Gray Ghost (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 1) (25 page)
Read Gray Ghost (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 1) Online
Authors: C.L. Swinney
Petersen grabbed the water bottle on the table, poured himself a glass and drank.
Dix grimaced. “Hey, buddy, that’s mine.”
Petersen just grinned. “Glad you’re here to drink it.”
Dix had a sheepish grin on his face. “Hurry up and get on with the story.”
“
Well, I turned my attention toward driving you two to safety. I figured the bastards were gone. I made it just outside the gates to the airport when I heard a thunderous crash. The hair on the back of my neck literally stood up. You started screaming something about getting the prick bastard, and rambling about Roger losing blood.”
Dix nodded impatiently.
“
Anyway, I looked back and a huge Peterbilt truck had smashed into the rear of the plane. A white cloud of cocaine dust blew through the air. I saw Bubba and Wilfred pull each other from the wreckage. The local officers and Feds converged on the plane. They were trying to stabilize the scene before the truck and jet ignited.”
“
Oh, man, that must have been crazy. How many lives were lost?”
“
Two local cops were found dead. Turns out they were under investigation by the DEA and FBI for drug trafficking. They think Calhoun had killed them on his way to the airport. No one else died, but plenty were injured.”
Roger asked, “How are Bubba and Wilfred?”
Petersen grinned. “As they got out of the Peterbilt, Calhoun, who somehow managed to survive the collision, started firing on them. Calhoun shot Bubba in the leg, which really pissed him off. Wilfred fired back and…”
Dix interrupted. “Don’t tell me, Wilfred killed Calhoun?”
Petersen replied. “Nope. He was flanking Calhoun and shot him right in the butt.”
Dix laughed. “Are you kidding me? So he’s here?”
Petersen held up his hand. “That’s not the end of the story. Witnesses said it looked like Calhoun’s pilot tried to help him, but they were arguing over something. Calhoun baited the guy to come closer and shot him. The Feds think the pilot might have been related to Calhoun because of his striking resemblance. DNA may confirm it. No one knew anything about him.” Petersen wore a broad smile.
Dix raised an eyebrow. “Are you making this stuff up?”
“
I know it sounds surreal, but it’s the truth according to a contact at the Coast Guard working with DEA and FBI. They think maybe the guy was Calhoun’s son, and he was trying to take over the family business. They believe this was Calhoun’s last deal, and he was going to quit for good. Just poof, disappear.”
Dix shook his head in disbelief.
Roger asked, “Where the heck is Martin?”
Petersen shot Dix a look of concern. Dix looked sick to his stomach as though he assumed the worst had happened to Martin.
“
No thanks to you, he got too close to the runway and the explosion knocked him unconscious.”
Dix felt terrible and stared out the hospital window while shaking his head.
“
Relax buddy, he was asleep during the whole takedown.”
Dix stopped shaking his head but continued to look out the window. “Where’s he now?”
“
With his wonderful wife. She’s taking great care of him.”
Dix looked back at Petersen. “Man, he could have been killed. I guess I was so desperate to catch Calhoun and made a bad call.”
Petersen shrugged, “Oh, get over it. By the way, your wife is here when you’re ready to see her.”
Then Petersen confirmed that Calhoun was in custody, and he told Dix how Calhoun had tried to kill himself once already. “When that didn’t work, Calhoun told the Feds he could lead them to someone much more dangerous. The DEA guy told Calhoun that Blanco, the only surviving member of the DOG team, was talking. Calhoun was furious and now he’s desperate. Blanco’s supposed to receive a medal for his efforts to try to stop Calhoun.”
Dix looked out the window again, happy to be alive. He turned back to Petersen. “So, what’s next?”
Petersen had disappeared and in his place he saw an angel, his beautiful wife. She raced to his side in tears.
This is going to hurt like hell, but I’m going to love every second of it.
THE END
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