by Chris Angus
Garrett had his limitations being an RCMP officer. Even though he wore no uniform and drove his crappy old unmarked Subaru, Lonnie knew the supposed autonomy of action these things gave Garrett were superficial at best. He’d always tried to help his cousin whenever he could. Partly, he felt responsible for him after the injury in Iraq. There had been a lengthy recuperation period and several bouts of depression that Lonnie had helped Garrett fight through. Garrett was the closest family he had and he would do anything for him. Right now, however, what he wanted most was to try to rescue Kitty. And he knew Garrett was bound by rules and regulations that didn’t apply to him.
He scanned the side of the wharf and saw the boat. It was sleek and fast-looking, painted black, with only a single running light. A low spray screen gave the skipper limited protection from the elements. The lone man on board saw him and waved an arm.
A moment later, they were motoring out past George’s Island. Once out of the harbor, his companion pushed the throttle all the way out and they barreled up the coast, the craft taking huge, airborne leaps over the rising swells. It would take three hours to reach the oil rig. The pilot was an experienced navigator in these waters. Even at night in bad weather, he’d have no trouble avoiding the numerous shoals.
They exchanged few words. The man in charge of the boat knew from experience that Lonnie generally had little to say and was undoubtedly up to something unusual, if not downright illegal. Better to just pay his debt to the big man and keep his mouth shut.
Lonnie sat, filling the entire back seat of the craft, and watched the seas pass underneath, black and viscous, like riding on the sort of thick oil that might one day be sucked from beneath the ocean by a rig like the one beyond Lighthouse Point.
He hadn’t put a lot of thought into what was going to happen. He was a born improviser and suspected the oil rig, still not producing oil according to DeMaio, would likely be populated by only a handful of workers, roughnecks who had no reason to be armed. Perhaps there would be some security, but whatever sort of low-level guards were employed by the company, it was certain they had never come up against someone like Lonnie. Besides, there simply hadn’t been time to work out the details. Speed was of the essence. There was no telling how much time Kitty had.
He allowed his mind to wander as the boat powered through the swells. He almost felt like he was on patrol in Afghanistan and hoped, as he had on so many missions in that far-off country, that he’d be in and out quickly, with as few casualties as possible.
But that would depend entirely on the attitude of those he encountered. Only one thing was certain. He wasn’t leaving the rig without her.
49
AS THEY PULLED INTO LLOYD’S Haven for Troubled Youth, Garrett could sense Alvin’s intensity. The little guy was wired.
“Take it easy,” Garrett said. “He’s not going to be here. We’re just going to talk to the kids. See what we can find out.”
“I just want to bust the guy one time in the chops,” Alvin said, slapping his fist into the palm of his other hand.
“You might have to get in line,” Garrett replied.
It was immediately clear that Lloyd wasn’t around. In fact, it looked like the “troubled youth” had the run of the place. Kids lolled about everywhere they looked. Three tough-looking teens Garrett hadn’t seen before sat on crotch rockets in the drive, bullshitting with one another. Others sat on the porch, which was a mess of food wrappers, empty beer bottles, and discarded clothing. No one was working in the gardens, and they saw no adults around at all.
Alvin was in uniform and his appearance caused some consternation as he and Garrett got out of the car. One of the motorcycle riders, a big guy with tattoos and a shaved head, looked at the diminutive Mountie and burst out laughing.
“It’s a midget cop,” he said to one of his friends.
Alvin was in the guy’s face in a second, bracing him and pushing him off the bike onto the ground. The bike fell hard onto the pavement, breaking the mirror.
“You sonofabitch!” the big guy said. “I’ll take you apart.” He scrambled to his feet only to find himself staring down the barrel of Alvin’s pistol. Alvin cocked the gun and put it right on the guy’s nose.
“Back off, asshole,” he said.
Garrett eased around beside Alvin and put one hand on his gun arm. Slowly, Alvin lowered the weapon, though he kept it cocked.
