Slightly calmer, he replies, “You’re right. We should think this through. That’s what Marty and Ronnie would have said.”
CHAPTER 43
We arrive at the police station and as soon as we enter, we hear applause. Woolever and Stratton call out, “Nice job, guys.”
I whisper to Jim and Mark, “At least someone here appreciates us.”
As soon as we enter Sam’s office, she hands each of us a legal pad and asks us to write everything down that happened at the building in Longs. “And by the way,” she says, “what were you doing out there in the first place. You were supposed to keep me advised on any new developments in the case.”
“We had no concrete evidence, simply hearsay, so we went there to check it out. That’s when we found the ambulance filled with explosives and I called you right away.”
“Whatever, just write it down.”
I ask if the authorities found any evidence at the crime scene in Longs. She tells us that since the van caught fire, there was not a lot left of the two bodies to figure out much, and, of course, everything they did find was fake. The building was totally destroyed, so there was not much evidence to find there, either. The authorities have no new clues to deal with in trying to find a connection to the two remaining terrorists.
I finish my brief written statement and look over at Jim, who is still writing. “Damn, Jim, are you writing a book?”
“No, just wanted to be precise and accurate. That’s what we were taught at the Bureau.”
Sam jumps in. “Leave him alone. He will probably include a lot that you forgot to include.”
“So detective, anything on the other two?” I ask.
“No, I figure they are going to run. What do you think?”
“You mean you actually would like my opinion?”
Without hesitation, she replies, “Of course. You guys are the only ones who have seen them.”
“I told you she likes us.” Jim whispers as he winks at me. “Say detective, do you think we could do these interviews online?”
Sam sneaks a rude look at Jim but says nothing.
“I think they will eventually run but not right away. We need to find a way to draw them out,” I add.
“And how do we do that?” she quickly utters.
“Here’s an idea. We need to piss them off, make them mad, and make them want to seek revenge.”
“And again, how do we do that?” she asks.
“You need to put out a statement that you interviewed me and I told you exactly what happened at the building in Longs. If any newspapers or TV stations would like an interview, tell them I’m available.”
Sam looks at me and says, “You know, you’re making yourself a target, right?”
Jim looks at me and says, “Are you nuts?”
“Jim, if we don’t catch them now, they will go underground and resurface later only to kill scores of people. We need to strike now. If they come after me, hopefully, we can catch them before they get to me. I’m going to need coverage at my house around the clock and Jim and Mark can keep an eye on me during office hours.”
“Okay, let’s set up a security schedule. I’ll contact the press,” Sam says. “I know a reporter at Channel 4 who would love an exclusive interview. Let me call her right now.” She makes the call and puts her phone on speaker. “I need to speak to Monnie Whitson, this is Detective Concile with the North Myrtle Beach Police.”
A minute or so later, as Sam paces from one edge of the room to the other, her call is answered. “This is Monnie, how can I help you?”
Monnie, this is Detective Concile. How are you today?”
“Great, Sam, what can I do for you?”
“How would you like an exclusive interview with one of the guys who was at the building in Longs when it was blown up today?”
“Count me in. Where and when?” she quickly replies.
“How about now at the North Myrtle Beach Police Headquarters. We can do it outside in front of the building.”
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Sam looks at me again and I nod my head. “We’ll see you in twenty.”
Twenty-three minutes later, Monnie walks into Sam’s office with a cameraman. Sam does the introductions. Monnie is a very attractive woman with long dark hair and a nice body, probably in her mid-thirties. She introduces her cameraman as Vic.
Monnie says, “Guys, I don’t mean to rush you but if we plan to get this on the evening news, we need to hurry up.”
Sam gives her a thumbs up and leads everyone outside. Monnie begins her interview. “Mr. MacCandlish, I understand you’re a private investigator and you were there when the building blew up in Longs this afternoon?”
“Yes, I was Monnie. “
She smiles and continues, “So what happened?”
“I saw two cowards, who, instead of fighting, just blew up a building, which caused nothing more than a big hole in the ground, and then tried to run. They were a disgrace to their friends, their cause, and their religion.”
“And do you think they were the ones who set off the bombs in Charleston a few weeks ago?”
I glance at Sam and she nods her head. “I would say that’s a real good possibility.”
“Mr. MacCandlish, what is the name of your company and why were you out there in the first place?”
“The company is Grand Strand Investigations, and we were working another case and happened to come across the building. We called Detective Concile, who sent the Horry County Police, the Sheriff and SWAT.”
Monnie ends the interview with, “There you have it, folks, an exclusive interview with an eyewitness who was at the scene of the explosion in Longs earlier this afternoon. This is Monnie Whitson with Channel 4 News, reporting from the North Myrtle Beach Police Headquarters.”
*****
Phil and Anna watch the evening news and catch the interview with Mickke D. They are both appalled at his comments. Phil looks at Anna and says, “Find out where his office is and we’ll show him who is a coward and who is not. He’ll regret the day he ever said those things about Marty and Ronnie.”
