Lavender Beach (33 page)

“Obviously Scott was worried too because he showed up out there right when things might’ve gone south.”

“Hmm, I guess you’re right. He did tell me the best way to make it back to the car.”

“See, Scott was looking out for you.”

“Yeah, just like River said he would.” She ran her fingers up his chest. “Last night you mentioned an adrenaline rush. Was that for real? Could the bookworm become an adrenaline junkie?”

“Possibly. But only if my partner chooses to fully disclose what she’s up to.”

She held up a hand. “Scout’s honor. No more lying.”

His hands went around her shoulders. The look in his eyes said he wanted to make up.

The knock at the door stalled that.

Eastlyn flung it back to see Nick standing there.

“I know it’s a Saturday but I tried to call before stopping by out of the blue like this. You didn’t answer your cell,” Nick pointed out.

She puffed out a laugh. “I probably cut it off last night and must’ve forgotten to turn it back on when I got up. Come on in.”

“Hey, Coop, how’s it going?”

Cooper looked over at Eastlyn. “Better every day. Want some coffee?”

“No thanks. I had to run to Ferguson’s this morning to pick up paint. Our three-year-old went crazy yesterday with a batch of permanent markers trying to recreate the Mona Lisa, or something. Whatever it is, it takes up a swath across the living room wall.” He turned to look at Eastlyn. “Anyway, I thought you’d like to know you’re free to start work on the chopper. Paperwork’s all taken care of. I also thought you’d like to know that I was able to trace the aircraft’s ownership.”

Her pulse picked up. “And?”

“It was originally bought by the Navy in 1953. The U.S. Coast Guard purchased it from the government for use in search and rescue. Cleef came across it at an army surplus auction over in Scott’s Valley in 1988. There’s some indication Cleef thought it had been used in the TV series
MASH
and had some value for resale. When that turned out not to be the case, he obviously couldn’t find a buyer for it. I did come across an interesting side note to its history. That copter once participated in the manhunt for escaped Alcatraz prisoners in June, 1962. For roughly two weeks the crew flew over Angel Island looking for any signs of men or bodies.”

Eastlyn pumped a fist in the air. “Yes, I knew it had a history. Every helicopter deserves an interesting backstory.”

That afternoon, she
drove to Eternal Gardens to meet with Brent again. During the face-to-face update, they sat on the same park bench as before.

“What you have out there is essentially a fully fortified hideaway. Thorwald or Edgecombe, somebody, has made sure that place is locked down tight and anyone who tries to breach the perimeter won’t take the same wrong path twice.” She went into detail about all the booby traps. “The two trap guns installed in front and behind the cabin were the last two things I found before company came calling.”

“Those are illegal and dangerous,” Brent stated, scrubbing a hand down his face. “What if you hadn’t spotted them?”

“But I did.”

“Did anyone see you?”

“They probably would have if not for… This will sound strange. But your wife would understand this a lot better than you.”

“Understand what?”

She hesitated but then decided she might as well tell him all of it. “Scott Phillips warned me right before those two guys converged on my position.”

With a bob of his head, Brent nodded. “I’m well aware Scott does things like that.”

“You are? Well, so much for guarding a well-known secret ghost. Anyway, those mechanical devices alone are enough for you to make an arrest. That’s the good news. You’d nail Thorwald for
something
. The bad news is you wouldn’t get him for trafficking, which is really what you want.”

“Thorwald must’ve set out all those traps to keep local hunters at bay, keep trespassers away from getting a look at that meth lab. He’s gone to extreme measures to make sure his people living out there are left alone. Knowing all that, how do all these kids keep getting the meth? How are they gaining entry?”

“To the compound?” Eastlyn shook her head. “That’s just it. I don’t think kids are getting in. My guess is Thorwald handpicks a few dealers he can trust. Those dealers go in and bring the stuff out of the compound then distribute it to the various local sellers. Think about it. That would be the best way to ensure that no one like me goes in there for a simple buy. He’d feel that same way about a bunch of high school kids, who would surely blab. Then it would get out to the masses that Thorwald’s a major supplier. Not good for business. But if Thorwald only deals with people he knows, people he trusts, he lessens the risk that his enterprise crumbles over loose lips or over the sale of a few dime bags sold to two-bit junkies, not on his land anyway.”

“Makes sense. But what about all the traffic Bran and Joy reported seeing at all hours?”

“All I saw were evidence that kids were using the secluded road to make out.” She took out her cell phone and held it up to him. “As you probably know by now, due to the party, I got there later than I’d planned. But I took pictures of the meth lab.”

Brent took the phone, studied the shack. “Look at all the hazardous waste leaking into the environment. There must be fifty or sixty pounds of the stuff.”

“Statistics show that for every ten pounds of meth that’s the stuff left over.”

“What else do you have there?”

“A picture of this guy. He was coming right toward me so it’s a little dark and fuzzy.”

“I’ll say. You forgot to mention you’re lousy at taking photos.”

She chuckled. “Such a critic. It’s not something I’m proud of. Do you recognize the guy?”

“Honestly, there’s no way I could make out who that is if he walked right up to me this minute.”

“Sorry for the bad quality. I’ll do better next time.”

“There won’t be a next time.”

“Why not?”

“Obviously, you can’t enter the compound under the guise of needing a fix.”

“But I can still use the second trip to gain valuable information.”

“It’s too risky, Eastlyn.”

