She smirked and hopped in the driver’s side.
“When the hell did you last clean this truck out?” Gabriel said kicking around four empty cups of coffee on the floor, as well as several sandwich and donut wrappers.
“About an hour ago.”
He shook his head and shouted out the window. “Cary, call my father. Tell him I’m down at Franklin and I want to file a complaint for an unlawful arrest.”
“Yeah, Cary, and while you’re at it, let him know that I’m arresting him on drug charges.”
“Drugs?” Gabriel asked acting confused.
She fired up the engine and reversed out leaving the college crowd in a plume of dust and grit. The truck tore up the sandy gravel driveway that headed back to the main road.
“You see, it really pays to be honest from the start, Gabriel. You tell one lie, and it might be forgiven but you tell a couple and no one is going to believe you, and when you have a murdered friend and you’re found to be partying it up, it raises a few eyebrows.”
“I told you I wasn’t involved.”
“Save it for the polygraph.”
“Polygraph?”
“Haven’t you heard? It’s all the rage. Even small towns are using them. It saves on interviewing suspects for hours and going back and forth. We just strap you up to a machine, crank up that bad boy and toss questions at you. It doesn’t take long to weed out the liars.”
“But they aren’t reliable,” he said.
“I know, isn’t it great?”
He blew his cheeks out and dropped his chin. Just as the truck made it to 30A and Skylar turned east heading back to the department, a neon green souped-up Honda turned down the road they’d just come out of. It was hard to see the occupants because of the dark tinted windows. Skylar didn’t think twice and assumed it was more fraternity brothers.
Minutes later as she drove in silence down the long stretch of road, she glanced in her rearview mirror and saw the same Honda following, except it wasn’t keeping its distance, it was accelerating at a high rate of speed.
Before she had time to react, it slammed into the back of the truck jerking them forward. She gripped the wheel tight trying to keep the tires on the ground as she swerved off the road, tore up some of the hard shoulder and managed to recover.
No sooner had the tires hit the asphalt than a spray of bullets peppered the truck, and took out the rear window. Glass shattered and covered them like a blanket. “What the hell?” Gabriel yelled. Skylar reached over and shoved his head down to keep him out of the line of fire then pulled her Glock while keeping one hand on the wheel. She returned fire three times causing the Honda to swerve. And yet it still kept coming. This time the attack was even harder.
Skylar got on the radio alerting them to the danger.
“Officer under attack. Shots fired.” She reeled off her location and dropped the radio receiver, swerving to her right to prevent the Honda from coming up alongside them. She knew what they were trying to do and there was no chance in hell she was going to let them do it. She jerked the wheel hard to the right and slammed into them and drove her foot against the accelerator tearing away. The trouble was her truck was no match for the pimped-out Honda. A sudden burst of gunfire, and a feint to the left and they managed to slip up the right side. The vehicles smashed into each other like bumper cars at a fairground, each of them trying to knock the other into the ditch. Several vehicles approaching fishtailed by them almost losing control. She knew she had to stop the Honda before anyone got injured.
The Honda was in her rearview mirror closing the distance once again. She fired a few shots, one of which shattered their windshield. Trying to drive and shoot wasn’t easy. She tried one more time but before she could take aim, the Honda rammed into the back of the truck, jerked to the right and struck the corner, essentially performing a PIT maneuver that was often used by police. The truck spun out of control, brakes screeched, and smoke came off the tires as it spun, left the road, and flipped. What came next occurred in fragments. The sound of glass shattering, steel crunching, and the earth and her vehicle colliding. The truck spun at least twice before coming to rest. In the second spin, Skylar’s head struck the roof and she went out cold.
Seconds, minutes passed until her eyelids fluttered and she awoke to find herself upside down in the truck. She could hear liquid spilling out, she could smell black smoke but couldn’t see Gabriel. Voices. Several. Latino. Then Gabriel crying out. The sound of an engine revving, and a vehicle tearing away from the scene at a high rate of speed.
Skylar reached over and tried releasing the seatbelt that had locked her in but it was jammed. Flames. She saw a burst of fire and knew the whole vehicle would go up once it reached the gas that was leaking out. Upside down she reached for the key fob still in the ignition and tried to get the small penknife attached to it but it was out of reach.
The sound of wailing sirens in the distance echoed as they got closer.
Skylar struggled to get loose but it was impossible. Out the corner of her eye she could see the flames creeping up the side of the vehicle, and smoke pouring in made her cough. If she didn’t die from being burned to death she would choke from smoke inhalation.
Reaching back around to the seatbelt she tried again one more time but it refused to release. She screamed out in anger, more pissed off at the Latinos than scared of dying. After losing Alex and her unborn child, she’d been ready to die a long time ago. But she didn’t want to go out this way, not at the hands of some asshole with a vendetta against a frat boy.
Resigned to her fate, she closed her eyes expecting to hear the sound of the truck explode when vehicles screeched nearby. She heard voices, and one in particular stood out — Harvey’s.
“Hold on, Skylar.”
