by Matt Lincoln
I was baffled that I was just now hearing about this. “So, everything that you own, or that you came with from Puerto Rico, had just been riding around in the back of this truck? How have you kept everything safe?”
“Oh, that was quite easy,” he smirked mischievously as he drove us through traffic with ease. “Xavier set the cargo area up with some state-of-the-art security measures. There are cameras on my prized possessions at all times.”
“Oh, that’s good to know,” I stated sarcastically. “So, now there’s video evidence that we’re hauling around murder victims. Great idea.”
Rosa rolled her eyes at me and signed back her response. No, the cameras are discreetly facing the other way, and I will clean the van out so that there’s no possible evidence of the transport. We’re not as clueless as you make us out to be, Header.
“Well, call me crazy, but driving through a major American city with corpses in the back of a truck does tend to put a person on edge.” I sighed, but they knew that I was mostly joking with them. “I’m just saying…”
Doc stopped and backed up to a very nicely painted white building with a roll-up garage door that had a “Melvin’s Fish Factory” logo decal on it. The spot was not as shady or creepy as I had imagined it would be. I figured that it had to be a warehouse or storage space of some sort, but I thought that it would be dark, dismal, and more than a little terrifying. In actuality, it was just a low-end warehouse district locale on the waterfront that looked like every other storage place in any huge city.
Rosa got out of the van and proceeded to unlock the garage door so that Doc and his truck could easily back all the way inside. There were no lights on in the vast space, and once Rosa lowered the garage door again and locked it from the inside, we were all plunged into the darkness.
Then, from somewhere I hadn’t noticed, Rosa switched on the breaker, and the bay was flooded in a cold, crisp, pale light. Doc and I both stepped out of the truck and made our way to the rear of it. Rosa joined us but continued on to the huge closet freezers behind us. The whole place looked like an old-fashioned butcher’s locker.
“And you say that a friend of yours owns this place?” I hesitantly inquired of Rosa. It must have been some friend.
Yes. I’ve known him for a long time. He checks out and then some. She smiled impishly as she signed.
“Okay then. Where do we start?” I was going to follow their lead, as I’d never been here before. There may have been an actual procedure or something.
Doc was quick to answer. “I would like to place them so that I can maneuver them by myself tomorrow. It’s far too late to examine them properly, and I will need to clean and disinfect them.”
He opened one of the huge storage doors, and even where I was, I could feel a drastic blast of frigid air. I was now able to see inside of the freezer, where there were at least six more identical tables lined up against the walls—a room inside of a room for extra security.
One of the tables was in use, and I believed that to be Declan. I was a little relieved to see that there weren’t any more bodies conspicuously placed alongside his. One set of bodies was enough for us to deal with at a time.
Doc wheeled out a stainless-steel table with attached holding trays for medical equipment and a trough-drain runner going around the entire flat surface.
“A full-service pathology table. Nice touch.” I glanced over at Rosa again. “Your friend seems to have everything one needs for your normal, everyday autopsy, Rosa. I don’t know if I should be impressed or horrified.”
Both, she signed.
I knew when to drop a conversation. “Here, let me help you with that.” I rushed over to aid Doc as he had already unlocked the back of the van and was lifting the first crewman’s body onto the steel table.
“You’ve already gotten Declan’s body ready, though, haven’t you?” I asked Doc as we placed the first body onto the table with as much dignity as we could. “I mean, as much as you can?” Rosa was holding back the door to keep it from slamming on us.
“Yes,” Doc assured me. “I’ve done what I can to ensure that Mr. Speirs’ body is as prepared as we can make it. Keep in mind that I’m not that kind of professional.” Doc raised his eyebrow at me, and it took me a minute to understand that he was referring to a mortician.
“Oh, yeah, I never thought about that,” I admitted. “Should we contact an undertaker, or will that be too awkward of a conversation to have?” There might be questions of legality. Although Claude might appreciate his brother being returned to him in a better manner, I didn’t know if it would be safe for my team to bring in an outsider.
Doc shook his head. “I personally don’t think it would be a very bright idea. The Speirs family might have some sort of customs or religious practices that we wouldn’t want to interfere with.” Doc’s statement made a lot of common sense there.
When it comes to deaths and funerals, it's best to leave all of them alone and leave it to the family, Rosa added as we placed the first of the men inside of the freezer. It was a strange and solemn chore, and we soon all fell into silence while we worked.
One by one, we placed all the crew members securely into the locker and then closed and latched it. Doc and I got back into the van while Rosa walked back to open the garage door so that we could drive through. She then repeated all the prior actions in reverse. Once she’d locked everything up good and tight, she climbed inside the van, and away we went.
The drive back to the marina was a quiet one, but that was to be expected. We’d had a long, strenuous day, and the next few days weren’t going to be much better. Doc did have one bright point to share, though.
“I do hope that I can count on all of you to help me with the move-in,” he announced, breaking the silence. “After all, isn’t that what friendship is about, in some small way?” He grinned as he side-glanced at Rosa and me. “Free relocation services when you’re called upon?”
