by Matt Lincoln
“Where were the rangers when all of this went down?” I wondered aloud.
“Great question,” Holm mused. “I have a lot of those.”
“Questions?” I clarified. “Yeah, me too.” I propped myself up against the railing and watched as the island drew closer. A flat cliff face surrounded the edge of the island that seemed to drop straight down to the water. A few areas opened up to reveal sandy beaches and palm trees in the alcoves.
“There you are.” I turned to find Debra with her hands on her hips and a grin on her face. “You ready to go for a ride?”
“Uhh, aren’t we already on one?” Holm’s question reflected my thoughts.
“Yeah, this is nothing,” she replied mischievously. “We’re going on the fun boat now.”
“Bet you it’s that one over there,” Holm muttered to me. He pointed to the twenty-six-foot cutter boat docked at the aft of the ship. The bright orange rigid-hulled inflatable boat was definitely not going to be the smoothest ride.
I looked up at Debra for confirmation.
“That’s the one!” she declared proudly. “If you’re ready, we’ll be bringing you over shortly.”
“Ready as we’ll ever be.” I shrugged. She spun on her heels and disappeared around the corner, and a few minutes later, I heard the announcement.
“Now, prepare to launch the small boat.” Linda’s voice echoed through the cutter, and the entire place came to life.
A few crew members came down to the main deck to prep the boat, and shortly after that, Debra returned, dressed in her body armor and carrying a rifle across her chest. Sanchez followed with three other crew members we hadn’t yet met while Bonnie and Ethel fell in behind them, looking nervous and excited.
“Follow me!” she called out as she headed over to the small boat. The crew worked like a well-oiled machine, and as soon as we all worked our way on board, the cutter dropped us into the water and turned to give us a clear shot at the island.
The ride wasn’t as rough as I expected it to be, and I credited the man at the helm for that. I got the distinct impression that he’d been doing this for a while. When we got close, he pulled up beside a ledge, and Debra and two others hopped out and pulled the boat close enough for my team to disembark.
“Perez and Murphy will stay on board,” she informed us as she led the way off the ledge and onto the sand. “Sanchez and Taylor are with us.”
She led the way across the beach and in through some foliage until the path cleared a bit and opened up to a small pond. Surrounding the pond was bright yellow Crime Scene tape, which seemed completely out of place in this environment, although no more out of place than the dried blood and abandoned personal belongings that littered the area.
“They had to move the bodies,” Debra informed us, her voice less perky now that the scenery had turned morbid. “There’s a lot of wildlife out here, and they wanted to preserve them the best they could. You can see where the bodies were, though, and the rest of it is supposed to be untouched. Well, except for the pond. The water feeds from the ocean, so it’s filtered out the blood. When it first happened, the water was a deep red.” Her face paled slightly as she finished her description.
“Any idea what happened?” Bonnie asked, stepping forward to take control of the scene. The scene was gruesome, and the blood had darkened to almost black and penetrated the rocks and dirt, a permanent reminder of what had taken place here.
Debra looked over at Sanchez. “You were the first on the scene. Do you want to take over?”
“Sure.” Sanchez stepped forward to stand beside us. “We were on our way out here for a routine patrol. This island sits pretty much exactly halfway between Puerto Rico and Dom Rep, and it’s known to be a hotspot for drug deals and transfers. It’s pretty ideal, considering it’s uninhabited. So, we keep a close eye on it because of all that. We don’t usually find much… until yesterday, that is.”
“Dom Rep?” Holm chuckled. “Ahh, the days of shorthand and acronyms.”
“So many acronyms,” I added.
Sanchez laughed good-naturedly. “We do have a lot of them. Georgia, my girl back home, is constantly reminding me that she doesn’t work with me and has no idea what I am even talking about half the time. Dom Rep, the Dominican Republic… Maybe we’re all just a bit too lazy to drag out all those syllables.”
“You know what, I don’t blame you. We’ve been known to do the same thing.” I began walking gingerly up to the pond, watching my step to avoid Bonnie’s wrath. “What happened when you arrived?”