He appeared to her left and reached in with little concern for his own safety. She saw the glint of a blade and felt him tugging at her seatbelt, and then in the next breath she dropped onto the upside-down roof of the truck and was hauled out by several hands. Coughing and spluttering she was dragged away from the vehicle, up out of the ditch until both of them collapsed back on the asphalt.
“Well hey there, Harv.”
“How on earth do you end up in these situations?” he asked as he coughed.
“Well…”
“Don’t bother.”
She looked back at her vehicle. “At least the truck didn’t—”
Before she could say “explode,” flames ignited the gas tank and it erupted sending a fireball into the air. Metal and plastic debris rained down. On the ground they stared on at the inferno utterly speechless.
“You said you wanted a new truck,” he muttered.
“Right.”
She felt warm liquid running down the side of her face. Skylar reached up and dabbed at it and pulled her hand away to see blood. She wasn’t sure what caused her to black out, whether an adrenaline overload or loss of blood, but the world around her began to spin and then everything turned black.
When Skylar awoke, she found herself in a hospital bed. The sound of beeping could be heard off to her left coming from an EKG machine. She had a tube in her arm and a device clipped to her finger. She could hear the soft sound of voices and make out the silhouette of a few figures before her eyesight corrected itself.
Standing a few feet from the end of her bed were Harvey and an officer from Apalachicola.
She groaned and they both looked her way.
“Oh she’s awake. Okay, Doug, thanks. I’ll be in touch,” Harvey said as the officer left the room. Harvey slipped up to the side of the bed and took a seat in a chair. He pulled it in close and placed his hand on top of hers.
“Hey, how you holding up?”
Her mouth was dry. It took a few seconds to get her bearings but as soon as she did she was able to sit up. Harvey leaned forward and puffed up a few of the pillows behind her. “You gave us quite the scare out there. Of course Reznik and Hanson are yukking it up but that’s to be expected.
How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve drunk seawater.”
“Tasty.”
He took a seat.
“Where am I?”
“The hospital in Apalachicola. I’m afraid to say your truck didn’t make it. But what a fireworks display that was. I haven’t seen fire rise that high since the Fourth of July.”
“Glad I could entertain.”
“What the hell happened out there?”
Before she could form another thought she motioned for a drink, and he got up and returned a few minutes later with a paper cup of water. She downed it fast and tossed it into the garbage.
Skylar adjusted herself and rolled her head around working out the tension. Her body ached, especially her left ribs, and it felt like she’d twisted her ankle as it hurt like hell.
“They found Gabriel?” she asked.
Harvey frowned. “He did this?”
“No,” she said shaking her head. “Latinos.”
“The Latin Syndicate?”
She nodded.
Harvey sighed. “Great. That’s all we need.”
“So no sign of him?”
“You were the only one there when we arrived, I’m afraid.”
“Harvey, you need to put out an APB on a neon green Honda with a shattered windshield.”
He scoffed. “It’s probably been dumped and torched by now but yeah, I’ll get on that.”
“We need to find him.”
“They took him?”
“I was bringing him in when they ran us off the road.”
Harvey tapped her hand. “Leave it with me.” He went to get up and she pulled at his jacket. “Wait, Harvey. Is my jacket around here?”
“Hanging up in the closet.”
She pulled back the sheet and tried to get up but a wave of dizziness hit her.
Harvey stepped forward and supported her. “Whoa, you need to stay in bed. You got a nasty gash to the forehead. You need to stay put for a while.”
“I can’t stay here. We need to—”
“Hanson and Reznik are on it. Okay? And I’ll look into this.”
“You need me.”
“Reid, I was taking care of business long before you showed up. Now you get back into bed, I’ll get your jacket.” He stood there refusing to let her out. She swung her legs back in and he walked over to the closet and retrieved her jacket.
When he handed it to her she fished into the pocket and pulled out the baggie of powder. “You need to get this tested. It was found on Gabriel’s boat. He said that Matt had created this new psychoactive substance that was like coke. Apparently it’s all legal and aboveboard. Anyway, the Latin Syndicate got wind of it being sold and wanted a piece of the pie. They threatened Matt. At least that’s what Gabriel said. Now I don’t think he was telling me everything.” She sighed and tried to get out of bed again.
“What did I just say?” he asked.
“Harv, you can’t just expect me to sit here. There’s too much to do.”
“You’ve done enough already. Okay. Good job but it’s time to sit back and let me handle it from here.”
She scrunched the sheet in her hand, frustration kicking in.
“I’m thinking the Latinos picked up Matt and killed him off. At least that’s what everything’s pointing to right now. Chances are if we don’t find Gabriel soon, they are probably going to do the same to him.”
Harvey pressed her shoulders back into the bed and covered her up. “Look, there’s someone outside who wants to see you. You have my word I will get on this right now. Just do me a favor and stay put. The last thing we need right now is any more heroics, okay?”
She nodded.
“I’ll catch you later.”
As he went to leave Skylar called out to him. “And Harv.”
He twisted around. “Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“For saving you? Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll pay me back one of these days.” He grinned and exited. She heard him outside chatting away with someone and then caught him disappear down the hallway.
