Just what I wanted to know.
But I didn't have time to think too much, because Ronald Berger, the cop who'd responded to my car accident, was coming toward us with blankets in his arms. Within seconds, Lin, Vinny, and I were wrapped in wool. Now, instead of being Popsicles, we were like soggy tomatoes on dry bread and I just knew we'd be soaking through that heavy fabric pretty quickly.
''We'll get you warmed up,'' Berger said to Lin, then turned to me. ''Why are you always getting into trouble?''
''Why do you think this was my fault?'' I tried to ask in a defiant manner, but my teeth were chattering so much it didn't really work.
''Dispatcher at the station saw you jump off the boat. What the fuck were you doing?'' Berger's eyes traveled from me to Vinny and back again.
''Someone was shooting at us,'' Vinny said matterof-factly. ''And how did the dispatcher see us?''
Good question. I should've asked that, but I was too waterlogged at the moment. I felt like I was one step behind the conversation.
''We've got a camera here and a couple on the Maritime Center across the way''—Berger indicated the tall, green building that stood next to the Rusty Scupper restaurant—''with monitors at the station showing the port from different angles. Good thing the guy looked up when he did and saw you, otherwise we never would've known to come out here.''
''So he called Sam?'' I asked.
''Sam?'' Confusion crossed Berger's face.
''Yeah, Sam O'Neill. He was here when we got out of the water.''
''Sam? He probably heard the call on the radio.''
I pulled the blanket a little closer, but it wasn't doing a damn bit of good. Lin didn't look too well, her face was too white, and I wondered where the ambulance was.
As if in response to my unspoken question, one pulled into the lot. Tom's car was right behind it.
I watched Tom climb out of his car, and he met my eyes as he approached us.
''Are you okay?'' he asked me.
I nodded, even though I wasn't sure.
He looked at Vinny next, and then Lin. ''Are you both okay?''
''Yeah,'' Vinny said gruffly.
Lin looked agitated. ''I have to go get them. Put them back.'' She started walking toward the gate, her blanket trailing on the ground behind her.
We took a few steps to catch up. Tom touched her arm, stopped her.
''Where are you going, Lin? You need medical help.''
''My bees,'' she said softly. ''I have to get them.''
Tom frowned. ''Where are they?''
''They're on the dock, like Sam asked.''
Vinny and I glanced over to where Sam was talking with a few of the uniforms. He didn't seem to be paying attention to us.
Tom asked Lin gently, ''What did Sam ask?''
''He said to bring the bees. We were going to try again.'' She sighed. ''But when I got here, no one was here. Mr. Hartley let me in—he knows me from before—but there was no one else.''
I glanced at Vinny. We'd seen the green Honda go through the gate before Lin's Pathfinder.
''I started getting the bees out of the back of the SUV. And then Lourdes showed up,'' Lin was saying.
Maybe it was Lourdes in that car. But I'd seen Sam getting into it. I felt like I was in the middle of a really weird David Copperfield illusion.
Sam had walked over and was taking in every word she was saying. ''When I got here,'' he said, ''Lin was nowhere to be seen. One of the hives was in pieces. There were bees everywhere. But I didn't see anyone.'' He paused. ''I was late. I'd gotten held up, and I didn't have Lin's cell number on me so I couldn't call her. I was worried when she wasn't here and the hive was broken.''
No one said anything as he paused.
''I didn't think she'd gone far, maybe to the bathroom or something,'' Sam continued. ''I was walking around when I saw these three''—he indicated me, Vinny and Lin—''going around the side of the terminal next door. I got in the car to meet them, and when I came out of the gate, I saw her''—he indicated Lourdes' body now—''coming down the steps with a gun.''
I was digesting his story when I had another thought.
''Tom, you might want to get on that freighter,'' I said. ''There are people on it. I think they're being smuggled in.''
All eyes swung over to me.
''What?'' Tom asked.
I told him about the people we'd seen below as we were trying to get off the freighter. Tom's expression was a mixture of incredulity and shock. He called Berger over. ''Take a couple of men to that freighter. Do a full search. There may be people aboard.''
He turned to me then. ''Start at the beginning. I want to hear what happened.''
I pulled the blanket closer. I was starting to dry a bit, but I was still chilled so deeply that I wondered if I'd ever be warm again.
The crime scene guys had arrived and were buzzing around Lourdes' body, taking their pictures and securing the scene. A couple of cops were climbing the gangplank onto the freighter. Everything seemed so surreal.
I started telling Tom about how Vinny and I duped Roger Hartley and, as I continued, Vinny came over and stood next to me, nodding.
When I was done, Tom was frowning, staring at Lourdes. ''Jesus.''
Two more ambulances screamed their arrival, but the sirens were cut as they slammed to a stop just past the police cruisers.
I felt a twinge in my hand and looked down to see pinpricks of blood starting to ooze out of the wound. ''I think I need to get some stitches,'' I said, holding it up for Tom to see.
