Say Your Goodbyes

by Linda Ladd

  “Who would do such a thing?”

  “They call him the Mayan. Not sure who he really is. I’ve seen him, though. Nobody seems to know much about him. He moves like a ghost, I know that.”

  “How’d you end up with his boat?”

  “I stole it. He scuttled the Sweet Sarah, so I’m gonna return the favor once I get this kid fixed up and some other stuff out of the way.”

  Doc frowned. “Why would someone want to hurt a little girl?”

  “Maybe he was trying to pry information out of her. Maybe he’s a pedophile or a sadist. Who knows why? It’s complicated, and I haven’t figured everything out yet.”

  Doc sat down on the bed and picked up the child’s hand. He felt her pulse and then lifted her closed eyelids, one at a time. “The pupils are dilated. Looks like she might be in a shallow coma, probably because of the head injury. Has she moved or said anything?”

  “She’s moved around some, groaned—dreaming, I guess—but she hasn’t said anything coherent, and she hasn’t opened her eyes.”

  “I’ll get a line of glucose and some antibiotics into her. Does she have internal injuries? Did he hit her in the kidneys?”

  “I don’t know. She’s pretty bruised up, but it looks more like he slapped her around the head and body. He sliced her up some with a knife.”

  “My God, she’s so little. How could he hurt her like this?”

  “I’ve seen what he does to his victims, up close and personal. He’s stealthy and quick, and takes people by surprise, kills them quickly, and then slices off their hair. The scalps are trophies, I guess. Who knows? He’s crazy. He’s got a few on display right here on this boat. Back in the engine room.”

  “Good God, Novak.”

  “He’s an evil man. I’m going to put an end to him.”

  “And this is his boat. You stole it? Really?”

  Novak nodded. “Yeah. I took it but didn’t expect to find this sick little kid aboard. I don’t know how long he’s had her. Frankly, I’m surprised she’s still breathing. He doesn’t leave anybody alive.”

  “She’s not doing well, but she’ll live.”

  Novak stood back as Doc performed a more thorough medical examination. He pressed gently along the bones of the child’s arms and legs, feeling for breaks. “Look how he slashed her. Not too deep, thankfully, or she’d be dead. Good thing you found her and doctored her up when you did.”

  “I didn’t put those bandages on her. He must have.”

  Doc stood up, hands on his hips. “Why the hell would he cut her up and then bind the wounds?”

  Novak shrugged. “Who knows? To make his fun last longer? He’s a serial killer. He likes inflicting pain.”

  “I think her right wrist might be fractured. Not too bad, maybe a cracked bone. Trying to pull loose from the bindings, I bet. Let’s get her up to the house. Auroria’s one hell of a good nurse, and she loves children like nobody I’ve ever known. She’ll baby this girl back to health, no matter how long it takes. You just watch.”

  Novak nodded, but was not exactly thrilled to have to ask his next question. “I’ve got another favor to ask of you, Doc. I hate like hell to put all this down on you, but do you think you could keep this kid out here for a while? I’ve got something else I’ve got to do. It’s too important to wait. If you could just tend to her for a day or so, bind up her wounds, get her to feeling better, then I’ll come back and figure out who she is and take her home. I won’t be gone long. Maybe a day or two. Maybe less than that, if my luck improves.”

  “What’s so important?”

  “I’ve got Jenn waiting for me, and this girl I helped out, who was also kidnapped and abused by this same guy. They’re at Jenn’s beach house now. I don’t know where the Mayan is or what he’s planning to do next. I want to get both of them safely on a plane back to the States, and then I’ll come back here and take the kid.”

  “You have a way to do that?”

  “Yeah. My new partner’s got access to a private jet. She’s on her way to pick us up.”

  “You could have them land over here on my airstrip but I’m not sure it’s suitable for a jet.”

  “Thanks, but it’s all arranged.”

  “What the devil’s going on, Novak? How’s Jenn fit into all this?”

