by Matt Lincoln
The cobalt blue Ford Mustang convertible slowed as it turned into the parking lot, coming to a stop in front of me. Ethan Marston pulled his sunglasses away from his face and beamed up at me like a little kid in a candy store.
“Check out what MBLIS got me,” he boasted.
“You’re ridiculous,” I assured him, but I had to laugh. Marston was nothing if not predictable. I looked down at Holm in the passenger seat.
“He may be ridiculous, but I’m not complaining!” he shouted over the idling engine.
“I wouldn’t be, either!” I promised. Marston pulled away and nosed into a parking spot, raising the soft top before climbing out of the low-slung seats.
“Now that’s a car,” he muttered as he approached the restaurant.
We all exchanged solid handshakes. “It’s been a while,” I pointed out.
“Too long,” Marston corrected. “Do you still have that condo in Miami? Because if you do, then shame on both of us for not seeing each other more often.”
“Yeah, I still have it,” I grumbled. “It’s over in Biscayne Bay. Not that I’m ever there. Maybe I’m better off selling it.”
“Selling a condo in Biscayne Bay?” Holm said in disbelief. “No, you wouldn’t be. Hold on to it.”
“To be honest, I’m too lazy to sell it,” I shrugged. “It’s just unfortunate that I hardly ever use it. I wonder if it’s worth it.”
“Well, make it a point to visit, and I’ll remind you why you have it.” Marston led the way to the restaurant door and held it open.
“Sounds like a plan,” I replied, “so long as we can tackle this mess first.” My condo in Biscayne Bay was the least of my worries at the moment, not with everything else going on.
Inside, the vibe of the restaurant was much more upscale, with white accents set on white walls and chrome decor propped up on wooden shelves. The chairs were a sleek glossy white with wooden legs, and the floor had the nice contrast of a barnyard wood finish, complete with knots and other imperfections.
We all paused the conversation as the hostess seated us, and once we had menus in front of us, Marston picked up right where he left off. “Speaking of this mess, I didn’t appreciate not having all of the information upfront.” He dropped his voice to just above a whisper. “I mean, the son of the Dominican Republic’s president? Talk about burying the lede.”
“I know,” I assured him, “and I’m sorry. It wasn’t common knowledge when I first found out, and I needed to protect myself and the president. Julio García isn’t exactly trusting. There are some things going on there that you’re not aware of yet.”
“I’d love to be enlightened,” Marston snarked.
Holm interjected. “I think what Marston is saying is, would you please fill us in on the information we are missing so that we can be better at our jobs?”
I snorted. Holm was always good for diffusing the tension in a conversation. “I’m happy to fill you in,” I replied, “but let’s let Linda get settled first.” I jutted my chin to the doorway where sure enough, Linda had just entered the room.
I was immensely proud of all that Linda Reyes had accomplished during her time in the Coast Guard. After all, I was the one who had encouraged her to join. Despite my enjoyment at watching her succeed in her work, I much preferred this version of her.
Linda’s dark brown hair hung in perfect voluminous spirals down over her shoulders, and her hazel eyes could light up a room all on their own. She flashed the table a huge smile as she drew near, and she pulled out the empty chair to take a seat. My heart warmed at the sight of her. It’d been too long since I’d last seen her.
“What’d I miss?” she asked goodnaturedly, reaching her hand briefly across the table to squeeze mine in a silent hello.
“You’re just in time, actually,” I assured her warmly. “Marston here had just finished telling me how upset he was about not having all of the information. So now that we are all here, I will lay it all out for you.”
Marston and Holm both eyed me expectantly, but I was focused on Linda.
“So, I guess we should start with our first trip to the Dominican Republic,” I began. I looked over at Marston. “Linda, well, let’s say she takes her job very seriously.”
“Hey!” she interjected.
“You do!” I insisted. “I haven’t always been the most receptive to your plans, but you’ve got great instincts, and the Dominican Republic was one of them.”
“I just kept running into strange scenarios,” Linda informed them, taking over the conversation. “Every case seemed too alike, and I just knew it was all connected. I called Jake to look into a few things, and he fought me on it, but the next thing I knew, he was absconding with my Chief and sailing to the Dominican Republic.”
I spoke up. “Yeah, and before you say anything, Marston, I didn’t want to get involved, specifically because this information was coming from the Coast Guard. That’s exactly the kind of thing I like to avoid.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Marston insisted. “I’m simply listening to your story.”
Holm shot Marston a sideways glance that I had to laugh at. Marston was very predictable, even though he didn’t like to think so.
“At any rate,” I continued, “Linda twisted my arm, and we ended up investigating. Turned out the Dominican government wasn’t stable at all, and the people that were trying to take over, well… let’s just say they’re not good people.”
“Okay,” Holm nodded slowly as he took it all in. “What does all of that have to do with a missing kid?”
“Well,” I resumed, “when we reinstated President García, we told him to let us know if there was anything he needed in the future.”
“Let me guess,” Marston replied. “He called on you when he realized his son was missing.”
“Yes,” I nodded. “He has reason to believe that the people closest to him, his closest advisors, are not to be trusted. He thinks they want to overthrow him. He cannot let that happen. Since he doesn’t trust anyone, he called on me.”
