Elias looked around his digs and smiled over at his brother. “Yeah, I know, Elijah. I hear ya. Let’s see if they can handle the full court press. Let’s see if they have what it takes to take on a Pope. I’m thinking, they’ll never know what hit ’em.”
Twenty-Five
An early start at six a.m. had them scrambling to cook breakfast, eat, refuel the boat, and get underway.
As the sun peeked out from menacing clouds, Josh pulled away from the waterfront and gunned the engine. “As I see it, we should be pulling in at the cove around nine, maybe sooner if I speed.”
“The reason we’re in these waters is because Elias couldn’t keep his hand off the throttle. We don’t want to draw attention from the Coast Guard like he did.”
“Yes, ma’am. You’re always bossy right before a shootout.”
“Don’t say shootout. We’re trying for low-key here.”
Josh chuckled at that word. “Yeah. Right. You just keep saying that to yourself.”
The day had started off with streaks of sunshine, but now the ominous clouds had turned darker. As fat drops of rain began to spatter the deck, the satellite phone trilled with a call.
Without fanfare, Harry rattled off what Reggie had discovered. “There’s plenty to indicate you guys are on the right track.”
“That’s good to know since we’re almost to the peninsula. Where are you guys?”
“We’re making our way up the 101, winding our way through the Makah Indian Reservation. I’d say our ETA is perhaps two hours, maybe less.”
“We’ll likely beat you there. But that’s okay. It’ll give us a chance to get the lay of the land.”
“Just wanted to let you know what we found out about how and where Elijah Pope died. The older brother. Location. Location. Location. Shortly after the drunk and disorderly arrest in 2007, he went cruising in his brand-new, midnight blue Porsche Boxster convertible. Friends claim he often drove hammered. He’d always hung out near the cove, had been going there since he was a boy. The lighthouse near there was one of his favorite spots. One rainy night, he was out driving that stretch of road to and from Cape Flattery when his little Porsche skidded on the two-lane blacktop traveling at high rate of speed. Elijah failed to break in time for a curve. The car hit the guardrail, bounced off it, and flipped over. The impact killed him instantly. According to the story in the newspaper, he was pinned underneath the metal for hours before they could get him out. Elias raced down to the scene and stood across the roadway watching as emergency crews worked to get his brother out of the wreckage. The point is, the car crash happened within a few miles of the family home. Madrigal Manor is a stone’s throw from Cape Flattery.”
“Good work. We haven’t quite reached the peninsula yet or the cove. But we’re close. Was there any speculation floating around that Elijah was trying to commit suicide that night?”
“From what I can tell, no. The guy once had hopes of becoming a competitor in the single scull Olympic competition.”
“Say what? You mean like…rowing?”
“Exactly. Fincher was big on it. It seems Elijah had a reckless streak, went on for most of his life, always doing crazy things. He once climbed one of the bell towers at his boarding school, almost fell to his death that day. Another time, he jumped off a cliff into the water. Could’ve broken his neck. He liked to push the limits. You see where I’m going with this. Might’ve been in the cards that he’d die like he did, doing something dangerous and ill-advised. Losing his brother in 2007 might’ve been what set Elias over the edge and into a murderous rage. Think about it. He’s alone in the world now and can’t cope with his life the way it is. Elias falls apart and begins carrying out various kidnapping plots and murders.”
Skye frowned. “So, he waits a year and then some, to get over his brother’s death then figures out ways to go on a kidnapping spree, beginning with two of his fellow college students. Is that what you’re saying? How did he know Dave and Lindsey? We need to find the connection. How did he lure them away from the frat party they were supposed to go to that night?”
“Other than classes they might’ve taken together? Or interactions at coffee shops near campus? Nothing concrete. It’s all speculation at this point.”
“Maybe we’ll ask Elias when we catch him,” Skye muttered as Josh headed the boat around the tip of a peninsula to where the rocks speared up out of the sea.
Cape Flattery.
“We’re about there,” Skye told Harry and ended the call. She got out her binoculars and studied the rocky coastline with its rugged bluffs.
Madrigal Manor sat high on the ridge in the distance like a castle peeking out from another century. Through a dense fog, its towers loomed large, pointing fifty to a hundred feet skyward among a backdrop of pale, naked cliffs, dotted with towering timber.
They couldn’t just walk up to the main entrance and knock on the door. That meant reaching the estate on the sly wouldn’t be easy. Due to the higher elevation, it would require a steep climb and entering it from the back side, up rock ledges and rough terrain.
Through the binoculars, her eyes landed on a sleek Mediterranean-style cruiser built for durability and speed. “He’s here.”
“I’m not sure if that’s lucky for us or not,” Josh murmured as he used his own field glasses to see for himself. “Nice boat. Twenty-five knots at top speed I’d guess. He does like expensive toys. Couldn’t be more than four years old.”
“Listen to you, admiring his taste in watercraft.”
“Know your enemy. That thing has a thousand-mile long-range. If we let him get to that boat, the tub we’re in won’t be able to keep up.”
