Fallen Palm (Jesse McDermitt Series) (20 page)

Sunday evening, October 30, 2005

Sonny was waiting, getting impatient. Walt had called two hours ago, to say they nearly had McDermitt, but he’d left in a smaller boat. They’d found a local guy that had a grudge against McDermitt and he’d offered to take Lester to his hideout on a deserted island about thirty miles north of Marathon. Sonny had really hoped to have McDermitt on ice by now, getting information from him about other treasure. He knew how these guys worked. Sometimes they’d work together and sometimes solo, but never really apart. And they were tight, keeping others at arm’s length. Also, he had the other job for the Arab guy to think about. From where the boat was in Marathon, it was a good six or seven hours to Brown’s Cay. Further, if they had to come here first to drop McDermitt off. Lester had finally told Sonny how he’d come into possession of the gold bar and he had been impressed that the kid could think quick and take advantage of a situation, even if it meant killing someone. He shouldn’t have any problem with McDermitt, he was nothing but a fisherman and Sonny had seen first hand just how strong the kid was. He was even having second thoughts about having taken advantage of him on the treasure he’d stolen from the old diver.

Sonny’s cell phone rang. He picked it up and it was Lester, hopefully calling to say he had the guy and was headed back to the boat. “About damn time, Les. I was starting to worry about you. Thought maybe you decided to go solo.”

“I had him, Boss,” Lester said. “They tried to pull a fast one. The guy called Stretch that was taking me up to McDermitt’s place was McDermitt himself. They been on to us from the start.”

“Wait, slow down,” Sonny said. “Who the hell is Stretch?”

“We met a guy at the party,” Lester said. “His name was Stretch something. Walt paid him a hundred bucks to bring me out to McDermitt’s house. But it was McDermitt his self. When I got on his boat, his wallet was laying open on the dash and I caught a glimpse of his license without his seeing me do it.”

“So, whatta ya mean you had him?”

“He got away, Boss. I played like I didn’t know it was him. But I was sure he was taking me into a trap. The guy we were chasin’ must a been a buddy a his. Anyway, he said it’d take about thirty minutes to get up there, so when twenty minutes passed, I made out like I was seasick, ya know. He stopped on a little sand bar and I pretended to be puking over the side. When he stood up and came toward me, I grabbed him and we wrestled. My phone musta fell outa my pocket, ‘cause I just found it.”

“What happened to McDermitt, dammit?” Sonny asked impatiently.

“I caught him with an elbow and we both went over the side. I clobbered him good in the water and we went under. I went after him and figured I’d have to do him, like I did the old guy a few weeks ago. But, he broke loose under the water. It was deep and he just disappeared. I got back on the boat and had my gun ready, but he never came back up. His dog grabbed my leg and I’m bleedin’ pretty bad. I knocked the dog loose and he was yappin’ at me, then all a the sudden, the dog jumped off he boat and swam to an island a long ways off and he disappeared, too.”

“McDermitt drowned?” Sonny asked.

“I guess so, Boss,” Lester replied. “But, I never saw his body come up.”

“Okay, don’t beat yourself up, kid. Things just went sour. Think you can find his house by yourself? See if there’s any treasure there?

“I dunno, Boss,” Lester said, as he looked all around with a worried expression. “Everything out here looks exactly da same. Pretty sure we were headin’ northwest. If I can get da boat started, I might be able to find it. But, the other guy we were chasin’ is probly there.”

“You do that, Les,” Sonny said. “Keep me posted. I’m gonna have the other guys get back here with the boat. You can drive back in the rental, once you check the house.”

“Okay, Boss,” Lester said and closed the phone. He stood up and looked around. There was still a couple of hours of daylight left, so he figured he’d head northwest for a while and look around, but from where he was, he could see dozens of islands and they all looked the same. It’d be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Sonny was dejected. He was hoping to have McDermitt long before today and beat the location of his cut of the treasure out of him. He was certain there was more. He’d even planned to force the guy to dive the last location listed in the leather journal Les stole, to find the other gold bars Les had told him about. He called Walt.

“McDermitt got away,” Sonny said. “You guys need to get the hell back up to Miami.”

“You gotta be shittin’ me,” Walt said. “How’d he get the drop on Les?”

“The guy you hired was McDermitt, you idiot. Les figured it out and played along, then tried to jump him. Les thinks he drowned when he went overboard. This job’s on hold, till we can find out if he’s still alive and where he’s at. You guys need to get back up here and get the boat over to Brown’s Cay by tomorrow night. You got enough daylight to get part of the way. Just get moving and find a place to hole up for the night, away from there.” Sonny closed the phone and plopped down in his chair.

