by Jana DeLeon
“Someone’s stealing our car!” Mitchell yelled.
Riker set off at a dead run but on his second step, hit a puddle of slimy water dripping from the boat. His right foot shot out from under him and he flung his arms up, trying to maintain his balance. At the same time, he pulled the trigger on the AK-47 and bullets flew past the right side of my head.
Involuntarily, I lurched to the left to avoid the spray and dropped straight off the rafter and onto Riker and Mitchell, sending them sprawling onto the floor. I leaped up from the ground, grabbing the AK-47 from Riker’s hand as I went, and gave him a good kick on the back of the head while striking Mitchell with the butt of the gun. It wasn’t hard enough to seriously injure either of them, but it was a good enough blow to make their vision blur.
I sprinted out of the unit, as Ida Belle jumped out of Riker’s car. I slammed the door shut behind me, clicking the padlock into place. “The gate!” Ida Belle yelled and pointed. “I jammed it when they came in. We can squeeze through.”
In the dim light, it looked closed to me, but I rushed to it anyway. When I was about ten feet away, I saw the crowbar stuck in between the gate frame and the post. It was vibrating as the gate tried repeatedly to close. “Hurry,” I said. “I don’t think it’s going to hold much longer.”
Ida Belle ran up and sidled through the gap. I tossed my backpack through, then slid through the opening. A second after I made it through, the crowbar popped off and clanged onto the pavement. Gunshots rang out and I heard bullets hitting metal. I reached back between the wrought iron spikes and grabbed the crowbar.
“They’re shooting their way out,” I said. “Haul ass!”
We sprinted across the parking lot and into the woods, taking the direct route to the Jeep. I took a half second to mentally praise myself for choosing long sleeves before pulling out my cell phone and pressing speed dial for Gertie. Ida Belle ran ahead of me with the flashlight, trying to pick a path through the dense foliage. I stayed on her tail, trying to run and clutch the phone to my head at the same time, which is much harder than it sounds when giant branches are slapping you in the face every few seconds.
The phone went to voice mail and I cursed.
“Emergency evacuation!” I yelled before disconnecting, then prayed the message would go through.
We burst through the brush and tumbled into the ditch, both of us rolling into the muddy water at the bottom before springing up the other side. We popped out of the ditch right next to the Jeep and Gertie screamed.
“Jesus Christ!” she yelled. “You scared the crap out of me. And where the heck did you get the assault rifle?”
Ida Belle ran for the passenger’s side door and I dived over the side of the Jeep and into the backseat. “Go! Go! Go!” I shouted.
Gertie started the Jeep and floored it, the back tires spinning on the gravel road as she shot out onto the main road. “I called and texted when that car went by. Sent at least three to both you and Ida Belle, but I never heard a thing. I thought maybe there was another turnoff we didn’t know about and it was just a resident, and then you two materialize next to the Jeep like ghosts.”
“That car belonged to Riker and Mitchell.”
“Crap!” Gertie stomped harder on the accelerator.
“I called but the phone went to voice mail.”
“Did Riker and Mitchell see you?” Gertie asked.
“You could say that,” I said. “Just get us back to Sinful and I’ll tell you all about it.”
She spun the wheel to the right and rounded a corner, then slammed on the brakes. “That might not be as easy as it sounds.”
I leaned forward to peer out the windshield and saw Big and Little’s Hulk of a bodyguard, Mannie, standing in the middle of the road with a shotgun pointed right at us.
He shifted the shotgun to one hand and held up a spotlight with the other. “I’m going to have to ask you to come with me,” he said.
“What about my car?” Gertie asked.
He motioned his head to the side and a man jumped out of the black sedan behind him. “Your vehicle will be taken care of. If you’ll come this way.” He motioned to me. “And honey, you’re going to want to put that baby down really slow-like.”
I held my empty hand up and slowly lowered the AK-47 onto the seat. We all climbed out of the Jeep and made our way over to the Cadillac, where Mannie took our weapons and ordered us into the backseat.
“This is it,” Gertie whispered as we climbed in. “They’re going to kill us all and a blow-up doll is wearing my best underwear.”
Mannie climbed into the driver’s seat and locked the doors. He looked back at us. “Just in case any of you get the idea that I can’t drive and shoot you at the same time, I’m going to go ahead and assure you that I can. They don’t call me backhanded Mannie for nothing.”
He turned the car around and shot off down the road. I glanced back and saw the Jeep pull in behind us. “Where are you taking us?” I asked. If they were going to kill us, I saw no reason to sit silently awaiting my fate.
“To see the bosses.”
Even though I knew the answer before he said it, my pulse spiked. We would have been safer with Riker and Mitchell than Big and Little Hebert. I frowned. Or maybe not. Riker would have cuffed us and sent us straight to New Orleans where the ATF would have done a serious background check on all three of us. I wasn’t sure how well my cover would stand up to a federal search, especially from the ATF, since I’d worked with them in the past.
Gertie, who was sitting in the middle, sighed. “If I’m not back in jail by morning, Myrtle is going to be in trouble.”
