The Racketeer

building, goes inside, and does the paperwork.
    A week earlier, when I was killing time and waiting on Vanessa to arrive on Antigua, I sniffed around the dock at Jolly Harbour until a yacht arrived. I watched the captain go to the Customs building, just as ours is doing now. And, more important, I noted that no one from Customs inspected the boat.
    The captain returns; everything is in order. We have arrivedon Antigua with the gold and with no suspicions. I explain to the steward that we want to move the scuba gear to my villa because it will be easier to use from there. And while we’re at it, we’ll take the luggage as well. We’ll probably use the yacht to dive around the islands, and for a long dinner or two, but for the first day or so we’ll stay at my place. The steward is fine with this, whatever we wish, and calls for taxis. While they are en route, we help the deckhands unload our bags and duffels onto the dock. It’s quite a pile, and no one would suspect we’re hiding $8 million in gold in luggage and scuba gear.
    It takes three taxis to haul everything, and as we load up we wave good-bye to the steward and the captain. Twenty minutes later we arrive at the villa in Sugar Cove. When everything is inside, we exchange high fives and jump in the ocean.

AUTHOR’S NOTE
    This is indeed a work of fiction, and more so than usual. Almost nothing in the previous 340-odd pages is based on reality. Research, hardly a priority, was rarely called upon. Accuracy was not deemed crucial. Long paragraphs of fiction were used to avoid looking up facts. There is no federal camp at Frostburg, no uranium lawsuit (yet), no dead judge to inspire me, and no acquaintance in prison scheming to get out, at least not to my knowledge.
    Inevitably, though, even the laziest of writers need some foundation for their creations, and I was occasionally at a loss. As always, I relied on others. Thanks to Rick Middleton and Cal Jaffe of the Southern Environmental Law Center. In Montego Bay, I was assisted by the Honorable George C. Thomas and his staff of fine young lawyers.
    Thanks also to David Zanca, John Zunka, Ben Aiken, Hayward Evans, Gaines Talbott, Gail Robinson, Ty Grisham, and Jack Gernert.

ALSO BY JOHN GRISHAM
    A Time to Kill
    The Firm
    The Pelican Brief
    The Client
    The Chamber
    The Rainmaker
    The Runaway Jury
    The Partner
    The Street Lawyer
    The Testament
    The Brethren
    A Painted House
    Skipping Christmas
    The Summons
    The King of Torts
    Bleachers
    The Last Juror
    The Broker
    The Innocent Man
    Playing for Pizza
    The Appeal
    The Associate
    Ford County
    The Confession
    The Litigators
    Calico Joe
    The Theodore Boone Books
    Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer
    Theodore Boone: The Abduction
    Theodore Boone: The Accused