“This is important, Dick. I owe Samantha for years of friendship. She isn’t safe anywhere. The island sheriff’s department has a man loyal to the cartel working there. He’s been there for years. You know now that I’ve worked with the cartel for years myself, and have nothing to lose. A contract was made through a man named Cezar Perez. Someone in the sheriff’s department is planning to shoot and kill Samantha the next time she’s on the island. He was paid fifty thousand dollars to do the job. The money came from Marino’s offshore account before he died.”
She struggled to speak. “One more thing. I’ve just killed a man named Ahillio Mendez and his bodyguard, a day ago. The bodies are in a Miami warehouse where they held and abused me. He’s known as Hilo, the second in command of the Mexican partnership. You’d better get this information directly to DEA, right away. Cezar may have others involved with him.” She coughed violently, then continued. “I’ve been shot in the chest. It may be fatal. I’m also out of the country. So, tell Samantha I’m sorry for everything.”
“The line’s dead,” Dick said.
“We heard it all,” Mike said. “You’d better make that call now.”
Chapter 49
“I’ve known Sheriff Dickson for many years,” Mark McGowin said. “He’s top notch, count on it.”
“Yeah, you got that right,” Mike said. “He saved our ass, working with FBI Agent Findley and bringing down the drug lord, Lance Howell, here, a few years ago.”
Mike looked at Dammit. “You and Robbin also had the sheriff’s help after her cousin lost his life at the hands of his girlfriend, Kaila, and those thugs off the yacht, Brigadoon, at Two Harbors.”
“Yes,” Dammit said. “The sheriff had his people take care of Tom’s yacht, Forever Hooked, in Avalon Harbor, after Tom was killed. No one could have been more helpful.”
“He’s taking this threat seriously,” Mark said. “He and his deputy both assured us Cezar Perez would be picked up and held until this accusation’s proven out. Cezar’s a new man with the department. The sheriff chose to come aboard personally and let us know Cezar was on leave of absence. He as much as said they don’t know where the hell Perez is at this moment. That says it all. Nothing has really changed.”
Dick said, “We’d better stay on board today, unless something changes. We should have lunch here instead of meeting at the Busy Bee. Sam would like very much to walk around and look over the lot where her house burned. We plan to rebuild. Maybe we can take a look at what’s left of the cottage on the way back from San Diego.”
Mike said, “Sure. It isn’t much out of the way. Let’s see if the threat’s over by then. Now, we need to think about a few things. The island’s a small place with limited hiding places. A marksman might be able to hit his target from any number of shooting positions, but how the devil would he get away without getting caught? Even a hired assassin will not risk his freedom recklessly for money. The attack will be well planned.”
Dammit said, “He may not know we’re on to him. He could attack from the water.”
Dick pointed at the slight chop on the water. “If we go by boat, he’s likely to miss, with his target moving as well as his shooting position, don’t you think?”
“He would have to rely on two or three automatic bursts, fired in succession, to hit a target on the water from any kind of distance,” Dammit said. “A trained marksman could do that. Look at the boats anchored here. The shot could be made from any one of them. We should rethink our plans for today.”
“I don’t see how that guy would expect us to be here at all today,” Dick said. “There’s no way a shooter could make a shot and get away from law enforcement, on the island, or out here on the water. The sheriff would have helicopters in the air before he could stow the weapon. There’s just no place to hide.”
“Everybody in the sheriff’s office knows Samantha’s here. Why not the assassin?” Mike said.
Samantha walked out on deck and settled in next to Dick. “With everything that’s going on in our lives, Dick, we may not have another chance to look through the ruins of the cottage. We may settle in near San Francisco, with your new job and all. Perhaps Mike would take us for a ride in the tender. We could look the lot over from the water. I have a sad feeling we won’t be returning to this beautiful island any time soon.”
Mike looked from Samantha to Dick and back again. “How can you possibly deny that heart felt request? Odds are in our favor. OK with you, Dick?”
He laughed. “How can you refuse a request like that? I have my trusty Glock. Let’s go for it.”
Mike said, “Find out if anyone else would like to go on this ride in the tender, while I lower her into the water.”
Dammit came out, “We have no takers on the ride. They’re all topside, working on their tan. The four of us should go ahead and escort Sam back to check things out from the tender. We can land from the beach. I believe the odds are in our favor. Anyway, a short ride in that lickety-split boat of yours would be lots o’ fun, Mike.”
Mike grinned. “Our last trip to Mexico with the family made me realize we needed more speed to get away from troublemakers. The twenty-five-foot RIB now has twin 150-horse Mercury four-stroke on her, with a reinforced bottom.” He eased the tender away from the transom of Blue Dolphin. “We’re going for a zip up the coast, toward the west end, then land on the beach, on the way back. Is that OK with you guys?”