CHAPTER 44
The first two days after the interview are uneventful. Sam has an undercover car parked in my neighbor’s driveway at night and one in the cul-de-sac just up the street. Another couple of officers are in a golf cart across the fairway from me with night vision glasses to keep an eye on the back of my house.
Jim and Mark keep an eye out at the office. They take turns going out the back door every thirty minutes and wander around outside looking for any signs of the two terrorists.
The third day around 10:30, Jannie calls me and says someone just delivered a package for me and asks if I want her to bring it back to my office.
The clock in my head is ticking. “Jannie, listen to me very carefully. Do not touch that package. Get up from your desk and walk out the front door right now. Do it!”
I immediately call Jim and Mark and ask them if they ordered anything and they both said no. “Okay, get out of the building right now. Go out the back door and I’ll meet you there. I sent Jannie out the front door. Mark, get her and get away from the building as fast as possible.”
Before leaving, I carefully move the package from Jannie’s desktop and place it under her desk. On my way out the door, I call Sam and tell her what has happened and that we are leaving the building as a precaution. She said she would call the bomb squad and get them over there right away.
I catch up with everyone and we begin walking quickly away from the building down Sea Mountain Highway toward the beach. I figure it has been about five minutes since Jannie’s initial call to me.
We feel the hot blast wave before we hear the explosion. After checking on everyone and finding that no one is seriously hurt, I call Sam and tell her it’s too late for the bomb squad, just send the fire department. However, since the fire department is right across the street, they are already on their way.
I take it for
granted our two friends either heard my interview with Monnie or read about it in the paper.
*****
Anna delivered the pipe bomb to Mickke D’s office. Once she was back in her vehicle, she set the timer with her phone for six minutes, which is the time she figured it would take the girl at the desk to deliver the package to Mickke D. She was off by about one minute.
CHAPTER 45
As we slowly walk back to what is left of the office, I ask Jannie, who is visibly shaken, what did the person who delivered the package look like.
“It was a woman in a brown jacket, brown pants, and a brown ballcap.
“Did she have dark hair?” I ask.
“Not sure, it was stuffed up under her hat.”
“What type of a vehicle was she driving?”
“I didn’t pay any attention. Mark, will you take me home? I don’t feel well.”
I quickly say, “Yes, Mark, take her home and stay there with her.”
Just as Mark and Jannie are leaving, Detective Concile arrives along with Woolever and Stratton. “Is everyone okay?” she asks hurriedly.
“Everybody is fine, just a little shook up,” I answer.
She looks around and remarks, “Your insurance company is not going to be happy with you. This is the second time, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll bet my rates are going to go up a little bit.”
She mumbles, “I guess they read the paper or heard your interview.”
“Yeah, I guess they did,” I say, as we walk toward what used to be my front door. As we walk into the building, it looks like the brunt of the damage is to the reception area. I guess me putting the package under Jannie’s desk may have helped to subdue the explosion somewhat. We walk back to my office and it seems intact, except for a lot of dust. I check the other offices and they all seem fine, although they too are quite dusty. It could have been a lot worse. At least no one was hurt and the explosion did not start a fire.
We walk back outside and I hear someone calling my name. I turn around to see Monnie Whitson with her cameraman being subdued by a police officer on the other side of the yellow plastic tape, which surrounds the crime scene. I look at Sam and she waves at the officer to allow them through.
Monnie looks at Sam and me and says, “Can we do a quick interview?”
I look at Sam and she nods her head. Monnie begins, “So we are here at yet another explosion. This one is at the office of Mickke MacCandlish, on Sea Mountain Highway in Cherry Grove. Mr. MacCandlish is the witness I interviewed a couple of days ago about the explosion in Longs. Mr. MacCandlish, do you think the two explosions are connected? Does this mean there are more terrorists on the loose?”
I look at Sam and she just shrugs her shoulders. I reply, “I think that’s a real good possibility, but I’m not sure. I’ll let Detective Concile answer that one.”
I thank Monnie and walk away. She quickly turns to Sam and begins questioning her.
*****
Phil is livid with Anna. “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you know how to set a timer on a pipe bomb?”
“Yeah, I know how to set it. Screw you. Next time you deliver the bomb. Let’s see if you can do any better.”
Phil paces around the rented RV as Anna pulls her purse with the .38 in it closer to her. She is seriously considering making this a one-person show if Phil continues to belittle her.
Finally, Phil sits down across from her and says, “So, where do we go from here?”
She eases the pressure off of her purse, thinks about his question, and replies, “I think we should cause as much havoc as we possibly can with what explosives we have left and then move on to our next location.”
“And what about this MacCandlish guy? What do we do about him?” he asks.
“If he becomes a chance target, so be it, we kill him, but we need to focus on creating havoc and killing as many western infidels as possible. That is our mission.”
