Trouble in Paradise (21 page)

”Got to leave you here, old buddy,“ he said to the car.

”Goodbye.“

He raised the 9-mm and turned his head away as if in grief and shot through the hood of the car. He laughed loudly. Fran glanced at Crow. Crow’s face showed nothing.

”Come on,“ JD said.

”Let’s get to the boat.“

Macklin looked at his watch.

”We’re too quick,“ he said.

”Got four hours still to high tide.“

”We got to sit here and wait four hours?“ Fran said.

”Sit someplace,“ Macklin said.

”You feel better sitting by the rendezvous, fine with me.“

”So let’s go,“ Fran said.

”Stop standing here out in the open.“

Macklin looked at Crow and said, ”These boys just haven’t learned how to have fun.“

”Scared,“ Crow said.

”No pain, no gain,“ Macklin said.

Crow nodded and laid the shotgun crossways on the dashboard and got in behind the wheel. JD and Fran scrambled into the backseat and Macklin, after a last look around, like a tourist leaving a favorite resort, climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door. The women crouched in the cargo space behind them. The one who had been crying was silent now.

”How much you think we got?“ JD said, as the van moved along the empty street.

”The houses? The retail stores? The bank? The safe deposit boxes?“ Macklin said.

”Six, eight million maybe? Whaddya think, Crow?“

”I think we need to count it when we got time,“ Crow said.

”What if Freddie’s not there?“ Fran said.

”He’ll be there,“ Macklin said.

”Freddie always does what he says. It’s what makes him such a bad hard-on.“

Macklin was drumming his fingertips lightly on the tops of his thighs. His eyes were bright and seemed to be opened wider than normal. His toes tapped the floorboards of the van in time with his fingertips.

”But what if he’s not?“ Fran said.

Macklin shifted a little in the seat so he could look straight at Fran.

”Fran, we just pulled off the mother fucker of all heists, you understand? This is a time to be cool and feel it and kick back and like it. This ain’t a time to be whining.“

”Fran’s got four kids,“ Crow said.

”Shoulda thought about that when I invited him in,“ Macklin said.

”I did,“ Fran said.

”Then shut the fuck up,“ Macklin said.

”You don’t have to talk to me that way, Jimmy,“ Fran said.

”I’ll talk to you anyway I want,“ Macklin said.

”Got to understand,“ Crow said gently.

”Jimmy isn’t doing this for the money. That’s just the way he keeps score.“

”You don’t have to talk for me, Crow,“ Macklin said.

”The real thing he does it for is this, the charge, the danger, the goose it gives him, you understand? He does it same reason people do downhill skiing or sky diving. This is like getting laid for Jimmy, and right now when he’s just ready to come, you’re spoiling the feeling.“

”What the fuck are you, Doctor Spock?“ Macklin said.

Crow paid no attention to him.

”We’ll pull this off or we won’t,“ Crow said.

”And worrying out loud about it ain’t going to do you any good, and it’s going to piss Jimmy off really bad.“

”And that won’t do you any fucking good either,“ Macklin said.

Crow didn’t say anything else. Fran was silent and so was JD.

Macklin resumed his finger drumming and toe tapping as they left the little downtown and swung onto Sea Street.

FIFTY-SEVEN

When Jesse walked into the station with Simpson,
De Angelo and Perkins, Molly was working the switchboard and covering the front desk.

”There’s a guy from the Coast Guard on his way, Jesse,“ Molly said as he walked in, ”and a State Police SWAT guy in your office.“

Jesse said, ”Thank you, Molly. Anthony, go find Doc Lane and bring him here.“

”The bartender at the Gull?“

”Yep. If he’s not working, ask the restaurant for his address. Peter, go find me a wet suit, medium. And some kind of waterproof equipment flotation. If you can’t find anything closer, there’s a place in Belmont on Trapelo Road.“

”Flotation?“

”Yes. Go. Get it. Bring it back. Now.“

Perkins and De Angelo left the station. Suitcase stayed with Jesse waiting to be told what to do. Jesse nodded toward his office, and they went in.

The SWAT team commander was a lean guy with round glasses and a crew cut. He put out a hand.

”Ray Danforth,“ he said.

”Jesse Stone. The big kid here is Suitcase Simpson.“

”Lighter color than I remember you,“ Danforth said.

