Chapter Fourteen #2
“Good.” She drew a breath. “By the way, in case you hadn’t heard, HSI CPAA investigators picked up fugitive art smuggler, Hans Duey—after Zach and Katie made him while Duey rendezvoused with Pimentel and Abercrombie at Saluda Shoals Park.”
“I knew about the meeting,” Landon said, having been brought up to speed by Katie. “I’m glad to hear that Duey’s been arrested. Homeland Security can keep him on ice while we make the case in tying our investigations into cultural property thefts and trafficking together.”
“Exactly.” Shannon offered him a smile, then resumed her workout. “Keep me posted.”
“Always.” Landon grinned. He walked away, thinking, We’ll get this done and arrest the culprits and make it stick. Even while the current state of affairs for Eddie remained a conundrum.
* * *
RAQUELLE WALKED INTO Deirdre’s Coffee Bar on Knotter Marina Drive. She had been invited there by Eddie’s former girlfriend, Penelope.
It occurred to Raquelle that maybe her brother had reached out to Penelope, who would then convey a message to her. At least to say that he was safe. Perhaps far away from the coffee bar on beautiful Lake Owenne, where she was now standing.
Or was she getting carried away by expectations that might fall flat?
“Hey,” Penelope greeted her warmly.
Raquelle smiled. “Hi.”
“Thanks for coming.”
“Not a problem,” Raquelle assured her. “I was done teaching classes today.”
“All right.”
They headed for the food service and then beverage station. Raquelle went with fresh coffee and a brownie while Penelope got a matcha and a vegan scone.
“There’s a table by the window,” she said and ushered Raquelle in that direction.
They sat with a nice view of the lake. The boats dotting it asymmetrically beneath sunshine reminded Raquelle of when she would go out with Eddie on his pontoon. She would give anything to do so again. Perhaps with Landon—and maybe even Penelope, if she were so inclined.
“So, have you heard from Eddie—or anything more about his disappearance?” Penelope asked casually after nibbling on her scone.
Raquelle met her eyes, hiding disappointment, as she responded truthfully, “I was about to ask you the same thing.” She paused, tasting the coffee. “Sorry. I know that you and Eddie are no longer together—so thinking he might have contacted you again…”
Penelope made a face. “About that. There was something weird—or maybe not really—that happened a couple of days ago…” She sipped her green tea. “I got a call from someone with no caller ID. I could hear breathing, but the person never said a word—before the call disconnected… Strange, huh?”
Raquelle’s jaw dropped as she asked what they were both apparently contemplating, “And you think it might have been Eddie calling you…?”
“Truthfully, the thought did cross my mind.” Penelope sighed. “But if it was him, why didn’t he just say so?”
Good question, Raquelle thought, breaking off a piece of her brownie.
She could only hope that the caller was Eddie, which would mean that he was still alive.
And not buried somewhere that they would never find him.
She gazed at Penelope and responded musingly, “Maybe Eddie had second thoughts about materializing…or coming clean about where he’s been hiding or his current whereabouts.
” Raquelle paused. “Could be that he simply wanted to protect you from being targeted by those who are targeting him—”
Penelope peered at her. “What did he do so wrong that someone would want him dead?”
“I’ve asked myself the same thing,” she confessed, even when she knew that her brother had apparently stepped over the line in supplying Landon with intel that was damaging enough to want both payback and the crime syndicate’s attempts to protect their interests by taking Eddie out of the picture.
But since the case was still under investigation and a sensitive subject matter, she couldn’t be specific.
“All I can say is that Eddie stepped on the toes of some very bad actors, metaphorically speaking, by doing his part to stop Native American artwork from being stolen or forged. Now he’s paying the price. ”
“I hate that.” Penelope ran a hand through her hair.
Raquelle twisted her lips. “Me too.”
“So, I take it you haven’t heard from him either?” she asked. “At least so you were able to have a conversation?”
“I wish.” Raquelle sighed and lifted the coffee mug.
“There’s been no contact since Eddie left me a voicemail the day his boat was blown up.
I’m trying not to read too much into that—such as his being unable to communicate because he’s dead—but I do wonder what’s going on.
And if there can still be daylight at the end of the tunnel for my brother. ”
Penelope leaned forward and said ponderingly, “Maybe Eddie is trying to protect you too by being deliberately uncommunicative and staying out of sight.”
“I’ve considered that,” Raquelle said, sipping the coffee. If so, why keep Landon at arm’s length and unable to provide assistance? “But it still doesn’t make the not knowing any easier to stomach.”
“I get that.” Penelope put a hand on hers. “I’m sure your ex-husband and the entire FBI are doing what they can to find Eddie and get some resolution to this.”
“They are.” Raquelle smiled tenderly, fully aware that Landon was as committed as her to solving Eddie’s disappearance. As well as holding those responsible for this and the pontoon explosion totally accountable. “So, where did things go wrong between you and Eddie?” she asked curiously.
Penelope bit into the scone, while staring at the question posed.
After a moment or two, she answered evenly, “Like other couples, I suppose we pushed each other away for reasons that were probably not worth fighting over, much less breaking up.” She took a breath.
“If he gets through this, maybe we can talk about getting back together.”
“That would be wonderful.” Raquelle couldn’t help but smile at the prospect.
Having experienced firsthand how two people could find their way back to one another again, she had hope for Eddie and Penelope.
But first her brother needed to be all right.
And if WITSEC were to be a factor, maybe the two of them could start over together.
Or was it feasible that an archaeologist and art dealer of different tribes could put everything behind them for all the right reasons?
Raquelle drank more coffee and pondered this…as well as her own future possibilities with Landon.
* * *
WHILE WEARING A cap and dark sunglasses, Eddie watched inconspicuously as Raquelle and Penelope left the coffee bar and walked along the dock. They exchanged a few more words and embraced like lifelong friends before going their separate ways.
He tried to decide which one he should follow. His ex-girlfriend? He still longed for a second chance with and had wanted to communicate this to—then thought better of it for her own sake.
Or his beloved sister? Choosing to keep her in the dark was one of the hardest things he’d ever done.
But knowing full well the lengths his pursuers would go to in order to silence him forever was more than enough to want to keep his distance from Raquelle.
That included by phone or computer—both of which could be intercepted by those who were capable of that sort of thing.
The last thing he wanted was for Raquelle to become a target too. She had a good life, and he didn’t want to mess with that. Besides, he knew that Landon would have her back, no matter where things went from here for all three of them.
Eddie watched again from his position on the dock as both Raquelle and Penelope headed for their vehicles. He wisely chose to leave both of them alone. Should he survive this crisis borne of his own making, there would be time to try and fix everything he had broken.
He walked away, making himself scarce again with the constant threat of death and disaster following him around like the Grim Reaper.