by Margaret Kay
“Bobby?”
“Yes,” she said, like she’d somehow proven him wrong.
Sherman laughed. “If you know Bobby, then you know he doesn’t have a pot to piss in. He can’t afford this boat, not the monthly slip fee, not the power to run the AC. Who do you think pays for this?”
He watched as her eyes cast downward. When she looked up at him again, it was from beneath long, thick eyelashes, he noticed. She was cute! Way to go, Bobby.
“It doesn’t matter who pays for it. Possession is nine-tenths of the law. The owner hasn’t set foot on this boat for over a year.”
“Until now,” Sherman said. He reached his right hand towards her. “Brian Sherman, Bobby’s brother, owner of this boat,” he introduced himself. She gazed back at him with a look he couldn’t decipher. It was almost antagonism.
Yeah, she knew who he was, and she wasn’t impressed. She knew all about Brian Sherman and wasn’t a fan, unlike many in the area who still considered him some kind of damned local hero. Finally, she took his hand and shook it. “Hello, Brian Sherman,” she said.
Sherman smiled wider. She wasn’t giving anything up. “And you are?”
“I guess I’m a trespasser on your boat.”
Sherman chuckled. “Normally, when two people meet, they introduce themselves. Is there a reason you don’t want me to know your name?”
“It just doesn’t matter,” she said.
“You are infuriating, you know that? Look, I had to drop everything and fly down here to help Bobby out. What are you doing on my boat? I just left Bobby at the lockup and he didn’t tell me you were aboard, just that I had to come tend her. Why is that? And why do I get the feeling he called me down here to help you, rather than him?”
“Her?”
“The Vulture, this boat. Now, I want answers. What are you doing on my boat?”
“Mostly hiding,” she said, which surprised Sherman. “You’re not going to be very happy with me, but Bobby is in trouble because of me.”
He waited. She didn’t continue. He sighed out loud. “This is going to take a lot longer than it has to if you don’t just come out with it.”
She sighed too. “Bobby is a good friend, been my best friend for as long as I can remember. I feel bad that I let him help me, but I’d be the one sitting in lockup, or worse, if he hadn’t.”
“Worse?” Sherman asked.
“There is something illegal going on out at that BioDynamix plant. I can’t prove it, yet, but I know there is. Something is just off. I’m a freelance reporter. I write a blog on Parish happenings and I’ve addressed the issues with that business, which has drawn heat to me. The Sheriff is on their payroll, I’m sure of it. Ever since my first post, the Sheriff’s Office has been all over my ass. I’ve gotten pulled over and ticketed when there hasn’t been cause. The Sheriff and his deputy, Downey, have been inside my house so many times, my neighbors think I’m doing them both.”
A grin spread over Sherman’s face at her statement. He wasn’t sure who this chick was, but he liked her. “I’m sure Bobby likes that, his girlfriend rumored to be doing two other men.”
Her face twisted into a grin. “I’m not Bobby’s girlfriend, just his gal-pal.”
Sherman laughed. “Then Bobby’s stupid, going out on a limb for a girl who isn’t his.”
“I’m not his girlfriend because Bobby’s gay, dumb-fuck,” she said. She watched the disbelief wash over him. “Wait. You don’t know that your brother is gay.” She laughed aloud, a deep full-belly laugh. “Seriously, how do you not know?”
Sherman watched her closely. She was smiling wide. She had a beautiful smile. Could it be? Could Bobby be gay, and he didn’t know? Why wouldn’t Bobby tell him? Certainly, Bobby would know it wouldn’t matter to him. He couldn’t recall ever seeing him with a girl, didn’t recall that Bobby had ever told him about a girlfriend. “Maybe,” he agreed.
She laughed again. “Anyway, I was poking around that place the other night and Bobby was my diversion. He played the high man wandering so I could get away when I tripped their security. I felt bad, knowing he’d get arrested, and I’d be here hiding.”
“What’s your name?” Sherman asked.
She glanced up from beneath those thick eyelashes again. “Brielle,” she said, extending her right hand towards him.
“We’ve got ourselves a problem here, Brielle,” he said as he shook her hand.
“Yeah, I know.” She agreed. She twisted the wrist that was fastened to the towel bar. “Want to let me loose now? I promise I won’t do whatever it is you thought I’d do when you tied me to it.”
Sherman chuckled. He really liked this girl’s style. He leaned over her and snipped the zip tie, releasing her. Then he leaned his rear against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest again. “What do you think is going on out at that plant?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure. They were given all kinds of tax incentives to move into that building. Galliano’s new mayor, a good buddy of Sheriff Henderson, promoted them coming in as good for the Parish, they’d hire hundreds of locals, transfer in another hundred of its own staff, would be a boost for the local economy. That hasn’t happened. They brought in over a hundred of their own workers, alright, and they house them in FEMA trailers in the main parking lot, ship in all their food and supplies too. None of them come into town for anything, not to eat at our restaurants, not to shop at our stores. As far as local hires, yep, they hired on just over fifty of our people from the Parish, but even that, something’s wrong.”
“How so?” Sherman asked.