“He called on the other person in the world who doesn’t trust anyone,” Marston pointed out. Linda snickered behind her hands, and I shot her a disdainful look, but I’ll admit, I knew it was true.
“Anyway, long story short, García thinks that the group that is trying to oust him is using his son as leverage. He believes his son to be alive, and that this was no accident. Whatever the cocaine traces are, they may be connected to the case, but as of right now, we think they are just a diversion to throw us off track.”
“Wow,” Holm muttered. “That’s a lot of back story.”
“It’s helpful,” Marston shrugged. “I have one question, though.”
“What’s that?” I asked, sitting back in his chair now that my story was done.
“Our boss called us yesterday,” Marston replied thoughtfully. “She had gotten word from President García that his son was supposed to be on that camping trip gone wrong. If he was already working with you, why reach out to MBLIS?”
I shrugged. “He’s probably getting more and more worried. I am a little leery about MBLIS’s involvement, mostly because I don’t want you interfering with my own work, but I think we can work around that.”
“Is that why you wanted me on the case?” Marston crossed his arms over his chest. “So that you can feel like you can tell us to back off?”
“Can’t be,” Holm added with a lighthearted chuckle. “Header knows you’ll never back off. That’s a failed mission right from the start.”
“No, not at all,” I assured them. “I am afraid that this case will bring us to a crossroads and put us at odds with each other, but I’m hoping we can help each other out. Our motivations are different, though. I’m out there to help a friend, and you’re finding a missing kid and tracking the cocaine to the source. I’m hoping that means we can work side by side on this.”
Marston nodded, but I could see the skepticism in his eyes.
“I don’
t understand the relevance of the cocaine,” Linda chimed in. Her eyes darted from Jake to Marston, as if afraid to upset the delicate agreement between them. “Also, the fact that one of the victims was still alive angers me, because that means the suspects had just left. They were probably in that speedboat that I saw as we approached. I wish I could have done more.”
I looked over at her, forgetting about the MBLIS partners for a moment. “You know damn well you did everything you could,” I assured her. “Don’t you dare second guess yourself.” She locked eyes with me, and I could see the reassurance lift the weight off of her shoulders.
“I’m wondering about the cocaine, too.” Holm stopped short as our server approached.
“Are you all ready to order?” she asked, a friendly smile on her face that wavered in Holm’s direction. She had definitely caught his last sentence, but she didn’t say anything about it.
“I haven’t even looked at the menu,” Marston confessed.
Holm flipped open the menu for the first time since he’d sat down. “Me neither.” His eyes darted up to her quickly, but he decided to let the sentence stand so long as she didn’t say anything about it.
“Hey, do you guys trust me?” I placed my hand over the closed menu and looked at my friends.
“Sure,” Marston replied, and the nods from Holm and Linda followed suit.
“We’ll start with the sampler platter for the appetizers and follow up with pastelon all around.” I handed her the menu, and she began to collect the rest of them.
“Drinks?” she asked as she worked.
“Yeah, a round of beers seems appropriate.” I looked at the rest of the table for confirmation and found no arguments.
“Okay, I’ll be right back with those!” She smiled widely before taking off again.
“What did you order us?” Holm asked warily.
I chuckled as I sat back in my chair. “Pastelon.”
“The best way to describe it is like a Puerto Rican lasagna,” Linda described. “They use plantains instead of the pasta. It’s really good.”
“Sounds weird, but I’ll try it, what the hell.” Holm shrugged nonchalantly.
Marston turned to look at him. “You were saying that you were also wondering about the cocaine.”
“Oh, yeah.” Holm sat up straighter as he spoke. “I don’t know that it was planted. If there was a struggle, it’s possible that it was a total accident.”
“Right,” Marston added. “I’m wondering if Bonnie can trace the cocaine or divulge anything from it.”
“Any hint as to where it came from would definitely be helpful,” Holm nodded. “I know Bonnie can also help us determine whether my theory is correct. I think if it was planted, they would have made it a hell of a lot more obvious.”
The server returned with four beer bottles, and I lifted my bottle up toward the center of the table.
“Now that we have the best minds working on this,” I announced, “I’m confident that between the four of us, we will figure this out.”
“Hear, hear,” Marston bellowed, and the clink of the glass bottles drowned out our worries, at least for the moment.
Chapter 7: Ethan
Header had found us a great place to stay in Aguadilla, complete with a balcony that overlooked the ocean. The scent of the salty ocean air cut through the open doorway and filled the cozily furnished suite, and the early morning joggers were already out on the boardwalk, squeezing a workout in before the sun reached its full potential. I decided that if there was ever a good place to work a case, this was it.
Bonnie had gotten the suite adjacent to us, and we were expecting her lab partner, Joe “Clyde” Clime, to fly in today to help us out. The two of them always worked better together, and now that Lamarr Birn and Sylvia Muñoz were winding down their current case, Clyde had plenty of time to help us out. Holm and I knew that Bonnie was working down in Mayagüez late last night with Ethel, and when she finally arrived in Aguadilla, the only communication we received from her was a single text.
