In the Blink of An Eye

by Jerry Baggett

  She pulled the sheet up over her bare breasts. “I can’t possibly leave there, even if I wanted to. The money helps me care for my son and my mother. She’s old and really needs me. Mr. Marino made it very clear that I would be there indefinitely, whether I wanted that or not. I shouldn’t have told you some of those things. If he finds out I’ll be in big trouble.”

  Maria placed her hand on his thigh. “You are a very nice man and now you might do something that would get you hurt really bad. They do bad things to people causing them trouble. Some of the older girls warned me not to talk about the club at all. We will have to be careful about seeing each other. They have ways of checking up on all the people that work there, even their good customers.” She pulled his head down and kissed him. “You sure don’t act like an older man when we’re in bed.”

  Chapter 19

  “Tell me what you want to do,” Dick said. “I have a room at the hotel for a couple of nights. Come with me. I can’t leave you alone until we know more about what’s really happening, and why those men were after you. Hunt made it clear, you’re my responsibility now, and I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  Samantha held his gaze for several moments without speaking. “You know Steven’s going to hear about this immediately and blame you for everything that’s happened between us, if you stay in the area. The local media is quick to spread the news about everything that happens on the island.”

  She turned off the lights in the living room and looked out toward the dark ocean. “I’m really happy you’ll be here for a while, Dick. There’s suddenly so much to think about. I hardly know where to start.”

  “That’s too bad about Doctor Peyton. He refuses to accept an end to your relationship,” he said. “I can’t let it stop me from seeing you. Our budding relationship’s way too important for me to back away now.” He moved to her side. “Finding temporary quarters on the island shouldn’t be a problem.” He watched her pace back and forth. “You agree with me on that, don’t you?”

  She stopped in front of him. “Of course, but, I’m nervous about everything at the moment. I can’t get my mind off what Agent Hunt said about my parents. Let’s get out of here before Steven shows up and makes matters worse. You can help me make some important decisions.”

  Dick said, “It’s two a.m. He wouldn’t be out this time of night, would he?”

  “Only if he found out you were involved in the attack on me. I’ve never seen him act like this before.” He didn’t want to slander the good doctor more in her eyes, but he had an entirely different opinion of the respected medical professional.

  Dick opened the sliding patio door at the inn and they stepped out into bright moonlight. Samantha said, “A room with a third-floor view of the ocean, how nice. You should stay here until you feel more comfortable about our situation and that other pending problem. I may disappoint you.” She grabbed his hand and leaned into him. “I’m excited about these new developments about my heritage, Dick. Just what did you make of all that stuff Agent Hunt said about my birth parents?”

  “You have to be thrilled with that bit of news. I want to be with you when you learn more about your mother and father. You shouldn’t be too concerned about the negative aspects of your mother’s situation. Just be proud of who you are. Maybe you’ll be pleased with what you learn about your mother, after all the facts are in. Think how thrilling it’ll be to know your father for the first time.”

  “You’re right. I now have so much to be grateful for. Threats will not get me down. For the first time, I have an exciting man in my life, as well as so many other blessings.” She pulled his head down and kissed him lightly. “I want you close, Dick, but it has to be your decision, after you know more about me.” She pressed her forehead against his chest. “It’s important for both of us that we find out just what’s out there. We may find some undesirable familial traits that you wouldn’t care for in your family tree.”

  He lifted her off her feet and held her, tummy to tummy. “At last, I believe you’re considering our relationship from a long-term point of view.”

  She whispered in his ear, “You had better be prepared for the full ride or none at all, mister. You’re the first man to stir the motherly instincts. I feel myself wanting permanence, perhaps a family. If that doesn’t scare you to death, nothing will.”

  He kissed her tenderly. “If everything goes as it should, I would like nothing better.” He grinned down into beautiful green eyes. “The next thing you know, we’ll be using the love word with each other.”

  She pushed away, smiling at him. “Please don’t say that until you mean it from the bottom of your heart. I promise the same truth to you.”

  He picked her up and carried her back inside. “There’s a king-sized bed in the bedroom or we can make out on the sofa in the sitting room. That way you won’t have to lie about sleeping on the sofa.”

  She laughed. “What I do now is no one’s business. We need to resolve a few sticky points but I don’t have to lie.”

  She led him into the bedroom. “I’m not sure about everything yet, Dick, but hold me close, please. We’re not going to have much time for each other after tomorrow. You know we’ll be pummeled by so many people attempting to get the story of that brutal attack out to the public.” She put her arms around him. “We can’t possibly stay hidden away any longer than that.”

  Chapter 20

  “Even if some of it’s questionable, we have to act on it.” Hunt strained to get himself up off the sofa in Grant’s beachfront rental. “Give me the rest of what she’s provided, Grant. If it plays out, this stuff could be the break we’ve been waiting for. I do have difficulty believing everything the girl’s been telling you. You’ve only been out with her three times and she’s opened up like an out-of-the-water clam, with specific information we can follow up on.” Hunt twisted his torso from side to side, stretching his back. “I don’t have to tell you this, I know, but secrecy about the source of this stuff is paramount or the girl’s life will be in danger.”

