Adrift: The Complete Novel (9 page)

“You don’t think Laney will try it again?”

“Max Laney is a mean son-of-a-bitch, but he’s not stupid. I’ll bet my life that he’ll try something else. We just have to be ready.”

At that moment, I had no idea how we were going to get ourselves out of the mess.

+++

Thirty three stitches later, the doctor departed. No thanks was given as he walked out the kitchen door, the front door still an impassable mess.

Laney stood over his grandson, arms crossed. “Tell me everything, from the beginning.”

“Come on, granddad. Can’t I go to bed?”

“You’ll sit there and tell me what happened or I’ll smack you around myself. Now, tell me.”

Johnny huffed and retold the story.

“You sure you shot Hollie?” asked Laney, after listening to each detail intently. He had to give it to the two, they’d caught him by surprise. That didn’t happen, ever.

“Yeah. Came in the front door and I shot him.”

“Do you think you killed him?”

“I don’t know. After I saw him fall, the other guy… He was like an animal. I couldn’t stop him.”

Laney seethed. “You had a shotgun and you couldn’t take down an unarmed man?”

“I…I can’t explain it. It was something in his eyes. I could see that he was going to kill me.”

“But he didn’t.”

Johnny didn’t have a response. Truthfully, he was scared. He’d expected a simple in and out. Instead, he had encountered a demon. The implications rushed through his mind as he tried to shake the feeling of unease. Laney saw the look on his grandson’s face. “Snap out of it! He’s just a man! Do you know how many men I’ve killed?!”

Johnny nodded, looking away.

Laney grabbed him by the chin, blood squeezing out of the gauze bandage. “He’s dead, you hear me? One way or another, he’s dead.”

+++

I helped Hollie into bed. He didn’t complain once. Tough old soldier. “Good night.”

“Good night, Daniel. Good work tonight.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

Hollie’s eyes opened, appraising me. “You did the right thing, son. Nobody got killed and you didn’t hurt anyone that didn’t deserve it.”

“Maybe we should’ve called the police.”

“Maybe, but that’s water under the bridge. We’re men. We made our beds and now we have to lay in them. I’ll tell you this, I don’t regret a single thing.”

I pointed to his bandaged arm. “You sure?”

“I had a lot of worse in the Army. Now stop beating yourself up about this. You’re a good man. I believe in you. Besides, it felt good being in an ambush again. Reminded me of my time in the Army.”

Forcing a smile, I patted him on his good hand. “Get some sleep. I’ll keep a lookout.”

Hollie suddenly seemed much older as he closed his eyes, fading to sleep instantly.

I watched his breathing, standing sentinel still. Finally, I clicked off the overhead light and left the room, floor creaks following me outside.

The smell of burnt hay still hung in the air, rekindling old memories, thoughts I didn’t want to have. I grabbed Hollie’s Garand from the front porch, checked the chamber and settled in one of the adirondack chairs. It would be another sleepless night. Snake Eyes took up his post, waiting, ready for the enemy. Even awake, sitting in the dark, the nightmares came, like moths to a flame.

Chapter 19

The sun had barely cracked the horizon, and a construction crew was already hard at work repairing the Laney complex. Max Laney watched the work, sipping an espresso, planning his day. He’d made two appointments, the first of which he would soon be leaving for.

The phone buzzed in his linen pant pocket.

“Laney.”

“Mr. Laney, it’s Darryl Knox.”

“What is it, chief? I’m a little busy.”

“Yes, sir. Well, I just got some news that I thought you might like to hear.”

“Yes?”

“Got a call this morning from a colleague in Santa Rosa Beach. You see, we get reports of gunshot wounds from clinics and hospitals.”

“Can you please get to the point?”

“Yes, sir. My friend called to give me a heads-up that Mr. Herndon got checked out early this morning at a twenty-four hour clinic in Santa Rosa.”

“And?”

“He listed his next-of-kin as a Daniel Briggs.”

Laney smiled. “Good work, Darryl. I assume you’re looking into this Mr. Briggs?”

“We are.”

“Good. You let me know what you find out. Come up with anything good and I’ll throw in an all expenses paid vacation for you.”

Laney ended the call before Knox could trip over himself.

“Daniel Briggs.”

+++

I was dragging by the time I heard Hollie moving around inside. There hadn’t been a lot of sleep in the preceding days. I knew I was reaching my limit. I’d have to sleep sometime, but I dreaded it.

Hollie opened what was left of the front door. “You hungry?”

“I’ll make breakfast. You take a seat out here.”

“Won’t complain about that.”

I could see he was in pain. I’d never been shot, but I knew plenty of people who had. They always said I was indestructible because I always seemed to walk away without a scratch. If they could only see my soul. I felt more like a bad luck charm.

“Eggs and toast okay?”

Hollie nodded, grimacing as he eased into the porch chair.

I brought breakfast out for Hollie and we sat eating quietly, enjoying the uncharacteristically cool morning.

Hollie sniffed the air. “Storm’s coming.”

Looking up at the sky, I couldn’t disagree. You could feel the drop in barometric pressure.

He put his plate on the ground. “I was thinking about how they found Kelly in Rosemary Beach. How do you think she got there?”

“Probably drifted.”

