by Carolina Mac
Farrell emptied his third bottle of water and patted Red on the head. The dogs had been patient and perfectly behaved, but how long could they be expected to ride in a boat without a break?
Travis and Carlos, both with high powered binoculars had scanned every inch of the terrain they passed and there was nothing to see but trees, water, marsh grasses, lily pads and gators. Lots and lots of gators. The section they were exploring now seemed to have twice as many gators.
Izzy eased up on the throttle as they rounded a bend and she pointed.
Farrell nodded. He saw it. Big Dave’s boat bobbing at the shore, tied to a tree. Farrell pointed, and Izzy steered into the little inlet. Besides the boat at the edge of the water nothing else was visible. They could be close by or miles away from the boat.
“Y’all getting out?” asked Izzy. “If y’all are searching on foot from here on out, I’m going home.”
“I’m paying you by the day, Izzy, so get that notion out of your head,” said Farrell. “I want to look for signs that they’ve been here.”
“Maybe I’m done taking your orders.” Izzy sneered at Farrell. “You can’t make me wait for y’all.”
With his backpack on, Farrell hopped out into knee deep water, sloshed his way up onto the bank and called the dogs.
“Haul her ass out of that boat, Carlos, and cuff her to a tree.”
Carlos grinned as he grabbed little Izzy and threw her over his shoulder. Izzy hollered out curses the boys had never heard before as she thrashed and fought against the big Latino. Carlos laughed as he overpowered her and manacled her right arm to a sturdy tree branch.
“You’re lucky I’m giving you shade,” said Farrell. “I should let your lying ass fry in the goddam sun.” His icy blue eyes narrowed. “You knew all along where they were.” He knelt down and gave the dogs Big Dave’s shirt and let them sniff it and drag it around.
Bluebelle alerted right away and tugged on her leash. Travis wasn’t ready, and he held her back. “Hold on, I’m almost ready, beautiful girl. He hoisted up his pack and said, “Okay, here we go.” Bluebelle ran straight into the woods without hesitation. She knew where she was going and was in a hurry to get there. Travis jogged behind her for a half mile, then reined her in to take a little rest and catch his breath. “You’re wearing me out, girl.” He stood still, soaked in sweat and just steadied his breathing until the others caught up. Then he was ready to go again.
Farrell caught up with Travis and Red had the scent too. The big bloodhound ran right by Bluebelle and veered to the right. A long way up ahead, Farrell could see a big blob of bright yellow through the trees. “I see the bus,” he hollered. Red tugged on the leash and Farrell let him go.
Austin.
JESSE COLLAPSED onto the floor beside Jamie and held her head in his lap as he waited for First Response. Luke had gone outside to call it in and Jesse had told him to call the Chief and let him know.
Jamie’s eyes were closed, and she didn’t seem to be breathing. She was soaked in blood from the waist up and Jesse was covered in it. He thought she was dead, and it was his fault. He should have been faster.
You don’t practice enough, cowboy. You need more range time.
Ace’s words echoed in his head and made him dizzy. His gut wrenched, and he was going to hurl any second.
Hurry up with the ambulance.
It seemed like forever before he heard the sirens, but it had only been minutes. Paramedics rushed in and took Jamie from him and Jesse never moved. He sat on the floor with his back against the chair and stared straight ahead at Parkin’s body at the other end of the coffee table.
The next time he opened his eyes, the Chief was talking to him and Mort Simon was zipping Fred Parkin into a body bag.
“Jesse, are you okay?” asked the Chief. “Do you need an ambulance?” The Chief glanced around the room and said, “Why the hell didn’t they take Jesse to the hospital while they were here? Are they fuckin blind?”
“I’m okay, Chief,” said Jesse struggling to his feet. “The boys will drive me to the hospital.”
“We’ll all go to the hospital and Rocky can take your statements while we wait to see about Jamie.”
“Too much blood,” said Jesse.
The Chief nodded, then turned to Luke and Fletch. “Get your boss into the Range Rover and take him to Saint Mike’s. I’ll be right behind you as soon as Sue comes to take the scene.”
“Doing it, Chief,” said Luke.
Coastal Backwater.
RED TORE around behind the bus, lifted his head and bayed. He lay down beside Big Dave Warren. His pantleg had been hacked off and used as a makeshift bandage. The camo fabric was wrapped around his leg and secured with duct tape.
Barely conscious, Dave looked up at Farrell with cloudy eyes and mumbled in a whisper, “Help me.”
“Where’s Whitey?” asked Farrell.
“The bastard left me here to die.”
Travis and Carlos caught up and Farrell sent them inside the bus. “Clear the bus and take a look around. See if there’s something of Whitey’s the dogs can use.”
Farrell knelt down beside Big Dave and tried to avoid smelling him. Almost impossible. He patted Dave down and removed a filet knife from one of his pockets. “How long ago did Whitey leave you here?”
“Can’t remember.”
“An hour? A day? A minute?” hollered Farrell.
“He heard y’all coming and beat it. Let him go. He ain’t done nothing.”
Travis and Carlos jumped down the step out of the bus. “All clear. Nothing in there but junk.”
