Tuna Tango (17 page)

They walked side by side into the garage and through the door to the house. He pushed her down the hallway and into the living room, where a large man sat. “This is George. He’s going to take care of you for a little while.”

“What are you talking about?” She fought his grasp.

“Well, look what we have here,” George said as he approached, his belly reaching her before he did. “You’re Will’s old lady. That’ll get some work out of him.” He put a large hand on her shoulder and turned to Lance. “Take the boy back. At least he can help get the job done. This nice young lady will be my guest for a while.”

“Did you say Will?” A girl walked into the room wearing a bathrobe, her blonde hair disheveled. She sat next to George. “You know that idiot?”

Sheryl just stared at her, wondering where this was going. 

“Bastard almost killed me in that stupid boat of his. Owes me ten grand.” She turned to George. “You gonna take care of that for me, baby?”

He jerked his head as if he understood. 

“What the hell is she talking about?” Sheryl screamed.

Chapter 18

Will was in the water when he heard the sound of an engine that sounded much closer than the other boats that had been passing by on the intracoastal waterway all morning. It sounded small, but from the vibration of the propeller, he knew it was close. He popped his head out of the water and saw the aluminum skiff pull up to one of the outside pilings. Seconds later, he heard a large splash, and the engine rev as it increased speed and pulled away. 

It was almost noon and he had been happy with the progress his new crew had made. It was comforting having James above supervising Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, and Dick had finally showed up around an hour ago. He knew he should have been more upset with him, but he was actually grateful that he was all right. The first piling had taken several hours to set, but now that the procedure was refined, the second pile was going in quickly. If they could continue at this pace, they could start to set the beam later today. 

Just as he was about to drop down again, he heard something big moving in the water nearby. He sensed it was closing in on him, and remembered the fish carcass still in the water. Suspecting a shark, he lifted himself out of the water and clung to the platform. 

“Hey!” a voice yelled. 

Will turned toward the sound and took off his mask. His peripheral vision restored, he saw it was a man in the water. As it moved closer, he recognized Kyle. He let loose the line tying the platform to a nearby piling, and quickly moved toward him. Kyle was exhausted, flailing in the water as Will approached. He reached for the kid’s arm and started to pull him onto the surface of the platform, but the raft shot out from under him every time he pulled. 

“My feet are tied,” Kyle said as he set both elbows on the plywood and caught his breath. “Just give me a minute and let me catch my breath.”

Will couldn’t see his feet in the murky water, but knew he wouldn’t be able to haul him onboard without help. “Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m good.”

“Just hold on. I’ll pull us out of here,” Will said as he started to pull against the floor joists. When they were out in the open, he tied the rig to the pier by the seawall and hopped into the knee-deep water. With his dive knife, he reached down and felt for the bond holding Kyle’s legs together, and cut through the tie. They both walked toward the seawall and pulled themselves out of the water. 

“You sure you’re ok?

“Yeah. Those guys were jerks, but I’m fine. Where’s Dick?”

“Dick!” Will yelled.

A few minutes later, Dick appeared. “Dude.” He went to Kyle and nodded. “What the fuck happened to you?”

“Can I get out of here and get some water or something?” Kyle asked as he rose to his feet and walked toward the building.

“Sure, whatever you need.” Will said as he followed him inside. Kyle went to the water jug, set his head underneath the spigot, and drank deeply. Several drafts, later he was ready to talk.

“Not much to say. We went on this boat ride and they were fishing. Caught another of those monster bluefin and then lost one. Then they tangled the line in the prop. I swear they were going to kill me until I got the line off and they were all buddy-buddy and shit. After that they kept me in this bedroom of what looked like a real nice house. Cable TV and all.”

“Did they say why they let you go?” Will asked.

“They said to tell you to keep up the good work,” Kyle said. “That you would know what he meant.”

“We know it was George. He must have had you at his house,” Will said.

“Any idea what he did with the fish?” Dick jumped in.

“Nah. I think they dropped it somewhere after they dumped me off. They had a bandana covering my eyes like it was some top secret place.”

“Why don’t you two catch up. I’ll let the guys inside know what they need to do next,” Will said, and walked away.

“There’s one more thing,” Kyle said.

Will turned and walked back.

“I heard Sheryl’s voice talking to them outside the room right before they took me out. I don’t think it was a good conversation, either.”

“Shit,” Will said, and went inside. The three men were sitting on a pile of lumber taking a break. “You guys can take off. Come back tomorrow morning, though.” He was too distracted to work. 

***

“You have a plan for her?” George asked. “All’s I know is we better keep these two cats apart, before one of them gets scratched. I wouldn’t mind seeing them go at it, though, if you know what I mean.” 

“It’s just leverage. Give him back the boy so he knows nothing bad’s going to happen to her. If the kid’s pot-soaked brain can remember the message, he’ll understand.”

“Understand this. We got a run of big-ass fish going on out there, and without the fish house for a drop-off point, it gets really dicey. I got nowhere to take them without being seen. I was starting to get worried about the freezer and then look what happens.” He pointed to his head. “George knows.”

