“What are you—”
He took her hand and led her down to the beach. “Your phone was hot to the touch when I was searching the Internet on it upstairs.”
“I don’t get what you’re saying.”
“It’s a sign that your phone was tapped. While that, and the fact, they obviously heard our conversation to call when they did.”
“We weren’t talking on the phone, though.”
“You don’t have to be. They could have remotely activated the microphone.”
“Oh my.” Sara’s hand briefly covered her mouth and then she dropped it. “So they want us to come to them? Then we give them their wish.”
“Are you sure?”
“We have to get Jimmy back.”
“I agree.” He gave her a solid hug and pulled back. “As soon as night falls, we’ll head in.”
“You do remember how dark it gets here.”
“I’m counting on it.”
-
Chapter 22
A SUSPICION
UNBELIEVABLE. The phone rang straight to voice mail.
Adam had circled his desk so many times he was surprised he hadn’t worn a pattern into the wood flooring. If they entered the compound the original way, the McKinleys might as well walk through the front gate, accompanied by a blowing trumpet.
He had to calm his breathing.
It was pretty bad when he had to coach himself to manage a natural bodily function, but if he didn’t slow his intake of air, he’d pass out. That wouldn’t be good for anyone.
He tried again and this time left a message on her cell. He could call the resort but didn’t think it would net him anything. All he was left with was wait and see. Or was he?
Maybe he could reach the McKinleys’ flight crew and get their help. Again, though, what would that accomplish? If Sean and Sara weren’t at the resort, how would they be able to catch up with them?
Adam’s stomach roiled and he popped another antacid. He was starting to lose count of how many he was taking these days. After reaching number ten in two days, he didn’t see a point in tracking it any longer.
An option was to call the local police, but Adam didn’t know how far this network reached. With a compound that size, a lot of people would be involved—and these type of people didn’t stand on their own. At least, in pulling from the movies, people conducting illegal activities typically bought authority figures. Without knowing who, it could be too risky.
Dropping into his chair, Adam set out looking into the McKinleys’ newest addition—Helen Warner. Everyone had a past, and he was determined to find out all about hers. After he finished there, he would look into Sean’s and Sara’s previous arrests.
THERE WAS A LOT OF excitement going on outside his window. Jimmy sensed they were getting ready for something, and a deep part of him had a suspicion as to what. If they had wanted to kill him, they would have done so already. If it was about ransom money, they would have requested he provide proof of life. There was only one explanation—whoever was behind this wanted Sean and Sara dead. The concept of that wrenched at his gut.
Despite the odds against all of them, Jimmy couldn’t give in to the thought that they might not make it out of this alive.
-
Chapter 23
REALITY SINKS IN
SEAN AND SARA WALKED DOWN the beach, going farther from their resort.
“Who is behind this, Sean?”
“Darling, I don’t know yet.”
“We have to figure it out.” She stopped walking. “If we get the who, we’ll get the why. We’ll know how they think.”
“Hopefully.”
She let out a long exhale. “For one thing, this is personal.” She let her eyes trace to the sea and then back to him. “I hate to say the name of the person I’m thinking about. Not a criminal—that we know of—but this person might lead us to one.”
“Who?”
“Helen Warner.”
“Our live-in maid? She’s also a mother of a little girl.”
Sara hitched her shoulders. “She’s also new to our lives, but someone in her past might not be.”
“She would have known that Jimmy was in Jamaica, that we had the means to get on a plane and fly down.”
“I just hate to think someone detests us enough to want us dead.”
He placed his hand on her lower back. “As cops, that would include most of the bad guys.”
“I suppose, but I just hid behind the badge and let it roll off me.”
“Same situation here, baby.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Of course I am.” He smiled smugly as he wrapped an arm around her. “We better get to a payphone and call Adam.”
“Good idea. He’d be worried about us if he tried my cell.”
THE PHONE RANG AND HAD Adam jumping a few inches off his chair. He didn’t bother referencing the caller ID but answered in blind hope. “Sean?”
“No, it’s Clara.”
“Oh.” The single word deflated on an exhale.
“Nice to hear you too.”
“It’s not what I—”
“I assume that Jimmy’s not back yet?”
“Not yet,” Adam said, alluding to more hope than he felt.
“If you hear anything, please let me know.”
“I will.” Adam clicked off wishing he’d had good news to share. The phone hadn’t touched the desk when it rang again. “Sean?”
“This is.”
“Oh, thank heavens.” If Adam were religious, he would have signed the cross.
“What have you found out?”
“I don’t see anything there yet.”
“What—”
Adam realized he had responded on auto-pilot and was speaking in reference to Helen Warner. “Never mind. I was referring to something else.”
“The compound?”