“Not as risky as it was the first time. Now I know my way to and from the cabin. This time, I’ll get out there much earlier and stake out the area, maybe spread out and get pictures of the compound itself, the living quarters, write down plate numbers of the cars coming and going.”

The look on his face said he wasn’t convinced. “You want Thorwald bad enough, I’m the best shot you have.”

Brent chewed the inside of his jaw. “Okay. But after you get back to town, I want full disclosure. Call me. We’ll plan to meet in the alleyway behind the used car lot. You’ll hand off any intel you gained then.”

“Roger that.”

There was another
argument ramping up as she got dressed to go back to the compound.

“I’m going with you,” Cooper insisted.

“No, you’re not. It’s better if one person makes that trek, not two. Besides, this is my assignment. I’m the person who has the military training to make it work. And if I should get caught, the ruse is still I’m there on the property because I’m a newcomer in town who heard this is the best place in the county to buy crack.”

She finished applying the makeup to her face that gave her a gaunt appearance and added, “I look like a cracked-out addict while you, on the other hand, look like a choirboy and nothing like a strung-out junkie.”

Insulted, the scowl he sent her said it all. Coop set his jaw, ready to do battle. “I do not look like a choirboy. My hair’s longer than yours. That certainly plays better as a druggie than clean-cut. I’m sure not a wide-eyed innocent. For God’s sakes, I’ve walked down alleyways in Brixton to get to the tube while gangs patrolled the streets nearby just so I could get the best shots of London’s underground. So there’s no point in arguing. I’m going with you, and that’s that. You’re just wasting your time.”

“Look at you, you couldn’t possibly pull off the drug addict role.”

“Wanna bet? I can pretend to be as out of it as you. Give me that makeup kit and fifteen minutes and I’ll prove it to you.” When he saw the roll of her eyes, he stubbornly added, “I’m not letting you walk in there alone without backup and that’s all there is to it. Certainly not if there’s a chance you’ll get caught. I didn’t want to break it to you but you leave me no choice. You’re not that great of an actress.”

Offended, she huffed out, “I am so.”

“You’re not. There’s no guarantee your pretend performance as a buyer will even work. Then what will you do? If we go together there’s a greater likelihood that we’ll look like two stumbling meth heads out to score. By yourself, I doubt Thorwald will buy into that story. You need me. It’s non-negotiable. I’m disappointed Brent is willing to send you in there alone.”

“That’s unfair to Brent. He can’t exactly stroll into the lion’s den and expect the ruse to work when he’d be recognized in two seconds, now can he? Since Brent would give the whole thing away, there’s no one else to go in there but me. I have a chance to pull this off and I’m taking it.” She laid her hand on his arm. “Cooper, we had a really great day today, don’t ruin it by doing this again.”

“That might be true about Brent, but you just made my case for me. There’s no one else who’d be willing to go with you. I’m it. You shouldn’t go in there without backup and you know it. Keep in mind, I’m new in town, too, or have you forgotten? It’s unlikely the Thorwalds would know me unless they somehow wandered into my shop. And even if one of the dealers has seen me around town, for all they know, I’m the newcomer from the Bay Area with a drug problem of my own.”

“I’m not gonna be able to shake you, am I?”

“Not unless you possess the power of an eight-point earthquake, which you don’t, you’re not walking out that door without me.”

“Then come on. Let’s roll. Use the makeup to lighten up the area around your eyes. See, like I did.” She showed off her Goth look. “It sells the sullen junkie. But if Brent finds out I let you come with me, he’ll have my temporary badge.”

“Big deal. So you’ll find another job.”

She grinned. “If I’m on borrowed time we might as well make this count. Grab your camera. Tonight you’re the designated picture-taker.”

It wasn’t until they were sitting in the Bronco that Cooper handed her the keys. She angled in the seat to stare at him. “You actually confiscated these? That’s low
and
sneaky. Just for that it gives me sheer satisfaction at seeing you have to put on makeup.”

“I walked right into this, didn’t I?” Cooper complained with an affable grin.

“Hey, you insisted on coming.” She batted her eyes at him. “To protect the little woman. I’m grateful.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he moaned as he began to smear on the light-colored pancake with a sponge.

She patted his knee and gunned the engine at the same time. “Oh, but I am. Not many guys would do this.”

While Cooper made up his face, Eastlyn went over what she’d already discussed with Brent. “Just so you’re up to speed, I’m thinking the only people who get into that compound are Thorwald’s longtime sellers, people he knows personally and trusts.”

“That’s why you dropped the buyer ruse.”

“Exactly. It won’t work with him because he doesn’t mess with smalltime drug users looking for a hit. Just follow me and watch out for booby traps.”

“Booby traps?” Cooper swallowed hard in a show of fake fear. “I’m beginning to think this was a mistake. Why not just drop me off at the turnoff?”

“Very funny. That’s what I love about you, your sense of humor. But if we get caught…that story about needing a fix is our fallback.”

Cooper suddenly blurted out, “I’ve got it, a much better reason why we’re in the area. It just occurred to me. We say we’re out here taking photographs of the countryside.”

“At night?”

“Sure. I brought my prime lens with me, a fixed-focal-length lens designed to take much better photos at night. If Thorwald doesn’t believe us, I’ve got the equipment to show we’re on the level.”

“That’s brilliant and so much better than this stupid Goth look we’re sporting. But what am I doing out here with you, holding the camera?”