Chapter 13
Sophie wriggled restlessly in the car. Ephraim, at the wheel, glanced at her. “You sure you want to do this?”
She nodded and looked in the side mirror. Reed was behind them in a black jeep.
“I’m sure I want this over with. And unless you can come up with a better idea, I think we have to do this.”
He kept his eyes on the road, his expression grim. “That’s the problem. It’s the best idea so far. Remember, when you storm off, don’t go into any alleys or closed end streets. Stay on the main drag.”
She chuckled. “We don’t have much of anything but that in town.
” She thought of the old oyster processing buildings on the outskirts of town.
They’d made sure to make the ‘fight’ in the more secure area, but still, there were a few alleys there, including the one she routinely used to travel between her docked boat and the main boardwalk.
Reed’s voice came through the small walkie talkie he’d loaned Ephraim. “I’m breaking off here. Gonna park in the bank’s lot and head to the center.”
“Roger. Going to the center of Avenue I.” Ephraim responded and headed for the café they’d agreed on.
He went over the plans with Sophie for what seemed like the dozenth time.
“We argue, you head down the street at the corner, and I start to follow then act like I’m disgusted and head the other way. ”
“You then double back and get behind Wood, who we hope has started trailing us.” She said and looked for the dark blue car they’d seen before. It wasn’t anywhere behind them. “What if he doesn’t follow us?”
“He will.” Ephraim said and made a turn toward town.
They made a few unnecessary turns in hope that Wood picked them up and followed them. Sophie saw a couple of cars that held on to them for a couple of miles then turned off and sighed. “I don’t think he’s caught the bait.”
“We’ll still go through with the setup, just in case. You up for it?”
She smiled, a little wobbly maybe, but still a smile. “I’ll give it my best.”
He found a place on the street to park, making sure he had plenty of room to pull out in a hurry.
Then they got out of the car and walked a couple of inches apart, as it they weren’t on the best of terms. When they got to the corner, Sophie surprised him by wheeling around and, putting her hands on her hips, almost shouted. “You never trusted me!”
He recovered quickly and went into the affronted boyfriend mode. As they argued, he realized she was using him as a sounding board. It was as if she was talking to the man she’d loved and been hurt by in the years past.
“Why’d you not tell me? I might have helped?”
“Because it was my problem to solve!” He shouted and she stepped away, her eyes suddenly large. Was he getting into this too much?
“Well, you go ahead. I’m done!” she turned and headed down the street, as they’d planned.
He yelled after her and took a few steps then waved his hand in apparent dismissal and started walking back the other way.
He was a couple steps away from the car when he turned and went into a coffee shop.
The walkie talkie squawked and he took it from his pocket.
“Yeah.”
“Don’t see anybody yet.”
“I’m in the coffee shop, going out now.” He exited the shop and looked around. No one familiar was on the street, just a couple of teenagers horsing around and a woman with a baby in a stroller. Huh. Where was Wood?
He headed down a side street, intending to get in front of Sophie and insure she was safe. When he rounded the corner that would bring him back out to the street connecting him with I, he felt a rush of air, a sudden pain in his head and then nothing.
Sophie, out of breath from rushing down the street, slowed. She’d expected all of this to play out quickly and she’d walked two blocks already. What was her next step? Keep walking? Turn around? They hadn’t discussed that in their plan.
“Keep walking.” The cigarette scented voice came from behind her and she felt a hard point dig into the bandaged area on her side.
She closed her eyes and started praying Ephraim hadn’t been killed. She walked with Wood, her eyes on the dark gray car parked at the end of the block.
“Did you see Ephraim?” she asked and he laughed. “Yeah, I saw him, but he didn’t see me.”
“Is he dead?”
“No, not yet. My boss wants to see it happen. If not, he’d have been dead a week ago, before you found him.”
It all made sense now, the focus on her, the fact that he hadn’t tried to injure Ephraim when she was attacked.
“Who hired you?” She asked and he laughed again, then coughed wetly in her ear.
“No, no. I ain’t sharing that. Now, when we come to the car, you get in the front, nice and quiet.”
She followed his directions, all the while praying that Ephraim and Reed would find her.
Ephraim came to with a start and a fierce headache.
“Collins, wake up.”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Ephraim sat up, his head splitting and his balance crap. “Where is Sophie?”
“Gone.” Reed replied stonily.
“Gone?” Ephraim put his feet under him and stood then swayed and took a step away from Reed then vomited.
“Wood’s got her. I saw them get in a car and pull out.”
“Why didn’t you follow him?” Ephraim croaked.
“I was on foot,” Reed reminded him. “I just hope the tag we put on Sophie works.”
Ephraim didn’t bother to nod. He just started walking toward Sophie’s car. “Where’re you going?” Reed asked and when Ephraim replied he shook his head.
“We’ll take my jeep. He doesn’t know it.”
They made it to the jeep with only an additional stop for Ephraim to throw up. Reed didn’t bother to suggest Ephraim remain behind. They both knew better.
The tracking tag Sophie had sewn into her shirt hem came through when they turned on the receiver. Ephraim breathed a sigh of relief then frowned at the direction the tag was heading. “Looks like they’re going west.”
“What’s out there?” Reed asked as he navigated through town and toward the main road.
“Hold on,” Ephraim fought double vision and focused in on his phone.
His stomach roiled and for a minute, he was afraid he’d have to stick his head out of the window and vomit.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath then opened them again and saw his vision had cleared a bit.
“Looks like businesses and some oyster processing houses.” He turned a dark gaze on Reed.
“Sophie told me the oyster fishing business bottomed out after some hurricane a few years ago. There are probably empty buildings there.”
Reed nodded and pushed the gas for more speed. “We’ve got the tag, remember.”
Sophie watched the familiar businesses and houses of the west side slide by as Wood drove toward the old fishing area. She wondered why he’d not bothered to blindfold her then put it out of her mind. She didn’t want to think of the consequences of that.
She hoped the tracking tag she’d sewn in her t-shirt would do the trick, though they’d only done it as a safety measure.
She’d argued that she’d not need it, as Ephraim wouldn’t let her out of his sight, but she hadn’t bargained on Wood needing her more than he did Ephraim.
Why hadn’t he just taken him? She asked the man driving and smoking the noxious cigarette.
“In downtown? Would have drawn too much attention. I know the man, he fights like a wildcat when he’s cornered. You were the easier way to get to him. All neat and tidy, tied up in a bow for the boss.”
She took a breath and asked about the boss again. ‘Nope,” Wood said and, rolling down his window, tossed the still smoldering butt out. “Not gonna tell you. You’ll find out eventually, anyway.” He glanced at her. “You don’t seem like Collins’ type.”
“What type is that?” she asked, determined to keep him talking.
He shrugged. “Come to think of it, I never saw him with anybody. But he’d like flashy women, I bet. You, you ain’t flashy.”
No, definitely not flashy, Sophie told herself. But I am resourceful.