by Mary Eason
“Hell of a way to spend it, don’tcha think?”
“Yeah well at least I can say it wasn’t dull. What do you need from me?”
“Depends. What’s the ‘big cheese’ saying?”
“Could be a few days before we get the go ahead to get out of here.”
“You don’t have that. The way I see it, you’re gonna be lucky to make it through the night.”
The no-holds-barred way Burbeck laid out the facts without sparing niceties was a surprising relief. Second guessing. Wondering. What ifs. Those non-tangible things made this job the hardest to deal with.
He’d been partnered with Burbeck long enough to know the man as well as he knew himself. Frank would have a plan in place before he picked up the phone. “So. What is it?” Riley added when Burbeck was strangely silent.
“Three A.M. at the old pier on the opposite side of the island from the hospital. Don’t be late. He won’t wait. And your ass will be as good as grass.”
“How’d you swing that?”
“Easy enough. You gotta wonder why the friggin’ U.S. Attorney couldn’t accomplish the same. It only took me a couple of calls. Makes me wonder who he’s really concerned about.”
“You’re thinking--”
“Don’t know. But it’s a bit peculiar don’tcha think? I mean, if a low level grunt like me could accomplish it with a few phone calls, looking at the situation totally blind, why couldn’t the big guy do the same?”
Before Riley could form the words to answer, his cell went dead. Straight to the point. Just like Burbeck.
But he’d gotten Burbeck’s message loud and clear. Tread carefully. And watch his back.
Riley glanced at the phone’s clock. Almost seven. He needed to find Jordan.
Chapter Sixteen
“When did the symptoms first begin…” Jordan repeated the question she’d asked at least a hundred times that day. Someone parted the curtains in the makeshift exam room. Jordan glanced over her shoulder expecting one of the nurses to have come in to assist. Instead, Riley stood with the curtain draped over his shoulder.
His eyes met hers. He looked bushed, but even so, she found herself fighting an attraction that had no place here amongst the dead and dying.
He knew something. It was there in the serious expression transforming the blue in his eyes to midnight. Her hand knotted into a fist pressed against her stomach. Riley left and she excused herself. Momma Lizbeth could finish the patient history without her.
“What is it?” She dreaded his answer. Jordan’s gaze searched his but he shook his head as if to say, ‘not here’ then headed toward the back entrance.
Riley didn’t say a word until they’d almost reached the sands of the beach.
“We’re leaving tonight. You need to wrap things up as best you can and find an excuse for leaving. There won’t be much time. ”
“So soon?” Jordan said the first thing that came to mind.
“Yes. They’ll be someone waiting for us at the old pier.” He announced without emotion.
It took a moment for those words to sink in. A myriad of conflicting emotions chased through her thoughts. Relief. Fear. Guilt even. She would be leaving the hospital understaffed during the worst crisis in its history.
“When? How? What happened? You’ve spoken to the U.S. Attorney again.” She struggled to understand. “But I thought--”
“No. Not David Enfield. I spoke to my partner.” He told her quietly.
“You did what?” She rounded on him in disbelief. “Please, tell me you didn’t.” His unyielding gaze answered the question for him. “How could you do that without talking to me first? You know that Caesar probably has half the NYPD on his payroll. You can’t possibly believe—“
“I trust my partner.” He challenged.
“Well, I don’t!”
He stepped closer trying to take her hand. She pushed it away. “Jordan--”
“No. No. I can’t believe you of all people would do that. We’re as good a dead thanks to you!”
“Jordan—“
“I’ve got to get out of here.”
“Jordan, don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
He didn’t understand. “I’m not worried about me! Don’t you see? If he finds us here with me, he’ll kill you.”
Riley sucked in a breath. He stepped closer and cupped her cheek, his eyes dark with emotion. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
She struggled to breathe. Fear threatened to cause her to hyperventilate.
“Jordan, Frank would never set me up.”
“Can you swear to that? Are you willing to bet your life and mine on it?”
