Al held up both hands and lowered his head slightly as if admitting a secret. “It wasn’t me.”
I frowned. “Not you? Then who was it?”
Al hooked a thumb over his shoulder as Artie walked towards us. “It was this guy right here.”
“Artie?!”
“We got them here as fast as we could,” said Artie. “I’m sorry if we’re too late.”
“I mean, yeah, it would’ve been nice if they’d come before their helicopter smashed into my Jeep, but now is better than never, right, Frankie?”
“Oh, absolutely. We could use a little help with the cleanup.”
Al frowned at me. “You ever put insurance on that thing, kid?”
I groaned and let my head fall backwards. My body had been so filled with adrenaline and fear that I hadn’t even had time to think about the implications of my Jeep being destroyed. “Ugh. Fuck! No. I didn’t. When was I supposed to find time to do it? We’ve been busy!”
Al shook his head. “How long does it take to make a phone call?”
“Too long, apparently,” I muttered.
“Shit. Now I’m out that money!” I shook my head. I was pretty sure someone in the heavens didn’t want me having nice things.
Frankie squeezed my arm. “But Giselle’s alive. And you’re alive. That’s what matters, right?”
I let out a little grunt. “Ugh. I suppose.”
Al pointed a finger in Frankie’s direction. “And Francesca’s alive. That’s what matters too, right, kid?”
I looked over Giselle’s head at Frankie and gave her a smile. “Absolutely.”
“So where’s the commissioner?” asked Al, looking around.
Frankie gave a backwards nod. “Let’s just say he went down with his ship,” she said, shaking her head.
“Ziggy Thomas and Officer Ames were in there too,” I added.
Al stared at the fiery inferno, shaking his head. “No one’s making it outta that mess alive, that’s for sure.”
“Yup. I think you’re right,” I agreed. “The island’s female population isn’t going to be too excited about Ziggy Thomas getting drilled into the ground.” I rubbed the scruff on my chin and grinned at Al. “Guess Paradise Isle will need a new handsome eligible bachelor to write blog posts about. Hmm… whoever will fill his shoes?”
Al grunted. “Your feet ain’t big enough to fill his shoes, kid.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Al.”
“I think you’ve got an overabundance of confidence. I don’t think you need any more of that.”
I chuckled and looked over at Frankie. “But with Villanueva, Gibson, and Ziggy outta the picture, now it’s just a matter of getting the rest of the people in PGC.”
“Starting with Markovitz,” said Frankie.
Artie smiled. “Way ahead of you. We’ve already got people headed to Markovitz’s to find him and the other two girls. Plus we’ve got people headed to Club Cobalt, and to Steve Dillon’s.”
Al nodded. “Big Eddie, Ralph and I made a list of all the players in the operation. We’re gonna get them all. Each and every one of the scumbags.” He patted me on the shoulder. “We did it, kid. We brought down the PGC. You should be proud.”
I smiled. Relief washed over me. “I can’t believe it.”
Just then, from the back of the line, one of the vehicles’ doors opened and a portly black man in a tailored suit with salt-and-pepper hair and a matching beard got out and strode towards us.
“Oh, Drunk. I almost forgot. There’s someone here I’d like you to meet,” said Artie with a smile on his face.
“Oh, yeah? Who’s that?”
When the man got close enough, he extended his hand towards me. “You must be Mr. Drunk.”
“I am,” I said, looking at the man curiously. “And you are?”
“I’m Governor Bustamante. I’ve heard a lot about you. Artie’s kept me abreast of your escapades since you’ve been to the island. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
My jaw dropped. So this was the contact they had! Artie’s connection to the governor. I shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you too, Governor.”
“Artie and I spoke extensively this morning about the PGC organization, and I must say, I can’t thank you enough for bringing the situation to light.”
Stunned, I cleared my throat and looked over at Al. “Well, thank you very much. But I have to be honest, I didn’t do any of this alone. I had a ton of help. You probably already know Al Becker?”
