CHAPTER SEVEN #2
After my little chat with Ray and Mike at the barbershop, I was buzzing with conspiracy theories.
Obviously, I couldn’t just march up to Gil and ask him if he’d been doing something illegal.
But I could sit next to him and strike up a conversation.
I was good at talking to people, and if he was drinking, maybe I’d get some useful information out of him. It was certainly worth a try.
When I entered the Rusty Anchor, I was jazzed to see that Gil was indeed at the bar. I’d have to be very careful in how I approached things with him. I didn’t want him to catch on to why I was talking to him. I wanted to ease into a conversation with him.
Despite looking beaten down, Gil was a good-looking guy. He had a Paul Newman vibe; late forties, with a lean, muscular build, short blond hair, and sky blue eyes. I could see why Tess was attracted to him, even though he was older than her.
He was sitting on the same stool he always seemed to occupy when Tess was working, near the service end of the bar. He had a whiskey in front of him and the look of a man who’d been there a while. His shoulders were hunched and his eyes were fixed, as if he wasn’t really seeing anything.
Tess was behind the bar, moving between customers with her usual warmth. She smiled when she saw me. “Hey, Spencer. The usual?”
“Please.” I took the stool two down from Gil, leaving an empty seat between us. Close enough for conversation, far enough that it didn’t look like I’d come here specifically to talk to him. Which, of course, I had.
Tess pulled my draft and set it in front of me. “How were the avocados?” she asked, smiling.
“Delicious.” I laughed. “I’m so glad I ran into you that day.”
She flipped her hair. “If you need any more expert produce advice, just ask.”
I smiled. “I might hold you to that.”
Gil glanced over when he noticed her talking to someone. He looked relieved when he saw it was me. I wasn’t sure why, until it occurred to me that if he was sleeping with her, he’d prefer she joke around with a gay guy rather than some straight dude who’d be hitting on her.
Our eyes met, and I nodded politely, but I didn’t try to talk to him. I sipped my beer and watched the college basketball game on the TV above the bar for a minute. I didn’t care about college basketball, but it gave me something to look at while I waited for an opening to talk to Gil.
In the end, Gil reached out to me first. He leaned over and touched my arm. “Hey, you’re that reporter, right? Spencer Cross?”
I met his curious gaze. “That’s right.” I extended my hand, and he shook it. His grip was firm, but his hand was cold.
“I’m Gil Moran. I’ve seen you around before.
” He winced. “You were the one who found Eddie…” He trailed off, looking dejected.
“I read the piece you wrote about Eddie. It was great. You really captured what he was like.” His smile was sad, and he slurred a little as he said, “He was such a great guy. Such a fucking great guy.”
“Yes, from what I’ve heard, he really was.” To be honest, despite my suspicions about Gil, I felt bad for him. Just talking about Eddie had him on the verge of tears.
He tipped his almost empty whiskey glass, staring at the amber liquid. “I keep thinking I’m going to see him walk through that door. Stupid, I know.” He gave a jagged laugh. “But every night I come in here, hoping it’s all just a bad dream. And maybe Eddie will be here, sitting in his usual spot.”
I don’t know what I’d expected Gil to be like, but it wasn’t this.
His grief was palpable. I’d interviewed hundreds of people over the years, some of them grieving, some of them performing.
It wasn’t always easy to tell the difference, and I couldn’t tell which one Gil was.
Sometimes murderers actually did regret what they’d done, so the grief was real.
“How are you holding up?” I asked, even though it was obvious he was a wreck.
He laughed gruffly. “You want the truth or the version I tell people?”
I smiled. “It’s got to be a difficult time for you.” I studied his booze-flushed face. “You didn’t just lose a friend, but you haven’t been able to fish either, right?”
He dropped his head. “Nope.”
“That’s got to be rough.”
He let out a long breath. “Honestly? I don’t know what’s going to happen. The future is a big, fat unknown.”
Tess stopped near us. “Need another, Gil?” she asked.
He glanced up. “Sure.” He winked at her, and she smiled, her cheeks pinking a little.
When she noticed me noticing, she laughed. “Gil’s a flirt. I never take him seriously.”
“Smart girl.” Gil drained his glass and set it down unsteadily. “Besides, she’s married. Only a fool gets involved with a married woman.”
Tess’s cheek twitched. “Yep.” She walked away, and Gil watched her go.
