Long Buried Secrets: James Dieter Book 4

by Francis Joseph Smith

  He wasn’t about to go to a gunfight empty-handed.

  NORA FELT SOMETHING hot hit the right side of her head as she fell to the ground on top of Lana. Both Lana and Nora now lay intertwined, bleeding, both unconscious.

  JIM MANEUVERED THE barge into the earthen bank of the canal, about 100 meters from where the van was parked. He wanted to make sure the area was secure and Nora was indeed okay. He swiftly secured the barge to a rather large ash tree before making his way as silently and swiftly to where Nora should be waiting for his arrival.

  His arm was extended with his 9mm Glock leading the way.

  He had no intention of walking into an ambush.

  AFTER SEVERAL MINUTES Lana woke. For a split second, she wondered where she was. A heavy weight was crushing her stomach. She looked down to see a bloodied Nora laying across her midsection. She pushed her off and attempted to stand up. As she rose dizziness forced her back down. The last thing she remembered was something heavy hitting her across the head. Lana felt her head and her hand came away red. She then looked to Nora, her right side bloodied. Looks like we both got a blow in before passing out, she thought. But Nora looked worse off, possibly dead. She hit Nora a couple of times with her fist. No response. Lana had to get up. She realized the barge would be appearing at any moment. She used her machine gun as a crutch, pushing on it to aid her in standing. Once up, she held onto a small tree for several seconds to try and maintain her balance. Slowly she was regaining her motor skills. The canal was only 10 meters away. She knew she had to reach the waterway to look for the barge.

  JIM PUSHED THROUGH THE heavily wooded area the best he could. As he approached the Range Rover, he noticed a figure moving towards the canal, their back to him. Was it Nora? The trees heavy canopies and the approaching storm turned day into night, not presenting him with a decent enough view to make a determination.

  Then he noticed a car had rammed Nora’s vehicle.

  He eased himself out of the woods near the canal road. It looked to afford him a better vantage point. He searched for a possible second figure but could only view the one down by the canal. The figure looked to be leaning up against the Range Rover for support, scanning down the canal. Apparently looking for him and the barge.

  He expertly maneuvered down towards the figure, using the line of trees as cover, easing in and out to his advantage. He stopped to reassess. Should he try and call Nora once more? But if he did and she wasn’t the figure down by the river, would it alert them?

  He had to get closer so he could determine if it was Nora or not. Moving to within five meters of the rear of the car, he stumbled over something soft. First he looked at the figure down by the canal to make sure he wasn’t overheard. Satisfied, he leaned down and saw it was Nora, her head bloodied. She was unresponsive as he shook her several times.

  “I think she is dead, Mr. James Dieter,” said a women in a slight Russian accent. She stood only meters from where Jim cradled his wife; her AK-47 pointed at Jim “I shot her when she attacked me. I must say, she did not go without a fight. Now, please get up. We have work to do.”

  Jim softly kissed his wife, gently laying her body on the ground. At this moment nothing mattered to him. Not even his own life. “You are obviously here after the paintings. Why couldn’t you just be satisfied with just taking the Range Rover and its contents? You had to kill her?”

  Lana looked surprised. “Are you telling me the paintings are in the vehicle and not the barge?”

  Jim looked down at Nora, his weapon still in his hand, hidden under Nora. “That’s exactly what I am telling you.”

  “Get up,” she commanded.

  Jim rose, discreetly laying his weapon beside Nora’s body. “You can kill me now. Why wait?”

  “Who said I was going to kill you? I am under explicit orders not to hurt anyone.”

  “Yea, I noticed,” he said, pointing down to Nora’s body.

  “That was unfortunate, she attacked me first. But I can promise no harm will come to you if you cooperate.”

  Jim could see she was a true professional, keeping her distance so he could not charge her. Weapon at the ready.

  “Keep your hands where I can see them please.”

  Jim raised them a little higher.

  “I require you to get in my car and see if it you can still start it.”

