by Matt Lincoln
“Everyone, this is Alejandra,” Jake announced authoritatively. “Alejandra, this is… well, everyone.”
“I feel so caught up,” Alejandra teased.
The men scattered throughout the kitchen and living room, but Alejandra wanted to check out the back patio. She slowly walked over to the glass double doors and looked out. Teak lounge chairs sat on the deck overlooking the pool, and beyond that, the cliff face dropped down suddenly. With virtually nothing impeding her view, she stood there mesmerized by the movements of the water. She must have been standing there for longer than anticipated because Ethan came over to stand beside her.
“Dinner is about ready,” he offered gently. “I’m sure you’re hungry.”
“My hunger has increased exponentially since I walked through those doors,” she informed him lightheartedly.
“Follow me, then,” he said warmly. “I’ll take care of you.”
His blue eyes seemed to penetrate her soul, and she believed every word.
Chapter 10: Ethan
Dinner was fantastic as usual, and Rosa followed it up with a mouthwatering tres leches cake for dessert. By the time we had all had our fill, I had to loosen my belt. Despite that, I could have kept eating more of it, it had been that good.
“So, what’s next on the agenda for you two?” Header asked as he sank into a chair with a rocks glass containing a couple of fingers’ worth of some amber liquid. He swirled it in his palm for a bit before bringing it to his lips.
Holm chimed in before I could. “We need to head to San Juan so that we can interview Maria’s family. If there is any place that Maria should have felt safe, it was the house in San Juan.”
“Right,” I added, “but we also can’t leave Bonnie and Clyde stranded without a vehicle.”
“Hey, if MBLIS is footing the bill, then let’s get a second rental.” Holm grinned widely, and I knew he wanted a chance to drive.
“Don’t do that,” Header replied sternly. “Take my truck. It’s kind of a pain getting it around the neighborhood, but it will be easier in San Juan.”
“Are you sure? I know you love your truck.” I looked over at Holm, who was sitting forward with his eyes wide. I knew he’d always prefer his Lancer, of course, but who wouldn’t want to get behind the wheel of a truck like Header’s?
Header chuckled humorlessly. “You have absolutely no idea the amount of crap that truck has been through lately. There’s nothing you can do to it that would surprise me.”
“I don’t know,” Holm said, trailing off at the end. I shot him a look, but he kept going. “Did he tell you about the time he flooded his department car?”
Header’s eyebrows shot up as he looked over at me.
I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could. “I had to chase down the bad guys.”
“Well, I’m not one to rescind my offers,” Header groaned. “Anything else I should know about before I hand over the keys?” He looked at Holm instead of me, but Holm shook his head.
“Nothing serious. A few scratches here and there.”
Header squinted at him suspiciously, but dug through his pants pocket and pulled out a set of car keys. The blue Ford emblem caught the light as he tossed it to Holm, who caught it with ease. “When are you heading out?”
“Early tomorrow morning,” I replied, looking over at Holm and then scanning the room for Alejandra. I found her outside on the deck, signing with Rosa. “Hey, I didn’t know Alejandra could sign.”
Holm followed my gaze. “That’s pretty cool.” He turned to look at Header. “Do you all sign?”
Header nodded as he took another sip from his glass. “When Rosa’s vocal cords were cut on a mission, we all took it up for her. It’s become such second nature now, we don’t even think about it. We usually don’t sign back to her, though. I’ll be honest. I’d probably get tripped up trying to sign too quickly since I never do it. We all understand every word she says, though.”
“That’s some serious team loyalty,” Holm said admirably.
Header shrugged casually. “We’ve been together for a long time. None of us are going anywhere. You don’t get to this position without proving your loyalty and trustworthiness.”
“Well, thanks for letting us bring Alejandra back here,” I said gratefully. “I know it was a big ask.”