“Yes, I am,” he told her calmly.
“Well, maybe you are, but I’m not. He’s a cop. He’d have to have told someone where we are. He couldn’t do this alone.”
“Jordan—“
“Dear God. Caesar’s probably already on his way. Even if your partner isn’t on the take, Caesar will be here long before we can follow through with your partner’s plan.”
“You’re overreacting I understand you’re frightened but--”
“No, I’m not, Riley. I know Caesar. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” She started walking blindly down the beach and away from him. She wasn’t sure where she was going. Just away from Riley. She needed to think. Needed to go back to the hospital. Tell someone what had happened. She couldn’t do any of those things.
“Jordan – wait!” She didn’t. She just kept right on walking, certain he’d catch up with her soon enough.
“Dammit, wait.” He reached her side and grabbed her arm, forcing her to be still. “Where are you going?” he demanded.
“Back to the villa to pack.” She barely spared him a glance. She jerked her arm away. “Then I’m going to find my own way off the island. I’d suggest you do the same. Get out of here, Riley, before its too late.”
“Don’t be foolish. You’ll never make it out of here alive. You need my help. You can’t--”
“Really? Watch me.” She started walking again, ignoring Riley entirely. Fear along with a sense of betrayal threatened to reduce her to tears. She wouldn’t cry. She’d come too far -- fought too hard to survive the last time to give into emotions that might end up getting her killed.
Once she reached the strip of beach in front of the villa, she glanced back over her shoulder. Riley was nowhere in sight. She’d been foolish to trust him in the first place. And to think, she’d almost given her heart to him.
Jordan moved to the edge of the house and forced herself to be still and listen. There were no sounds except the ocean crashing against the beach. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Nothing looked out of place. She did a quick walk around the villa. No sign that anything had been disturbed.
She unlocked the back door. Without turning on a single light, she felt her way to the bedroom. She’d rehearsed her escape plan a thousand times in her head over the past few days. She knew exactly how to find the things she’d need in the dark.
Jordan took out the one overnight bag she’d brought with her and dumped clothes into it. There wasn’t much room. Once the bag was full, she zipped it and hoisted it over her shoulder, chancing a quick glance at her watch.
Her fingers slipped beneath the mattress searching for the gun. Shit. Riley still had it.
He’d told her they were to meet their contact at three. She knew the older section where they were supposed to hook up with the man. It had been abandoned for years according to Momma Lizbeth. Deserted. No one to witness the crime.
It was a probably a setup. God she hoped Riley didn’t go through with his partner’s plan.
She glanced carefully out the back window to make sure Riley or someone far worse wasn’t waiting in the shadows. When she was certain all was clear she slipped out into the dark moonless night and headed away from the beach.
Although this wasn’t the quickest way to the piers, it was the safest. The cove
r of the surrounding neighborhood houses allowed the maximum means of escape should someone choose to follow her.
By the time Jordan reached the piers where the local fishermen docked each evening, she was out of breath from keeping up the fast jog she’d started when she left the villa.
Please God. Let me make the right choice here.
She didn’t dare call out. She searched the boats lined up there for any signs of life, but most appeared empty. At this time of night, the owners would be fast asleep. The fishermen of Longboat Key were up long before sunrise in search of their catch.
By the time she reached the last boat docked, Jordan had all but made up her mind she’d have to take one of the smaller ones and try to remember the things Caesar had taught her the one time she’d gone boating with him.
“What are you doing out here alone, missy?” The smell of pipe smoke assailed her senses. It took a few seconds of squinting into the darkness before she spotted him. He stood on the deck of the last boat, gazing out at the inky waters of the Atlantic.
“Nothing. I’m not sure. What’s out there? Beyond the horizon?” Jordan forced her voice to remain level. Best not to show fear.
“Not a damn thing worth seeing,” the old man spat out before taking his gaze away from the ocean long enough to spare Jordan a glance. “Ain’t nothing out there but more water.”