“Yes. Mr. Becker was in on the conversation this morning,” said Governor Bustamante, extending a hand to Al. “It’s nice to meet you in person, Mr. Becker.”
“And, Governor, this is Officer Francesca Cruz with the Paradise Isle Royal Police Force. She helped Al and me bring down Sergeant Gibson and Commissioner Villanueva. Without her, none of this would’ve been possible.”
Governor Bustamante reached a hand out to shake Frankie’s hand. “Is that right? Well, then, the citizens of Paradise Isle and I thank you for your service.”
“Thank you, Governor. I appreciate the opportunity to serve my government,” said Frankie proudly.
I looked at Artie then, shaking my head.
Artie smiled. “What?”
“I just can’t believe you called the governor.”
“I had no other choice,” said Artie with a shrug.
“Yeah, kid, who else could take down the police department and the customs commissioner?” said Al.
I frowned at the governor. “So, Governor, I assume Artie and Al explained to you that we think Commissioner Villanueva was skimming the vehicle tariffs off the top. Do you have any idea how he was able to do it? I mean, that’s a hefty amount of money he was syphoning into his own accounts. How did he do it without anyone noticing?”
Governor Bustamante sucked in a deep breath. “I’m gonna be honest with you here. I came onto the job a little over a year ago. As you might know, Governor Schilling, the previous governor of the island, was killed in a mugging, leading to the vacancy. I was appointed not long after, and because I’m still learning the ins and outs of the organization, I trusted Commissioner Villanueva to handle the tariff collections properly.” He shook his head. “I assumed I had good people working for me, and I took the reports he submitted to my office at face value. Of course, I would’ve gotten around to auditing each agency sooner or later, but I’ve been so busy just learning the ropes that I wasn’t aware of what he was doing.”
I frowned. “As you are aware, I’m fairly new to the island. I hadn’t heard about Governor Schilling’s death.”
Frankie nodded. “It was a big deal when it happened. He was getting ice cream with his family on the boardwalk when he was the victim of a mugging. He chased after the thief and was stabbed along the boardwalk. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.”
Governor Bustamante winced. “It was a very difficult time for islanders. Governor Schilling was very well liked.”
“A mugging, huh?” I said, curling my lip. “Knowing what we know now about Commissioner Villanueva’s embezzlement scheme and PGC, does anyone else wonder if maybe Governor Schilling’s death was not just a mugging gone bad?”
The governor’s eyes widened. “I sure hope not.”
I shrugged. “Might be worth investigating.”
Frankie’s head bobbed. “Absolutely worth investigating. Maybe the governor discovered what Commissioner Villanueva was up to.”
“Yeah.”
The governor sighed. “I definitely think it’s worth investigating. I’ll put together a team to look into it.” He looked at me a little more closely then. “Now. I think it’s time we get the three of you some medical help.” He pointed at the blood that stained my shirt. “We’ll meet to discuss all the details of Villanueva’s operation once you’re feeling better. For now, I’ll get our medics over here to check you out.”
I gave him a tight smile and looked down at Giselle. “If it’s all the same to you, I think
we’ll just head over to the hospital. I need to give a friend of mine a call to let her know that this one is okay. And then Frankie and I need to follow up on some promises we made.”
The governor looked at me curiously. “Promises?”
Frankie nodded. “We promised two of the girls that were working for Markovitz that we’d go back for the remaining girls. We can’t quit until we’ve found them and brought them home safely.”
“Oh!” said Governor Bustamante with a grin. “I guess I didn’t get around to that yet. Just before I walked over here, I got word that both girls have been recovered and Markovitz and Dalton are both in custody. I know we’ve got a ways to go before we sort out everyone that was involved in PGC, but Mr. Becker and Artie both stressed to me that finding those girls was our top priority.”
“You got the girls already?” I asked, stunned.
The governor smiled at me. “We sure did.”