Ida Belle and I exchanged glances. Apparently, Gertie thought we were on our way to tea and crumpets. “All Myrtle has to do is lie,” Ida Belle said, “and she’s a pro at it. She didn’t see or hear anything. It’s not the dispatcher’s job to keep up with prisoners. That Officer Crawford is going to catch it for this one.”
“Excuse me,” Mannie said, “am I understanding you correctly—that you broke out of jail?”
“Not all of us,” Ida Belle said and pointed to Gertie. “Just her.”
“She’s a wily one,” I said.
Mannie stared at us in the rearview mirror, his expression a mixture of disbelief and confusion. “I’ll just let Big and Little sort this out.”
“I wish someone would,” I said, feeling slightly better about things now that I’d thought them through. Big and Little were businessmen with a vested interest in staying out of prison and keeping business up and running. So we’d trespassed on their property and taken a peek at an ATF asset. Killing us would be the most foolish solution to a problem that wasn’t really affecting them, outside of the loss of a floodlight.
Mannie took a right turn onto a narrow road, and I recognized it as the road to the warehouse where we’d spoken with Big and Little before. A garage door lifted as we entered the parking lot and he pulled into the building, then directed us upstairs to Big’s office.
Big was sitting on his heavy-duty park bench behind his enormous desk. Little jumped off his stool as we entered the room and shook his head. “Ladies. We’d hoped to see you again, but under different circumstances. Please take a seat.” He gave Mannie a nod and the giant left the room, his relief apparent.
My head started to itch under his scrutiny and I realized I was still wearing the beanie hat. I pulled it off and sighed as cool air hit my scalp. Big looked at me and smiled.
“Much cooler, no?” he asked. “I always hate wearing a hat, but a man of a certain caliber is expected to for some events. You all look a little tired. Would you like some refreshments?”
Ida Belle and I shook our heads. Gertie perked up. “Heck yeah! What do you have?”
Big waved a hand at Little, who opened what looked to be a storage cabinet but turned out to be a minibar. “What’s your pleasure?” he asked.
“Bourbon and Coke,” Gertie said.
Ida Belle sighed and looked up at the ceiling. I kn
ew she was praying but had no idea exactly what she expected God to do about this situation. He’d had darn near a century to work on Gertie and he’d only made it this far.
Big nodded his approval. “A woman with good Southern sensibilities and tastes. Are you sure I can’t offer the two of you something?”
“What the hell,” I said, “pass me a bottled water.” It wasn’t as if being parched was going to make this go any easier or quicker.
“Fine,” Ida Belle said. “I’ll have a bourbon and Coke, too.”
I looked over at Ida Belle and raised my eyebrows.
“What?” she asked. “You’re the designated driver.”
Little passed me the water and served the rest of them bourbon. I took a sip of my water, casting a wistful glance at Gertie’s drink. It was really good quality bourbon. I bet it was going down like honey.
Little took his seat and looked at Big, who finished a big drink of bourbon, then cleared his throat. “You ladies have caused a bit of excitement at our storage facility. I assume you were responsible for dispatching one of my floodlights, and those ATF agents managed to shoot up a perfectly good door trying to get out of the container you locked them in.”
I opened my mouth to protest and Big raised his hand. “Don’t even bother trying to deny it. You see, the perimeter alarm on the fence is a deterrent, not the ultimate in protection.” He reached for a remote on his desk and pressed a button. A television lowered from the ceiling to the right of us. A second later, video of Ida Belle and me scaling the office building flashed onto the screen. Big hit Forward and the next shot showed Ida Belle moving the car and me slamming the unit door closed and locking it before running off.
“Quick thinking,” Big said and gave Ida Belle an appreciative look. “If you were thirty years younger, me and you would be talking about a position on my security team.”
“Oh,” Ida Belle said, looking a little pleased with the compliment. “Thanks.”
Big leaned forward and studied us for a moment. “So the big question is what do the three of you find so interesting about a sunken boat that you’re willing to risk arrest by the ATF or trouble with me in order to get a peek at it?”
“The deputy that went down in that boat almost drowned,” I said. “He’s our friend.”
Little narrowed his eyes at me. “I heard about that. You’re the one who saved him, aren’t you? Ain’t too many great-looking broads around Sinful, especially with those kinds of skills. You got a diver’s body.”
Big jabbed him with his elbow. “Manners. Even though she broke into our storage facility, she’s still a lady.”
“I’m not offended,” I said, “and you’re right. I’m the one who got him out of the boat.”
Big inclined his head and stared at me for a moment. “That must have been a risky move. So maybe more than just friends?”
I felt a blush creep up my neck. “We had a date. It’s not a thing. Yet. Or maybe never. But I care about him enough to take the risk, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Big nodded. “I like a woman who’s willing to take action. I believe we either walk through life or walk in it. If you have people you’re willing to put yourself on the line for, then you’re walking in life. More heartache, but much more satisfaction.”
I blinked. Big Hebert, mobster extraordinaire and philosopher?
The worst part was that what he said made absolute sense, and perfectly summed up feelings I’d been grappling with since my arrival in Sinful. The irony being that my walk through life was completely centered on being a woman of action. Just not a woman with a personal stake. “I agree with you,” I said.
