In the Blink of An Eye

by Jerry Baggett

  Agent Hunt backed away several yards. “Let’s stand back and let the coroner and the CSI people do their work. Did either of you recognize the deceased? The body is that of a young woman, perhaps in her early twenties. There’s been way too many deaths of young addicts like this in California lately. The arms looked pretty tracked up.” Both indicated a lack of recognition. He looked at Samantha. “I’m told that you’re a nurse here on the island. Does the doctor here treat many young people with addiction symptoms?”

  “No! I’m surprised, actually. Doctor Peyton rages about the addiction problem constantly, yet I don’t see signs of the problem at our clinic.”

  Dick said, “One ear of the young woman seemed to be full of dried blood. I’m not a trained professional but I remember a case in Florida where a young male addict died from an icepick through the ear, into the brain. Could that be something you’re familiar with here?”

  Agent Hunt looked at Dick for several moments before answering. “You’re very observant, Commander. Usually, only a professional would pick that up so fast. How did you notice it in the dark?”

  “The sheriff’s Maglite. He lit up the body immediately after arriving on scene. I suspect Samantha, as well as I, saw the needle tracks and what looked like blood.”

  “Is that true, Miss Brooks?”

  “Yes, things like that usually catch my attention. Some places I’ve worked in the past required a detailed report be written on that sort of thing. It would be hard to miss under bright lights.”

  “I’m going to ask you both to refrain from talking about what you’ve seen here. Some of this information has to be held back, the ear puncture, for instance. We’ve not been releasing that information to the public.”

  He concentrated on Dick. “Will that be a problem for you, Commander?”

  “Not at all, sir,” Dick said.

  Hunt said, “I believe you will be judicious about where you discuss this problem. I want both of you to listen carefully to what I’m going to say. We are involved with a violent group of people here who’ll kill you without giving it a second thought. You are now conspicuously involved, so keep your own safety in mind.” He waved dismissively. “In answer to your earlier point of interest, yes. I’m familiar with death caused by an icepick into the brain, penetrating through the ear. We’ve investigated nine overdose cases in the last three months, with three of those where death was caused by an icepick into the brain. We believe the whole story of these horrible killings, very brutal killings, are connected to one organization pushing massive amounts of narcotics through and around this area. The problem here has become a priority at DEA. There’s a lot more to this story but I’m not at liberty to elaborate at this time.”

  “If you have all you need from Dick and I, we’d like to go for dinner,” Samantha said. “I believe you have our phone numbers and my address here on the island. Feel free to call me. Leave a message, if necessary, and I’ll get back to you as fast as possible.”

  Dick said, “Look at that crowd. They’re lined up all along the seawall. Probably attracted by the flood lights.”

  “Most are tourists. Some live along the beach here,” she said. “I really don’t feel like talking to people right now. What can we do?”

  Jonathan said, “I’ll escort you back to your place, at least through the crowd, Sam.”

  Dick opened the cottage door. “Your phone’s going crazy, must be multiple texts.”

  She’d left her cell on the table. “I’m afraid I know who’s calling. Steven probably caught something on the local news about the body. The local radio and TV station have an in with the sheriff.” She turned to Dick and grabbed his forearm. “Our names may have been mentioned. Steven could want to come over.”

  “Shit! Just what we need tonight,” he said. “Wait a sec before you answer him. I can leave and check into the local hotel or stay and help you with the inevitable.”

  “Stay, Dick, please!” She sat down and looked at him before continuing. “You don’t have to do this for my benefit only. I can take care of myself.”

  “No, Sam. We’re in the infancy of something wonderful. Let’s give it a chance to play out, one way or the other.”

  “Thank you.” She said, “I’m going to start making a salad. There’s steak to go with it. We can offer to share with Steven, though he’s probably had dinner with his children.”

  Dick chuckled. “So, you did expect me for dinner, after all. I believe our guest has arrived. Let me get the door.”

