Obsidian (27 page)

“I hate to do this to you, but I don’t have any choice. Gotta cover myself all the way, you know.”

The kid squirmed against the ropes that restrained him and the gag in his mouth.

“You should’ve minded your own business and you wouldn’t be in this mess.”

Again, the kid struggled against the restraints.

Caruso looked down at his watch. It was time to get everything together and head out. With a little luck, they’d be right on time to meet the
Céad Míle Fáilte
and make the drop and pick up their money. Then, it’d be smooth sailing all the way.

He patted his hand over the little plastic controller in his pocket. There was just one more thing he had to do.

Shelby watched as the two men talked for a moment before going their own separate ways. The first one headed back toward the cottage while the second one jumped off the boat onto the dock and headed in the direction of the beach.

Heading right toward her.

She crouched back further into the brush. She could try to back up now and maybe get some distance between her and the beach or she could just stay where she was and hope she was hidden enough so he wouldn’t see her.

Somehow, the thought of going anywhere near the water felt like a cakewalk, compared to what she was doing now. What in the world had possessed her to think she could just show up unprotected and hope to offer them help? She was a fool. She should have taken Kearsage’s advice and sat tight, waiting for them to help him. Now, she’d put herself into the middle of it.

But she couldn’t sit back and do nothing. She’d done that once and she had no intention of doing it again. She’d already lost more than most people her age and she didn’t intend to lose her brother, or Jamie.

Especially, Jamie.

Loving him was so different than loving Tommy. She still loved Tommy, but he was a memory and she couldn’t go on living with a memory. She needed more. She needed someone to hold onto. Someone who made her feel like it was worth getting up in the morning. She’d proven she could make it on her own, but now she knew she didn’t have to. She just had to convince Jamie that holding onto what they had was worth it.

A twig snapped.

He was coming closer. She backed up, moving as quickly as she dared without making noise. She stumbled as her foot hit a root and her leg brushed against the edge of something cold and hard. She pushed at the brush next to her and her hand rubbed against something underneath the brush. Pulling back the branch, she found a hidden raft under a cover.

She looked again at the beach. The man was moving fast and heading right to where she was hiding.

She was out of time.

Caruso was just making it up on deck, when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned, thinking it was Taimon, only to find a tall man wearing a dark jacket, pants and a knit hat pulled down low over his eyes.

Damn. He stiffened as the older man walked toward him. He should’ve suspected that he’d show up. It was too much to ask that the whole thing would go off without a hitch. “What are you doing here?”

“I take it that I wasn’t expected,” The older man looked down at his watch. The sunlight glinted off of a pair of mirrored sunglasses. “For at least a couple more hours.”

He shook his head at Caruso. “You didn’t honestly think I was going to trust you alone with the payoff, did you?”

“I wouldn’t cheat you.” Caruso said, a bit offended, but knowing that the man was right. He’d been trying to cheat him. He just didn't need to let him know that.

The other man shook his head, as he crossed his arms in front of him. “I would hope not. After all, this is a partnership. I handled what you needed by covering your ass in Florida, and you took care of what I needed here.” He let out a low laugh. “It’s as simple as that.”

“Right. Our deal.” Caruso motioned in the direction of the boat. “We were just finishing up here. Trying to get everything in order.” As brisk as it was outside, he could feel the sweat forming along his neck and running in rivulets down his back.

Change of plans.

“I wasn’t expecting you until later.” The older man turned toward boat. It was loaded with boxes and Taimon was busy arranging them.

Taimon jumped out of the boat and onto the dock, before dropping to sand and heading up the beach. The idiot didn’t even have a clue they were about to get busted. If he brought that spare boat out now, the old man was sure to suspect they were scamming him.

“Where's he going?”

Caruso shook his head; “It’s nothing. Just making sure there’s nothing left behind that connect us,”

“Good idea. I’d hate to think there could be anything to trip us up at this late hour,” he said, and Caruso got the distinct impression they were talking about more than leaving garbage behind.

Their no longer silent partner motioned in the direction that Taimon was taking down the beach. “What about Taimon? Is he going to be a problem?”

Caruso shook his head. “No, he’s with me. If there is a problem, I’ll take care of it.” And he would. Trusting Taimon’s loyalty was one thing, but the man’s lack of brains had him worried. It’d be easy to trip him up, if he was pushed. Too bad that he’d probably end up having to do in his friend as well.

“Should we head inside? It’s damn cold out here.”

Caruso thought about the kid tied up in the pantry and the package he’d left sitting on the shelf. Maybe his little problem with getting rid of their partner was going to be taken care of sooner than he thought.

But his gloating was cut short as Taimon let out a yell that could be heard all the way across the beach. Both men turned as Taimon pulled something out of the brush.

Jamie looked through the window to see if anyone was around before using his knife to pry open the lock. Silently, he slid the sill open and levered himself up and through the window.

He was lucky. No one was around.

He made his way through the house slowly, checking out each room as he went. It was a nice house, simply furnished in a typical nautical style. It would be a great place to vacation if it weren’t housing known criminals.

A prickling feeling crept up his spine. He put it off and continued on—he had no choice. He had to keep going.

He made his way back to the kitchen. Outside, he could hear voices in the distance and he knew he had to move quickly. It would be hell to pay if he was caught now.

He opened up a door off the kitchen to find a small storage room. The windowless walls were lined with shelves and stacked high with provisions. And, on the floor in the corner . . .

“Bingo.”

