Deborah Brown - Madison Westin 07 - Kidnapped in Paradise

by Deborah Brown

  “Maybe I can get Lindsey to translate for me. I like her because her niceness doesn’t seem like an act to impress adults. Liam likes her, and she doesn’t look like she’s thirty years old.”

  I held out my hand and pointed to Fab’s phone.

  “You couldn’t just ask?” she sniffed.

  “You broke mine.” I grabbed it out of her hand and called Phil. “We’re here. Where do we go?”

  Fab snapped her fingers and motioned to the lone figure coming up the stairs; Jax looked healthy and tan. Another man met him at the top, flashing a badge as he slapped Jax in handcuffs.

  “What the hell just went wrong? He got arrested,” I said in confusion.

  “Calm down, that’s my guy,” Phil said. “Follow him. When he pulls over, you’ll get your man. There’s an upcharge if you keep the cuffs.”

  “Cuffs or not?” I asked Fab.

  “Oh yeah. It’ll keep his ass from jumping out in traffic. I’m not in the mood for a foot chase.”

  I could hear Phil talking on another phone, letting her man know we were right behind him. The guy shoved Jax into the passenger side of his pickup truck, slammed the door, and turned onto a side street. He took care to avoid any main streets, instead turning right and left a dozen times before parking on a run-down patch of broken concrete at the end of a residential street.

  Fab watched everything that went down, smiling at the use of cuffs; she nodded her approval at the circuitous route to the drop-off.

  “We could do these jobs,” she said. “Wonder what it pays?”

  “Kidnapping people?” I looked at her like she’d grown another head. “What if one of them ends up murdered? Or dies of fright in your Mercedes?”

  “Your ex doesn’t look happy,” Fab said, stating the obvious.

  Jax’s handler dragged him, kicking, out of the truck. Getting jerked around by his metal bracelets didn’t improve his manners. He unleashed his temper on the man. Knowing Jax, it was probably creatively profanity-laced.

  “I’ll get him,” I said, as I got out and opened the back door.

  Jax saw me wave and exploded.

  “What the hell? You can’t call on the phone like a normal person?”

  “Not when you keep it turned off. You and I both know you never listen to your messages!” I yelled back.

  The other man had on the outfit of someone up to no good. Dark jeans, t-shirt, most of his face and hair covered with a baseball cap and large dark sunglasses to cover the rest. He shoved Jax in my direction.

  “You need help?” he motioned to the car.

  “Thanks, I can take it from here.” I waved to the man, who’d just made some sort of grunting noise and was now already halfway back to his truck.

  “Hey Hon-knee,” I mimicked his version of the endearment. “Need a ride?”

  The truck pulled up alongside the driver’s side of the car, tossing keys to Fab.

  “Need the cuffs back. I’ve got some rope if you need it.”

  “You promise to be good?” I asked Jax.

  “This...,” Jax jerked on his cuffs, “was probably Fab's idea. Get them off.”

  “Add them to our tab,” Fab yelled out the window and sped off. “I don’t trust your ass.”

  She flipped Jax the finger.

  “You hurt my feelings.” I smiled at him. “I think you’ve been ignoring me.”

  He kicked the back of the seat.

  “The cuffs were my idea,” I said. Better for me to take the blame and avoid an unnecessary shooting.

  “This is your fault.” I wagged my finger. “I had no way of getting a hold of you.”

  “My fault? Of course, every damn thing is all my fault,” he barked, his face red with rage. He continued to rant from the back seat. I lay my head against the headrest, finding it to be hard and uncomfortable. I’d wait him for him calm down.

  Fab hit the steering wheel. “Shut up before I shoot you.”

  I wish I’d said that!

  Jax had finally wound down. “Uncuff me,” he snarled.

  I looked at him over the seat. “Gee, Hon, no!”

  Fab snickered.

  “This isn’t funny.” He kicked the seat again.

  “Ouch, stop it,” I whined.

  “My wrists hurt. Is this some kind of kinky foreplay?”