  “I had to go to her for help. No choice. I was desperate. All I know is that somebody wants the two girls dead. Either the Mayan has some kind of grudge, or somebody hired him to assassinate them or hold them for ransom. Now that we’ve gotten ourselves involved, I’m pretty sure he’s after Jenn and me, too. He’ll go after you and Auroria if he finds me here. You need to know that before you get too deep in this.”

  Doc scoffed. “I’ve seen worse than this guy, trust me. Of course we’ll take care of this little girl. I’ve got all kinds of meds and IV bags stored up at the house. You know that. I’ve bound up your wounds enough times.” Doc grinned. “So you and Jenn are working together again, huh? I must say, I’m surprised to hear it. She was pretty damn pissed when you walked out on her.”

  “Yeah, I found that out. But I needed help and she came through for me. Just like you are.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Getting a little dull out here, anyway. C’mon, let’s get her up to the house. We’ll clean her up some and settle her in the guest room. There’s a bed for you, too, if you want to get some shut-eye before you take off.”

  “Thanks, but I’ve got to get over to the coast.”

  Almost an hour later, Auroria had bathed the girl and dressed her in one of her own clean nightgowns. Doc had set the child’s broken wrist and hooked her up with glucose and antibiotics through an IV, and then his wife tucked her in to a bed made up with sheets line-dried outside and smelling of the sun. When Novak checked on the child, Auroria was sitting in a chair beside the bed, watching her. Novak knew she wouldn’t take her eyes off the girl. He thanked Auroria and then walked out onto the upper balcony and sat down at a big wicker table beside Doc. Doc was drinking shots of tequila. Novak joined him in the next one. He sure as the devil needed a jolt to keep going.

  “You think he knows you came here?”

  “Not unless he’s got a GPS embedded on that boat out there and can track it. Which he probably does. He doesn’t leave much to chance, not that I’ve seen.”

  “Where’d he scuttle your boat?”

  Novak told him about the hijacking and what had happened in the camp.

  Doc whistled and observed Novak for a long moment. “This is serious shit. You are going to need backup, all right.”

  “Yeah, tell me about it.”

  “What about the Sweet Sarah?”

  “I’ll have her salvaged as soon as I can. I’ve got to get Jenn and Marisol out of his sights first.”

  “Where are you taking them?”

  “I’d like to take them back to the States and turn the girl over to the FBI. I know Jenn won’t want to leave here, but I’m going to try to make her go with us.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  “Yeah, I know. She’s stubborn as hell.”

  “What about this Mayan guy?”

  “He’s not gonna stop coming. He wants his boat back and he wants those two girls who can ID him. I haven’t figured it all out yet. Marisol keeps lying, and the little girl is in no shape to tell me anything. Marisol claims he’s working for Arturo Ruiz. She also says she’s Ruiz’s daughter, and her father sent the Mayan to kill her. Any of that sound true to you?”

  “Fathers generally don’t assassinate their children. But I do know Ruiz has got a daughter. Rumors get out about them. They say he is utterly ruthless. Would kill his own mother, so maybe he would kill his own child if she crossed him, as hard as that is to believe. I know he’s bad news and not somebody you want to mess around with. He’s best known for beheading innocent civilians and anybody else that looks at him sideways. You don’t know about him?”

  “Jenn told me some stuff. You still have that satellite hookup?”

>   “Yeah, gotta get the episodes of The Walking Dead. That program creeps me out, but Auroria loves her zombies. We never miss it.”

  “You get the news, too?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Seen anything about kidnapped girls, cartel assassins, anything like that?”

  “I don’t watch the news much, not anymore. I read. Pull down e-books off Amazon. When I get tired of that, I make love to Auroria in new and amazing ways. Then I go fishing for dinner.”

  Novak laughed and poured himself another shot. “Sounds like the good life to me.”

  Doc nodded. “Tell me about this new partner. Not like you to hook up with a woman, Will. Not at all. Or a man. You were a loner the day you were born.”

  “Claire’s different. She’s good. I trust her.”

  “Well, knock me over with a feather. She must be one hell of a looker.”

