by Joe Field
Cooper grinned and Soojin shook her head.
“How do you know Doyle, anyway?” asked Leroy.
“We think he might know the whereabouts of a close friend of mine who was recently kidnapped,” said Soojin.
“Oh, really …” Leroy said the word really for what felt like several seconds too long to Cooper.
“Yes. So if by chance Doyle came back down here from North Dakota, and if he took his boat out into the bayou, do you think you could find him out there?” Cooper motioned beyond the marina to the vast swampland.
Leroy studied them, his hands folded over his belly. After a long, silent minute, he answered. “I have one guess. It’s a hideout I showed him a little while back.”
“Can you take us there?” asked Soojin.
Leroy shook his head. “Doyle paid me fifty bucks to show him that spot. He said I wasn’t allowed to show it to anyone else.”
“Sir, this is really important,” said Cooper.
Leroy put his hand up by his mouth to whisper again. “I think that is the exact spot he uses for his fornication.”
“We’ll pay you one-hundred bucks right now to show us that spot,” said Soojin. “And, we will pay Doyle fifty when we get there so he doesn’t feel slighted by you.”
“No, no, no.” Leroy held up his hands. “I couldn’t possibly do that. Besides, it’s too far to go and come back before dark, and it’s nasty out there. A ton of mosquitos, and alligators big enough to eat a whole horse. The water is still too high from the storm. Did you hear about the storm?”
“We’ll make it two-hundred,” said Soojin.
Leroy considered, then nodded. “Come back early tomorrow morning and I’ll bring you there.”
“Can’t wait,” said Cooper.
Chapter 22
Bismarck, North Dakota
A familiar evening unfolded in the governor’s private office at his residence. Simmons relaxed in his chair, his feet up on his desk. Thompson reclined in a chair on the other side of the table. Both men were enjoying a glass of whiskey. The room was dark, except for a few dimly lit lamps and a withering flame in the fireplace.
“Tomorrow is Christmas Eve,” said Simmons. “Whaddya say we turn on some Christmas tunes?”
“Sounds good to me,” said Thompson.
Simmons sat up in his chair, set his glass down on the desk, and grabbed a remote control. He pointed it to a CD player across the room and clicked play. Bing Crosby started to croon about having a white Christmas. Simmons set the remote down and opened one of his desk doors, pulling out two cigars, a cutter, and a lighter.
“And, because I’m in such a festive mood, I’d like to share a Cuban cigar with my lieutenant.” Simmons cut both cigars and handed one to Thompson. After lighting his, Simmons threw Thompson the lighter.
“Well, that sure is kind of you,” said Thompson, lighting his cigar. “Thanks. Why are you in such a good mood?”
“’Tis the season to be merry, my friend.” Simmons leaned closer and spoke quietly. “I got some action last night from this girl I have on the side. She’s wild in bed, and I feel like a college kid again every time I’m with her.”
Thompson smiled and took a long pull from his cigar. “Holy smokes. I don’t know how you do it with all those women.”
Thompson’s reply was louder than Simmons would have liked. “Whoa, keep your voice down.” Simmons pulled the cigar out of his mouth and put his index finger up to his lips. “I don’t want Mrs. Simmons to hear any of this locker-room talk, or I’m sleeping on the couch.”
Thompson laughed. “My bad, I’ll try to keep it down. Maybe you should just turn Bing Crosby up.”
Simmons chuckled. “I’m also happy because that reporter is running around chasing ghosts down in Louisiana, and I think Hanson may have finally cooled down.”
“You going to send Wheeler down to Louisiana after Smith?” asked Thompson.
“Nah, no need.” Simmons took a puff of his cigar. “First of all, it was pretty clear in Texas that the reporter is getting nowhere in his search. The more time he spends trekking across the countryside looking for the senator’s dead granddaughter, the less time he spends chatting up Hanson. Plus, Wheeler refused to do another drive down south after his Texas trip last week. That reminds me, I need to find a new private eye. Someone who will actually fly around to get stuff done.”