“Yeah, I looked into it. If you entered the way you were told to, you’d be exposed the minute you touched the property. There is one other way to go about it.” He laid it out for them, hoping they had the ability to do what was required to access it by this means.
“All right. We’ll figure it out. And Adam?”
“Yeah?”
“Who are you looking into?”
“What do you mean?”
“I got the feeling that, at first, you were referring to someone, not to something.”
Adam was impressed. Sean McKinley was a genius of sorts himself. “Helen Warner,” Adam confessed.
“We had the same thought. Leave my earlier request for now, focus on her.”
Adam’s breathing steadied.
“Are you still there?”
“I’m here.”
“Keep digging. You do what you do, we’ll do what we do.”
“You got it. What about Sara’s phone?”
“It’s out of commission.”
Adam didn’t like the sound of that. “Just stay safe.”
“We will.”
SEAN PLACED THE PAYPHONE RECEIVER back down and turned to Sara. “How good are your scuba diving skills?”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
-
Chapter 24
OVERBOARD
SEAN SECURED A BOAT, but he couldn’t say he was feeling too excited about taking another dip in the sea. Still, it was their best bet. Men would likely be watching the waterline, but wouldn’t expect them to approach from underneath.
He took them out into the bay, toward their target location. It required they pass over the approximate area where Paul had been given a burial at sea. When this was all over, they had to make sure that he and the captain received proper interment. There was no way it would benefit them to report it before then—especially if the police were involve
d somehow.
“Are you good, darling?” Sean looked back at Sara. She was already in her scuba suit and seated on the back bench of the boat.
At least there was lighting that ran along the interior perimeter of the boat to cast some illumination. Otherwise, out on the water, there was little support from the moon.
“Sean, I’m ready, but I also have a bad feeling.”
He didn’t need to hear that, and not at a time like this, not when they were getting ready to set out. When she had a “feeling” it was usually sealed in reality.
“What about?” he asked, swallowing his fear, the saliva settling in his stomach as bile. “Are we going to drown?”
“No, not that.”
He cut the engine and threw the anchor overboard. They would swim from here. “Then what?”
“I hope we don’t have to kill anyone.”
“If it’s between us and them…”
Sara came up next to him and put her hand on his arm. “I know, Sean. You’ll do what you have to do to protect us. Did you ever shoot anyone as a cop?”
He wished she hadn’t asked because she’d expect an answer. It was one he wasn’t proud of. While some partners may have discussed this type of history with each other, he and Sara never had. “I did. Once.” The emotions from the time resurfaced with alarming clarity.
“I never had to. I was always thankful for that. I never understood the cops who bragged about shooting a perp.”
“Me either. I promise you, I will do all within my power to make these men face justice, this side of the grave.”
She kissed his cheek and then moved to his lips. “I love you, Sean.”
He blinked back the overwhelming urge to carry her off and away from all this, but there was no escape. They had to face what was before them. “I love you too.” He pressed his forehead to hers.
They stood together like that for a while before she pulled back. “Let’s get Jimmy.”
He nodded and geared up the rest of the way. They strapped on their tanks and when everything checked out fine, jumped out of the boat.
-
Chapter 25
STEALTH
THE MOMENT SARA DOVE BENEATH the surface, her skin tingled. Logic dictated they were approaching the compound by the most intelligent angle. The possibility of them being seen before the opportune moment was slim. Still, there was that ache in her stomach.
Sean led the way through the murky sea. The two things guiding their way were a GPS and small lights on their head gear.
To think, all they should have to do in life was sit back and relax, yet here they were, diving through the Caribbean Sea—at night.
Something brushed against her leg and her heart thumped. She didn’t want to look. A rush of images flashed through her mind—most of them based on shots from Jaws. She hesitated a second longer before turning to see what had touched her.
A school of small fish swam alongside her and periodically tapped against her legs—harmless little fish.
She coaxed herself to calm and continued to draw steady, even breaths from the regulator. They only had a fifteen-minute swim if they pushed it, and the sooner this was behind them, the better.
Sean stopped and motioned that it was soon time to surface.
This was the one part she didn’t look forward to. She reached up and flicked off the light. Surrounded by utter darkness, she willed her imagination to become silent.
They broke the surface with minimal noise and came up beside the dock belonging to the compound. A man paced back and forth on the land in front of it, a large gun strapped to him.
What were they thinking when they’d believed they could carry this off? They had managed to secure two handguns—on the down-low by asking around—but they didn’t really stack up against high-powered artillery.
She dipped a little lower in the water when she heard the footsteps of a man on the dock, followed, soon after, by his silhouette.
Here, light from the compound bathed the property and reached a few feet over the water.
She and Sean were tucked in at the side of the dock. If the men looked hard enough, they’d notice them, but luckily, it seemed their focus was farther off.