“What’s the quickest way out of here, Dave?” asked Farrell. “Boat or bus?”
“Bus. Dirt track to the main road ain’t that far through the bush.” He tried to raise a hand to point but couldn’t do it. His hand flopped into the dirt beside him.
“Carlos, drive the bus to the hospital and have the local sheriff arrest Dave for the double murder. Make double sure they put a guard on his room. Then have a squad drive you to our truck. We’ll meet you there after the dogs have a look for Whitey.”
“Come on, Dave,” said Carlos. “Let’s get you into the bus.” Carlos got the big mutt to his feet and Farrell cuffed his hands behind his back.
Dave balanced poorly on one leg as he hopped to the door of the bus with Farrell and Travis helping him. With a lot of grunting and groaning they hoisted Dave’s two hundred and fifty pounds up the two steps to the floor of the bus and he collapsed in a pile of beer cans and garbage. “I’m gonna die. I fuckin know it.” Dave blubbered as Carlos slid behind the wheel and tried to get old yeller started.
“This old girl has a choke,” said Carlos. “She’s an antique.”
On the third try, the engine turned over and Carlos ground a couple of gears before he found the right one.
Travis booked it back to the tree where Izzy was waiting, woke her up and handed her a bottle of water. “Won’t be much longer.”
She nodded and seemed a little out of it.
Travis shrugged. Her choice.
Farrell let the dogs have Whitey’s dirty t-shirt and it only took a couple of minutes before Bluebelle alerted and started to run.
Both victims of heat exhaustion, Travis and Farrell barely had the energy to pursue the dogs. They pushed on for a mile until Bluebelle stopped, took a sharp turn into a clump of scrub bushes and bayed.
Farrell drew his SW and pointed it at the bushes. “Come on out of there, Whitey. I don’t want to shoot you.”
“Oh, man,” said Whitey as he crawled out from under the bushes, “you don’t want to do this. I ain’t done nothing. He pushed his way further out and Farrell saw the sawed-off shotgun in his hand.”
“Put the gun down, Whitey,” hollered Farrell. “I’ll shoot you in the fuckin head if you don’t.”
Travis cocked his Sig and when Whitey saw there were two of them he set the gun down and put his hands in the air.
Austin.
JESSE slu
mped in one of the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting area closest to surgery and called his brother. Luke and Farrell had gone to the cafeteria to search for decent coffee and hadn’t returned.
“Brian, I need you.”
“Jesse? What’s wrong? Is it your heart?”
“I’s Jamie, Brian. Jamie got shot.”
“Where are you, Jesse? I want you to do some deep breathing. I can tell by your voice you’re not doing well.”
“Saint Mike’s. She’s in surgery. So much blood. Too much blood, Brian.”
“I’m coming. Give me twenty minutes.”
Jesse pressed end as the boys returned with coffee and sandwiches. Chief Calhoun and Ranger Rockford were right behind the boys.
The Chief nodded. “You better eat something, Jesse. You look like hell.”
“Can’t eat. Feel sick.”
Calhoun unwrapped a sandwich and handed half to Jesse. “Eat this goddam sandwich. I’m not standing here while you have another fuckin heart attack.”
Jesse took the sandwich and took a bite.
“What do we know so far about Jamie?” asked Rocky.
“I called my brother,” mumbled Jesse.
“Rocky, go see if the nurses will tell you anything,” said the Chief. “Turn on your charm.”
Rocky grinned. “Those ladies will tell me things I don’t want to know.”
“As soon as Rocky gets your statements, you boys call it. We’ll clean up the paperwork tomorrow.”
Fletcher nodded. “Okay, Chief.”
Rocky returned, and he wasn’t smiling. “Nothing yet. Might be a couple more hours.”
Calhoun nodded. “Get the statements from the boys and they can go. We’ll wait it out.”
Coastal Backwater.
FARRELL and Travis marched Whitey Sweedo back to the boat. They paused long enough to release Izzy from her tree. She rubbed her wrist, glared at them and wouldn’t talk to either one of them.
They secured Whitey and the dogs in the boat, took off their backpacks and were ready to go. Izzy fiddled with the motor and couldn’t get it started.
“Problem?” asked Farrell.
“Out of gas.”
Travis hefted two of the extra cans and they felt empty, the third one was about half full. He walked to the back of the boat and handed it to Izzy. “That enough to get us back?”
“Should be if we go straight back to Dave’s.”
“No where else to go,” said Farrell. He sat down beside Red and patted his head. “Good boy.”
By the time Izzy got them back to Big Dave’s place and they helped her get the boat out of the water and onto the trailer, Carlos arrived in a county sheriff’s squad car.
“How did it go with Big Dave?” asked Farrell.
“He’s secure and Butch is watching him,” said the deputy. “Doc that looked at him said he had infection and he thought Dave might lose his leg.”
“Guess that could happen,” said Farrell.
“Sheriff wants y’all to come into the office and do the paperwork on the arrest.”
“Sure, okay,” said Farrell. “We can clean that up before we leave.”
After Izzy left and the deputy drove off, Farrell said, “Before we do a lick of paperwork, we’re gonna get cold beer and barbeque.”