Suitcase looked blank. Danforth turned to Jesse.

”I got my men standing by at the explosion site,“ Danforth said. ”We got a mobile operations van on the way. What can you tell me?“

”What I know is that somebody blew the bridge to Stiles Island. Somebody also blew the landing dock at the yacht club on Stiles. No one has heard from the Stiles Island Security patrol since last night, and all the phones on Stiles give a busy signal when you call them.“

”What do you guess?“

”A guy named Wilson Cromartie and a guy named James Macklin and probably some others are on the island. I assume the motive is robbery.“

”How they going to get off the island?“

”Don’t know.“

”People on the island?“

”Far as I know, about a hundred.“

”I’ll get a hostage negotiator up here,“ Danforth said.

”Good. Let’s not get any civilians killed,“ Jesse said.

”We got a traffic helicopter should be here anytime,“ Danforth said.

”And a transport chopper if we need one. That’ll take a little longer. We got to fly it in from Hanscomb Field.“

”Better call it up. We don’t want to have to wait for it when we need it.“

”Will do,“ Danforth said.

”What’s your plan?“

”I might go ashore.“

”Alone?“

”Yeah. Might be a good idea to have someone on the ground.“

”Police chiefs don’t usually do that kind of work,“ Danforth said.

”This is a small-town department,“ Jesse said.

”It’s sort of informal here. We all pitch in.“

”You don’t have anyone else you’d trust?“ Danforth said.

”Or you don’t want to ask anyone else?“

Jesse shrugged.

”Whatever,“ he said.

”Who’s going to run the department?“

”Molly,“ Jesse said, ”and Suit.“ He nodded at Simpson.

”I ought to come with you, Jesse,“ Suitcase said.

”You stay here. Molly shouldn’t have to run it alone.“

”You remember what that cop said in Tucson,“ Suitcase said.

”I’m not going up against anyone,“ Jesse said.

”I’m just reconnaissance, you know? I’m just going to scoot around in the bushes and see what I can see and radio it back.“

”I could cover your back,“ Suit said.

”You’re too big to scoot around in the bushes,“ Jesse said.

”You go with Lieutenant Danforth. Molly will stand by in the station, and I will have a look see on the island.“

”How you going to get there?“ Suitcase said.

”I’m working on that.“

”Doc?“

”He’s been around this harbor all his life,“ Jesse said.

”You going to have him put you in the water?“

”Probably,“ Jesse said.

”And?“ Suit said.

”And we’ll see,“ Jesse said.

FIFTY-EIGHT

The helicopter came up from the south east,
across the causeway to Paradise Neck‘ and then across the harbor. It hovered for a time over the explosion site, then banked suddenly and flew down the Stiles Islam coast and paused again, this time over the boat house explosion.

It moved away from the yacht clut and began unhurriedly to fly back and forth over Stiles Island, looking at what there was to look at. Across the emptj span where the bridge had hung, there was a gathering of trucks and automobiles and people. The helicopter paused again over the small downtown where people were gathered in the street, looking up, then moved on toward the open ocean side of the island where the restaurant was located.

In the van, Crow heard the helicopter first and glanced up through the van window. It wasn’t in sight yet. As the van pulled up beside the restaurant, they all heard it.

”Chopper,“ Fran said.

Macklin looked up through the van window and watched the helicopter come in over the treetops and hover over them. Then he got out of the van and walked around to the back and opened the doors.

”Everybody out,“ he said, and the six women climbed out and stood silently beside the van.

The helicopter dropped down a little and Macklin fired four rounds from his handgun at it. The helicopter heeled sharply and soared in the same motion and was out of range almost at once.

”Let ’em know we’re here,“ Macklin said.

”I think they know that,“ Crow said.

”They’re going to know it even more in a minute,“ Macklin said.

”JD, gimme the cell phone.“

Five hundred yards offshore, holding the boat steady against the rough chop, Freddie Costa watched the helicopter fly back across the island, out of pistol range. The prow of the boat pounded steadily as the short waves pushed at it. He looked at his watch.

Three and a half hours.

