Treacherous Intent (Sonoma series Book 5)

by Camy Tang

  “No, we won’t do that. But I think I know someone who can help us. Head to Mendocino.”

  The farther they got from Penny Bay, the more Elisabeth felt like her lungs were opening up and she could breathe freely. She could feel Joslyn, sitting next to her, slowly stop trembling.

  Elisabeth squeezed her hand. “You’re all right now. We’ll keep you safe.”

  Joslyn squeezed her hand back. “It’s been a nightmare.” Her head bent forward, and her straight dark hair fell forward over her face.

  Joslyn closed her eyes and her jaw worked. “I’m so ashamed of what I’ve done.”

  “We know about the Tumibays and the shipping container,” Elisabeth said gently. “You didn’t have any choice.”

  “I shouldn’t have gotten involved with Tomas in the first place.” Her brow winkled in distress. “I was working at Perkins Electronics, putting myself through school, and he just came up and started flirting with me. I was floored he even noticed me. I was always the shy one at school. He was handsome, masculine, and he was so persistent.”

  Elisabeth remembered the charisma of her ex-boyfriend, how starstruck she’d been when they’d first started going out.

  “It didn’t take long to realize I’d made a mistake going out with him. I was going to find a way to leave him,” Joslyn said softly. “I was working up the courage when he... My dad...” Tears began to flow down her cheeks. “It was my fault. If I hadn’t been dating Tomas, Dad might still be alive.”

  “Stop thinking like that,” Elisabeth said fiercely. “You’re not to blame for the crimes Tomas committed.”

  Joslyn sucked in a deep breath, which calmed her. “You’re right. It’s what Hannah told me, too.”

  “Who’s Hannah?”

  “She’s the woman who I was working for in Oregon.” Joslyn gave a watery smile. “She’s been wonderful. She was there for me when I lost...” Her face abruptly fell.

  Dread began to pool in Elisabeth stomach. They’d suspected Joslyn was pregnant. “Did you have a miscarriage? Oh, Joslyn.” She squeezed her hand again.

  Joslyn blinked away more tears. “The stress and fear took a toll on my body. I didn’t expect it, but I really wanted my baby. Hannah helped me through it. She’s been praying for me and teaching me about grace.”

  “Grace?” Elisabeth was confused.

  “God’s grace,” Joslyn said. “About how Jesus died for me, and no matter what I’ve done, I’m forgiven. I didn’t think it would be so comforting, but it’s been helping me so much. I feel so much less alone.”

  Elisabeth had become used to feeling alone. She realized that she was tired of it, but she also wasn’t sure if she was ready to believe in a God who allowed bad things to happen to His people. How could Joslyn find God comforting in the midst of all the things that had happened to her?

  “I was almost happy,” Joslyn said. “I don’t know how Tomas found me.”

  “Did you go to a clinic?” Liam asked.

  Joslyn nodded. “I had to use my real name, but they promised me that the medical records were secure.”

  “The Bagsics probably hired another skip tracer who hacked into servers, looking for mention of you. But how’d they find you in Penny Bay?”

  “They must have found out I hitched a ride with that farmer,” Joslyn said. “They’d only need to ask at the stores on the farmer’s route to see if anyone saw me.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I have such a hard time believing that there’s any way to get away from them.”

  “I have somewhere to hide you,” Liam said. “I have a cousin with a house in the mountains around Mendocino. He works for the county sheriff’s department, so he can both hide you and protect you.”

  “For how long?” Joslyn said. “I can’t hide forever.”

  Elisabeth didn’t want to ask this, but she had to. “When Tomas killed your father, did you see it?”

  She swallowed and nodded. “I was hiding in the kitchen cupboard. I thought for sure he’d find me. But Dad told them he didn’t know where I was, and then they...” She cried softly for a few minutes.

  “We will put him away,” Elisabeth said. “We won’t let him get away with that.”

  “But you don’t understand,” Joslyn said. “I can’t testify about the murder. Other people who testified against the Bagsics disappeared....”

