Gone in a Flash

by Lynette Eason

  “And they did it after you and Andy were in the room alone. They were watching, possibly waiting for me to leave. When I followed Jenna, they were handed the opportunity they’d been waiting for. They wanted you in here alone.”

  “But why?” she whispered.

  Connor sat up and sighed. “I don’t know. And our friend Wilder isn’t talking. Not a word.”

  Sam didn’t respond, and Connor thought she might have fallen back to sleep. Then she said, “He’s afraid.”

  “Him?”

  “Yes. Of whoever he’s working for.”

  In the dark, Connor nodded. “Okay, I can buy that. So, who’s he working for?”

  “The guy that went after Jenna?”

  He thought about that. “I don’t know. I just … don’t know.”

  “Sure would be helpful if that body would turn up.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Let’s get some sleep. Somehow I think tomorrow’s got more surprises in store.”

  Samantha stared down at the body in surprise. “That’s him. The guy from the bathroom.”

  “You’re positive?” Officer Ponder questioned her with a frown.

  She frowned right back. “Absolutely one hundred percent. How did you know to find him in here?”

  “It’s a rarely used freezer. It’s one of several that we keep for backup. You wouldn’t have been shown these yesterday when you asked to check the freezers. The idea came to me last night. This morning, I started checking and this is what I found.”

  Although an unattractive shade of gray, the man looked like he was sleeping. The freezer had done an excellent job of preserving him. She saw a box of gloves on the counter. Stepping out of the freezer, she walked over and grabbed a pair. Slipping them on her hands, she came back to inspect the dead man.

  Pushing his blazer aside, she saw the dried blood on his shirt. She undid the buttons and slid the shirt aside. “That’s a bullet wound.” She paused and leaned back. “So who shot him?”

  “That, I have not yet discovered.” Officer Ponder looked a bit uneasy.

  “And who is he?” Connor asked, still staring at the man.

  Samantha resumed her search, patting down pockets, pulling his shoes off, and checking for hiding places, being thorough but careful of any possible hazardous items like needles.

  “Nothing,” she finally declared. “Absolutely nothing.”

  “I sent his prints to the FBI,” Ponder offered. “They’re sending a helicopter to pick him up. It will cause a stir on the ship, of course, but we will simply say we had a medical emergency.”

  “I would say that’s pretty much the truth,” Samantha muttered.

  “All right.” Connor rubbed his chin. “What cabin was the man you have in custody now staying in?”

  Ponder consulted his phone. “After a long investigation, we finally found a passenger who recognized the man. He’d seen him going into the room across the hall from him. That was room 7346, registered to the name of Randall Olson. I’ve already gone through it.”

  Samantha frowned. “Shouldn’t you have waited for the FBI?”

  Ponder simply looked at her. “This is my ship. It’s my responsibility to make sure my passengers are safe. I had no way of knowing if he carried any dangerous devices with him. I checked as soon as we figured out who he was.”

  “Did you find anything?”

  “Nothing unusual.”

  “Do you mind if we take a look?” Sam asked.

  “The FBI has asked that nothing else be disturbed.”

  Connor shot the man a long look. “Of course.”

  “Did they give you an ETA?” Samantha asked.

  Ponder looked at his watch. “They should be here within the hour.”

  “We’ll be waiting.”

  Connor watched the helicopter make an expert landing. Three agents exited the craft, ducking low and making their way over to Officer Ponder. He and Sam had been given clearance to meet the chopper by a reluctant Officer Ponder.

  Leaving Jenna with Andy under the supervision of two security officers hadn’t been to Jenna’s liking, but she wasn’t arguing about staying in the room. Yesterday had thrown a good scare into her too.

  “Something’s wrong with the security on this boat,” Samantha leaned in and yelled over the whirring chopper blades.

  Connor watched the FBI trio greet Officer Ponder, heads still ducked. “I agree. I thought about it all night long.” The blades on the chopper slowed to a stop. “We need to talk to Ponder again, dig a little deeper into his staff.”

