Valentine's Day is Murder
Page 7
“They will kill me if I tell you all I know. But I do know who has your friend.”
Sara moved in front of her. “Please, tell us. He’s very dear to us.”
The woman’s lips twitched and Sean wondered if she was going to bawl at any second.
“We will pay you anything you want,” Sean offered.
“They are not after money.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you received a ransom call?”
“No.”
“And you won’t.”
“I don’t understand any of this. What are you talking about?” He hated being as clueless as he felt.
“I don’t know everything…” Her eyes fell to the floor.
First she mentioned that she wouldn’t tell them everything, and now she spoke as if she knew nothing. Sean put his fingers under her chin to lift her gaze. “Speak, please.”
She swallowed and took a deep breath. “They will kill him. I know they are prepared to do this. The woman he was with, is she dead?” Her gaze darted between them.
“They tried,” Sara answered.
“See, I tell you the truth.”
“If they don’t want money, then what do they want?”
She chewed her bottom lip and maintained the silence for seconds. “You.”
-
Chapter 19
THINKING IT THROUGH
“WHY WOULD THEY WANT US if it’s not about the money?” Sean paced inside the store.
Sara put her hand on his shoulder. “Whoever did this must want to get even with us for something.”
“But the enterprise they have going on here,” he gestured wildly as he spoke, “all the people involved with this. How could someone from back home be so connected here?”
“I don’t know, but we need to figure it out.”
Sean went over to the Jamaican woman. “We need you to take us to our friend.”
She shook her head. “No, they will kill you.”
“We can take care of ourselves. Trust us.” Sara stepped in, her plea cemented with the intensity in her eyes.
“I can tell you, but I will not take you.”
“Why are you helping us?” Sean realized he probably shouldn’t have pressed their luck, but he had to know. She already said the men who had Jimmy were capable of murder by saying they wanted to kill him and Sara. What was her reasoning for telling them?
Her eyes went to the floor and then rose to meet Sara’s. “I am tired of everything. They need to be stopped.”
“Everything?” Sara picked up on the key word that the woman tended to say a lot.
“They have their hands in many things—illegal things. If I told you, they would kill me. If they knew I spoke to you, they’d kill me.”
Sean wasn’t going to ask his question again, or rephrase it. He noticed she had diverted his inquiry rather well. She didn’t have sound reason for talking to them.
“I can tell you where he is,” she began, and then she directed them to a compound outside of the tourist’s destination areas. “Now, I really have to go.”
Sean nodded his head and the Jamaican left. He took Sara’s hand and they went out the front door. No one was in sight. It was like the entire street had become a ghost town, except that Sean felt eyes on them and it had the hairs rising on his neck.
He pulled Sara in toward him as they ambled down the sidewalk. “Something with her isn’t sitting well with me. She tells us they are killers, yet she still talks to us? I don’t think she’s doing so out of the goodness of her heart.”
Sara shook her head. “Me either. She’d have nothing to gain and her life to lose.”
“And she shows up at just the right time.”
“And if they were after us from the beginning why not talk to us at the restaurant? Of course, if she really is trying to help us, she couldn’t have done so there. Eyes would have been on her.”
“Paul.”
“Yes, and who knows, maybe others.”
“They didn’t want us to know Jimmy’s the bait for us.”
“I don’t like the correlation. The bait always dies.
“Yeah, but so does the catch.”
-
Chapter 20
CONNECTING THE DOTS
SEAN AND SARA FOUND a payphone. With the sun beaming down on it, it took on a heavenly connotation or apparition of sorts.
Sean dialed through to Meredith’s resort and held the phone out so Sara could hear them on the other end.
“Sorry, sa, but there are no messages.”
“You’re certain?”
“Very.”
Sean hung up. The amount of silence coming from Jimmy’s abductor was unsettling. If they were after him and Sara, why not reel them in more aggressively, unless…
The revelation struck with clarity. “I have a feeling our informant told us what she was supposed to.”
“Sean?”
“No message at the resort, but nonetheless we received one.”
“It’s possible. You think they have eyes on us?”
“I think they saw us get on that boat and watched where we docked.”
“So if they are watching us, why not pick us up? Confront us? Kill us?” Her cheeks sank inward as if she were going to be ill on the last statement.
“They are wanting to play a game and have us come to them.”
Her brown eyes latched with his—the green and gold flecks were electric. “You’ve done it, darling.”
“Done what?”
“When you said a game, I thought a game of cat and mouse, and my mind immediately went back to our days as cops.”
“Like we mentioned before. Instead of it being someone that Jimmy put away, it was us?”
“Why not? They could want to get even.”