“You know,” he replied, staring down at the rug on the living room floor, “I used to be very secretive about this place. Then we got attacked, and as a result, now this place is so fortified that even if she proves to be completely untrustworthy, there is no way she is getting anywhere near this home or Wraith. It will be the last decision she ever makes.”
“I believe it,” I muttered.
“Me too,” Holm chuckled.
The shrill tone of my phone ringing cut through the conversation, and I pulled it out of my pocket to see a name I wasn’t expecting to see.
“Excuse me. I have to take this.” I stood up and, unsure of where else to go, walked out the front door and across the front lawn toward the solid wall that surrounded Header’s home.
“Marston,” I answered.
“Marston, where are you?” Retired Fleet Admiral Donald Farr was directly involved with trying to track down the source of MBLIS’s budget cuts, and lately, that had been the only reason he ever called me.
“Puerto Rico, sir,” I informed him. “We’re working a case.”
“Yes,” he replied, and I knew immediately that he had already known the answer to his question. “President García’s son.”
“That’s right.” I waited patiently for him to continue with his reason for the phone call.
“Marston, I’m going to need you to solve your case quickly. I think I have a break in this entire fiasco for you.” Farr cleared his throat a few times. Whatever was going on with him the last time we spoke, it sounded like he still hadn’t shaken it.
I paced back and forth beside the imposing wall. “What kind of break?”
“It seems as if our dear senator has some sort of tie to the cocaine industry,” he informed me. “I don’t know how deep these ties go or how involved he is personally, but there’s something going on worth examining.”
“Interesting,” I mused after a momentary pause. “Imagine you were a senator with the power to reprioritize the budget, and you also had a pet project that was potentially at risk.”
“I may choose to move the money and the funding to protect my pet project,” he answered confidently.
“Right,” I agreed. “We need to get a closer look at all of this, and quickly before it gets worse.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Farr replied quickly. He cleared his throat again before continuing. “When are you getting back up here?”
“I’m honestly not sure.” I looked out across the brilliant green lawn and out to the clear water beyond it. “There are missing people involved. I can’t just leave. What I can do, however, is reach out to Warner. Let’s see if he can make heads or tails of this information, and then once we’re back, we can put our heads together and come up with a plan.” I didn’t have a better idea about how to handle this, but bringing Warner into the fold early should help expedite the process so that I could hit the ground running when I returned to Miami.
“Sounds good to me, Marston,” Farr conceded. “Let me know what he finds.”
“Will do.”
I hung up the phone and contemplated this entire situation for a moment. The senator being involved in drugs somehow made sense as far as budget cuts were concerned, but it still didn’t explain why we were the targets of his wrath and not another agency. There were plenty of law enforcement agencies that did routine drug busts, even the Coast Guard. It would’ve been easy to send the budget cuts across the board. So what made MBLIS special?
Hopefully, Warner would be able to find out. He’d been working on the funding issue for a while now, on top of his usual work down in Cyber. Since he was no longer working just for our team, his workload
had grown significantly, and I knew the budget cut issue wasn’t doing him any favors. I also knew that Warner would drop everything to help us in a heartbeat. I dialed his number and turned my face up to the warm sun. Miami was always warm too, but something about being down here on the island made it more bearable.
“Hey, Marston.” Warner sounded mildly distracted.
“Is this a good time?” I asked, resuming my pacing.
“Err, sure,” he muttered. I knew that meant the exact opposite, but I pressed forward. If I didn’t discuss this with him now, I might not get around to it again for a while.
“Listen, I spoke to Farr. I need you to look deeper into the senator’s connections. There are drug ties in there.”
“Drugs?” The paper rustling in the background stopped, and I knew I had his full attention.
“Yes, cocaine specifically. Look into any illegal dealings.”
The rustling continued. “Can you give me a hint on where I can start looking?”
“No,” I replied apologetically. “That’s all I have so far.”
“Alright,” he agreed, “Let me finish this up, and I’ll get right on it.”
“Thanks, man.” I headed back up to Header’s front door. “See you when I get back.”