“And beyond that?” The old man hopped over the side of the boat landing on the pier with surprising agility. He stopped just a few feet in front of her and studied her in silence for a moment. Jordan swallowed back fear. She was alone with a stranger in the middle of the night. And Caesar wanted her dead and would stop at nothing to make that happen.
Years of exposure to the sun and sea had long since leathered his skin. “Well now,” he rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he considered her question. Jordan wondered if he were even aware of the gesture. “First there’d be Kerrigan Bay then San Miguel. Then there’s Helene’s Key.” He concluded with a firm nod.
Jordan followed his gaze. There was more. There had to be more. Her life depended on it. She couldn’t go to Kerrigan Bay. There’d be far too much traffic coming in there.
“Yes, but beyond that.” She could hear the desperation in her tone. The old man did as well. He breathed a heavy sigh then batted a mosquito before answering.
Those wizened eyes focused on her intently as if he were seeing right down to her soul. He’d guessed her reason for asking that question.
“Then there’s Devils Key.” He spoke the name in a hushed whisper. As if the island might live up to its unholy name.
For the first time since leaving Riley, she let herself hope for more. “What’s Devils Key?”
“You ain’t never heard of Devils Key?” He was teasing her. Jordan actually smiled and tried to be patient.
Did she dare trust him? “No. Tell me about it.”
“Well, it ain’t really surprising you never heard of it. Not too many folks beyond the island locals have.” He took his time before continuing. Apparently, he enjoyed having a captive audience for whatever reason. “But let me tell you this, Devils Key ain’t nothin’ like Longboat. Not much there but a bunch of rocks and seaweed.”
Exhausted to her core, Jordan felt tears sting her eyes. With super human strength, she reined in her emotions. “If it’s that bad then why do people live there at all?”
He laughed at her response. “Well now, that’s something you’d have to ask them. Tain’t my place to say.”
Jordan smiled at the old man’s dry humor. “So tell me about Devils Key.”
He gave her a short nod then chose his words carefully. “People don’t go Devils Key for the same reasons they come to the other islands around here. You choose Devils Key. Or maybe it chooses you. It’s a place where you go to get away from it all, forget your problems. Or run away from trouble.” He pinned her with another one of those sizing-up looks and jerked his head toward the ocean. “You runnin’ from something out there, missy?”
His question threw Jordan. If the old man picked up on this after only a few minutes of conversation, what else might she be giving away?
“Do you own that boat there?” she asked instead of answering his question.
“Sure do. Hire it out for private use during slow times.”
“Is this a slow time?” She tried not to sound too anxious.
“Well, maybe so.” He thought it for another second or so then added, “Yes ma’am. Now’d be one of those slow times.”
“Could you take me there?” Desperation swept away all her promises not to call attention to herself.
“No ma’am! Too damn late for that. Too many spirits out there on the waters at night.”
Jordan shoved disappointment aside and pushed on. “I can pay you. I have money--” The old man didn’t wait for her to finish before turning away as if she’d insulted him. He headed back toward his rag-tag fishing boat. “Wait!” She hurried to catch up with him. “Wait, please.”
He slowed his steps and looked around them anxiously. “Let me give you a piece of advice that won’t cost you a penny. You wanna keep that money of yours, you don’t go talking about it to strangers. Especially not on Devils Key.”
“I’m sorry.” Her voice broke from exhaustion. “Please, you’re my last hope. I’m all out of options. I need help. Your help.”
He’d reached the pier again. Jordan watched as the old man disappeared for a moment then reappeared on deck of the Maria. The boat looked as if it had seen better days some time back.
A hopelessness like nothing she’d ever experienced washed over her. She didn’t know what to do now. She couldn’t go back to the villa. Couldn’t trust Riley. Couldn’t risk Caesar looking for her at the hospital.
“Well, you coming or not. I ain’t got all night.” The old guy poked his head over the side of the boat and hollered.