“Oh, thank God.” I exhaled. For the first time since we’d discovered that Jordan truly was missing, I felt true relief loosen my shoulders. I walked over to Frankie and practically fell around her shoulders.
She hugged me. “See, Danny? We saved them. You saved them.” Then she got on her tippy-toes so she could nuzzle her mouth up to my ear. “You’re a good man, Danny Drunk.”
44
The next day, after getting my stitches redone at the hospital, I lay on a lounge chair down at the beach. Artie had ordered me to take a few days off work so I could recuperate, and I didn’t argue with him. The last couple of days had been hell on me, and I definitely needed time to heal.
Al lay beside me in a white ribbed tank top and khaki shorts. I was shirtless and soaking in the sun. The air smelled of coconut oil and iodine, and music played at the swim-up bar about forty yards behind me.
The heat felt good on my body. As if the sun’s rays were taking away my aches and pains and healing my wounds. I had an ice-cold beachcomber in one hand, lying beside me, and my other hand rested on top of my fedora. The water crashed on the beach only a couple yards away from my feet—it was so close that I could feel a fine mist of tepid water settle over my body with every big crash.
I felt good.
Relaxed.
At peace.
I’d just exhaled a deep breath when I heard my name.
“Excuse me. Drunk?”
Behind my knock-off Ray-Bans, I closed my eyes. I recognized the voice. I lowered my arm, allowing more of the sun to distort my vision, and looked up at the face above me.
“Hey, Mari.”
She seemed hesitant as she stared at me. Not quite like the self-assured woman I was used to dealing with. “Umm, Drunk, may I have a word with you for a moment?”
I covered my face again with the crook of my elbow. “Pull up a lounge chair.”
With my eyes closed, I could hear the sound of her dragging a chair through the sand. When she hadn’t said anything after a minute, I turned my head and peered at her. She was sitting on the edge of the chair, like a bird on its perch. She sat there quietly for a couple of long seconds.
Finally, I broke the ice. “So what’s up?”
“Drunk, I—” she began, her voice faltering.
I didn’t say anything. I had no intention of making things easy for her. I’d spent the last several months bending over backwards trying to make friends with the woman, only to be rebuffed at every turn.
She sighed and tried to begin again. “Drunk, I don’t even know—” Her words trailed off again, this time I was sure I heard the distinct sound of sniffling.
Behind my sunglasses, I pinched one eye open and looked over at Al. His face was turned up towards the sky, but he had both eyes shut, like he was sleeping. I closed that eye and opened the other eye, so I was looking at Mari behind the darkness of my glasses.
She had her mouth open, trying to get words to come out, but only tears rolled down her face.
I sighed. “I accept your apology.”
“No, Drunk,” she whispered. “I don’t get off that easy. Let me say what I came here to say.”
I nodded and pressed my lips together.
She swallowed hard, blotted her tears with a tissue she’d brought along, and then took a deep breath. “Drunk, I thought you were a horrible man,” she said, her voice low. “I thought you had no moral compass and no integrity as a man.”
“Thanks?” I said, curling my lip and wondering when the apology part would start.
“But I was wrong about you,” she continued, her words quivering in the air as she spoke. “I was wrong about everything. You are a good man. You might be a bit of a playboy, and you might like to act like you’re cocky, but underneath all that, you have a tremendous heart. I know this now.”
I turned my head slightly to look at her. Tears streamed down her face. I reached a hand out to her. She took it and covered my hand with hers. “Thanks, Mari, that means a lot to me.”
She shook her head. “Giselle told me everything. Everything,” she whispered. “I understand why she was scared to come to me. But I’m so thankful that she went to you. You protected my baby from those monsters.”
Hearing Mari cry tugged at my heartstrings. I sat up on my beach chair then and swung my long legs around so that they were in the sand beside hers as I faced her. I squeezed her hands in mine.
“If you hadn’t offered your support to her, I don’t know what kind of dumb decisions she might have made. She might have ended up like Jordan did.” She was having a difficult time keeping it together.
