Style, you
either have it or you
don't. And if you have it, you have it
all the time.The Rogue's Gambit
by Tux Toledo
Page 6
That
was a showstopper. Nancy looked as if she had discovered a
slug crawling out of her coffee. I, of course, remained
cool. A dignified demeanor should be maintained at all times
no matter how big the surprise, especially when wearing Barbour hunting
apparel.
"But you could hardly call it blackmail," Ted continued.
"Sometimes Richard has me bring things in from South America.
I get them into the country for him without paying duty or customs."
"That's risky," I said. "Why do you do it?"
"Well, as you know, not everything I ship is strictly legal.
Nothing harmful, mind you. I want to go on record for
that. I'm very careful about what I import and
export. Cuban cigars, things like that."
Nancy nodded.
"I never send dangerous contraband out. No weapons, nothing
like that."
"Come on, Ted, get on with it," Nancy said. She had collected
herself and was now quite comfortable with the role of chief inquisitor.
"All right, Nance, all right. Richard knows about my illegal
imports and he knows that I haven't paid taxes on the income from
them. He could get me into a lot of trouble with the IRS."
"Is he threatening to tell them?" I asked.
"Not exactly. But he has dropped a few hints."
"How did you get involved with Rigger?" I asked.
"I needed a banker to finance my new ship, the Azul Pacific.
My other bankers wouldn't touch it. They said I was already
too leveraged. Conservative fools. Anyway, Richard
specializes in Latin America so he was a natural choice. I
didn't have to explain my business to him or justify my plans."
"How did he find out about your illegal imports?" I asked.
Ted shook his head. "I offered him a Cuban cigar, of course."
"Of course. So, what are these things he makes you bring into
the country?"
"Oh, nothing serious. Cheap clay pots, things like
that. Really, it's nothing serious."
"Ha!" Nancy said. "I knew Rigger was trouble. Why
did you invite him to be part of our sporting clays team?"
"He kind of invited himself," Ted shrugged. "I didn't know he
was interested in shooting until he asked to join the team."
"You should have invited James," Nancy said.
As you will see, she was right.
© 2008 David Biagini