Mason’s eyes flashed with sudden, intense hatred. He was caught, and he knew it. ‘Think you’re pretty smart, don’t you, y’old coot? Well kiss my ass!’ His arm whipped towards the desktop and his fingers closed on the butt of his pistol. He snatched the weapon off the desk and aimed it at Roque’s head.
And then Mason was being lifted off his feet and letting out a garbled squawk of terror as Ben pinned him against the wall, one hand around his throat and the other twisting the pistol out of his grip with enough force to dislocate his trigger finger.
‘Talk,’ Ben said.
‘You kiss my ass too!’ Mason screamed.
Still holding him tight against the wall, Ben leaned close to Mason and whispered in his ear. Mason’s eyes bulged out like a throttled pug’s.
Ben let go.
Mason slid down the wall, all the way down to the floor. His uniform trousers were suddenly wet with urine and a pool of it was soaking into the carpet.
Roque stared in astonishment, first down at his deputy and then at Ben. ‘Holy crap, what did you just say to him?’
‘Over to you, Sheriff,’ Ben said. ‘He’s ready to confess everything.’
Chapter 53
And Mason Redbone did confess. It all came out, right there in Roque’s office in front of Ben, Roque himself, and four more officers brought in as witnesses. Every word was recorded as, weeping and snivelling, Mason admitted that he’d been involved with the Garrett brothers’ crooked enterprises for over three years.
He needed the extra money, he bawled, what with a mortgage and two kids and another on the way. In return for their backhanders he protected the Garretts by threatening potential snitches, concealing evidence of a multitude of crimes, and even helping to sell their merchandise for an extra cut. He’d never meant to let it go so far, but the Garretts had just sucked him deeper and deeper into the quicksand, until he was in over his head.
Yes, he’d been complicit in the Garretts’ plan to frame Ben Hope for the murder of Lottie Landreneau. Yes, he had tried to kill him that night, so nobody would ever question the narrative or suspect Jayce and Seth. And yes, he had personally kidnapped Keisha Hebert, her two young children and her stepson, and delivered them to the Garretts earlier that day.
‘It’s not like I wanted to do it,’ he groaned in misery. ‘Them poor kids. Lil’ girl reminds me of my own daughter Sarah. I told Jayce over and over, this ain’t right. After this, I’m done. Next time you boys need my help, you can include me out.’
What a performance, Ben thought.
Roque stopped the recording, looking at his deputy as though he were something unsavoury he’d stepped in. ‘Mighty honourable of you, Mason. Funny, didn’t seem that way just now when you were fixin’ to blow my head off. If this man you tried to frame for murder hadn’t stepped in quicker’n green grass through a goose, I’d be dead. He shoulda killed you that night.’
‘I’m sorry, Sheriff!’ Mason sobbed. ‘I don’t know what I was thinkin’.’ His head fell and the tears dripped from his chin. ‘Oh, God, I’m so ashamed.’
‘Believe me, Mason, you ain’t a quarter as ashamed of yourself as I am of you,’ Roque said. ‘You’re a dismal piece of shit, and you’re goin’ to prison for a long, long time. Know what they do to cops in Angola, don’t you?’
Roque turned to the other cops, who had listened grimly to every word of the confession and were staring at Mason Redbone as if they were seriously considering shooting him. Roque said, ‘Eli, Bob, Jacob, Carter, please get this no-good dirtbag out of my sight. Take’m downstairs and book’m for … hell, what ain’t we bookin’ him for?’
‘You want me to get’m a dry pair of pants, Sheriff?’ Eli said.
‘No, let’m sit in his pissy ones awhile.’
The officers were more than happy to carry out the order. Mason was frogmarched away in handcuffs, shamefaced and crying like a child and nursing his dislocated finger.
Alone once more, Roque turned to Ben. ‘All right, Mister Hope, looks like I owe you an apology. I was wrong about you.’
‘I don’t want your apology,’ Ben said.
‘Then what do you want?’
‘First off, I want you to let Tyler Hebert out of his jail cell.’
‘Consider it done,’ Roque said. ‘He’s a free man. And so are you, I reckon. All charges dropped. Under the circumstances, it’s the least we can do. Don’t go burnin’ any more patrol cars, and we’ll call it even.’
