Evasive Action (Holding the Line Book 1)

by Carol Ericson

  She started to slide in and then grabbed the doorjamb. “Are you wondering why I agreed to marry Jimmy so quickly?”

  Clay clenched his jaw. “I think we established you were looking for some security and Adam had coached Jimmy into being the perfect man for you.”

  Clay had always believed he was the perfect man for April, and he couldn’t imagine anyone less like him than a drug dealer.

  “At the beginning...he was just like you.” She dropped onto the seat and pulled the car door closed.

  * * *

  LATER THAT AFTERNOON, April stood on the walkway leading to her house, squinting at Clay and Kyle Lewis on ladders adjusting the cameras.

  When Clay started his descent, she lunged forward and grabbed the ladder to steady it, enjoying the view of his backside as he made his way down.

  She shifted to the side, and he jumped to the ground, his tool belt clanking around his waist.

  “When Meg gets home, we’ll have her test it out on her phone. I don’t expect any more body parts to appear at your house, but I think this will make Meg feel a little better.”

  “One hundred percent.” She darted toward the other ladder as Kyle made his way down.

  “Are you ready for that beer now?”

  “Absolutely. Let me clean up the site first.”

  April left Clay and Kyle to fold up the ladders, collect the packaging and put away their tools as she went into the house and got two bottles of beer and a can of diet soda from the fridge.

  When Meg got home from work, Kyle showed her how to call up the security cam on her cell and they spent so much time with their heads together huddled over the phone April caught Clay’s eye and jerked her head to the side.

  Clay stood up and stretched. “April and I are going outside to check the sensors again. Let us know if something’s not working.”

  Kyle glanced up, a surprised look on his face as if he’d forgotten their presence. “Yeah, sure.”

  Clay held the door open for her and they crowded on one side of the porch, away from where she’d discovered the head. He grabbed her hand. “Let’s wander among the cacti.”

  She left her hand in his as they meandered along the brick pathway that wended through the garden of succulents. Small fairy lights cast a twinkling glow on their way.

  The tears in April’s eyes blurred the lights, turning them into a shimmering river. She sniffed and Clay squeezed her fingers.

  “Your mother had a lot of imagination and charm. You must miss her.”

  “I do.” She flung her arm out to the side. “Especially when I’m in this place she loved so much.” She stopped and tapped the toe of her sandal against the wooden border that separated the path from the plants. “I wish I could talk to my father about what happened and why.”

  Clay swung around and grabbed her shoulders. “Don’t get any crazy ideas about going south to find El Gringo Viejo. He’s not your father, and if he were, what could he tell you? He murdered your mother because she found out about his involvement in the drug trade?”

  “Why kill her if he were going to run away, anyway? Why not just run away to Mexico and disappear, like he did?”

  “Maybe it was a crime of passion. Your mother confronted him, and he killed her.” Clay’s fingers dug into her flesh until she rolled her shoulders, and he dropped his hands. “Sorry.”

  “That’s what I want to know.”

  “I can understand why you have questions, but it’s not safe to track down your father—if you could. Law enforcement hasn’t been able to find him. C. J. Hart was even featured on one of those most-wanted crime shows.”

  “The FBI received a lot of tips from that show.”

  “Lots of tips that led nowhere. Do you really think you can do better?”

  “I’m his daughter. He’ll want me to find him.”

  “Will he?”

  April drew a circle in the dirt with her toe. Why would her father want to see her? If he weren’t guilty, he would’ve contacted her by now to try to explain. All these years and not one word.

  She blew out a breath. “You’re right.”

  “Do you want me to spend the night again? We can get an early start for Albuquerque.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

  “That’s okay. We have our security system now, and I’ll be up early.” She tugged on his sleeve. “Denali’s waiting for you.”

  “I would’ve brought him back with me, along with his food and toys, for Meg.”

  April’s phone rang, and she held up a finger to Clay. “Hold that thought. Thank God, it’s Adam.”