  “No, he’ll come around to the beach-side door. He knows the front door is always locked and the beach door is hardly ever locked. He’ll walk right in.”

  Dick walked toward the man coming through the door, and extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Lieutenant Commander Dick McGowin.”

  “I know who you are. What are you doing here, Commander?”

  Dick dropped his arm without shaking hands. “You don’t have to be rude, Doctor. I’m stopping off to thank this gracious lady for her efforts on my behalf, while under duress. She doesn’t seem to have an objection to that, why should you?” This guy’s a real prick. It’s going to be hard for me to give him benefit of the doubt.

  “We’re engaged to be married. Isn’t that enough?”

  Samantha raised her voice. “That’s not true, and you know better! We’re seeing each other, romantically, and I’m also your employee, but that doesn’t entitle you to insult my guest.” She approached Steven, face to face, nearly as tall as he. “You know damn well I haven’t agreed to marry you.” She spun around to Dick. “Do you see a ring on this hand?”

  He shook his head, side to side.

  “I think you’d better leave now, Steven. I’ll see you in the clinic on Monday, if I still have a job there. Your rudeness is inexcusable.”

  Steven spun around, toward the door. “I knew something was wrong after this guy’s first visit. You’re acting like a school girl, mooning over the high school quarterback. I can give you everything you ever wanted. All he’ll do is love you and leave you for the next woman he meets.”

  Chapter 11

  “Margie!” Hunt called. He passed the stolen auto report across to his associate. “Find out if this dirtbag’s still in custody. The report’s already three days old. The bastard has a lengthy record going back nine years, mostly small-time drug sales. Why’s he stealing cars? He owns a late model Honda. Also, find out where the arrest was made?”

  “That cheap motel at the corner of Beach and Tyler, Seal Beach,” Dan yelled, from the desk outside. “The stolen car detail spotted the car around midnight, several days ago, and waited for the suspect to return. We believe it was used to transport a body. The lab crew found blood in the trunk, not a whole lot, but enough to warrant sending samples out for testing.”

  “Good, let’s see what we can make of it. Get the results to me as soon as the report’s available. This guy will get out on bond in short order. Someone always puts up the cash for bail and we lose them. We’ll use the blood smear as leverage and squeeze this bastard. He planned on using that car again or it would have been abandoned.” Hunt stroked his chin a second or two and turned back to Margie. “You and Dan get over to the lock-up where this guy’s being held and tighten the screws on him before he gets into the wind. I have a meeting with the sheriff’s drug unit on the island. Call me if it looks like you can get something out of him.”

  An hour later Hunt answered his phone. “Talk to me Margie, what’s happening?”

  “Some good news and some bad news, Chief. The suspect bailed out earlier this morning with his lawyer present. The good news is, we got the report. The blood matches that of the young woman’s body found on the Catalina Island beach. Also, good news; traces of fentanyl matched that coming in from China. It was found in the carpet where the body was lying. We have a couple of addresses for the suspect. Should we run them down and pick him up again?”

  “Damn right, before he disappears. We’ve got him between a rock and a har
d place now. You’d better hurry. His address is on the island.”

  “The sheriff’s gonna want in on this, don’t ya think?”

  “Yeah, have them send a couple of guys with you.”

  The small rental house was almost hidden behind an overgrown hedge. “He’s not answering the door,” Margie said. “Have the guys standing by in the rear check that door to see if it’s locked before we do a hard entrance.”

  Dan said, “I’ll run around back, check it, and call you. I have a feeling about this.”

  “If it’s open, don’t enter until I get there,” she said. “I agree with you on this one, Dan.”

  A deputy sheriff pushed the door open wide and two more deputies stepped inside with their weapons drawn.

  Margie repeated her call. “DEA, we’re coming in.”

  The deputy kicked his way through scattered trash; fast food cartons, beer cans and cigarette butts, the same kind of stuff in the front living room, and on through to the small bedroom, where High-Pockets Brown lay stretched out on a stained hide-a-bed. The kind that drops out of the wall. His scarred arm reached out to an empty room. A cigarette, dangled from his deeply cracked lips, still burning. There was an empty syringe pinched between smoke-yellowed fingers.