“You really think Gabby is dead?”
Simmons set his cigar on an ashtray and took a big swig of his whiskey. “I hate to say it, being Christmas and all. But yeah, she’s probably buried in some remote stretch of land, never to be found again.”
Thompson looked down into his glass and shook his head. “I know you aren’t a big fan of Hanson, especially with the way he’s waffling on our agreement, but that’s kind of hard for me to think about. Being from the same town and all.”
“Cheer up, lieutenant. Hanson isn’t going to go public with anything until he finds his granddaughter, and with each day, that looks less likely to happen. Plus, it’s almost Christmas, and this time of year there are so many desperate housewives looking to please someone in power.” Simmons winked. “Someone like yourself.”
“Ah, cut it out. You know I’m not into all that.”
“I’m just saying, is all. No harm in thinking about it.”
“Hey, not to be a downer, but did you see the price of oil just dropped to sixty dollars per barrel? It’s down another twenty percent this month.”
Simmons waved him off. “That’s nothing to worry about; it just means the little oil guys will be cut out and the big boys can take over. Oil always goes back up, you know that.”
“Yeah. The state’s rainy day fund remains over a billion dollars, and we still have less than three percent unemployment.”
Simmons smiled, stood up, and extended his glass out across the table. “There’s the glass half-full attitude I was looking for. Now, I would like to make a toast.”
Thompson also stood and raised his glass.
“A toast to you, my faithful lieutenant governor, and to me, the man on the throne. May we reign forever!”
Both men laughed as they clinked their glasses.
“You know,” said Thompson. “I know you have four more years here on the throne in North Dakota, but have you thought any more about a 2016 presidential run?”
Simmons set his glass down, gazing over at the dying fire. After a few long moments, he turned his attention back to Thompson. “The thought had crossed my mind. Who knows what knuckleheads will run for the GOP nomination in two years? I’m sure I could beat most of them on merit alone.”
“You got that right. And if you don’t win, who cares? It’ll put you on the national stage, and then you come back here and finish out your term and try again in 2020.”
Simmons smiled, then looked down at the Nixon bobblehead doll on his desk. “What do you think about that, President Nixon?” Simmons flicked Nixon’s head and it nodded up and down in agreement. “Yeah, I agree with you, too.”
Chapter 23
The Louisiana Bayou
After a restless night, Cooper drove the minivan from the hotel in Houma back to Leroy’s Landing early in the morning on Christmas Eve. Cooper tried calling Fletcher on the way to update him on the plan to search for Doyle’s houseboat. Fletcher didn’t answer, so Cooper settled for leaving him a voicemail.
Not that Fletcher could do anything from way up in North Dakota anyway, thought Cooper.
He parked in front of Leroy’s office, and Soojin noticed a note on the door. She ran out and read it, then came back to the minivan and pointed out to the docks. Cooper rolled down the window to talk to her.
“He’s out getting a boat ready,” said Soojin. “He asked for us to meet him there.”
“Sounds good, let’s go,” said Cooper.
The morning was cool, and an eerie, light fog hung over the swampy water. On the way to the docks, Cooper swallowed a couple Aleve tablets for his withdrawal headache. He h
ad cut back a little on the licorice, but was still chewing gum nonstop. His jaw was starting to get sore, but he popped two more pieces of Juicy Fruit into his mouth for the boat ride anyway.
When they reached the main dock, Leroy was loading up an airboat with supplies.
Hot dang, thought Cooper. This is going to be wild.
“Are we really taking an airboat?” Cooper looked over at Soojin excitedly.
She smiled. “Sure looks like it.”
“Have you ever been on one?”
“No, this will be my first time.”
“Same here.”
Leroy stood up and waved. He wore the same clothes as yesterday, with the addition of a jacket. He stood on the front of a silver airboat, with a huge fan, two big strobe lights, a captain’s chair mounted up high, and a lower bench. Two metal crates sat at the feet of the bench, which Leroy closed and latched up.