  “I saw something else that might help the case,” Liam said.

  Elisabeth peered at him. “You did?”

  “I saw a Bagsic member in Penny Bay who was wearing Felix’s vintage Rolex watch.”

  “Who was it? What was he wearing?” Joslyn asked.

  “Purple silk shirt, black slacks, gray tie. He had a computer.”

  “That’s probably Richard Mendoza. He does a lot of Tomas’s computer work. He was there with Tomas in Dad’s apartment that night.”

  “What I wouldn’t give to get my hands on his computer,” Elisabeth murmured.

  “You can also testify about what you overheard Tomas say about the shipping container,” Liam said to Joslyn.

  Joslyn shuddered. “What about the Tumibays? Daniel was the only one I saw, but I told him about the shipping container. He’ll need to keep me quiet about the fact I told him.”

  “We found the shipping container on Tumibay property,” Elisabeth said. “I gave all the information to my contacts at the FBI. They’re tracing it now.”

  “We will not stop investigating until it’s safe for you to come out of hiding.” Liam had a quietness and confidence that visibly calmed Joslyn. She nodded.

  They switched off driving when they stopped for gas, and Liam drove to his cousin’s house deep in the mountains, a little ways off the winding road into Mendocino. The house was newly built, two stories with lots of long windows, surrounded by redwood trees. Elisabeth imagined that the owner could feel as though he was living in the middle of the forest glade rather than within the walls of a house.

  Liam had called ahead, and Jeremy came out of the house to meet them as the pickup truck drove up the gravel driveway. He was tall and lean, similar in build to Liam, and he moved with the fluidity and grace of an athlete.

  As Liam and Jeremy talked, Elisabeth hugged Joslyn goodbye. “I’ll call you to check up on you and keep you updated.”

  “Don’t worry too much about me.” Joslyn looked up at the starry sky, framed by the tops of the redwood trees high above. “I can’t think of a more beautiful place to hide out. Although I’m dying for a Starbucks coffee.”

  Elisabeth smiled.

  “I’ll be praying,” Joslyn said. “I have to believe that God will save me—will save all of us somehow.”

  The thought of being able to release her burdens suddenly seemed amazing to Elisabeth—and too good to be true. She was starting to realize just how tired she was. Maybe...maybe there was something there....

  Or maybe there wasn’t. Maybe this Christianity thing was only for people who had family members who loved them.

  Maybe she was fooling herself into thinking she wasn’t meant to be alone.

  They drove out of Mendocino, Elisabeth at the wheel, and she was still lost in her thoughts when Liam got a call on his cell phone. “Hey, Shaun....What?”

  She turned at the sharpness of his voice. Had something happened to his family?

  “Do you trust him?” Liam said into his phone. “Okay, we’ll call him.”

  “What is it?”

  “A Bagsic member called Shaun with a message for you.” Liam’s tone was wary, but there was curiosity in his voice, too. “He says he’s willing to give us evidence against Tomas.”

  SIXTEEN

  It had to be a trap. Liam couldn’t think it was anything less.

  But what if it wasn’t? Evidence against Tomas— With that, he could ensure Elisabeth’s safety, and the safety of his family and Joslyn.

  Elisabeth’s expression was fierce. “Why would he be willing to do that?”

  “We’ll have to call him to find out.”

/>   Shaun had said that the Bagsic member had called his workplace at the Joy Luck Life Hotel and Spa and left the message to pass to Liam. He’d given a phone number, which Shaun texted to Liam.

  He put the phone on speaker, and a man answered after only one ring. “Yeah?” A high male voice.

  “This is Elisabeth,” she said.

  “You called.” The man heaved a sigh. “I wasn’t sure if you would.”

  “What do you want?” Liam said.

  “You guys are skip tracers, right? You can help me disappear? I’ll give you evidence against Tomas if you can help me.” The man spoke rapidly, nervously.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “I don’t want to do this anymore and there’s no other way out of the gang except in a body bag.”