  “I’m not sure I trust him.”

  “You think he’s behind all this?”

  “Maybe. Who else could arrange everything that’s happened?”

  Connor nodded, then gripped her arm to lead her over to Ponder and the agents.

  One dark head lifted and Samantha gasped. “Dakota!”

  His gaze zeroed in on her and he offered her a grin. “Hey there, Sis.”

  Connor was glad to see his brother-in-law. Married to Jamie, Samantha’s sister, the man was a force to be reckoned with in the FBI. He’d steadily climbed the ranks and now held the position of assistant executive director.

  “I almost didn’t recognize you without the Stetson. What are you doing here?”

  “I had business at the Florida office when the call came in about the trouble on the ship. I recognized the name and insisted on tagging along.”

  Dakota introduced them to the other two and then they followed Ponder to the security office on the lower deck.

  Just as they entered the office, Dakota’s cell phone buzzed. Connor watched his face pale and his own heartbeat picked up a bit.

  Dakota hung up, jaw tight. “Fingerprints came back. Our dead guy is Norman Reese. A fellow agent. He was carrying some sensitive information.” He looked at Connor and Samantha. “You guys search him?”

  “I did,” Samantha said. “Nothing but a bullet hole.”

  Dakota looked at the other two agents. “Let’s get Special Agent Reese loaded onto the chopper.” Back at Ponder, he said, “I want you to email me a list of every person involved in the security of this ship.” He gave him the address.

  The man nodded and walked over to the computer. A few clicks and he turned back. “You have it.”

  “Good.” Dakota dialed a number. “Jazz, I’m sending you a list of names I need you to run ASAP. We’re looking for financial information. Debts, large deposits made recently, anything that jumps out at you. And I want pictures matching the names. Thanks.” He hung up, pressed a few buttons on his phone, and said, “We should have that info soon.”

  “So, Special Agent Reese was carrying important information,” Connor mused. “And someone wants that information.”

  “They think I have it,” Samantha said.

  “You were the one who saw the body first. You were alone in the bathroom with him before running out. Could he have slipped something in your pocket?” His gaze met hers. “Or something on Andy?”

  She paled. “I don’t know. I doubt it. I certainly didn’t see—or feel—him do anything like that.”

  “We need to go through your clothing and Andy’s from yesterday.”

  “Let’s get back to the cabin and check.”

  Dakota’s phone dinged and he glanced at the screen. “Okay, I think we have a few answers here.”

  Samantha frowned. “What?”

  He looked at Officer Ponder and said, “We’ve got two officers that don’t match their pictures.”

  The man snapped his gaze to Dakota. “Who?”

  “Simon Ellis and Francis Harkum.”

  Connor slammed his gaze into Ponder. “Didn’t you notice when the wrong men showed up for work?”

  The man’s eyes went wide. “No, we get new staff all the time. Their paperwork checked out fine as far as I knew. They were hired by the company and assigned to this ship. I’d have no way of knowing.”

  A gasp escaped Sam. “Simon Ellis. Isn’t he one of
the officers assigned to Jenna and Andy?”

  Before she had an answer, she’d spun on her heel and flew from the office. Connor raced after her, yelling over his shoulder, “Call for backup on that hall, now!”

  Jenna stared at the man with the gun. The man who was supposed to be protecting her, not scaring the daylights out of her. She glanced into the bedroom where Andy slept. He’d been cranky and ill and she’d offered to lie down with him. The fact that he hadn’t put up a fuss told her everything she needed to know.

  When the knock came, she’d taken all precautions, looked through the peephole, asked for ID. And now she stared at a gun once more.

  “What do you want?” She did her best to keep her terror at bay and her voice low. Waking Andy right now would not be a good thing.

  “Where is it? He gave it to that woman.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Nobody gave anything to Samantha.”

  Simon Ellis’s eyes cut toward Andy. “Then he put it on her.”

  “If he did, she doesn’t know about it.”

  “Start searching.”