  She tapped the display. “Adam, where have you been? I’ve been calling you.”

  “April?”

  The breathy female voice stirred the hair on the back of April’s neck. “Kenzie?”

  “Yeah, it’s me. You haven’t heard from Adam, either?”

  “What are you doing with his phone? Where is he?” April pressed the phone against her chest and said to Clay, “It’s Adam’s girlfriend.”

  Kenzie choked out a sob. “I don’t know where he is, April. I haven’t heard from him since the day of the wedding. I finally decided to come over to your place to look for him. I didn’t find him here, but I found his phone, turned off, and...blood. April, there’s so much blood.”

  Chapter Ten

  Clay glanced at April in the passenger seat of his truck and brushed his knuckle down her arm. “We’ll find him.”

  “Will we? Jimmy must’ve taken him. Adam told me Jimmy was after him. I guess he got him.” She clamped a hand down on her bouncing knee.

  “Maybe he thinks Adam took that flash drive.” Clay reached for his cup of coffee and took a sip, although the lukewarm liquid tasted more like vinegar than coffee. “Are you sure you don’t want to call the Albuquerque police?”

  “We can’t do that, Clay. Kenzie didn’t want to touch the drugs Adam left behind at my place, and I can’t blame her. Can you imagine if the police showed up at the apartment to check out the scene and found all those drugs...at my apartment?”

  “So, we go out there and get rid of the drugs first and then call the police? That’s not gonna look good, either.”

  “It won’t look good if they know about the drugs.” She poked his thigh. “You’re Border Patrol. You have contacts in the DEA. Tell them about the drugs if you want to dispose of them legally.”

  “What quantity of drugs are we talking about? Did Kenzie tell you what was lying around?”

  “No. She was practically hysterical by the time she got off the phone with me when she realized I haven’t talked to Adam since the day of the wedding, either. I didn’t get much out of her.”

  “How’d she get into your place?”

  “It was open. The front door was unlocked.”

  “Great.” A muscle jumped at the corner of his mouth. “Adam brought his drugs to your place, and Jimmy scooped him up there—and not without a struggle. There’s a reason why Jimmy left the drugs in your apartment instead of taking them.”

  “And it worked. He knew I wouldn’t call the police—and I’m not.” April drew lines on the thighs of her pants as she raked her fingernails up and down her legs. “I hope Adam doesn’t have that flash drive. Jimmy will kill him—if he hasn’t already.”

  “Depends on what’s on the flash drive. If Jimmy gets it back from Adam, he might decide to use it against him. He just lost two mules.”

  April crossed her hands over her chest. “You think Jimmy will use Adam to intercept drugs from Las Moscas?”

  “I don’t know, April. It’s one possibility.” His hands clenched the steering wheel. “You shouldn’t be rushing back into this mess. You don’t owe your brother a thing after what he did to you—after what he’s done to you.”

  Flicking her fingers in the air, she said, “I was coming here
, anyway, although I wish I could’ve driven that car to return it to Ryan.”

  “With Adam missing and drugs and blood in your apartment, we didn’t have time to make a detour to a location you may or may not remember.” He made a grab for the cup again and knocked it from the cup holder.”

  “Nothing spilled.” April plucked it off the floor and squeezed his bicep. “Don’t worry. I have you by my side, and I can’t leave Adam hanging out to dry.”

  He kept his mouth shut and ground his teeth instead of talking. He’d said it all before about Adam, and April didn’t want to hear it. She claimed he didn’t understand because he was an only child. That could be it, but looking at her relationship with Adam made him glad he didn’t have siblings.

  They made a few stops on the way to Albuquerque and arrived at April’s apartment by one o’clock in the afternoon. When they pulled into her empty parking space in the garage, April wedged her hands against the dashboard.

  “My car’s gone.”