It took only a second to decide. Jordan scrambled back up the pier and took the man’s offered hand while saying a silent prayer that this decision wouldn’t prove to be another bad one in a long list of misguided judgments.
Chapter Seventeen
Devils Key rose from the tumultuous dark waters of the Atlantic like a satanic portal leading to the gates of hell. Unlike the whitewashed walls and sugary sands of Longboat, the rocky beachfront of Devils Key gave a fitting first impression.
On the rough trip over to the island, the old man whose name she learned was Polk, warned her not to expect the same warm reaction she’d received on Longboat.
“People come here to get away. They work hard. They live quiet lives. They don’t like questions. And they like trouble showing up on their island unannounced even less.” Polk fixed Jordan with another pointed look. He’d guessed she carried a great deal of trouble with her.
Once they were docked, Polk helped her carry her meager belongings ashore. She paid him their agreed upon price.
For the time, Jordan realized she didn’t know what to do next. She glanced at the dark silhouettes of houses and shivered. She’d never once considered there might not be anyplace to stay on the island. And even though it wasn’t cold even at night, she didn’t dare sleep on the beach.
“Do you know anyone here?” This was not anyplace she would ever have chosen to visit. It literally gave her the willies.
Polk studied her for a long moment then gave her a short nod of approval. “I do. But you make sure you don’t bring your troubles to her door, you hear. She’s my friend. I don’t want nothing bad happenin’ to her.”
“I will. I promise.”
“Then you go talk to Simone. She’ll put you up.”
“Oh. No. I wouldn’t want to be any trouble. Maybe a hotel--”
“Well now, you won’t find much need for hotel here on Devils Key, missy.” Polk answered as if she’d said the most ridiculous thing. “But Simone -- she has an extra room. You tell her I sent you. She’ll put you up. Simone – she’s big on takin’ in strays.”
“Thank you.
” She hoisted her bag on her shoulder once more then remembered she didn’t have a clue where Polk’s friend lived. “Wait -- where can I find Simone?”
“Few blocks past the marketplace. On Gold Street. Number Three. It’s the blue house with yellow shutters.”
“Thank you.” Jordan extended her hand to Polk. The old man took it after a moment. “If I give you an additional hundred dollars will you forget you ever saw me?”
Polk refused the extra money. “No ma’am. You keep your money. Take care of yourself, missy.” He gave her a salute then shoved off. It occurred to Jordan then he’d never asked her name. Probably a good thing for him. The less Polk knew about her the better.
With her only acquaintance gone, Jordan turned to get a better look at the island.
Polk had been right. No one would deliberately come here. Devils Key was not on any cruise line itinerary.
As she walked from the beach, Jordan wondered how receptive she’d find Simone at this time of the night. The trip through troubled waters had taken almost three hours.
She’d reached the marketplace Polk mentioned. Rows and rows of empty stands lined the walkway of what appeared to be the main thoroughfare of town. Beyond the market, there were only a handful of stores.
Simone’s house wasn’t easy to find in the pitch dark surrounding her. A row of Victorian houses lined Gold Street. The mailbox outside Number Three didn’t bear a name, but the peeling blue paint on the house stood out even without any moonlight.
Jordan stepped onto the porch and peered through the window looking for some form of light within. Waking the woman in the middle of the night wasn’t going to be the best way to introduce herself.
She gave the weathered yellow door a hesitant knock. While she waited, Jordan glanced around the porch. It was neat and clean, but showing definite signs of wear.
Fear and uncertainty threatened once more when nothing but silence appeared within the house. Jordan knocked harder, refusing to give into those fears.
“Alright, alright. I’m comin’.” A voice thick with accent bellowed deep from within the bowls of the house. “Now who be interruptin’ my program this fine evening?” The porch light flickered on followed by several more inside as the door flew open and a woman wearing a lemon yellow nightgown with curlers bunched around salt and pepper hair looked surprised to see Jordan standing on her porch.