Caribbean Rescue (Coastal Fury Book 16)

by Matt Lincoln

I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. I had to resist the urge to take my eyes off the road and look around. The island really was beautiful, everything from the greenery to the bright blue of the ocean in the distance, and even the architecture of the houses was a stunning sight to behold. So far, I’d been using the car rides as opportunities to admire the view, but that was impossible when I had to focus on driving.

  “Hey, Marston?” Holm muttered as he leaned in close behind me from the back seat.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “You’re on the wrong side of the road,” he snickered.

  I flushed as I realized he was right and jerked the steering wheel sharply to the left so that the car would be in the correct lane.

  “Whoa, what’s going on?” Olivia flinched as the car suddenly swerved. She’d been staring down at her phone and probably hadn’t even noticed that I’d been driving on the right-hand side.

  “Marston was driving on the wrong side of the road,” Holm laughed. “Right after the guy just got finished reminding us, too.”

  “I got distracted with the GPS,” I smiled sheepishly, laughing in spite of myself. “Besides, he was right. It is confusing when the steering wheel’s on the left side. I just went into autopilot and started driving like I usually would.”

  “Man, I can’t believe you did that again,” Holm chuckled.

  “What do you mean ‘again’?” Olivia asked, putting her phone away and sitting up straighter.

  “Nothing,” I snapped back at Holm.

  “Come on, tell me,” Olivia urged him. “I can tell there’s a story here.”

  “There is.” Holm smirked.

  “Yeah.” I glared back at him through the rear-view mirror. “And there are plenty of stories I could tell you about Robbie Holm, too.”

  We spent the next twenty minutes bickering good-naturedly, and before I knew it, we were already back at the Kew Town police station.

  I felt as though I was walking into enemy territory as we stepped back into the station. We’d suspected from the beginning that there was something sketchy about Turner, but now that Morris had confirmed that the man couldn’t be trusted, I felt all the more anxious being in here. Who knew just how many of these armed officers were secretly working in cahoots with the traffickers?

  The same officer who’d kindly given us Frank’s background information stared up at us in surprise as soon as we walked in.

  “Oh, hello…” he muttered nervously before glancing back toward the corridor that led into the rest of the station. “Can I help you?”

  “We need to speak to Frank Johnson,” I replied sternly.

  The officer’s face paled at my words.

  “I don’t think that will be possible,” he replied. He looked around again before beckoning us forward with his hand.

  I exchanged a look of trepidation with Holm before moving toward the man, my hand ready at my side to draw my weapon if necessary.

  “The captain had arranged to move that inmate to a new location,” he hissed at me.

  “He’s what?!” I snapped.

  “Shhh!” He urged me to keep it down. “You did not hear this from me, okay?”

  He stared at us as if waiting for confirmation that we would keep quiet about whatever he was about to say.

  “Yes, fine,” Olivia replied hastily. “What is it?”

  “The captain had been furious ever since you left yesterday,” he informed us. “I overheard him speaking on the phone. He was saying he was going to move Johnson somewhere else so you would not be able to speak with him again. He told us that he was being moved to a different police station, but I know that this is a lie.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked.

  “The closest police station is the one in Grace Bay,” he explained. “My cousin is an officer there. I asked him out of curiosity, but he claimed he did not know what I was talking about.”

  “Morris would have told us if that was the case,” Holm remarked.

  “Why are you telling us this?” Olivia asked him warily. She must have been suspicious after what Morris had told us about Turner, and potentially his men, being corrupt.

  “Officer Carson is my friend,” he replied. “I know that what the captain is saying about you being responsible for his injury is a lie. There are still good police left in Kew, even if some people, like the captain, do not see it that way.”

  “I believe you,” I assured him. He’d helped us out before, and even now, he seemed genuine. “Is Frank still here?”