“Who’s ready for a tour?” Leroy smiled.
“Are we really taking that thing out?” asked Cooper.
“Of course—it’s the only way to get around quickly out on the bayou,” said Leroy.
“You know it’s Christmas Eve, right?” asked Soojin. “We really appreciate you taking us out; I hope your family isn’t too upset.”
Leroy shook his head. “I’ve spent the last forty-three Christmas holidays right here in this marina office watching old Christmas reruns by myself. It’ll be nice to have some company for a change.”
“Well, this is our first time ever riding on an airboat, so we are at your mercy,” said Cooper.
Leroy laughed. “Nothing to it. Jump on down here and get settled.”
Soojin crawled in first, and Cooper followed. They sat down on the bench and clicked their lap belts into place. Leroy handed them ear mufflers.
“Once we get going, you’re going to need those things or you’ll go deaf.” Leroy limped over to the rope connecting the boat to the dock and untied it.
“Are you recovering from an injury?” Soojin pointed at Leroy’s leg.
Leroy chuckled. “You could say that.” He put his foot up on the bench right between Cooper and Soojin, pulling up his pants to reveal a prosthetic leg.
“What happened?” asked Cooper.
“An alligator as big as this boat came up and bit my lower leg clean off. Happened right in the very same waters we are heading to today.”
Cooper and Soojin stared up at Leroy. He grinned, rolling his pants back down. “Now would be a good time to put on those ear muffs.”
Cooper and Soojin turned to look at each other, their eyes still wide. Soojin mouthed, YOLO.
Cooper smiled and gripped his seat with both hands as Leroy started the engine and lurched into the bayou.
Soojin’s right, Cooper thought. You only live once.
◆◆◆
They had been paddling the canoe for hours already. Gabby’s shoulders ached, but Nash directed her to push on. The quiet and the stillness of the bayou was creeping Gabby out.
Today’s your day to get away, she thought, or you’ll be stuck with this guy in the basement of a house in rural Mexico. Never to be seen again.
Right before they left the houseboat that morning, Gabby had asked to use the bathroom one last time. She made sure Nash had already used it so he would not go in after her. A few days before, she had hid a piece of paper and a pen in the back of a drawer in there. It was still waiting for her. She’d had a lot of time on Nash’s couch to craft the perfect message in her head. She left it on the counter near the sink and prayed that someone would find it soon.
Nash grunted behind her as he worked the paddle at the back of the canoe.
“Hey, I know you’re tired,” he said, his own voice breathless, “but we have to power through this section of water so we can get to the marina.”
Gabby put her paddle back into the water. “My arms are burning.”
“Okay, let’s go behind this patch of cypress trees up ahead and take a five-minute break,” Nash said. “I have to look at the map again, anyway.”
Gabby was grateful for the chance to rest. The last time she had paddled a canoe was in college, when she and Soojin had gone on a trip up to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota. She remembered her arms and shoulders burning on that trip as well, but the scenery and wildlife had made it worth it. She remembered loons calling in the distance as they sat around the campfire chatting about life, politics, and men. Neither of them could have envisioned something like this would happen.
I wonder how Soojin is doing. I bet she had a blast on her honeymoon in Europe.
All of a sudden, the canoe rocked, startling her from her thoughts. When she turned, Nash was already behind her. He covered her mouth with one hand and wrapped the other tightly around her waist.
“Don’t say a word, and keep completely still,” he hissed.
Gabby was puzzled. Did he hear something? Is someone coming?
Not that it mattered, since they were completely covered by the thick moss that hung down around them in a tight-knit group of cypress trees. Someone would have to practically be on top of them to know they were there at all.
And then, Gabby heard it—a buzzing noise, off in the distance. It grew louder as it came closer. It sounded like an industrial fan. Nash squeezed tighter around her mouth and waist. She had set the paddle down and didn’t have much leverage. Even if someone was coming, there wasn’t much she could do. They both stared out beyond the moss toward the noise.