“You’re forgetting one thing, though. The people we put away get long sentences. We were partners for two years and married for about one—a total of three years. There’s no way any of them would be up for parole, let alone free.”
“Is it necessary that they be free?”
Her fired question rendered him silent. He hadn’t thought about it from that angle. “You’re thinking they have ties to someone on the outside that could make this happen.”
“I do.”
“Finding out who is what we need to answer.”
“Yes, and desperately.”
Sean dialed another number. This time collect and overseas. Adam answered in the middle of the second ring. He accepted the charges with an ecstatic yes and when the call was connected, he spoke right away. “I’ve been trying to reach you. I’ve left messages. Where have you been? Are you okay? Is Sara—”
“We’re both fine, but we need your help.”
“Name it.”
“We need you to hack into the Albany PD database and get a record of the people Sara and I put away.”
There was only a second’s pause. “So between two and three years ago?”
“Correct.”
“What are you guys thinking?”
“Jimmy’s not the real target. We are.” Sean had the impact hit his stomach, sort of like Sara had seemed to earlier. There was something about saying it out loud that made it real. The movies showed people in fear for their lives all the time, but it was quite different to be the target in reality.
“And you’re thinking it’s someone you put away?”
“We believe it’s serving as motivation.”
“I’m not following.”
“We suspect that someone on the outside is acting out for someone in prison.”
“This person also has to have a pulse on our current whereabouts,” Sara added.
Adam went quiet.
“Are you still there?” Sean asked.
; “Yes, sorry, I was just thinking.”
“Are you going to share with us?”
“No, not right now.”
Sean didn’t like the underlying anxiety that pinched each of Adam’s words. “What did you find out with Clara’s ex-boyfriend?”
“I’m pretty certain he’s not behind this.”
“Well, keep digging. There’s a connection in our past somewhere. It’s probably safe to focus on our history now, though, and not Jimmy’s or Meredith’s.”
“You got it, boss.”
“There’s one more thing.”
“Name it.”
“We were given directions, and an approach, to a compound where they are apparently holding Jimmy.”
“Really? It sounds like a trap.”
Sara brushed his arm and he connected eyes with her.
“That’s why I want you to confirm how best to enter the property.”
“I can do that,” Adam said.
“Good. We don’t have a cell phone at the moment, but will have Sara’s soon. You have that number?”
“What happened to your—never mind. Yes, I have her number.”
“Great.” Sean gave him the directions the Jamaican woman had provided them. “Please get us that information as soon as possible.”
“You got—”
Sean hung up on Adam mid-sentence. He addressed Sara. “We’ll get back to our resort, grab your phone, and hopefully Adam has our information then.”
-
Chapter 21
BLACK STREAKS
ADAM’S BREATHING HADN’T SLOWED DOWN since he hung up with the McKinleys. There was a lot they weren’t telling him. Sean had no cell phone and he wasn’t sure he really wanted to know what happened to it, so he didn’t ask.
It didn’t stop him from having his own ideas, though. In fact, his imagination was running overtime these days. All he had to do was consider his preoccupation with Ralph Hudson—look where that got him. Nowhere, but further behind.
Now, his mind considered a new person in the McKinleys’ life. Still, to verbalize who without proof to back up his wild suspicion felt wrong. First, he would get some concrete evidence and then he would call Sean and Sara. They had enough to worry about without him rambling on about his hunches.
While he’d always had gut feelings, with working under Sean and Sara, they had become more dominant. He was actually starting to rely on those instincts. Most of his life he’d suppressed the little voices that did their best to govern his decisions. He preferred to think of himself as being the one in control.
Before he’d allow himself to dig into his epiphany, he’d do what Sean had asked of him specifically—the compound. He didn’t like the sound of that word. It conjured up bad feelings as if the word were associated with evil and violence. He understood Sean’s need to verify approach. At least Adam was safe on American soil while the McKinleys had to face whoever wanted them dead.
It was hard to believe anyone would have such strong emotions of ill will toward the couple. They were sweet and caring and thought of others. They solved mysterious deaths—free of charge—with one request. The money that would have been paid out for a private investigation was to be donated to charity. They never even worried themselves over controlling which foundation. They trusted people, despite the fact their lives as cops would have tried to instill the opposite.
Adam accessed a satellite and spotted the compound. It was outside of the main tourist hub, and the property surrounding the building was covered with dense overgrowth. It wasn’t that far from the Caribbean Sea and had a boat dock.
Referencing how the McKinleys were directed to enter, it was a good thing they had called him to verify. He dialed Sara’s number and prayed for an answer.
THEY HAD A TAXI DROP them off at their resort.
“We do this quick and we watch over our shoulder.” Sean led Sara by the arm.
She kept pace with him. “I understand, darling. In and out, as quick as possible.”
