Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Captain Tomie stepped into the conference room and focused on Cap. “We’ve figured out how Milbourne survived the water, got back to town, and got a gun. How he knew to find Emma at your house is still a mystery.”
“How?” Cap asked.
“We ran the plates on the sedan parked next to where Jonathan’s truck had been parked at the boat ramp.
Came back to a Howard LaVine. He’s got a place out on South Lake Michigan Drive.
I called him and asked about his car. He said he was just about to call the Sheriff’s department because when he woke up, the car was missing. ”
“Woke up? Jonathan stole the car?” Cap asked.
Tomie sat on the chair next to him and continued.
“Turns out LaVine spotted Milbourne in the water, kayaked over to him, and dragged him back to shore. Said he thought the guy was dead at first. Milbourne fed him a line, telling him he’d been kidnapped, which is why his hands were bound.
Once on shore, LaVine cut him loose, and they went into his house so Milbourne could call the cops.
The next thing LaVine knew, he woke up on the floor with a grapefruit-sized lump on the back of his head.
Quite a headache, too, I guess. To make matters worse, Milbourne had hogtied him with an extension cord.
Took him a while to get loose. Anyhow, when he came to, Milbourne was gone.
His car was gone and, worst of all, his 9mm was gone.
He kept the gun in a holster slung on the coat rack. Don’t even get me started on that.”
“I knew I saw a kayaker out there. Dammit. How did they slip under the radar of the shore search?” Cap asked.
He wanted to kick himself for not following through better regarding the kayaker and shore search.
“There were a lot of doors to knock on and a sizeable area to cover. Not everyone was home, either,” Tomie answered.
“No good deed goes unpunished,” Chief Mertz added with a shake of his head, “at least it sounds like LaVine is okay.”
“Still, how did he track Emma down at my place?” Cap asked.
“I’ve been thinking about that. Turns out Milbourne had a lot of time to plan his next move.
Maybe he simply drove his stolen car back to town and watched the dock to see what we did when we came in from the water.
He could have had eyes on the police station and saw you and Emma get into your truck. It could be that simple.”
Cap didn’t recall any headlights following him when he drove Emma to his home, but right now, Captain Tomie’s theory was as good as any.
“The pieces of the puzzle are falling together,” Mertz said.
“They are, and knowing this information now, let’s refocus on the next steps.
I think we should put out a press release saying Emma is missing, hoping nobody saw her walk in here.
It’s early. Maybe we can get away with that.
Even if we get tips, we can handle them by saying they didn’t check out.
We’ll say she hasn’t been seen since early this morning.
See if we can’t keep the Colombians interested in sticking around,” Chief Deputy Styles said.
“That could work,” Chief Mertz agreed.
“Use her as bait?” Cap questioned.
He already knew the answer. It was the right move if they wanted to catch the dealer and get him off the street. Knowing that didn’t make the knot in his chest loosen.
Hell, Emma was already in danger. Danger is danger, but this meant leaning into it.
Drawing it closer. If it worked, they’d eliminate the immediate threat, but what about the cartel leader?
What would he do? Would he come after her, too?
The amount of drugs in the bag suggested money, but not a ton, so maybe the police attention brought to this would cause him to walk away from it. They could only hope.
“Do you think we could get her to agree?” Styles asked.
Cap thought for a moment. “In the long run, catching the remaining guy is probably her best shot at getting out of this. So, I would hope she’d understand that.”
“We can stash her at the safe house on Glidden. I’ll have one of our female deputies stay with her, and we’ll heavily patrol the area,” Styles said.
Cap’s chest tightened. He wanted to be the one to stay with her and keep her safe.
But he wasn’t on the force anymore. Plus, keeping her in the safe house out of the city limits made her the Sheriff’s Department’s responsibility, not the city’s.
Would they let him go, too? Maybe, since they included him in this conversation.
He could have his brother take his charters.
With as much as he and Hunter looked alike, that probably wasn’t a good idea in the event the Colombian came after him.
He couldn’t use his brother in the crosshairs like that.
“Cap, do you have any charters booked for the next couple of days?” Chief Mertz asked.
Cap’s pulse spiked. Was the chief about to propose that he stay with Emma, too?
“Yeah, I’m full up.”
Mertz rubbed his hand over his face. “I think you should keep those. Go on as normal. We can put Captain Tomie on the boat with you as a deckhand in case they come looking for you. If the Colombians try to reach you by water, it’ll be easy to spot them from a distance.
We’ll staff another boat nearby so they never reach you or your clients. ”
Dammit. Exactly what he thought should happen.
He got it and had no problem with that. It was just that he wanted to protect Emma.
Not that he didn’t trust a trained deputy.
Hunter and Cici were out on a charter with his boat right now.
They knew the risk involved, which was why Tomie would be with them, so he guessed this afternoon’s charter and those over the next couple of days would be no different, risk-wise.
“Okay. Makes sense.”
“It’s settled then. Emma will go to the safe house, Cap will continue with business as usual, and we’ve already got protection on Jonathan at the hospital. We’ll check on his status after his surgery. We’ll see if we can’t draw out the remaining Colombian,” Styles recapped.
Mertz pulled his cell phone from his pocket and tapped the screen. “I’m letting Markie know to bring Emma back in so we can talk to her.”
Within seconds, Markie entered the room with Emma in tow.
Emma held a cup of coffee in one hand and her handbag in the other.
She set the coffee on the table and the bag on the floor, then took the seat next to him.
