Sail With Me

by Heights, Chelsea

Cecily and Delaney turned to see Mike and Jake standing in the doorway. She wanted to crawl under a rock. Mike was laughing and loving every second of this. Cecily pushed him out of the kitchen and into the living room.

  She could feel her face redden and resumed making the sandwiches. Suddenly she felt Jake standing behind her, getting as close as he could without touching her. The warmth of his body was like a magnet and she refused to give in. His hot breath on the back of her neck made her shutter and she wanted him to take her from behind right there. She had no idea how he managed to do that to her. He stayed that way for several minutes before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her towards him. She felt his already familiar hardness pressed against her back as he whispered, “I think you’re wonderfully addicting and have an even hotter body.” She was speechless.

  Chapter Twenty

  Joseph studied the business card of Special Agent Jake Thrasher and his sidekick Detective Delaney Davenport before crumbling it up and throwing it to the ground. He used his cell and googled her name. Common sense told him the woman would be an easy target. Her address popped up along with her picture. He knew what he had to do. Locking his bedroom door, he shaved off all of his hair and goatee. He admired his new look in the dingy mirror hanging from a rusty nail in the wall. This place was a dump. It smelled like cat pee and the sound of mice scurrying across the floor at night scared him. The bed was a stained thin mattress thrown on the floor and his dresser was a cardboard box with fragile stamped on all four sides. A single light bulb hung from the ceiling with a long chain that had a crucifix hanging from it. He changed clothes and pulled the black hood over his head. The loaded gun slipped into the waistband of his pants. He placed a call to Chief O’Malley and explained the situation. He could hear the babbling toddler in the background. After listening to his orders he clicked the cell off and looked around before climbing out the third floor window and going down the fire escape. It was already dark, his preferred time to travel.

  Joseph waited at the corner for the New Jersey Transit bus. It was late as usual, and he fidgeted with the change in his pocket for his fair. When it finally arrived he took a seat in the back, isolating himself from the rest of the passengers. Four stops later he got off in Lindenwald and barely caught the train in time heading east towards Atlantic City. He watched the people and was careful to avoid making eye contact, keeping his hand on the gun the whole time.

  After forty minutes the train pulled into Mullica Township and he got off. He saw the junker car sitting in the lot, just as O’Malley had promised. The keys were under the front seat and after two attempts the engine turned over. His eyes scanned the dash for the fuel gauge. If he was going to kill someone he didn’t want to be running out of gas. Adrenaline ran through his body when he realized she was only two miles away. Joseph sat in the car thinking about how he was going from small time crook and drug addict to becoming a full-fledged cop killer. But what could he do? He had made a deal with Chief O’Malley over a year before. Joseph knew there were people with deep pockets willing to pay top dollar for a newborn baby, especially a boy baby. There was no way he was going to listen to his brother John and just hand over the baby to their mother. What had either of them ever done for him anyway? It was the same day John told him of his brain tumor and plan to kidnap a baby boy from the hospital that Joseph was arrested for drug possession.

  He was cuffed and leaning on the hood of the car when Chief O’Malley asked what drugs he was taking. Too high on crack to know what he was doing, he told the entire story of kidnapping a newborn boy to the cop. Knowing he promised his brother to deliver the baby to his mother, he went on to say how he devised his own plan to sell the baby on the black market.

  O’Malley thought about the situation he found himself in. He had been with his wife at the doctors when she was diagnosed as having a false pregnancy. The doctor had explained her chances of ever carrying a child full term were none due to her uterus being only a quarter of normal size. Becca wasn’t able to accept this and she was referred to a psychologist to no avail. She told everyone of her pregnancy, that she was having a boy due in July. Not knowing what to do, O’Malley buried himself with work, and even volunteered to work the streets just so he wouldn’t have to deal with a wife who had lost her mind. Seeing this as a once in a lifetime opportunity, he made a deal with Joseph. He would use his authority as Police Chief to keep Joseph out of jail if he would give him the baby. O’Malley threatened him that if he ever told their secret he would make sure he spent his life in prison as some gangbanger’s bitch. After demanding an additional five thousand in cash, Joseph jumped on the offer with visions of crack pipes and hookers dancing in his head.