  As if to answer my question, the sound of several pairs of footsteps suddenly emerged from the corridor. I turned to find Frank Johnson walking toward us, escorted on either side by a police officer. Captain Turner was walking just a few steps behind them, the smug smile on his face slipping as soon as he looked up and spotted us.

  “What are you doing here?” he growled angrily.

  “We could ask you the same question,” I retorted. “What exactly do you think you’re doing with our suspect?”

  “I’m having him transferred,” he spat, his voice trembling slightly. “To a different station.”

  “Right,” I bit back sarcastically. Obviously, he intended to stick to the weak story he’d fed to the front desk officer. “On whose authority?”

  “On my own authority,” he snarled, squaring his shoulder and jutting out his chin. It was an aggressive, combative stance, and I knew he was on the verge of physically attacking us. “This is my island. I don’t answer to the likes of you!”

  “You don’t have to,” Olivia interjected calmly. “In fact, we’re here to help you.”

  Turner and I both turned to look at her in surprise. Turner’s expression was an odd mix of confusion and distrust.

  “As a matter of fact,” she continued, “we just got through speaking with Captain Morris down at the Grace Bay station. I’m assuming that’s the station you were planning on transferring Johnson to, is that correct?”

  As soon as she finished speaking, Turner’s jaw fell slack in surprise.

  “I… th-that’s,” he stuttered as he attempted to come up with some reasonable excuse. “No. That’s incorrect. He’s being transferred to a different station.”

  “Really?” I raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s weird. The Grace Bay station is the closest one, isn’t it? Why would you go through the trouble of sending him somewhere else?”

  “That’s none of your concern!” he snapped at me, spittle flying from his mouth as he spoke.

  “Actually, it is,” I corrected him. “Johnson is our suspect. Do you think you’re slick? You’re interfering in a federal investigation.”

  “Which is why,” Olivia cut in again, “we’ll be happy to transport him over to Grace Bay for you. He’ll be out of your hair, and we’ll have our suspect. And everyone is happy.”

  She was smiling, but the tone was anything but pleasant. It was obvious to everyone listening that it was closer to a threat than a request.

  “I don’t need your help!” he sneered.

  “Well, we weren’t really asking for your input,” I retorted as I took a step closer to him. “And unless you want us to start spilling all of your secrets, I’d suggest you stand down.”

  Of course, we didn’t have much in the way of dirt on him aside from some flimsy rumors, but I was willing to bet that Turner had been involved in enough shady stuff that he’d end up filling the blanks for me.

  “Is that a threat?” he growled. He was scowling, but I could see a hint of fear in his eyes.

  “Yes. It is,” I replied simply.

  We stayed that way for several tense seconds, each staring the other down until finally, Turner broke first.

  “Take him,” he muttered before turning to address the officers. “Hand the suspect over to the agents.”

  Holm moved forward immediately to take hold of Frank’s arm.

  “Thank you.” I grinned mockingly at Turner.

  “Shut up,” he grumbled. “Now ge
t the hell out of my station.”

  “With pleasure,” Olivia responded as she took hold of Frank’s other arm.

  She and Holm frogmarched him out of the station, and I tossed Turner one last deprecating smirk before turning to follow after them.

  “I’m being personally escorted by three federal agents?” Frank gasped in mock surprise as Holm and Olivia guided him over to the Impala. “I’m honored.”

  “Shut up,” I grunted as I opened the door to shove him inside. “I’ll ride back here and keep an eye on him. Holm can drive.”

  “Good,” he snickered as he got into the driver’s seat. “Better chance we’ll survive with me behind the wheel.”

  “I drive on the wrong side of the road one time,” I muttered.

  “Technically, that’s twice now,” Holm replied as he started the car, “if we also count what happened back in Scotland.”

  “Just drive,” I grumbled at him.

  “What happened in Scotland?” Olivia asked as she turned around in her seat to look at me. “Is that what you guys were referencing earlier?”

  “Yep.” Holm grinned. “Ethan’s got a track record of disregarding other country’s road laws.”