  He’s over weight and needs to take better care of himself, Grant thought. “Yes, that concerns me. She’s an innocent victim in this whole ugly set-up. She also has a small child and an elderly mother to care for. I wouldn’t want her in harm’s way.” Kevin doesn’t need to know everything that’s going on. I’ll do my best to keep an eye on her, maybe even have his help, at some point.

  “She’s already in jeopardy, whether she knows it or not. This investigation will take some time, so we’ll do what we can to avoid endangering her life. You’ve done well, Grant. Now, about the other woman. We received the DNA report. Your brother was right all along. He wanted to take care of his daughter. Based on that evidence, you should go ahead with your lawyer’s recommendations. I suggest you not discuss this with her or let this get out until we finish our investigation into a possible connection to the drug epidemic on the island. There’s no way to know where things might go from here and we have too many innocent lives involved.”

  Hunt sat down again, stretching his legs out. “We know there’s a connection to Marino and it’s important not to let that leak out until all other facts have been examined. There are too many moving parts to the investigation at this early stage. And, Grant, don’t count on finding the evidence you need to clear your record. Too many years have passed and nothing is ever the way you remember it.”

  That’s easy for you to say, he thought. Kevin’s a good investigator, but I can’t let him deter me from persevering in my own best interest.

  “We put four investigators on Maria’s information about Marino’s enforcer. She was dead on. Marino’s girls have every right to fear that man, Hans Hempel. There’s reason to believe that Hans is a man referred to in DEA reports as ‘Big Ugly’, a code name for an unknown individual, associated with dozens of drug related crimes including homicides. Furthermore, most of those reports were connected in one way or another with Marino’s clubs, in three or four states. Until now, w
e were unable to connect Big Ugly to a living being. The name’s been popping up in California for over ten years.”

  Grant watched Hunt struggle for a comfortable position. He’s obviously in pain. He should have stayed in the hospital a few more days. “You’re having trouble with pain somewhere, Kevin, what’s wrong, the car crash?”

  “It’s the ribs. I’m taped up tight. Mild painkillers aren’t doing the job. I’m beginning to understand how so many millennials get hooked on opioids.”

  Hunt swallowed a hand full of pills. “Now, back to our problem here. This organization is much larger and better organized than we first thought. Everything we’ve uncovered tells me we have the head of the snake located right here in this part of California. Not only do we know the fentanyl’s coming into this area from China, we know that it’s broken down into small shipments. The stuff’s mailed to dozens of individual addresses, labeled as women’s makeup. The recipients have sophisticated equipment to press the powder into the size and shape of prescribed medications before fillers and dyes are added. In many cases, oxy and heroin are cut with a few flakes of fentanyl, often deadly. Dealers lack the ability to understand and measure the proper amount required for a desired high without turning it into a fatal overdose. These drugs have killed tens of thousands of Americans and the massive profit’s going to a few people at the top of the organization.”

  Hunt coughed hard. He grimaced with pain. “I haven’t smoked in years but I’m still paying the price. How about another shot of that coffee you have in there? I might as well tell you this,” he said. “Agents arrested a twenty-nine-year-old man in San Diego yesterday with a still-running pill press in his garage. They also found more than a thousand pills in small packages, ready to be mailed, and over a million dollars were stored away in garbage bags. I questioned the man this morning. He’s scared to death, not from the arrest, but from the organization he works for.”

  Grant said, “According to Maria, anyone caught moving drugs in the Happy Huntsman club is brutally punished and banned from the club forever.”

  “That’s to divert suspicion. The real drug business is deep underground,” Hunt said. “Marino’s extremely smart. If he wasn’t smart, he wouldn’t have survived in that business for the last thirty years. Drugs and prostitution are his main business, buried behind the scene, and managed from within his clubs. He uses attractive young women to draw in lonely men with money to spend, making the clubs, themselves, highly profitable.”

  Grant said, “Don’t under estimate what I picked up from the prison grapevine. A woman is definitely involved. The street pushers I talked with in prison were sure about the stuff being distributed by a woman who could arrange shipments to select individuals, anywhere in the country. It’s believed that she has complete control of the stuff hitting the streets. I was told, more than once, that a nurse, with access to a doctor, arranged the prescriptions for most mail order drugs.”

  “We’re well aware of that. Prescriptions are ordered on the dark web and filled through the mail. Over four hundred thousand dollars’ worth, every month, is being shipped out of California by mail, as prescribed pills, costing less than a penny each to produce.”

  “Hot damn,” Grant said. “Maybe I should think about getting into the drug business.”

  Hunt laughed. “You’re too late, Grant. The millennials are starting their business by offering pills to their friends in the workout centers. Old guys like you don’t have friends in the gyms.”

  Grant stood up and moved around some, then turned back to face Hunt. “That other thing about my brother. You looked into the accident that killed him and one other person in another pickup truck, right?”