“But she didn’t,” I said quietly. “She’s safe and sound.”
“Because of you, Drunk.” She shook her head. “I’ll never doubt you again. You have my word. I was so wrong, and I’m very sorry for that.”
I scooted around so I could sit next to her. I put my arm over her shoulder, and she wept into her tissue.
“Can you ever forgive me, Drunk?”
“It’s water under the bridge.”
Mari’s head bobbed as she dried her tears and blew her nose. Finally, when she was more composed, she sat up a little straighter. “I brought you something. Just a little thank-you for everything you did for my family. I know I can never repay you, but I thought I’d start with this.”
I clapped my hands and rubbed them together anxiously. “I do love presents,” I said with a grin.
She let out a little nervous laugh and then turned around and grabbed a long box she’d put on the other side of the beach lounger. She handed it to me.
“Oooh, I think I know what this is,” I sang, unwrapping the box.
“I thought it was my turn.”
I pulled off the lid to unveil a box of chocolates. I chuckled. “You found my kryptonite.”
“I know. I bought these at that little tourist boutique downtown. They’re imported from Germany.”
“Niiice! Thanks, Mari.” I put my arm around her shoulder and gave her a little squeeze. “You want one?” I offered her the box.
She giggled. “No, no. Those are just for you.”
My head bobbed. I looked down at her. “So, how’s Giselle doing? Aside from the sprained ankle.”
“She’s okay. She had kind of a rough night, some nightmares and stuff, but she’ll be alright.”
“Good. I’m glad. I really like that girl. She’s strong, just like her mother. You did a great job raising her.”
“Thanks, Drunk. Your mother did a good job raising you too.”
We sat quietly, watching Al sleep on the chair next to mine. Finally, I looked down at her. “So. Does this mean we’re friends now?”
Mari shook her head. “No, Drunk. It doesn’t.”
I frowned. “Oh.”
She wrapped her short arms around my waist then. “It means we’re family. Funcle Drunk.”
45
“What took you so long?” I asked Al as he returned to the bar. “And please don’t tell me the shitter was broken.”
Al shrugged. “It wasn’t broken before I wen
t in there. I can’t be so sure about it now.”
I chuckled and then looked out at the group of people that had assembled at the Blue Iguana. Al and Evie were both there. Mari was there with a couple of the other front desk girls. Artie had come, surprisingly with Val on his arm. All the Cruz brothers were there, some of them with girlfriends and wives. And Frankie was there. She stood next to Solo, with his arm draped around her shoulder.
I held up my drink then. “I’d like to make a toast!” I said over the music playing in the background.
The chatter quieted down as all eyes turned towards me.
“First of all, I’d like to thank Al Becker for being the best partner a guy could ever want. He seems to know how to get me out of sticky situations before I’ve even gotten into them.”
The room let out a collective chuckle.
“So cheers to Al and his beautiful wife, Evelyn.”
“Cheers to Al and Evelyn!” the toast went up as glasses rose all around the room.
Then I turned my eyes on Frankie. “And now I’d like to congratulate our very own Inspector Francesca Cruz on her promotion. She’s spent years working for the Paradise Isle Royal Police Force, with little recognition for the effort and hard work she’s put into her job. But now, finally, she’s being recognized for everything she brings to the table. And I couldn’t be prouder! So, cheers to Inspector Cruz!”
“Cheers to Inspector Cruz!”
“Congratulations, Panchita,” said Solo, embracing his sister.
“Thanks, Solo.”
When he let her go, I snuck in next for a hug. “I’m so happy for you, Frankie,” I whispered in her ear.
“Thanks, Danny. I couldn’t have done any of it without you. You should be playing detective right alongside me.”
“Oh, the way my luck has been going since getting to Paradise Isle, I have a feeling I will,” I said smiling.
She shook her head, grinning from ear to ear. “It was really great of Governor Bustamante to recommend me for this promotion. I think I’m still in shock.”
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