Obsidian (21 page)

“Sounds nice,” she said. She came and sat down next to him, balancing on the arm of the chair as she put a hand over his. Her touch warmed his heart.

“We’d spent the day fishing on his new boat. I didn’t catch anything, but I didn’t really care. David was the competitive one.”

It very well could have been that competitiveness that had put him in league with men like Taimon and Caruso.

“He’d just dropped me off and was heading back out in his boat when it exploded.” He relived the scene in his head, watching the fireworks, feeling the pain. “I couldn’t do anything to help him.”

She reached up, running her finger along his scar. “Is that how you got this?”

He nodded. “I was thrown from the blast. I ended with a broken leg and a cut on my head from hitting the decking.”

“I’m sorry about your friend,” she said quietly.

“Me, too.” He took her hand, weaving her fingers between his and holding on tight.

“So you came to Maine to bust the men behind the explosion that killed your friend?”

“Three months ago one of our officers found a connection between some guns that were traced through a Florida pawn shop and were showing up in Maine. A couple of days ago I found a package of guns out at the point tied to a trap line that had been cut.”

“You think that someone local is fencing the stolen guns?”

“I think that someone local found the guns and decided to cash in on them by fencing them at a local pawn shop. It probably looked like fast money. I’m sure they had no idea that doing so would put them in the path of two very nasty traffickers.”

“Josh…” Her mind had gone directly to the place that his head. Josh’s sudden wealth, his nervous nature, and his suspicious disappearances were starting to make sense.

“But where are the guns supposed to be going?”

“My guess is that they’re being moved to Maine by plane and then transferred by either boat or car. From there they are most likely smuggled to terrorist factions in Northern Ireland.”

“And you think that Josh is someone involved with this?”

Good question and one he wasn’t quite sure he could answer.

“Operations like this are usually pretty nomadic. They’ve moved their base a couple of times, each time we’ve tried to make a bust we’ve found that they had mysteriously moved.”

“But that would suggest that someone from the inside is leaking information.”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Into Northern Ireland. But why?”

“Guns are big business to the terrorist in Northern Ireland. I’d say that they’re probably selling them off to the highest bidder.”

Jamie watched her take in the information. For someone who had been through so much, it was amazing to him that she was handling it so well. He dealt with this on a regular basis and at times it still shook him up.

“But, why would they need to call you in, when we've got Coast Guard stations all along the Maine coast.”

Jamie got up, pacing to the bookcase and then back again. “I’m the best person for the job. They’ve been trying for months to get close, but every time they think they have something, they come away empty handed.”

She was staring at him. Her warm, trusting gaze never left his face. Her open observation made him squirm. He wasn’t used to such open trust.

“But why you?”

Jamie stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and just stared at her for a moment. He was on an emotional roller coaster and so was she. But she deserved to know what was going on and to make her own choices.

He gave up his pacing and sat down on the couch next to her, not touching her. He wasn’t sure if he could get through it if he touched her.

“Because I’ve experienced a lot of loss. I guess they figured that if I was grieving over David I’d work harder to find the answers.”

“But then, I guess if anyone would know about loss and grieving, it’d be you.” Even as he said the words, he wished he could take them back. He had no intention of hurting Shelby by bringing up the past. They had enough to deal with here in the present.

“You could say that I’ve become sort of a poster child for losing people. But it never gets any easier.”

Jamie fought the urge to hold her, to take away some of the pain that both of them were going through. He’d lost a friend and brother, but she’d lost just as much.

“Jamie, haven’t you ever wanted another life? A life where you don’t have to live with the danger?”

It was a question he’d asked himself a million times, and had never found the answer. So much of his life had been trying to prove to everyone that he was good enough. After a while, he’d become the job, until it was hard to distinguish him from what he did.

He stared at the flames. There were other reasons he’d joined. There were other reasons that had made him who he was.

“What I do is important. I’m the one they send in when no one else can do the job and I want it to be that way.”

“But what about your family? They must be concerned for your safety.”

He shrugged. His family relationships were the hardest for him to explain.

“My father wanted me to practice law, just as he does. I was born to be the lawyer of the family. I was supposed to follow in his footsteps and be all that he wanted me to be.”

“But you chose the Coast Guard instead.” Somehow, he knew that she would understand his need for the life. He needed to be around it, or there was a part of him that was missing.

“My father was angry with me for a long time. I let him down in more ways than one and he and I’ve never quite been able to get beyond it.”

Once he started letting the words out, the panicky ache he’d been carrying around in his stomach subsided a little. He hadn’t told anyone about his family for a very long time.

Jamie went to the bookcase and pulled down a photo from one of the higher shelves. He hadn’t looked at the photo for a long time. It had been painful, too painful to remember. Every time he looked at it, the old feelings came back. And they were feelings he’d never been quite able to deal with.

“The boy in the picture is my brother, Sam. He drowned when he was sixteen.”

“I’m so sorry. What happened?” He could hear the catch in her voice; the emotions just below the surface. He couldn’t look at her, because he wasn’t sure he could tell the story if he did.

“We both loved to sail. We’d been sailing since we were old enough to walk.” He laughed a little as he remembered. There had been good times, but they had been very long ago.

“Sam and I couldn’t wait until we were old enough to go out sailing by ourselves. My father had a little sunfish sailboat. It was nothing fancy, but we were convinced that we could sail it.”