‘Do I get that in writing?’
‘I’m a man of my word.’
Ben nodded. He stepped over to the window and parted the blinds with two fingers so he could peek through the gap. ‘In that case, you need to go outside and say a few words to the crowd of reporters who are all waiting to hear the latest on my arrest and conviction for murder.’
Roque shrugged. ‘What you want me to tell ’em?’
‘Only half the truth. That I’m being released without charge in the light of new evidence, but that the murder hunt is ongoing and you have no other suspects at this time.’
‘Why would I say that?’
Ben turned away from the window and replied, ‘Because the Garretts will be watching the TV, and worrying that their prisoner exchange scheme has fallen apart with me going to jail. This puts things back on track. But you need to do it quickly. The sand’s running out of the hourglass.’ He pointed at the office wall clock. 5.06 p.m.
‘You really think the Garretts’ll kill a bunch of kids?’
‘No, I think they’ll rape, torture and mutilate them first, and make their mother watch it happen before it’s her turn. And I’m sure they’re looking forward to it. If they haven’t already begun. This whole thing is hanging by a thread.’
‘Jesus Christ.’ Roque gave a weary sigh. ‘Okay. I’ll go tell the reporters like you said. It’s a smart play. Then the Garretts’ll be expectin’ you to show up at the Big Q after all. Come nightfall, there’ll be a SWAT unit on the motel ready to pounce on them sumbitches so hard and fast it’ll make their heads spin. Believe me, by the time I’m done with ’em they’ll be more’n ready to let those kids go.’
‘Worst thing you could do,’ Ben said. ‘Jayce and Seth won’t be there in person. They’ll be sending a few of their thugs to collect me and take me back to the island. The moment they realise something’s up, it’s game over for Keisha and the children.’
‘Fair enough. So how do you plan to go about this?’
‘By striking where they least expect it,’ Ben said. ‘A surprise tactical assault right on their home ground. Garrett Island itself.’
‘You lost your mind?’
‘It’s got to happen while Jayce and Seth’s men are en route to the Big Q to pick me up. That’s when they’ll be at their weakest in terms of manpower and most off their guard, because they’ll be too busy thinking about how they’re going to chop me up in pieces and feed me to the alligators. The raid team will move in fast and hard, take out their defences and snap them up before they even know what’s happening.’
Roque suddenly looked ten years older and infinitely wearier. ‘I’m a year off retirement. I bought a fishin’ boat. I got grandkids. I’m too old to go gettin’ myself into a gunfight with a bunch of lunatics.’
‘It’s only the psychos like Jayce Garrett who aren’t afraid,’ Ben said. ‘The rest of us are human. I’m scared, too. And I’m becoming more scared the more I watch that clock ticking, because every minute that passes is a minute gone for the Hebert family. Are you going to help me, or not?’
Roque clenched his jaw and seemed to collect himself. ‘All right, goddamn it. Let’s do this. But let me tell you, that place is like a fortress. Surrounded by water, terrain thick as a damn jungle. If we’re gonna hit it, we need to hit it like it’s Iwo Jima. I’d have to muster every trooper in the state, with air support and SWAT tanks, the whole kit and caboodle.’
Ben shook his head. This was exactly the reason he hated bringing the police into this. They all t
hought the same way, like a hive mind.
He asked Roque, ‘How long have you been sheriff of Clovis Parish? Around forty years?’
‘Watch it, son. I ain’t that long in the tooth. Twenty-eight years next month.’
‘And how many hostage rescue missions have you led in that time? Let me take a wild guess. Around none?’
Roque shrugged uncomfortably. ‘Well, I gotta confess, there ain’t been much call for that kind of thing in my job.’
‘That’s what I thought you’d say,’ Ben said. ‘I’ve led scores of them. It’s what I used to do, and I’m good at it. But it has to be done right. No helicopters. No fanfare. You let the keystone cops go roaring in willy nilly with guns blazing all over the place, the way they did today, you might as well execute the hostages yourself.’
Roque wasn’t liking it much, but he bit his tongue and listened, frowning.