“I don’t know if it’ll help, but I’ve got a boat docked in Panama City Beach. Wonder if it might be good idea to take a gander.”

“What do you think we’d find?”

“Not sure, but I know the Laneys have a couple boats down there too. Might be good to take a look around.”

“I don’t know if you should be taking that chance.”

“What, and let you have all the fun? I’m old, not dead, Marine.”

It was hard to argue with the man. Old or not, he was still a warrior.

+++

Max Laney looked over his silver sunglasses. “You got all that?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you foresee any problems?”

“I’ve never failed, Mr. Laney. I don’t plan on it now.”

Laney handed the slight man with bushy eyebrows a padded manila envelope. “Here’s the first half. You get the rest when you’re done.”

+++

It took the better part of an hour to get to the boat dock, beach tourists starting to clog the roadways. “Is it always like this?”

Hollie stared out the window. “During spring break and summer. I try to avoid it when I can.”

“What do you have a boat for?”

“Fishing mostly. Sometimes it’s nice to take a ride. My wife loved to cruise along the coast. I can still see her smiling like a child. She loved it.”

He hadn’t said much about his wife. There were still mementos of her touch in his house, mostly pictures and furniture, stuff a man wouldn’t buy. “If I can ask, what happened to her?”

His gaze never left the ocean. “Cancer. Five years ago. We found out pretty late. She lived two months after the doctor diagnosed her.”

“I’m sorry.”

Hollie turned and looked at me. “So am I. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t miss her. She made me whole. I almost died when she left.”

“I can’t imagine.”

He cocked his head. “I think you can.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can see you, Daniel Briggs. You’re a tough Marine, probably a sniper or force recon. But you’re human. I see your pain. It’s okay if you don’t want to talk to me about it, but there will come a day, hopefully not long from now, when you will have to tell someone, deal with the demons.”

I didn’t want to hear it. My temper flared. “What do you know about it?”

Hollie chuckled. “Son, there are things that I’ve seen that I never told a soul. Tore me apart inside for a long time. Did I tell you that I lost half my platoon in Korea?”

My hands gripped the steering wheel hard, the memories bubbling to the surface. I couldn’t speak for fear of letting my emotions run.

“I blamed myself for a long time,” he continued. “Wasn’t a soul I could talk to. I thought no one would understand. Hurt a lot of people because of my anger. Fell hard, privately, of course. Everyone else saw a hero coming home after saving the world from the North Koreans. I felt like screaming at them. Drank a lot in those days. Tried to forget. Hurt my friends. Hurt my family.”

I tried to steady my breath, focused on the road.

+++

It hadn’t been hard for Renley Watts to find the old man’s place. He’d almost missed them. From years of practice, he hung back, his borrowed 2002 Honda Accord blending well once they hit town. Tracking was simply a matter of pulling up next to the pickup, arm dangling out the driver’s side window, and tossing a magnetic tracking device against the old man’s truck.

The hard work done, Watts sped off to find a secluded spot to park and begin monitoring his quarry.

Chapter 20

We pulled into the Bay Point Marina after driving past the community golf course.

“Nice place,” I admired, taking in the variety of boats sitting in their wells.

“I’m over on the left.”

+++

“They just pulled into the Bay Point Marina.”

Max Laney scowled. “What are they doing?”

“I’m not there yet.”

“Well hurry and get there.”

“I will.”

+++

The first stop was Hollie’s boat, a twenty two foot center console fishing rig named
Bite Me
. I pointed to the name. Hollie laughed. “A little joke between me and my wife. She hated sharks and I always used to kid her about them. The name was my lame attempt of humor.”

We climbed aboard, Hollie inspecting as he went.

“Know anything about boats?” he asked, using a towel to wipe the bugs off the console.

“Got my coxswain’s license in North Carolina, but that was a while ago. Probably couldn’t tie a knot if you asked me.”

“But you know how to drive?”

“I do.”

“Good. Come over here and give me a hand.”

+++

Renley Watts pulled into the Marina casually, taking his time. It took him a minute to find the truck. Seconds later, he spotted Daniel’s head peaking out of the white fishing boat.

Parking a ways off, but still with a view of the two men, Watts settled in and watched.

+++

Hollie had just finished his obligatory maintenance checks. “What do you say we take her out for a spin?”

“I was thinking about going over to the shop and asking around. Maybe someone saw Johnny the night Kelly was killed.”

“Good idea. I’ll come with you.”

The girl behind the counter was completely unhelpful. Her eyes were glued to the old television in the corner.

“Are you sure there wasn’t anyone here that night?” I asked, starting to lose my patience.

“Yes, sir. Like I said, owners can access their boats twenty-four hours a day. Gas and electric are self-service. We don’t staff this place all night.”

“What about security cameras?”

She finally looked up at me. “Are you a cop or something?”

Hollie nudged me. “No, ma’am. We’re just looking for a friend who was supposed to meet us.”

There was a pause as she pondered clamming up. “What’s his name?”

“Johnny Laney.”

Another pause, and then she rolled her chair over to the computer. “You tell anybody I did this and I’ll swear you threatened me.”

“Don’t worry, this stays between the three of us.” Hollie threw me a wink.

A few keystrokes later she looked up. “Says he got some gas at two in the morning, the night you were looking for. Does that help?”