  Claire was indeed a very good-looking woman, but that wasn’t what appealed to Novak. “Claire’s married now. And she’s different than the other women I’ve worked with. Gets herself in more trouble than I’m comfortable with, but always seems to come through relatively unscathed.” Novak tossed down the tequila, set the glass aside, and leaned back in his chair. “She’s been honeymooning in Hawaii, so I’ve been doing my own thing.”

  “Looks like your own thing might put you in the ground, if this Mayan guy gets to you.”

  “He’s going to try.” Novak set his gaze out over the calm inlet. “I want him dead, Doc. He doesn’t deserve to live and breathe like the rest of us. Not after what he does to victims. Doesn’t matter to him—man, woman, or a child like that little girl in there. But it matters to me.”

  “Well, good luck. If the Ruiz cartel is involved, the Federales probably are, too. At least some of them might be on the take, and that means you’re shit outta luck, no matter what you do or where you turn.”

  “Thank you for the encouragement.”

  Doc only laughed and poured himself more tequila and held the bottle out to Novak. Novak shook his head. “Well, Novak, wish I could tag along, but Auroria would kill me. I mean that literally. I promised her that if she’d marry me and live on this island, I’d stay right here and be a good boy forever more.”

  “She needs to keep you in line. Nobody else can.” Novak glanced down at the dock. “That little girl is gonna wake up in bad shape, you know. Bless Auroria for her kindness. The kid’ll respond better to her than to me.”

  Doc sighed heavily and tossed back the drink. “Yeah, Auroria’s an angel, all right. And dinner’s almost ready. You need to stay. Fried fish and fried potatoes. She’s one hell of a cook.”

  “Wish I could, but I better get out of here. You hit the jackpot with that woman, Doc.”

  “Yeah, I did, didn’t I?” Doc smiled and then walked with Novak out to the boat.

  Novak was damn lucky to have Doc as a friend. He had come through again. Now all Novak had to do was get Jenn and Marisol out of Belize and then he could go after the Mayan. That’s what he hungered to do. The Mayan already had one foot in hell. Novak was going to throw the rest of him in.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Once Novak knew the child was in good hands, he headed out to sea on the Calakmul, his destination Jenn’s beach house. He cleared the bay and went to full engines ahead out into open water. He didn’t get far. Maybe twenty miles off Soledad Cay, he was spotted by a military gunboat, one flying a tricolor flag of green, white, and red. Mexico military. They were much faster than his boat and came up astern in a matter of minutes. They warned him by radio to kill his engines and allow his boat to be boarded for search.

  Novak hesitated, not touching the throttle, unsure of what to do. He was not yet in Mexican waters, and that meant they had no business boarding him. He was damn positive that he didn’t want the Mexican navy to search the killer’s boat, not with the baskets of scalps down below. But he had little choice. The gunboat cruised along with a dozen armed men pointing M16s at him. This scenario was getting old, and fast. He could not catch a damn break no matter what he did.

  The Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun mounted on the other boat’s prow made up his mind for him, the kind of weapon that would annihilate anything it hit, including him. He had to cooperate whether he wanted to or not. He pulled back the throttle, slowed down, and then killed the engines. The big yacht gradually settled down into the water. The gunboat maneuvered closer, ready to board. Novak picked up the sat phone and called Jenn. She didn’t pick up, damn it. Probably on the move again. He left a voice mail telling her about his new dilemma and asking her to get her Washington contacts to intercede with the Mexican government. Then he put another call through to Claire Morgan’s private cell phone, and she didn’t pick up, either. Damn it to hell. He left a brief message for her, asking for help ASAP and giving the gunboat’s registration number and description, explaining that he was probably going to end up in a Mexican prison, which also meant he had a good chance of meeting up with dirty officers on the payroll of the Ruiz drug cartel. He pulled out the Ruger and the Glock, ejected both mags, emptied both chambers, and placed the pieces down on the pilot’s seat. He stepped away and placed both palms on the top of his head. Within minutes, he was going to go down to the ground and go down hard. From what he remembered about Mexican jails and Mexican interrogations, the next few days were not going to be a barrel of laughs.