  Despite myself, I laughed. “Yeah, I’m climbing over the seat back, and we’re going to drive around town and do it.” I collapsed into more laughter.

  “You’re not funny,” he fumed. “What the hell do you want?”

  “You know how many times you’ve told me I’m not funny? Hurts my feelings.” I frowned. “You hate it when people repeat themselves. Well, so do I. So let’s go through this one more time. I want information.”

  “Where are we going?” he asked. “The Cottages?”

  He had calmed down somewhat, but I knew well enough to know he was still fuming inside. If he had the option, he’d take his chances and jump out of a moving car.

  “Your days of sneaking into The Cottages are over. Where you end up depends on how useful you turn out to be. You’ve got choices here. A cushy stay somewhere, or I turn you over to undercover cops who will lose your ass in the system. You decide.”

  “There is one more option.” Fab glared at him in the rearview. “I shoot you, which is what will happen if you don’t answer every one of our questions. I’ll have you cremated, no fuss, no muss. Ditch your ashes in the trash.”

  “Start at the beginning as to why you’re here. Maybe you forgot something the last time I asked nicely,” I told him.

  “I partnered in a money-making opportunity, and it blew up in my face. My partners are dead. There were other silent partners, but I never met them and didn’t get their names. Since I didn’t have the money to ditch town, and because of my desire to not end up headless, I took fishing jobs. They’re good paying, and I needed time to come up with a plan. Who’s going to look for me out in the Gulf?”

  “Skip to the good part,” I shot at him. “What kind of deal? Who are the people you’re running from? What do they want?”

  “What happened to that uplifting story about getting your act together?” Fab asked, growling at the driver next to her.

  A blue Mercedes stayed at her side as she blew up the interstate. Now that she’d grown bored and wanted him to go away, he wasn’t taking the hint.

  Jax mumbled something unintelligible.

  “You already know we were transporting product to another state. Jones and Rod got the bright idea of shorting it a little to make some money on the side. After Jones turned up dead, Rod told me they had sold every last ounce. This job was sold as a three-man partnership. Another thing Rod let me in on after the fact: we were nothing but delivery guys.”

  Fab looked over her shoulder and made eye contact with him.

  “What was your part in this operation?”

  “I’d help clean and pack for shipment, scrub the rental house, leaving no trace of a grow operation, and trek across the country to deliver it to the waiting buyer in Colorado.” He maneuvered around on the back seat and stared out the window.

  “How did you find out about your partners?” Fab asked.

  “Rod called and told me we had to lay low when Jones turned up dead. He assured me that it wasn’t related to the job, but once I heard that they stole the product, I knew that was a lie. His girlfriend broke the news, called all hysterical, saying he’d been murdered. She wanted names. I hung up and threw my phone in the ocean.”

  “Don’t you think you should’ve left town?” I asked.

  “Why? I never met the brains of this mess. Hopefully he doesn’t know about me.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “Yes!” Jax banged the table. “Besides, I didn’t have the money. I’ve had a handful of fishing jobs but, without references, I had to wait until the last minute to get hired on, just hoping that regular crew members were too drunk to show up.”

  “When are you le
aving?” Fab asked.

  “Why is this any of your business?” Jax leaned forward and yelled in her face.

  “Hand me that bag,” I pointed to Fab’s backpack. “Oh, that’s right, you’re handcuffed.”

  Fab and I laughed as I leaned over the seat and grabbed it myself. I whipped out the picture of the dead guy who still had has head.

  “Do you know him?”

  “That’s Rod. I hoped he’d just skipped town. He was tired of the whiny girlfriend and wanted to dump her.”

  “Can’t you guys just say it’s not working out instead of leaving the woman wondering what happened?”

  “I’m going to be sick,” he moaned.

  Fab careened the car to the side of the roadway.

  I threw the door open, jumped out, and jerked open the back door, clutching Jax’s shirt and dragging him to the side of Highway One. None too soon, he barfed on the ground. I hopped back to make sure it missed my shoe.

  “I want the name of the guy you screwed over,” I said, kicking his foot.

  He moaned.

