"You find a briefcase?”
His brow wrinkled with confusion. "Yeah. How did you know?"
"By the split tree?”
His face tightened. "Hey, I found that fair and square.”
"Well, it doesn't belong to you.”
"It does now. It didn't have anybody's name on it. Finders, keepers.”
"Where's the case now?”
"I don't have to tell you?”
My eyes narrowed, and I gave him a stern look. "I buried that case out here.”
"You shouldn't have done that.”
This guy was starting to get on my nerves. “A man was killed for that case, and a young woman was kidnapped. I need to know where it is."
Pudgy hesitated for a moment. "I don't have to tell you.”
"What's your name?”
"I don't have to tell you that either.”
My patience with this guy was wearing thin. I waved the sheriff over.
JD dropped anchor, and they disembarked and marched toward us. The sheriff didn't look happy, and he could be an intimidating presence.
"I don't think I've made myself clear,” I said. “This is a matter of life and death.”
"I know my rights. You can't bully me around."
"Is that your boat?" the sheriff said, pointing to his center console.
"You saw me pull up in it, didn't you?"
"We're going to need to do a routine compliance inspection.”
The guy glared at him. “Everything is in order."
"Great, then there will be no problem.”
The guy huffed, then set his stuff down on the beach. We followed him as he marched back to his boat.
"You're wasting your time."
"I don't mind," Sheriff Daniels said. "I've got nothing better to do.”
"You ought to be ashamed of yourselves, harassing me about something that I'm perfectly in my right to do."
He climbed aboard his boat, and so did we.
The sheriff looked around and inspected the craft. He had the requisite personal flotation devices and a throwable. He had a fire extinguisher and a horn.
"I need to see your registration," Daniels said.
