Magnum P.i. Direct

Back in the car, I radioed Higgins from the glovebox phone. Not because I needed to. Because I knew he’d been counting the minutes. “Robin’s Nest, this is Magnum. Case closed. Break out the gin.” A pause. Then: “There is no gin. There is only a very passable London dry, which I will not dignify by mixing with your tropical fruit abominations.” “So that’s a yes.” “That’s a ‘try not to bleed on the driveway.’”

The island doesn’t solve anything. It just makes unsolved things feel okay until morning. Magnum P.I.

The case was simple. They always sound simple at two in the afternoon when the light slants through the jalousies and the ceiling fan chops the heat into usable pieces. “Find my husband,” she’d said. Diamond earrings. Diamond voice. Trouble in a sundress. Back in the car, I radioed Higgins from the glovebox phone

I squatted down. Eye level. The way you talk to kids and cornered men. “Boyd, she doesn’t want you back. She wants the deed to the catamaran. The one you signed over to a shell company named after your girlfriend’s middle name.” His face went the color of old tuna. “How did you—” “Robin’s Nest, this is Magnum

Her name was Celeste. The husband’s name was Boyd. The real problem’s name was a .45 semiauto I hadn’t seen yet, but could feel—like a barracuda in murky water.

He set the glass down. His hand shook. Mine would too, if I’d run that far into a lie.

I hung up. Smiled. Drove toward the sunset with one hand on the wheel and one problem less.