On the Hunt

by SUE FINEMAN

Mia walked downstairs and went back to her arrest records. One by one, she closed her eyes and visualized the arrest, the surroundings, and the people. By the time she’d gone through them all, she’d eliminated most of them, all but the arrests she’d made in Assad’s strip club. Something nagged at her, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

  <>

  Two hours later, a ringing phone woke Dave. He sat up and answered it. “Montgomery.”

  “What in the hell are you doing in my sister’s room?” Greg sounded angry.

  “Sleeping.” Dave hung up. Let him think what he wanted. Knowing Greg, he’d take a few days off to come out here and cause trouble. As if they didn’t have enough trouble already.

  Dave stretched a little. His shoulder and neck felt a whole lot better than they had this morning. Mia had magic fingers.

  The phone rang again and it was still ringing when he pulled the door closed and walked downstairs.

  Stipes called, “Hey, boss. Have a nice rest?”

  Mia twisted around to face Dave. She sat at Stipes’ bedside again. Fighting a surge of jealousy, Dave walked over. “How are you doing, Stipes?”

  Mia answered for him. “The swelling is down in his foot. He’s going to be okay. What about you? Is your shoulder any better?”

  “Much better. You had another phone call from Greg. He wanted to know what I was doing sleeping in your room.”

  “And you hung up on him,” said Stipes. It wasn’t a question. The statement showed how well Dave’s men knew him.

  “How long do we have before my brother makes an appearance?” Mia looked up at Dave. “He is coming, isn’t he?”

  “He didn’t say so, but knowing Greg—”

  “Then I’d better go clean my gun.” She stood and walked away. Stipes laughed so hard the bed shook.

  “Shut up,” said Dave. He turned to walk away.

  “Hold up a minute,” said Stipes. “We have the phone records from the Edwards house. Looks like they had a call from Vegas around the time we believe Nadine Lynderman died.”

  Dave dropped into the chair Mia had just left. The seat was still warm. “I know Edwin Edwards from somewhere. I can’t put my finger on it right now, but I know I’ve seen him before.”

  “Recently?”

  “No.”

  “What’s his wife like?”

  “She’s an alcoholic, and she let her husband call her daughter a slut. Her only child is dead, and she didn’t blink an eye.”

  “Kowalski said the same thing.” Stipes raised the head of his bed. “When Kowalski told them they’d found the body, her mother didn’t cry and her stepfather didn’t even blink. Her mother had to have a drink, but she didn’t cry. Does that tell you anything?”

  “Yeah. They already knew she was dead.”

  Stipes nodded. “Whether they did it themselves or someone else did, they already knew.”

  Mia walked up behind Dave and put her warm hand on his neck. Pushing her thumb on one spot for a few seconds, she said, “There it goes. That’s the one I couldn’t get earlier.” Both hands gently rubbed his neck and shoulders, bringing warmth and comfort.

  Kowalski called, “They found the house.”

  “Where?” asked Dave.

  “About an hour outside Vegas. No roads, but there’s an airstrip.”

  “I have four seats in my plane. Kowalski?”

  “I’m in. How ‘bout if we take Ken Knight along? His face should get us inside.”

  “Excellent idea.”

  Stipes pinned Dave in a stare and Dave got the point. He couldn’t leave her behind even though it broke every rule in the book. “Mia? Are you up for more action?”

  Her eyes widened. “You want me along?”

  “It could be dangerous.”

  Her eyes lit with excitement. “How soon do we leave?”

  “Not until morning,” said Kowalski. “We need to get our people in place and figure out how we’re going in.”

  “Plane trouble,” said Mia. “We had to land. And what about... Oh... sorry... You guys know what you’re doing. I’ll shut up now.”

  “Speak up.” Dave gave her a come-out-with-it sign. “What about what?”

  “Clothes. When they found Meredith and the other girls, what were they wearing?”

  Dave jumped out of his chair and gave her a loud smack on the lips. “You’re a genius.”

  “And you’re just figuring that out?”