“Then we stop him before he gets on board again.”
After docking the boat, Josh gathered their gear, transferring two backpacks filled with weapons and other equipment they might need for an overnight stay in the woods onto the motorized dinghy before lowering it into the water.
They climbed into the lifeboat and Josh cranked up the engine, taking off through the choppy surf. The noise of the motor was too loud to talk, so they kept silent until they reached shore. They dragged the dinghy into a nest of underbrush and covered it up with branches before starting out over the rocky, pebbled beach.
In some places, they were forced to kick their way through overgrown toadflax and other assorted waist-high weeds. After a half mile of hiking, they spotted a no-trespassing sign that warned, “violators will be shot.”
“Imagine what he’ll say when we walk into his house uninvited,” Skye surmised.
“He has firepower. We have firepower.”
“Yeah. Let’s hope it’s enough.”
Skye pulled out the property map from the county Leo had sent them, took out her compass, and triangulated their location. She scanned the daunting terrain. “The back entrance to the house should be over that ridge. Man, look how big that sucker is.”
Josh threw his head back to look up at the towers. “Ten thousand square feet, three different levels, two wings, and a maze through the grounds. He could be anywhere. We’ll be lucky to find this guy.”
“Thank goodness Leo searched the Internet until he came up with the floor plan. Otherwise, we’d get lost. You think it’s booby-trapped?”
“I don’t see why he’d bother. Look at us. We’re practically hanging onto the side of a cliff. The terrain is so rugged what sane person would even be here, at this spot.”
“I see your point,” she said, grinning widely. “When’s the last time we were sane?”
“I don’t even remember. Normal must be overrated.”
The wind picked up, bringing scattered clouds as it whistled through the trees. The gloom and the shadows kept them company while they covered new ground, quickly and efficiently. Another thirty minutes and they were standing in what could only be described as a clearing the size of a football field. Then there were the tennis courts that backed up to the massive gardens, complete with marble statues and fountains.
They hugged the stone wall that separated the terrace from the rest of the land and snuck up to the back door. When Josh turned the knob, the door wasn’t even locked.
They traded worried looks.
“No way this is real,” Skye cautioned. “What if he’s on the other side of this door waiting for us to bust in?”
“You go around to the French doors on the right side, I’ll take the left side window around the corner, meet you in the middle. Draw your weapon.”
Skye darted that way, through the barren flowerbeds, along the side of the house where the dining room was located. One peek through the glass made her flesh crawl. For a few seconds, she thought she might toss her breakfast.
Instinct had her ducking down before popping her head back up to take a second look. This time, she saw the dining room was like something out of the gilded age of French aristocrats, ugly and gold. Too fancy for Skye’s tastes. She could deal with the clash of styles but what was sitting in the Rococo chairs sickened her.
The bodies had been propped up, three of them that looked like an older man sitting at the head of the table. On the opposite end, a younger female, who perhaps in life had been in her late thirties when she died. In the middle of the table, in one of the chairs, sat a younger man, presumably their son Elijah. His body showed a lot of head trauma and damage to his torso.
Something wasn’t right, Skye decided. There was no movement, no conversation, just overbearing silence.
Building up her courage, she finally turned the handle on one of the French doors. When it swung open with an eerie creak that broke the silence, she saw Josh standing just inside the room on the other side. He had the same puzzled look on his face that she had.
That was when she got a whiff of the putrid odor that clung to everything in the gaudy room. It looked like a scene right out of a Hitchcock film.
Skye covered her mouth as she dashed past Josh and out of the room and into the hallway.
“He dug up his entire family!” Skye screeched. “That’s whacked!”
Josh grabbed her by the shoulders. “Shhh. Focus. Put that out of your head for now. Remember the goal.”
“Right,” she mumbled, trying to put distance between the corpses in the dining room and herself anywhere else in the house. “We don’t know what we’ll find in here.”
“That’s right. But we need to clear the first floor before going upstairs.” Josh took out the map of the grounds, studied it, and then pointed to his right. “The family crypt is somewhere near the main electrical box outside near the stables.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Skye whispered. “I think I’ve already experienced all the family crypt has to offer for one lifetime.”
Steeling herself to move on, she started down a long hallway behind Josh, checking each room they came to, looking for Elias. Their nerves on edge, they spooked at the slightest sound the creaky old house had to offer, as it settled against the idea of having new visitors.
They managed to clear the ground floor. They’d started up to the second level when Skye made an observation. “No one has lived in this house for years, I don’t think he’s here.”
On the landing, Josh unfolded the layout of the second floor, spreading it out on a table to make sure they knew where they were going.
But Skye was riveted to the cathedral-like window at the end of the hallway. She went over to scan the grounds from that vantage point and took out her binoculars. “Look at that. There’s a keeper’s cottage over by the boathouse.”
“On the map of the grounds, they refer to that as the estate manager’s cottage.”
“Well, whatever it is, there’s movement. See that smoke rising from the chimney. And there’s a car parked next to the cottage.”
“But we haven’t finished clearing both upper floors of the main house yet. We haven’t even gotten to the servant’s wing.”