At Dockside, Walt rousted Tomas. “We gotta get going,” Walt said. “McDermitt got Les.” Then he stuck his head out of the cabin and told Benny, “Untie the lines, we’re leaving.”

Benny jumped up, noting the urgency in Walt’s voice and went to untie the boat, while Tomas came out of the cabin and sat down in the drivers seat to start the engines. Walt came out of the cabin and said, “You guys hurry up, we need to get as far north as we can before it gets too dark.”

Tomas was looking over to the boat ramp and said, “I seen dat car and boat before. At da dock in Miami.”

Benny looked where Tomas was pointing and said, “Ya mon. I seen di cah and boat befoe, too. At dat jump up dis morning.”

Walt looked over to the boat ramp, where a yellow Jeep Cherokee was about to back a boat into the water. Two women had just climbed out, to release the straps. “And I seen that ass before,” Walt said. “That’s the girl Les spotted on the dock, checking out the boat. Saw her at the party, too. She was hanging on that Stretch guy inside the bar. Turns out Stretch is McDermitt. He pulled a fast one on us, guys.”

Benny climbed back on the boat and said, “We all irie, Walt.”

“Not quite yet,” Walt said. “Pull out, and then come up to the end of that last dock. Be ready when I get there. We’re grabbing the blonde.” He jumped out of the boat onto the dock and casually walked over toward the boat ramp.

As Walt got near the ramp, he heard the dark haired girl say, “Jesse’s gonna be really surprised when he finds out Deuce gave y’all the boat for a wedding present.”

Jesse? So, he thought, Stretch was actually McDermitt. No wonder he got the drop on Les. He got behind the tall blonde, pulled his Colt from the back of his jeans and grabbed her around the waist with his left hand. He put the Colt to her head and said, “Nothing funny, sweet cheeks.”

Looking across the tongue of the trailer, Julie saw what was happening. Walt saw her and said, “Don’t you go getting’ any ideas, girl. I’ll blow her head off, quick as lookin’ at ya.”

He pulled Alex out onto the first dock, just as their boat pulled up to it. Benny helped wrestle her aboard, and then Tomas hit the throttles, ignoring the no wake signs and roared down the row of docks and into Sister Creek, belching blue smoke.

They wound through the creek at full throttle, rocking the boats tied to piers all along the creek. Once they hit open water, Tomas made a wide turn around East Sister Rock and headed east-northeast toward the Alligator Reef light. Looking at the radar, he could see that there were quite a few other boats going the same direction. Headed home to Miami, he thought, after a weekend of fishing in the Keys, or partying in Key West. Most were further away from the island chain than they were, so he angled further out, hoping that he could lose any Marine Patrol vessels that were sure to be in pursuit pretty soon. It was nearly sunset, maybe an hour of daylight left. It would take them eight or nine hours to get to Palm Beach. He didn’t want to be out here at night, but they didn’t seem to have much choice now.

Benny tied the blonde up and put her in the forward berth. She was quite a handful, but calmed down after he backhanded her. Back up on deck, he told Walt, “She be quiet now. Weh are wi a guh stop tonight, mon?”

Tomas answered, “No stopping. Look at dis radar. Muy boats headin’ to Miami. Be safer, if we keep goin’.”

“Tomas is right,” Walt said, looking at the radar screen. It was covered with dozens of little white spots and off to the right, further from shore, he could make out at least ten boats, all headed the same direction “Get out there, Tomas. Loose us in the crowd of boats. Time to call the boss.” He opened his phone and punched in Sonny’s number. When he answered, he said, “Change of plans, Boss. Just as we were leaving McDermitt’s wife showed up. We got her aboard and headed to Palm Beach.”

“His wife?” Sonny asked. “That’s perfect. But, don’t come here. How much gas is in the boat? “

“We topped the tanks off yesterday. They’re full.”

“That’s great. Good thinking, Walt. Let me talk to Tomas.”

Walt handed the phone to Tomas, “Si, Jefe?”

“Tomas,” Sonny said, “You know the waters between Key Largo and Brown’s Cay?”

“Very well, Jefe.”

“Good. Look for it on the GPS. Ever been there?”

“Many times, Jefe. I have a cousin; he lives there with his fat wife. They fish and have a dock.”