Ben went on, ‘I’ve seen too many kidnap rescue missions go bad because local hick law enforcement dropped the ball. And you know as well as I do that your lot are about as hick as it gets.’
‘All right, all right. You’re sayin’ you want to be on the team. I get it. There might be some way I can bring you in as an observer, or somethin’.’
Ben shook his head. ‘I’m not interested in playing second fiddle to an inexperienced commander. If I’m in, I’m all the way in.’
‘Now hold on a goddamned minute, Hope. Surely you don’t mean—?’
‘That’s exactly what I mean,’ Ben said. ‘I want to be able to do whatever is necessary to save those hostages and take down Jayce and Seth Garrett. For the Heberts to stand any chance of surviving, this will need to be done my way. Completely my way. Not only that, but I expect to be immune from any kind of comeback from what happens out there.’
Roque exploded. ‘You’ve gotta be three pickles shy of a quart if you think I’d agree to such a—’
‘You’re the chief of police, aren’t you?’
‘So what if I am? Not even the governor could grant you that authority!’
‘Then do it without his authority,’ Ben said. ‘Under the table. A gentlemen’s agreement between us that nobody else needs to know about. As far as anyone on the outside is concerned, I can be brought on board as a special adviser or tactical consultant, whatever you want to call it. I have more than enough credentials to make that stick. You remain in nominal command of the mission, but you answer to me. My call. No questions. Do we have a deal?’
Roque said nothing.
‘Come on, Sheriff. Make a decision. Do the right thing. And save your own skin into the bargain.’
Roque looked sharply at him. ‘How’d you figure that?’
‘Because if you do nothing, and the Garretts harm Keisha Hebert and the children as a result, that blood will be on your hands. And if that happens, I know what Tyler Hebert will do. Never mind a lawsuit. He’ll gun you down without a care for the consequences. The only reason he didn’t come looking for you after Grace stopped one of your bullets with her head was that he still had Caleb to think of. Take away his family, he’ll have nothing left to lose.’
Roque stared at Ben for the longest time. In a softer tone he said, ‘You know, what happened to Grace Hebert – I mean, I think about it sometimes. I never meant for that poor woman to get hurt. It damn near broke my spirit at the time.’
‘I think Tyler would have appreciated knowing that. The general impression was that nobody gave a damn for some stupid woman who happened to get in the way.’
‘I want to make things right,’ Roque said. ‘I truly do.’
‘Then here’s your golden opportunity,’ Ben said. ‘Just don’t take all day to mull it over. Murdering kidnappers aren’t known for their powers of self-restraint.’
Roque fell silent. Ben could see the wheels spinning so fast in the sheriff’s mind that he expected smoke to come out of his ears. Finally Roque relented. His shoulders sagged. He shook his head. ‘Holy jumpin’ Jesus, but you drive a hard bargain. All right. We do this your way. Your call. No questions.’
‘“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” Book of Proverbs. I knew you’d see sense.’
‘Whatever you say, Commander. Or do I got to call you “sir” now?’
‘No need for that,’ Ben said. ‘I never liked it much anyway. Now go and tell the world that Ben Hope is a free man. Then we’ve got work to do.’
Chapter 54
Things could still move fast in the Deep South. Within minutes of breaking the news of the prisoner’s unexpected release to the reporters outside the building, Sheriff Roque had finished hastily scribbling his sworn affidavit, detailing the witnessed and recorded confession of Mason Redbone and requesting an arrest warrant for Jayce and Seth Garrett on charges of murder, attempted murder and kidnap. The document was then quickly whisked off by a runner to the Clovis Parish courtroom for the urgent attention of District Judge Aloysius E. Claybrook, the man on whose signature the entire plan depended.
Meanwhile, Ben was laying out the details of the hostage rescue raid for Roque and writing up a shopping list of required items. It was a tense moment waiting for the judge’s decision. They needn’t have worried. Deputy Redbone’s confession was evidence far beyond reasonable doubt, and plenty enough to convince Justice Claybrook. Precisely eight minutes after the affidavit was submitted, the requested warrants were duly faxed to Roque’s desk bearing the judge’s signature, and the operation was formally greenlit.