  “We can add grand theft auto to the list of crimes we’re gonna report.” Clay withdrew his weapon as he got out of the car. “I doubt Jimmy’s going to come back here if he’s the one who took your brother, but the guy sounds desperate at this point. No telling what he might do.”

  April exited the car and stretched her arms over her head. “I’m not waiting down here. It’s dark and Jimmy knows where my parking space is, even if I no longer have a car.”

  “Just don’t go charging into your place. Did Kenzie lock up when she left?”

  “She doesn’t remember, but I hope not.” She slammed her door and came around to his side. “I don’t have the keys to my place.”

  Clay followed April upstairs to her apartment, and then squeezed past her when they reached her door. “Let me.”

  He placed his ear against the solid wood, curling his fingers around the door handle. He twisted it and said over his shoulder, “It’s still unlocked.”

  “At least I don’t have to break into my own place.”

  “You don’t have a manager on-site?”

  “No, just a number to call for the management company.” She tipped her head at the door. “Are we going in?”

  “Me first.” He eased open the door, his muscles tight, his finger on the trigger of his gun.

  The door squeaked softly on its hinges. Clay tilted his head back and sniffed the air. Didn’t smell like blood—or death.

  He took a step into the living room, April clinging to the waistband of his jeans, her staccato breathing pulsing behind him. He swiveled his head back and forth, taking in the small room. “How many rooms?”

  “This one, the kitchen, one bathroom and two bedrooms.” She nudged his arm. “Down the hall that way.”

  Clay crept into the room, his gun at his side while April stayed behind. He poked his head into the kitchen and veered to the left and the short hallway. All three doors stood wide open, and he entered each room and checked the two closets.

  He strode back into the living room, making a wide arc with one hand. “Where is all this blood Kenzie saw?”

  “Not sure.” From the living room behind the couch, April held her arms out to her sides, several plastic bags clutched in her hands. “But here are the drugs. Looks like crystal meth and weed.”

  Clay holstered his gun, shut and locked the front door. “You don’t need anyone seeing you with that stuff.”

  April dropped the bags on the console table behind the couch and put her hands on her hips. “I’m a little relieved. I expected the place to be turned over with blood soaking the carpet and packets of drugs.”

  Clay peered over the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room. “It’s in here, April, the blood.”

  She appeared next to him in a flash, her face white, her eyes round. “It—it looks smeared. Do you think Kenzie tried to clean it up?”

  “Looks like someone did.” He patted her back. “Stay here.”

  He circled around the counter, avoiding the blood spots on the floor. More blood spatters decorated the inside of the sink and droplets had dried on the granite countertop.

  “Someone washed up in the sink. Until we question Kenzie, we don’t know if she tried to clean up or if this blood belongs to the assailant. Why did she assume this was Adam’s blood?”

  “His phone was here, turned off, and his drugs. Who else would have access to my apartment?”

  Clay cleared his throat. “Uh, your fiancé.”

  “He never came here.” Two splotches of red splashed her cheeks. “He doesn’t have a key.”

  “Trash?” He nudged an elongated drawer with his toe. When she nodded, he pulled it open and tossed the garbage at the top with his fingers. “I don’t see any paper towels or rags in here covered with blood. Do you have a laundry room?”

  “Not in here. I can’t imagine Kenzie cleaning up and then taking a bunch of bloody towels to the washing machines downstairs.”

  “You need to get her back on the phone and find out exactly what she saw when she came in here. This scene—” he waved his arms around the kitchen “—doesn’t make much sense.”

  April took a wide stance in the middle of the room. “After I ran out on the wedding, Adam must’ve gone to Jimmy’s, anyway. Maybe that’s when Jimmy threatened him...and me. Adam picked up my purse with my keys and let himself into my place.”

  “That’s your purse?” Clay pointed to a large bag on the coffee table that looked more like a small suitcase.

