.“
    “Sorry, I should have asked.“
    A wave of the hand. “It is okay, they are off for this week and next, visiting Alicia’s mother in Atlanta. Children, they are like kittens, they grow up so quickly, you want the grandmother to see them before that, and mine are only one, two-and-a-half, and four right now. But what I mean is . . He looked away. “You are still in the business, John. I am not. I have Pepe for security, but that is because I am well-off, a target not a player. I cannot have any violence come to visit me... my family here.“
    “I understand. How’s married life treating you?“
    “Oh“—lighter—“it is not so bad. I met my wife at the law school, you can believe it. She was still a student, I was guest lecturer to her Trial Practice class. We talked afterward, I felt a little funny, but Alicia persuaded me I was not like her teacher. She will be a pretty good lawyer, I think, once the children are of an age she can leave them during the day and not feel regret about it. How about you?“
    “We never had any kids.“
    “But you got married?“
    “Justo, I forgot you wouldn’t have known. My wife died.“
    “Oh, John. I’m so sorry.“
    “No, don’t be. It’s actually a pretty good sign that I forgot you wouldn’t have known. It means I’m looking forward instead of back, and I’m with—as a matter of fact, I’m with a lawyer, too. She’s a prosecutor in Boston.“
    Justo used his glass to clink against mine without actually offering a toast. “You know, it