  Jim opened the door and sat in the driver’s seat. He turned the keys and tried to turn the car over several times to no avail. He held his hands up. “Battery looks to be damaged. She won’t start.”

  “Keep trying, or I won’t require your services anymore.”

  Jim tried several more times, to be rewarded with a clicking noise in response before it randomly started, reeving loudly, a cloud of black smoke emitting from its tailpipe.

  “Back it up to the top of the road. No further or I will be forced to shoot you.”

  He turned the cars lights on in order to aid him; Lana also helped him with hand signals as he backed the car up to the road.

  “Now the Range Rover, please.”

  Jim walked down to the vehicle, its front tires precariously near the edge of the canal.

  “Don’t even think about it. You drive into the canal and I promise that your wife’s body will be so desecrated they won’t even know if it was male or female.”

  He now realized how a dog felt on a leash. The Range Rover started with no problems.

  Lana aimed her machine gun at Jim. “Just back it up away from the canal.” After 5 meters, she stopped him. “Okay. Out. You handled that too easy. I would have expected a little more of a fight from a former US Navy SEAL.”

  “What can I say, you took all of the fight out of me when you murdered my wife.”

  Lana looked back to the car parked by the road. She had just enough room to squeeze by. “Please, I require you to walk back towards the canal.”

  Jim did as ordered.”

  “Now step in.”

  “What?”

  “Step in until the canal water is up to your waist.”

  She fired a short burst at the dirt in front of him to help with his decision.

  “Okay. You don’t have to go all mad Russian on me.”

  “I don’t have time to play around. Now in.”

  Jim hesitated just a few seconds, waiting until she had opened the vehicles door.

  “In the water,” she demanded harshly followed by yet another short burst from her machine gun.

  This time Jim just smiled at her, “Check the ignition.”

  Lana felt for the vehicles keys. “You bastard. Where are they?” She demanded.

  Jim held them up in his right hand, playfully acting as though he would toss them in the canal. “And this is why I didn’t have to fight you earlier. I used my brains and not my brawn.”

  “Hand them over,” she demanded her tone not as harsh as before. “Or I will have no choice but to shoot you.”

  THE LAST BURST from Lana’s gun caused Nora to stir. Her cheek and head felt as if they were on fire. She reached for the side of her head and felt her wet, sticky, matted hair. Of course the blood being the cause of the wet part. She quickly realized head wounds always produced a lot of blood. She then felt Jims 9mm beside her. “How did this get here?” She tried to rise but her pounding head forced her back down. Nora overheard Lana’s demands for Jim to step into the canal and realized she had no choice: she had to get up no matter what.

  If she did not, he would be dead.

  For that matter, they both would be dead.

  LANA SLOWLY PROCEEDED to only a few meters from where Jim stood. “I know the canals not that deep. If you think that tossing the keys in would cause me additional heartache I promise you I will find them and you will join your lovely wife over there, in the afterlife.”

  NORA OVERHEARD Lana’s last comment. It was now or never. She tried to stand up, using every bit of her willpower, grabbing onto the same tree Lana had used earlier to steady herself. Blood was now rushing from her h
ead. She felt woozy, lightheaded. She had Jim’s weapon in her hand. She was seeing double for the moment. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it. She closed her eyes for several seconds; she opened them, doing this several times. After a minute or so, the double figures had disappeared.

  LANA AIMED THE machine gun at Jim. “Any last wishes?” she asked.

  Jim realized his predicament. He had only one option available to him. He mentally counted down before he attempted it.

  Suddenly, four rapid shots rang out.

  Jim dove into the canal.

  Nora managed to stagger up to where Lana’s body now lay, dead, firing two additional shots into her head for good measure. “Who’s the boss now, bitch?” she yelled at Lana’s dead body. “You should have made sure I was dead before you left me to rot!”

  Nora looked to the canal, searching for Jim, before scrambling to its edge. “James Dieter don’t you die on me!” she yelled, hoping she would not be rewarded with his body floating to the surface.

