by Linda Ladd
“Kellen’s holding my wife prisoner aboard a ship, Bartow. You’re going to tell me the name of that ship and where it’s headed. You understand me? You are going to give me names, places, methods of transport, and where the documents from your operations are kept. Understand? The game is over, and you’re all going down. You’re first.”
Bartow had one last burst of bravado left in him. His words came slurred through lips swollen twice their normal size. He really wasn’t bright at all. “The Skulls are gonna track you down and beat you to death for doing this. They’ll cut off your nose and feed it to you.”
“Not such a bad idea,” Novak told him. “Maybe we should do that to you right now. As for your friends, they’re done. We busted up their place in Miami, and the cops are now raiding all the others around here. You and Kellen don’t have an operation anymore. Most your buddies are dead or in jail. Some might still be breathing in the hospital. Others will wish they were once Jose Rango gets hold of them.”
Bartow knew Jose’s name. Shock overtook his defiance. “You guys work for Rango?” Fear bloomed on his face, oh yeah, and lots of it.
“Let’s just say he’s fond of me. We’re like family,” Black told him. “Know what? Jose is a dedicated family man who has two daughters about to have babies right now. He has great affection for my wife, who you are holding. He is angry that you took her. If he were here with his men? You’d already be dead. Where is my wife? What’s the name of that ship?”
“I don’t know the name of it. It’s an old freighter Max got somewhere. It has to be that one, I swear, it’s the only ship we use.”
“Where’s it headed?”
“I don’t know. Usually somewhere in Guatemala or Nicaragua. Brazil sometimes.”
“Where? What ports?”
Bartow feigned unconsciousness, but that didn’t get him anywhere. Novak doused him with water again. He sputtered back to life.
Apparently no longer patient, Black pulled out a .45 and held it between Bartow’s eyes. “I am not going to wait for you to get smart. My wife is in danger. Where is that ship going?”
Bartow wised up and quick. “I swear to God that I don’t know. No voyage was scheduled as far as I know. Maybe they’re taking your wife to the compound.”
“What compound? Where is it?”
“It’s out in the Teten, the jungle up north. In Guatemala, up around Flores somewhere. I know they keep hostages out there and some of the babies, I think. I don’t know much about what’s going on down there, I swear to God. I work at home, right here. I just launder the money…man, that’s all I do. I don’t know anything about that ship except that they use it.” His tongue swiped along his split upper lip. He was still having trouble breathing. His knee had swollen up and would soon be the color of an eggplant.
“Are they planning to kill Claire?”
“I don’t know. They kill some of them, I guess. I don’t have anything to do with any killing. I just work here on the books, that’s all I do. They won’t kill her if she’s worth money. I know that much.”
Black’s face flushed darker. “How many men in that jungle compound?”
Bartow’s voice was barely audible now. “I don’t know. I told you. I’ve never been down there. I’ve never been on any ship. That’s all Max. He knows a guy down there who helps him, not me. This whole adoption thing… It was his idea.”
“What’s the other guy’s name?”
“I don’t know! He owns that compound, I think.”
“How’d you get involved?”
“Max and I went to law school together. He said…I could make easy money and…not have to get my hands dirty. He said, he told me…he’d take care of all that. I just do paperwork, man. I didn’t want to know all that stuff.” His voice was halting and so garbled they could barely understand him.
“How do they get those kids past Guatemalan customs?”
“I think they’re paying off people in the government…maybe some police, I guess.” He stopped, sucking in deep breaths, snorting and coughing. “I don’t know anything else, oh God, I swear to God. Please, get me an ambulance. I’m gonna bleed to death.”
Novak scoffed. No way was this guy going to bleed to death. All he had was a broken nose. He was going to have worse if he didn’t cooperate.
“Shut up. I need names and directions down there. I want the name of that ship.”
“I don’t know their names, I swear it, I swear to God. Please, please, just leave me alone.”