“There was a man on the beach, waving us down. We took the small boat out to find out what was going on, and we saw blood. I hopped out and ran over, but I could tell right away it was a fatal injury. We did what we could to make him comfortable until our air support arrived to take him, but we all knew he wouldn’t survive.”
“What kind of injury?” Bonnie asked as she nudged a hunk of something shiny over in the mud. I already knew what he was about to say.
“Gunshot wound,” he replied simply.
“This projectile ties in with your findings,” she muttered. She scanned the area around us. “Based on the blood patterns and where this is, I’d say they were shooting from that way.” She pointed past everyone toward the beach we had just walked in from. “Did you see anyone leave the island while you were arriving?”
“Yes.” Debra nodded. “CO said there was a speedboat leaving as we approached before we saw the man on the beach. She didn’t pay much attention to it at the time because people do use the island for recreational purposes, and the speedboat wasn’t moving too quickly and didn’t look suspicious at all. It wasn’t until after we discovered the gunshot wound that she made the possible connection.”
“Okay,” Holm called out from the other side of the group. “So, the shooters got away, we don’t know who they are, and a bunch of random campers died? Who were these people? Were they all one group?”
“It was a tour group,” Sanchez informed us. “They were mostly couples, but they didn’t know each other. They all signed up for a weekend camping excursion. Their tents are through there, along with more personal effects.”
“Do we know how many people were in the group?” Holm asked.
“I don’t know,” Sanchez admitted. “This is no longer a Coast Guard-affiliated case. We were relieved of it after the bodies were discovered, so the information trail cut off. I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to apologize for,” I assured him. “Bonnie, let’s get our hands on some of these personal effects and try to account for everyone. Then we will head back and have Ethel ID the bodies. Someone in this group had to be a target. Otherwise, it makes no sense. If the group had accidentally stumbled upon something, maybe, but I don’t think that’s it, though.”
“No, definitely not.” Bonnie shook her head as she walked around the scene. “They wouldn’t have been ambushed from through the trees if that were the case.”
“Right.” I nodded glumly. “I agree.”
We left Bonnie to do her investigative work while we stepped back to take it all in.
“Wait,” Holm sputtered, “what about the cocaine?”
I turned to Sanchez. “That’s right. What about the cocaine?”
“Oh, yeah.” He jutted his chin toward a nearby path between the trees. “Over here.”
Ethel followed us until we hit the treeline, and then she shouted suddenly. “Stop!”
We froze and turned to her.
“Look,” she pointed. “Someone was dragged away here.”
“Yes,” Sanchez added, “and through the dirt is some white powder. The local officers tested it, and it popped positive. It’s not a lot, but it’s something to go off of.”
“I’ll grab a sample.” Bonnie came over and worked her way along the scrapes in the dirt carefully, opening her kit to collect some samples.
Holm stepped up beside me, and I felt his shirt brush against my arm as he leaned in. “Are you also getting the impression that
we are missing a large piece of this puzzle?”
I sighed. “Yeah, and I think that piece has a name.”
“Starts with a J, ends with a Header?” Holm chuckled.
“Yeah, something like that.”
Something wasn’t adding up, and I needed to find out what it was.
Chapter 5: Ethan
As the Coast Guard cutter approached Mayagüez, my phone began chiming repeatedly, and Holm’s was doing the same. We were out on the main deck again, enjoying the sunrise as we approached the main island of Puerto Rico. The crew had been kind enough to offer us some flat surfaces to sleep on overnight, and some toothbrushes for when we woke up. It wasn’t the best sleep, but I wasn’t about to complain.
“Damn,” Holm muttered. “Someone wants our attention.”
“It’s Diane,” I replied, looking down at my phone. I dialed her number and looked over at Holm warily. I didn’t know whether she was just checking in or if there was new information about this case. I was hoping it would be the latter. I hated working in the dark.
“Ramsey,” she answered, her voice clipped.
“Diane, it’s Ethan.”
