Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00 (24 page)

I didn’t realize how big the
engine room was, until we were trying to find our way back. When we finally
made it to the exit door, I peered out into the corridor. It was all clear, so
I motioned them to follow me. One by one, we walked out of the room, stayed to
the side along the corridor and went up the stairs. At the Starboard deck, I
put my finger to my lips, signaling them to keep silent. I opened the door and
listened. We made it that far. Was it possible to make it all the way to
freedom?

The goons weren’t standing at
the door. Anchor and Skater were nowhere to be found, either. And where was
Cody? The bar area was completely empty. I led them through the bar and into
the room where I left Cody. We all instinctively dropped to the ground, when we
heard a loud THUD from somewhere outside. Amber grabbed onto my arm. The others
squealed in terror.

When the commotion stopped, I
urged them to continue. “Don’t give up now. We’re real close.” The entrance
where the guests strolled up the red-carpet plank was not too far away. They
followed me toward the exit, where I opened the door and peered outside.

THE HUMIDOR was surrounded by
the blinking strobe-lights of law enforcement vehicles. SBPD, LAPD and members
of the F.B.I. stood at the marina with their weapons aimed at the entrance.
News vans and reporters had their cameras ready. I instinctively jumped in
front of the victims to shield them from having their faces become front-page
news.

“Put your weapons down!” Carter
ordered as soon as he saw us. He marched up the plank toward me, filled with
relief.

Cody saw me at the same time,
bloody and a mess. You could see the guilt all over his face from not staying
by my side. “Get her some help!” He yelled, as he ran toward me.

“I’m okay,” I said. At least I
think I’m okay. Thank god, the cavalry arrived.

The crime scene was complete
pandemonium. The first thing I noticed was Skater face down on the pavement,
his weapon and badge confiscated, and he was being handcuffed by Anchor.

What?

Carter saw the stunned look on
my face. “Officer Clay Smith has been working undercover. We’ve had Foley under
surveillance since his name came up during the pension fund investigation your
mom initiated.”

“So all those pension fund
documents I found at The Devil’s Door were from her initial investigation? They
were involved from the onset weren’t they?”

“Yes, Syd,” he confirmed. “When
we went through some of the files from your mom’s office, we discovered Foley
was involved in some other things aside from the pension funds, so we put Smith
under. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get to that alley fast enough to help Tamara.
He got there just after he heard the shots. When that happened, we still didn’t
have all the information we needed to close the investigation. We had to keep
it open, until we had the evidence needed to shut them down and make it stand
up in a court of law.”

“That’s why he was clenching his
fists when Foley was smacking me around; then kept him from punching me? He
couldn’t blow his cover?”

Carted nodded. “He was wired
into me at the time. Syd, do you really think I would have let you go on that
ship, if I didn’t have somebody on the inside? I’ve attempted to have my guys
following you at all times. Unfortunately, you kept giving them the slip. Cody
had to take over where they failed.”

It was good to know he had my
back.

***

Further across the marina,
Diego’s two bodyguards were being searched and handcuffed by the F.B.I., but no
Diego. Other guests from the party were also being rounded up, and put in a
large paddy wagon. Law enforcement would have to sort out the good from the
bad, later.

The victims were no longer in
danger, so Carter and I ushered them outside to the sweet smell of fresh air
and freedom. It was quite a sight. There wasn’t a dry eye among the ordinarily
macho officers. The victims walked out in single file, looking so innocent in
their oversized t-shirts, as if they just returned from a summer camp instead
of being held captive for months.

Cody hugged me and whispered in
my ear. “There are a heck of a lot more victims here than what we expected,
Syd. You saved them all.” His ordinarily cool and calm exterior was turning to
mush before my eyes.

“
We
saved them,” I
responded. “They’ve had a pretty tough time of it, even more than what we
discovered.”

He clasped my hand. “I’m
humbled, Syd. You did good.”

Carter motioned toward the
victims. “Paramedics are going need to transport them to the hospital. They
have to get checked out.”

