Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Matthew discovered that there were two hundred payphones in Myrtle Beach. Christopher could have used any one of them to call home. The only way that Matthew could whittle down the possibilities was to get a list of payphone locations from the local phone company. To the average man such a list would be nearly impossible to obtain; to Matthew, it was just another low hurdle.
Using his computer's Internet capabilities, it took Matthew only an hour to break into the phone company cash log, leave banks, salary spread sheets, and other administrative information. An additional forty-five minutes of hacking got him into the more technical areas of the company, one of which contained a list of pay phone locations and numbers. It took him only a few minutes to match the number lifted while connected to Christopher's house. The payphone was located at a marina on Ocean Strip Boulevard.
Finding the actual payphone that Christopher used proved to be fairly easy; finding the man himself was another story. Instinct told Matthew that Christopher Gilbert was out on the water and feeling totally invincible-which meant that he had to do the same. He used the same payphone to find one of only a few rental places that were still open at this hour, then made arrangements to have a small schooner delivered to the marina in an hour.
Matthew left the marina and walked up the beach. The clear, star-filled night helped to ease the tensions that ran high in his body and, for the first time in days, hunger rumbled in his stomach. He bought a hotdog from a vender, who was just getting ready to pack up, then leaned against the wooden railing that flanked a long stretch of sidewalk overlooking the beach.
Nearly a dozen boats were visible from Matthew's vantage point. Each vessel boasted a tiny white light that marked its location like pins on a dark wall map. So, Christopher, which one is you? Matthew also pondered the possibility that his opponent had sailed to some far off destination, but immediately put it out of his mind. Christopher Gilbert was a family man. He was a conservative. He would not attempt such a daring trip - especially one that would take him so far from the people he loved.
No, Christopher was drifting aimlessly directly in front of him, no more than a mile away. Matthew smiled. I'll be joining you soon, my friend. The millionaire pulled a miniature pair of black binoculars from the inside pocket of his nylon jacket and studied the various boats. The only thing revealed to him were blurry lights and dark masses on top of other dark masses, so he scanned the beach instead.