“You know I’m in,” I assured him. “You don’t even have to beg, but I will require free food and beer.” I leaned over to let him see my serious face. “Want me to call on some extra help? I might be able to talk Eve into helping. And who knows, maybe even LaShawn and Cecily. They owe me big time.”
Rosa gave me an inquisitive look. How do they owe you? I think the ratio of saving each other’s lives is pretty well even by now, isn’t it? And since Detective Musik hasn’t arrested you yet, I’d say that you’re good.
“No,” I shook my head adamantly. “I technically introduced them to one another. It was my involvement, my actions that brought that happy couple into each other’s spheres, so I’m claiming it.” I tried to do that with a straight face, but even I couldn’t pull it off. I burst out in a chuckling grin and called it off. “I’m joking, of course. But they’re good people. It doesn’t hurt to ask, right?”
“Tempt all of them with free food and beer, as you’ve said,” Doc commented. “I’ll even throw in one free medical consultation if that can swing a vote.” He chuckled at his own humor.
Rosa and I got dropped off at the marina, as both of our vehicles were there waiting for us. We told Doc goodbye, asked him to say hello to Zaid, and then watched as he took off. Rosa looked beat, so I sent her home, offering to do the double-check on Wraith alone before I, too, went home. She was grateful and soon left as well.
I looked up to see that Lael’s apartment above the marina office was still dark and empty. He must have still been in the hospital, and I felt like I should do something nice for him. Not because he was sick with an infection, but because he was such a great help to me out here, and he’d gone above and beyond the call of the average employee with those fuel thieves.
I just didn’t know what an acceptable gift or gesture would be to show my appreciation for him. I’d have to put some real thought into it, that was for sure. I walked to the barn and unlocked the side door to gain access, where I found Xavier, hosing down the hull. “Hey. Didn’t expect to find you here.”
“Well, you three had to move the, um, packages, so I thought I’d come back and do a little clean-up of my own.” Xavier shrugged his shoulders, smiled, and nodded at me as if to say it was nothing.
I was grateful for his efforts. “Thanks. I’ll go get started on the inside.” I started walking to the entrance to the bridge.
“Already taken care of,” Xavier called out after me. “And please don’t go in there yet. The floors are probably still wet.”
“You work pretty fast.” Not that I was complaining. This was just unexpected coming from him.
Xavier turned off the power-wash nozzle, and I could suddenly hear him better. He had a very placid look on his face as he spoke.
“To be honest,” he shrugged, “sometimes I feel like I’m not doing all that I can for the team.” He glanced down at his feet but continued. “I mean, what I do is important, yeah, but you three have a lot more of the dangerous parts of any mission. I want you to know that I do understand that. It can’t be all that fun getting to dive for dead bodies and risking all kinds of life and limb injuries.” He looked back up at me, and I found myself a little lost for words at hearing this from him.
I took a few steps back to get on the catwalk near him. “Xavier, this team only works as well as it does and the way that it does because each of us is unique. We have, well, a lot of moving parts that can get clogged or broken or, you know, whatever at any given time. No one expects you to be a Rosa or a Doc, and certainly not a Jake Header. Your place in this team is just as important as any of us. Don’t ever think otherwise.” I reached out and clapped him on the shoulder. It felt a little weird, and out of place, so I broke it off quickly.
“But I’m a non-diver on a boat, Header.” Xavier shook his head and sighed. “I don’t even swim that well. I’m competent with a weapon, but that’s being generous. Sometimes, it just feels like I should be contributing more. That’s all.” He turned away, turned the power washer back on, and continued with his cleaning of Wraith.
I sensed that something else was really the matter. “What’s brought this on, Xavier? You’re never one to downplay your skills on the team, not in a genuine manner, anyway. What’s going on?”
He shook his head again and powered down the power washer. “I don’t mind sitting on the deck and running all the equipment and being the tech guy and the computer specialist. I don’t mind at all. Really.” He looked up directly into my eyes at that point. “But there’s more to this team now than a doctor, a nerd, and a couple of SEALs. I think,” I could see Xavier take a deep breath, “I think that I need to branch out and diversify. In regard to the team, I mean. I want to learn how to do more and be more useful. As a whole.”
This was a refreshing surprise to hear, and I smiled at him reassuringly. “I’m glad to hear that. You tell me what you want to learn, what you’re ready to start with, and we’ll get on it.” I didn’t think he was prepared for me to be so accommodating about it, though, as his face flushed a little.
Xavier just stared at me for a moment and then let out a shaky sort of breath. “I didn’t know what you’d say about that. I kind of thought that you’d tell me to stay in my lane or stick to what I was good at, you know?”
Now I couldn’t help it. I reached back out and placed my hand on his shoulder again. This time, it felt natural. “Xavier, I’m never going to tell anyone on my team to stop trying to better themselves. I’m sorry that you were afraid to talk to me about it. I guess sometimes I’m a bit unapproachable.” I didn’t need anyone to tell me that. I was a man fully aware of my many faults.
“I wasn’t afraid, exactly,” he replied. “It’s just that I know no one else would really want to assume any of the tech stuff, so I’m kind of stuck being the go-to man when it comes to that.” He had a sly, goofy grin that made him seem like a little kid sometimes.