Garrett saw several kids he knew on the porch. “Why don’t you guys beat it,” he said to the bikers.
The three teens glared at them for a moment, then shrugged, got on their bikes, and peeled out with loud squeals, leaving rubber tire marks on the pavement.
Garrett went up onto the porch. The girl who’d been doing lip-locks with the overweight kid at the bonfire sat with two friends. She smiled at Garrett. “I was hoping you’d plug those shitkickers,” she said. “Been trying to put the moves on us.”
“Looking for Lloyd,” Garrett said. “Guess he’s not around.”
“He was here earlier,” she said. “Seemed pretty nervous about something. Only stayed long enough to pick up his boy toy and then they split.”
“Who’s the boy toy?”
“Reggie,” she said. “Not the first time he’s gone with our great and perverted leader.”
“Any idea where they go?”
She looked at her friends, as if getting silent approval, then said, “Lloyd has a cabin back on a lake. He takes Reg there sometimes.”
“Know where it is?”
She grinned. “Sure. He took me and some others there a couple of times to do yard work, clean house and stuff. He’s a real pig and won’t do any work himself.”
She gave Garrett explicit directions, even drew him a little map. The place was at the end of a long dirt road that ran straight into the empty central wilderness of Nova Scotia, at least a two-hour drive. Garrett could see why Lloyd would go there. He’d feel secure in a place so hard to find, especially if he thought Lonnie might still be after him. But he couldn’t resist taking along his boy toy, which had been a big mistake. It reinforced Garrett’s opinion that old Lloyd wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.
The aging Subaru knocked around the potholed road for a long time, until Garrett began to worry the vehicle might come apart. They grounded out half a dozen times and the gears began to make unsettling noises. Most of the third-degree roads that traversed the interior of the province were lined with spruce and little else. They didn’t pass a single house, crossed several rickety bridges over tumbling streams, and had to stop once to let a bull moose get out of the way.
“I just remembered why it was I moved to Halifax,” Alvin said. “I grew up on a road like this. My dad was a logger and he loved living out in the trees. I always hated it. No one around for me to play with.”
Garrett just nodded. He was uneasy about all the time they were wasting. Kitty and Sarah were in serious danger, and all he could think to do was chase down a sex pervert living in the freaking outback.
Finally, they rumbled across an old wooden bridge above a stream, banks overflowing from the wet summer, and pulled into an opening in the trees. A small log cabin perched on the edge of the stream, looking like something out of the movie Deliverance.
Garrett cut the engine and they sat in the car for a minute. The silence of the north woods was deafening. If anyone was here, it wasn’t immediately evident. There was no car anywhere in sight. If Lloyd was here, he would have heard the laboring Subaru for twenty minutes before it arrived.
Still, there was no other way out. Garrett got out of the car and walked over to the cabin. Someone had made a halfhearted effort to plant a few shrubs along the walls, and there was a small patch of yard that looked like it hadn’t been mowed yet this summer.
Nothing ventured, Garrett went up onto the small deck and knocked on the door. Alvin got out of the car behind him and stood with one hand resting on his holster.
There was no answer. Garrett looked at Alvin. “Did y
ou hear someone say ‘come in?”
“Clear as a bell,” said Alvin.
The door was unlocked. Inside, there was only a single room. The space was furnished with about as much taste as a budget motel: a thin oriental-style rug on the floor, a queen-sized bed filled with tumbled blankets and sheets against one wall. Opposite the bed were cabinets, a sink, and a small refrigerator and stove that operated off of propane. In one corner, open to the room, was a chemical toilet.
“Not exactly the honeymoon suite,” said Alvin. “I’m going to look around outside.”
Garrett went over to the kitchen area. The little sink was filled with dirty dishes. A stick of butter, saturated with bread crumbs, sat on a small plate. On the stove was a cast iron frying pan with a residue of oil and bits of eggs. He put one finger into the oil and touched the bottom of the pan. It was still warm. Someone had been here in the last fifteen minutes at the most.