  Dan said, “A buck will get you ten that old High-Pockets added a little too much fentanyl to his heroin.”

  Margie said, “Check his ears for blood. It’s too pat for an accidental OD from a professional user like this guy. He’s been on heroin for years, and knows what he’s doing.”

  Dan pulled on rubber gloves and moved the head enough to see beneath the left ear. “Oh yeah, blood’s leaking out one ear. It’s soaking into the mattress beneath his head. My guess is he was dead before the icepick went in. Someone else cut his heroin for him.”

  “Yeah, with a touch of fentanyl,” Margie said.

  Chapter 12

  Her day started off horrible and never got any better. Samantha finished off the paperwork associated with the day’s patient load and left the clinic without saying anything to Steven. Their day had never ended that way before. The two had always ended each day spending time together, fanning the dim spark that kept their relationship alive.

  He’d been waiting for her in his office, ahead of normal patient hours that morning. She felt ambushed. He’d quickly locked the door and attempted to plan her life, along with his, the way he envisioned the future. She had known he was well-off for a small-town medical doctor but almost fell over when he started going over his investments and real estate holdings. Even an island home in the Caribbean. She supposed he thought that would make a difference. She lost her temper when he accused her of being unfaithful and sleeping with the naval officer. From that point on, their contact, the rest of the day, had been strictly professional. She’d never seen that side of Steven, the petty side. She’d always considered him a brilliant professional, with only a few ego problems.

  She and Steven sometimes met for happy hour at Fran’s Over the Water. Tonight, she planned on cooling her jets at King Neptune’s Bar and Seafood restaurant, where she often mingled with her local friends. She usually stayed longer there, without Steven. Occasionally, she had a beer and a burger for her dinner. Still, she rarely made it in time for the half-price drinks. Tonight, she hoped an extra glass of wine would take some of the sting out of her day.

  Her conscious mind was never far from Dick McGowin. She hoped she hadn’t made a mistake, agreeing that she and Dick take some time to iron out a few kinks in each’s personal life. She felt closer to the darn guy than anyone she’d ever met. She’d spent the night on the sofa with him, both fully clothed, until he left at four a.m. Neither had slept until she cried herself to sleep an hour before her alarm went off. She’d fallen for him way too quickly. She wondered what Aunt Clara would say. Her advice had always been solid. She missed her aunt and tended to think about she and her birth mother, at times like this.

  The popular ocean-front hangout was packed with all types, from fishermen, visiting boaters from the harbor, to a few casually dressed professionals. Nothing takes the edge off like happy-hour.

  She walked through the crowd, waiting to be seated. The island was flooded with tourists this time of year. She looked over the large horseshoe bar, then her eyes settled on the new host approaching from the dining area.

  “Hi, Sam,” he said, “it’s a mad house tonight. Are you meeting someone?”

  “No, but I have friends standing at the far end of the bar. I would like to join them. Your name’s Grant, right?”

  He nodded. “Go ahead, if a table opens up, I’ll seat you with your friends. They’ve requested seating on the waterside deck. It’s nice outside this evening.”

  She greeted her friends and stood with her oldest friend, Kathy, until their table on deck opened up. She realized happy hour was halfway over and she was barely into her second glass of cab. Some of the early arrivals from boats in the harbor were already staggering to their feet after their attitude adjustment. Her single friends all settled back and ordered another round for her. None were eager to leave. The wine kicked in and she started paying attention to the endless chatter coming from the group. Her girlfriends were all island-bred singles, some with male friends and some without, all with some kind of relationship problem. She’d missed out on the half-priced food, ordered a burger and finally relaxed.