  “I do not,” I retorted. “Besides, it’s especially confusing here because the steering wheel’s still on the left side of the car. At least in Scotland, it was on the opposite side.”

  “Excuses, excuses,” he sighed teasingly as he pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the road.

  Frank was sitting still and quiet beside me. His hands were cuffed, so it wasn’t like he’d be able to do much in a confined space with three trained federal agents, but I still made sure to keep an eye on him until we made it back to the Grace Bay station twenty minutes later.

  “Come on,” I growled at Frank as I pulled him roughly out of the backseat. “We need to have a word.”

  20

  Ethan

  “Thank you again,” I said to Captain Morris as Holm, Olivia, and I took a seat in his office for the second time that day, “for agreeing to help us out on such short notice.”

  “Don’t worry yourselves,” he replied. “I told you to feel free to contact me if you needed anything. I just did not think you would be coming back so soon.”

  “Neither did we,” I remarked. “We were pretty shocked to discover that Turner was trying to smuggle him away.”

  “I wouldn’t say ‘shocked,’” Olivia scoffed. “Seems like just the kind of thing that sleazy guy would do, actually.”

  “I had my suspicions that he was engaging in unsavory behavior,” Morris muttered in disbelief, “But I never would have imagined he would do something so brazen.”

  We’d caught Captain Morris up to everything that had happened with Turner. He’d been shocked to hear that we’d caught the other man in the act of trying to hide Frank from us, and he’d agreed to keep Frank in custody until we concluded the case.

  “Well, if you three are ready, I’ll take you back down to the interrogation room,” he announced.

  I felt a sense of deja vu as the four of us got up and headed through the bullpen and into the short corridor that led to the interrogation room.

  “I’ll be watching from next door,” Morris informed us. “Just like before. He’s restrained, so he shouldn’t be any trouble. I’ll be on alert, though, just in case.”

  “Thank you,” I replied before watching him step into the little monitoring room just next to the interrogation room.

  For the second time that day, we found ourselves inside the interrogation room at the Grace Bay Police Station.

  I pushed open the door and stepped inside, Holm and Olivia right behind me.

  “Hello again, Frank,” I greeted him icily as I took a seat across from him, unable to keep the anger out of my voice. This idiot had set us up to be shot, an incident that had actually resulted in Olivia getting hurt. I was furious.

  “I’m surprised to see you again, agents,” he replied bitterly.

  “I’m sure you are,” I snorted. “Sorry, your little plan to have us taken out didn’t quite work out the way you were expecting.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he huffed.

  “Oh, cut the crap,” I snapped. “We know that sending us to Brown’s shop was all a ruse. He told us all about your old associate, Simon. Why don’t you do us both a favor and tell us the truth this time?”

  “Or what?” he sneered. “What are you going to do if I don’t?”

  “I’m going to make sure you rot in prison, for starters,” I replied. “You’ve screwed yourself pretty badly here. You know that, right? Assaulting a federal agent, conspiracy to commit a murder, and let’s not forget the man you shot dead on the beach.”

  “I didn’t do that!” he protested.

  “Didn’t you?” I asked. “You’re the only suspect we have. As far as I know, you were the one who shot the bullet that killed him. You really want to go down for everything on your own? Go off to rot in an American prison while your buddies get to keep living it up here on the island?”

  His jaw was clenched so tightly that I could see a vein protruding from his neck, and his shoulders rose and fell with every heavy breath he took.

  “Or we could just go find one of your buddies and have them talk instead.” I shrugged nonchalantly. “Brown told us about that bar on the beach up north. I’m sure one of them will be more than willing to talk in exchange for a better deal. Come on, we’re wasting our time here.”

  I nodded to Olivia and Holm, who both immediately understood what my plan was and stood up.

  “Wait!” he finally yelled just as I was standing up in a feint at leaving. “Okay. But what’s in it for me if I talk?”

  “A note will be made that you cooperated with the investigation,” Olivia replied as she turned around to look at him.