  Hunt held his gaze. “No! They were riding together. The accident was only listed as suspicious at first. I can’t tell you any more than that right now. I know what you’re thinking, Grant. This whole can of worms seems to be tied together somehow. That’s why I don’t want you discussing it with your niece, understand? She’s better off being kept in the dark until we have a few more facts. The more she knows, the greater the danger becomes.”

  “I’m well aware of that, but I need the help of my niece to locate the storage facility where her aunt’s furniture is collecting dust. We know it’s in a storage warehouse and she’s made no attempt to investigate the contents. That came out in one of the court hearings a long time ago. She’s older and more mature now. Maybe she just needs a reason to look into the whole thing. It could be, she doesn’t even remember having a storage unit.”

  Chapter 21

  Harvey Marino took his eyes off the camera monitors and returned his attention to three people sitting across the table. “It’s a rare slow night in the club bar, but that has nothing to do with why I brought you here.” He placed his soggy cigar in the ashtray and spit a remnant of tobacco off his tongue. “My contact at the sheriff’s department tells me DEA agents are all over the sheriff’s jurisdiction. They’re seen everywhere and not sharing information with the sheriff like they have in the past. The sheriff’s getting absolutely nothing from any of the state drug people. Something’s in the works and we have to find out what the hell it is. We lost three people from the distribution network in Alabama last week and one in South Carolina. We can’t stand having that many people picked up and questioned by Drug Enforcement. The exposure is too great. So far, I don’t believe they can connect us up with the small fry being arrested, but we need to tighten security at every level.”

  He pointed at Hans. “You got careless! Now they have you on their shit list. You were seen in a red truck, and again, here at the club, including the night you made that hit on the DEA snooper. This is coming from our contacts. You’d better avoid drinking at the bar for a while. Don’t let yourself be seen here or near any of the clubs until we know what’s going on.”

  Hans said, “Shit, someone must have recognized me in the stolen truck we used on that snoop. Who the hell would recognize me in the dark of night, like that?”

  “You’ve always managed to stay below the radar, Hans. Perhaps your getting old and careless. We can’t afford to have you picked up while pressure from Drug Enforcement is heading our way. We’ve lots more work to do. If my hunch is right, we have a fly in the soup here or one of the other clubs, that may be tying us to the street people.”

  “Hell, boss, nobody here knows anything about anything but what they themselves do, and what they do ain’t good for them to be talking about.”

  Marino said, “People talk among themselves, speculating on everything they don’t have facts on. Sometimes they get a little information here and there then, after it’s all added together, they have more than you might think.”

  “The girls all talk like magpies gathered in a cherry tree,” the nurse said. “They know much more than any of you believe. What they don’t know, they create from whole cloth, and spread it around like any other good rumor.”

  “Mack! You’re the bouncer, been here a long time. You know a lot about what’s going on. Perhaps some of the customers ordering up girls for off-site booty are the problem. Any ideas?”

  Mack cupped his chin in his hand, obviously thinking. “Not really, but something doesn’t seem right about that new guy who’s buying off-site time with Maria. Money’s not a problem for him. He doesn’t come in and drink at the bar any more. He drank like a fish for some time until he found out he could get her away from the club. I think he’s fallen for her. It’s not the first time we’ve had that happen.”

  “That could be. We’ll put a tail on him and see if he’s anything more than a lover boy. Sometimes those guys just make better customers. A good observation, Mack. Keep your eyes open for stuff like that.”

  The nurse spoke up. “Talk to the girls upstairs. They’re not stupid. You may be surprised at what you pick up. Also, you might want to talk with the girl in question, while she’s here on bartending duties.”

  “Good thinking,” Marino said, turning back to Mack. “Maria’s s
till here and it’s slow at the bar. Take her aside and ask her a few questions about her new boyfriend. Be friendly and find out where the guy works, things like that. Don’t take too long. I want to conclude our meeting here so our visitors can slip away while things are slow.”

  Marino stared at the bar monitor. “Damn, she’s good. The only men drinking tonight are all sitting in front of her and she has their full attention. It would be a shame to lose her over some lover boy.”

  Mack walked back into the room. “Maria said that guy, Grant, has a job at King Neptune’s Bar and Seafood restaurant. He’s the host there. He works afternoon and evenings six days a week, with staggered hours. I don’t think he’s much of a threat. Maria seems kind of sweet on him. He works late on weekend nights, maybe until eleven. That’s all I could get out of her, boss.”

  Chapter 22

  Samantha left the cool air of the medical clinic by the rear door, headed for the waterfront. The late afternoon sun blinded her momentarily. She stood in the shade of the overhead canopy long enough to scan her surroundings. She looked down the street. Heat rising off the pavement, reminded her of the morning weather report, Santa Ana time. A week-long high-pressure system plagued the west coast. The warm wind from the desert was even affecting the island communities. She called Dick. He should be there to escort her home. She had been paranoid since the attack in her apartment, and followed a carefully laid out security protocol prescribed by Agent Hunt. She routinely looked over her surroundings and nearby shrubbery before walking away from the clinic.