  She waited patiently, yelling his name.

  Jim slowly rose out of the water, first only the top of his head was visible, then his eyes. He was a good 10 meters further down the canal from where he first went in. He was obviously hoping to use the canal and its tree-lined banks to aid in his getaway.

  “James Dieter you better not die on me now,” screamed Nora. “You’re not getting away from me that easy.”

  Jim heard Nora screaming his name. Upon seeing her, he stood up in the shallow water, the water was only up to his lower chest. “Down here,” he yelled.

  He ran back through the shallow water to where she stood, a wide smile gracing his face. He struggled up the canals muddy banks, slipping several times, before he gained a foothold, climbing to the top. “I thought you were dead,” he yelled excitedly. “You’re alive!”

  Nora fell to the ground. “And I thought you were dead!”

  Jim laid down beside her, cradling her head in his arms.

  “I’m okay,” she said. “I think I might have lost a little blood. But the hell with me, I thought she shot you!”

  “Are you kidding me? I’ve had people aiming at my sorry ass all over the world. Each and every time they missed. Including this time. I guess it helped that I dove in the water. She didn’t expect that move. But let’s take care of you, shall we.”

  She squeezed his hand in acknowledgment. “I just need some rest.”

  “The bullet couldn’t enter that thick skull of yours.” He brushed back her hair in order to get a better look at the wound. He quickly tore off his shirt, using it to dab at the wound. “Keep pressure on the wound,” he said. “We have a medical kit on board the barge.”

  “Go get the barge. Bring it here and load the paintings. We need to get out of here before somebody shows up.”

  IN A MATTER OF 30 MINUTES, Jim had loaded the barge, buried the body of Lana, and set fire to both the van and car to get rid of any evidence.

  They were 10 kilometers up the canal by the time the fires subsided and burned themselves out. The wreckage itself would take two weeks to be found by hikers.

  CHAPTER 70

  Aboard the Barge La Belle

  Nora stood beside Jim in the barges wheelhouse, a white bandage covered the left side of her head. Luckily she didn’t require medical attention for her wound, just a good cleaning and ten butterfly stiches, followed up with a few Tylenol and a glass of whiskey. It helped the pain subside but she still felt as though a truck had run over her.

  But it was better than being dead.

  Daylight was beginning to break as Jim steered the barge down the narrow confines of the canal. With the aid of the barges single headlamp, he was able to put 20 kilometers between where they loaded the barge with the stolen art, and their present position.

  A loud whistle originating from the kettle in the barges galley informed them tea water was ready. Nora tapped him on the hand. “I have it, Captain,” she said, saluting him.

  “At least you know your place, crewman,” he said in jest. “My apologies, crewwoman.”

  “Did you want to wear your tea, or drink it?”

  “Definitely drink it,” he replied in a more humble tone.

  In minutes she handed him a cup of strong Irish tea.

  “I added honey, no sugar,” she said, “just the way you like it.”

  Jim winked at her. She smiled in turn. He noticed she was starting to regain her color after putting him through a fright.

  “Just the way I like,” he responded. “Here, I think its time you took the helm. Just steer her down the middle.”

  As Jim removed his hands from the wheel, Nora took his place. “I can do this,” she beamed. “First time for everything. Take a picture of me behind the wheel.”

  Jim took out his cell phone, snapping a quick picture.

  “Check another thing off my to-do list,” she said, a smile gracing her face.

  Jim kissed her on the cheek. “I had no doubts.”

  “What do you say I steer this baby until we reach our first lock, then some breakfast?”

  “Already ahead of you. Next lock is in 3 kilometers. So, at our present speed, we should be arriving in about 30 minutes. Just pull in before entering the lock and we can eat.”

  “Well just the same, I’m famished. How about you cook us a real American breakfast.”

  “Let me see what our French host left us, and go from there.”