A few more seconds and Ben Walker entered holding a bouquet of flowers. He shook his head and his lip curled up at the corner of his mouth. “Heard you had an argument with the road.”
She chuckled as he placed the vase of flowers on the side table. Skylar glanced at them. “You bought me flowers?”
“No, I stole them from the room across from you,” he said with a deadpan expression before taking a seat.
Chapter 13
Harvey was in the middle of making calls when Reznik came rushing over to him. “We got a hit on that Honda. Just outside of Tallahassee. A witness called it in. They saw two Latinos and a white male jump out and hop into a separate vehicle before heading into the city. The driver set it on fire before leaving.”
“So he’s still alive.”
“For now.”
“Did the witness get a number plate off the other car?”
He clicked his fingers. “Yes indeed. I’ve called it in to Tallahassee Police. They have officers looking for them as we speak.”
Harvey tapped a pen against the side of his desk. “Good work.”
“Hey, how’s Reid doing?” Reznik asked.
He exhaled. “She’s alive.”
“I bet she’s just biting at the bit to get back out there.”
Harvey jabbed his finger at him. “Don’t you go putting any thoughts into her head.”
“Who, me?” He laughed as he walked away.
Harvey sat there for a minute contemplating what to do. Tallahassee was out of their jurisdiction but after what they’d pulled on his streets, and done to his partner, he was fuming. He snatched up the phone and made a call to the department in the city.
Back at the hospital, Skylar was beginning to get antsy. She’d never been one to lay around unless really injured. There had only been two times in her career she’d been shot and laid up in bed and even then she was back up and working long before she was supposed to.
“You know, I never really thought about how much your work must affect you,” Ben said in his usual analytical way. “It’s gotta contribute.”
“To my mental instability?” she asked.
“Don’t you think?”
She scoffed and shook her head. “It was either this or I joined the army.”
“You were going to join the military?”
“At one point.”
“What, are you like addicted to danger?”
“We only get one kick at this can, Ben, might as well live life on the edge.”
He pulled a face as if he couldn’t wrap his head around it. Few could. Those who didn’t join the police or army usually found their high in sports. She could see herself doing that, something like jumping out of a plane, or base jumping, but it would have to be extreme, something that made her feel alive.
“I dunno about that. I kind of like having my feet planted on the ground,” he said.
“I can tell.”
“What’s that mean?” he asked.
“Look at your home, the kind of business you’re in. You overthink. You hesitate. Can’t do that in this.”
He laughed. “Of course you do. You’re not indestructible, Skylar. If you don’t slow it down, one of these days fate is going to catch up with you.”
“And when it does I’ll be ready.”
“Really? You ready to die?”
“Aren’t you?” she asked. “I mean after losing your wife, didn’t you just want to give up?”
“Of course. Every damn day. I still have my moments but I need to be here for my kid. For Jared. I can’t be pulling some selfish stunt just to escape some temporary pain.”
“Temporary. So it goes away?”
He hesitated for a few seconds before replying to that. “It never goes away, Skylar, it just fades like a bee sting. Eventually you wake up and one day it doesn’t sting like it used to. No one is immune to loss and we all have to deal with it. Believe me, th
ere were times I wanted to get lost in the misery and keep drinking but one look at my kid and I knew that no pain is worth losing my kid.”
“Right, but you have a kid,” she said, her chin dipping ever so slightly.
There was a long pause, only the sound of the EKG machine could be heard beeping away. “You know, Skylar, you’re right, I have a kid and I’m sorry you lost yours but at some point you’ve got to let go or that pain will eat you up if you let it.”
“Maybe I want it to.”
He scoffed. “Nah, I don’t buy that.”
“No? Why? Because I’ve poured out my life story to you for months?”
“No. Because if you did, you wouldn’t have shown up in the first place.”
She hesitated before replying. “I was doing it out of courtesy for my friend Scot.”
Ben scoffed. “Sure. If telling yourself that helps you sleep well at night, more power to you.”
She narrowed her eyes and he smiled tapping her hand. “Look, do you need something to eat?”
“I could use my clothes.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to get the hell out of here.”
“Yeah, about that. Harvey said you need to stay here and you would probably try to leave so while you were in the bathroom I had the nurse take away your clothes.”
“You did what?”
“It’s all good. Oh, and you got a few visitors. Seems in your attempts to avoid close relationships you screwed up and made a couple. Now I tried to warn them, you know, about your bristly wall that you like to put up to keep people at arm’s length, but they insisted. You want me to go get them?”
“Who are they, Ben?”
“What, and give away the surprise?” He grinned as he got up from the chair and headed out the door. Skylar groaned and straightened up. She had caught her reflection in the mirror when she visited the bathroom and she was a mess. And that was after the hospital staff had cleaned her up nicely. She now had butterfly stitches on her forehead, and several gnarly bruises on her jaw, back and hip, and her ankle was sprained but beyond that she’d actually been pretty lucky. A few minutes passed and the door opened and in came Ben followed by Barb from the Carrabelle Junction and Donnie Wu from the Vagabond.
Death Blow Page 10
