What Lies Beneath: A Florida Action Adventure Novel (Scott Jarvis Private Investigator Book 10)

by Scott Cook

  Now it was my turn to laugh, “You fuckin’ piss-ant, scum-suckin’, punk-ass filthy fuckin’ dope pusher… I’ve already got it all. As of my arrival here tonight, your assets, your accounts and all of your holdings, including that secret Cayman bank account you think nobody knows about are frozen. Seized. By me. I’ve hacked into your life, homey and now I own you. Your phones, your utilities, your money, even your personal computer, which was, at least until a little while ago, active and hooked up to the web. I’ve downloaded every file in it.”

  Shantel’s eyes went wide and Walker seemed to blanch. It was subtle, due to his dark skin, but noticeable.

  “Bullshit…” Shantel whispered, looking at me in desperation and hoping I was lying.

  I shook my head, “I’m not just Scott Jarvis private investigator, Shantel. I’m also Lieutenant Commander Scott Jarvis of the United States Navy. SEALs. Even now, my intelligence people are going through your hubby’s files. Even now, we’re compiling all of the names of your ‘boys.’ Ever see a SEAL take out a target up close and personal, Derick?”

  “No,” He muttered.

  “Nobody has,” I intoned slowly and darkly, twirling my pig-sticker in the air. “Now this isn’t a goddamned joke. Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll undo what I’ve done. Don’t… and that ten grand in cash, should I choose to let you keep it… is all the money you’ll ever see again. I’ll destroy you, Derrick Walker. You, your business, your friends… everything.”

  “Who are you…?” Shantel whispered tremulously.

  “Not somebody to trifle with, Shantel,” I said not unkindly.

  “Come on, man…” Derrick pleaded. “You know what happens to me if I give him up?”

  “I know what happens if you don’t,” I replied. “You don’t seem to be taking me very seriously, Derrick.”

  ‘Okay, okay!” He blurted. “I get it, you’re a scary bad-ass mother fucker… but…”

  “Sharon Nolen is a friend of mine,” I said tightly. “And my woman was with her that night. Your two assassins could’ve easily killed them, Walker. And believe me, had they succeeded, I’d already be carving you into bite-sized chunks. Now fuckin’ TALK!”

  “He’ll kill me, man!” Walker declared.

  “Jesus, D, just tell him!” Shantel exclaimed. “It ain’t worth it!”

  “I’m giving you five-seconds,” I said, stepping forward and pointing the KA-bar at him. “And then we have some fun. Tell me!”

  That’s when the power went out. The rooms were suddenly drenched in blackness before a few emergency lights cleverly embedded in the kitchen and hallway ceilings came on. The light was very low, but enough to navigate by.

  The most alarming part was that I hadn’t set this up. So either Walker hadn’t paid his electric bill… or something else was going on.

  When Big Daddy started to laugh, I knew it was his card that was now being played, “That’s right, crackuh! You think I ain’t got a backup plan? You think my boys ain’t lookin’ out? It’s over now, nigga. You about to be carved up and you know what else? I’m gonna leave you alive just enough to watch me poundin’ this tight little Asian pussy right here! Yeah! Yeah…! Last thing you gonna see is her ridin’ this big black dick! Whatchu think bout— “

  If I had to guess, I suppose that of the four of us in the dining room, it was Derrick “Big Daddy” Walker that was the most surprised by what happened next. It didn’t last long, but his shock had to be truly memorable. Miko emitted a shriek of rage so ferocious that it must’ve been bottled up inside her for a very long time.

  The small woman leapt up out of her chair, threw off her robe to reveal a slim but athletic naked body. This body seemed to fly through the air, covering the distance between her chair and Walker in one arcing leap. As her unearthly shriek stretched out into an impossibly long animalistic cry of unbridled fury, I saw something flash just before she landed and with two hands, plunged something straight into Walker’s chest just as he lurched backward, oversetting his chair and falling to the tiled floor with the lithe body of Miko riding him all the way down.

  Shantel screamed and she too toppled from her seat, sprawling backward in a panic-stricken attempt to get out of Miko’s killing zone. The wife flailed her arms wildly on the floor, trying to gain a purchase but being too stunned and her mind too overloaded to achieve anything.

