“Nah.” He shook his head and made a move to once again heave Daniel overboard.
By now Daniel was crying like a baby, begging for his life. “Please! Don’t throw me over!” He was pleading now. “I’m begging you!”
Donovan shook his head. “Why should I let you live?” He pointed at Lee. “You tried to kill my best friend.”
Lee crossed his arms as he waited. He was thoroughly enjoying every second of Daniel’s pleading.
He looked over at Carlos. The poor man’s eyes were wide with terror and his jaw slack. It looked like he was going to have a heart attack right there in the boat.
Donovan was in his element, clearly taking his frustration out on poor Daniel.
“They’re paying us $50 grand,” Daniel blurted out.
Donovan let go of Daniel’s arm so quickly he fell backward and dropped down on the bench seat with a thud.
As soon as he hit the padded cushion, he inched sideways as he hastily tried to move as far out of Donovan’s reach as possible.
“Carlos was right. We’re supposed to meet at the shack in less than an hour,” he blubbered.
“And both of you were supposed to be dead by the time we got there,” he finished.
Lee took a step closer. “Who exactly are you supposed to meet?”
Carlos spoke up. “We never met them. Everything was done over the phone. They told us where to find you and that’s how we followed your boat out yesterday.”
“Our instructions were to bring back a gold coin to prove you found it. After we knew the exact location, we were supposed to kill you.”
Carlos glanced uneasily over at Daniel. “They wanted proof. We were supposed to take a picture of your dead bodies…”
Lee was 99% certain they were both telling the truth.
He looked at Donovan. “See if you can get Marine Patrol. We should be in range now.”
Donovan nodded as he picked up the phone he’d taken from Daniel.
Seconds later, he nodded. “Yeah, it’s working.”
He quickly relayed the information to the operator on the other end. He nodded towards the shoreline, barely visible in the distance.
“Head in that direction. They’re on the way to meet us.”
Twenty minutes later, a patrol boat was in sight. The two boats pulled up next to each other. Donovan made his way over to the side.
Once the boats were secured, Carlos and Daniel were quickly offloaded onto the other boat and soon they were pulling away.
Lee shook his head. “I’m sure glad to be rid of those two.”
Donovan watched the other boat disappear in the distance. “Yeah, me too.”
He sat down hard on the cushion and shook his head sadly. “I’m just so disappointed…”
Lee couldn’t let his friend go on like this any longer. It was time to put him out of his misery.
He reached over and grabbed his dive jacket off the floor. He quickly unzipped the side pocket and tipped the suit upside down, shaking the contents out onto the floor.
He watched Donovan’s face as one-by-one, the gold coins landed with a beautiful thud. It was music to Donovan’s ears!
“I didn’t want those two clowns to know we were on the treasure. Eventually, they would tell someone else – probably sooner than later.”
Donovan jumped to his feet and pounded Lee on the back. “You jerk!” He picked up one of the coins and gently rubbed the surface with his finger until it shined. “You really had me convinced it wasn’t there.”
Lee reached down, grabbed a coin and started studying it. “Good. That means they probably believe it, too.”
“Man, I was so freakin’ depressed!” Donovan shook his head in disbelief. “But I get it now.”
Lee looked at the beautiful pile of old coins sitting on the floor of the boat. “I estimate about $90 grand laying in that little pile.” His eyes were gleaming. “And there’s a whole lot more where that came from.”
He looked up as he gazed thoughtfully out into the unending ocean waters. “From the position of the coins and the shelf being right above it, I think the tides and current shifted the ship from where it originally rested on the ocean bottom. I’m guessing part of it’s now wedged under the shelf ledge.”
Donovan nodded. “That would make sense.”
“So what’s the plan?” We gonna go take care of the alleged ringleaders once and for all?”
Lee tossed the coin on top of the small pile. “Absolutely. These people have caused me more aggravation than I care to admit. I want them out of the way no matter what it takes.”
While Lee maneuvered the boat in the direction of the shack, Donovan carefully tucked all of the coins back into the pocket of the wetsuit. He shook his head in awe. Today was a great day, after all.
Chapter 12
Gabby’s car slowly rolled to a stop in front of the shack. All three girls stared at the dilapidated building in disbelief.
Sam was nervous. “Are you sure this is the right address?”
Gabby swallowed hard. She checked the GPS then nodded. “Yeah, this is it.”
She slowly shook her head. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all…”
Deb had to agree. “This place looks haunted. Surely the guys aren’t in there.”
Gabby reached down to put the car in drive when she suddenly spied something lying on the ground near the door. “Hey, isn’t that a cellphone?” She pointed to the doorway. “Over there, right in front of the door!”
Deb and Sam stared intently in the direction of the door. Yes, there was definitely a cell phone on the ground.
Gabby turned the car off, unbuckled her belt and reached for the handle. “I’m going to check it out.”
Sam was uneasy. “Maybe you don’t want to do that.” She looked around. “This isn’t the greatest of areas…”
“But somebody’s gotta check it out,” she insisted. With that she swung the door open.
Sam unbuckled her belt, too. “I can’t let you go up there by yourself!”
