Chapter 5 Summary

Al Garcia calls Keyes to meet him at a cheap motel used by tourists and prostitutes called the Flamingo Isles. In room 223 the police have found Sparky's clothes with the legs cut off, bottles of coconut suntan oil, and an empty plastic bag which they believe contained the toy alligator. Garcia tells Keyes that two men rented the room for two weeks, one a large black man and the other was a young Latin male. The front desk clerk is relatively certain the Latin man is Ernesto Cabal. The theory is that Sparky was brought here alive, had an argument with the other two, and was led away. Two gay guys in the room next door saw this and noted that the Cuban male was carrying a red suitcase. Garcia says that they think Sparky was killed somewhere else, but brought here to...