  As I moved forward to see exactly what had occurred, hoping that she hadn’t killed him outright, the little Asian woman, probably Japanese if her name was in fact her real name, leapt to her feet, up onto the table and launched herself at me, her long onyx hair flying and her large pale eyes wild. Her small breasts were covered in something blackish that I knew would be bright red in good lighting.

  She landed on me, her slim legs wrapping around my waist and her torso held a little away from mine. Enough so that she could press the blade of a small knife against my throat. I wasn’t totally caught off guard, however, even as her small hand came in contact with my neck, my own hand wrapped around her wrist. Part of me was grateful to notice that it was the flat of the four-inch blade that rested against my carotid and not the edge.

  “You take me away from here!” She yelled into my face, her yellowish eyes wide and still wild. “You protect me! Prease, Jarvis san! Prease! He bad, bad man! I kill him!”

  What the Christ? What was this? Her thick accent was either that of a recent immigrant or someone who perhaps didn’t have much opportunity to learn English from interaction in an English-speaking society. I think she must’ve seen the question in my eyes because she relaxed her hand and let the knife drop to the tile.

  “I come here two month ago as tourist,” She explained, now wrapping her arms around me. Her legs were already clamped around my waist with astonishing strength for a girl who couldn’t weigh more than ninety pounds. “On trip while at University. He take me… lock me up… make me… make me…”

  “Okay, okay,” I soothed, trying to break her grip and still keep my weapon trained. I’d had to drop my KA-bar in order to grab her knife hand. “I’ll protect you, Miko. For now, we’re still in trouble.”

  “I kill him!” She growled fiercely; her eyes were ablaze with a ferocity more than a match for the fear that tried to break free as well. She slid down and scooped up my combat knife, holding it in two hands like a Samurai.

  “He’s dead!” Shantel wailed from the other side of the table.

  I rounded it and bent down. Big Daddy’s robe was open and dark blood covered the front of him. I pressed my index and middle fingers to the left side of his neck. He had a pulse, but it was thready and seemed to be weakening.

  Shantel looked up at me with wide eyes that were a vivid shade of green, even in the low light. I scowled and shook my head.“He have brack dick… but not big dick…” Miko scoffed from behind me and then spat in Walker’s face. “Now he dead dick.”“Jesus…” I muttered to myself. “The hell did you do to this girl, Derrick?”

  Shouts were coming from outside. Some from the front and some from the back of the house. Big Daddy’s rescue squad. Unfortunately for them and for him, they were far too late. And I hadn’t misjudged. I hadn’t underestimated his resources. Because in addition to the shouts of men asking for Big Daddy and banging on the doors, there were multiple sirens approaching.

  The sirens grew quickly in volume and were joined by the rhythmic thumping of helicopter blades tearing the once peaceful night open.

  Big Daddy Walker was no longer going to be a problem for Orlando and the surrounding areas. His death would disrupt the drug trade in Central Florida. At least for a little while. Yet nature abhors a vacuum and someone else would step in to take his place.

  Yet while a small victory in the war on drugs, it was a defeat for me. Walker had left a vacuum, and in that vacuum floated the name of the man…Walker had said “he’ll kill me…” the man who had hired him. A vital piece of the puzzle had slipped through my fingers, washed away by the last outgoing tide of a criminal’s
blood.

  23

  I didn’t arrive on Sanibel until nearly lunchtime, thanks to my little adventure the night before. The situation at Big Daddy’s place was rather complicated especially with the addition of Miko. There were statements to make, reports to be filed and questions to be answered.

  Her status, not to mention her situation regarding Derrick Walker’s death had to be determined. Although I believed her story about being abducted and held prisoner, it just as easily could be made up. Her actual citizenship status had to be determined, then some evidence to back up her story had to be gathered and finally, there were questions about why she’d never attempted to escape. The Orange County Sheriff, the Orlando Police Department, the FBI and thanks to me, even ICE was involved. I wished her the best but couldn’t afford to stick around and see what happened.

  There was Shantel to consider as well. Now that ICE had all of Walker’s computer files, an investigation would be launched into her as well. She was his wife, and her story that she wasn’t part of his business was pretty flimsy at best. That and the question regarding Miko certainly involved Shantel as well.