  Over the next few hours, the Four Leaf Clover hummed with activity. Mrs. Ayers brought her sewing machine and set it up in the back room, so she could do the alterations on the clothes Meredith brought over. As Mrs. Ayers worked on the clothes, Meredith gave Mia pointers on how to behave.

  Dave sent someone to Mia’s apartment to get the things on the list she gave them, and Kowalski had the phone glued to his ear for the rest of the day.

  They’d finally gotten the break they needed. With some good planning and a lot of luck, they could rescue the other girls and return them safely to their families.

  At ten that evening, Mia tried her costume on. The belly dancing clothes went on first, with Meredith’s robe and scarves over top. Kowalski took the belly button jewel and carved out the paste in the back so he could add a tiny microphone. Mia stuck it in place and went into the other room to test it. She couldn’t hear Dave, but he heard her loud and clear.

  She walked back into the game room muttering, “I hope I remember how to do this.”

  “How to do what?”

  “Belly dance.”

  “Well, hey,” said Stipes. “You can practice on me.”

  Dave plugged a CD into her player and watched her shed her robe and put on the finger cymbals. As she began to dance, Dave stared at the beautiful, sexy woman and the sensuous dance. She moved like an angel and a vixen wrapped together in one delightfully provocative package. Mia had every man in the room under her spell.

  He turned off the CD, ending the dance. “Unless those guards are eunuchs, you’ll have them spellbound.”

  “She will anyway,” said Stipes. “Mia, honey, will you marry me?”

  Sounds of laughter filled the room, the release they all needed. The level of tension in the room had risen as they prepared for their mission to the desert.

  Dave needed another night of rest before he went into action again. Bouncing down the mountain had left him in less than top form. Mia needed another night, too. Another bump on the head and she’d end up in the hospital again.

  Taking her into that house was risky, but having a woman along would give them a reason to be there. And if he left her behind again, she’d never forgive him.

  <>

  The phone woke Dave just before dawn. He sat on the side of his bed, the sheet pulled over his lap. Murphy, one of the agents who’d recently arrived in Clover Hills, said, “The bartender tried to kill the police chief. Ken Knight is at the hospital with throat injuries.”

  “Aw, shit.” Back to the drawing board. They couldn’t take Knight with them this morning. “I’ll be down in twenty minutes.” He hung up, swearing to himself.

  “Dave?”

  He looked up. “I didn’t mean to wake you, Mia.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “One prisoner tried to kill the other. “

  She put her hands on his shoulders and he leaned into her breasts. It felt so good with her stroking his head and neck and shoulders.

  “We’ll go without him.”

  “He was our ticket inside, Mia.”

  “Was he? Has he ever been there? Does he know how to get in? Do the guards know him?”

  Wrapping his arms around her, he nuzzled in closer. “Mmm, nice. Does this mean you’ve forgiven me?”

  “It means I’m not angry anymore, but it doesn’t mean I’ll sleep with you again.”

  At six in the morning, every FBI agent in Clover Hills milled about in the game room. Kowalski and Mia sat with Dave at Stipes’ bedside, eating breakfast and talking about how to handle t
hings at the house. When they finished eating, Mia carried the tray back to the kitchen, but Greg blocked the door.

  She pushed the tray against him. “Get away from me, Greg. Leave me alone.”

  “Come on, sis. I’m worried about you.”

  “Bug off, Greg. Get lost.”

  Greg walked over to talk with Stipes, and Mia leaned close to Dave. “If you don’t stop clenching your jaw, your neck and shoulder will never heal.”

  “Did you clean your gun?”

  A little laugh snuck out of her and he smiled. “Shall we give him something to think about?” Dave took the tray from her hands and set it on a table, and then dipped his head to taste Mia’s lips, gently at first, and then not so gently. She opened to him and wrapped her arms around his chest and back while he kissed her thoroughly. Someone whistled and others hooted, and Dave didn’t care. It didn’t matter that they were going into a dangerous operation, that Greg came to break up his sister’s romance, or that everyone stood around watching them. All that mattered was this woman and this moment.