“I want the big guy’s name,” Novak said. He had worked in Central and South America for a number of years in the military. He knew the players down there, especially one of them.
“Okay, okay, his name might be Ruiz. Arturo, maybe? I don’t know him but I heard that name mentioned. They don’t tell me this kinda stuff. I swear it.”
“How do you get to that compound?” Black asked.
“I don’t know. It’s in the jungle—” Bartow hung his head down. He started sobbing.
“How many men out there?”
He kept shaking his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know, please.”
“Take a stab at it,” Black said.
“A dozen, God, I’ve never been there. That’s Kellen’s thing, I’m telling you. Oh God, help me.”
“What about the village? Flores?” Novak asked. “Everybody down there work for Kellen?”
Bartow just kept shaking his head. The blood was flowing slower now and running down his chest. “I don’t know. Probably. They’re peasants or something. Some work for him, I guess. Please, just get me an ambulance.”
“That’s where they’re taking my wife? Out to that compound? Are you sure that’s where they’re headed?”
“I guess. If they ask for ransom, that’s where they take them. It’s hard to find, and the cops down there don’t interfere. That’s all Max ever told me.”
“Do they use this ship to bring babies up here?” Novak wanted enough evidence to bring down every last one of them. That ship and its crew might be the deciding factor if they could prove it was what they were using to traffic women and children.
Bartow kept his eyes closed. He was almost done for. “It’s cover. Oh God, just let me alone.” Groaning, he lolled back his head and choked on the blood. “For God’s sake, get me a doctor. I told you everything. I don’t know anything else.”
Black stood up, now ready to get to the airport and storm that compound. Novak wanted more out of the guy. He needed to find Rosa and Alcina, too, if she could possibly still be alive. After that, let the cops arrest him and worry about additional evidence. “How many of these baby factories do you guys run?” Even the designation Novak used to describe that horrible place was repugnant to him. All those babies lined up like animals at market.
Bartow was holding his head back to stop the nosebleed. It was petering off some, so his voice was intelligible. He was giving up the goods freely now, aware they weren’t leaving until he told them everything. “I got calls sayin’ they’re hitting our houses. You got them all. I think the women Kellen had out there are in the hospital. Like I said, I don’t have anything to do with that end of it. I made sure I didn’t. I do the paperwork and make sure the money’s clean, and that’s all I do. You’ve smashed us up. We’re done.”
“What about the houses where they keep the stolen babies? We get all of those, too?”
“Yeah, yeah.” He brought his head up. “Okay, I got a list in my safe that names the babies everywhere, even outside Florida. The safe’s behind the bedroom mirror. It’ll give you everything you need.” He stopped his halting words and breathed hard for a moment. “The combination is four, six, seven, two, five. It names all the players.”
Leaving the guy with Black, Novak walked inside and gave Lori the combination. Minutes later, she brought out the papers, and a quick scan told him Bartow had been telling the tru
th. They had enough to convict him and everybody else involved. He took it back to the garage, half-afraid Black might finish the guy off.
As it turned out, Black had regained control now that he had the information he wanted. He had stopped the nosebleed, torn off the tape, and propped the guy against the wall. Novak wasn’t sure he would’ve had that degree of charity. Still, Novak had one more question he wanted answered. “Where is Rosa Castillo, Bartow?”
“Who’s Rosa Castillo?”
“She’s Alcina Castillo’s baby, damn you to hell. You killed her husband. And Kellen killed her.”
“I didn’t kill anybody. It’s all Max. Is that the woman Max was so pissed about? The Guatamalan who was making trouble and got some doctor involved? I don’t know anything else. I don’t know anything else.”
“Tell me where that baby is.”
Now he acted in a daze and was answering dully. “Something must be up with that kid, if they took her back to the compound. That’s all I know about it.”