Dick said, “Stay within fifty yards of the shoreline. We’ll grab a look at Sam’s home site, from the water. If all’s clear, we’d like to sift through the ashes for a few souvenirs on the way back.”
“Hold on tight, everyone. We’ll be jumping a few swells, at high speed.” Mike opened the throttles.
“Don’t stop now, just look up the beach from Sam’s place,” Dick yelled. “There’s a boat tied up on shore. Something’s not right. Stop ahead somewhere and let’s give it some thought.”
Mike and Dammit both agreed. The situation warranted a cautious look. Mike slowed the tender to a comfortable pace and cruised past the open bow power boat.
“Someone’s gone onto Sam’s property from that boat. Do you have binoculars onboard, Mike?”
Mike opened the cabinet door beneath the helm. “Here ya go, Dam. I’m going to cruise by again. Scan the tree line around the burned cottage. I thought I saw movement, just to the right of the pathway down to the beach.”
“Slow down, Mike, really slow. That appeared to be a shooter’s bipod lying in the bow of that boat. There’s also some kind of camo outfit with a pair of binoculars. What do you make of it?” Dammit said.
“Could that possibly be the sheriff’s people?” Dick said.
“Not likely. The sheriff’s deputies would simply walk over to check things out, or come by a clearly identified sheriff’s vessel,” Dammit said. “Think about it. If the sheriff knew Sam wanted to inspect her property, why wouldn’t his deputies know about it? It’s a deputy that’s under suspicion. There’s a bad smell to this thing. Mike! Position us just west of that boat. We had better stand by until we know for sure what’s happening,” Dammit said. Pass me your Glock, Dick. I have a little more experience with those things.”
“Once a marine, always a marine,” Dick said, laughing. He passed the weapon to Dammit. “I have one extra mag in my pocket, if you need it, Dam.
“We’ve drifted around here for a half hour, nothing has changed,” Dick said. “I like the company and the conversation but maybe we should go back to the beach.”
Dammit said, “You’re showing your impatience, bro. Everybody just hang tight, for a moment. Two people are working their way down toward the beach, just off the path. Let’s see what they’re up to.” He passed the binoculars to Dick.
“Look at that! There’s gotta be a gun of some sort in the soft case that man’s carrying.”
Dick passed the binoculars to Mike. After a quick look he passed them to Dammit. They closed the distance between boats, watching two men climb aboard the i
nboard runabout.
Dammit said, “Sam! Call the sheriff, now! Report what we are doing. Mike! Take us close enough for conversation. We have to stay within handgun range, in case they pull the long gun out of the zip bag and start firing at us.”
Mike said, “Too late for that, now, they’re on to us and taking off fast. That guy just pulled out a combat weapon of some kind. Everybody duck down low in the boat, now. Samantha! Stretch yourself out flat on the bottom of the boat. They’re turning back in our direction.”
Dammit crouched down in front, with the Glock in his hand. He braced his hands against the forward cleat. “He’s pulling the weapon out. They’re going to start shooting right away. Be prepared for multiple shots, fired rapidly. Don’t raise your head up to see what’s happening. It could be fatal.” He looked back at Mike. “Close in fast after his first shot. We have to stay within the Glock’s range. He’s inserting a magazine. Everybody down, now! Stay down until I stop firing, or say something. I need to take him out after his first burst, while we’re in range. Down now!” he yelled again. “He’s coming at us fast. He’ll spray us with bullets and head out to sea.”
A three-round burst tore through the tender. He’s standing up, bouncing around. Dammit sited down the barrel and opened up with the Glock at close range. The shooter could be wearing a vest. He carefully placed four shots into the figure holding the long gun and one into the man at the controls. The long gun fell to the deck. The shooter fell forward, slammed his head against the engine cover to land face down. The driver crumpled over the controls. The vessel kept moving ahead into open water.
Dammit yelled back, “Is anyone hurt? Are you OK, Mike? We got lucky. The shooter tried to hit his target while off balance. Pour the coal on. That was an M-15, set for automatic three-round bursts.”
Mike wiped blood out of his eye. “Yeah, fiberglass chips peppered the top of my head and nicked an ear. I’m OK.”
He looked down and laughed. “Dick, you’re going to smother that poor girl. Get off of her.”
“Two projectiles caught the steering consul, dead center. Is everything working OK? We need to catch up with that boat and kill the engine quickly,” Dick said. “That’s positive evidence of what just happened.”
“The console saved my ass. Otherwise, there’s only superficial damage. Everyone, hold on. We’re going after that boat.” Mike opened the throttle. The runabout was headed into wind-driven swells of the open sea. “We need to overtake her before she flips and dumps the bodies.”
