Chapter 38
The PBPD forensic team arrived. Camera flashes bounced off the concrete walls. The local medical examiner wasn’t far behind. I stood watch as Malone and his men began the count.
This would take a while.
Jack stepped outside to call the sheriff.
Shane looked like he was about to explode. He grumbled in my ear, “You’re not going to let them take it, are you?”
“I don’t have a choice,” I hissed.
“This is bullshit.”
I gave him a look that said shut the hell up and calm down.
JD returned a few minutes later. Not long after, county deputies arrived. Malone may have claimed jurisdiction, but they weren’t going to control the scene without a few deputies around.
It took the sheriff about 50 minutes to arrive. By the look on his face, he was not a happy camper. He pulled me aside and grumbled, "What part of keep me in the loop did you not understand?"
"Events occurred rapidly. There was no time."
The sheriff had a little back-and-forth with Malone, but that didn't go anywhere. They were sticking to their guns, and we were sticking to ours. At least county deputies would oversee the transfer.
We surrendered our duty weapons, and the sheriff put us on leave, as per protocol. We transferred Brandi into the custody of the county deputies. They escorted her out of the building and stuffed her into the back of a patrol car. She was taken to the local substation, processed, and printed.
"Any word from the kidnappers?" the sheriff asked me.
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Get back to Coconut Key before you get into any more trouble.”
“You got it.”
We left the scene and made our way down to the parking lot with Shane.
Lights flashed atop squad cars. News crews were on the scene. Cameras closed in.
In plain clothes, we looked like civilians.
“Were you involved in the shooting?”
“You should talk to the PBPD,” I said, then stepped out of frame.
“Did you see the assailants? What can you tell us?”
We continued across the lot, and they lost interest when a PBPD officer stepped out.
As soon as we got to our cars, Shane hissed, “That money is going to go missing.”
“It will make it back to evidence,” I said. “After that, who knows?”
Shane gave a cautious look around. The media was preoccupied with the officer at the main entrance. Shane said, “We’ve still got a shot at getting Riley back.”
He dug into his pants.
We both gave him a strange look.
He pulled out the jewel. The blue diamond sparkled in his palm under the mercury vapor light. With a grin, he said, “This is what Vladimir really wants.”
The stunning cushion-cut diamond mesmerized.
Shane closed his fist around it and stuffed it into his pocket.
“You took that?”
“During the shootout. I wasn’t going to let anyone have it.” He paused and looked around again. Nobody paid any attention to us. “Let’s get out of here.”
I hopped into the Thundercat with Shane. I was not about to let him out of my sight.
He fired up the engine and pulled out of the lot. We rambled back to Coconut Key, Jack on our tail.
With Shane’s foot to the floor, the engine roared. We blazed down the highway, passing cars like they were standing still.
The moon hung in the sky, glowing the water. A few clouds drifted on the breeze.
Shane kept quiet for the first part of the drive. He finally said, “I know you’re sticking your neck out for me.”
“To put it mildly.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Show me you appreciate it by coming clean.”
“I told you, I will. Just as soon as I know Riley is safe.”
His phone buzzed with a call. Shane pulled the device from his pocket. It glowed his face as he looked at the screen before answering. “Hello?”
An ominous voice filtered through. “Do you have my property?”
“Yes.”
“All of it?”
“Yes.”
“This transaction is not going to go well if you lie to me.”
Shane sighed, then admitted, “There were complications. But I have what’s important.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“I need proof of life,” Shane said.
“And I need proof you have what I want, seeing how my money is in the custody of the PBPD.”
Word had traveled fast. No doubt Vladimir had an informant on the inside.
“You’ll get it.”
After a pause, Vladimir said, “Meet me at Sunset Wharf on Rock Island at midnight. Come alone. Don’t bring any cops.”
Vladimir ended the call, and a few moments later, a picture of Riley buzzed Shane's phone. His jaw clenched tight when he opened the image and looked at it.
Riley was bound and gagged, tears staining her cheeks. She looked disheveled, but unharmed. Held just below her face, the front page of today's newspaper displayed the date.
"Send that image to me," I said.
He did, and I forwarded it to Isabella to see if there was any information she could glean from the metadata.
Shane pulled out the gem and handed it to me along with his phone.
“I feel like I should disinfect this.”
He sneered at me.
I took a picture of it and sent it to Vladimir via the encrypted app that he had used to contact Shane. I knew from experience that it was almost impossible to hack Memo. Even Isabella wouldn't be able to find his location.
We hurried back to Coconut Key and drove to the marina at Diver Down.
"How do you want to play this?" Shane asked.