Carolina Rain (21 page)

Part of her wanted to know why
and
,
if she
did
stumble on the truth, would it matter? Would it make it better? Did she really care? She only knew one thing; her love life was in full motion and nothing would stop it.

Nothing.

CHAPTER-27

“What the hell? Did you see that?” asked Sophie, doing a double
-
take in the rearview mirror.

“See what?” asked Manny.

“Alex and Dean just disappeared down the embankment, in a hurry.”

“What?” asked Josh.

“Damn it. You heard me,” said Sophie.

The tension in Sophie’s voice caused Manny to guess what was next. He clutched the gray handle above the SUV’s window just as she slammed on the brakes and put the vehicle into a controlled skid, then spun it hard to the left. Manny felt the seatbelt tighten with unbelievable force as
both
right wheels left the ground. For a brief moment, he thought she had cranked too hard and they would be bouncing along Highway 17 on the roof of the SUV. Judging by Josh’s
yell
,
his
thought
w
as
similar. But Sophie, just at the proper
moment
, jerked the wheel to the right, forcing the large SUV to recover its questionable balance. Five seconds later, they were speeding back to where the CSI’s
vehicle
had left the
road
.

“Did you see what happened?” asked Manny.

Sophie shook her head. “I caught something streak past the back of the car
. But
I was focused on them and didn’t catch what it could’ve been.”

“Whew. This ain’t good for my heart. What did you mean disappe
ar down the ditch? Were they up
right? Was it like a blown tire?”
ask
ed
Josh.

“I mean it looked like they were going
ass
-
over
-
tea
-
kettle down the slope of that ditch. It could have been a blown tire
or
it could have been something else
. H
ell, I don’t know, but we will in a few seconds,” answered Sophie, biting her lip.

It had been
a while
since Manny detected this kind of concern in her voice
,
and it set him more on edge. He wondered what she thought she’d seen.

They arrived at the spot were Alex and Dean had gone over the edge of the road. Sophie waited for the traffic to clear and gunned the SUV across the pavement and over to the shoulder, slamming the shifter into park just where the deep, disconcerting ruts made by the other vehicle ended. She was out of the car before Josh or he could open their doors
. T
hey both joined her in seconds.

Peering into the rift, Manny focus
ed on the bottom of the fifteen-
foot embankment, fully expecting to see a destroyed truck
—
and blood everywhere. His first expectation was unfounded. The FBI unit was sitting on all four wheels, leaning at about twenty-five degrees to the right, still running. There was blood, however
—
lots of it. It took him a moment to digest the source
,
then
he
breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the large buck lying ten feet to the rear of the SUV. It brought him a wisp of regret to see the deer’s mangled body, but better the animal than his friends.

Just then, the driver’s door opened and Dean stumbled out. He regained his balance
,
then looked up to where he and Josh stood. Not waiting, Sophie was already working her way down the wet grass and mud.

“You guys all right?” she yelled.

“I think so, just shaken up,” answered Dean, his voice unsteady.

“Where’s Alex?” asked Sophie.

There was movement from the passenger door window
,
then Alex’s head popped over the edge of the roof. “Right here. I’m okay.”

By then, Sophie had reached the bottom and gave Dean a fierce hug.

“If something would have happened to you
. .
.”
her voice trailed off and she regripped his neck.

The
astonishment, then
the
instantaneous smile
that
registered on
Dean’s
face was priceless. Manny decided to file that
one away for a more appropriate
time to harass the bearded CSI.

Sophie
was still full of surprises. T
his one he liked. Maybe her heart was on the bumpy road to healing
.
That was something he understood.

A minute later
,
the five agents stood at the side of the vehicle. Josh hung up his cell and moved closer to Dean and Alex.

“The wrecker will be here in a few minutes. Okay.
Again, w
hat happened?” asked Josh.

“I
’m not really sure
,” said Dean. “We felt two hits on the back of the vehicle and the next thing I know, we’re
at
the bottom of the ditch.”

“Well. It doesn’t look like it flipped over so you got lucky on that one and I gu
ess that explains the dead deer
,” said Manny.

“Oh
,
we flipped over,
only
somehow we landed on all fours,” said Dean.

“Really? You did a t
hree-sixty and landed like that?
You must be delusional because that just doesn’t happen unless I’m driving,” said Sophie, hands on hips.

“He’s telling the damn truth. One second we’re driving, the next we
’
re flying, and the next we
’
re sitting upright, staring at ditch grass. We’ll have the seatbelt imprint on our chests for about fifty years
. B
ut that’s what happened,” said Alex.

“Lucky asses,” muttered Sophie. “But that’s it. You ain’t driving anymore
;
you’re riding with me. You were probably talking about the newest style of rubber gloves, got excited, and weren’t paying attention.”

“Whatever you say, Princess. And I like it when you take charge. Anyway
,
I swear I never saw
the deer,
” answered Dean.