  Kathy, an assistant in the City Assessor’s Office, rambled on about her surfer boyfriend of three months. She never liked Steven and always tried to talk Sam into dating some of the men she met. Kathy attracted men easily. None ever lasted more than a few months. She suspected Kathy was about to pin the tail on her latest donkey. Their friend, Brenda, had just fallen for a local attorney. Sam watched them from the other end of the table. They appeared to be a good match, things were going well. She was happy for Brenda.

  Sam grabbed her purse, tapped Kathy on the shoulder, and leaned down. “I’ve got to pee, let’s go.” Should I tell her about Dick? No. Why push the envelope? It may not work out. She mumbled, “Be right back.” Sam led Kathy down a narrow hallway to the ladies’ room.

  Kathy said, “I told you he was good looking.”

  “I know, you made sure I saw his picture. Damn it, Kat, I’m in a relationship, you know that.” She really had to pee, now. She elbowed Kat aside and went into the stall. “There’s something you don’t know. I’ve met someone who’s giving me second thoughts about my relationship with Steven. I really don’t want to talk about him until I’m sure where it’s going.”

  “Well, thank God. At least you’re realizing there are more men out there than just that stuffy egomaniac. If you married that guy, the marriage wouldn’t last as long as my relationship with Greg. Doctor Peyton’s not the only successful man on the island. You have way more to offer.”

  They returned to their table on deck. Samantha was shocked to see Dick McGowin standing near their table, talking with Grant, the restaurant host.

  She grabbed Kathy’s arm. “Speak of the devil and he will appear. That’s my new friend talking with the host.”

  “No, it can’t be. That’s the navy pilot rescued from the ocean. I saw his picture in the paper. He was all over the news a while back.” She spun Samantha around. “He’s the best-looking man I’ve ever seen. How did you meet him so soon?”

  Dick was dressed in a tan knit t-shirt, athletic shorts, and running shoes. He towered over everyone else. He could have been modeling men’s clothing. All their friends sat with their mouths open, waiting for his story.

  Dick spun around for a quick glance at Samantha. She walked in his direction, and smiled. She knew then, he’d returned to give her support. Was he really that thoughtful and considerate?

  He placed his hands on her shoulders. “I couldn’t leave town with you facing the problem alone, not knowing the outcome. I turned around and drove back to make sure you were OK. Is everything all right?”

  Chapter 13

  She reached up and
kissed him lightly on the corner of his mouth. “This is my friend, Lieutenant Commander Dick McGowin. Some of you will recognize him as the navy pilot who ditched his jet in the ocean nearby and paddled his boat onto our island.” Sam stepped back and looked Dick up and down. “If looks mean anything, he may be a danger to all of us single women, so, don’t be too friendly until I’ve checked him out more thoroughly.”

  Dick thought, I’m going to have fun with this. He instantly, became the centerpiece of conversation. Before he could finish his second beer, Samantha explained their need for privacy and excused them from her lively group of friends. He had a quick glance around the table and thanked them for the beer.

  Once outside, he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her on the lips. “I’m sorry if this tiny bit of affection causes you more trouble, I couldn’t resist. Certainly, we’ve known each other long enough for a first kiss.” He placed his hand lightly over her mouth to prevent any objection. “You are going to make room for me on your sofa, aren’t you?”

  She poked her tongue out at him and laughed. “You deliberately set me up so it would be difficult to refuse, didn’t you! Besides that, it wasn’t our first kiss.”

  “No! It was a long drive, and tiring boat ride back. I had a difficult time deciding if I should break into your pleasant little playhouse. We have a lot to discuss.”

  She shouldered her purse. “I’ll lead the way home. Grab your ditty bag, fly boy.”

  He latched onto her arm. “A beautiful evening for a walk in the moonlight.”

  She stopped underneath a light, “You should have called, Dick. Now’s a bad time to tell you this. I must attend a medical conference in Newport tomorrow. That could ruin our time together.”

  He dropped his duffle. “How long is the conference?”

  She hesitated. “It really doesn’t matter. Steven may be there. He’s always taken this kind of opportunity for us to spend time together.”