  “Name now. Or I’m going to relate the grisly details of the two murders. You know how I know?” I leaned down and yelled. “Your good friend, well his head landed on my doorstep, then his friend Rod. But they must have been in a hurry, because he still had all of his body parts. Let me connect the dots for you. They want you, and they know you and I are connected. They probably know that we were once married, so apparently I’ll do until they can get their murderous fingers on you. By then we’ll all be dead.”

  “Stop, you’re killing me,” he whined and moaned. “Gimme water.”

  Fab tossed me a bottle and I held it up to his mouth. “Take a sip or you’ll just be sick again.”

  He rinsed his mouth out, letting it fly across the dirt.

  “Bonnet,” he squeaked.

  Bonnet! Now I was the one who was going to be sick. I leaned back against the side of the car feeling faint. I looked in Fab’s direction and she banged her head on the steering wheel.

  The man had his hand in all things illegal. Rumor had it he was the king of drugs and gun running. Anyone who screwed Bonnet ended up dead. There was never a shred of evidence found that linked back to him. Bonnet's arrest would be a huge star on any police officer’s career file, if only a case could be made that would lead to a long prison sentence.

  “How much did you screw him for?” I asked weakly.

  “I had zero to do with the money. I thought I was being smart, getting two thousand up front for what I thought was a simple moving job.” He hung his head. “Rod told me after the fact that the shipment was worth a half-million, and that’s not street value.”

  Fab leaned out the window.

  “You done barfing yet? We need to dump your body and get a plan together to stay alive.”

  “This is worse than what I thought.” I kicked Jax again. “Does Bonnet know the weed has been sold? I suppose he wants money. He knows you don’t have it, so you and your friends are going to be made an example of, and then he’s going to try to scare money out of me?”

  I reached in the window.

  “Give me the keys. I need to get his shirt off. He already smelled like sweat and fish and now….”

  She ignored me and jumped out, clearing a wide berth around him.

  “He’ll run.” She had the cuffs off in seconds.

  He stared up at me, a silent question of, “What now?”

  I reached down and pulled his t-shirt over his head. I wrinkled my nose at the smell; at least he didn’t vomit on it.

  “If you even think you’re getting sick, use it,” I said, throwing it at him.

  He didn’t wait to be asked and leapt into the back seat, probably afraid we’d change our minds and leave him behind on this less-populated section of highway.

  I looked over the seat back. “Did you give one thought to how much jail time you’d get for transporting drugs?”

  “Okay, I didn’t ask enough questions. Jones was a friend. I took him at his word, believed him when he said he needed a furniture mover. Coming back here for a few days’ vacation sealed the deal; you know I love the beach. If I get out of here alive, I’m going home and getting a regular job.”

  “Here’s the deal,” I began. I hoped I wouldn’t regret this, but I needed to be able to find him; I didn’t have the time or patience to run around South Florida looking for him. “You need a place to hide out. I’ve got a friend who needs work done on his boat, and you’re going to do it. As long as you don’t leave the boat, no one will find you. You’ll run into Mother, and you better be nice to her or I’ll call your mother and tell on you.”

  “You know I’m the favorite,” he smirked.

  “Not if she hears of your latest adventure,” I threatened. “Listen up: you need to stay put until we can figure out what to do. You don’t want Bonnet tracking you anywhere, much less back to South Carolina and hurting your family.”

  “I planned to tell you everything when I showed up at your house. Then I met your two house apes, and we got interrupted at Jake’s.”

  Fab growled.

  “If you leave the boat, you’re on your own.” I dug through my bag, taking out a new phone and handing it to him.

  “I don’t want it. I’ll get my own and give you the number,” he said.

  “Fab, will you tell him to start being cooperative?” I asked in a childish voice.

  “Give it to me.” He stuck his hand over the seat.

  Fab rocketed back to the Cove and took the first exit. There was nothing but dirt lots on each side of the road and a short-cut down to the docks only known to locals. She slid into a parking space and scanned the boat marina. No lurkers. All appeared quiet, with most of the boats in their slips and covered.