Novak was pretty sure they weren’t going to get anything else out of this guy. He was only semiconscious now. Novak motioned Black outside, where the others were waiting. Novak told them what they’d learned. “Now we’ve got to get down there in a hurry. Once they find out we’ve destroyed everything up here, they’ll start getting rid of prisoners.”
“Down where?” Lori asked.
Black said, “We think they’re taking Claire to a compound north of Guatemala City.”
“Then we’re wasting time she doesn’t have,” she said. “Did he tell you the name of the ship?”
“He didn’t know or he would have. We might be able to beat them down there. You got your plane in Fort Myers, right, Black?”
“Yeah, I’ll call ahead and file a flight plan.”
“What about the guy in there?” Eldon gestured at the garage.
“How about you call him an ambulance and then get the hell out of here. He didn’t see you, and he won’t be able to prove that any of us were here. I think Black put the fear of God in him. The cops can pick him up later at the hospital.”
Black said, “He’s not going to tell them who did this, trust me. I mentioned Rango.”
Eldon nodded. “Just get out of here and go find your wife. I can take care of this.”
Novak was pleased Eldon would not be further involved. The mothers they had found were home with their families or soon would be. Child Services was already going over the records and trying to find a way to return the stolen children. It was a complicated job and it would take time, but it would get done. That was the main thing. Now they had to get to Claire and find Rosa, and bring them both back home. He had to believe they could do it. He had no other choice, not one he could live with, anyway.
Chapter 22
They flew out of Fort Myers and landed at La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City a little over six hours later. The flight had been a straight shot southwest across the Gulf of Mexico. Black’s new Gulfstream G650ER had long-range capability so they made good time with no need to refuel. While in the air, Novak phoned up a couple of old friends who lived in Central America, both men he trusted implicitly. Doc Smithy was a Navy corpsman who had saved his life in a firefight when nobody else had the courage to get to him where he lay wounded. Novak had returned that favor in Afghanistan under similar conditions, and they’d been trusted friends ever since. He was looking forward to seeing Doc.
The other guy was Sebastian Desoto, and he was not quite so heroic. A former assassin in Mexico, he had tried his level best to track down and kill Novak and his companion once upon a time. Fortunately, he didn’t succeed. After that, some bizarre events threw them together as unlikely allies, and they’d worked out their differences and become friendly, if not exactly friends. At the moment that was a good thing, because Desoto was exactly the kind of man Novak needed. Novak trusted him too, sort of.
Both men were waiting for him. They were inside, lounging in uncomfortable hard plastic seats about four rows apart. Doc stood up and headed to Novak as soon as he came through the door. Sebastian Desoto slouched in his chair and didn’t move. They were the only people in sight.
“Those two guys are with me,” he told Lori. “Wait here a minute while Black clears us with customs. Let me see if they’re willing to help us out.”
Nodding, she leaned up against the wall beside the door. Their recent adventures together had taught her never to leave her back exposed to knife or gun.
Doc Smithy made it to him, and they shook hands. Doc stepped back and stared up at Novak’s face. He was a little guy around five eight, balding in a Friar Tuck kind of way. Years living on his own private island in the Caribbean sun had turned him a deep bronze and prematurely lined his face, but he didn’t care. He was tough, and he was loyal. Novak had seen him venture out under gunfire to help other wounded Marines so many times he couldn’t count them all. Doc had earned enough Purple Hearts to decorate a Christmas tree.
“So?” Doc said. “How bad is this thing you’ve gotten yourself into? Bad as last time?”
“Worse.”
“Of course it is; I should’ve known. I take it that the guy sitting over there and watching me like a hawk is part of this thing, too? I tried to be friendly, but he doesn’t do small talk. In fact, he doesn’t talk at all. He’s a little on the scary side, man. You trust that guy?”
“Remember that case you helped me with, the one where we ran up against Arturo Ruiz? That guy over there? He’s the guy who saved Jenn’s life when she got her throat slashed.”
