Chapter 38
THIRTY-EIGHT
Kevin and Heath waited out by their boat. Duke had called them the moment Ferd got into the truck. “One more stop or are you done for the day?” He looked up at her with more understanding than her commanding officer would ever give.
“I want to see this through if I can. Might be the only time I ever get to do this. It feels really good to not only set the record straight about Bailey, but to find his killer.”
“And maybe stop a drug pipeline. Assuming George is one of the major players and he’s the one coordinating it all.”
“I still have a lot of questions. Carl feels like a patsy. Like he started out not liking Bailey for a potentially legitimate reason, but it mushroomed. Is he really guilty, or is this another frame?” she asked as she tucked the key into an evidence bag.
“I don’t think anyone is good enough to get his prints and DNA not only on the two cans but on the body.
That would take a forensic expert, and I don’t think that’s what we’re dealing with.
I think a big-city guy took advantage of a small-town spat.
Carl got in deeper than he knew how to get out of without getting hurt.
I personally think he’s still guilty, but that’s up to a jury to decide. ”
“I suppose there is that. Just because he’ll be arrested doesn’t mean he’ll be convicted.”
“You’ll have to keep in touch to see how it all plays out.” He cast a glance her way, then parked near the boat.
“I don’t want to go out on that water. You have no idea how much I don’t want to go.”
Duke stopped and faced her. “I could tell you to stay behind. Give you that option. But when I come back and tell you all that happened . . . are you going to wish you’d been there?”
“Ugh. You and your logic.” She stomped toward the waiting men.
Heath held out a hand to help her onto the boat.
That was the nicest he’d been to her so far.
Maybe he’d finally accepted her as part of their little team.
In minutes, they directed the boat out onto the huge lake.
It was shaped like a massive crescent, and on the west end was a very small area where the water was the deepest and the calmest in the entire lake.
It was sheltered by bands of trees and sparkled in the sun.
“Water depth here is about a hundred and sixty feet,” Kevin muttered. “Don’t anyone go overboard.”
Ferd shivered. Not today. A houseboat sat anchored at the center of the smaller alcove. Two men sat out on lawn chairs, smoking cigars. Carl and George either hadn’t seen the approaching boat yet or didn’t care.
Kevin pulled in alongside the houseboat and tethered to it. Carl jumped from his seat and ran down the side. “What are you doing? This is private property! Hey!” He stopped, his eyes wide. “You . . .” He pointed at Kevin.
“Nice to see you again. I think we have a little unfinished business.” He cracked his knuckles.
“George!” Carl screamed.
George came around the corner slowly, his gun in hand. “Wrong boat, boys.”
Duke showed his badge. “Put the gun away. We have a few questions for you, but we’re here to arrest Carl. We have a warrant.”
“What for? They tried to beat me up. I didn’t do anything.” He pointed at Kevin and Heath.
“Murder,” Ferd said, finding her footing and trying to stand tall.
“You think I killed Bailey?” He kept his voice low.
“We know you at least tussled with him not long before he died. A short enough time that he didn’t have the opportunity to remove your blood from under his fingernails.” Duke held his gun toward the sky, ready to make use of it.
George lunged before anyone realized he'd decided to fight. Duke rushed forward to help Kevin. Heath aimed his gun at Carl. Ferd gripped the rail of the suddenly rocking boat. Carl took the opportunity to grab a small ceramic flowerpot next to him and swing it into Heath’s face.
The crack echoed across the calm water like a car crash.
George clasped her tightly, whipped her around and thrust a knife to her neck.
She couldn’t wiggle. Her chest tightened.
Warm, wet blood seeped from a nick on the side of her throat.
Duke held up a hand and stepped in front of Kevin, keeping him from aiming at them.
She pled with him silently. No, don’t stop because of me . . .
“Go ahead. Shoot. You kill me and you never learn who I’m connected to. You kill her and I’ll jump overboard. Swimming isn’t an issue for me.”
He slipped out of his loafers while holding her. The movement made the blade nick her again. She sucked in her breath.
“Oh, you don’t want to play?” George said through his teeth when they made no move. “Fine. Throw your weapons over the rail. Now.” He gripped her tighter around the shoulders and pulled her back. “Right here. I want to see those guns going into the water.”
Duke tossed his first, then Kevin trudged to the edge and tossed his last. Carl grabbed Heath’s weapon where he lay on the deck and threw his over.
“Good. Now, be a good little hostage and tie them up with that rope. Good and tight. There will be a test when you’re finished. Carl here has tied a fair number of ropes in his life. Haven’t you, Carl?” He shoved her toward a pile of rope.
The old man looked away. “Fair shouldn’t ever come out of your mouth.”
George snorted. “Keep an eye on her.”
Ferd picked up the end of the coil and went for Kevin first. She did her best to make the knot look tight but leave him enough room to wiggle free. If they took her off the boat with no one to come get her, she’d be dead. They’d probably bash her head in like they did Bailey.
Next, she tied Duke. He stood still, without offering a word of advice. Odd for him. She couldn’t catch her breath beyond the knot growing in her throat. Never go to a second location . . . Her instructor’s training screamed through her memory.
“Hurry up.” He shoved her to the side and tested the knot on Duke’s wrist.
George didn’t notice, but she’d seen him slightly tug his wrists wide so the binding looked tighter than it was. George reached down to the coil of rope and cut off another length. “Carl, tie her hands behind her back. I’m not going to worry about her catching an idea.”
Carl grabbed it from him and grumbled the entire time as he tied her wrists so tightly her fingers tingled. There would be no wiggling out of this mess. Carl pushed her toward George. She lost her balance and fell forward. George gripped her shoulder and wrenched her upright.
“Oh, one last thing. Carl, find all their phones. They need to go over too. I won’t have anyone tracking their location.” He pulled her close to him again as if he still needed her as a shield.
One by one, she watched as three phones created tiny waves on the surface of the water. George dug his hand into her purse and felt around inside. She’d never thought having someone put their hands on something that wasn’t actually her would feel like such a personal assault.
He finally yanked her phone from inside her purse along with a utility knife she carried everywhere and tossed those over too. “There. Done. Carl, we’ll take their boat. It looks faster than yours. You won’t need it anymore anyway.”
He shoved her every few steps as they headed down the side of the boat, toward Kevin’s.
“You really thought you’d win? You thought you’d come out here and find out everything you wanted to know.
” He pushed her hard against the railing and forced her head down right over the murky water. “Any last requests?”
She couldn’t breathe. “Not the water,” the words came before she could think to stop them. Almost so quiet she wondered if she’d actually said them.
“Water?” he repeated softly. “Last request, denied,” he said against her ear before he shoved.
She screamed as her face hit the water.