“Yeah, enjoy your tropical vacation,” Warner teased as he hung up the phone.
When I walked back into the house, Rosa and Alejandra were both back in the living room, and there was a heated debate about pizza going on.
“Pineapples have no business being on pizza!” Holm argued.
“Have you ever had it, though?” Alejandra asked. “The flavor combination is quite good!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Holm muttered as he shook his head. He spotted me in the doorway and straightened up.
“Good news? Bad news?” he asked, his tone suddenly more serious.
“Just news,” I answered vaguely. “We’re working on some new intel.” Holm knew I couldn’t say anything more, and he didn’t press me for additional information.
“So, this is what we’re discussing? Pineapple on pizza?” I passed through the kitchen to pull a bottle of beer out of the fridge and then took my seat beside Holm on the couch.
“Yes,” Alejandra replied, fixing me with a friendly smile. “Where do you stand on this divisive topic?”
“Well, I think it has its place,” I admitted. “As a rule, it’s a little weird, but I have to admit, I’ve had it, and I’ve liked it.”
“Ah hah!” Alejandra laughed heartily, tossing her head back, her thick, dark hair slipping off her shoulders and cascading down her back. Her laughter was contagious, and even Holm joined in, despite his just having lost the argument.
“Oh, Marston, I made a phone call while you were out. I have you and Holm set up in a nice room off the water in San Juan.” Header took another sip out of his glass, which I noticed had been refilled while I was outside.
“Man, you didn’t have to do that,” I insisted, glancing over at Holm. He shrugged helplessly. “We’re dealing with budget cuts, but we’re not broke.”
“Yet.” Holm’s additional word changed the entire meaning of my sentence.
“Yet,” I conceded. “We can still find our own hotel rooms.”
Header set his glass down on the coffee table and leaned forward, propping his elbows up on his knees. “I want you two to listen to me carefully.”
I recognized his tone of voice. It wasn’t one he used often, but it meant he was in charge and wasn’t wouldn’t allow anyone to question him. It was an effective tool, but I hated that it was being turned on me.
“The only reason you two are on this case is that I made it so. I made the phone calls, and I pulled the strings. President García is a friend, and I promised him the best. Now, you are all far from home, dealing in a mess that you shouldn’t even be involved in, and your hands are tied due to budget cuts. That is unacceptable to me. So, you will take the fancy hotel rooms, you will take my truck, and you will drive your overpriced rental, and you won’t give me any crap about it. Deal?”
My irritation at being talked to in that tone of voice quickly dissipated as I listened to him talk. Looking at it from that point of view, I could understand Header’s desire to ensure that we were taken care of.
“Deal,” Holm confirmed. Header focused his eyes on me.
“Deal,” I agreed.
Header picked up his glass and sat back. “Good,” he concluded.
“Hopefully, we’ll have some time to actually appreciate these accommodations a bit more,” I added. “I’d love to explore the island a bit, though I doubt we will have much time for any of that.”
“You’d be surprised how many things there are to see around here that are free, quick, and easy to reach,” Doc chimed in lazily from the far corner in the recliner. “The drive to San Juan is an easy one. Once you hit the main road, just stay on it. If you catch the highway, you can take that right to San Juan as well. There’s some decent scenery for pretty much the entire drive. On the way back, make sure to plan a couple of stops, even if it’s just a beach. A lot of our beaches are unique.”
“Yes,” Header nodded. “Do that, even if it’s the only thing you do while you’re here. Maybe it will give you enough reason to finally come down for a visit like I’ve been asking.”
“Point taken,” I acknowledged, “and we will.” I looked over at Holm and then Alejandra.
“Oh, I’m excited to be able to see some parts of this island!” she squealed. “I’ve never been here before, so any sightseeing would be a lovely bonus on this trip.”
“We’ll do as much as we can,” I assured her.