“And you still will be, but there’s no reason not to be more than that, too.” I sighed because I didn’t know what else to say. I felt that I’d addressed this as well as I was able to. “It looks like you have all of this covered, so I’m going to head on back home. Unless there’s anything else we need to discuss?” I smiled to let him know that I was coy and lighthearted about that.
“No, I’m good. Thanks, Header.”
I left Xavier to his cleaning, glad to know that today was going to end on a better note than it could have.
21
Jake
There was a knock on my door as I sat at the kitchen counter having my coffee and danish the next morning. I got up to see who was there, and, lo-and-behold, I saw the beautiful face of Eve staring back at me. She was wearing her hair up and back today and wearing a red and white sundress that reminded me a little of a candy cane.
“Well, hello there, officer of the law. What’s new?” I teasingly asked her as I reached out to take her hand and welcome her inside.
Eve leaned up and kissed me on the cheek, smiling the whole time. “I thought that I'd drop by and pick up something that I’d accidentally left the other day.” She walked in, still holding onto my hand as I closed the door behind her.
“If it's clothing, it's probably in the dryer. I washed anything not in a drawer or hanging up when I got in last night.” I motioned down the hall to where the washer and dryer were.
“No, no, I think I got all of that,” she said quickly. “No, the other night when I came over with the gumbo, I had a package with me. It was wrapped up, and I’m pretty sure that I must have left it over here because I can’t find it anyplace else.” Eve started to look around my place, obviously intent on locating it again.
“Okay.” I’d help out if I could. “What color was the package, and how big is it?” I began to search in the kitchen drawers and cabinets for something I wouldn’t recognize as my own.
“Um, it was brown, a dark brown color. About the size of a shoebox but much flatter. Does that help?” Eve didn’t want to be rude. I could tell by the fact that she was only looking at things and not going through them as I was. It was going to be hard to find with such a cursory glance.
“I don’t think that I have much to hide, so feel free to open things up and hunt for the package. You know it better than I would.” I smirked at her cheerfully and continued rummaging through the kitchen. “What is it anyway? Can’t be too important if you’re just now missing it.”
“Um, well, yeah, it's kind of important.” Eve’s voice dropped and got kind of insignificant. I looked back over at her, but she didn’t meet my eyes. She did explain more, though. “It was a job package for a position here in Miami. I wasn’t all that interested, but I figured that I needed to look it over, anyway. Just in case.”
That was a game-changer. “Wait, are you saying that you’re thinking of relocating here to Miami?” I was a little surprised by this news. It seemed out of place and sudden for her.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Eve tried to make it sound superficial as she looked my way. “I mean, I’m looking at a lot of different places and positions. I just thought, you and…” Eve’s voice trailed off, and she turned away from me. “As I said, I just want to look it over and see what the offer is.” She started to make a mad dash now, desperate to find it and get out. She seemed embarrassed by both of our reactions.
And I was not helping matters by not having a good response to this. There was a glowering and uncomfortable tension that I was unsure how to fix. Luckily, I didn’t have to.
“Here it is!” Eve called out over by the coffee table in the living area. “Got it. And now, I’ll just be on my way.” I didn’t think I’d ever seen her move so fast toward my front door. “Thanks, Jake. I’ll see you later, okay?” She was out the door and gone before I could say anything else, let alone move closer to kiss her goodbye.
I mumbled under my breath, swearing a little. I knew that I had just blown one hell of a chance. I was usually great under pressure, but when it came to the women in my life, I didn’t seem to have the same clarity that all of my other decisions
were made on.
Maybe I should have texted or called Eve after this minor disaster, or I guessed that I could have gone after her, but I wasn’t sure that was what either of us really wanted. I needed to figure that out before making any more huge changes in my life.
I thought maybe it was time for a change of pace to get out of my own headspace. I needed a little conversation with a man I could trust not to lead me astray and to hear me out. I pulled out my cell and texted LaShawn Spindle, my old buddy that lived here in Miami.
‘Hey, if you’re not too busy, I’d like to come by and catch up with you. Let me know ASAP.’
That was brief and to the point, I thought, just like him. I waited for a minute to see if there was going to be a quick response. Sure enough, I got one.
‘Come on over now.’
I sighed in relief. That was just what I’d wanted to hear.
LaShawn was still living in the same apartment complex that he had been in, but he’d moved into a bigger unit and now had a roommate of sorts. He and Cecily had been moving super-fast in their relationship, but that was their own business. They’d moved in with each other less than a month after meeting, but it seemed to be working for them.
Privately, I was concerned, although I really liked her. Being a detective with the MPD, she became a trusted contact now within that organization, but I’d known LaShawn since our SEAL training days, and I was always going to be a little protective of him.
I headed for the new apartment, now down on the second floor. I knocked loudly, as I could hear some old-school reggae playing on the other side of the door. But after my knock, that went silent quickly. The door opened to Cecily, with her red-framed glasses, a new hairdo, and one of LaShawn’s Edler Community Center shirts. Her eyes shone, and her smile was welcoming.