Across the island, across Stiles Island gut, where the roiling water foamed over the wreckage of the bridge on the Paradise side, in the mobile operations command truck, a radio operator talked with the helicopter pilot. Ray Danforth stood listening. Suitcase Simpson was with him, looking a little uncomfortable among the State SWAT team cops with their black fatigues and their assault weapons and their funky gun belts.

”I think the bandits are at the restaurant on the open ocean side of the island. We drew some small arms fire,“ the pilot said.

”There’s a power boat maybe four, five hundred yards offshore. From here, it doesn’t look like he can get closer.“

”Okay,“ Danforth said to the radio operator.

”Tell them to stay out of range but monitor.“

He turned to Suitcase.

”When is high tide around here?“

”Don’t know,“ Suitcase said, ”but I’ll find out.“

”Do that,“ Danforth said.

FIFTY-NINE

”Lemme call Carleton Jencks,“ Doc said.

”Snapper’s father?“

”Yeah. He knows the harbor better than I do.“

The phone rang.

”Okay. Have Molly call him from the switchboard,“ Jesse said and picked up the phone.

”This is Harry Smith“ the voice said Doc went out to the desk.

”Or James Macklin,“ Jesse said.

It could have been Cromartie, but the voice didn’t have that indefinable Indian overtone that Jesse remembered from his childhood.

There was silence on the phone for a moment, and then Macklin went on.

”I’m on the island. And I wanted to run couple things by you. First, the next helicopter I see anywhere around here, I shoot a hostage.“

”Uh-huh.“

”Second, any boats, anything, any attempt to land on the island, any interference with us as we go about our business, and I shoot hostages. I got a lot of them. I can shoot a bunch and have plenty left.“

”What business are you going about?“ Jesse said.

”Our business,“ Macklin said.

”And when will you be through going about it?“

”I’ll let you know,“ Macklin said.

”Remember what I told you. I see so much as a fucking sea scallop come ashore, and it’ll be a blood bath.“

”We don’t want that,“ Jesse said.

”No you don’t, and if I see you out here, I’ll go shoot that broad you been fucking.“

”Which one?“ Jesse said and winced silently as he heard the way it sounded.

”Way to go, Stone,“ Macklin said.

”Marcy, the real estate lady.“

”Uh-huh.“

”You fuck up, and she goes first.“

Jesse took in air silently and flexed his shoulders, forcing himself to relax.

”I hear you,“ Jesse said.

”Got anything to say?“

”We’ll cooperate,“ Jesse said.

”You’ve got my word on it.“

”Well, isn’t that good,“ Macklin said.

He turned off the cell phone and put it on the bar in the empty restaurant where they were holding the hostages. Marcy sat on a bar stool at the other end of the bar looking at the floor.

”Says he’ll cooperate,“ Macklin said.

”Guess he don’t want you to get hurt, Marcy.“

Marcy didn’t say anything.

”I mentioned the woman he’d been fucking, and he asked me which one,“ Macklin said and put his head back and laughed. It was a loud laugh and long and, Marcy thought, somehow contrived, just as it was contrived the way he threw his head back. He was posturing.

”Where’s JD and Fran?“ Macklin said to Crow.

”Guard duty,“ Crow said, ”I told them to go out and walk around the building, keep an eye out.“

”Good, serves a useful purpose and keeps them from whining at me. This thing is going like down so good there’s not enough O’s in smooth.“

Crow nodded and glanced out the window at the water that boiled through the offshore rocks as the tide came slowly in. Freddie was out of sight around the low headland to the right. Crow glanced at his watch.

Carleton Jencks came into the office with Snapper.

”I brought my son,“ Jencks said.

”Can you get me ashore on Stiles?“

Jencks nodded slowly.

”Got to bring Snapper, though. He’s the one knows.“

”Too dangerous to bring a kid.“

”He’s got to show us,“ Jencks said.

”He can tell us.“

Jencks shook his head.

”Not enough margin for error,“ he said.

”Place is about five feet wide.“

”You know how to get ashore on Stiles?“ Jesse said to Snapper.

”Yeah.“

”Answer right,“ Carleton Jencks said.

”Yes,“ Snapper said.

”Yes sir, I do.“

”Tell me.“

”It’s on the harbor side, about halfway between the yacht club and the bridge. Me and some other guys used to go over there in my father’s rowboat. Anchor it and swim ashore, watch what went on.“