Frowning, Manny ran his hand through his hair. “To be
crossing the road
that
quickly
, I’d say something spooked him, especially to be out at this
hour
of
the
day. It won’t be dark for another ninety minutes or so.”

“Yeah, but it’s not all that unusual to see them out, especially in the spring,” said Alex.

“I guess you’re right. I mean here’s proof,” said Josh.

“You said you felt two hits. How close together were they?” asked Manny.

Dean looked at Alex and shrugged. “They were pretty bang-bang. Maybe a second or two between.”

“Sometimes they run together
. Maybe you hit two deer. Or I should say, they hit you
,” said Josh.

“But we don’t see another carcass,” answered Sophie.

“True. But they can run for miles before the adrenaline wears off and they drop over dead
,
or almost dead,” said Alex.

Moving toward the back of the truck, Manny bent low and began to examine the damage caused by the large buck. It had hit high on the rear quarter panel, cracking the window and causing about a three-inch
deep indentation
the size of a basketball just below it. There were streaks of blood and tufts of hair in the middle of the dent, trailing toward the back, making it obvious that the buck had hit full bore and was probably killed instantly. Squatting to a deep
knee bend, he ran his hand over the rest of the fender and panel, finding nothing that would indicate a second impact.

“What are you looking for?” asked Josh.

“I don’t know. Just a clue of what could have caused the second impact. I guess it could have been something freak, like a stone or a piece of metal. But you’re probably right. It had to be another deer
. .
.”

Manny stopped in mid-sentence, squinting at the rounded section of the chrome bumper just to the rear door side.

“What?” said Josh.

He didn’t answer, but reached down and stuck his hand underneath the edge of the fender. A moment later, he pulled out a small black box alive with a throbbing green light.

Looking at Josh and the others, he
placed the three-inch devic
e in the palm of his hand.

“What the hell? Is that a tracking device?” asked Sophie, her mouth open in surprise.

“It is. It appears s
omeone wants to know where
we are
,
” said Manny
.

CHAPTER-28

The red Enclave sped toward Wilmington, North Carolina
,
just over the spee
d limit for the stretch of east
bound Interstate 40. It wouldn’t do to be pulled over, given his recent and current cargo. He’d have some splainin’ to do, and frankly, he had no time for that bullshit. The people living in his world didn’t have to explain anything to anyone. Never had, never would. That was just how protocol worked for him, if that were even an applicable scenario. Protocol implied rules, regulation, and proper procedure. The only truth about any of those theories is that none applied to him.

Still, there were a plethora of reasons to stay under the radar, so to speak
. H
e would
. A
nd if he’d learn
ed
anything over the last twelve years, it had been patience. There was absolutely no hurry to get done what his contact
had told him
to accomplish.

“There is a season for everything
,
” he said softly.

He thought about the bible verse in Ecclesiastes he’d been forced to memorize when
he was in Sunday school and it le
d to the reasons he’d been in a church at all. His mother.

She hadn’t been too keen with staying out of the drugs and alcohol
.
S
he
, however,
made sure he and his sister got a Christian education
,
of sorts. At least as much as feasible when raising kids
while
being stoned most of the time.

Those
thoughts brought nothing to his current assignment. Where he came from and how he was brought up were now as relevant a
s
pissing in the ocean. Th
e
next two days w
ere
going to be a culmination of months of work and he needed a clear head. As good as he was at what he did
,
he realized
—
at least in this case
—
there was no room for complacency. None. He’d remember his training and finish what he’d begun.

Easing into the passing lane, he rolled past a big rig, turning up the music pounding from the radio as he did. The guys with the beards were kicking out one of his favorite tunes and he hit the steering wheel with his large hand in perfect rhythm to the driving beat. He’d heard from a well-known pastor that rock and roll
was
the Devil’s music and
that it
contribute
d
to sending young people to Hell.

He laughed.

There were scarier things in this world than an imaginary demon of evil
who
wanted to send people to a lake of fire. He knew that to be true. He was one of them.

CHAPTER-29

Standing in front of the beautiful building that served as the county’s courthouse
,
Manny took a moment to appreciate the design of the old, immaculate building. The large arch that greeted everyone who entered protected tall oak doors and the red of the bricks making up the rest of the four-floor structure only served to raise his admiration. Southern architecture had more character, with its Victorian style, than most of the North because some of the states were settled earlier.

Nothing like tradition and a little history to understand where you came from.

Hesitating, he finally
pulled the door open and started up the stairs. He wished he had more
hours in the day
to enjoy surroundings like this one
,
only
this job didn’t come with those luxuries
. He wondered if
the rest of the crew thought the same thing. He felt a little isolated
and
sometimes that was a good thing
, though
. He thought Josh sent him ahead of the rest for a reason and maybe
,
this time
,
it was to check out the flavor of the locals. No problem there. And he knew the others would be behind him shortly, right after they finished parking the vehicle and eating another fast-food meal. It was a
miracle
they
didn’t all weigh
nine
hundred
pound
s for as much
fast-
food
as
they devoured.