AllFreeNovel
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“Army,” Bosch said. “First Infantry, engineer battalion.”
“The tunnels.”
“Yeah.”
The bartender nodded. He knew about the tunnels.
“You in the hotel?” he asked.
“Room two-oh-two,” Bosch said.
“Don’t look much like a tourist.”
“I guess I gotta get some shorts and sandals and maybe a Hawaiian shirt.”
“That’ll help.”
“Are you Tommy?”
The bartender stopped his busy work behind the bar getting ready for the night and looked directly at Bosch.
“Do I know you?” he asked.
“No, first time in Key West,” Bosch said. “Over at the police station, I was told that you were the man I needed to talk to.”
“About what?”
“The bar trade in Key West. I’m trying to locate a bar that closed down six, maybe seven years ago.”
“What was it called?”
“That’s the thing. I don’t have a name.”
“Seems kind of fuzzy. You a cop?”
“Used to be. Now I’m just trying to find a guy who came here from L.A., invested in a bar, and then lost it all. My name’s Harry, by the way.”
He offered his hand across the bar top. Tommy wiped his hand on a bar towel and shook it.
“How long you been here, Tommy?” Bosch asked.
“Put it this way: longer than anybody else,” Tommy said. “This guy you’re looking for—he’s got a name, right?”
“He does, but I don’t think he’s using it here. Finbar McShane. He’s Irish.”
Bosch studied his eyes to see if there was any flare of recognition. There was.
“The Irish Galleon,” Tommy said.
“What’s that?” Bosch asked.
“That’s the bar. Two Irish guys opened it about eight years ago. Well, one guy did and then the other guy came over and they were partners. Like we needed another Irish pub in Key West. Fixed it up outside so it looked like a Spanish galleon, you know? The place lasted a couple years and then it got shuttered. They lost their asses, left a shitload of creditors that never got paid.”
Bosch knew there would be records of ownership with state and local agencies monitoring alcohol licensing, maybe a bankruptcy filing as well. Getting the name of the bar was a good lead.
“Did you know them—the partners?” he asked.
“No, they were outsiders, not locals,” Tommy said.
