The Keeper

by George C. Chesbro

  “Ah. The profit motive.”

  “See? You’re already starting to think in new directions.”

  “You agree that those three were the same ones who blew up Jack’s boat?”

  “They most likely were. If they weren’t, they could have told us who did. This organization could have a lot of mercenaries on the payroll.”

  “I am going to get the bastards, Jade.”

  “I certainly hope so.”

  “Maybe I should start contacting some veterans’ organizations.”

  “That’s a good place to start. Please, Roy, don’t think I’m being patronizing if I ask you to be very careful. You’re going way out of the official loop and your jurisdiction with this. Talk to the wrong people, or ask the wrong questions, and word will go out that a certain Cairn detective is sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong. The people we’re looking for could come looking for you the same way they came looking for me.”

  “I hope they do. Anything else you want to tell me?”

  “There’s nothing else I can tell you.”

  “Then I have something for you,” Roy said, gently touching Jade’s elbow. “Master Sergeant Henry Bolo was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army soon after the Gulf War, and he is on a full disability pension. His checks get sent to an address in Boca Raton. He doesn’t have a police record, not so much as a traffic ticket—at least not in Florida, New York, New Jersey or Connecticut. Those are the only states I’ve had time to check.”

  “That’s a lot of territory to cover in a few hours.”

  “Not really. Computers are wonderful things. I could do it all faster, but I don’t want to log in on any national data base.”

  “Good.”

  “Just because his VA checks get sent to Florida doesn’t mean he’s there.”

  “I know.”

  “I started to check with VA hospitals in the northeast, but that’s slower going than checking police and military records. The four I’ve contacted don’t have any treatment records for a Henry Bolo. You want me to keep at it?”

  Jade thought about it, then shook her head as she gently touched Roy’s hand. “No. Don’t bother. The fact that his name was mentioned by people who knew where to find me means I have to operate on the assumption that he could be in the neighborhood. Thanks, Roy.”

  “Oh, and there’s one more bit of information, local news, that might interest you. Right after you left the office this afternoon I got a call from Jack. A messenger had just delivered a package to him. There was eighty five thousand dollars in cash inside.”

  “All right!” Jade shouted, pumping her fist in the air. She turned and playfully slapped Roy on the chest. “You wait until now to tell me this?!”

  “You were offering up a few choice bits of news yourself, and I didn’t want to disrupt your train of thought. Jack kept trying to call you, but you had your machine on until after eleven, and he didn’t want to call later than that. He didn’t want to just leave a message.”

  “I was busy, and I’d told my kids not to answer the phone. I never got around to listening to my messages.”

  “Jack knew I was working a night shift, so he came around to see me for advice on what he should do. I asked if he was kidding. I told him to buy a new boat, pay some bills, take his wife out to dinner and a movie, and put whatever was left in the bank.”

  “Sounds like good advice to me. Damn, that makes me feel good.”

  Roy studied Jade’s face, which glowed like polished mahogany in the moonlight. Her eyes gleamed. He was getting a very stiff erection, and he pulled his windbreaker down over his hips to make certain it was concealed. “You got the money for Jack, didn’t you?”

  Jade smiled coquettishly and curtsied. “Could be.”

  “From the man you had me call.”

  “More likely from people he called. I’m pretty certain he’s not a player in this thing.”

  “But he knows who the players are.”

  “For sure. Even if the money did come from secret Navy coffers and not from some outside source, that’s still appropriate. In the final analysis, the Navy was responsible. They didn’t react to the Coast Guard’s notification in a timely fashion, even though they had to know what Jack had netted. Somebody intercepted that call, and the information was relayed to the people who’d been training the Jolly Roger. Then somebody who’d have to be fairly high in the chain of command made the decision to delay taking any immediate action in order to give his buddies time to destroy the evidence. We’d never be able to find out the name of that officer, but the man you called might. He’s very good at his job, and he has very long ears. Somebody’s ass is going to fry.”

