Coastal Fury Boxset (1-3)

by Matt Lincoln

  “Good hunting, Ethan.” Diane ended the call.

  A white Traverse arrived at the hangar as we finished up. The driver jumped out, looked around, saw us, and headed our way. He was muscular, of average height, with flashing dark eyes.

  “Marston and Holm?” he asked. At our nods, he gestured to the Traverse. “Special Agent Hallows with Tampa MBLIS. Show me IDs and then get going.” He cleared his throat. “I’m getting a ride back with one of the deputies.” Sure enough, a county officer was walking over to meet us.

  “We’ll get this bastard,” I told him as Holm and I showed him our badges and IDs. “This one’s personal.”

  “Someone better,” Hallows growled. “The more I hear about Kelley, the more I want to rip his guts out.”

  “I hear you. Condolences to your office.”

  Hallows gave a sharp nod. “Appreciated.”

  “We’ll keep you in the loop,” I promised Hallows.

  The employee parking lot at Sedin Disposal had half as many cars as when we were there the first time. We went in and found a new person at the reception desk. He didn’t have a name badge and looked a little harried.

  “We’re here to see Marci Anderson,” I told him.

  “She’s, uh, indisposed,” the man told me.

  I showed him my badge. “We are here to see Marci Anderson,” I repeated.

  “Um, okay.” The receptionist cleared his throat. “Just so you know, she’s having a family crisis. We kinda all are.”

  “We know about your pilot, Kevin Jones.” I put my badge away. “We were just there.”

  He reeled back. “What? What happened to Captain Jones?”

  “That’s not the family crisis?” Holm asked.

  “No, sir. Her, um, daughter.” He got up and went to open the door to the back. “I’ll take you back and let you tell her about Mr. Jones.”

  “Her daughter. Charity?” Stark stepped forward. She really had read that file through. “Did something happen?”

  “I’ll let Ms. Anderson tell you.” He led us down the hall to her office and knocked on the door. “Ms. Anderson, those agents are back,” he announced in a loud voice. “They have something they need to tell you.”

  A minute later, the door creaked open. Marci Anderson’s mascara was smudged, and her eyes and nose were red. She held a crumpled facial tissue to her chest.

  “Do you know something about Charity?” Her eyes pleaded for answers.

  “No, ma’am,” I said in a gentle tone. “What happened to Charity?”

  “She was gone when I got up this morning.” Anderson sniffled and dabbed at her nose. “There was a note, and some of her things were gone.” She swallowed. “You know, toothbrush, clothes, wallet. I found her phone by the back door. I think she forgot it. Now I can’t call her.”

  “What did she say in the note?” Holm asked as he gently led Anderson to a chair.

  “She said she’s leaving with her boyfriend and not to follow.” Anderson choked on a sob. Stark pulled up a seat and put her hand on the woman’s shoulder. “That she hated working here, and her boyfriend has an exciting career, and she is going to learn from him.”

  “Who’s her boyfriend?” Stark spoke softer than I’d ever heard from her.

  “I don’t know.” Anderson looked up at me. “I honestly don’t know.”

  “Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do,” I told her. “Unless there’s a reason to believe she didn’t go willingly, she’s an adult and free to make her own choices.”

  Anderson nodded, and fresh tears ran down to drip from her chin. “The police told me that when I called. She’s over eighteen, so I can’t track her.”

  “Unfortunately, we have more bad news,” I informed her. Holm was right about some parts of the job being shit. “Your pilot Kevin Jones was found deceased in your plane’s hangar.”

  “No!” Anderson slumped over, sobbing. “Not Kevin. Oh, my God.”

  The receptionist, still in the room, backed into a table and sat with his hand over his mouth. He looked down and closed his eyes.

  “Ms. Anderson?” I crouched before her. “I’m sorry, but you need to know the rest of the situation. I can give you a few minutes, though.”

  She shook her head and sat up with her chin trembling.

  “Kevin… Kevin and I have been seeing each other,” she admitted. “Most of the office knows, and it’s okay because he’s… he was a good person. We were talking about marriage.”