The victims immediately
resisted. They were afraid to trust anyone in a uniform after what they
endured. Eventually, I was able to convince them these were the good guys. I
also let them know it was in their best interest. Reporters would be hounding
them trying to get an exclusive. Law enforcement didn’t have the whole story
yet, so rumors were sure to fly.

Once they were safe and secure with
the paramedics, I returned my attention to Skater. He was handcuffed, stripped
of his weapon and waiting by the side of a patrol car. I looked into his eyes,
hoping to see some semblance of sorrow for killing my mom. There wasn’t any. He
actually had a grin on his face, like he knew something that I didn’t. But I
did…

“THEY TOOK my pellet pistol,
Cody,” I said, as I stared at Skater. “I need it back, now.”

Cody glanced at me with raised
eyebrows. “Hang on, I’ll get it,” he said. He marched over and spoke to Carter.
Then, they searched through all of the weapons that were confiscated. When Cody
returned, he handed the Walther to me.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m okay. I’m just mad.”

He stammered. “I’m sorry, Syd.”

“For what?”

“For not being there when I
should have,” he said, while looking down at his feet. “I should have gone
below deck with you. I shouldn’t have let you go alone.”

I just looked at him. What could
I say? That yes, I was a little upset with him, because he seemed to be more
interested in filming scenes with his phone, than he was taking care of what we
went there for. I was too drained, to care. “Everything’s covered here. Let’s
go.”

We walked to his Honda
Motorcycle in silence. My mind was occupied on the words Diego said, “No loose
ends.” I reached into the side compartment on his bike, and retrieved the
flashlight from my backpack.

Once we had our helmets on, and
were both seated, I said, “Head up to Sutter Beach Canyon.”

Cody glanced at me. “You gonna
fill me in?”

“When I found the victims, I
heard the bad guys talking. They were trying to figure out what to do with me.
One of them said they need to know what I did with the evidence, so it couldn’t
cause them any more legal issues before they were out of the county.”

“Yeah. The Humidor was headed to
Mexico. That’s out of the country.”

“Right, but when the law
enforcement raid went down, the three main players were missing. They left
before it all went down. They may be leaving the country…”

“…but they weren’t planning on
traveling on The Humidor,” Cody finished the sentence for me.

I lifted the skirt of the dress
to keep it away from the chain; then he cranked the motor and stepped on the
gas.

***

As we turned onto the street
where Summer Klein lived, Cody switched off the headlights and slowed the
engine to keep it quiet. He pulled to a stop a few houses down. The lights were
on in the house. A white Cadillac Escalade ESV was parked in the driveway. We
stepped out of the car and walked toward it. It was quiet, except for the bugs
under the lampposts.

Cody snuck up alongside the
Escalade and peered inside. It was empty. He felt the hood, and whispered,
“It’s warm to the touch.”

“Follow me.”

Staying low, we ran toward the
back of the house, and looked in through the French doors. Summer was there.
She was talking to someone on the phone, and throwing things into a suitcase.
Then, Diego stepped into view. They were no longer dressed in their costumes.

“You were right. They’re making
a run for it.”

We hustled back out to the front
of the house, just as the lights went out inside. We ducked out of sight. I
went behind a tree, Cody behind a row of bushes.

Diego walked out carrying two
suitcases. He carried them toward the Escalade, opened the back door and placed
them inside. As he headed back toward the front door, Summer walked out
carrying another bag. Diego grabbed the bag, and waited while she locked the
door.

I stepped out from behind the
tree. “There was a big Mardi Gras bash tonight. I’m surprised you weren’t
there. Oh, but you were…just not when the cops came around.”

Diego froze, stunned to see me.

Summer frowned. “I knew you were
going to be trouble the minute I walked into that hideous firehouse.”

“That’s funny,” I said. “I
thought the same thing about you when you came in asking for McSwain &
Beck. I wondered how you knew about us when we didn’t even have the website up
and running yet.”

She grimaced, realizing for the
first time that she messed up. “So how’d you put it all together?” She said,
obviously stalling for time. For what, I didn’t know.