“One of my friends was hired. They’ve all signed Non-Disclosure Agreements. Tina can’t tell me anything at all, not what she does there, not even who else works there. She acts scared to death whenever I ask her anything about it.”
“Is she normally a nervous type?” Sherman asked already discounting what Brielle was telling him.
“No, not at all,” Brielle replied dead serious. “This girl normally has nerves of steel. I also work as a bayou guide. Tina worked with me till she got the job at BioDynamix. I’ve seen her handle gators and snakes. Even spiders don’t phase her. But whatever is going on out at that plant has her spooked.”
“NDAs are not that unusual, especially in the biomed field,” Sherman said. “Just because your friend is acting all skittish doesn’t mean there is something illegal going on.”
Brielle felt angry with him, playing devil’s advocate. Damn it, she knew something wasn’t right. Why didn’t he believe her? “All the local employees have to park offsite and get bussed into the facility. They don’t want the employee’s cars on the property. I’ve watched the grounds and the employees come and go, from atop the water tower. They’re practically searched on their way in and out. I’m telling you, there is something very wrong.”
Sherman felt the telltale shifting of the boat. Someone stepped onto it from the pier. He held his finger up, shushing her. His gaze flashed to the door. He hadn’t locked it. He pointed to the opening to the storage panel and then he moved in front of the door and drew his pistol.
Brielle dropped to the floor and crawled into the space on her hands and knees, unaware her movement drew Sherman’s gaze to her behind. The sudden opening of the door brought his attention back to the sights of his Sig. He stared at Deputy Downey, who was behind the long barrel of a Remington 870 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Another man stood beside him. Sherman recognized the Sheriff’s insignia on the badge pinned to his chest.
“Drop it, boy,” the Sheriff said in a northern accent, New Jersey, Sherman would guess.
The corners of Sherman’s lips tipped up. The Sheriff had just called him ‘boy’. “Let’s nobody lose their heads. I’m just going to reach into my back pocket and get my credentials.” He kept the Sig aimed at the Deputy in his right hand but reached his left to his back pocket to retrieve his creds. He flipped it open, displaying his badge. “Agent Brian Sherman, ATF.”
Deputy Downey�
�s eyes flashed to Sheriff Henderson.
“A federal agent in my Parish and you didn’t come identify yourself to me?” Henderson said after several silent moments.
“I tried when I came to the Sheriff’s office, but you weren’t there. I had come to see my brother. I’m here as a private citizen, not working a case.”
“Your brother got himself into deep shit, this time. I’m well acquainted with that brother of yours,” Henderson said.
“What do you say? Should we put our weapons away?” Sherman asked. When neither of them moved or spoke, Sherman continued. “You came on my boat, weapon drawn, unprovoked. Just what the hell is going on?”
The Sheriff motioned to his deputy, who dropped his weapon to his side.
Sherman nodded and lowered his as well. But he didn’t put it away. He stared hard at the Sheriff. “Now, that’s better. Why are you on my boat, Sheriff?”
“I thought it was Bobby’s boat, and we were just conducting a search for more drugs.”
“It’s my boat, not Bobby’s and I don’t authorize a search. Just so we’re clear, Sheriff, I plan to ask the court tomorrow that Bobby be remanded into a rehab facility and my choice would be a facility up north where I can keep an eye on him.”
“You are aware that the owner of the land he was trespassing on is pressing criminal charges. He damaged their fence,” the Sheriff said.
“I am aware, and I plan to make it right with them. Certainly, they prefer restitution to incarceration, that’s if they don’t want to create a hostile environment down here. People in these parts are a community that doesn’t appreciate outsiders harassing the less fortunate of them, something I don’t think all Yankees understand.”
The Sheriff’s lips twisted into a scowl. “Times are changing. Even the bayou has to come into the twenty-first century of lawfulness.”
“The Creole and Cajun cultures are something I don’t think you understand, Sheriff. We protect our own. It’s been that way a long time before you got here, and it’ll be that way a long time after you’re gone.”
The Sheriff’s lips tipped into a grin. “I don’t plan on going anywhere, boy, and from where I’m standing, you’re more a northerner now than I am.”
“I have deep roots in this community, something this community isn’t likely to forget. If you have any sway with that BioDynamix plant, you may want to remind them of that. If this goes to trial, a jury of Bobby’s peers isn’t going to take too kindly to them refusing restitution in favor of prosecution and incarceration. They need to understand the landscape going in.”
“I’ll pass that on,” the Sheriff said. “Sorry for the inconvenience and misunderstanding.” He nodded his head and then motioned to the deputy who stepped back away from the door.
Sherman watched the two back away from the door and then he felt the boat’s movement, indicating the two had stepped back off and onto the pier. He followed them with his eyes, watching them retreat back to the parking lot. He remained in the doorway until their car pulled out of sight.
He stepped back within the cabin, closed and locked the door. “They’re gone.”
“They were here looking for me,” Brielle said, poking her head back out of the panel.
“I know. It’s not safe for you to stay here while I’m gone,” Sherman said, thinking aloud.
“Where are you going?”
“Out to that BioDynamix plant. I don’t trust the Sheriff to deliver my message to its execs. I think a personal visit before court tomorrow is in order.”
