Gator Bait (22 page)

Mannie took a right turn onto a narrow road, and I recognized it as the road to the warehouse where we’d spoken with Big and Little before. A garage door lifted as we entered the parking lot and he pulled into the building, then directed us upstairs to Big’s office.

Big was sitting on his heavy-duty park bench behind his enormous desk. Little jumped off his stool as we entered the room and shook his head. “Ladies. We’d hoped to see you again, but under different circumstances. Please take a seat.” He gave Mannie a nod and the giant left the room, his relief apparent.

My head started to itch under his scrutiny and I realized I was still wearing the beanie hat. I pulled it off and sighed as cool air hit my scalp. Big looked at me and smiled.
 

“Much cooler, no?” he asked. “I always hate wearing a hat, but a man of a certain caliber is expected to for some events. You all look a little tired. Would you like some refreshments?”

Ida Belle and I shook our heads. Gertie perked up. “Heck yeah! What do you have?”

Big waved a hand at Little, who opened what looked to be a storage cabinet but turned out to be a minibar. “What’s your pleasure?” he asked.

“Bourbon and Coke,” Gertie said.

Ida Belle sighed and looked up at the ceiling. I knew she was praying but had no idea exactly what she expected God to do about this situation. He’d had darn near a century to work on Gertie and he’d only made it this far.

Big nodded his approval. “A woman with good Southern sensibilities and tastes. Are you sure I can’t offer the two of you something?”

“What the hell,” I said, “pass me a bottled water.” It wasn’t as if being parched was going to make this go any easier or quicker.

“Fine,” Ida Belle said. “I’ll have a bourbon and Coke, too.”

I looked over at Ida Belle and raised my eyebrows.

“What?” she asked. “You’re the designated driver.”

Little passed me the water and served the rest of them bourbon. I took a sip of my water, casting a wistful glance at Gertie’s drink. It was really good quality bourbon. I bet it was going down like honey.

Little took his seat and looked at Big, who finished a big drink of bourbon, then cleared his throat. “You ladies have caused a bit of excitement at our storage facility. I assume you were responsible for dispatching one of my floodlights, and those ATF agents managed to shoot up a perfectly good door trying to get out of the container you locked them in.”

I opened my mouth to protest and Big raised his hand. “Don’t even bother trying to deny it. You see, the perimeter alarm on the fence is a deterrent, not the ultimate in protection.” He reached for a remote on his desk and pressed a button. A television lowered from the ceiling to the right of us. A second later, video of Ida Belle and me scaling the office building flashed onto the screen. Big hit Forward and the next shot showed Ida Belle moving the car and me slamming the unit door closed and locking it before running off.

“Quick thinking,” Big said and gave Ida Belle an appreciative look. “If you were thirty years younger, me and you would be talking about a position on my security team.”

“Oh,” Ida Belle said, looking a little pleased with the compliment. “Thanks.”

Big leaned forward and studied us for a moment. “So the big question is what do the three of you find so interesting about a sunken boat that you’re willing to risk arrest by the ATF or trouble with me in order to get a peek at it?”

“The deputy that went down in that boat almost drowned,” I said. “He’s our friend.”

Little narrowed his eyes at me. “I heard about that. You’re the one who saved him, aren’t you? Ain’t too many great-looking broads around Sinful, especially with those kinds of skills. You got a diver’s body.”

Big jabbed him with his elbow. “Manners. Even though she broke into our storage facility, she’s still a lady.”

“I’m not offended,” I said, “and you’re right. I’m the one who got him out of the boat.”

Big inclined his head and stared at me for a moment. “That must have been a risky move. So maybe more than just friends?”

I felt a blush creep up my neck. “We had a date. It’s not a thing. Yet. Or maybe never. But I care about him enough to take the risk, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Big nodded. “I like a woman who’s willing to take action. I believe we either walk through life or walk in it. If you have people you’re willing to put yourself on the line for, then you’re walking
in
life. More heartache, but much more satisfaction.”

I blinked. Big Hebert, mobster extraordinaire and philosopher?
 

The worst part was that what he said made absolute sense, and perfectly summed up feelings I’d been grappling with since my arrival in Sinful. The irony being that my walk through life was completely centered on being a woman of action. Just not a woman with a personal stake. “I agree with you,” I said.

Big gave me a satisfied smile. “So, you broke in to take a look at the boat—why?”

At this point, I saw no point in being dishonest, at least not about our reason for the break-in. “We wanted to see if any of the rounds fired at our friend hit the boat.”

“For what purpose?”

“To identify the weapon used. We figured if the ATF was involved it was going to be something illegal, possibly military. Our friend has a concussion and amnesia, but he wants to know what happened to him. As you can imagine, the ATF is being less than forthcoming with that information.”

“They’re rude and lack class,” Little said.

Big frowned. “And what do you three broads know about military weapons?”

I glanced over at Ida Belle, hoping she’d catch on and take the lead on the weapons part. My cover as a librarian didn’t exactly qualify me for identifying bullet holes.

“Gertie and I served in Vietnam,” Ida Belle said. “And I like to keep up with things.”

Big’s eyes widened. “Please accept my thanks for your service. Men and women like you are the reason my son and I can have the life we do today.”

I was fairly sure the Vietnam agenda didn’t include defending the freedom of the Mafia, but I could tell that Big was sincere with his thanks.
 

“Are you going to turn us over to the ATF agents?” I asked.

“Good Lord, no!” Big said.

Little nodded. “Serves those two goons right, coming in here flashing their badges and talking to us like we’re peons. Knowing they were bested by three women has made my week. I won’t be able to look at them without smiling.”

“The state police?” I asked.

Big shook his head. “I’m not a fan of the state police either.”