Suddenly, he heard a noise and scuffle coming from outside. He raced out the door and stopped. Lloyd was lying on the ground holding his cheek. Alvin stood over him with blood on his fist.
“Found him in the woods,” Alvin said. “There’s a little track goes back there. So he can keep his car out of sight.”
Garrett went over and looked down at Lloyd.
“Hell do you want?” Lloyd asked, getting to his feet slowly. “You didn’t have to sic your miniature schnauzer on me.”
“Where’s Reggie?” Garrett asked.
“Who?”
“Don’t mess with me, Lloyd. I’m about two seconds from letting Alvin get on with it.”
He shrugged, glanced at Alvin. “No need to get your nose in a knot.” He turned toward the woods and yelled. “Come on out, Reggie.”
A tall, thin boy came out of the brush. He had on jean shorts and nothing else and couldn’t have been more than fifteen. He had a tousled head of blond hair and good features. Garrett guessed it was his misfortune to have a look that Lloyd found attractive.
“It’s okay,” Garrett said. “No one’s going to hurt you. You’re going back to the home, and old Lloyd here is going to have some explaining to do.”
The boy started to cry. “He brings me here and rapes me,” he sniveled.
“Shut your mouth!” Lloyd said.
Alvin punched him hard in the ribs. Lloyd gasped and doubled over.
Garrett said to Alvin, “I want you to use Lloyd’s car and take Reggie home. I’ll deal with Lloyd.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Garrett,” Alvin said. “I can’t leave you alone with him.”
Garrett took out his handcuffs and cuffed Lloyd’s hands behind his back. “I think we’ll get along all right. We have a few things to talk about. I’ll catch up and let you know how it goes later.”
Again, Alvin hesitated, but Garrett just said, “Get going.” Reluctantly, Alvin guided Reggie to the car in the woods. A moment later they drove off.
Garrett grabbed Lloyd by the scruff of the neck, dragged him over to the deck, and propped him up.
“I want to make sure you understand something, Lloyd. We haven’t been able to find Kitty yet, but someone, and I’m betting you have an idea who, has also abducted my girlfriend. So I’m not in a mood to hear anything but straight answers from you on this.”
Lloyd struggled to sit upright. The bruise where Alvin had struck him was turning purple. “What are you going to do with Reggie? Anything we did together was consensual.”
“Even a scumbag like you ought to know there’s no such thing as consensual sex with a minor. I can safely promise you your days exploiting those kids are over.”
“I … I took care of them. We saved a lot of those kids from a life of prostitution.”
“So long as they prostituted themselves to you, huh?”
Garrett reached over, grabbed his hair, and smacked his head against the porch railing. Hard.
Lloyd squealed. “Hey, you can’t do that. You’re a Mountie.”
Garrett did it again.
“Ow! Damn it, that hurts. I told the big guy all I know. He said he was working with you. Why don’t you ask him?”
“Here’s the thing, Lloyd. I don’t think you were entirely forthright with Lonnie. You made this personal for me. Now I’m the one asking the questions. Look around. You see anyone who is going to help you? Or maybe you’d prefer I hand you over to Lonnie? That’s why you came here, isn’t it? To hide from him.”
“You think I’m scared of him?”
“If you’re not, you’re dumber than you look.”
Lloyd struggled to sit upright. “You’re nothing,” he said. “You’re dealing with people who will squash you and your ogre friend like eggshells.”
“I assume you’re talking about our Mr. DeMaio.”
“Christ! There’s someone to be afraid of. Whatever you’ve been doing, you got DeMaio’s attention all right. Why the hell you think I’m up here? That son of a bitch has decided you’re too close. He’s cleaning up loose ends. He already did in Big Margaret. When I heard about that, I lit out.”
Garrett stared at him. So that was it. DeMaio was getting worried about Garrett’s interest in his special oil rig. It was the worst possible news. If DeMaio was ordering anyone who might spill the beans killed, then Lloyd was right to be worried. And Kitty and Sarah were at even greater risk.