Doc’s eyes widened. “You’re telling me that I’ve been sitting out here alone with Sebastian Desoto? The infamous assassin? That little guy over there? Are you shittin’ me? Hell, he’s smaller than I am. Damn, Novak, clue me in on this stuff, would you?” He glanced back at Desoto, who sat calmly watching them. He still hadn’t moved. “He’s the one who used to take scalps? Shit. Now you got him working for you?”
“He doesn’t do that kind of stuff anymore. He’s retired.”
“Shit, Novak.”
“I needed help, and he owes me a big favor. Right now, we need somebody who’s good at killing bad guys. I don’t care how he does it.”
Doc looked surprised, and then he frowned. “From what I recall, he’s good at it. Hope he takes a liking to me. He hasn’t yet.”
“He’s okay, trust me. He’s got our backs.”
Doc didn’t look so sure. They walked over to Desoto. He stood up and stretched his arms toward Novak indicating he wanted a hug. Novak obliged. Doc stood back, not wanting anything to do with that. “How’s your daughter doing, Sebastian?”
“She’s good now. My wife sends her love to you.”
Desoto was five feet three inches, maybe. Novak towered over him. He looked the part of a lethal assassin with his long black hair tied at his nape and thick goatee. He had the handsome cheekbones of a Maya descendant, but he was as deadly as they came. He was quick, especially with a blade, and he was a hell of a lot stronger than he looked. They both smiled as they shook hands. Desoto had retired, but he was still as deadly as a nest of cobras. He could kill you dead where you stood before you had time to move. Fortunately, he felt indebted to Novak. Novak had saved the life of his beloved daughter, Carmelita. “Nice to see you’re still alive and kicking, Sebastian.”
“Si. I am well, and you seem so. What is so important that you bring me to Guatemala in the dead of night?”
“The usual. I need your expertise and knowledge of the area. This thing is sticky, but it’s important. You won’t like what these guys are doing.” It was true. Despite his evil past and the bloody notches on his belt, Desoto was first and foremost a family man who doted on his wife and children. The idea of stealing a woman’s baby would appall him.
Sebastian glanced at Doc and then looked back at Novak. Novak took the hint. “This is a
n old buddy of mine from the Corps. Doc, meet Sebastian Desoto. Sebastian, meet Doc Smithy.”
They shook hands, but it was clear they took immediate dislike to each other. Novak could see the animosity as plain as day, Doc more so than Sebastian. But they didn’t have to like each other; they just had to get the job done. He explained the problem to them but not in detail. Both instantly agreed to help.
Black had shown up now and was standing beside Lori. Novak motioned them over. He introduced everyone around, and they all seemed uncomfortable with one another. Nobody trusted anybody, but why should they? Some of them had never laid eyes on the others, and most of them had learned the hard way to be wary of strangers. To make it work, they had to trust Novak. He was pretty sure they all did. He turned to Desoto. “You know someplace we can crash while we scope things out? We need to be ready.”
Desoto nodded. “I’ve got a place here in the city. Nobody knows about it except my wife. You’re welcome to be my guests there. It would be my honor.”
Forty minutes later, they were sitting in a comfortable and spacious air-conditioned apartment in a modern high-rise in Guatemala City. Assassination must have been a lucrative endeavor. Room service had been ordered from the fancy restaurant on the ground floor. They were all eating except Black, who was roaming around, too anxious about his wife to sit down and relax. He finally stopped prowling.
“We should’ve heard from him by now. Claire’s gone into early labor. Maybe something’s wrong that they can’t handle aboard that ship. Maybe that’s why they haven’t called. Oh God, we need to know the name of that ship!”
“We know about the compound. That’s their destination. We’ll find her out there,” Novak told him.
“The call will come. False labor happens and then it usually stops or the doctor makes it stop. They want that money, so they’ll call you sooner or later,” Lori told Black. “Sit down and eat. You’re going to need your strength if we storm that compound in the jungle. C’mon, Black, sit down. You’re making the rest of us antsy.”