“Well, to be honest, it wasn’t
that easy. Thankfully, it’s the cops who have to sort it all out. But, it came
down to using the common sense and relentless personality my mom had to put up
with. You knew Tamara took the photos and sent them to my mom. How would you
have known, unless you were involved? You knew about the bugs at the firehouse.
That’s how you knew about McSwain & Beck. You hired me and sent me on a
wild goose-chase after your drunken step-brother, while Foley tried to find the
photos. You thought you’d be on your way to Mexico before I figured things out.
You even said it when you hired me -
three days is enough, right
?”

She smirked. “Well, you may be a
simpleton, but you’re not as stupid as we assumed?”

“This was all about sick greed,”
I continued, dismissing her clear attempt to rile me up with her insults. “I
could care less about all the illegal gambling parties, or the young women who
were willing to sell themselves to aid in your endeavors. It’s not my job to
heal their self-esteem. But, I do care about the innocent victims you abducted
- kidnapped. You planned on making your own underground resort in Mexico, using
them to make you a profit. How much money do you people need? It was you and
Aaron - the good looking couple - who approached some of them, claiming you
were looking for models. They may not know your names, but they know your face,
and they know your expensive white car. And this…”

I marched up beside her; then
before she knew what I was doing, I grabbed her arm and leveled the ultraviolet
flashlight over her wrist. The distinct image of the devil was tattooed on her
skin. “…this confirms it for me.”

She snatched her wrist from my
grasp, and let out an eerie laugh. The sound sent a shiver up my spine. At the
same time, I didn’t notice Diego, as he set the bag down and slip his hand
inside the trench coat. The next thing I knew, he was pointing a gun at me. When
I glanced in his direction, I knew I was in trouble. Before I could react, he
fired…

“SON OF a… Cody jumped out from
behind the bushes, and tackled me to the ground. The bullet only grazed me in the
left shoulder, but the right shoulder took a hit from the fall. “You didn’t
tell me they had a gun!”

“Well, gee, sorry, it must have
slipped my mind,” I yelled.

Diego fired again. This time,
the shot went wild.

We rolled further out of the
line of fire. I scrambled around on the ground, ignoring my wound. I pulled out
the Walter pellet pistol and fired.

A pellet hit him in the arm.
Stunned, the gun flew out of his hand. At the same time, Cody rushed at him and
kicked him to the ground. When he tried to get up, Cody gave him a roundhouse
kick to the head. The two of them began to battle it out.

“No!” Summer screamed, as she
came charging toward me.

I stood up and aimed the pistol
at her. “Summer, stop, or I will shoot!”

She didn’t stop. She came
straight at me, filled with a rage like I’ve never seen. Cody turned around to
try and stop her, but didn’t make it in time. She was a foot away from me, when
I pulled the trigger. A pellet ripped into her chest. It slowed her, but in her
crazed state, she kept coming. I fired again. Another pellet to the chest made
her falter, grab at her chest and slump to the ground. The pellets weren’t
fatal. They would just hurt her for a while. I let out a sigh of relief.

Just when I thought we were home
free, Diego lunged for his gun and was back on his feet. He marched toward me
and Cody with the gun ready. He waived it back and forth between us - taunting
us.

“Eenie, meanie, miney, mo,” he
said; then aimed it at me.

My eyes went wide.

Then, a shot rang out…

A bullet struck him in the arm,
and the gun went flying. He dropped to the ground, screaming in frustration.

Cody and I swiveled around to
see where the shot came from. Carter stood at the driver’s side door of his
Dodge Charger, with his police-issued weapon raised.

I exhaled in relief. But we
weren’t done, yet. I hurried over to Summer. “Where is Diego? Where were you
meeting him?”

She laughed hysterically. “Why
would I tell you?”

Carter appeared at my side.
“Tell us, and I’ll inform the D.A. you cooperated. It might help when it comes
time for sentencing. Don’t, and they’ll throw the book at you. How’s life in
jail going to be for a woman like you?”