  “What?” She blinked.

  “Start looking for anything that looks like a flash drive.” He lifted the gun a little higher. “And if you try anything, I don’t have any problem putting a bullet in a kid, you understand?”

  Jenna’s fear tripled. She swallowed. “I understand.”

  But she also knew that if Samantha or her father had found something, they would have mentioned it to her. Now her mind clicked as she desperately tried to figure out a way to put out a distress signal.

  Pulling open drawers, she rifled through the things she’d just unpacked yesterday. And found nothing, of course. She didn’t expect to, but going through the motions seemed to make the man with the gun happy and that was all that mattered to her right now.

  Think, think, she ordered her sluggish brain. There was another officer outside. If she could get his attention … but what if he was in on it?

  Curses reached her ears and she flinched, watching him from the corner of her eye.

  He spun back around. “Upstairs.”

  Away from Andy. That was fine with her. As she stepped out of the room, Andy stirred and her heart jumped. Then he let out a sigh and settled back down.

  With a prayer on her lips, she followed the man to the stairs.

  Samantha flew up the stairs, down through the hallway, and stopped on instinct as she came to her hallway. Composing herself, she turned, hearing Connor and the others right behind her.

  One guard still stood at the door. She’d never seen him before, but she kept an eye on his body language as he caught sight of them.

  “Harkham?” she said.

  He jerked, pulled out his phone even while he nodded and put on a smile for her.

  Samantha turned to Dakota. “He’s one of them.”

  Dakota trained his weapon on the officer. “Hang it up.”

  Harkham gulped and did.

  “Where’s Ellis?” Sam demanded.

  “He … uh … took a little break. Should be back soon.”

  Sam looked at the men. “He’s in the room.”

  Connor was swiping the card before she finished speaking.

  Jenna heard the door open the same time he did.

  “Jenna!”

  “Dad!”

  Without hesitating, she left the drawer half closed, spun on her heel, and flew down the steps. Thundering feet chased after her. She saw her father standing just inside the door, Samantha behind him.

  Her father’s eyes went wide, his mouth opened, and Jenna threw herself flat at the bottom of the steps just as a gun cracked behind her.

  Two more shots followed from in front of her.

  A harsh cry escaped the man trying to harm her, and she heard him hit the stairs. Scrambling to her feet, she launched herself at her father even as Dakota pushed his way in, gun still smoking.

  She felt her dad’s arms wrap around her. Then heard, “Mommy!”

  From the corner of her eye, Jenna saw Samantha bolt into the bedroom and snatch Andy close to her heart. Her brother let go of his truck and Jenna saw something fall from it to land on the floor at Samantha’s feet. Her stepmother never noticed.

  Jenna pulled away from her father and walked over to Samantha and Andy.

  Samantha asked, “Are you all right?”

  “Yes. I am now.” Jenna leaned over and picked up the silver and black miniature flash drive about the size of her thumbnail. “And I think this may be what everyone has been after.”

  Samantha took the drive and stared at it. Then she looked up at Jenna. “Where did this come from?”

  “It fell out of Andy’s truck.”

  The light went on. “In the bathroom.” She looked at Connor. “Special Agent Reese slipped it in Andy’s truck when we left to get him help.”

  “His one last act of heroism,” Dakota declared. The handcuffed Francis Harkham glowered. Dakota asked him, “So what’s on here?”

  “Nothing. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Dakota laughed. “Right.”

  Connor shrugged. “We’ll figure it out.”

  As the FBI led the two criminals away, Samantha fell into Connor’s arms and let him hold her and Andy. “Is it over?”

  “I’m not sure yet.”

  “It’s over.” Officer Ponder placed his radio back onto his clip. “The young man who tried to take your daughter, Drake Walker, was just apprehended by two of my staff.”

  Connor pulled Jenna into their hug. He looked down at the body of Simon Ellis, now covered with a sheet. “I would say it’s over.”

  Samantha raked a hand through her hair and hugged Andy even tighter. “Then can we take a vacation?”