“She’s just about the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.” He glanced at me. “Not your cup of tea though, right?” There was the slightest mocking tone in his voice.
“No, but neither are you.”
He looked surprised for a minute, and then he let out a bark of a laugh, and he slapped my arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm. I’m not homophobic or anything. I’m just drunk and stupid.”
“Right.” I sipped my beer.
He got unsteadily off his stool. “Gotta take a leak. I’ll be right back.”
I was beginning to regret my decision to come talk to Gil. Not only was it depressing, but if he was going to start taking jabs at me, this was going to be a long night.
Gil was gone a while, and when he returned, he had a smear of lip gloss on his mouth. Shockingly, it was the same shade that Tess happened to be wearing.
Imagine that.
Other fishermen came over and chatted with Gil.
I ordered another beer and bided my time, hoping for an opening.
But Gil knew a lot of people, so I ordered fish and chips and yet another beer while I waited for him to be alone again.
Eventually, the other men drifted off to their own tables, leaving him by himself.
I tried to figure out how to bring up his attempt to buy the Pacific Lady without making it obvious I was fishing for information.
Luckily, the longer Gil sat there drinking, the drunker he was getting. At one point, a commercial came on showing the big open sea and fishing boats, and he lifted his glass toward the TV. “A toast to the best damn job in the world,” he mumbled, taking a long pull of whiskey.
I raised my glass just so I could be a part of whatever he was doing. He noticed and moved over to sit beside me on the vacant stool.
“Do you like your job?” he asked, his eyes bloodshot.
I nodded. “Uh, yeah. I love my job.”
“That’s good. You should love your job.” He leaned on the bar. “I loved fishing, man.”
I smiled, excited that he’d given me an opening. “It must be nice to be out on the open sea and have that be your job.”
“It is,” he agreed, turning to meet my gaze. “Best fucking job in the world.”
“You must miss being out on the Pacific Lady.”
Tess walked by, and she hesitated. “Gil, can I get you a burger? You haven’t eaten anything.”
He smiled at her. “That would be amazing, beautiful.”
She smiled back and went off to get his food, shooting a little worried glance over her shoulder at us.
Gil was wasted, and I assumed she was getting worried he might slip up and admit they were sleeping together.
I’m not sure why she thought it was a secret at this point.
I think Craig and Declan were the only two people in Coral Cove who didn’t know, and I’d clued Declan in last night.
“She’s the best,” he said, resting his chin on his hand. “Not sure what she sees in me.”
I almost choked on my beer when he said that last part.
He had to be absolutely plastered to say something that telling.
My heart was racing, but I didn’t acknowledge what he’d said.
I doubted he even knew half of what he was saying at this point.
He wasn’t falling-down drunk, but he was very inebriated.
I mulled over what to do next. He was smashed, so this might be the perfect time to ask him about buying the Pacific Lady. And if I waited too long to ask him, he might eventually pass out, although he wasn’t that far gone yet. But a couple more whiskeys and he might be.
I decided to just go for it. What did I have to lose? If I didn’t ask him, I’d regret it later. And I’d probably never have such a perfect opportunity to talk to him. I cleared my throat. “Hey, I heard a rumor you made Rosa an offer on the Pacific Lady.” I tried to sound casual. “Is that true?”
He looked at me with bleary eyes. “Where’d you hear that?”
I didn’t want to admit Tess had told me. I wasn’t sure if he’d be mad at her for saying something, so I decided to keep that to myself. “I forget. But it’s a small town. Word gets around.”
He grunted and took a sip of his drink. “Yeah, I made her an offer.”
“Commercial fishing boats are pretty expensive, aren’t they?” I worried any second he’d wake up and realize I was pumping him for information. “I sure as hell couldn’t afford one.”
He smirked and put his finger up to his lips in a shushing gesture. “I figured out a way.”
“Did you get a loan or something?” I asked just as Tess returned with his food.
“No—,” Gil began.
“Be careful,” Tess said, setting his plate down in front of him. She smiled. “The plate is hot.”
Gil looked at the plate of food, and he rubbed his hands together. “She takes such good care of me. Damn, that burger looks good, Tess.”
She laughed. “Best burger in town.”
Gil tore into the cheeseburger like a starving wolf, and I got up to use the restroom. I was frustrated I hadn’t been able to get him to incriminate himself, but he had insinuated he’d gotten the money in a way he wanted kept secret. That probably meant I was on the right track.