While Roque got busy marshalling his troops, Ben had two reunions to take care of. One with his possessions that the police had taken from him when he was arrested, and the other with a newly released, very confused and deeply distraught Tyler Hebert. Tyler’s face was ashen and his eyes looked smudged with coal. Ben held him tightly and patted him on the back.
‘What’s happenin’, Ben?’ Tyler asked, his voice barely above a whisper. ‘How come they let you go? Where’s my family? Nobody’s tellin’ me jack shit.’
‘It’s complicated,’ Ben said. ‘All that matters is that your family will be okay. I’m working with the Sheriff’s Department to make sure we bring them back safe, Tyler. I promise.’
Tyler shook his head. ‘I don’t know what kind of deal you cut with them, Ben, but you can’t trust Waylon Roque. I told you what kind of man he is, didn’t I?’
‘He wants to do the right thing,’ Ben said. ‘I think he means it.’
‘Well, that’s just a little hard for me to swallow right now.’
‘I know. I’m not asking you to forgive him. But when a man wants to atone for his past sins, you have to cut him enough slack to let him at least try.’
Tyler heaved a deep sigh. His face twisted and he seemed ready to burst into tears. He gripped Ben’s arms in his big fists. ‘You’ll be there, right? You’ll make sure nothin’ bad happens to my family.’
‘I’ll be there,’ Ben said. ‘Roque’s not in charge of this. I am.’
‘What are you gonna do?’
‘Get them back,’ Ben said. ‘It’s as simple as that.’
Too bewildered to make sense of it all, Tyler muttered, ‘You saved my kid before. I have to believe you’ll do it again.’
Ben gently pulled his arms free of the big man’s grip, then clasped Tyler’s hands in his. ‘Go home, Tyler. Sit tight and I’ll call the moment it’s over.’ And don’t worry about the burnt-out cop cars sitting in your yard, he might have added.
‘I can’t bear to go home right now, without them.’
‘Then wait here. You’ll see them again soon.’
Ben left Tyler standing alone, and made his way to the War Room where Roque had said he would assemble his team. Ben had instructed the sheriff to gather eighteen of his most dependable and capable officers. Whatever that translated to. He could only hope his team wouldn’t consist half of wet-behind-the-ears youngsters straight from police academy, and the other half of grey-haired fatbellies who couldn’t run twenty yard
s without getting a coronary.
But Roque had done his job. As Ben walked into the War Room he was pleased by what he saw. The sixteen male and two female officers were lined up like soldiers, keyed up and ready to be briefed on whatever this was all about. The two women were trim and fit, one white, the other black, with hair scraped back from their faces and serious eyes and assertive body language that left no doubt as to their capability. The white one looked especially tough. Her face was lean and her hands looked hard and strong. No rings.
Judging by the looks Ben got in return, a few of the assembly were less pleased to see him. Others were plainly baffled by his unexpected appearance in the War Room. A ginger-haired cop who looked like he spent eight hours a day pumping iron grumbled in a loud voice, ‘Didn’t we just arrest this guy?’
The cop standing next to him, Officer Trahan, one of the men Roque had summoned to his office earlier, nudged him with his elbow and said, ‘He’s off the hook, Charlie. Mason Redbone confessed to the whole damn thing.’
‘Mason? You’re shittin’ me.’
‘Nope. I was right there, heard it with my own two earballs. We was after the wrong man all along.’
‘Holy cow.’
‘Who’d have thunk it, huh?’
The buzz of general astonishment died down to a quiet hum as Roque stepped up to address the team.
‘Listen up, people. Now, you don’t need me to tell you there’s been some mighty strange developments goin’ on around here, and I can’t go into it all right now. The upshot is, we have a serious hostage situation takin’ place at the location some of you may know as Garrett Island. Judge Claybrook just signed warrants for Jayce and Seth Garrett, and I mean to serve and enforce ’em just as quick as I can. Innocent lives are dependin’ on it.’
Roque briefly laid out the details of the kidnapping to his stunned audience. He managed to make it sound as though the suspects had abducted the victims in person, and studiously avoided any mention of their disgraced accomplice who was at that moment cooling his heels in a holding cell downstairs.
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