“Just keep her here for a day or two and we can deal with Will and the kids. James is a good hand. He’ll figure out how they’re doing the work soon enough.” 

“I’m going out again tomorrow night. I’m telling you, I haven’t seen them this thick in years.”

“Keep the girl here, and remember that this is bigger than a few fish. It’s a long-term solution. Once that building is safe and the city is off our backs, it’s perfect. The fish come in under the building out of sight and are processed before they go out the front door with the Federal Express truck waiting to take them to Japan.”

“Yeah, I know. And a nice fish is pulling twenty large right now,” George said.

“Let them work all day tomorrow. I’ll talk to James tonight.” Lance moved toward the door. “Stay with the plan. You run this off the tracks and I’ll cut you out.” He looked over at Sheryl and Jazmyn. “And keep those women apart.”

***

Will went back to the sailboat after locking the building. The new guys had been upset about not getting an eight-hour day, but he promised them a full day’s pay for getting so much done. He picked up the phone and scrolled to his favorites screen, where he hit Sheryl’s name. The phone rang, but a male voice answered. 

“Dick?”

“Dude, she gave me the phone. I forgot to give it back.” He set it on the bench.

“Never mind.” Will hung up and started to think. Lance’s involvement in this was a sure thing now - but where was Sheryl? It was too much of a coincidence that she had gone to breakfast with him and was now at George’s - but why? And he’d as much as said that Kyle would be released if they got work done. Maybe the police
were
the best option. 

He locked up the boat and went down the dock to his truck. It started and he entered the St Petersburg police station into his map app while he waited for the air conditioning to cool the interior. A pin dropped and he hit
start
. The directions showed on the screen and he pulled out of the parking lot. 

As he drove, he tried to come up with a story that wouldn’t land him in trouble, but at this point the only thing that mattered was getting Sheryl back. Holding her was different than Kyle. They could scare the boy enough for him to keep quiet. Sheryl was not like that, and if they didn’t know it before, they were sure to know it after spending some quality time with her. He wished he had some of the fight in him that she had. 

Several minutes later, he parked and walked toward the police station. He hesitated at the door; it was his last chance to back out, but his concern about Sheryl moved him forward. The deputy at the counter looked up.

“Can I help you?”

“My girlfriend has been abducted and—”

“Slow down there, cowboy.” The deputy pushed aside the paper he was reading and took out a form. “OK. I’ll ask the questions.”

They went back and forth, the officer asking and Will answering.

“You mean she left willingly this morning with this guy, and you haven’t seen her since. It’s only 5 o’clock,” he paused. “That’s only seven hours. I can’t call it a missing person until she’s been gone for twenty-four hours, and even then you don’t have any proof that she’s really missing and not with this guy of her own accord.”

“I understand that, but …” He hesitated as the man answered the phone. He was clearly on the back burner now, and unsure how deep into the story he wanted to go. The deputy seemed skeptical of him, having already filed the story in his mind as
jilted boyfriend seeks revenge.
If nothing else, the process of walking in and reporting the crime had steeled him to take action—even if he had to go it alone. It was likely that she was being held at George’s, and he knew where he lived. 

He left the station without a glance back at the deputy, who was deep in an obviously more important matter. It would be best to wait until dark before he went to George’s, he thought as he started the truck and pulled onto the street. He would be too visible in daylight, and without knowing where she was being held, he would need to scout out the property. 

A list formed in his mind and he started to think about a weapon. He had never owned anything more powerful than a speargun. 

***

“What are we going to do about Sheryl?” Kyle asked as they drove over the Gandy Bridge toward Tampa. 

“Dude, are you freakin’ crazy? You were a hostage and shit, and you still want to be involved? We still have to find some cash and pay off Rucker. You gotta know that’s not coming from Will.” Dick was sucking hard on the last joint he had rolled at Sheryl’s. “And this is the last of our stuff.”

“I know you liked her. We can’t just walk away.” Kyle grabbed the joint and took a hit.

Dick stared out the window. “We could just take the john boat from my dad’s and be on the water in an hour. Fish ‘till the tide changes and figure it out.”

“I think we need to do something. We can’t run away from this. What happens when the dickhead at the club finds out she’s missing? She’ll lose her job.” 

Dick continued to stare. “So you want to call the dickhead?”

“No, but I’m not just dropping this. Let’s find you some weed and figure out what to do. Will owes us some money, too. It’s not enough to get clear, but I don’t want to let it go.”

Dick turned toward him. “Fine. Just get me some stuff. This stress is killing me.”

Chapter 19

Will drove north on Gulf Boulevard until he reached Cabrillo Ave, and then turned right. He pulled into the large parking lot on his left, planning to walk the short distance to the house. The lot was close to empty, so he decided on a spot further away from the road, and close to the other cars parked there, hoping to blend in. He didn’t want to chance George driving by and noticing his truck. He locked the truck and started walking, staying to the perimeter of the lot, where the light faded into the tropical growth; walking in the center was too exposed. When he reached the street, he turned left and started to jog the quarter-mile to the house hoping to stay hidden in the dark of night.