“Where’s Sarah?”
“I don’t know anything about anyone named Sarah. Only thing I can tell you is if you’ve been looking for Kitty, then you probably pissed off the people at Global Resources and DeMaio in particular. They must be the ones who took your girlfriend. Trust me, you don’t want to mess with these people.”
Garrett stared at him. “Those people don’t want to mess with me.” He grabbed Lloyd, pulled him upright, hauled him over to the stream, and threw him in.
The water was only a couple of feet deep, but the current was swift. Lloyd went in over his head and Garrett let him flounder around for thirty seconds before pulling him out. He waited while Lloyd coughed and sputtered. His face was red.
“You can’t do this,” he said, still choking for wind. “I’ll have your badge. This is torture.”
“Glad you’re beginning to get the message,” Garrett said. He grabbed him and threw him back in the water. This time, he let him flounder around for a minute. Without the use of his hands it was very hard for him to get up on his feet against the current. Twice he got his head up and gasped for breath, then stumbled and fell back under again. After another while, Garrett pulled him out and put him on the ground.
“Where’s Sarah?” he said.
“I told you. I don’t have any idea.” Lloyd coughed and spat up some blood.
Garrett grabbed him and began to haul him back to the stream.
“All right, all right. Enough. I’ll tell you what I know.”
Garrett waited.
“Like I told the big guy. DeMaio’s the one set up their whole Club Med operation with freebies for the potential oil rig investors. I don’t have any way to know for sure, but I’d bet good money Kitty is at Lighthouse Point. Your girlfriend is probably there too. If she’s good-enough looking, that is.”
“All right,” Garrett said. “It’s a start. Now, I want you to tell me everything you know about DeMaio, starting from the day he was born … or hatched. Whatever.”
50
KITTY WATCHED AS THE SUN set and the stars came out. It was a black night on the ocean, with no moon. The display of the Milky Way was the most intense she’d ever seen, though the stars blinked out near the horizon and she suspected a front was moving in. The spectacular heavenly display almost made her forget how hungry and thirsty she was. Another day and night at the most and she’d be forced to go in search of sustenance.
Then she heard the sound of another helicopter thundering in. She cringed back as someone turned on extra landing lights for the helipad and watched as the aircraft landed almost directly below her. She hoped it wasn’t DeMaio coming back to help lo
ok for her. Instead, peering through a slit in the platform, she gasped out loud as two men dragged Sarah out of the chopper and led her inside.
She fell back against the electrical panel and tried to think. Why the hell would they kidnap Sarah? A temporary replacement for herself to keep the investors happy? There had hardly been enough time for them to come up with such an alternate plan. At least DeMaio himself hadn’t been on the chopper. Maybe Garrett was getting close and they grabbed Sarah to have leverage over him.
She was scared and didn’t want to leave the relative safety of her platform. But she liked Sarah. She knew the feeling wasn’t mutual. Kitty’d had no close women friends in her life. They were always uncomfortable around her, especially if they had their own men they were worried about. It was just something she’d come to expect. Men liked the way she looked. Women, not so much.
If Sarah was here to service the investors, who were no doubt seriously pissed off at the delay in their fun, then she was going to be in trouble very quickly.
Kitty got up and began to work her way down the ladder as quietly as possible. She felt almost helpless but was damned if she’d just sit by and not at least try to help another woman about to be brutalized.
The helipad lights had been turned off. Evidently the pilot intended to stay the night. The oil platform was mostly dark, and the search appeared to be over for now, maybe even for the night. She was right in her evaluation that there were few men on the rig. Still, she had to stumble across just one and the game would be up.
Outside a door that she knew led to an inside corridor, probably where Sarah had been taken, were a bunch of hooks where the roughnecks or whatever they called themselves hung their heavy jackets and hardhats. Most of the hooks were filled. It was dinnertime. Her stomach rumbled. She’d had nothing to eat in thirty-six hours.