  Chapter Twenty One

  It had been years since Delaney had fun like this. Being with friends was a marvelous feeling and it took her mind off of the case for a while. Jake backed the trailer down the boat ramp with Mike’s direction. She and Cecily played with Fetch and chatted about girl things. They would start laughing and the men would look over with curious expressions. She loved this game. Cecily told her about the wedding plans and was asking for suggestions. They talked about hairstyles and lipstick colors, flowers and photographers. Delaney knew it was going to be a fantastic wedding and she felt genuinely happy for her new girlfriend.

  They were all on board and Jake had just opened the wine when Delaney realized she forgot the cooler with their sandwiches in the truck. “Let’s do a quick toast then I’ll run up and get the food.”

  They all held up their glasses and Jake said, “To new friendships and women with great bodies. I love you all.” They laughed together and drank their wine. Delaney grabbed her Coach bag with the keys inside and leaped to the floating dock. “I’ll be right back,” she yelled and ran up the beach toward the parking lot.

  Jake checked all his gauges then hoisted the sail. The water was smooth and the breeze was perfect. Fetch was acting anxious and he placed his hand on her head and told her to settle down. Mike and Cecily were already on their second glass of wine and he was hoping she wouldn’t get sea sick.

  It took Delaney a while to find the keys in her bag. She promised herself she would organize it tomorrow. Finally finding them, she unlocked the door and grabbed the cooler. Heading back down towards the water she turned when she thought she heard someone say her name but no one was there. It must be the wind carrying their voices from the sail boat, she thought to herself. Suddenly there was a deafening sound, a flash of blinding light and then a searing pain going through her right shoulder. She felt a flood of hot fluid splashing down on her body and fell face forward into the sand. She opened her mouth to scream but the words wouldn’t come.

  “What the heck was that?” Cecily asked. Before she knew what was going on, Fetch had jumped from the boat and was running up the beach with Mike and Jake on her heels. Delaney lay in the sand, feeling a hot puddle form around her. Opening her eyes she could see a dark shadow crawling toward her. She tried to scream more, but only gurgles would come out. Suddenly there was barking and growling, followed by a heart-wrenching yelp. She knew whoever shot her just shot Fetch too. Closing her eyes, she hoped this was all a horrible dream. The dark shadow was getting closer and closer, dragging itself along the beach before reaching her. She felt the shadow lay over her, but couldn’t see anything but darkness. Then the shadow whispered, “Don’t move, someone is shooting at us, you have to stay under me.” The shadow was Mike.

  “Gun … bag …” was all that would come from her mouth.

  Mike dumped the Coach bag in the bloody sand and found her gun. She could hear Mike’s heavy breathing and what sounded like people fighting.

  Mike released the safety and took one shot. Delaney’s eyes started to focus and she saw the shadows of the wrestling men collapse, then said, “Jake,” as the screeching of sirens was becoming louder in the distance.

  “He’s down, he’s down!” Jake’s voice echoed on the beach. He looked at Joseph and saw the gun
laying in the sand. He picked it up and saw he had taken a bullet to the head, half of his face was blown off.

  Running across the beach he found Mike using his shirt as a tourniquet on Delaney’s arm. Jake fell to his knees and sobbed. “Wake up! I love you, Delaney!” he shouted and laid his head on her chest. “She’s still breathing!”

  Cecily was running up the beach now, yelling in her phone to the 911 operator. Within minutes every cop in the county was on the scene. Lights and sirens were everywhere and the New Jersey State Police were overhead with a spotlight shining down on all of them. Jake climbed in the back of the ambulance with her and watched as the paramedics worked on her.

