“Uh-oh,” he said, and took off running to join his father. “I'll get you later!” he hollered at me over one shoulder.

A few minutes later Abbey showed up, and we hung around until the Coral Queen was off the bottom. We were surprised to see how easily they got her up, but of course there weren't any holes in the hull or other damage that needed patching. My father had just pulled the plugs, basically.

“How does Dad know it's the casino boat doing the dumping?” Abbey asked.

“Because they never had to close Thunder Beach before the Coral Queen got here. They never had a problem with poop in the water until now,” I said.

A small crowd had gathered to see the operation, but Abbey and I stayed off by ourselves, on the far side of the basin. We didn't want to make Dusty Muleman any madder than he already was.

“What a phony,” my sister said. “Just look at him.”

At one time Dusty Muleman had been an ordinary fishing guide, the same as my father. Their skiffs were berthed next to each other at a place called Ted's Marina. In the summertime, when business slowed down, Dusty would head out to Colorado and work at a dude ranch, taking tourists into the mountains for brook trout. Then one September he came back to the Keys and put his skiff up for sale. He told Dad and the other guides that he'd inherited some money from a rich uncle who'd died in an elephant stampede in Africa. I remember Mom's eyes narrowing when Dad told us the story-it was the same look I get whenever I tell her I'm done with my homework and she knows better.

As for my father, he said anything was possible, even Dusty Muleman being related to a dead millionaire. Not long after he quit guiding, Dusty bought the Coral Queen, got her outfitted for gambling, and partnered up with the Miccosukees. That wasn't even two years ago, and now he was one of the richest men in Monroe County, or so he said. He drove up and down Highway One in a black Cadillac SUV, and he wore bright flowered shirts and smoked real Cuban cigars, just to let the world know what a big shot he was. But according to Dad, Dusty still showed up every night at the casino boat, to count the money personally.