“What about the security tapes?” I asked. “The ATF agents will get a warrant if you don’t hand them over.”

“Ah.” Big smiled. “See, the thing about our security system is it’s been on the blink. We just recently installed it and haven’t gotten all the bugs out. It doesn’t record half the time.”

“Like tonight,” Little said. “Tonight would be one of those half times it didn’t record.”

“Then you’re going to let us go?” I asked. It seemed entirely too easy.

“Yes,” Big said, “but with a warning. Your activities tonight only disrupted ATF business and didn’t expose you to any of Little’s and my endeavors. If things had gone differently…say if you’d entered the wrong unit…the outcome would have been different.”

My gut clenched and I said a silent prayer that we’d gone straight to the right unit. Big’s insinuation wasn’t lost on me. If we’d discovered any of his illegal activities, then he would have made a completely different decision than he was now. “We understand,” I said.

“Good,” Big said. “Then you can collect your car keys from Mannie and you’re free to go. Your weapons are in your vehicles. Just don’t forget our conversation.”

We all rose and after thanking him for his hospitality, filed toward the door.
 

“And ladies,” Big said.

We stopped and turned to look at him.

“In the future, if your business is in direct opposition with law enforcement, and there is a way I can be of assistance, I suggest you simply ask for my help. My answer may surprise you…or not.” He grinned and winked.

I smiled and we hurried out of the office and back downstairs, where the dour Mannie handed over my Jeep keys. We hauled it out front to where the Jeep was parked and jumped inside. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” I said as I took off out of the parking lot.

“So what happened inside the unit?” Ida Belle asked. “It sounded like a small war going on in there.”

I explained about my compromised rafter hiding place and my impromptu drop onto Riker and Mitchell.
 

“Holy crap!” Gertie said. “Do you think Riker made you?”

“I doubt it,” I said. “There was a lot of confusion and not a lot of light. Besides, Riker won’t leap to us as potential suspects. He’s going to think whoever fired on the boat is the culprit.”

Ida Belle nodded. “Sounds right. So was all this a waste or were you able to find anything out?”

“I found a bullet hole. It went through one side of the boat and out the other.”

Gertie whistled. “Not your standard Sinful fare.”

“No,” I agree. “I knew it was an AK-47 even before Riker removed one from the ice chest. Damn it! Mannie must have confiscated the rifle I grabbed from Riker. I just realized it wasn’t here with our other weapons.”

“What’s wrong?” Ida Belle asked.

I told them about Riker and Mitchell’s conversation about suppliers and the mention of the Middle East. “I grabbed the gun on the way out because I wanted to see if I could figure out the supplier.”

Ida Belle glanced back at Gertie then back at me. “Do you think it could be the guy who’s after you?”

“I don’t know. It seems impossible, but I suppose nothing really is.”

“All the more reason for us to be more careful,” Ida Belle said, “especially you, Fortune. If anyone working for the man hunting you is in Sinful, they will know about the price on your head.”

“But surely,” Gertie said, “they won’t recognize her. She looks completely different.”

Ida Belle nodded. “They won’t recognize her as long as she’s acting like a regular resident, but if they catch her in action and involved in illegal arms transactions, they’re going to take a closer look. Extensions, makeup, and clothes make a huge difference, but her bone structure is still the same.”

“Ida Belle’s right,” I said. “I need to be more careful about detection. The way I was dressed tonight, with my hair up under the beanie, give me more risk of discovery than walking around all girlie.”

“Probably true,” Ida Belle agreed.

“It’s all a moot point now,” I said, frustration taking over. “We don’t have another lead. We’re officially at a dead end.”

“Unless Carter remembers,” Gertie said.

“
Until
Carter remembers,” I corrected and turned off the highway toward Main Street.

Ida Belle’s cell phone went off and she frowned at the display. “It’s Emmaline.” She answered the phone. “What’s wrong… Good Lord, is he hurt? We’re on our way!”

I clutched the steering wheel. “What happened?”

Ida Belle looked over at me, her eyes wide. “Someone attacked Carter.”

“In the hospital?” Gertie asked. “That’s crazy.”

“Let Gertie out at the tree,” Ida Belle said. “We have to get to the hospital.”

“No!” Gertie protested. “I’m going with you.”

“You can’t,” Ida Belle said. “We’ve drawn enough attention to ourselves already. Come tomorrow morning, I’m sure they’ll turn you loose just to avoid the headache of doing more. But you have to get back in there before Crawford figures out you’re gone.”

Gertie was clearly unhappy when she got out of the Jeep, but she couldn’t argue with logic. Ida Belle glanced back as I pulled away.
 

“Maybe next time,” Ida Belle said, “she’ll think twice before pulling a fool stunt like that.”

“You mean like the stunt we pulled breaking into Big and Little’s storage facility?”

“That’s different,” Ida Belle said. “Our stunt had a good reason behind it. Gertie was showing her weakness in going after Celia. The woman’s not worth getting into trouble over. Carter is.”

I couldn’t argue with that. I pressed the accelerator down to the floor and the Jeep lurched forward. A million thoughts raced through my mind, none of them making sense. How did someone get to Carter in the hospital? The critical care unit was secure entry only. Why risk exposure by attacking him there?
 

Which brought me right back around to, what the hell had Carter seen?

Chapter Fourteen

Carter’s room was packed with people when we arrived, all of them talking at once. Dr. Stewart was there along with a nurse, trying to check out Carter, but Carter was busy waving his arms at the state police and trying to dish out orders. Emmaline stood to the side of the fray, her hands clenched together in front of her mouth, her face pale.
 

I hurried over to her, and she grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Her hand was shaking.

Ida Belle and I huddled close to her. “What happened?” I asked.