“Better than I’d planned on, Tomas. Will your cousin let you dock there, without anyone knowing? Like about midnight?

“His wife be muy pissed off, Jefe. But he will do it.”

“Take your time getting there, so you arrive after midnight. Stay there until early Tuesday morning, when our guests will arrive. They’ll have gas for the return trip with them. They’ll arrive before sunrise and you’ll be in Palm Beach by the afternoon. You guys did good, grabbing McDermitt’s wife.”

“Gracias, Jefe. I got it.”

Sonny ended the call and thought, well, we didn’t get him, but we got his wife and that’s about the same thing. If he’s still alive, he can’t refuse now. He had to call his friend on Long Cary and let him know Tomas and Benny’s arrival time. He also needed to call Mutt, his other boatman and tell him to get the Cigarette ready to go.

Sunday evening, O
ctober 30, 2005

Julie was able to spend a little time alone with Deuce during the reception that morning. He’d told her most of what they were planning to do and Julie was able to fill in the missing pieces. Rusty had told her earlier that morning that Jesse was planning to make Deuce an offer on the boat and while they were talking, she’d told him about it.

“Hell, I’ll do better than that,” Deuce had said. “I’ve grown to like Jesse and Alex a lot. They’re good people. Think they’d accept the boat and trailer as a wedding gift?”

“That’d be really nice, Russell,” Julie had said. “I’m sure they’d be thrilled to death.”

“Then let’s do it,” he’d said. He liked the way that had sounded. Them giving Jesse and Alex the boat, instead of it just coming from him. “If things work out like we’re hoping, Jesse and I will leave some time this afternoon to go up to his house. While we’re gone, why don’t you tell Alex that we’re giving them the boat and you and her can take it over to the boat ramp, put it in the water, and bring it over here? That way, when we get back, it’ll be all set for them.”

“We’re giving it to them?” she’d asked, coyly.

“Maybe I’m overstepping myself,” he’d said, as his cheeks flushed. “I just meant, you know, we’re kind of, well, you know.”

Julie was touched that this man, who’d fought in both Afghanistan and Iraq, was flustered about his feelings for her. “Yeah,” she’d said, “I feel the same way. Even if you can’t express it.” He’d smiled and kissed her, then Jesse had gotten his attention and they started on with their plans.

Now, the whole world was crumbling. She watched as the boat the bald guy Jesse had been talking to an hour earlier, had taken Alex aboard. At first, she didn’t know what to do. Then she ran to the Jeep, got her cell phone from her purse, and dialed 911.

“There’s been a kidnapping,” she said. She explained to the Marathon Police dispatcher what had happened and they said they’d get someone there right away. She hung up the phone and called her dad, frantic.

“Dad, that bald guy just took Alex,” she said.

“What?” Rusty exclaimed. “Where are you? Are you alright?”

“I’m okay, dad. We came over to Dockside to launch the boat. We’re giving it to Jesse and Alex as a wedding gift. Dad, she’s gone. The just roared off down Sister Creek in a Carver.”

“Did you call the police? I’ll be there in three minutes.”

“Yeah,” she replied. “I called them. Dad hurry.”

She disconnected just as Art trotted up and said, “I saw it happen, Julie, but couldn’t get to him in time. Are the cops on the way?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “And dad, too.” They could hear sirens in the distance and then Rusty came sliding to a stop in his old Chevy pickup. He and Tony both had the doors open before it stopped and ran over to them. Minutes later the first police car arrived, followed seconds later by another. Since Art and Julie had both witnessed the abduction, two cops took their statements.

Tony and Rusty stood off to the side, listening. The first cop got on his radio, reported in the direction and description of the boat, and asked to be connected to the Sheriff’s Department patrol boat on duty. He said to Rusty, “Don’t worry, sir. The Sheriff’s Office has a boat on duty, twenty-four, seven and it’ll be moving in minutes. He’ll be able to find them on radar, once he’s on open water. ”

“Son,” Rusty said to the Officer, “you do know what day and time of he month it is, don’t you?” The cop looked confused and Rusty added, “It’s Sunday, the last weekend of October. Today’s the last day of Fantasy Fest, down on Key Weird. There’s probably a thousand boats headed up the reef line, right about now.”

“Oh jeez,” the cop said. “You’re right. A lot of people go down there by boat.” Then the Sheriff’s patrol boat came over his radio and he relayed the information.

Tony walked over to Art and nodded his head for Art to follow. Once they were out of earshot of the others, Tony said, “What do you think? Should we identify ourselves?”