  “On a deserted island?” Connor lifted a brow even as his lips quirked in a wry smile.

  “Exactly.”

  “I’ll call the travel agent in the morning.”

  Acknowledgments

  I want to thank my parents, Lewis and Lou Jean Barker, for taking the whole family on an Eastern Caribbean cruise in July 2010. We had a wonderful and exciting adventure! (Thankfully not quite as exciting as the one Samantha and Connor just lived through!)

  I also want to give a huge thanks to Baker Publishing Group/Revell for stepping out of the box and trying something new with this short ebook. I appreciate your faith in me—and your marketing team!

  I also want to say a big thanks to the people who helped with all of my law enforcement research. Wayne Smith, retired FBI agent, Officer Jim Hall, and my crimescenewriter yahoo group. You all are amazing and I thank God for you!

  Lynette Eason is the bestselling author of the Women of Justice and Deadly Reunions romantic suspense series. She is a member of American Fiction Christian Writers and Romance Writers of America. She and her husband and two children make their home in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

  Visit Lynette at www.lynetteeason.com.

  1

  “Wake up, partner,” the voice rumbled in his ear as Connor Wolfe’s sleep-drugged mind struggled to keep up. “We’ve found another body. In a dumpster behind the BI-LO off East Main.”

  He shifted the phone and glanced at the clock.

  The number 2:08 glared at him. Great. Just the way he wanted to start his Monday morning.

  “Be right there.” He hung up and closed his eyes for a brief moment before gathering the energy to swing his feet to the floor. Two hours of sleep. Well, he’d gone with less. However, at the age of forty-two, he seemed to feel the lack a lot more than he did ten years ago. Shaking his head to fling off the fog of interrupted sleep, he headed for the shower, wondering if he should wake up Jenna, his sixteen-year-old daughter, or just hope she slept through the rest of the night.

  He settled on leaving her a note. Fifteen minutes later, hair still damp, he directed his unmarked Ford toward the crime scene. His partner, Andrew West, would meet him there.

  First a cop, then a homicide d
etective with SLED, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Connor had seen a lot in relation to crime, but this case had him by the throat and wouldn’t let go. Six disappearances and now three dead bodies—and very limited evidence. The first girl disappeared sixteen months ago.When the second victim disappeared two months later, speculation ran rampant. Were the vanishings related?

  Then the third girl, Leslie Sanders, disappeared five weeks after that, and SLED had taken over the case. Connor had been the lead detective assigned to it, not only because it was his hometown, but because he’d also requested it. He had a lot of contacts—and he hoped he’d be able to spend more time with Jenna if they were living in the same city for an extended period of time. Since accepting the position as a detective for SLED in Columbia a year ago, Connor had lived there and Jenna had stayed behind with her grandparents against Connor’s better judgment. But he had to make a living, and SLED operatives were required to live within a fifty-mile radius of the state’s capital. However, as long as he was working the case, he could reside in the city where the investigation took place. And be near Jenna so he could work on repairing a relationship he was afraid was beyond help.

  On the plus side, he’d been paired up with Andrew West, a new detective working his first case with SLED, but Connor’s closest friend for many years. A man he considered the brother he’d never had. The match had been perfect.

  Connor knew in his gut the girls’ deaths were connected—he just couldn’t prove it. The first two crime scenes didn’t even connect the two girls except for one thing. They’d both had a baby.

  If this third dead girl showed evidence of giving birth, Connor would know without a doubt they had a serial killer on their hands. He hoped he was wrong.

  Was pretty sure he wasn’t.

  It was why he and Andrew had been called in on this case. Sheriff Chesterfield usually hesitated about calling in outside help, but was professional enough to admit he needed their help and resources.

  Dead girls and terrified parents. Not a pretty combination. Add gullible kids who thought bad things only happened to other people, and he had a potentially explosive situation on his hands. The attorney general’s office and the governor demanded answers he didn’t have, the media wouldn’t let it go, and the mayor had resorted to threats.