  Dave ended the kiss and held her close, whispering, “I’m sorry, honey. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “I know.”

  She’d forgiven him, but was that enough? No, not for him. The more time he spent with Mia, the more he wanted the house with the white picket fence, the two-point-five little monsters, a friendly dog, and everything else that came with happily ever after. He’d dated a lot of women over the years, but none he wanted to keep by his side forever. None except Mia.

  She pulled back. He wanted to tell her he loved her, but it would have to wait until they had time to talk of personal things, time to make plans for the future.

  “Are you finished slobbering all over my sister?” Greg sounded disgusted.

  Dave didn’t understand why his best friend didn’t want him with his sister, but if Greg pushed him to make him choose between them, he had a surprise coming. Losing Greg as a friend would leave a big hole in his life, but he wouldn’t let anyone ruin his relationship with Mia. Not again.

  “Ignore him,” said Mia. “No fighting. You have a plane to fly this morning, and I don’t want a pilot with a broken arm.”

  “You think he’d break my arm?”

  She cocked her head. “What do you think?”

  He took a deep breath and blew it out. “I think I’d better find a sharpshooter to take along.”

  “I’ll go in Mia’s place,” said Greg.

  This time Dave turned to face him. “I don’t think your hairy body would look the same as hers in her costume. Do you belly dance, Greg?”

  Nervous laughter broke out in the room, but Greg had a stubborn streak a block wide. “Then I’ll go in place of the police chief. Send someone to his house for a uniform.”

  Mia spoke softly to Dave. “It might work, and I don’t know anyone who’s a better shot. The question is whether you can work with him.”

  “We’ve worked together before, Mia. All the personal stuff has to be pushed aside when you’re on an operation.”

  “You’re talking about us?”

  He nodded. “We have to focus on the goal – getting those girls out. That’s primary.”

  She patted his chest. “Go make nice with Greg so we can get this show on the road.”

  <>

  They waited two hours before leaving. Dave wanted the sun in a certain position, so he could get close before the people in the house spotted the plane. Greg looked official in Knight’s clothes, although the arms strained over his muscles. Dave and Kowalski wore loose robes similar to the one Mia wore. Hers covered her body from neck to feet, and the scarves covered her head and half her face.

  On the drive to the airport in Gig Harbor, Kowalski briefed Greg, but Dave knew Greg wouldn’t be waiting for orders. He’d dive in with both feet, as usual. If Greg’s usual wasn’t the best, Dave would have left him behind.

  One thing he knew for sure. Greg wouldn’t do anything to risk Mia’s life. He still had trouble accepting the fact that Mia had killed someone. Dave suspected Mia hadn’t fully accepted it herself. The situation with the kid and the knife had shaken her confidence, but everything she’d done since then had proven she could function well in a pinch. From shooting the men in the car in Tacoma, to saving him and Stipes from that car, to shooting the man on the mountainside, Mia had proven herself a highly capable and resourceful law enforcement officer.

  Without asking, Mia strapped herself in beside Dave in the front of the plane. “I’ve never been in your plane before, Dave.”

  “Do you fly?”

  “Not unless someone else is driving. It’s like a big toy. Do you have to wind it up or something?”

  “I hope you have a parachute on under your robe,” said Greg.

  “Oh, I have something on under it,” she said with a smile, “but it’s not a parachute.”

  Kowalski laughed.

  As he approached the coordinates, Dave cut off radio communications, so they could sneak in without announcing their presence. Mia pointed to the low hills ahead and he peered at a huge square house with parapets on all four corners. The house was the same color as the hills and, aside from the parapets, it blended into the landscape. A flash of color in the courtyard in the center caught his eye. It looked like an oasis.

  He flew on past, the house on his right, looking for the airstrip. He spotted it on the desert floor below the hills. Cutting the engine and restarting it to make it sound like he had engine trouble, he swung around to line up his approach. He cut the engine one last time and glided in for a landing.

  “Dave, look out,” Mia screamed, and he saw the barrels on the airstrip.