Brielle took a seat back at the eating area and took a bite of her sandwich. She watched him closely. “Are you really an ATF agent?”
Sherman nodded. “I sure am.” Well, officially anyway.
She forced a small smile. Wow, well, Bobby had sure called someone who could help her. She pointed to the small refrigerator. “There’s food in the fridge if you’re hungry. It’s dinnertime, that plant is wrapping up operations for the day. They do run a Saturday shift, so you may be able to have that meeting tomorrow morning before court.”
Brian Sherman forgot it was Friday and nearly six p.m. The sun was setting as he’d watched the Sheriff and his deputy walk up the pier, the long shadows cast in front of them from the setting sun at their backs. He opened the refrigerator and pulled several containers of lunchmeat and cheese from it, as well as a half a loaf of bread. He looked inside the fridge again. There wasn’t any beer, just soda pop. He found that odd. Last he knew, Bobby liked his beer, the cheap piss-water that was brewed up near Metairie.
Brielle pointed to the cabinet behind him. “There’s chips in there.”
“You seem to know where everything is kept on this boat. Where’s the beer?”
“Bobby isn’t drinking anymore. He’s cleaned his act up, only smokes socially.”
Sherman knew that meant weed. “What about the harder stuff? He wasn’t just high on pot when he was arrested.”
“Bobby knows he can handle his coke; knew he wouldn’t go off on a tangent telling them anything about me with some coke in him. He had just enough on him that they’d arrest him, but it wouldn’t carry with it a long sentence. It gave me the chance to get away.”
Sherman shook his head. “He had crack on him, not coke, Brielle.”
“The crack was the cover drug, just to have enough to look like a user. He snorted a quick line of coke to be high and throw them off.”
He didn’t like it one bit. Bobby had set himself up as the sacrificial lamb. But why? Why was he protecting this woman? “You must be special to Bobby, if he’d do that for you.”
“I told you, we’ve been best friends forever.” Her voice held an edge.
Sherman wondered why he didn’t know who she was, if that was the case. He took a bite of his sandwich, suddenly realizing he was hungry. For a second, his mind wandered to his team. They’d be on the ground in New York, meeting with the DEA. Another pang of guilt hit him that he wasn’t there with them. He was down here, dealing with this bullshit.
Then his mind went to his buddy, Sloan. Had he met with Kennedy’s parent’s yet? He was sent there alone with his girlfriend to try to get intel from her parents who had participated in an illegal adoption. He knew Kennedy wasn’t ready to see her parents yet. He made a mental note to shoot Sloan a text later, to see how it went.
Sherman devoured his sandwich, got a can of soda pop, and then grabbed the chips. “Are those cabins still out on Moss Island in the channel?”
“Yes,” Brielle answered, reaching into the bag and grabbing a handful of chips.
“I think it would be safer to stash you out there until I can get this sorted out. We’ll cast off in a few minutes.”
Brielle didn’t like it, but she remained silent. She wasn’t safe here, that was clear. She was sure the Sheriff would keep this boat under surveillance and board it again the second Brian Sherman left tomorrow morning to go to the BioDynamix plant and to court. She only hoped he could get Bobby off.
Sherman changed into a pair of shorts he found amongst the many clothes stored in the master bedroom. They weren’t his things. It looked like Bobby was living on the boat, something else he’d have to address with his brother. He chuckled to himself. The shorts fit. Either Bobby had lost a little weight, or he’d gained some. He’d have to take a closer look at Bobby tomorrow. He hadn’t noticed much about his body in the oversized prison jumpsuit he wore.
Coming back into the main cabin area, he noticed for the first time, Brielle’s generous and alluring figure. She stood with her back to him, still munching on chips. She wore jean shorts over her nice round backside and a form fitting dark blue girly t-shirt, that he had noticed earlier dipped to reveal ample cleavage that looked natural. Her legs looked muscular and strong. A smile came to his face as he viewed her thighs, almost imagining them wrapped around his waist. Yes, Brielle was one fine looking woman.
She turned as though she sensed him watching her. The look on her face wasn’t friendly. Did she somehow
know what thoughts his mind had been having? “So, you stay inside. I’m going to take her out now and we’ll get you hidden on Moss Island.”
She nodded.
Sherman took the boat out, piloting it into the quickly setting sun. It was a beautiful evening. The clouds were long, transparent wisps in the sky of rich pinks and deep purples, which darkened by the second. The air was still warm, up near seventy-eight degrees, heading for a low of sixty-seven. The lake was a smooth sheet of glass, serene and nearly vacant. Only a few other boats dotted the horizon, mostly fishing boats, charters, heading in after a day on the lake.
Brielle stayed in the cabin, hidden. She ran the events of the past few days over in her mind. If Brian Sherman could get Bobby off and take him back up north with him, that would solve one problem. It wouldn’t help her personally though. And she was sure that once Brian Sherman had his brother safe, he wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about her. She would be on her own. She was no better off with Brian-the-wonder-boy here than she was before he showed up. As she sat in the cabin, her mood became more foul. And, she was pretty sure he had been ogling her too, great.