  He seemed sincere. Was Liam being too trusting? Did he want to believe the man because he seemed to have the answer to his problems? “What kind of evidence?”

  “A flash drive. I lifted the info from Richard Mendoza’s computer.”

  The Bagsic in the internet café with Felix’s watch. “We’ll meet and you can give it to me.”

  “I’ll give it to Elisabeth.” The man’s voice grew stubborn. “She helped Joslyn. She’s a straight shooter.”

  “You’re not meeting her alone,” Liam snapped. He wasn’t sure if the look Elisabeth gave him was grateful or surprised at his protectiveness, but at least she didn’t look offended.

  The man hesitated, then said sulkily, “Fine. You can tag along. But no cops.”

  Liam didn’t respond to his demand about police. “Where are you?”

  “I’m hiding off Tyndall Road.”

  That was near Liam’s shabby duplex. That might work. “Meet us here in two hours.” He gave his address.

  “Two hours?” the man whined. “Don’t be late.”

  “What’s your name?” Elisabeth asked.

  “You don’t need it.” And he hung up.

  Liam and Elisabeth looked at each other for a long moment. “Do you think this is wise?” Elisabeth asked.

  “I think it’s worth a shot. I’ll call Detective Carter about having policemen there.”

  “Where is this place?”

  “It’s my home—a duplex outside of Sonoma, surrounded by vineyards. The other buildings by me are vacant and my duplex neighbor, Mr. Brummell, is away for the holidays. No one around who could get hurt, but plenty of places for policemen to hide in the vineyard rows.”

  “That’s a good plan.”

  Liam checked his watch. It had taken them four hours to get from Penny Bay to Mendocino, and it would take another couple hours to get back to Sonoma. “If Tomas left Penny Bay the same time we did, he’ll get back to Sonoma only a little before we will.”

  “Will it make a difference when we meet this guy?”

  “I hope not.” He called Detective Carter and told him about the meeting. He also told him about Joslyn coming forward to testify against Tomas for her father’s murder, and about the vintage Rolex watch Richard Mendoza was wearing.

  “I’ll organize some officers to be at your place,” the detective said. “I’ll make sure they’re hidden.”

  Next, they called Joslyn, but she couldn’t even say for sure who the man on the phone could be—much less whether or not he could be trusted. “He might be legit,” Joslyn said. “But I don’t remember any gang members with a high voice.”

  The two hours back to Sonoma seemed to take forever. What if the flash drive had no useful information? What would be their next move? They were still waiting to learn what the FBI had found out about the shipping container and the Tumibay truck that was to have transported it.

  He glanced at Elisabeth beside him. No matter what, he’d make sure she was safe. He’d do everything he could to ensure this meeting didn’t go sideways.

  It was after midnight when Liam turned into his driveway, lined with hedges on one side and the duplexes on the other. Beyond both were acres of grapevines, but the lack of streetlights and house lights made the duplexes seem to swim in an ocean of darkness. He parked in front of his house, the third one, and the only one with the porch light burning fitfully.

  “I don’t see anyone here,” Elisabeth said.

  “He might be late.” But he’d been hiding nearby hours ago. Had he fallen asleep? “Let’s go inside. It’s cold.”

  He fitted his key into the lock and pushed the door open.

  He heard a faint click.

  Before his brain even coherently registered what was happening, he’d thrown himself backward, propelling Elisabeth behind him. They landed on the ground and he covered her with his body.

  An explosion ripped apart the night.

  He knew it was happening even as the images flashed in front of him. The explosion reverberated in his brain, rattling his thoughts. His heartbeat galloped in his chest, and he was gasping, fighting to breathe as his friends died around him. He was going to die, and he’d never been so frightened in his life. The gunpowder burned his nose, and he tasted grit in his mouth.

  “Liam.”

  He heard Elisabeth’s voice and clung to it like a man dangling from a ledge. She pulled him from the nightmare. She was softness and sanity in the midst of desolation.

  His head was in her lap. The flames from his house made her flicker from orange to yellow to darkness. He was in Sonoma. He was with Elisabeth.