  CHAPTER 71

  St. Florentine

  After four days of cruising, stopping at wineries, fancy restaurants, or just luxuriating in the beautiful countryside, Jim and Nora arrived at their destination a full day ahead of schedule. They returned early because Jim felt guilty with the two of them basically leaving Summer, Eian, Chuck, and Rahm to fend for themselves.

  “James Dieter,” began Nora, “you really know how to show a lady a good time.”

  “I bet you could have stayed out for a few more days, couldn’t you?”

  “Days? How about a few more weeks?”

  Nora tossed a mooring line to an older gentlemen who obviously worked for the barge company as Jim expertly docked the barge.

  Summer was waiting at the docks for them, the barge company having informed her they were coming in early.

  “WHY IN THE HELL didn’t you keep your cell phone on?” yelled Summer, shaking her head. “Jim, you of all people know you should maintain communications.”

  They had just placed their bags and the cardboard tubes on the dock when Summer confronted them.

  “Please, calm down,” said Jim, looking around at who may be listening. “Wait until we get away from this public area.”

  Nora ran over to comfort Summer, her now crying. “What happened?” asked Nora, hugging Summer. “Tell us what has you so upset.”

  Summer wiped her eyes with her shirts sleeve. “They killed Chuck,” she replied in a much lower tone. “They just straight up killed the man for no reason at all.”

  Jim and Nora each grabbed their things, Summer helped, as they walked away from the docks. They strode over to an empty park, Nora and Summer sitting on a park bench. Jim chose to stand.

  Nora patted Summer on her back in reassurance. “Tell us what happened,” she said, in a soft tone. “Tell us everything.”

  Summer stopped crying. She took several deep breaths to calm herself. After a few minutes she spoke. “Eian drove the rental car back to Bern early this morning, just like we planned.” She paused to once again compose herself before turning to Jim. “I didn’t sign up for this,” she said in a loud voice, pointing at Jim. “You said it was going to be an easy three-week job. Easy money. I could pay off my kid’s tuition.”

  Jim pulled her up from the bench, hugging her. At first she struggled to pull away, then she grabbed him in return, crying as she did.

  “It’s okay,” Jim said. “Get it all out.”

  Nora joined in on the hug, the three of them standing there, in an empty park. To anyone from afar, it loo
ked like a joyful reunion.

  She stopped crying, easing away from Jim and Nora. She resumed sitting on the bench, determined to finish her story. “As I said, Eian left with the rental car to return it to Bern. He picked up the plane soon afterward.” She looked to her watch, “About three hours ago, he called us before he left Bern and said he would land here in less than 45 minutes. So Rahm, Chuck, and I met him when he landed at the little airport outside of town. But another aircraft was already parked in front of the hangar. A Russian one. The only reason we knew it was Russian was because Rahm noticed the make and registration of the aircraft. It looked deserted, so we just waited.” She paused, looking directly at Jim. “They knew we were coming.”

  Jim kneeled down beside her. “Who knew we were coming?”

  “The Russians,” she replied. “Someone by the name of Sergei Liugo. He said something about being the head of Russia’s military intelligence service.”

  Nora touched the bandage on her head. “We already had a run-in with them four days ago. Or one of their associates.”

  Summer put her hand to her mouth I shock. “I was so distraught I didn’t even notice you had a bandage on your head.”

  “They took a shot at both of us,” said Jim. “Luckily, we are alive. But what happened to Chuck?”

  “We were waiting for Eian to land when the Russians emerged from the sole hangar. Five of them, each with handguns, walking right towards us as Eian is landing. They took up positions behind us. Eian pulled up beside the Russian jet and parks. When he exits the plane, the Russians gather us up and order us into the hangar. Once inside, they tell us to sit on the floor. And that’s when this Sergei Liugo fellow walks out of one of the offices.”

  Jim nodded. “I’m familiar with the name but not the person. I heard he is a really nasty person to cross.”

  Summer continues. “He walks right up to Chuck. Tells him to get up. Extends his hand to him. The Russian then took Chuck out of earshot. He shook his hand and with the other raised his handgun and shot him in the head.”