Castle Cay by Lee Hanson Page B

know quite a bit about it. I
know it was listed for $45 million, and that Holiday Cruise Lines
has offered $40 million.”
    “Yeah. So?” said Martino.
    I knew it. The deal isn’t done.
    “And you are both the listing and selling
agent, right?” said Julie.
    “So what?” said Martino.
    So that gives you a lot of motive to see this
deal done…one way or another.
    “Oh, nothing, really,” said Julie, smiling.
“Good for you! I know how tough the real estate business can be. So
how did Avram Solomon come to list it with you, anyway?”
    “Um, I don’t know. Somebody referred him, I
guess,” said Martino.
    He’s looking away from me. Besides, any real
estate agent would remember who referred a client with a property
like this.
    “How long was it on the market?”
    “About a year, I guess,” said Martino,
getting agitated. “Look, if you’re really an agent, Ms. O’Hara, you
can forget it. This is an exclusive listing and Castle Cay is under
contract.”
    “I’m not a real estate agent, but aren’t you
forgetting something? The man who signed your deal is dead.”
    “That doesn’t change a thing. I mean, I’m
sorry about your friend, but Avram Solomon has authority to sell
Castle Cay on behalf of the trust.”
    No doubt. But why is it so important to him?
What does Avram have to gain?
    It seemed that every time Julie learned
something, she came away with more questions. The timing of the
sale of Castle Cay was disturbing, certainly not a coincidence. She
concealed her frustration and smiled at the agent.
    “Well, Frank, I guess that covers it. I wish
you luck with the sale, I hope it all goes well. It doesn’t appear
to have any connection to Marc Solomon’s death.”
    Martino relaxed a little. He wrapped up his
sandwich and stood.
    “Well, I’ve got to get back to work. Sorry
about your friend,” he said.
    “Thank you, and thanks for your help,” said
Julie.
    “Yeah, sure,” said Martino as he headed out
the door.
    Julie walked slowly to the end of the strip
mall. The cabbie was punctual, and dropped her off in plenty of
time to get a sandwich before boarding the small commuter plane.
She hadn’t realized how hungry she was.
    Before long, she was in the air, headed for
Key West.
    * * * * *

Chapter 31
    “ W hat did you tell her?” demanded
Avram, as he held the cell phone to his ear, pacing furiously back
and forth in the living room of his townhouse in Boston.
    “Nothing,” said Frank Martino. “She already
knew the basic facts.”
    “Like what?” he snarled.
    “Public record stuff, like the listing price
and the amount Holiday offered. I think she was wondering how your
brother’s death affected the sale,” said Frank, quickly adding,
“but don’t worry! I told her that you had full authority to accept
the offer. Oh, I told her it was an exclusive listing, too,” said
Frank.
    You didn’t need to tell her anything, you
fool, thought Avram.
    “What else?”
    “That’s all. Oh, yeah, she wanted to know how
you got my name, but I told her I didn’t know. Really, that was it!
She was only here five minutes and she was gone. I just thought you
should know.”
    “All right. Thank you for calling to tell me.
Listen, why is this deal taking so long, Frank?” asked Avram.
    “Holiday Cruise Line is a big outfit,” said
Frank. “Their attorneys want to make sure that everything is in
order. There won’t be any problem, I assure you. We should have a
closing date in Miami sometime next week.”
    “All right, then. Let me know as soon as you
know when,” said Avram. “Goodbye.”
    “Of course,” said Frank, “goodbye.”
    Avram snapped the phone shut.
    Well at least he wasn’t stupid enough to
mention Guy Tambini.
    I could have given this to anyone! I don’t
need this connection! I should have hung up on this asshole when he
called me looking for the listing.
    Right.
    Tell Guy Tambini’s nephew to go screw
himself. That would have gone over big! thought Avram. It’s
a