“Ethan, I have news.” Her statement made me feel better, but only for a moment. “Apparently, the president of the Dominican Republic has a son that was supposed to be camping on Mona Island this past weekend. He never came home. The president is asking for cooperation between our government and his in order to find his son and bring him home.”
“Damn,” I breathed.
Suddenly, us being on the case made a lot more sense. I still didn’t understand Header’s involvement, but that was the least of my worries at the moment.
“We’re pulling in soon,” I began. “Ethel will be working on IDing the bodies, and Bonnie will be checking the personal effects left behind by the victims. I’d also like to check the manifest to see who was supposed to be on this trip. Let’s compare all of it and see what we find. What’s the son’s name?”
“García. Miguel.” I heard some rustling in the background. “He’s twenty-three years old. He was supposed to be with a friend of his.”
“Okay, I’ll look into it. Thanks, Diane.” I hung up the phone and looked over at Holm. The intercom came to life, along with the rest of the boat as they prepared to pull up to the dock, but I was barely paying attention.
“What happened?” Holm asked, pushing himself off the railing and turning to face me.
“I think we found our missing puzzle piece,” I informed him, shoving the phone into my pants pocket. “The president of the Dominican Republic? He has a son that was supposed to be with that tour group. He wants our governments working together to find him.”
“No kidding,” Holm replied, his eyes widening at the news. “Yeah, that’s our missing piece, alright.”
I shook my head, still trying to connect all of the dots. “I just don’t understand Header’s involvement.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” he shrugged. “Isn’t he close by?”
“Close enough. He’s in Isabela. We are going to need a rental as soon as we can get one.”
Holm groaned. “As long as it’s bigger than the ride from the airport, I’m all for it.”
“Hey, you weren’t the one sandwiched in the middle seat,” I retorted.
“There you are.” Bonnie’s voice announced her presence as she rounded the corner with Ethel and found us together. “Did you get a call from Ramsey, too?”
“Yeah,” Holm nodded. “We need to look into a Miguel García.”
“Suspect?” She walked over to us and looked between us.
I shook my head. “Potential victim,” I corrected. “He is the son of the president of the Dominican Republic. He was supposed to be camping on the island with a friend, and now he is missing. In addition to checking the personal effects and IDing the bodies, I’d also like to pull up the manifest of who was scheduled to do the tour this past weekend.”
“That’s already done,” Ethel informed us. I was a bit taken aback by her efficiency, but I shouldn’t have been. The woman was damn good at her job.
“Damn, Ethel,” Holm laughed. “You’re always one step ahead of things.”
“That’s why I’m down here, to keep you boys in line.” She crossed her arms over her chest assertively. “In all seriousness, all I did was put in the request. I’ll let you know once I hear back.”
“Sounds good to me.” I turned to look toward the island and saw that we were already pulling up to the dock. It wasn’t long before the boat was secured to the pier, and I was ready to move forward with this case.
“Are you guys good from here?” Linda Reyes called out from up above. I looked up to find her standing outside the bridge, smiling down at us. Damn, her eyes did brighten in the sunlight.
“Yeah, we’ve got it,” I assured her. “Can we call you if we need anything else?”
“Of course!” she beamed. “Any friend of Jake’s is a friend of mine.”
“Thanks, Linda.” Holm and I waved her off as she headed back inside.
“You two want to help me carry my findings off the boat?” Bonnie clapped her hands together as she looked between us. “I got a lot of good stuff. I’m going to be a busy woman.”
“You got it,” Holm assured her. Together we headed inside to collect her cases of evidence, and then we carried it all across the brow and worked our way down the pier. Bonnie and Ethel led the way, letting Holm and I trail behind.
“You better not be thinking what I think you’re thinking,” Holm muttered beside me.
“Depends,” I asserted. “What do you think I’m thinking?”
“Oh, something to do with Linda Reyes.” Holm raised his eyebrows at me.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Am I that obvious?”
“To me, you are,” he shrugged. “I’ve known you for a while, though. So, take that how you will.”