She noticed a weapon strapped to the second man as well. She looked at Sean, certain that panic occupied her features.
He pointed to the end of the dock and jabbed his finger up to indicate the top of it.
She acknowledged with a nod and he made his way around.
The man who had been passing on the land was out of sight. She’d feel better if she had an eye on him.
Turning back to Sean, he was already hoisting himself onto the deck. The man who had been pacing its length had his back to him. Sean slunk along behind him, rising only when he was a few inches away and pressed his gun into the man’s back. “Yell and I’ll squeeze the trigger.”
HIS HEART WAS PUMPING FAST. He knew there was one more, somewhere out there, but he had to focus on the here and now.
This man had a few inches on him and was solid muscle. Still he was brought down in size by the barrel of a gun located at the base of his spine. Even if Sean had no real intention of firing off a round, if it meant the difference between this man living or him and Sara, the choice was obvious.
Sean leaned in closer to the man. “Where is he?”
“I’m not talking to you.” Each word was stamped with a Jamaican flavor.
Sean thrust the gun forward. “Tell me.”
“The main building. Downstairs.”
Sean knew Sara was watching and that she wouldn’t like what he had to do next, but if he didn’t, they’d be shot in the back. He slammed the butt of the gun onto the man’s head and he collapsed to the deck like a ragdoll.
-
Chapter 26
CLOSE ENCOUNTER
THINK. THINK. THINK.
Maybe if Adam repeated this advice enough, it would stick and everything would become clear.
The background on Helen Warner came back clean. Her family, her ex-husband—and his family—showed no criminal history. Adam felt like he had reached a dead end.
Without knowing who was behind this, Sean and Sara were going in blind. In actuality, he realized they were. But if they had their opponent’s motivation, it would give them a powerful weapon.
In the McKinleys’ case, they didn’t have this, and without a way for Adam to reach them, even if he figured it out, he wouldn’t be able to advise them.
He racked his brain trying to think of other likely suspects. They would have to know that Jimmy had gone to Jamaica and where he was staying. Based on the way it was organized, the person behind this had roots on the island. He sensed this person’s identity was staring him in the face.
He had to get ahold of a legal authority to help Sean and Sara out, but the local cops weren’t an option. Thinking this again, brought the answer. He knew who could help. Adam picked up his phone.
SEAN LOWERED TO THE DOCK and held his hands out toward Sara.
She did a sweep of the property. There was no sign of the second man.
He hoisted her up and they left their tanks and flippers at the water’s edge and set out, sticking to the property line.
“I don’t know where the other guy went, Sean.” Her voice was a whisper, but it cut through the night.
He touched her arm, and she received his enclosed message. They had to remain as quiet as possible.
The foliage brushed against their suits as they walked. The sound of it making contact with the neoprene struck her as loud and she hoped it didn’t carry. She felt movement on her arm and assumed it was a twig, but when she reached over to wipe it off, her legs froze in place.
Beneath her suit, every hair on her body rose in response to her eight-legged visitor.
“Sean.”
He
kept walking.
“Pssst.”
If he didn’t hear her this time, she would bellow a scream that would curl toes. She was impressed she hadn’t let one out yet. She kept her eyes on her new “friend” as he stretched out his legs on her arm. Even though the light was dim, she saw the hairs that covered his body like prickly whiskers.
“Sean,” she called his name at regular voice level, still proud of her restraint.
“Sara, be—”
She was pointing at her arm. “You’ve got to get it off. Now!”
“Sara—” His eyes settled on the tarantula spread out on her forearm.
“If you don’t get this—” she let out a mumbled squeal, “off me, I’m going scream louder than a banshee!”
Her eyes remained fixed on its form. Its plump torso was hunched up on her arm, its legs poised like it was about to run. Heaven help her.
“All right, stay still.”
She angled her head. There was no way she’d be able to move if she wanted to. Fear had cemented her in place.
Sean ripped a large leaf from a nearby plant and coaxed the creature to walk onto it. When its last leg was off her, she jumped a couple times as she shuddered. She fought the urge to strip naked.
He tossed the spider into the brush. “Let’s go.”
“Nope. I can’t move.”
“You just jumped a second—”
“You should have listened to him,” a man said from behind them. It was the second one she had lost sight of. He had his gun aimed at them. “Drop your guns to the ground.”
Sara and Sean followed his directions and then lifted their hands in surrender.
-
Chapter 27
SOMETIMES, YOU HAVE TO GET DIRTY
THE MAN KEPT HITTING SEAN in the back with the butt of his gun. The large weapon made for quite the prod, and its implication was enough to get the point across. Sean and Sara would take the pace the armed man set.
The good news was they were headed straight toward the main building. Were they being taken to Jimmy or to whoever was behind all this?
Valentine's Day is Murder Page 8