  While the uniformed soldiers scrambled aboard, he slowly descended the steps to the aft deck, hands still on his head, and waited to be taken prisoner. Mexican military types did not mess around, did not believe in a kinder, gentler approach. Not the army and not the navy—not anybody. They shot you down first if they deemed it necessary and made up good excuses later. They weren’t particularly known for exemplary treatment of drug dealers and/or foreign nationals who gave them lip, either. They tied up at starboard. Four guys in head-to-toe green camouflage jumped over the gunwales. The first two men knew what they were doing. The second two looked like new recruits who were copying the other two. If he had to take them down, he was starting with the new guys.

  Any other time, any other place, Novak would’ve given them a run for their money. This time, out in the middle of the ocean, he was outmanned, outgunned, and out of luck. Within seconds, he was flat on his stomach on the deck, a black leather boot planted on his spine. The officer in charge was barking out questions to him, speaking in rapid-fire Spanish. The guy’s nameplate said Olmos. Captain Olmos. Novak answered in kind and let him know right off that he was an American citizen and demanded to speak to the American ambassador in Mexico City and make a phone call to his congressman in Washington, D.C. Olmos didn’t look impressed. None of them looked as if they cared what Novak wanted. So he added quickly that the boat wasn’t his. That he’d found her floating abandoned at sea without a crew and that he was taking her to Chetumal to turn her over to the proper authorities.

  None of them believed a damn word of that, but he hadn’t expected them to. It was an incredibly weak story. He didn’t expect them to go easy on him, either. Damn it, why couldn’t he catch a break? This whole trip to the Caribbean had been a disaster from beginning to end. He’d run into brick walls ever since he’d met up with Marisol Ruiz. Trying to look innocent, he kept his head down and watched more sailors swarm the deck and rush below to search out the illegal drugs he was transporting. He braced himself. The shit was about to hit the fan, all right. Any minute now. The officer ordered him onto his knees and told him to clasp his hands behind his head. Novak obeyed, because he wasn’t stupid, and he had no other choice. That’s when the questioning began in earnest, with a lot of yelling meant to intimidate him. Novak stuck to his story. The officer finally stopped talking and gave him a long, hard stare, his eyes caramel brown and hard as nails. He was nobody’s fool. Novak’s luck had run out for good this time. They maintained a silent stare-down until one of Olmos’s lieutenants ran up from below, grasping a scalp in each hand. Then everybody got real excited, real fast
.

  “So we have finally gotten you, you filthy pig,” Olmos ground out, up close to Novak’s face. “You have haunted the Yucatan for the last two years with your bloody, cowardly acts. Now you will face the consequences of your crimes.”

  “You’ve got this all wrong, Captain Olmos.”

  “Then why did we get a tip that we would find the Mayan in this area of the sea on this very boat? Can you explain that to me?”

  Okay, sounded like the Mayan knew how to play payback, alerting the police, as Novak had done to him. Turnabout is fair play. The guy was a clever adversary, all right. Novak remained silent, thinking fast but not fast enough. They had him. The police gathered around the scalps, handling them with distaste and looking at Novak in disgust. He decided it was time to change tactics.

  “Okay, Olmos, listen up. I know this looks really bad for me, but you’ve got it all wrong. Want to know the truth?”

  Olmos came over and stood in front of Novak, still holding some poor soul’s hair in his hand. It was long and crusted hard with dried blood. “Go ahead, señor, talk. I will listen, but I will not believe.”

  That was putting his skepticism up front and on the table. Novak met his eyes, tried to appear honest. “All right, this is the gospel truth. This is exactly what happened. That Mayan guy you’re talking about? He’s after me. I guess there’s a hit out on me. He boarded my boat one night when I was sleeping, a sailboat called the Sweet Sarah. Then he sunk her and took me prisoner at gunpoint. Brought me aboard this vessel and tied me up down in the bilge. Go down there yourself and take a look around. You’ll see where he held me. There’s a mattress down there where he kept me chained up. He’s got a hook drilled into the hull that he tied me to.”

  Olmos gestured for a couple of men to check out Novak’s story. His eyes never left Novak’s face. “Please continue, señor.”