  I arrived at the hotel just after noon and found Lisa and Sharon sitting at a table by the pool sipping beers and eating lunch. I kissed Lisa and pulled out a chair for myself.

  “What, none for me?” Sharon asked.

  I cocked an eyebrow at her and she flushed a little and cast her eyes down for a quick second. She then got up and came around the table to hug me.

  “I’m sorry I was mean to you the other night,” She said.

  “I’m sorry this is all so hard on you,” I replied, patting her gently on the back.

  Sharon sighed and squeezed me, “This is so fucked up, Scott…”

  I exhaled and shrugged, “Well… it could be worse. Least you got a hot date out of the deal.”

  “You’re a dick.”

  “So what’ve you ladies been doing this morning?” I asked, stealing a sip of Lisa’s beer. It was pale with a hint of mango overtones.

  “Bar’s right over there,” she said, pointing.

  “That’s true… but this beer is right here at hand… so why go to all the trouble of getting my own?”

  “You are a dick,” Lisa chided.

  “I’m the last to argue,” I said and gulped down the half of the beer that was left and only partially stifled a belch. “Ahhh! That was refreshing.”

  “Yeah, it was…” Lisa grumped.

  Sharon just laughed and shook her head.

  I stood, “Okay, I’m gonna go get a couple more of those. You two get your stories straight for when I come back… then I’ll tell you a little tale.”

  The beer that I’d appropriated was a local brew known as a Sanibel Sundowner. I ordered two more and a basket of hot wings and a side of conch fritters. I took the two beers back to the table and set one in front of my love.

  “Here you are, my dear,” I offered cheerfully. “Aren’t I a wonderful boyfriend?”

  “You can’t simply wash away your misdeeds with alcohol, baby,” Lisa replied cheekily.

  “Oh, well… guess I’ll drink them both, then. So what’s up?”

  “Nothin’,” Sharon stated. “We slept in, went shelling, took a ride around the island and now we’ve been hanging out and getting some sun. It’s like seventy-six degrees today.”

  “Must be nice,” I chastised. “Must be nice… well, I had an interesting evening and morning. Went to see Big Daddy Walker last night… yadda, yadda, yadda… there’s a Japanese student trying to get back home and Big Daddy is no longer a concern of Orlando Vice.”

  They both stared in bewilderment and I quickly ran over the details. The two women were shocked when I told them how I’d locked down just about every aspect of Derrick Walker’s life. Then when I told them about Miko flipping the fudge out and shivving Walker, their mouths descended to their widest apertures.

  “Jesus Christ…” Lisa observed softly.

  “Well fuck me sideways,” Sharon added.

  “Never cross the Evil Doctor Jarvis,” I stated wickedly.

  “This is getting crazy…” Lisa observed after she and Sharon stopped laughing.

  “Yes, quite a kerfuffle,” I confirmed. “Now after I enjoy this delicious beverage and my lunch, I’ve got to run over to Marco Island… to see your client’s adversary, it seems.”

  Lisa chuffed, “Man, this is one for the books, huh?”

  “So does this mean you two are like… opponents now?” Sharon asked with a wicked gleam in her eye.

  I shrugged, “I’m going to hear the senator out. See what he wants me for in the first place. If I get a chance, I’ll ask him about the Ten G’s. Just to see what his reaction is. What about you ladies? Gonna get any work done today?”

  “I’ll go see that Collier County cop you mentioned,” Lisa stated.

  Sharon drew in a breath, looked out at the ocean and sighed, “Then I’ll go with her to Uncle Rick’s place… his office and his house. There might be… a clue there someplace.”

  Sharon’s good mood had evaporated like morning mist. I gazed at her contemplatively for a moment before asking: “You sure?”

  She took a healthy swallow of her beer, “I’ve got to deal with this sooner or later… and while part of me wants to lock this crap away… like I’ve done for five years… part of me wants to know what the hell’s going on, too. Especially after the other night. On top of that… I owe Uncle Rick. He’s missing… no, he’s been taken and I owe him the effort.”