“Amen to that,” said Travis.
Austin.
BLAINE opened his eyes and was surprised to see Chief Calhoun standing beside his bed. “Hey, Chief, didn’t know you were here.”
“Glad you’re back in Austin, son, where I can keep tabs on you. I would have been here sooner, but a few things have been happening.”
“Have you seen Jesse?” asked Blaine.
“I’ve seen him, son. He’s downstairs right now and he’s a mess. He had a few problems this morning with one of Royce’s followers and Jamie was shot.”
“Jamie? Is she okay?”
“She’s still in surgery, but I’ll let you know when we find out something.”
“I hate being out of the loop,” said Blaine.
“Me too,” said Catherine as she came through the door with a handful of books and magazines. “I brought you something to read.”
“Hey, thanks,” said Blaine. “It’s boring lying here like a wrapped up mummy.”
EPILOGUE
Fourth of July.
Coulter-Ross Ranch. La Grange.
ANNIE’S Fourth of July picnic was an annual event. Guests began arriving around three in the afternoon, but her boys were already there. Tyler had moved in the week before and was fitting in perfectly.
Blaine had come home from the hospital a couple of days before and Declan was caring for him in Austin but had carefully transported him to the ranch for the picnic. Blaine was sitting in one of the wicker chairs on the porch with a beer in his hand and Misty sat close by watching over him.
Blaine’s whole household had come with him, Carm, Casey, Misty and Farrell and Annie was thrilled to have them all at the ranch. So was Jackson. Home from his Nana’s in Santa Fe, Jackson had a lot of stories to tell everyone. He and Neil tried to top each other’s adventures.
“The meat is on,” said Riley, Annie’s chef from the safe-house. “By six o’clock it will be ready.”
“Thanks, honey. I think Rosalie and I have all the rest of the food ready. We’ve been working on it for a couple of days.”
“Need a hand with anything, Mom?” asked Farrell. He swaggered in from the porch with Mary by his side.
“I can help you, Mrs. Powell,” said Mary.
“So can I,” said Casey. “I never been to a picnic before.”
“You can help me and Jacks,” said Neil. “We’re opening bags of chips and filling bowls with Rosie’s homemade salsa.”
“That’s something I can handle.”
Carm was in the far end of the kitchen helping Rosalie and speaking to her in Spanish.
Tyler came through the door carrying cases of beer and plunked them down next to the counter. “I brought some extra coolers in case we need them, Annie.”
“Thanks, sugar. The boys will help you get the ice and the beer into the coolers. Did your brothers all come with you?”
“I drove myself, but Brian is coming with Bobby and Paul. Jesse ain’t coming at all. He’s spending the day at the hospital with Jamie.”
“Uh huh. He feels bad she got shot,” said Annie. “He let me have Charity for a few days while Jamie was in intensive care and I’m grateful for that.”
AFTER THE CROWD had been fed, Annie treated them to her usual concert with her in-house band. She and Tyler had worked on a few new duets and it was obvious to everyone that they loved singing together.
BY TWO A.M. everyone had gone, and Annie filled the dishwasher with the last load. Tyler sat at the granite island drinking a coffee and watching the woman he loved.
“You all set for Vegas tomorrow?”
“I think so. I did a little packing yesterday.”
Tyler pulled the little box out of his shirt pocket and pointed at it. “Time to say the words that I should have said years ago. I love you Annie and I want you to be my wife.”
Annie held out her hand and Tyler slipped the ring on.
“I’ve loved you, Tyler Quantrall since the first day I met you, and I’m happy to accept.”
Tyler picked Annie up and carried her to their bedroom.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading Backwater, book fifteen in the Blackmore Agency Series. Next in the reading order comes Book #14 in the Quantrall series. If you’d like to read a few pages of Stick a Needle in Your Eye, I’ve included a few for you.
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Author Notes from Carolina:
I hope my readers are enjoying the Blackmore Series. The next two books in the reading order will be Quantrall – numbers 14 and 15. I don’t know how many of each there will be, but four more in each series at least. Maybe more. Time will tell.
A special thank you to the fans who take the time to reach out and share their ideas, support, and opinions. You know who you are, Holly, Lynn, Dorothy, Shelley, Diane, Wendy, Shirley and Freda, Dawn, Alice, Billy and Melinda, Jim and Gayle, Ava, Terry and Celestia to name a few. If I missed you here, message me and I’ll try to include you.
To access my author page on Amazon and see all my books out so far, click here.
Carolina Mac is the author of more than fifty books in four different series. The Regulators biker series, The Quantrall PI series, The Paradise Park series and The Blackmore Agency series.
She has also written a four part serial called Kin.
Carolina lives with her family in Ontario, Canada.
Where to find me:
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Blog: http://cmac444.blogspot.com
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The Regulators, Quantrall, and Blackmore series’ are best enjoyed if read in order.
Regulator Series:
Lily
Bad Beat
Panama Annie
Coulter
Searching for Billy
End of an Era
Wingman
Triple Homicide
The Foundation
Hotline
Powell
Quantrall Series:
Quantrall
Ink Minx
Ray Jay
Blacky