“You’re closing just fine,” Dammit said. “Now, ease up slowly and brush alongside. I’ll roll over the gunnel onto the deck. Both men seem to be down. They could be wearing life vests, not armer plate.”
Dammit rolled into the power boat, landing on his knees. He dragged the unconscious driver away from the controls and removed a semi-automatic handgun from a belt holster on each man. He quickly turned the boat back toward calmer water, noticing a long shallow crease along the top of the driver’s head that put him down. Both men had armor plate vests beneath their jacket. The shooter had one fatal hit through the throat that severed his spine.
He signaled Mike to come in closer. “Hey, buddy, you’ve got a bullet hole in the forward chamber of your RIB. She’s going flat.”
Chapter 50
Samantha sat in the tender, listening to Dammit deal with the harbor patrol officer. She stood up for a moment, hoping to get a better look at the two shooting victims. She had a bad feeling about this. Dick grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.
“Sheriff McDill’s on his way,” the harbor officer said. “He asked that you give him five minutes. He’s walking over with the coroner and his investigator. Paramedics will be here shortly to care for the wounded man.” He leaned down for a close look at the dead man and stood up shaking his head.
Dammit passed him the two service weapons he’d taken from the men he’d shot. “The man with the bloody head was driving the boat. His weapon’s wrapped in the hand towel. The head wound isn’t serious enough for much more than a cleanup. The dead man was the shooter. The weapon used is lying there, beneath his body. His handgun is the one wrapped in a paper towel.”
Mike examined the bullet damage to the RIB and returned to face Samantha. “I hope this trouble’s over for you and Dick, Sam. You’ve had a rough go of it. I believe the sheriff will go easy on us, knowing you as well as our family. Hopefully, we can give our statements and continue on with the cruise to San Diego.”
Samantha recognized Sheriff Dickson and the coroner. She didn’t know the man with them. “Doctor Peyton and I have socialized with these men.” She hoped they didn’t feel she was somehow to blame for the terrible trouble descending on the island community.
She raised herself again to see the coroner turn the shooter’s body face-up. She gasped with obvious surprise. It looks like him but he looks different. She glanced around at Dick. No one said anything. Oh God, please let it not be him.
Sheriff McDill looked from Dammit to Mike. “Are you absolutely positive this man was holding the weapon when you shot and killed him?”
Dammit said, “Absolutely positive, Sheriff. His prints should be all over that combat weapon. You can see damage to the RIB and superficial wounds to Mike from fiberglass chips. The console took two of the bullets and saved his life. You can also see that one projectile deflated the forward chamber of the RIB. Thank God for the safety feature of multiple chambers.”
Mike responded to a look from the sheriff. “We were lucky to survive that first burst of fire, Sheriff. Preparing for the attack after seeing that man with a weapon is what saved our lives. We didn’t recognize him as your long-time assistant. Neither man’s in uniform. Dammit fired only after shots from an automatic weapon slammed into our vessel. I’ve always had respect for that man. The driver’s unknown to me.”
“The man driving the boat is relatively new with the department, Mike. Money and drugs, a bad combination. Even a fine man like Officer Bennett couldn’t resist. DEA has insisted we were penetrated for some months now. The department’s under investigation by the FBI. They’ll get to the bottom of it.”
Samantha spoke up. “I’ve known Officer Bennett as long as I’ve been on the island. I liked him a lot, even considered him a friend. He has always been friendly and helpful.”
“You never know how many rotten apples you have until you get deeper into the barrel. Our small island will never get over this mess. First, Doctor Peyton, then his long-time associate, Angel Mendoza, now my own deputies. That club owner, Marino, was in a different class, always under suspicion. We may find out that he poisoned all the others with his damn drug money.”
He made eye contact with Sam. “I’m pleased that you held yourself above the temptation, Samantha. Finding you involved in this mess would have been a great disappointment. I’m speaking for all your local friends here, as well as myself. The harbor patrol will take care of your beautiful little racing sloop until you can decide what’s to be done with it.”
“Thank you, Sheriff. I know Dick will help me find a way to have Ipswich settled with us when we land, wherever that may be.”
He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture toward the McGowin men. “I’ve known this family for forty years. Tell Mark McGowin I’m looking forward to a chat. There’s nothing better than his good cigars and fine brandy. I’ll stop by with a full report before you pull the hook. Our investigators will be on board, taking detailed statements. You’d better plan on hanging around here one more day while we clear things up.” He grinned at Samantha. “You stack up well with this family, Sammy. Whenever they show up on our little island they’re always accompanied by beautiful women. Just prepare yourself for a bumpy ride.”
He slapped Mike on the shoulder and laughed. “You people come in here for a few days of fun and leave me buried in official paperwork for months. Then, you’re gone again, in the blink of an eye.”
Baggett, In the Blink of An Eye
In the Blink of An Eye Page 19