Josh looked up at him startled, and he realized that to him, he looked like any other bad guy he’d seen lately. Even with all the time he’d spent in Chandler, he’d never met Josh face-to-face, only heard his voice.

He made the universal sign of a finger to his mouth for Josh to stay quiet, as he crept into the room, closing the door behind him.

“It’s okay. Your sister and your uncle sent me.”

Josh nodded in understanding.

“I’m going to get you out of here as soon as I can. You just have to hold on a little longer.”

Relief crossed Josh’s features. Score one for Case. He’d been right about Josh being here.

The ropes were tied pretty tight and he began working at them, trying to loosen them. From outside, he heard a shout and he knew he had to act quickly.

“Hello, Rivard.” The chill that had been creeping up his back shot toward his brain with alarming speed. He knew the voice. He’d heard it too many times to discount it as a trick of the mind.

McAlvey.

Jamie jumped up, whirling towards the familiar voice, his gun pointed and ready.

McAlvey stood in the doorway. The regulation uniform was gone and the relaxed Key West gear he’d been sporting the last time he’d seen him had been replaced by a black windbreaker, dark jeans and boots. He’d put a black cap over his light hair and was sporting a pair of sunglasses.

And he was pointing a gun straight at him.

“Surprised to see me?” He took off the sunglasses and threw them onto the nearby table. “I have to say, I’m surprised to see you alive.” He gave a look of amused annoyance. “But then, you always did have more lives than a cat.”

Jamie stayed silent. He had no idea just what McAlvey’s plan was, but he wasn’t about to give anything away. Thank God, that Shelby was safe back on shore.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jamie’s words trailed off as the point of gun pushed at his back, poking against his ribs. He glanced over his shoulder to see another man smiling back at him. Three to one, not the kind of odds he liked.

“I could say the same thing for you. I was told that you had been taken care of,” McAlvey shot a look of annoyance at the other men. “You were supposed to be dead before I got here.”

His annoyance turned to a smile as he motioned the other man into the room.

“I’ve got a little surprise for you, Rivard.”

It took a moment for Jamie’s mind to register that the large gorilla in the doorway was holding onto someone. His heart dropped to his knees.

Shelby.

She struggled against the ropes holding her arms in place. Her clothes were covered in dirt and twigs.

“Let me go,” she yelled at the man holding her. But he only tightened his hold on her.

He motioned toward the goon holding Shelby. “Put her next to her brother and make sure she’s tied up good and tight. None of them are getting away this time.”

“Jus let her go, McAlvey. Kill me if you have to, but let her go.”

But McAlvey just shook his head. “I don’t think so. My associates and I have worked too hard to get rid of any witnesses. I’m not about to let you go free now.”

Jamie gauged the distance to the doorway and the chances of getting them out safely. It wasn’t going to happen without a miracle.

“Toss it over, Rivard,” McAlvey said. “And back up.”

Jamie threw the gun at McAlvey’s feet. He should’ve listened to that damned, premonitory feeling. It was coming up aces lately.

With Shelby in the corner next to her brother, the larger of McAlvey accomplices went about binding his hands in front of him and shoved him down onto the floor next to Shelby and Josh. Right now, the only thing they had going for them was that McAlvey and the others didn’t seem to know about Case.

“I have to give you credit, Rivard.” McAlvey still held the gun, but now that Jamie was tied he didn’t bother to point it at him. “You’ve always been a good officer. One of the best under my command.” He let out a deep sigh. “But you were too good at coming to the right conclusions and David had a big problem with being discreet.”

“Did you kill David?”

McAlvey’s laugh rang hollow in the small pantry.

“David confronted me about the disappearing guns. I knew he was a liability, but he surprised me. He told me he wanted a cut of the action. At first, I thought maybe you were both trying to get in on the action, but he set me straight. He said that you were too straight for this kind of thing.”

“So, David became a liability because he knew what your game was.” It was starting to make sense…David’s boat, his cockiness the day he was killed. He’d made a deal with McAlvey.

“Exactly. So, I had to get rid of him. I was the one who cut the fuel line on his boat and set a remote trigger device.”

“You were waiting for us when we came in to shore that day?”

McAlvey nodded. “But once I had taken care of David, I started to worry about how much you knew. I never expected you to be so tenacious about investigating his death. I knew you were close, but you weren’t the type for emotional ties.”

“I figured that with his death you’d just bury yourself deeper in your work and let it drop.” He sat down on a crate in the corner, as though it was a casual chat and he had all the time in the world.

“But you surprised me. You threatened to raise all kinds of hell if you didn’t get answers. I couldn’t have that.”

He waved the gun around as if it were a pointer. “I’d worked too long and too hard to have you foul up everything, Rivard. I wasn’t going to sit back and let you blow it.”

Suddenly, Jamie knew that McAlvey was capable of anything.

Their only hope was that Case would come through with his promise of a diversion. Three guns against one weren’t great odds. He just had to stall a little longer.

“So, your plan was to send me to Maine to get rid of me?”

McAlvey scowled at his accomplices. “That was the plan, but these two couldn’t manage to do what they were told.”

Both men bristled at McAlvey’s words.

“You were to mysteriously disappear. With a little help your body would never be found.” He shrugged. “It was perfect. Back on base you’d be listed as missing and I’d let them think the accident had screwed you up, sending off the deep end. You’d already done your part by showing up on the base drunk and belligerent. It was clear to everyone that you were out of control.”

Everything was beginning to make sense, the meeting off base, the promise to keep things discreet. “You wanted it to look like I was suicidal.”