Deb sighed resignedly as she reached for the door. “We might as well all get out then.”
With that, the girls opened the car doors and slowly climbed out.
Sam began chewing on her lower lip as she nervously glanced around. There was no one in sight. To the left was an old, abandoned boat storage building. The girls could see a couple really old fishing boats leaning precariously against the back wall of the old building.
To the right was a weedy, seedy parking lot with grass growing up through the large cracks in the cement. She shivered. This place hadn’t been used in years. What on earth would Lee and Donovan be doing here?
The tiniest feeling of foreboding was creeping up the back of Sam’s neck. Something was just not right and there was a pretty good chance something bad was just about to happen.
“Maybe we should just leave it, Gabby.” She swallowed hard. “It doesn’t feel right.”
It was too late. Gabby was only a couple steps away from the door and the phone. She looked around and then quickly scooped it up.
She glanced down at the phone and then held it up for Sam. “Does this look like Lee’s phone?”
Sam shook her head. “No, I’ve never seen that phone before in my life.”
“What about Donovan’s?”
Gabby shook her red locks. “I don’t think it’s his but I can’t be 100% certain.”
“Now I’m getting a bad feeling. Like we’re being watched.” Deb looked around. “We need to get out of here.”
She started to make her way back towards the car when suddenly the door began to creak and open ever-so-slowly.
Sam couldn’t believe it! They should be running in the opposite direction but Gabby was hesitantly making her way to the door.
“Gabby! What are you doing? We need to get out of here!” Sam whispered in a loud, terrified voice.
Instead of answering, Gabby just shook her head. She was now standing directly in front of the
door. She grabbed hold of the frame as she leaned forward and slowly peeked inside. “Oh really?”
Just then, Gabby let go of the wooden frame as she disappeared inside the building and out of sight.
Deb and Sam looked at each other in shocked disbelief. Gabby was crazy!
Just then, they heard Gabby’s muffled voice. “Hey you guys, get in here!”
Against her better judgment and with every bone in her body telling her don’t do it, Sam couldn’t just leave Gabby inside the shack. Besides, she had the keys to the car – their only way out of there.
The girls cautiously crept towards the partially opened door…
Lee carefully guided the boat up alongside the haphazard dock that was attached to the now-familiar rickety shack jutting out in the water. There was a car parked in the deserted lot, directly in front of the shack. A very familiar car.
Donovan looked over at Lee, concern written all over his face. “That’s Gabby’s car.” He looked at Lee. “The girls are here.”
Lee was confused. “I don’t understand. How on earth would they know to come here?”
Donovan was just as dumbfounded as his friend. “You got me. Something smells fishy…”
They quietly tied the boat to the side of the wobbly dock and carefully stepped out of the boat and onto the treacherous walkway.
They crept over to the side of the shack, making sure they were not visible from inside. Both men paused as they strained to hear any noises coming from within.
They could several muffled voices and they were women’s. Lee closed his eyes and concentrated. He could also vaguely make out a man’s voice. He couldn’t hear what they were saying but judging by the tone and the way the voices were rising, it sounded like a heated discussion.
As the men inched their way around the side of the building, they suddenly froze when they heard the man begin to yell.
They needed to get a move on! There was a good chance the girls were in grave danger!
Lee looked down, determined to make as little noise as possible as he gingerly stepped along the rotting deck boards. Soon, he and Donovan were less than fifteen feet from the entrance to the shack when he spied a large gap in the wall. As he lowered himself down to take a peek into the shadowy interior, he heard a woman yell!
Sweat began to form on his brow as his eyes slowly began adjusting to the scene inside.
His mouth dropped open, his eyes widened in disbelief! He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He whipped his head around as he looked back at Donovan who was crouched down right behind him.
He motioned with his hand to move! They needed to hurry! As stealthily as possible, they inched forward.
Donovan didn’t have time to have a look at whatever Lee had just seen but he knew his friend well enough to know that they needed to get to the girls – and fast!
They rounded the corner of the shack. The front door was now in plain sight. Lee pulled the gun from his pocket and quietly released the safety lever.
Donovan gently tested the knob to see if the door was unlocked. He shook his head.
Lee took a step back so that Donovan could position himself ahead of Lee and directly in front of the opening. Donovan gripped both sides of the door frame, lifted his right leg and with as much force as possible, kicked the door right off its hinges…
Deb and Sam hesitantly stepped inside the dimly lit shack. At first, they couldn’t see anyone. When their eyes finally adjusted, they were able to make out Gabby standing to the left, on the other side of the door.
They soon realized there was another person inside the building. A man. He was standing in the shadows but as soon as he saw Sam staring at him, he moved over to the window where she could get a clearer look.
Sam’s mouth dropped open as his looming figure became fully visible. Her heart was pounding rapidly and her hand flew to her mouth. That face. She would never, ever forget that face. Her mind raced to put all the pieces together. She stepped back until she was pressed up against the inside wall.
She was having a hard time forming the words, her mind numb. “I-I know you…”
A sinister smile played across the man’s face as he slowly nodded. He was savoring the look of shock and fear that was playing out on Samantha Rite’s face. This woman had cost him dearly. Not only had she caused him months of grief, she quite possibly cost him millions of dollars. He was going to enjoy the end of this cat-and-mouse game and once it was over, he would take great pleasure in killing her.