  “What?” Frank balked. “That’s it? That’s not good enough!”

  “It’s the best you’re going to get,” I retorted. “At least this way, you’ll control the narrative. There’s no telling what kind of information your buddies might spill. It’s up to you to decide whether you want to take that chance.”

  “Not like I have a choice, I guess,” he muttered bitterly. “Fine. What do you want to know?”

  “How about we start with that bar on the beach?” I replied. “You know, the one you failed to mention the last time we spoke.”

  “Right, that,” he responded curtly. “Well, it’s just as Richard said. The girls usually start working at around eight, right when the sun starts to go down.”

  “Give us the address,” I instructed him as I pulled my phone out of my pocket to jot it down.

  As he begrudgingly rattled off the address, I made a mental note to check with Morris later to make sure this was an actual address and not another trap.

  “Alright, so tell us about your boss,” I said after I’d finished making a note of the address and tucked my phone away.

  “His name’s Samuel,” he mumbled. “He lives in a big house somewhere in Cockburn Town.”

  “Do you have that address?” I asked.

  “No.” He shrugged. “Why would I?”

  “How do you know he lives in a big house, then?” Olivia asked.

  “Because he never stops bragging about it,” Frank scoffed. “Show-off.”

  “Do you know how to get in touch with him, then?” I asked. If he was around the guy enough to get annoyed by his boastfulness, maybe he would know how to find him.

  “No,” he grunted, to my dismay. “Samuel comes and goes as he pleases. Makes us all do the dirty work and shows up once in a while to collect his money and point out all the ways he thinks we’re messing stuff up.”

  “I see.” I did my best to hide my disappointment as I replied. “So, where do you usually meet with him then?”

  “Down at the bar.” He shrugged. “I’ve seen him around town a few times, too, but he won’t talk to me then. Acts like he’s better than the rest
of us.”

  “So what do you know, then?” I asked sarcastically, irritated by the whole lot of nothing we were getting out of this guy.

  “Just what I’ve told you,” he snapped. “I don’t know what else you want me to say. I go to work, I do my job, that’s it. I don’t have any top-secret information to give you.”

  “Alright,” I replied calmly, despite the frustration I felt. In truth, I was a little disappointed that Frank didn’t seem to have very much helpful information for us. As far as I could gather, he was just a minor cog within the greater system of the group. Ultimately, though, we wouldn’t be able to squeeze blood from a stone.

  “I think we’re about done here, then,” I said as I stood from the table. “Oh, and one last thing, Frank. These addresses had better not be another trick.”

  I slipped my phone from my pocket and waved it at him for emphasis.

  “Or I’m personally going to make sure you get the harshest sentence a judge can conjure up.”

  Frank sneered at me but didn’t say anything as Holm, Olivia, and I stood up and filed out of the interrogation room.

  “Well, that was anticlimactic,” Holm grumbled once we were all back out in the hallway. “After all the crap we went through with Brown and Turner, this seems like a big letdown.”

  “Don’t be like that,” Olivia admonished him. “We got the address, right? And now we know that Samuel’s somewhere in Cockburn Town. Even if we don’t know where exactly, it’s a start.”

  The door beside us suddenly opened, and Morris stepped out to join us in the hallway.

  “Do you think he was being honest?” he asked. “About not knowing anything else?”

  “Yeah, unfortunately, I do,” I replied with a frown. “He didn’t seem like he was lying. Then again, he’s already tricked us once, so I guess we can’t be entirely sure.”

  “Could I see those addresses he gave you?” he asked.

  “Oh, sure,” I answered as I handed him the phone I still had in my hand. “I was going to ask you about them, anyway.”

  He took the phone from me and looked at the addresses for a moment before frowning.

  “This is interesting,” Morris muttered. “Both of these addresses are on Grand Turk Island, in Cockburn Town. Cockburn is the capital of Turks & Caicos and the most densely populated town. It might prove difficult to track him there.”