Big gave me a satisfied smile. “So, you broke in to take a look at the boat—why?”
At this point, I saw no point in being dishonest, at least not about our reason for the break-in. “We wanted to see if any of the rounds fired at our friend hit the boat.”
“For what purpose?”
“To identify the weapon used. We figured if the ATF was involved it was going to be something illegal, possibly military. Our friend has a concussion and amnesia, but he wants to know what happened to him. As you can imagine, the ATF is being less than forthcoming with that information.”
“They’re rude and lack class,” Little said.
Big frowned. “And what do you three broads know about military weapons?”
I glanced over at Ida Belle, hoping she’d catch on and take the lead on the weapons part. My cover as a librarian didn’t exactly qualify me for identifying bullet holes.
“Gertie and I served in Vietnam,” Ida Belle said. “And I like to keep up with things.”
Big’s eyes widened. “Please accept my thanks for your service. Men and women like you are the reason my son and I can have the life we do today.”
I was fairly sure the Vietnam agenda didn’t include defending the freedom of the Mafia, but I could tell that Big was sincere with his thanks.
“Are you going to turn us over to the ATF agents?” I asked.
“Good Lord, no!” Big said.
Little nodded. “Serves those two goons right, coming in here flashing their badges and talking to us like we’re peons. Knowing they were bested by three women has made my week. I won’t be able to look at them without smiling.”
“The state police?” I asked.
Big shook his head. “I’m not a fan of the state police either.”
“What about the security tapes?” I asked. “The ATF agents will get a warrant if you don’t hand them over.”
“Ah.” Big smiled. “See, the thing about our security system is it’s been on the blink. We just recently installed it and haven’t gotten all the bugs out. It doesn’t record half the time.”
“Like tonight,” Little said. “Tonight would be one of those half times it didn’t record.”
“Then you’re going to let us go?” I asked. It seemed entirely too easy.
“Yes,” Big said, “but with a warning. Your activities tonight only disrupted ATF business and didn’t expose you to any of Little’s and my endeavors. If things had gone differently…say if you’d entered the wrong unit…the outcome would have been different.”
My gut clenched and I said a silent prayer that we’d gone straight to the right unit. Big’s insinuation wasn’t lost on me. If we’d discovered any of his illegal activities, then he would have made a completely different decision than he was now. “We understand,” I said.
“Good,” Big said. “Then you can collect your car keys from Mannie and you’re free to go. Your weapons are in your vehicles. Just don’t forget our conversation.”
We all rose and after thanking him for his hospitality, filed toward the door.
“And ladies,” Big said.
We stopped and turned to look at him.
“In the future, if your business is in direct opposition with law enforcement, and there is a way I can be of assistance, I suggest you simply ask for my help. My answer may surprise you…or not.” He grinned and winked.
I smiled and we hurried out of the office and back downstairs, where the dour Mannie handed over my Jeep keys. We hauled it out front to where the Jeep was parked and jumped inside. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” I said as I took off out of the parking lot.
“So what happened inside the unit?” Ida Belle asked. “It sounded like a small war going on in there.”
I explained about my compromised rafter hiding place and my impromptu drop onto Riker and Mitchell.
“Holy crap!” Gertie said. “Do you think Riker made you?”
“I doubt it,” I said. “There was a lot of confusion and not a lot of light. Besides, Riker won’t leap to us as potential suspects. He’s going to think whoever fired on the boat is the culprit.”
Ida Belle nodded. “Sounds right. So was all this a waste or were you able to find anything out?”
“I found a bullet hole. It went through one side of the boat and out the other.”
Gertie whist
led. “Not your standard Sinful fare.”
“No,” I agree. “I knew it was an AK-47 even before Riker removed one from the ice chest. Damn it! Mannie must have confiscated the rifle I grabbed from Riker. I just realized it wasn’t here with our other weapons.”
“What’s wrong?” Ida Belle asked.
I told them about Riker and Mitchell’s conversation about suppliers and the mention of the Middle East. “I grabbed the gun on the way out because I wanted to see if I could figure out the supplier.”
Ida Belle glanced back at Gertie then back at me. “Do you think it could be the guy who’s after you?”
“I don’t know. It seems impossible, but I suppose nothing really is.”
“All the more reason for us to be more careful,” Ida Belle said, “especially you, Fortune. If anyone working for the man hunting you is in Sinful, they will know about the price on your head.”
“But surely,” Gertie said, “they won’t recognize her. She looks completely different.”
Ida Belle nodded. “They won’t recognize her as long as she’s acting like a regular resident, but if they catch her in action and involved in illegal arms transactions, they’re going to take a closer look. Extensions, makeup, and clothes make a huge difference, but her bone structure is still the same.”
“Ida Belle’s right,” I said. “I need to be more careful about detection. The way I was dressed tonight, with my hair up under the beanie, give me more risk of discovery than walking around all girlie.”
“Probably true,” Ida Belle agreed.
“It’s all a moot point now,” I said, frustration taking over. “We don’t have another lead. We’re officially at a dead end.”
“Unless Carter remembers,” Gertie said.
“Until Carter remembers,” I corrected and turned off the highway toward Main Street.