He looks at her and says, “Okay, let’s get busy building more bombs. It’s time to strike terror into the hearts of these Americans.”
They get up from the small table in the kitchen area of the RV, and just as they are about to get back to business as usual, they hear a knock at their front door.
CHAPTER 46
TC is smiling. After three weeks of paperwork, including permits and releases, it looks like the process of searching for the buried pirate treasure can finally go forward.
Coastal Carolina University, the University of South Carolina, and Clemson University are all supplying students and faculty members for the project. Each university will have a sector to work. They will begin by using metal detectors over their sector and if the detector finds something, they will flag the location and other assigned students will carefully proceed to process the area to see if there is anything of value there.
Next, they will process each sector with a high-resolution ultrasound detector, which can penetrate the ground almost ten feet. Again, if something is located they will flag the area and a team of students will come in and carefully begin a “dig.”
The first two weeks are frustrating. They have found nothing of value and everyone involved seems to be getting antsy and ready for something to happen. On the sixteenth day, they get their wish.
CHAPTER 47
Phil and Anna both look at each other and Phil puts his finger up to his lips. He quietly reaches into the small closet beside the kitchen and retrieves an AK-47 while Anna pulls her .38 from her purse. She carefully pulls the kitchen curtain away from the window and gazes outside. She quietly goes over to the kitchen table and writes a note, which she shows to Phil as the person knocks again. The note reads, RV office manager.
She puts her gun back in her purse and Phil places his assault rifle back in the closet as he backs away toward the bedroom where he pulls a handgun from the dresser.
Anna opens the door a crack and says, “Yes?”
He replies, “Sorry to disturb you, but the bug guys are coming next week on Wednesday and we will need to get in the RV to spray, and since I didn’t have a phone number for you, I decided to stop by and let you know.”
“No problem, just give us a heads up when you know the exact time.”
He thanks her, turns away to leave but then turns back around and says, “Do you have a cell phone number so I can call you?”
Thinking quickly, she replies, “Sorry, we only have one and I dropped it in the ocean the other day and it is ruined. I’m getting a new one tomorrow, so I’ll stop by the office and give you the number. I need to go. I have dinner cooking on the stove.”
“Oh, no problem. That would be great, thanks again,” he says as he turns and walks away.
Anna closes the door and breathes a sigh of relief. Phil walks out from the bedroom and says, “That gives us three days before we leave. Let’s get busy.”
*****
As Dave Dalton, the RV office manager and a retired cop from Charlotte, walks away, he senses something isn’t right. When Anna first cracked open the door, he thought he smelled gunpowder and he did not smell or hear any food cooking in the RV directly behind her. With all the explosions going on and talk about terrorists, his senses have been heightened. He now needs to decide whether to call the local authorities or see if he can gather more information and maybe make one more arrest, which could be the biggest of his career.
Dalton has been in Myrtle Beach almost six months. His daughter, Martha lives nearby so he and his wife, Helen moved here to be closer to her. He wanted to get a job with a security company or private investigation company, but didn’t have any luck so he took the job as office manager and security officer for the RV campground. They provided him a nice furnished doublewide to live in and a decent salary.
One of the PI companies he spoke with was Grand Strand Investigations in Cherry Grove. The owner, Mickke MacCandlish, told him that they were well staffed, but if they ever needed anyone, they would give him a call. When Dalton said he might start his own
PI company, Mr. MacCandlish told him if he ever needed backup with a case, to let him know, they would be happy to oblige. He is now wondering if he should call Mr. MacCandlish about his gut feeling that there is a problem, because if he calls the police, he knows they will not let him in on the arrest. He figures Mr. MacCandlish may be willing to agree to allow him to help.
CHAPTER 48
I’m in my office with my feet up on my desk contemplating my next move. I keep trying to convince myself that I’m getting too old to run around the world and solve everyone’s problems. Also, while in the custody of the DEA, Bob Linde confessed that the Valdez family hired him to get rid of me. I’m upset my Colombian friends sent someone else to kill me, and I’m highly pissed off that the terrorists came after my friends and not just me. Just as I am about to make a decision, my cell phone rings. The name looks familiar, so I take the call.
“Mr. MacCandlish, this is Dave Dalton. I talked to you a few months ago about a job with your company.”
“Oh sure Dave, I remember you, from Charlotte. What can I do for you?”
Just as he is about to answer, Jim bursts into my office. “Dave, something just came up in the office. Can I call you right back?”
“Sure, but don’t forget. It’s important.”
Jim blurts out, “A bomb just went off at the beach. No one was killed, but there are a lot of people hurt.”
“What location?”
“Don’t know, just somewhere along the beach.”
“Thanks Jim, see what you can find out and keep me updated, and see if you can find Mark and update him as well.”
“Will do,” he says.
I dial the number on my phone and Mr. Dalton answers. We no more than begin our conversation when I notice Sam is calling me. “Sorry Dave, got another call I have to take. I’ll call you right back.”
Terror Grips the Beach Page 9