“Good day. Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. McKinley.” The woman at the front desk greeted them, but they kept moving to the elevator bank.
Sara pressed the button and tapped her foot as they waited. While everything was starting to come together, it was crumbling just as quickly. It was a contrast of irony. Her mind kept going to Jimmy being held against his will because of something they had done. If anything happened to him, how would she forgive herself?
The elevator car dinged notifying its arrival to the ground floor.
She stepped inside, a shiver lacing down her spine. “What if we’re being followed, Sean? What if someone is in our room?”
“No one stood out to me, darling. If they wanted us dead, we already would be. I really do believe it’s more of a game to them. They want to lure us in.”
“Well, it’s working.”
They reached their floor and entered their room.
“Here’s the thing, though, if whoever’s behind this wants us dead, why not do it already?” She paced around the room. “Why did the captain try to kill us? He can’t be the main person behind this.”
“Good questions. And no, he’s not. He committed suicide to avoid who is in charge.”
“Almost like he was supposed to knock us out and take us to whoever is.”
“Yeah.”
“So if it’s not just about killing us, then what is it?”
“They want to face us beforehand.”
“Great. They have an ego that needs its say before they pull the trigger.”
Sean pressed his lips.
“I just keep going over all of it in my head. And the gold, where does it fit in?”
“Another good question.” Sean pulled the coin out of his pocket. “It’s an obvious part of their enterprise. The thing is, I haven’t seen any other vendors selling gold. You remember how in Cancun they offered silver?”
“Yes, and my parents went to the Dominican Republic years ago and they had silver too, and teal stones. What is your point?”
“If gold was a natural commodity here, it would be everywhere.”
She finished his thought. “But it’s not.”
“Let me see your cell.”
She fished it out of her purse and handed it over to him.
He clicked some buttons, and after a few seconds, he said, “Jamaica had a goldmine a long time ago, but it’s now closed. In fact, it was only around for a few years due to management issues and low yield.”
“So if gold isn’t a common element here…”
Sean’s attention was on the phone’s screen. “They mine gypsum, marble, and silica. Apparently, they are also known for a thriving sand and gravel industry.”
“Where are these people getting the gold then?”
Sean handed her phone back to her and studied the coin. “Do you have anything magnetic?”
Sara looked around the room, her gaze settling on her purse. She opened it. “Will the clasp work?”
He took it from her and held the coin to it. She saw the draw between the two items.
“No way. Come with me.”
“Sean?” She struggled to keep up as he headed back to the lobby and took off poolside to where there was an ongoing buffet of food.
He grabbed a ceramic plate and ran the coin along it.
“What are you doing?” Sara asked as she looked to see if anyone was watching.
Sean held up the dish and there was a black streak where he had rubbed the coin. “Just as I thought.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Real gold isn’t magnetic and only fake leaves behind a black mark. The real deal would leave gold.”
“So they are peddling fake gold?”
Sean cupped her elbow and moved them out of earshot from a couple who came over for some food.
“Fake gold. But if it’s not real then what is it?”
“I kind of remember hearing about tungsten gold bricks showing up in Manhattan a couple years back.”
Her heart beat off-rhythm. “Yes. You’re right. It was a gold-counterfeiting operation that originally started off in the UK and Europe.”
“Your memory is priceless.”
“Yes.” She attempted to smile at the compliment, but her concerns for getting Jimmy back superseded basking in the moment. “Here’s the thing, if they only mine what you mentioned they’d have to ship in their tungsten, and whatever else they are using.”
“They’d likely have a private dock or have it sent in by plane. Maybe both?”
“Either way, there’d be a lot of hands in this pot. We’re in trouble, aren’t we?”
“We might be in a little over our heads.”
“What do you suggest, Sean?”
“I think we have to go to the local authorities.”
“The police? What if they don’t believe anything we say?”
Sara’s phone rang and her concentration was so deep that the tone cut through the air as if a raid siren. She answered. “Adam, what have you—”
“I wouldn’t go involving the police, Mrs. McKinley.”
Sara reached for Sean to keep her upright. “It’s them,” she mouthed to him. To her caller, she said, “Is Jimmy still alive?” She held out her phone so Sean could hear their response.
“Now, all in due time, but if you want your friend to live keep this between us.”
“Who are you?”
“Oh no,” their caller paused to chuckle, “it is not quite time—yet. Soon.”
“What do you want from us?” Sean asked.
“I want you both to die.”
Their caller hung up.
“Sean, what are we going to do? We can’t involve the police. They’re obviously tracking us somehow. I mean, how do they even have my number?”
Sean held his finger to his lips and then threw her cell phone down and stomped it on the ground. The plastic case shattered, as did the screen.