He nodded. ''The paramedics can take a look at it on the way to the hospital.'' He looked from me to Vinny to Lin. ''All three of you need to get there. We can finish this discussion at the hospital.''
''But what about my bees?'' Lin asked. ''I have to get them contained.''
Tom shook his head. ''Sorry, Lin. Your health comes first.'' He took her arm above the blanket and started leading her toward the ambulances, indicating that Vinny and I should follow.
A shout from the freighter made us all look up. Berger was leaning against the railing, cupping his mouth as he yelled, ''They're here, all right. We're going to need more ambulances.''
Tom frowned. ''Did you know about this before?'' he asked me. ''Is this why you came out here?''
Vinny and I shook our heads. ''No,'' I said. ''We had no clue.''
''Then why did you come here?''
''You might want to ask Sam—'' I started, but before I could finish, Sam was standing next to me.
''Ask me what?'' he said. ''What do you want to ask?''
It was now or never. ''I saw you get into a green Honda that looked like the car that hit me,'' I said quickly. ''And Vinny and I followed the car here. It showed up before Lin did. Because we saw her arrive, too.''
Sam nodded slowly before saying, ''A friend picked me up earlier and dropped me at the service station to get my car, where it was getting a tune-up.'' He indicated the Impala. ''I don't know where she was heading after that.'' His tone indicated he was pretty pissed that I was giving him the third degree, but I didn't give a shit.
She? ''Was it Marisol?'' I asked. ''Was Marisol giving you a ride?'' But why would Marisol come to the port? And if she did, where was she?
Sam looked at Tom, who sighed. ''Annie,'' Tom said, ''can we give it a rest?''
I didn't want to ''give it a rest,'' but I was familiar enough with the look on Tom's face to know that he wasn't going to let me continue. I was going to give it one more try, but before I could, Ronald Berger sprinted toward us. ''We're going to need as many ambulances as we can get,'' he said.
Tom opened his mouth to say something, but Sam interrupted, turning to Vinny and saying, ''Why don't you take Annie to the hospital so we can free up an ambulance.''
''Sure,'' Vinny said. ''What about Lin?''
Lin was still standing next to the gate, looking down toward her SUV and her bees. ''I really need to contain them,'' she repeated.
Tom looked at Berger. ''Take L
in over there, see if you can help her get the bees together as quickly as possible, then you can have one of the guys take her to the hospital, okay?''
Lin's face showed her relief. She smiled. ''Thank you,'' she said as she and Berger went through the gate.
''I have to go see what's going on over there,'' Tom said to me and Vinny, ''but I want to talk to both of you later. So when you're done at the hospital, just come to the station.''
We agreed, and turned to go to the Explorer across the street. I looked back once to see Sam watching us. I shivered under the blanket.
''I don't think Tom would mind if we stopped home to get a change of clothes,'' Vinny said, noticing.
The Taurus sat next to the Explorer. ''Can we leave it here?'' I asked.
Vinny glanced around at the police cruisers. ''Prob ably the safest place in the city right now,'' he said. He popped open the back of the Explorer. A gym bag sat there, and Vinny unzipped it and pulled out a towel, handing it to me. ''Wrap your hand up.''
I did as I was told, grabbed my bag out of the Taurus, and we climbed into the SUV.
As we turned onto the Tomlinson Bridge, I glanced over and saw the commotion from a different angle. The red lights from the ambulances danced against the black hull of the freighter, and I could see antsized people being herded down the gangplank.
''Jesus,'' I whispered.
Vinny didn't say anything.
''What's wrong? You've been really quiet.''
He licked his lips. ''Something's not right.''
''No shit.''
He hit the brakes at the light and we stopped abruptly. I shifted a little in the seat, then settled back.
Vinny turned to me, his hands on the steering wheel. ''The feds were the ones who were doing this bee thing with Lin Rodriguez, right?''
''Yeah, what about it?''
''Then where were they? Why would the acting city police chief call her and ask her to bring the bees without having the feds there?''
Chapter 38
I dug my cell phone out of my bag as we crossed the bridge, punching in Paula's phone number. She answered on the first ring.
''We heard you were involved in an incident over at the port,'' she said without saying hello. ''Jeff Parker's on his way over there now with a couple of guys. We heard there are people on the freighter, possibly being smuggled in. Is that right?''
''It sure looks that way,'' I said. ''Listen, Paula, were you guys going to do another bee trial over at East Shore Terminal today?''
She snorted. ''No way. The last one was such a disaster, we've been getting a lot of shit about it and there's talk that the program might not continue. Why?''
I told her about what Lin had said about Sam. She was quiet for a few seconds, then, ''I don't know why he'd call her.''
''Have you worked with Sam O'Neill on this?''
''He's been briefed, but we really only worked with Rodriguez.''