  “Is he in Intelligence? Counter-intelligence?”

  “You’re supposed to be forgetting about him.”

  “Whoever he is and whatever he does, you certainly lit a fire under his ass. It occurs to me that the real reason somebody came up with the money is because the Navy was afraid of what you might have done or said if it wasn’t forthcoming. In that case, the money could also be intended to signal a truce offer to you. They want you to back off.”

  “I certainly hope it was a truce offer. I will back off. All I ever wanted from the beginning was for somebody to reimburse Jack for his boat, because I felt responsible for his losing it. It’s somebody else’s job to catch the killers.”

  “I can’t back off, Jade. I’ll develop information from other sources, but I can’t walk away from this.”

  “I know that.”

  “Just one more question. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that it was the Navy that came through with the money, wouldn’t it be a little unusual to send a bundle of cash?”

  “Not if the person or agency sending the money wanted to make certain there was no record of the transaction and no way to link the payoff to the Navy. You could assume, for the sake of argument, that this spokesman might have control of a slush fund to cover emergency situations. I know why you’re asking. Trust me on this: No matter who sent the money, you’ll never trace it, because you’ll never find the messenger who delivered it. Don’t waste your time trying.”

  Roy nodded, and after a pause he said quietly, “You did real good, lady.”

  Again, Jade smiled. “Why, thank you, kind sir. Now, shall we go back and see what your colleagues in law enforcement plan to do about catching the bastards who tried to kill me and the other bastards who sprang them?”

  “In a minute,” Roy said, gently taking Jade’s arm as she started to walk away. “There’s something else I’d like to say to you.”

  Jade turned back to face the detective, and she frowned slightly when she saw the somber expression on his craggy, lined face. “What is it, Roy?”

  “I was pretty rough on you earlier. I’m sorry.”

  Jade made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “Don’t apologize, Roy. I needed someone to say those things to me. I was hanging right over the edge, and I didn’t even realize it. You brought me back.” She paused, drew a circle in the sand with the toe of her sneaker, and then continued, “You see, there’s this warrior in me. The Navy trained and honed her as a weapon, but she’s probably always lived in my heart. She’s tough, ruthless, and ice cold just like you said. She helps protect me in tight situations. Usually she goes back to sleep when she’s not needed any longer, but this time she was taking me over. I felt very far away. I was losing myself. That was my warrior you were talking to earlier, and she needed to be smacked around a little bit, put back in her place. I cried my eyes out for a half hour after I left your office, and then I felt better. I felt like me again. Your words were a gift.”

  “You’re my gift.”

  “I don’t understand what you mean.”

  “I’m a recovering alcoholic. I’ve been off the sauce for five years now, but I’ll never be cured. There isn’t a waking moment when I don’t crave a drink. I’ve wrecked marriages to two fine women, not only because of the booze but because of the way I am—
or was. I told myself it was because I was a cop, and cops have special pressures and problems. That was bullshit. I lost those women because I was a macho, arrogant, self-centered son-of-a-bitch. The second marriage ended seven years ago, and I’ve been moping around ever since, hanging out in bars just so I could smell the booze and feeling sorry for poor, misunderstood me. Then you came along—a Navy veteran, a widow with two kids to take care of, secrets you couldn’t share with anyone, and professionals trying to kill you. And you fought all alone. Jesus. Not only didn’t you feel sorry for yourself, you didn’t seem to even break a sweat. You just went right on taking care of business and taking the risk of having a lot of heavy people hammer on you, while at the same time doing your best to try to protect other people, including a loud-mouthed fool like me. You showed me up, Jade. You showed me what a self-pitying wimp I’ve been. You’re the person Hemingway was talking about when he defined courage as being the ability to show grace under pressure. You gave me a lesson I needed to be taught, and I’m grateful for that. You’ve got class, lady.”

  “Thank you, Roy,” Jade said softly, touching his hand. “I think you’re being much too hard on yourself, but what you said is a lovely compliment.”