“I don’t know, Tony. Maybe we should call the Associate Deputy Director first, and see what he says.”

“Okay,” Tony said, “Get back over there. I’ll give him a call.”

Art walked back to the now growing group, while Tony made the call. Tony explained the situation, then waited while the ADD mulled the options, then told Tony what to do. Tony walked back over to the group and went straight up to the Sergeant who had just arrived.

“Sergeant,” he said, pulling out his wallet and showing him his credentials, “I’m Federal Agent Anthony Jacobs, Department of Homeland Security, Caribbean Command. This is Agent Arthur Newman. Can we have a word with you?”

The Sergeant was stunned. He didn’t like Feds, but knew better than to piss of two DHS guys. The three walked out to the end of the dock Alex had been taken from. “What are Feds doing down here, especially Homeland Security?” the Sergeant asked.

Tony smiled and replied, “That’s above your pay grade, Sergeant. Moreover, before you make the call you’re thinking of making, it’s above the Sheriff’s pay grade, also. This kidnapping may have national security implications.”

Seeing where Tony was going, Art added, “We have reason to suspect that the men who abducted Alexis McDermitt are linked to suspected terrorist sympathizers involved in smuggling terrorists into the country.”

“Terrorists?” the Sergeant asked. “Here? In the Keys? Wait, you said Alexis McDermitt. I thought her name was Alex DuBois.”

Art said, “She married Jesse McDermitt this morning.”

“That’s right,” Tony said, “and the boat they took her on will be picking up four terrorists on Brown’s Cay in the Bahamas in about thirty-six hours. What I’m about to tell you is classified. Do you understand?”

The Sergeant nodded, thinking, yeah, if I breathe a word, I might just disappear.

“We think this abduction is linked to the smuggling,” Tony said. “Mister McDermitt is one of our operatives.”

“Jesse McDermitt is DHS?” the Sergeant asked, obviously flustered. “I’ve known Jesse for five years. I find that hard to believe.”

Art said, “He’s a contractor for us.”

“So, what do you want us to do?” the Sergeant asked.

“We need eyes in the sky,” Tony said. “Like, about ten minutes ago. Does the Sheriff’s Department here have a helicopter?”

“Sure, it’s less than a mile away,” replied he Sergeant.

“Good,” Art said. “Contact their office and have them get the pilot ready. Tthe Sheriff should be getting a phone call right about now to confirm. Time’s of the essence.”

The Sergeant did as he was instructed, then told Tony, “The pilot’s already in the air. At the Sheriff’s orders. You guys have some major strings.”

“Contact the pilot and tell him to set down in that clearing over there,” Tony said, pointing to a park across the street. “Get two of your men over there and clear a landing zone. Agent Newman is going up with him.”

Within minutes, the Sheriff’s chopper set down in the park and Art ran over and boarded it. Putting on a headset, he showed his ID to the pilot and said, “Take me out over the reef. We’re looking for a thirty-two foot Carver aft cabin. It left here twenty minutes ago, probably headed toward Miami.” The pilot nodded and pulled on the collective lever, while adding throttle. The chopper lifted quickly and once clear of the trees, he pushed forward on the cyclic stick and the chopper nosed down, then accelerated forward, out over the water. “Take me up to about two thousand feet; if that boat’s out past the reef, there are probably a lot of other boats out there to hide among.”

Tony watched as the chopper disappeared over the trees, and then turned to a Sheriff’s Deputy that had just arrived and said, “I need a radio with the choppers frequency.”

The Deputy looked Tony over and said, “And just who the hell are you?”

“Don’t mess with him, Ben,” the Sergeant said, “he’s freaking DHS.”

Tony flashed his ID and badge to the Deputy who then said, “Just a second, sir. Got one in the patrol car you can have.” He ran back to his cruiser, came back with a handheld radio, and handed it to Tony. “Already on the choppers freq, he’s standing by.”

Tony put the radio to his mouth and said, “Art, do you copy? It’s Tony.”

Art’s voice came back over the speaker saying, “We’re out over the reef, Tony. I have a visual on no fewer than fifty boats, all headed east-northeast. Not enough light to pick out the right one. We’re going to go boat to boat and look closer, but we’re running out of light.”

“ADD Smith said consider both Jesse and Alex as one of our own,” Tony said. “Do what you can. I’m going to call Deuce, so he can tell Jesse. They should be together by now. Good luck and contact me on this frequency if you find them.”