CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“They’d been out there a while,” said Whiskey staring at the other men. “Kip said they were most likely alive when the storm hit but didn’t have a chance exposed like they were.”
“He took prints, photos, everything,” said Cruz. “We’ll be able to compare that to the licenses we found and be positive of their identity. His estimate was that they were all between twenty-three and twenty-nine. Give or take a few months.”
“Who would do this and why?” asked Luke.
“If they all worked for Pelican maybe they found something that they didn’t like,” said Doc.
“We need to find someone who is in charge at Pelican,” said Eric. “Have we heard any feedback or any noise about the place on the lake being destroyed?” They all turned to look at AJ and Ace, the father-son team working hard to get all the communications up and running.
“Nothing. Not one word. Most of the residents along the lake had evacuated so no one caught a glimpse of what Garrett and Nash did but someone will figure out that place is demolished sooner or later.”
Luke nodded as all the men took their seats. They’d searched for survivors again today, finding just three and two were dogs. There was so much space to search, they were already feeling overwhelmed and understaffed. It was a first for the team.
“Word is that the Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA, and the state police have taken over extractions and clean up for the city of New Orleans,” said Hex. “They won’t get out this far for a while, so we need to keep doing our routes until we can’t anymore.”
“Power should be up and running soon,” said Hiro. “We have the communications systems working, refrigeration for the café and cafeteria, and next will be the whole power grid for the property. We have our own system which will ensure we’re up and running before most of the city.”
“The hospital is at full power and should be fine. Folks are slowly trying to filter out and see if their homes are destroyed. Mike and the boys at the fire department have been more than generous with their time, using their own pick-up trucks and equipment to rescue folks,” said Eric.
“For now, we all stay out here at the Sugar Lodge until we can be certain the electricity is on and will hold. It’s too fucking hot to not have our air conditioning working in our homes. Once that’s up, we’ll all be safe to return. Until then, we sleep and eat here, have our meetings here.”
Everyone nodded. In the corner of the room, Jessica and Elizabeth were trying to entertain the younger kids who were fast losing their patience.
They had energy to spare and wanted to go outside.
These weren’t indoor kids who stared at tablets all day.
They were used to running the paths, trekking on hikes through the remote outer islands, and just enjoying the property.
“Hey,” said Tanner looking up from his tablet screen. “I’ve found an owner for Pelican Insurance. He lives just outside of Beaumont, Texas. They got a lot of rain but nothing like what we got here.”
“You have the address?” asked Luke. Tanner frowned at him with a strange expression. “Right. Of course you do.”
“I’m bringing up shots of the house now,” he said pointing toward the blank wall they were using as a projection screen.
“It’s a doozey. According to city documents, it’s nearly twenty-thousand square feet.
Twelve bedrooms. Fifteen bathrooms. Six-car garage.
Two pools. Two tennis courts. Spa and much more. ”
“It sounds like a resort, not a home,” frowned Eric.
“Yes, but it is a house. A house belonging to the man who runs an insurance company that defrauds people out of their rightful reimbursements and, allegedly,” said Luke holding up a finger, “remember I said that. Allegedly, killed six women.”
“Possibly more,” said Frank. “We just got word from Kip. The blood and tissue samples from the cuffs found in the house on the lake don’t match any of the women. That means someone was killed prior to the storm or someone escaped.”
“Why does everything have to be so fucking hard?” said Cam running his hands through his hair.
“Is that rhetorical?” asked Eric. “Because brother, nothing is ever easy if it comes our way. And stop pushing your hand through your pretty hair. You’re going to go bald.”
Cam gave him a sarcastic expression and shook his head with a little laugh. Humor. It always brought them through. When they heard a thud at the door of the Sugar Lodge, they all stared at one another.
It was after eight in the evening and most people would be locked down at this hour. Those that were at the hospital would be there overnight.
“I’ll get it,” said Trak.
“Trak, wait! It could be someone we don’t know. The fences are still down,” said AJ.
“It’s not. It’s Alvin. He has a message for us.”
“Of course he does,” smirked Eric. Trak opened the door and the huge gator sauntered through the door as if he owned the place. On his back was Pepe, the skunk, along with one of the flamingoes, Nancy.
“Please tell me the animals aren’t moving in,” said Lauren frowning at her husband.
“Of course not,” said Trak. “They don’t like the smell of us much. Alvin says we need to follow him.”
“Why? It’s late,” said Luke.
“He’s aware of the time,” said Trak matter-of-factly. “He says there is another woman chained to a pole.”