Finally, she saw the outline of a boat making its way toward them. It was an airboat, and as it grew closer, Gabby could see at least three people on it. Nash pressed up against Gabby.
“If you try to scream or move and they see you, I will kill them all,” Nash threatened, his voice infused with a coldness and an authority Gabby had never heard from him. “Nod your head if you understand.”
Gabby slowly nodded and continued to stare forward. The boat was just fifty yards away, and she could see a captain perched up high with two others sitting on a bench in front of him.
Probably just an airboat tour, she thought. But who does that on Christmas Eve? I wish they would see us.
As the boat neared to twenty yards, Gabby got a clearer look at the people on the boat. It couldn’t be . . . Nash squeezed harder, and before she knew it, they had passed her. But beneath the disappointment, hope fluttered within her. It was the first time since the wedding that she had laid eyes on Soojin and Cooper Smith.
◆◆◆
The morning fog lifted as the airboat zipped across the thick, green water of the bayou. Cooper had his arm wrapped tightly around Soojin as they leaned into each other against the cold. They were both thankful for the lap belts as Leroy whipped around the big cypress trees. A few times, he cut the corners so close that they ended up covered with the moss that hung down from the trees.
After what seemed like an eternity, Leroy started to slow down. Cooper thought he had glimpsed a few alligators during the ride, but he couldn’t be sure. He noticed Soojin was keeping her legs as far away from the edge of the boat as possible, just like he was.
There is no way I’m going back home with a peg leg, thought Cooper.
Leroy slowed the boat to a crawl. Both the moss and the cypress trees grew thick here, blocking out the sun.
Like something straight out of a movie. Cooper’s heart started to beat a little faster. Can’t wait to go home to some friendly bodies of water in Minnesota.
Cooper realized now that finding the houseboat would only be half the battle.
What if Nash and Doyle are in there with Gabby? Are we really prepared to fight them to get her back? Cooper looked over at Soojin. Well, maybe she is.
Leroy cut the engine, and the airboat floated across the water. Cooper looked back at him, and he pointed to a patch of cypress trees on his left. Cooper tapped Soojin on the knee, showing her where Leroy was pointing.
It was nearly impossible to make out, but as they got closer Cooper saw th
e vague outline of what looked like a houseboat. It really was a perfect hideout—literally in the middle of the bayou, tucked into a patch of cypress trees that had so much moss hanging down you couldn’t see past it.
Cooper took off his ear mufflers and seat belt and motioned for Soojin to do the same. He looked back up at Leroy and put his index finger over his mouth, signaling for him to be quiet.
Soojin leaned close and whispered, “Do you think it’s the right houseboat?”
“Has to be,” Cooper responded. “You ready?”
Soojin nodded, looking back toward the trees.
Leroy drifted the boat in around the trees until they finally got a good look at the houseboat wedged into the trees in the shadows. Cooper felt a tap on his shoulder and looked back to see Leroy pointing to a long metal paddle tied to the side of the airboat. Cooper unfastened it, using it to guide them to the houseboat.
The houseboat sat still and quiet. When they were within five feet of it, Soojin sprang from the airboat onto the houseboat’s deck. Cooper scrambled to his feet and followed as the airboat slid right into the houseboat with a slight clash of metal-on-metal.
Soojin was already around the side of the houseboat, and she kicked in the door. Cooper rushed in behind her, his adrenaline high. He was ready to attack at the first sign of any hostile movement.
Cooper followed Soojin into the back room, searching the closet as Soojin looked under the bed. “Gabby!” she called. “Gabby! Are you here?”
They stopped to listen. Soojin returned to the main living area and found the ladder that led up to the ceiling. She climbed up and poked her head out. Cooper opened the bathroom and looked in the shower. Empty. Then he saw the note by the sink.
“Soojin! I’ve got something.”