  Now Roy grinned. “If I wasn’t afraid you might take it the wrong way and punch me out, I’d say you have very large brass balls.”

  Jade laughed easily. “Well, it’s a good thing you didn’t say that, because I probably would take it the wrong way, coming as it would from a macho, arrogant, self-centered, self-pitying wimp like yourself.”

  “Would you consider having dinner with me some evening?”

  Jade’s smile vanished. “Nope.”

  “Why not? My last tirade notwithstanding, I was beginning to get the impression that you kind of liked me and enjoyed talking to me.”

  “I do kind of like you, and I do enjoy talking to you, but going out to dinner with you would be like having a date. I don’t date.”

  Roy looked into the woman’s green eyes. He saw the moon reflected there, but nothing else. It was as if a curtain had dropped over the feelings that had been so clearly reflected there only moments before. His groin ached. “I know it’s none of my business, but I’ll ask anyway. Why don’t you date?”

  “Both of my kids have serious problems, Roy. I have to work very hard to help them try to resolve those problems. Until that happens, I just don’t have the time or emotional resources to deal with a lot of other people. I’ve never been out with anyone since their father died, and I don’t know how they’d react to it—especially Max Jr.”

  “Jade, I don’t want to step out of line here, but everybody’s kids have problems, and everybody has problems with their kids. You have a right to your own life.”

  “No, Roy, actually I don’t. I’ve had my own life. Both Max Jr. and Fatima were seriously emotionally neglected during their most formative years. Their parents were totally absorbed in their careers, with Max flying his planes while I skipped around the world doing my Navy stuff. My husband and I nurtured our careers and each other, but not our kids. Neither of us was willing to take time off to be proper parents; we didn’t realize that at the time, but that’s no excuse, and it doesn’t change the present situation. Our children were well fed and clothed, they went to good schools, and they had lots of playmates among the other service brats. Max and I figured they were being well cared for, so we just kind of let them grow up by themselves, like they were turnips that just needed nutrients, sunlight and water. For all intents and purposes, they might as well have been orphans.”

  “Christ, Jade, the two of you must have spent some time with them.”

  “Not enough. Even after their father was killed, I didn’t pay enough attention to them. My career was just too demanding and exciting. Grief mixed with excitement can be both confusing and debilitating. I was in mourning all the time, but when I was in the field I was on a constant adrenalin high; when I was home, I couldn’t think of much else besides my loss. When I wasn’t reflecting on my past assignments, I was thinking of where I might be sent next. I really thought my children were fine and that I was being a perfectly good parent; that’s how much of a blind and distracted fool I was. It wasn’t until after I left the service and was forced to spend more time with them and listen to them that I realized what a mess Max and I had made of our family. I carry around a lot of guilt where my kids are concerned, Roy, and that guilt is most definitely appropriate. Until I can manage to undo some of the damage their father and I caused, I can’t even think about running the risk of becoming emotionally involved with anybody. That’s why I don’t date.”

  “Now you’re the one who’s being too hard on herself.”

  “No. I’m just being honest with myself.”

  “Your kids look fine to me.”

  “The hurt is on the inside. Emotionally, they’re both walking wounded.”

  “Just for the sake of argument, how do you know that you having a relationship with a man might not be good for one or both of them?”

  “It’s my problem, Roy, and I have to handle it my way. Don’t ask again. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Roy replied with a resigned shrug. “But we’re going to keep working together on this other little matter, right? I hope Jack’s money means you’re out of the line of fire, and I’m not about to do or say anything that could jeopardize the truce we think you have with these people, but, should the need arise, I hope I can still talk to you about those things I can’t discuss with anybody else. I may need to know more about the waters I plan to be swimming in.”

  “Should the need arise, you may consider me your top secret consultant. I still can’t carry on any extended conversations with you about certain things, but I may be able to confirm or deny certain notions you may come up with.”