  “That’s the bag I brought with me to Jimmy’s to get ready for the wedding.” April swooped down to grab it and dug inside, a few of the contents falling to the floor in her haste. She twirled a key chain around her finger. “Keys.”

  “Car keys?”

  “Yeah, but Adam has his own set of keys to my car.”

  “What did Adam do next, detective?” Clay crossed his arms and wedged a hip against the couch.

  “He dropped off my stuff...”

  “And brought his drugs.”

  She sucked in her bottom lip. “Maybe he just scored.”

  “Nice of him to bring them here.” He held up his hands as she opened her mouth. “I don’t know how we’re going to locate Adam without the help of the police.”

  April snapped her fingers and pointed her finger at him. “Detective Espinoza should be contacting Gilbert...or Jesus. Maybe that will make Jimmy and his gang nervous enough that they’ll release Adam.”

  “I wouldn’t count on Jimmy getting spooked at this point by a few inquiries into Elena. Do you think Jimmy would take Adam to his house?”

  “Maybe. What are you thinking?” April brushed her hands together as if to erase the drugs.

  “You can’t go out to Jimmy’s place, but I can—just for a surveillance. I can check things out, and Jimmy won’t even know I’m there.”

  “Except—” April skirted the couch, hitching her purse over her shoulder “—Jimmy has security cameras.”

  “As you found out, I happen to have a good friend in security and I know how to disable any system. I’m not going in with guns blazing. I’m just gonna see what I can see.”

  “I’m going with you.” She sliced a hand in the air through his objections. “I’ll stay out of sight, but first let’s finish the cleanup.”

  “Do you have any cotton swabs and plastic bags? I want to take a sample of this blood in the kitchen and in the sink.”

  “I do.”

  They spent the next hour collecting blood samples and cleaning up. When they finished, Clay handed April’s phone to her. “Try calling Kenzie again.”

  As Clay took out the trash, April called Kenzie on Adam’s phone. She didn’t remember Kenzie’s own number. The call rolled over to voice mail, but April decided not to leave a message. She didn’t trust that phone and didn’t much trust Kenzie, either. That girl
was flakier than a Paris pastry.

  Clay returned to the apartment, rubbing his hands together. “I’m just going to wash up, and I’m going to flush those drugs down the toilet while I’m at it. You finish packing your stuff and we’ll get something to eat. I want the cover of darkness on my side when we go out to Jimmy’s place.”

  April packed the stuff she wanted to take back with her to Paradiso. She’d officially give notice and move out once everything was settled with Jimmy and she’d found Adam—dead or alive.

  She said, “I know a good barbecue place where we can pass the time. It’s not far from Jimmy’s.”

  “He’s not going to suddenly show up there, is he?”

  “Too down-home for him. He prefers upscale steak houses and cocktail lounges.”

  They loaded her bags and suitcases in the truck, and she directed him to Benny’s Big-Time BBQ.

  An hour later, seated across from each other with a pile of ribs between them, April asked, “What’s your plan?”

  “I’ll sneak onto the grounds, disable the security system, if I have to, and surveil the scene. See who’s there, including Adam.”

  “You’re not going to know who’s who without me.”

  “Draw me some pictures.” He aimed a rib bone at her. “If I get caught, I can make up some story. If you’re with me, that story’s gonna be a lot different.”

  “You know what Gilbert looks like, right? You remember the booking photo of Jesus that Espinoza showed us. That’s pretty close, except Gilbert added a goatee to that moustache.” She tore open a wet wipe package and dangled the wipe from her fingers. “Do you think Espinoza has already contacted Gilbert?”

  “Probably not. If he wants to do any kind of search when he finds him, he’ll have to secure a warrant. It’s going to take him a few days before he can formally question Gilbert and search his possessions.”

  “Then Jimmy and his cohorts won’t know anything.”

  “They’ll know their mules didn’t make it. I’m sure they had some sort of communication set up for when the women got across with the drugs. If he never heard from them, he’d know something went wrong.”