  “Why?” Lisa asked and then smiled thinly. “Sorry…”

  “No,” Sharon said with another resigned sigh. “It’s cool. It’s a long story but… well… Rick helped me through a lot of stuff when I was a teenager. Before that and since, he’s been more of a father to me than my dad ever was… although we haven’t seen each other much over the past few years.”

  “Seems like a good man, what little I saw of him,” I offered.

  Sharon nodded and blinked rapidly, visibly fighting back tears, “Yeah…”

  I didn’t like having to leave with things as they were. This whole thing, ever since dinner at my house a few nights earlier, was clearly taking its emotional toll on Sharon. I’ve never seen her tough lady cop veneer crack so often or so deeply. If nothing else, I hoped that we could resolve this for her sake.

  Marco Island is the last of the barrier islands on the Gulf Coast of Florida and the northernmost island in the Ten Thousand Islands chain. Although about twenty-six square miles in area, the island is half water, making it a boater’s paradise. It’s a beach vacationer’s paradise, too. For those with the means, Marco provides some of the most expensive beachfront property in the state.

  Evidently Senator Maxwell Thorne was one of the latter. His two-thousand square foot condo was one of three on the top floor of his building. The lavishly appointed three-bedroom, three bath unit offered all the trappings. Italian marble tile, Berber carpeting, crown molding, top-end stainless steel appliances and a balcony that commanded a spectacular view of the Gulf of Mexico and the brilliant wide strand of Marco Beach below.

  After being checked at the property’s guard shack, double-checked by the security officer in the lobby and having my fingerprints and photo taken, I was permitted to ride the lift up to my appointment.

  The senator himself greeted me at the door with a smile and what appeared to be a high ball glass of scotch in his hand.

  “Commander, welcome, please come in,” Thorne enthused. “Bear with me, I’m here alone this weekend. My staff is off and I’m having to suffer all by myself at the beach.”

  “From what I’ve seen thus far, it looks rough,” I quipped, shaking the offered hand.

  He laughed heartily, “There are worse prisons. Come on, let me give you the nickel tour.”

  The nickel tour ended on the deep and wide balcony that stretched from one side of the unit to the other and allowed access from the master suite, second bedroom and the living room
. A six top table and chairs sat to one side of the double sliders from the living room and a set of bamboo loungers and outdoor sofa were laid out on the left. Between the living room doors and master bedroom doors was a small but well-stocked tiki bar.

  “Getcha anything?” Thorne asked, adding a few ice cubes to his drink and topping it with a splash of ginger ale.

  “What’s that, scotch and ginger?” I asked. “Sounds good.”

  Thorne chuckled, “Got a nice twenty-year-old Glen Livet single malt. Just a splash of soda to balance it without taking anything away from this old boy.”

  Thorne patted the handle of scotch that sat atop the bar lovingly. I wasn’t entirely sure, but a one-point-seven-five liter of twenty-year-old whiskey probably went for close to two hundred bucks.

  I was in the wrong businesses.

  “To begin with,” Thorne said. “I want to congratulate you on that operation on Friday night. Very illuminating. I thought I was pretty well covered, what with four privately hired security men at my disposal… not to mention being on a damned military base.”

  “Well, in truth, that part didn’t help you any,” I said. “We had it worked out with base personnel. Not to notice us, that is. Kind of hard to invade your own base without somebody recognizing you.”

  “Still… an effective demonstration,” Thorne said. “We’ll definitely be revamping our procedures.”

  I made a show of looking around, “Then… why are you here alone, sir?”

  Thorne laughed, “You saw what you had to go through just to get in here. It’s quite secure, I assure you. That and I’m not one to put on airs, Commander. I’m not so important that I’m constantly under the threat of attack. Sure, if I’m out in public or something, some caution is warranted… but in my own home?”

  “I couldn’t say one way or another,” I admitted. “Yet Colonel Grayson did set up that op for a reason, I suppose.”

  Thorne waved that away, “As I said, it’s under advisement. My security isn’t the reason I asked you here today, Commander. In fact, as I think I mentioned Saturday morning, it’s not in your capacity as a naval officer that I wanted to see you. It’s as Scott Jarvis, Private Investigator.”