  “Oh jeez,” Holm breathed. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Anderson.”

  “Please, just call me ‘Marci.’ I hate my ex’s name.” She caught my eye. “How did this happen, Agent Marston?”

  “Simon Kelley from MediWaste killed him.”

  Her brow creased. “Why would he do that?”

  I stood and stepped back. “Kelley and your other pilot, Frank Wilson, are the ones responsible for the illegal dumping. They took your company’s plane and went off the radar.”

  Marci got to her feet. “I knew that equipment requisition was off.” She went over to her computer and punched at keys so hard I worried they might break. “Frank said we needed communications equipment, but that plane was supposed to have everything already set up, but he wanted more. Kevin said they didn’t need it, but Frank convinced Tim to buy it. Kevin told me that was the kind of stuff that could build scramblers for radar or transponders or something.”

  “Shit,” Holm whispered behind me.

  “That explains why they lost them so quickly,” Stark mused. “It’s one of the tricks drug runners and coyotes use to cross the border, but it won’t hide them forever.”

  I rubbed my head. Kelley was a slippery bastard.

  “Can you think of anything else?” I asked Marci. “Even if it seems small or stupid, it could be useful.”

  “I only saw them together a handful of times,” she told me, “but one thing stuck out each time. They’re both very patriotic. Not that it’s bad to love your country, but the one day, I heard them laughing about that girl who got hit by a car at a demonstration. Said they’re all communists and should get hit by more cars.” She shivered. “I agreed with them about a lot of things, but not that anyone deserved to get hit by a car. I told Tim they made me uncomfortable, but he’s been friends with Frank since grade school.”

  “So he knows about this behavior.” I looked at Holm. Either Sedin was involved, or he didn’t mind talk that made his co-owner unhappy. “Robbie, call Diane. I want to video chat with Sedin.”

  Marci looked up. “Is it true that he refused a lawyer?”

  “Yes.”

  “I tried to hire someone, but Tim turned her away.” She sighed. “I don’t know what he’s thinking. No offense to you agents, but it’s your job to make him look guilty.”

  Stark walked over to the door. “Only if they are guilty, ma’am,” she said in a frosty tone. “He should know better than to risk another conviction.” With that, she left the office.

  “He hasn’t been tried,” Marci protested. “Unless… Agent Marston, did he have a record?”

  “He got busted selling Ritalin back in college,” I informed her. “He’s had a clean record since.”

  “A lot of people make that mistake.” She frowned. “I wish he’d told me, though.”

  “Thank you for your time, Marci,” I told her in a gentle tone. “We can call you a ride home.”

  The receptionist who had stayed quiet at the table stepped forward.

  “I’ll make sure she gets home safe,” he said. “She’s my aunt, and I won’t let anything happen to her.”

  “Charity’s your cousin,” Holm said. “Did she say anything to you about leaving?”

  “No, sir. She barely acknowledges my existence.” He shrugged. “Sorry, Aunt Marci. I hope she calls you.”

  “Thank you, folks, for your time,” I said in as kind of a voice as I could manage. “I’m sorry for your worries. We’ll do our best.”

  By the time we reconvened back in the Tr
averse, I was shaking my head.

  “Raise your hand if you think Charity’s disappearance this morning is a coincidence,” I grumbled. Neither Holm nor Stark raised their hands. “Theories?”

  “She went willingly,” Stark pointed out. “Kelley or Wilson could be influencing her decisions, courting her.”

  “Or they made it look like she went willingly,” Holm said. “Use the girl to blackmail Marci into helping them.”

  “She didn’t know about Jones.” I pulled out of the lot and drove to the airport where we’d landed. “If that wasn’t a real reaction, she’s a great actor.”

  We debated the prevailing theories during the flight back to Miami. While we were in the air, Tessa texted to ask my location. Coverage was spotty over rural areas, so I stuck to text.

  I’ll tell you about it when I get back. In the air.

  I hated being short, but I knew better than to have that particular conversation with Tessa over text. My next text came from Warner.

  Merlin III found ditched near Fort Myers. No bodies.