  “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

  Chapter Eight

  i

  Jade found she was attracted to Roy Mannes. She knew she could become even more attracted to him if she allowed herself, but that was something she would definitely not do.

  Her initial instinct to trust the Cairn detective had deepened, and she did not regret the fact that she had revealed to him classified information—an act that could make her extremely vulnerable if he should become careless and use the information she had given him about the Jolly Roger in the wrong way. On the other hand, he had already guessed a good deal of what was going on; she had merely given a name to one of his suspicions while trying to prevent him from poking into legitimate, classified Navy business and steer him onto the trails of the people responsible for killing a family of four and trying to murder her.

  She now considered the most likely culprits to be well-financed private entrepreneurs who had somehow managed, or were seeking, to carve out a niche in the arms business by marketing cast-off weapons systems they somehow knew about and had managed to get their hands on. By trading in information with Roy, she hoped to be able to monitor any developments in the case; by staying close to the situation, she would be in a better position to protect Roy, for she believed that he seriously underestimated the power, resources and ruthlessness of the men he was hunting, people who would not hesitate to kill him if they believed he posed any serious threat. Should an assassination team be sent after Roy, she knew he would be dead within a matter of hours.

  She agreed with Roy that the cash sent to Jack Trex, whether it had actually come from Naval Intelligence’s slush fund or from the coffers of the actual conspirators Hubert Roberts had managed to identify and contact, had been as much a truce offer to her as a gesture to right a wrong. Her humiliated and maimed attackers had escaped and were at large, but they were professionals who could be expected to follow orders, and, as long as she was not suspected of aiding the police or F.B.I., it was highly unlikely that she would be targeted again.

  The situation with Henry Bolo was another matter entirely. He could not be controlled by his keepers. If he was working for the conspirators, and since one of h
er attackers had mentioned his name she assumed he must be, he would know where she lived. When he found out that she had survived the ambush, he would certainly come after her himself, orders or no orders, to even their old score.

  She had to take steps to insure her safety and that of her children. As long as there was the remotest possibility that the man she had shot and maimed knew where to find her, she had to remain on the offensive and hope she could ferret him out and, if necessary, kill him before he came to kill her.

  The next morning she called the Coast Guard command on Governor’s Island, in New York Harbor, to ask for an appointment with the commanding officer. At four o’clock that afternoon she was ushered into the office of Captain Richard Marley, a man Jade liked and respected, and whom she thought liked and respected her. Marley was a beefy man in his mid-50’s with a pleasant manner, curly brown hair, and pale blue eyes that Jade had found could be very warm or very cold, depending on the circumstances. He immediately rose to greet Jade as she entered his office.

  “Jade, darlin’” Marley said as he came out from behind his oak desk to shake her hand. “You’re lookin’ prettier than ever. How’s my favorite riverkeeper?”

  “The only riverkeeper you know is hanging in there,” Jade replied easily as she sat down in the straight-backed chair the man had pulled out for her. “And you’re lookin’ prettier than ever, too. I know you’re a busy man, Dick. Thanks for agreeing to see me.”

  The Coast Guard commander sat back down behind his desk, linked his hands across his ample stomach and smiled at her. “Hey, it’s always a pleasure to see you on the rare occasions of your visits. Brightens my day. Besides, you don’t waste my time. You do your job, and you don’t keep pestering me like your predecessor. Mind you, I don’t mean to speak ill of the dead. He was a good man, and I liked him personally, but he was a little over the top. He took his work too personally. He just couldn’t get it through his head that we weren’t some kind of river cops who’d come running up to Cairn every time he had some polluter in his sights. The reason you and I get along so well is because you appreciate our mission. We’re fighting men, members of the United States armed forces with the responsibility for securing not only New York Harbor, but also all of the inland waterways from here to the St. Lawrence Seaway. This is the largest command in the Coast Guard. Our job is to secure the integrity of these waters and protect against terrorists, not chase after polluters.”