Sam looked over at Gabby. Something wasn’t right. Gabby didn’t look at all nervous or scared. In fact, Sam thought she saw a bit of a smile tug at the corner of her lips.
“Gabby, you know him?”
Deb finally spoke up. “She has a gun…”
Sam looked down at Gabby’s hand in disbelief. Sure enough, she was holding a gun and it was leveled right at Sam and Deb.
Instead of answering Sam’s question, Gabby glanced over at the man. “Let’s get this over with - will ya!”
The man glared at Gabby. “When I’m good and ready!” he snapped.
With that, he reached behind him and the room was instantly flooded with light. There was no longer any doubt as to who the man was.
“So it was you? All this time, it was you after the map?”
Sam could see he was thoroughly enjoying the realization she recognized him. That the pieces of the puzzle were finally falling into place.
He smiled evilly. “I look different without my uniform, huh?”
Her sister took a step closer to Sam. “I’m confused. You know him?”
Sam nodded firmly, never taking her eyes off the man. “His name is Jason.”
She continued, as much for her sister as for herself. “You remember me mentioning an incident in the hotel the night before the cruise? How I thought a man was following me so I went to the front desk and the hotel manager helped me?” She pointed at Jason. “He was the hotel manager. He’s the one that led me up a back elevator to my room to get away from the creepy guy that was following me around.”
Jason stepped forward and motioned the girls to have a seat at the small, wooden table. “Since I’m going to kill you anyways, I might as well fill you in on the whole story.”
The girls reluctantly pulled out the only two chairs sitting at the table. They sat as far away from Jason as possible.
Once they were seated, he continued. “Yes, technically, I was – and still am - the hotel manager, Jason.”
He waved the weapon in his hand in Gabby’s direction. “And this is my girlfriend, Gabby.”
Sam glanced at Gabby. She was obviously bored with the whole telling of the story as she studied her bright red finger nails and chomped away on her wad of gum. She never bothered looking up.
“I hired Michel to deliver the treasure map to an important client in Mexico. You already know part of the story – how he must’ve figured out the map was nearly priceless and decided to keep it for himself, smuggling it back into the U.S. inside your luggage.”
“But he didn’t count on the abduction in the jungle and getting caught.”
Jason paused, a faraway look on his face. “I did enjoy killing him.”
He looked back at Sam. “Not as much as I’m going to enjoy killing you, though.”
Gabby took a step closer. Apparently the nail inspection was over. “Can ya’ get on with it? I’m gettin’ a little antsy to get outta this place!”
She shivered as she looked around. “It’s givin’ me the creeps!”
Jason gave her a warning look. Gabby opened her mouth to say something else but apparently thought better of it.
“When I saw Michel in the hotel lobby that first night, following you around, I knew he was up to no good – probably going to double-cross me so I pulled a few strings and got Gabby and my sister, Beth, on that ship to keep an eye on him.”
It was all coming together now. Piece by horrifying piece!
He looked at Sam suspiciously, “
I wasn’t sure what your connection was so I made sure Gabby and my sister were at the same dinner table as you.”
Sam shook her head in confusion. “But how on earth would Michel know I was going to be on the same cruise ship that he was?”
Jason shrugged. “Simple. All he had to do was look at your luggage when you were checking in to the hotel. It had your ship’s luggage tag attached to it with your name, your cabin number. Everything.”
He went on. “All I had to do was have one of my contacts run a check of the manifest. That’s how I knew you were on the same ship. What table you were assigned to for dinner.”
Jason paused and almost looked sad. “I do kinda feel bad for my sister, though. She really had no idea what was going on. Just that I was looking for a map and I needed her to keep an eye on you.”
That look didn’t last long, though. He smiled triumphantly as he wrapped up his explanation. “And now that we’ve gotten rid of your boyfriend and the other cop, all we have left are a couple loose ends.”
He smiled evilly – “you two!”
Sam turned to Gabby. “So you were the one following Brianna and Jasmine? You were the one breaking into their hotel room?”
Gabby looked up, her eyes gleaming. She was finally getting credit for something. “Yeah. I was tryin’ to find the map. I guess I got confused, though. I got Jasmine and Brianna’s luggage mixed up and instead of searching in Brianna’s suitcase, I went through Jasmine’s.”
She looked over at Jason and smiled smugly. “But when I came up with the brilliant idea to plant the address in Lee’s truck that led you here, I redeemed myself.”
She gloated and added, “Lee and Donovan are out of the picture and once you two are gone, we can go search for the treasure.”
She paused as a thought popped into her mind. “Oh, yeah. We’ll have to get rid of your daughter, too.”
She stuck her hand on her hip, as if in deep thought. “But that should be pretty easy.”
Sam stood up so fast; the metal folding chair hit the floor with a loud clatter. Over her dead body would she let these two thugs hurt her daughter! She was going to put up as much fight as she could muster.
Tides of Deception (Samantha Rite Mystery Series Book 3) Page 9