  “I’ll be right back,” Fab said. She slid the lock pick from her pocket. “I’ll check it out.”

  “This boat is owned by a man named Jimmy Spoon,” I told Jax. “You screw him and heaven help you. He’s not going to like that I hid your ass here, but do a good job and he’ll forget he’s annoyed.”

  “You’re the best ex-wife.” He kissed my cheek.

  “Yeah, well, I like you too. You tell anyone and I’ll laugh. Our mutual goal is for both of us to get out alive. So please cooperate.”

  “I owe you.”

  “If you mean that, keep a low profile.” I hugged him. “Let’s go.”

  We passed Fab coming back from the boat; she stood guard at the entrance gate.

  “Spoon will be showing up for introductions and bringing you food.” I handed Jax a phone. “Don’t make any stupid calls.”

  “There it is, ‘Fantasy’,” I pointed. “Fab and I are in hiding. You see anyone shifty hanging around, run. Send a postcard so I know you’re alive.”

  I walked down the docks, calling Spoon. I wanted to curse when his phone went to voicemail.

  “Found you a mechanic,” I said, then hesitated. “He’s on board now. Be nice. We need him alive for right now. Favor––he needs a bag of food and soda.”

  I would owe Spoon huge. Fab shook her head at me.

  “What?” I said to Fab.

  “Spoon’s not going to be happy with you.”

  “Jax is not free-loading; he knows about boats and can fix anything. Mother will vouch for him.” I dialed her number. “What’s with people today? No one’s answering their phone? Mother, we’re fine and both love you.”

  “Could your dumb-ass ex screw a bigger dealer than Bonnet?” Fab asked in disgust. “We need a plan. And fast, so we can go home.”

  At least someone was answering their phone today. Phil answered on the second ring.

  “What do you need?” she asked.

  “We’re leaving this car, same place, need another one.”

  “Anything else?”

  “You’re amazing, by the way. Dig up all the dirt you can unearth on Bonnet. Weaknesses, skeletons, the more the merrier. We need leverage.”

  Fab held out he
r knuckles. “Good call on the car.”

  Chapter 38

  We got back to the funeral home intact. I threw myself on the couch, stretching out, hogging the whole thing. Fab smiled wickedly and kicked my feet off, sitting down on the opposite end.

  Raul returned the car to the grocery store, switching for our latest short-term rental. We heard a rumbling in the driveway and stared out the window, wondering what would make that noise. Raul informed us that we'd received a 1990’s Buick sedan. Although noisy, it ran great, and despite the stained carpeting, there wasn’t a lingering smell.

  I settled back against the cushions. Fab kicked off her shoes and stretched her legs across the coffee table.

  “You’re always harping on a plan. So now what?” I asked.

  “We package Jax up and deliver him to Bonnet.” Fab brushed her hands together.

  I shook my head, “You forget we like his family.”

  “I was only half-joking because when Bonnet finds out that the weed is gone and that there is no money for compensation, your ex will be dead and you’ll be back on his radar.”

  “I don’t think even the sale of Jake’s would cover the cost of the weed, forget the interest those types add on daily. My guess, Bonnet’s not stupid, just felonious. He’s figured out by this time there’s nothing to get back. How many dead bodies until he’s satisfied?” I didn’t have a good feeling about besting Bonnet.

  “I want to go home.” I made a half-ass attempt at not sounding whiney and failed. “Not that I don’t like it here at Chez Funeral Home, but I don’t.”

  Fab’s phone materialized out of nowhere.

  “What do you have for us?” she asked.

  I knew by her tone and question she had our favorite snitch on the phone. Procurer of Information, as Phil labeled herself.

  “Any weak spots?” Fab paused and listened intently. “Keep looking and do it fast.”

  She removed the battery and card and threw the pieces on the floor.

  “Creole stopped by Jake’s and left you a message just in case you called in. He’d like to chat,” Fab told me. “Phil said he wasn’t his usual sunny self, more like frustrated and angry. She called Mac and found out that he left the same message with her.”