I thanked her, promised that I'd let her know if anything else came up, and ended the call. As I told Vinny what she'd said, he gripped the wheel tighter, but he didn't say anything.
He stopped in front of his brownstone first, telling me to sit tight. Within minutes he was back and threw a duffel bag into the backseat before driving the block to my brownstone, where we both got out. He reached back for the bag and carried it up the stairs.
''We could've just walked over,'' I said as we got into my apartment. I'd left the heat on, and for the first time in hours I could feel myself thawing.
''Let's just get dressed,'' he said. ''You need to get that hand fixed up.''
I really wanted a shower. A long, hot shower. And when I suggested it, Vinny's mouth curled into a sexy smile.
''Might be better than sitting in an emergency room waiting for someone to tell us we don't have hypothermia,'' he said, running an icy finger along my jawbone.
I pulled his face to mine, wanting to feel something other than cold, and the intensity of the kiss surprised us both as we clung to each other. His fingers ran through my hair, then down, slipping my pullover over my shoulders, his tongue moving across my neck, caressing my bare skin. I slipped my unwounded hand under his shirt; his chest was cold, but I could feel his heart beating fast under my palm. We didn't speak as we undressed each other, then stepped under the steamy, hot spray of the shower. Every nerve ending was on fire as Vinny touched me; my skin was crimson from the heat. I closed my eyes and felt Vinny's mouth on me, washing away the salt and the fear.
When we were once again swathed in fleece pullovers, jeans, and thick socks and sneakers, sure that we had survived our April swim without any ramifications and figuring out our next move, the phone rang.
''Annie?''
Christ, it was Dick.
''Yeah? I'm on my way to the hospital, Dick. What is it?''
''I'm over here at the port, and, well, your name keeps coming up. What the hell happened? No one will tell me anything.''
I didn't want to tell him anything, either, but Marty would have my ass if I didn't. ''Listen, Dick, when I get back from the hospital, I'll come by the paper and talk to you. But I have to go get my hand stitched up.''
''It's going to be hours,'' he said.
''What?''
''They've got four ambulances going over there now.''
''All to Yale? What about Saint Rafe's?''
''Who's in the ambulances, Annie? I know you know.''
I thought again about those people on the ship. ''It has to do with the green card scam, the warehouse, everything, I think. I don't even know the whole story yet. I'll come in after I get stitched up.'' I hung up the phone and grabbed Vinny's arm, pulling him out the door before the phone could ring again.
When I told Vinny what Dick had said about the ambulances headed for the hospitals, he decided we couldn't go there unless we wanted to bring sleeping bags and a picnic lunch.
''We'll go to the medical center in Guilford. They'll fix you up there,'' he said as we got onto the Q bridge and took Interstate 95 east to the suburbs.
It was a slow day in Guilford. I got in to see a doctor right away.
He tsked when he saw my hand. ''How did those stitches get ripped out?'' he demanded, pulling a black thread from somewhere in the recesses of the wound.
''I got abducted and duct-taped together with my boyfriend on a freighter,'' I said matter-of-factly.
He stared at me. ''What are you, some sort of comedian?''
I shrugged. ''No, really, that's what happened.''
His eyes went back down to my hand. ''Did you get a tetanus shot?''
''Yeah.''
He put four stitches in. I guess he didn't think three would be enough this time, and he was probably right. He stuck a bandage over the top of it. ''Keep it clean,'' he said. ''You know, you're pretty lucky.''
''Why?''
''If you're going to cut your hand, that's the place to do it. Anywhere else, you might have gotten a tendon and you wouldn't be able to use a finger or two.''
He was a fucking Pollyanna, that's for sure. I thanked him and headed back out to see Vinny leaning back in one of the chairs in the waiting room. I held up my hand. ''Good as new,'' I said.
Vinny grinned. ''We'll have to see about that.''
I punched him on the shoulder with my good hand. ''Asshole,'' I said.
The nurse looked up, and we both started giggling as we went out into the darkness.
''I'm hungry,'' Vinny said, and the minute he said it, I felt the familiar rumble in my stomach. When the hell had I last eaten?
Within half an hour, we were seated at Guadalupe la Poblanita on Chapel Street, right back in Fair Haven, with two cervezas—besides saying ''hello,'' I did remember the word for beer—and devouring chicken gorditas. Four little paper Dixie cups sat in front of us, one filled with guacamole, the other three with different kinds of salsa. I dunked a crunchy tortilla chip into a sort of pureed tomato liquid and savored its flavor, happy that I was finally warm again.
I took
a sidelong look at Vinny, wondering if there would be a declaration of any type of feeling after what we'd gone through, after our intense lovemaking. Granted, it wasn't really in my personality to do that sort of shit, and obviously it wasn't in Vinny's, either, because after taking a long drink of his Corona, he said, ''We need to see Tom.''
Talk about breaking a mood.
Dead of the Day (2007) Page 26
