Part 11 (1/2)

In Haines, Jim called his brother Gary. Hey, he said, it's me, and then there was silence. He waited.

Well, Gary said. Some people are looking for you.

Looking for me?

You jumped bail, didn't you?

No.

Another pause. There might be a difference of opinion here, Gary said. And you might think about trying to make amends somehow, since I think the sheriff's opinion wins.

Why are we talking about this? Jim said. I called you to talk about other things. I wanted to talk to my brother. I've been thinking a lot about our time on the Osprey, Osprey, thinking that it's too bad that didn't work out. I wish we were still doing it. And I was thinking it would have been nice if Roy could have worked on the boat in the summers. thinking that it's too bad that didn't work out. I wish we were still doing it. And I was thinking it would have been nice if Roy could have worked on the boat in the summers.

Jim, where are you?

I'm in Haines.

Look, you have to turn yourself in. You can't run from them, and you're just going to make yourself look bad in front of a jury.

Are you listening to me? Jim asked. I wanted to talk about other things. Do you think about the Osprey, Osprey, or about living out there? or about living out there?

Jim waited then. He could hear his brother breathing.

Yeah, I do, Gary finally said. I think about those times. And though it was hard then, I'm glad we did it. It was an adventure. I wouldn't do it again, though.

No?

No.

That's too bad, Jim said. You know, I've been a little lonely in all this since I've been back. I haven't had anyone to talk to. No one's come to visit me or help me.

No one can now, Gary said. They'd be an accessory or something. Harboring a fugitive. I don't know what they'd call it, but they'd call it something.

I don't have any chance of beating this, do I? Jim said. He paused, and Gary didn't say anything, and Jim realized finally that this was true. He was just waiting around for his own fall. He realized also that he needed not to tell his brother anything more. I need to go now, he said.

Okay, Gary said. I wish I could help you. I really do. I should have come to see you while you were still in Ketchikan.

That's all right.

Jim walked straight into town looking for his bank. They had to have a branch here. He found several other banks and got toward what appeared to be the end of the small town and started panicking, but then he saw it. He walked in with his checkbook and ID in his hand, waited in line, and then was ushered to a side desk because of the amount of his withdrawal, almost $115,000 in cash. He intended to clean out what was left of this savings account completely, though the sheriff had probably already frozen it. Coos knew about it because he'd already taken over $200,000 for bail and fees and a few thousand for living expenses in Ketchikan.

The financial officer a.s.sisting him didn't really want to a.s.sist him. This is a very large and unusual withdrawal, she said. Especially in cash. I have to let you know that we'll have to report this. We have to report any large deposit or withdrawal such as this.

That's okay, Jim said.

May I ask what the withdrawal is for?

To buy a house, Jim said.

We can have a cas.h.i.+er's check made out for that.

Nope, it has to be cash.

A cas.h.i.+er's check is cash.

Cash cash.

The woman frowned.

Look, Jim said, is it my money or is it not?

It is, of course, the woman said. I'm not sure we have that much cash on hand, though. In fact, I'm sure we don't.

How much do you have?

What?

I'll take whatever you have.

Jim left with $27,500 in cash. He knew he had been ripped off, that they had more cash than that, but it was enough. He didn't need to buy his own boat. He could find some fis.h.i.+ng boat that had just finished the March opening and was waiting around. They'd need money.

Jim went to the bigger boats first. It was hard to find anyone around. He asked people, though, and got phone numbers and addresses of homes and bars. Then he found one guy cleaning up on one of the smaller gillnetters.

Howdy, Jim said, but the man only looked at him, then went back to work. He was so much what one would expect he was laughable. A beard and battered old cap, a pathetic alcoholic.

I'd like a ride down the coast to Mexico. I'm paying fifteen thousand. Interested?

The man looked at him then. Just kill somebody? he asked.

Only my own life, Jim said.

Let me just go down to the sheriff and ask around, then we can talk about it.

Is this your boat?

No. But I know the captain.

Why don't we skip the sheriff's office and make it twenty thousand.

The man took off his cap and scratched his head. Will we be skipping the Coast Guard, too? And maybe offering a crew list in Mexico that might be a name short?

That would be the deal.

Well, let me talk to Chuck. There obviously ain't much else going on for us.

The man went inside the cabin house then and was gone a long time. Jim couldn't hear voices or anything. The boat was a piece of c.r.a.p, rusted out and held together with wire. But it would get him down the coast. It was h.e.l.l coming up the coast, but going down was easy enough.