  Jake sat in the waiting area for three hours before the surgeon came out to see him. Trying to read the look on the doctor’s face was impossible; he gave no clues to whether Delaney was dead or alive. He buried his face in his hands, attempting to hide from the potentially heartbreaking news. Hearing the surgeon clear his throat, he finally looked up. “She’s lucky. The bullet made a clean entry and exit. She’ll make a full recovery.” He let out a gasp, and covered his face in his hands, this time feeling a wave of warm love fill his heart. He had never experienced such raw emotion like this and it was overwhelming.

  The intensive care nurse took him to her room. There she was, the most beautiful woman in the world lying unresponsive in a hospital bed. “When will she wake up?”

  “I can’t give you a time, between the anesthesia and morphine she’s pretty knocked out. Try to get some rest, there’s a chair in the corner and a pillow in the closet.” Jake curled up, watching her take every breath. The low humming of the monitors continued through the night. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

  The ringing of his cell phone startled him and Mike’s number appeared on the caller ID. “How is she?” he asked before Jake could even say hello.

  “The doctor said she’ll make a full recovery. I’m waiting for her to wake up.”

  “Thank goodness. Cecily and I put Fetch in the bed of your truck and took her to the emergency vet hospital. The bullet grazed her and she’ll be okay. She’s spending the night for observation. Just let me know what I can do to help out.”

  “Mike, I owe you. You saved our lives. I don’t know how you got that head shot.”

  Mike spoke up, “I’m an ice cream man who happens to be a trained sniper; it’s called cross training,” and he let out a laugh.

  Suddenly Delaney started to wake. “Mike, she’s waking up. Talk with you later.”

  “I’m right here, Delaney, I’m right here.” He held her hand and brushed her hair away from her face. “You’re going to be okay. Joseph shot you.”

  Delaney opened her eyes. “I love you too, Jake.”

  Softly he pressed his warm lips against hers and whispered, “I want to spend my forever with you.” Delaney could feel her heart warm and felt a tear sliding down her face. She had never felt so loved before. Then she remembered Fetch. “What about Fetch?” she asked.

  “A bullet grazed her but she’s all right. Mike and Cecily are okay too. You’re going to be fine. The doctor said you’ll make a full recovery.”

  She looked up at him and said “Good. I don’t want my name on a bench.”

  Jake had no idea what she was talking about and was baffled. “You don’t know what you’re saying; you’re probably confused from the morphine. Go back to sleep, you need to rest.” Then he kissed her forehead. Her vision was too blurry to notice Jake’s tears.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Jake went through his briefcase and found the information he printed out on Joseph. Margaret Wu was listed as his only next of kin. He had no doubt she had Andrew. Her address was in Manchester, Vermont. Quickly he packed his bag and called Mike. Then he called the vet. Jumping in his truck he started the five hour drive to Manchester. Speeding north up the Garden State Parkway he made it to the New York Thruway in one hour. The highway seemed to go on forever. Stopping once for gas, he finally made it to Albany and crossed over into Hoosick, Vermont. He bounced along for another hour listening to the Steve Miller Band. He couldn’t take his mind off of Delaney and how he almost lost her. The whole night seemed surreal. Joseph must have been following them and waiting for the opportunity to kill them. He had to get Andrew back to Caroline.

  Pulling into Manchester he saw nothing but tourists carrying designer bags from the shopping outlets. They seemed to be everywhere. He noticed pedestrians had the right of way and they didn’t hesitate to walk out in front of moving vehicles. A couple times he wanted to blow his horn but decided he didn’t want the attention. Coming up at a stop sign, he turned right onto Main Street. A quarter mile later he passed the home of Margaret Wu. Immediately he noticed the swing set and sand box in the backyard. A white picket fence surrounded the red farmhouse. A little yappy dog was chasing squirrels and a blue swing hung from a low branch. Jake parked across the street and watched the house for several minutes. He used his cell to place a call to the local police department requesting back up. Walking up to the front door he could hear people inside, and the sound of a giggling child. Before he had the opportunity to knock a man stepped out onto the porch. He was young, maybe late twenties. He was wearing a mechanics suit and had jet black grease under his fingernails. The red stitching on his uniform said “Jason.”