Long day. Will have info for you in the AM. I’m going to bed.
Despite having to wait for the newest information, I didn’t feel I could complain. When Header had asked where we were staying, I had admitted the pickings were slim with these budget cuts. He made a couple of phone calls and got us these luxurious suites for less than our typical hotel room budget. In hindsight, I should have asked him to do the same with our car rental before coming out of pocket for it. I had no regrets, though. The Mustang was damn fun to drive.
The door to the other bedroom opened, and Holm came out yawning and rubbing the back of his neck.
“Any word from Bonnie yet?” he asked as he stumbled his way into the kitchenette to set up the coffeemaker.
“Nothing yet,” I replied as I took in his appearance. His usually neat blonde hair stuck up at odd angles, and his plain white t-shirt was wrinkled from sleep.
“Ethel stayed in Mayagüez, right?” he asked, looking back at me.
“Yeah, she found a room there,” I reminded him. “Her role is much less mobile than ours is.”
Holm chuckled. “Do you want coffee?” he mumbled. At my nod, he pulled a second coffee cup off the stack on the counter as he continued to work.
The strong aroma of Puerto Rican coffee had filled the room by the time we heard a knock at our door, and I immediately walked over to answer it. I was unsurprised to find Bonnie on the other side of the door, and her freshly made-up face and neatly ironed floral button-down top made her the antithesis of Holm’s barely conscious look.
“Good morning!” I bellowed, swinging the door wider to welcome her in.
“Good morning.” She looked around and took in Holm’s outfit. “I’m early, I guess.”
“He’ll be alright,” I assured her. “You want a cup?”
“No, I’m all set.” She strolled in and took a seat on the sofa, resting her elbows on her thighs as she stared out the window.
“Some view, huh?” I muttered as I walked back over to where I had been standing before her arrival.
“You’re not kidding,” she asserted. “How did Jake snag this? And how is this within budget?”
“I don’t ask questions,” I replied, shaking my head for emphasis. “Not when it comes to Header.”
“That’s a good rule,” Holm chimed in from the kitchen. He sauntered over to us with two mugs in his hand. He handed one over to me and immediately took a long sip of his own. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes,” he promised Bonnie.
Bonnie looked at him with an unreadable expression. “If you take a seat now, I can fill you both in on my findings yesterday.”
That was enough to get Holm to drop into the nearest chair, and I followed suit in the chair adjacent to him.
She cleared her throat and sat forward in her seat. “I went through the belongings of everyone and matched everything up to the bodies that we have on hand. I’ve IDed everyone. There are two sets of personal belongings that don’t have a body to match up to them, though. The first is Miguel García, the president’s son. The second is a woman. She is roughly the same age as García, and their items were found together in the same tent. I think it’s safe to say they knew each other, although I don’t have much to go on as far as how close they were, or why she went missing, too.”
“Damn,” I breathed as I sat back against my seat. “I wonder if her family even knows she is missing.”
“Well, I guess we found our next task,” Holm pointed out from behind his steaming coffee cup. “Where does she live?”
“As far as I can tell,” Bonnie continued, “she could be either here in Puerto Rico or over in the Dominican Republic. She has dual citizenship and ties to both islands.”
“You found that out fast,” I replied, sitting back into the chair. “I’m impressed.”
“That was the easy part,” she asserted. “I called Warner.”
“Hey, that’s cheating,” Holm teased. Bonnie chuckled quietly.
>
I looked over at Holm. “We need to speak to the president, too. Why don’t we start in the Dominican Republic? If we strike out tracking her family down there, we can come back here.”
Bonnie nodded. “I’ll reach out to Warner again today and see if he can get you two some addresses.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Holm agreed. He looked over at me. “Do you think Header can give us a lift?”
“That’s probably a better bet than the Coast Guard,” I considered out loud. “They probably have their hands full.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely a better bet,” Holm chuckled, “although a lot less attractive.”
I rolled my eyes at him. I knew he was talking about Linda Reyes. “I told you, she’s off-limits.”
Holm got up and headed toward his bedroom door. “Yeah, sure,” he called out behind him. “Doesn’t change the way she looks, though.” He closed the door before I could retort, although I hadn’t really had one lined up.
“Don’t start,” Bonnie warned. I looked over at her.
“Don’t start what?” I asked.
She chuckled and shook her head as she pushed herself up off the couch. “You know damn well what,” she replied lightheartedly. “I’ll be next door. See you in ten.”
Bonnie headed out the door to the suite, leaving me alone with my coffee clutched between my hands. It was much stronger than the generic stuff I was used to at the Miami MBLIS office, and I was beginning to feel a bit jittery just sitting in place. With one last sip, I set the cup down and began to pace, taking in the view down below as I did so. I had never met Linda Reyes before this trip, although I felt like I already knew her, due to the stories Header would tell us. It was a bit bizarre to meet her in person and see who she really was. I was intrigued and wanted to get to know her better, but it wasn’t what Bonnie and Holm seemed to think. There was no point in trying to convince them of that, though. They seemed to have already drawn their own conclusions.