“I’m telling you there’s someone over there and he’s moving around.” She handed off the binoculars so he could look for himself.
“Holy crap. It’s him.”
“I told you no one had lived in this house for years. There are layers of dust on layers of dust up here.”
Through the binoculars Josh found a pathway running toward the ocean. “We’ll get a better view from the third floor. Come on, we need a room with a different angle.” Josh refolded the map. While working their way toward the north wing of the third floor, they came to a room with a better view of the grounds. The sitting room had a bay window that overlooked the estate manager’s cottage. Skye trained her binoculars on the building and then the vehicle. The minute she saw movement, she pulled out her phone and began keying in a text to Harry.
Be advised our man is in the estate manager’s cottage, right off the main entrance and near the boathouse with access to his cruiser. We need a diversion. Enter the grounds with as much noise as possible. We need him out of the cottage. Will move in now to block his access to the boat.
Twenty-Six
“Harry says they’ll give us fifteen minutes before Reggie disarms the gate,” Skye whispered just in case she was wrong about anyone being in the main house.
Josh was studying the map. “If we exit the house on the left side using the laundry room, we can follow the hedges and come out by the car. I say we disable it first, then get between him and his boat, placing ourselves as the last line of defense before the troops make it here.”
“Okay. But if we get caught in the act and he comes out shooting, we’ll have to use the boathouse as our bunker.”
They checked their weapons, 9-millimeters and semiautomatics before working their way downstairs to the laundry facilities. The room was like a commercial laundromat with six washers and that many dryers.
Skye glanced around at all the old appliances. “This place could’ve been a nice hotel.”
“Yeah. Right. The Bates Hotel.”
They went out through the door used for deliveries, making a beeline toward the thick snowbush and boxwood that grew in abundance and hadn’t seen a gardener in decades.
The six-foot-high hedges allowed them to move quickly to a small, gray sedan. Josh took out his Swiss army knife and ripped through one tire stem, then the others.
Before moving on to the boathouse, Skye tugged on Josh’s sleeve. “Remember, we want to take him alive. He knows where Jennifer is.”
In a coordinated effort, Reggie disarmed the gate. Skye and Josh watched from the shrubs as it popped open, allowing the team to drive onto the grounds in the big passenger van. With Leo at the wheel, he began to honk the horn while the others made as much racket as they could blasting hip-hop from the speakers.
The tactic worked. The cottage door flew open as Elias stood in the doorway holding a handgun. He looked down the driveway at all the people and took off running, racing down the pathway straight toward the boathouse.
As he darted past Josh, Josh tackled him low from one side as Skye hit him high. Elias’s gun went clattering down the concrete path.
Surprised at first, Elias quickly recovered. The three of them rolled on the ground. Fists, knees, and elbows flew fast and hard.
Some blows landed while others missed their mark. Elias used a wrestling move to free himself from Skye’s hold before landing an upward knee kick to Josh’s chin, causing him to fall backward onto the cement.
Elias scrambled to his feet. Skye tried to land a kick to his knee, but Elias was able to block with his forearm and deflect.
Skye took a step to reset herself as she paired off with Elias, one on one. She landed a series of blows, but most punches he blocked.
The counterattacks continued for several minutes before Josh rejoined the fight. He launched a tornado kick trying for a knockout. But
Elias dodged at the last second. Elias countered with a low roundhouse punch trying to knock Josh’s legs out from under him.
Skye managed to land a jumping front kick that sent Elias head over heels. The man rolled to his feet and took off for the boathouse again with Skye and Josh in pursuit.
To Skye’s astonishment, Elias stopped almost in mid-stride. Before she could react, he sent a back kick into her solar plexus.
Skye let out a gasp as she tried to catch her breath. Josh bowled right into them both, sending Skye and Elias flying toward the ground.
Before Elias could move, Josh was on top of him, raining down blows, hammering his fists into Elias’s head and chest.
Elias tried to block what seemed like a never-ending stream of punches until he hooked his leg around Josh to throw him off. Rolling free, he took the opening and broke toward the boathouse.
Bruised and bleeding, Elias tried to put space between himself and his attackers. His heart racing, fear pumping through his veins, he had to reach the boathouse and safety. He couldn’t let them cut him off, he had to keep them off balance, had to get to his cruiser. In his head he heard his brother’s voice, shouting at him, “What are you so afraid of? Kill them. Kill them all.”
Like the rest of the outbuildings, the two-story rectangular boathouse needed repair. Weathered from years of neglect, the stone exterior had turned green with fuzzy moss that had attached itself to the rock. Most of the wooden floorboards had rotted. What boards remained creaked under the weight of walking across them from one side to the other. At one end of the lower level, two old motorboats that had once been used for going back and forth to the family’s yacht now bobbed in the water like derelict vessels.
But Elias saw none of this as he reveled in his victory, resolute that he had not buckled to defeat.
On the pathway, the frenzied battle had left Skye and Josh trying to regain their footing and catch their breath.
Sea of Bones Page 25