  “Can I help you?” asked Jason.

  Jake held up his identification and his badge. “I’m looking for Margaret Wu. Is she home?”

  Jason gave him a perplexed look. “This is her house. But she’s not here. My wife and I have been renting this place for over a year.”

  Jake quickly asked, “What contact information do you have for her?”

  “Sorry, I’d like to help you but since her stroke her son Joseph handles everything. We mail the rent check to him, it’s a P.O. box in Jersey. I can get it for you if you’d like.”

  The door flew open and out bounced a little girl with a shock of black hair pulled into lopsided pigtails. “Daddy, come play in the sand box with me!”

  Jakes heart sank. “Do you know if a child lived here with Mrs. Wu?”

  “Oh, no way. She was a diabetic and was on dialysis. She suffered a stroke last year that left her partially paralyzed and she had nurses here round the clock caring for her. Her son said the second stroke was even worse and she can no longer speak or eat. She’s staying in a nursing home now. I just built this swing set and sandbox for my daughter when we moved in. The rent is cheap and it’s quiet here.” The little girl was now wrapped around her father’s leg and impatiently tugging on his shirt.

  Jakes heart sank. Using his cell he called off the backup patrols from the local police department, “false alarm” he told them and left it at that. Walking back to his truck he couldn’t help but think maybe Andrew really did die and ended up in a landfill somewhere. This whole thing just may be a wild goose chase after all. Dr. Wu carrying a bulky bag out of the hospital and returning empty handed less than three minutes later didn’t prove anything. He climbed into big red and rested his forehead on the steering wheel before calling Delaney.

  The sound of her voice was refreshing and he hated to tell her the disappointing news. She was getting her strength back and was transferred out of the ICU onto a regular medical surgical floor. “I don’t understand. I was certain Dr. Wu had kidnapped Andrew and gave him to his mother to raise so she wouldn’t be lonely when he passed. We missed something. I know that little boy is out there, I can feel it in my bones.”

  Jake felt defeated. Twenty-four hours had gone by since he had any sleep. All he wanted was to crawl into her arms and forget about this nightmare. “Delaney, he’s not alive. You need to let this go. I can help you find a good therapist for Caroline so she can begin to move on with her life.” He heard silence on the other end followed by the unmistakable sound of the phone being slammed down. Pulling onto Vermont US Route 7 he threw the phone and floored the gas.

  Delaney pushed the red button on her call be
ll and asked for more pain medication. Within minutes the nurse appeared carrying a syringe. “On a scale of one to ten, what would you rate your pain?”

  She hated this question. Twelve hours ago she had been shot and left for dead on a beach. It was tempting to ask the nurse if she had ever taken a bullet. Clenching her teeth, she said, “It’s a ten.” Seconds later the burning sensation of the morphine being pushed into her IV was a welcoming feeling. Listening to the nurse’s footsteps, she waited until she heard the door close before turning her head into the pillow and cried herself to sleep.

  Leaving the vet with Fetch lying across the back floor of the ice cream truck, Mike and Cecily decided it would be better for them to take care of the dog at Delaney’s house. They figured it would be more comforting to her in her own surroundings than in someplace unfamiliar. The poor dog had been through enough and deserved to sleep and recover where she knew she was loved. Mike found the extra key taped under the porch rocker like Jake told him he would. Opening the door he turned on all the lights and made sure it was safe. He wasn’t in the mood to take on any more shooters. He and Cecily didn’t know why someone would want to kill Delaney but after being interrogated by cops for three hours he knew it had to do something with Caroline O’Sullivan’s baby. The shooting was declared an act of self-defense and the cops were impressed with his head shot with nothing but the light of the moon and stars to guide him. Mike didn’t tell them he spent years training in sniper school and another year in Iraq taking out top wanted Taliban leaders hundreds of yards away under much more grueling conditions. He figured it wasn’t necessary and chalked it up to luck. Jake knew better though, and it was something that would stay between the Marines.