The rest of the evening consisted of more debates on various topics, and as the food and the cake settled, I realized we needed to get back to the hotel room if we wanted to be well-rested enough for whatever tomorrow was bound to bring us. Holm was happy to drive us back to our suites, and Alejandra lingered to say goodbye to Rosa. It was a motley crew, MBLIS, Header’s team, Alejandra, and the Coast Guard, but watching everyone interact and enjoy our evening, I had a very good feeling about where this was all heading.
Chapter 11: Ethan
Doc had been right. The drive to San Juan was surprisingly simple, even though it was about an hour and a half long. When we closed in on the address we had for Maria’s parents, I was grateful for the passenger seat. It allowed me the opportunity to take in the neighborhood as Holm drove through. Similar to Maria’s grandmother’s house in the Dominican Republic, some of these homes also boasted bright color schemes and decorative details. Lofty multi-level buildings sat on the same streets as rickety shacks, and there wasn’t much of a consensus with regard to building shape or design. The roads were narrow, lumpy, and broken, and Header’s stiff suspension was incredibly unforgiving.
“Well, hey, this would have been worse in the Mustang,” Holm muttered over the sound of the rumbling diesel engine.
“Yeah, good point,” I admitted, although my tailbone was smarting.
We pulled up to a single-level pale yellow building with a wooden door and a thriving vegetable garden growing along the left side. Two nondescript sedans sat in the gravel driveway.
“This looks like it,” I announced unhelpfully, as the giant house numbers affixed to the front door made our destination glaringly obvious.
Holm had to drive a bit further down the block since none of the nearby spots were large enough to hold the pickup. The three of us climbed down out of the truck and began making our way back up the block. Holm rapped his knuckles against the doorframe, and after a minute, the door opened to reveal a thin woman with her hair pulled back into a bun, rogue strands of gray peeking through her otherwise dark hair. She pulled her cardigan across her chest as she peered up at us.
“Mrs. Gonzalez?” I asked with what I hoped was a disarming smile.
“Can I help you?” she asked, her face a combination of annoyance and suspicion.
I flas
hed my badge and caught Holm doing the same by my side. “I’m Special Agent Marston, this is Special Agent Holm, and this is Alejandra. We’re here on behalf of MBLIS, and we’d like to ask you a few questions about Maria Gonzalez.”
“Have you found my daughter?” the woman asked, straightening up a bit at the mention of Maria.
“No, ma’am,” Holm replied. “We are trying to track her down, and we were hoping you could help.”
“Of course,” she nodded. “What agency did you say you were with again?”
“MBLIS,” I repeated. “Military Border Liaison Investigative Services.”
She cocked one eyebrow at me.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “It’s a mouthful. Basically, we investigate crimes that cross international borders. Your daughter seems to be wrapped up in our current case.”
The woman silently stepped to the side and let us into her home. When we stepped in, I noticed that she had the same type of shutters on her home that Maria’s grandmother had, and she had opened the shutters on both sides of the house, allowing for a refreshing cross-breeze to cut through the room.
“Can I get you some tea or some water?” she offered as she gestured for us to have a seat on the small couch. Holm took the far side, but Alejandra was behind me, leaving me not much of a choice other than to sit sandwiched between them. I got a whiff of coconuts, and just knew it was wafting over from Alejandra’s hair.
“No, thank you,” Holm replied graciously.
The woman took a seat in the nearby upholstered chair and looked at the three of us.
“My daughter hasn’t called home in days,” she informed us. “I knew she was going on that camping trip with her boyfriend, but I haven’t heard from her since. It’s been weighing heavily on my mind, especially since she wasn’t supposed to go originally.”
“Do you know who was?” I asked. I wasn’t sure it was relevant, but it would be good information to have.
“I do not,” she answered glumly. “All I know is that she had a few days’ notice, went shopping, and then headed to the Dominican Republic to meet Miguel before the trip. I wasn’t comfortable with it. I know Mona Island isn’t for the fair-hearted, but I never imagined this.”