  He couldn’t pull out of the landing now, and if he tried to set the plane down there, they’d crash.

  “Aw, shit! Hang on.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The engine wouldn’t start again, so Dave did the only thing he could do. He pointed the nose of the plane at the largest clearing he saw and prayed they had enough momentum to make it there and set the plane down safely. Surveillance reports said the runway was clear, but they didn’t do another fly-by this morning. Now he’d put himself and his passengers’ lives at risk. If the crash didn’t kill him, his boss would, and if anything happened to Mia, he’d never forgive himself.

  The plane floated so quietly Dave heard his heart pounding. He didn’t hear a peep from his passengers, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away to check on them. “Here we go. Hang on.”

  The left wheel sank into the soft sand and the plane spun around. The right wing hit the side of a hill and sheared off, and the plane jolted to a stop with the nose resting forward.

  Momentarily stunned by the abrupt stop, Dave looked around him. The men in the back laughed, so they were all right. “Mia?”

  “I’m all right. That was one hell of a landing, Dave. I can’t believe you got us down in one piece.”

  Kowalski said, “First a car and now a plane?”

  “Yeah, they’re gonna love me in Accounting.” He unfastened his seatbelt. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  “I can’t get my door open,” said Mia. Her side of the plane rested against the hill that had taken the wing off.

  Dave struggled with his door. Greg said, “Duck.” One well-placed kick knocked it open.

  Dave released his seatbelt and dropped to the ground. “Come on, Mia. This way, honey.”

  “I smell gasoline,” said Kowalski.

  “Then get your butts out here,” said Dave. “Now, guys.”

  Mia jumped out, with Kowalski and Greg right behind her, and they all ran away from the plane. It wouldn’t take more than a spark to make it go boom.

  Greg asked, “Is the plane totaled?”

  “Yeah, it’s gone.” One wing had sheared off, the nose broke away, one landing wheel had collapsed, and it would cost more to haul it away and repair it than to replace the plane. “There’s nothing left but scrap metal and memories.” And a m
ajor headache with Accounting.

  Greg scratched his head. “What do you say we finish the job and go inside in style?”

  “You don’t mean—”

  “Kowalski, you got a match on you?” asked Greg.

  “Aw, Greg,” whined Dave.

  “Say a prayer to the patron saint of airplanes or whoever, and tell it goodbye. What the hell? Uncle Sugar will buy you a new one.”

  “Not after the car I lost.”

  “It’s not lost,” Greg quipped. “You know where it is.”

  “Smart ass. I must have been crazy to let you in on this.”

  Mia straightened her clothes and asked the question Dave should have thought of himself. “Would it be easier to get inside if we burned the plane?”

  With a deep sign, Dave said, “I don’t want to watch.” He turned toward the house. He’d wanted to own his own airplane from the time he’d learned to fly, and five years ago the dream had finally come true. Now the dream would go up in smoke.

  He smelled the plane burning, felt the heat from the fire, and glanced over his shoulder. Black smoke poured into the sunny afternoon sky, a clear signal to the people in the house that they needed help. Now, if they could just get inside without getting themselves killed.

  Greg and Kowalski walked up beside Dave. Mia put her hands together and bowed and walked behind the men. Their footsteps kicked up sand and dust, and she sneezed. This subservient, walk-behind-the-men stuff was for the birds.

  The soft sand of the desert filled Mia’s sandals and the robe held the heat in. Sweat ran down her body in the hot afternoon sun. As they made their way up the hill toward the house, she muttered, “What I wouldn’t give for a dune buggy and a tall glass of iced tea right about now.”

  Dave stopped and waved to a man standing on the hill above them, and the others stopped and looked up. The man wore a shoulder holster and a head scarf like Dave and Kowalski wore with their robes. Only the man wore jeans instead of a robe.

  Greg yelled, “Assad sent us. Didn’t he tell you?”

  “No,” the guard called.

  Pointing toward the plume of black smoke, Greg said, “Our radio went out and the plane crashed.”