“Linda was off-limits the second Header’s name came out of her mouth,” I assured him. “You remember the stories.”
“You don’t have to remind me,” he agreed. “Header has some strong feelings for that woman.”
“I can see why. She’s tough enough to be able to put up with him, that’s for damn sure.”
We walked to the end of the pier where Bonnie and Ethel waited for us. I put my stuff down in order to call a cab, but the voice behind me gave me pause.
“Where do you need to go?” Debra was there again, as cheerful and as helpful as ever.
“Marston and I need the nearest car rental place,” Holm stated, squinting against the rising sunlight. “Bonnie and Ethel need to hit up the local police station.”
“Okay, no problem. I’ll drive you. Come on.” Debra marched forward so confidently that it left no room for an argument.
“Err, okay.” I collected everything into my arms again, and we all headed toward the parking lot. This time, Debra had acquired the keys to a pickup, complete with a truck cap, which would be plenty to protect Bonnie’s equipment. We loaded it all up and climbed up into the cabin, and Debra quickly got us on the way. This time, I had a bit more breathing room in the rear seat, despite getting the middle spot again.
“The local police station is nearby, but I’ll bring you straight to the rental place. I can wait for you and lead you back to the police station if you’d like.” Debra’s eyes were focused on the road in front of her, but that didn’t distract her from us.
“No need,” I assured her. “We’ll find our way back. If you wouldn’t mind dropping Ethel and Bonnie off on the way back, that would be helpful.”
“Okay,” she conceded. “That’s not a problem at all. Also, moving forward, I gave Rosa my number in case you need anything from me.”
Rosa Bonci was Bonnie’s real name, but we had grown so accustomed to calling her by her nickname that hearing Debra call her Rosa threw me off for a moment.
“Okay, great,” I replied. I looked back at Bonnie in the backseat, and she nodd
ed in confirmation.
The rental place was fairly empty when we arrived. While Debra waited with the rest of my team in the truck, I went inside to secure a car. By the time I came back out, Holm was propped up against the wall, and the women had taken off.
“What’d we get?” Holm asked casually. “Let me guess. Budget cuts put us in an economy car.”
“They’re pulling it around now,” I replied nonchalantly. “There was an expression repeating through my head as I walked in, kind of like a mantra.”
“Oh, yeah?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “What’s that?”
The sound of a deep, throaty engine roared to life behind the building.
“Ask for forgiveness, not permission.”
Chapter 6: Jake
I knew that Marston was going to give me an earful when he arrived, and I did my best to brace for it, but there were certain things I just wasn’t willing to share over the phone. Marston knew that, and he’d get over it quickly.
We’d all agreed to meet up at a restaurant in Aguadilla for lunch, and even though it wasn’t exactly a short ride from Mayagüez, Linda had insisted on joining them. I had to admit, I was looking forward to seeing her, even though the visit was overshadowed by this case. After all, we had practically grown up together, so living so far from each other now just didn’t seem natural to either of us.
The restaurant didn’t look like much on the outside. It was a simple roadside building without a huge footprint, and the wood-paneled exterior walls gave it a rustic appearance. I ambled my glossy black Ford pickup over the gravel and parked in the back corner away from the rest of the cars. When I had first purchased this beauty of a truck, I had no idea the amount of damage that would be inflicted on it. Then again, I never could have foreseen a gunfight at my own front doorstep, so I could hardly blame myself for not planning ahead for it. Now that the repairs were done, and she was looking brand new again, I was determined to keep her that way, at least for the near future.
I hopped down out of the cab and ran my fingers through my thick black hair in a hopeless attempt to neaten it up. A quick glance into the side-view mirror told me that my attempts had been in vain, and the bags under my usually bright green eyes didn’t do me any additional favors. Resigned to my haggard appearance, I walked up toward the entrance to the small restaurant. I heard the roar of the engine of a distant sports car, and the steady increase in volume told me it was headed this way. I laughed to myself as the realization dawned on me. There was only one person who could be behind the wheel of whatever car that was.