  BOLO for Kelley and Wilson esp marinas, I texted him back. Charity Anderson might be with them. Back soon.

  “They ditched the plane,” I reported as I put my phone away and Stark let me back at the yoke. “Kelley must have a base of operations, but where?”

  “Could be anywhere,” Holm groaned. “If he were going to go to one of the militias, I’d expect him to go north. Unless he flew south to divert us.”

  “I say he works on an island,” Stark told us. “It’s easier to cross borders and use the sea to lose themselves. There won’t be as many questions.”

  “We need to figure out when Kelley went on Wilson’s flights,” Holm said. “That’ll give us some starting points to narrow our focus.”

  “You’d think MediWaste would notice a bigwig like Kelley being completely absent from work.” I tapped the yoke with my thumbs. “He worked from two locations, though. My impression is that he went between the office and the processing sites several times a day. He could’ve used that to his advantage.”

  “You think he tricked them,” Stark said with appreciation. “That makes sense. The workers at the waste processing site think he’s at the office, and the office thinks he’s on site.”

  “And if they find he’s not at either, it turns out he conveniently had an appointment or errand that suddenly came up.” Holm made a rude noise in his headphone mic. “Do you think there’s a way to track those days?”

  I thought about it and sighed. “I have no idea… Wait. We’ll have MediWaste check for attendance, or however they work it, at both locations. Robbie, text Warner to get on that. Abbie, when we get back, I want you to work with Warner,” I ordered. “Cross-reference when and where Wilson flew with days Kelley wasn’t seen at MediWaste’s facilities. He may have faked being in the Tampa area by supervising over his phone.”

  “Whatever he’s doing must be damned important to him,” Holm said in a tense tone. “Ethan, it must be big for him to throw his life at it.”

  “I think he’s making weapons for a militia,” Stark announced. “Your notes suggested it, and I agree with that assessment. It’s what makes the most sense. Dirty bombs, grenades, pipe bombs, you name it. They’re going to attack an event, a big one with lots of people. This isn’t the usual patriot group. These guys are extreme.”

  “What events are scheduled that’ll have people extremists want to scare?” I wondered.

  “Hey, I just remembered one,” Holm exclaimed. “There’s a demonstration that’s meant to protest lobbyist money in politics. All the militias’ favorite lobbies will be in their sights.”

  “Anti-capitalists and social justice warriors are some of their favorite targets.” I tightened my jaw muscles. “Yeah, attacking a protest won’t help their cause. It’ll just kill and maim people.”

  “That’s why these guys are the extremists,” Holm reminded me. “They’re Kelley’s types. Kill now, sort it out later.”

  “He doesn’t care about sorting it out,” Stark told us. “Guys like him might have causes, but chaos and devastation are what they live for. Kelley is happiest with blood on his hands.”

  I glanced over at her rigid posture. “Is this personal, Abbie?”

  “Yes and no.” She took a deep breath and relaxed a bit, but she kept her eyes on the sky and instrument board. “Not him. The person who murdered my uncle was like this. He tormented people for the fun of it and kept at it until they caught him. It’s why I chose this career track.”

  “Keep your head, and you’ll do fine,” I told her. “We all have reasons, and we have to face those demons sooner or later.”

  “Yes, sir,” she whispered.

  32

  Tessa waited at my desk, in my seat, with her arms crossed. Her camera bag sat in the middle of the desk as if accusing me of heinous crimes.

  “You didn’t take me,” Tessa said matter-of-factly. “You went after Kelley and didn’t take me.”

  Holm and Stark vanished a little too inconveniently for my taste, and Diane was in a meeting somewhere. I was alone with Tessa, and for once, I did not want to be.

  “Kelley’s dangerous,” I told her. “Besides, you already had photos of the two offices. We had no idea he’d snap today.”

  My chair creaked as she leaned back a hair.

  “You’re supposed to take me wherever the case leads.” She uncrossed her arms and put her hands on her knees. “I’m an adult, and I’m a professional. Don’t treat me like a child.”