  And suddenly he began to sob.

  The pain bubbled up from deep inside him. His chest was tight, his muscles knotted. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her hands on his head, his shoulders, rubbing his back.

  He just wanted the pain to stop. He wanted it all to stop. He just wanted to be whole again. He was so tired. He was so lost.

  “Are you all right? We have to get you away from the flames.”

  There were men around them, illuminated by the fire. The policemen who had been hiding in the vineyard.

  “Liam, come on.” She lifted his head from her lap, and then she was helping him stumble away from the house. They crossed the hedge and sat on the edge of the dirt lane. She put her arms back around him and leaned him against her. He breathed in her scent of oranges and flowers.

  He didn’t know how long they sat there. He heard the policemen calling the fire truck, making sure the other houses were empty. At one point he thought Detective Carter might have come up to him and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, but the policeman didn’t say anything; he just disappeared back into the darkness.

  “Liam,” Elisabeth said softly.

  “I’m okay now.”

  “No, Liam. You’re not.” There was a firmness and authority in her voice, and yet she was still gentle. “I’ve worked extensively with abused women. When they are at the end of their strength, they have to reach out for professional help.”

  “I went to counseling. It didn’t help, so I stopped.”

  “You need to go back.” Her hand stroked his head, caressed his cheek. “And you need to talk to your family about what you’re going through.”

  “I can’t burden them with this. First my dad’s leukemia, then the two gangs. I just can’t put even more on them.”

  “Liam, they can support you through counseling. They can just be there for you. They can...” She swallowed. “They can pray for you.”

  When was the last time he’d asked them to pray for him? For something important, not just that he’d find his lost keys or that his beat-up truck would start? He was embarrassed to admit that he couldn’t remember. He hadn’t shared any of his problems with them. He hadn’t wanted to worry them. He’d wanted to solve this on his own.

  Look how well that had turned out.

  He realized that the problem was that he’d been trying to do everything in his own strength.

  Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

  “Liam, promise me you’ll go back to counseling.” Her fingertips smoothed over his brow.

  He took a deep breath. “I promise
.”

  “And promise me you’ll talk to your family.”

  He didn’t answer her. He remained leaning against her, listening to her breathing.

  “Liam.”

  “I promise.”

  She squeezed his shoulders. He felt her cheek against his head.

  “Liam, Elisabeth, the paramedics are here.” It was Detective Carter. “I want them to look at both of you.”

  Liam slowly got to his feet, finally realizing the flames were out. There was some scorching around his doorway, but the damage looked minimal.

  “This way, miss.” A female paramedic led Elisabeth away first. She looked familiar. Maybe she’d been at one of their earlier confrontations.

  “How are you doing, son?” Detective Carter’s gravelly voice was kind.

  “I’m fine, sir.”

  The detective simply nodded slowly. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a slim card case. He handed Liam a white card, then walked away.

  It was the business card for a counselor. Liam tucked it into his pocket.

  He stared at his house, and now realized he smelled gasoline. Maybe that was what had caused him to react so quickly when he’d opened the door.

  But why would the Bagsics try to kill them? They knew Liam and Elisabeth knew where Joslyn was—killing them wouldn’t do anything to reveal her location. Didn’t they still want her?

  Officer Joseph Fong came to take his statement. Liam asked him, “No one was hurt?”

  “Aside from you two? Not really, just a few burns on the firemen. The fireman I talked to said it looked like the bomb was way at the back of the house, although it was triggered by the front door.”

  Why wouldn’t the Bagsics have put the bomb near the front door? Wouldn’t that have given it maximum effect? And was it the Bagsics, or the Tumibays, who’d planted the bomb? Liam leaned more toward the Bagsics. In most of their dealings with him, they’d been calculated and organized.

  And suddenly he knew where he’d seen that female EMT before.

  “Where’s Elisabeth?” Liam shoved past Officer Fong toward the ambulance. He grabbed the male EMT who had just come out of the vehicle.

  “There you are,” the EMT said, but Liam interrupted him.