The warmth of her body seeped into his arm.
Her fresh scent reminded him of morning after a spring rain and wafted in the air.
Dammit, he should be the one protecting her.
“Emma, we feel it’s in your best interest if we place you in a safe house for a while in case the surviving Colombian comes looking for the drugs,” Styles said.
Or, after you, Cap thought.
The recognition in Emma’s gaze sharpened, showing that she fully knew what Styles meant, though he’d tried to soften it by focusing on the bag rather than her.
After a beat, she zoned in on him.
“It’s for the best. You need to be under protection,” Cap assured her.
She turned her head and focused on the chief who sat across from her.
“What does that mean exactly?”
“We’ll put out a press release that you’ve gone missing. See if we can’t keep the Colombian interested in sticking around to recover the drugs.”
Her eyes went wide, and she snapped her head in Cap’s direction.
“I’m bait?”
His chest squeezed so tightly he could hardly stand the pressure. Her dark eyes bore into him as she waited for a response. There was no way he’d lie to her.
“Yes.”
When her body shivered, he fought the urge to reach out and pull her close, not wanting the others in the room to know how he felt.
“The Sheriff’s Department has a safe house about a twenty-minute drive from here. We’ll assign a deputy to stay at the cabin with you.” Styles said.
Her gaze flew to him.
“Where will you be?”
The ache in his chest deepened.
“I have charters. I will need to keep them up and also see if I can draw him out, too.”
She stared at him and those ebony irises pleaded with him not to leave her.
Not being with her was the last thing he wanted, but police business wasn’t his anymore.
For the first time since he left the force, he regretted his decision.
He was good at policing and should have stayed.
That was the only way he could help people like her, not charter fishing.
Nerves rattled his extremities, reminding him of why he’d left the force.
“I just want to go home,” she said.
“That’s too dangerous,” Cap said.
“I don’t care.”
“Well, I do.”
She turned her head to the chief. “I’m not going to the safe house unless Cap comes with me.”
“Cap needs to be visible…”
Emma shot her hand into the air, cutting off Styles’ words.
“That’s not negotiable.”
“Emma, if I stay visible, they might think I have the drugs. Or that I know where you are. It’s better if they come for me.”
“Please don’t leave me. I trust you.”
His heart swelled. He thought for a moment. Would anyone protect her with their life, as he would? A deputy surely would because that is what they are trained to do, but he knew in his heart he would do better. How could he turn this around?
“Emma. This is the best plan.”
“That may be, but if I’m going to put my life in someone’s hands, I want them to be yours.”
That was about the biggest compliment a guy could get. He realized there was no way he could let her go to that safe house without him. A lump rose in his throat. Familiar full-blown stress from this situation had made its way back to him.
Cap met Chief Mertz’s gaze. He could see the wheels turning.
The comment Emma had just made was not typical of a person who’d just met the other person the day before.
He supposed his former boss wondered why Emma was so adamant that he stay with her.
The last thing he wanted was for his former boss to think he’d taken advantage of a terrified woman.
“Chief,” Emma said with her gaze fixed on Mertz.
“I know that probably sounds foolish to you because I just met Cap yesterday, but his actions on the boat proved to me how capable he is. You guys do this every day, I don’t.
I’m scared to death. I trust him, and you must too, with what you are asking him to do.
I also heard you offer his job back to him. ”
From personal experience, Cap knew Mertz was a good and fair man. He would consider how Emma felt and make the best decision for everyone involved, no matter how hard that may be.
“You know, Chief, we could put Hunter on the boat,” Cap said.
Emma’s quick intake of breath caused him to pause, and let him know she felt hope he’d go to the safe house with her.
It also gave him a moment to reflect. Would he really sacrifice his brother for Emma?
What kind of horrible person does that? One who knows his brother is perfectly capable of protecting himself, he supposed.
Or at least that’s what he’d convince himself of.
“Continue,” Mertz said.
“Hunter and I look enough alike that from a distance, he wouldn’t know the difference.
At least not until he got close. Then, one of two things would likely happen.
He’d realize it isn’t me and turn around, which is good because then we’d have a bead on him and your watch-boat could go after him.
We’d know he’s still in the game. Or, he would think it is me and keep coming, and your watch-boat could close in. ”
“And the possibility he or they may be armed with high-powered weapons doesn’t make you worry for your brother?” Styles asked.
That made him feel like a total heel.
“I would worry. But Hunter is capable, and Captain Tomie will be on the boat with him. In fact, we’re doing that now. He’s doing a charter with my sister, and Captain Tomie will be on the boat soon.”
“We all know it’s a long shot he’ll come after Cap on the water, especially if he’s a one-man show at this point.
It would be more likely if he’s called in others to help.
That could go either way. The bigger point of keeping Cap on the water is to show that he doesn’t know where Emma is, and he’s going on with business as usual, proving that she really is missing.
Especially since the press release will say that she was last seen by Cap early this morning.
So, putting Hunter on the boat isn’t a bad idea, in view of our charge requesting Cap.
Our duty is to keep her trust so that we can keep her safe,” Mertz said.
Cap glanced at Emma. A look of relief and then hope washed over her suntanned face.
“I think we can make that plan work,” Styles confirmed.
“I’ll call Hunter and Cici. Or, we can wait and talk to them in person when they get in from the morning run. I’m sure they’ll do whatever they can to help.”
Mertz looked at Styles. “I know this family. They’ll give it their all, no matter the cost.”