He moved to the window. Telling the story was making him restless. Maybe he’d just been restless all of his life. “Sam and I were only a year apart. We were as close as twins. But we were also as different as any two people could be. Sam wanted to be the lawyer, not me. But dad wouldn’t hear of it.”

He chanced a glance at her and found she was staring up at him. Outside the wind was howling, rattling the windows with sudden bursts of power, but for some reason he felt safe here with her.

“We’d come to Ledgeview the summer Sam turned sixteen. I was the bigger, older brother at seventeen and I’d just graduated high school. Already, I’d been accepted into Boston University in the fall, but I didn’t want to go there. I wanted to go to the Maine Maritime Academy. As usual, Dad wasn’t hearing of it.”

He picked up the picture again. Sam’s smiling face had been captured for eternity. Why had it happened?

The words were pouring out of him unheeded now. He’d spent years going over it again and again in his head, but no one had ever let him say the words.

“Dad was still being a stickler about letting us go out alone in the boat, but we decided we couldn’t wait anymore.”

“It was one of those summer nights that are so bright it looks like day. The moon was silver on the water and we couldn’t sleep. So we snuck out of the window and down to the shore. We pushed off the little sunfish and sailed out of the cove without anyone knowing what we’d done. We’d sailed around the bay by the time morning had come. And we laughed and we talked, and sometimes, we just did nothing sometimes except stare at the stars.”

He’d been so engrossed in his story that he didn't realize she’d moved closer until she put her hand on his arm. He turned, taking her into his arms. She wrapped her arms about his waist, resting her head upon his chest. He loved the scent of her hair and the feel of her against him. She had the ability to make him feel better without saying a word.

“It was daybreak when the winds picked up. We were both happy floating on our backs just looking at the sky. The storm came up quick and we shuffled around trying to get the sails set to head back in, but neither of us wanted to go back in. We knew what waited for us at home.”

He moved over to the couch and settled them both onto the cushions. The soft fabric sagged around them, pulling them into a safe, soft cocoon. The top of her head was nestled under his chin; her cheek was warm against his chest.

Jamie closed his eyes and let his thoughts go back. He’d never fully played it out in his mind, but he was going to go back now. Maybe telling Shelby could help exorcise some of the hurt that was still inside him?

“The wind became fierce as we were turning to head in to the cove. We were off a small set of rocks out in the bay and suddenly the sky and went from a heavy morning mist to darkened steel. Before we knew it the waves had white caps and were getting higher. There was nothing we could do but hold on. Before I knew it, the boat was tossed upside down and Sam had disappeared.” His voice broke and she hugged him tighter, lending him some of her strength.

“And just like that, Sam was gone. I was frantic. I searched as best I could and still keep my hold on the boat, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.” He pulled her tighter, hoping to hold off the ache that filled him.

“I clung to the side of the boat, until my fingers were raw. I kept yelling for him, but there was no answer.”

Shelby’s hand moved up cradle his cheek. He could feel the wetness of her tears against his skin. But she didn’t say anything.

“I don’t know how long I held on. When the Coast Guard arrived I couldn’t even talk from all the screaming and the salt water that kept splashing into my mouth. But I knew at that point that Sam was gone.”

He was crying along with her now and he didn’t care. He’d finally told someone the whole awful story. Something he’d never dared do before. Now, he’d have to wait and see if she judged him. She’d either understand or pull away.

“I’m so sorry.” Her voice was hoarse and her breath brushed across his chest. She didn’t move. She just stayed there, against him, holding him.

“Oh, Shelby what am I going to do with you?” He ran a hand over her hair. He couldn’t stand it any longer. He wanted to hold on to her, even if it was just for a little while.

The scent of rain filled her hair and he cradled her neck beneath the tangled tendrils. For a moment he allowed himself to close his eyes, storing away the memory of holding her. He had a feeling he was going to need that memory sometime soon, once this was done.

He pulled back, but only far enough so he could look into her eyes, keeping her in the circle of his arms.

“I need to be able to look at this logically, Shelby. It’s what I’m trained to do.” He was going to be honest, lay his cards on the table. He could only hope that she didn't back away.

“I came here because I was suspicious of you, your brother and your uncle. It didn’t take me long to realize that you weren’t involved, but I could be sure about Josh or your uncle.”

She pulled back, but stayed within the circle of his arms. “But my uncle couldn’t be up to something illegal. I’d know it if he were. Besides, he wouldn’t do anything that would put us in danger.”

“I wish I had your kind of optimism about him, but the fact remains that he has more of a motive than anyone else.”

“What do you mean motive? What could my uncle want with guns and smuggling?” She looked at him confused.

“Smuggling is a profitable business, provided you don’t get caught.” It was a fact, one that he couldn't ignore. Many had fallen because of the lure of money.

She shook her head. “Maybe so, but that doesn’t explain why you would think he’s behind the smuggling. Uncle John is such a good man. I’ve never seen him do anything was out of the ordinary. It just doesn’t make any sense that you’d think he was somehow involved.”

Frustration reared through her slender body. Her nerve endings dancing beneath his touch. He didn’t want to make her angry, but the fact still remained. Right now, John Case was as likely a suspect as any he could think of.

“How much do you know about what your uncle did before he came to Chandler, Shelby?”

“Nothing,” she shook her head. “It never dawned on me to ask. He’s a private man. He showed up here one day out of the blue just after our father had passed away. I mean, we'd always heard about him, but up until the day of the funeral we’d never even met him. Then, suddenly, he came to us and said he was going to help us.” She let out a heavy sigh as though reliving the past was weighing upon her.