  “Tessa, this guy is the most dangerous person I’ve ever pursued.” I took even breaths. The mere notion of Kelley getting near Tessa drew out a feral feeling I hadn’t experienced in years. “It’s cliché in every sense of the word, but if you’re there when I face him, I will be distracted by trying to keep you safe.”

  She surged to her feet and got in my face.

  “I will not allow you to pull the man card.” Her voice rose as her cheeks flushed. “My job is to document this case, and that’s what I’ll do. If you don’t like it, let someone else take the lead.”

  “My jobs are to catch Kelley and to keep you alive,” I growled. “I thought I could separate the two, but I can’t.”

  “Then learn how,” she hissed, “because I am going from now on, whether you like it or not.” She backed off and grabbed her camera bag. “It’s almost time for dinner. I’m going to get food and then a hotel for the night.”

  I felt like she’d kicked me in the gut.

  “You don’t have to do that,” I told her. “If you’re that angry, stay in the guest room. I won’t bother you.”

  She shook her head. “You’re not getting it, are you?”

  “You’re angry because I tried to protect you. Right?”

  “I’m angry because you didn’t give me a choice.” She sat on the edge of my desk. “Ethan, I value your opinion, but I have to make my own choices. Some of them could lead to danger, but they are still my choices.”

  “He killed two people today.” I sat on the edge of Holm’s desk. “Kelley enjoys it. I don’t know how he went so many years maintaining his role without slipping up, because today, he was back at it.”

  Tessa stilled. “What?”

  Too late, I realized what I’d said. That was another effect she had on me. My guard was down, and I got careless with information.

  “Kelley has a history I can’t talk about, but it matches with what he did today. Be glad you didn’t have to see either murder scene. It was bad even for people used to crime scenes.”

  She set her bag on the desk again.

  “I didn’t realize it was so bad,” she admitted. “They told me Kelley killed two and Wilson killed one. I heard it was ugly…”

  “It was.” I wet my lips. “Let’s make a compromise. I’ll tell you about a situation. You decide if you want to go. If you do and then I think you’ll be in danger, you stay back someplace safe with an agent as a bodyguard.”

  “I will stay ba
ck on the scene.” Her piercing glare dared me to argue.

  “Within reason,” I added. “There are some things you do not want to see, Tessa. And I need to know you’ll trust me if I tell you to get out or stay back. I won’t abuse that trust again, I promise.”

  She sighed. “I just don’t want you treating me like a helpless maiden. Uncle Donald wouldn’t have sent me if he thought I was that fragile.”

  “Of course not.”

  “So, what’s planned for tomorrow?” Her voice sounded less irritable. That was a start. “I assume you have a plan.”

  “We’re in a holding pattern until we get a lead on their location or locations.” I smiled. “That means I have tomorrow off unless we get a hit on where they went.”

  “The last two times we tried to go have fun, we got shot at,” she reminded me with a raised eyebrow.

  “I don’t think they’ll come after us while they’re on the run,” I told her. “Besides, I just had an idea.”

  “Oh?”

  “Let’s go see if we can find anything about the Dragon’s Rogue on Grand Bahama.” Her answering grin loosed a knot in my chest. “We’ll take a boat out and rent a car when we get there. Drive around, maybe find something, probably not, but it’d be fun.”

  “What if they find Kelley or Wilson while we’re gone?”

  “Worst case scenario is that I’m out of range for a couple of hours while on the boat. We can charter someone to fly us out of Freeport if necessary.”

  Tessa nibbled at her lower lip. That got me thinking about some nibbling I’d like to do for her, but I had to make sure we were all good first. And that included an impromptu day at sea.

  “Okay,” she conceded. “It sounds fun, and we both need a break.”

  I held out a hand. “Do you still need that hotel?”

  “I don’t think I will, after all.” She took my hand and pulled my arm around her. “And I think dinner in will be just fine.”

  Dinner in turned out to be more than fine.

  The next morning, I took her to the other side of the marina where a friend of mine kept a powerboat.

  “I’m free to use it in exchange for keeping her fueled and maintained,” I told Tessa. “They block out the days they plan to use it, and other than that, open schedule.”