Deadly Lode (Trace Brandon Book 1) (64 page)

He
switched the revolver
from
his
right hand to his
left
,
reached over
,
and grasped Al
’
s left hand. He cocked the revolver
,
stuck the barrel in his mouth
, and
pulled the trigger.

C
hapter
6
6

C
yrus and I
flew
back to Spokane
from New Orleans
. I planned on staying
overnight
in Spokane
and then head up to the Sullivan Mine to check on the drilling. The next morning, Cyrus and I were having breakfast at a little
café
no
t
too far from his office. My cell phone was on the table and started sliding around from the vibration.

“
Uh-o
h, it
’
s the fuckin
g
big Indians,
”
I
whispered
,
to C
yrus
before
I answered the call.

“
Special Agent Monroe, I had you on my list to call today. You
’
d asked me to let you know if the
Pantelli
s
started selling their shares. Well, they sold all of their shares to International Uranium Corp
.
,
Jim Lee
’
s outfit.
”

“
That
’
s good news, Trace, and just in the nick of time.
”

“
How
’
s that?
”

“
Both Al and Pino are presumed dead. Their plane went done in the Gulf
yesterday,
about two hours after they left New Orleans,
en route
to the Caymans.
”

“
A bomb?
”
I asked, glancing over at Cyrus.

“
We don
’
t think so.
Pino, who was flying the plane, was
in communication with
a
ir
t
raffic
c
ontrol
. He
reported fuel problems and engine failures.
His last
transmission said they were going down and gave their position.
The
Coast Guard had a cutter
on-site
at first light this morning. They found some wreckage but no survivors
,
a
nd no bodies.
”

“
Damn, I can
’
t believe it.
”

“
Yeah, neither can Mr. Lei Chang. He called us about a
missing
courier he
’
d sent to New Orleans to buy the same shares IUC bought.
”

I took out my pen and scribbled on a napkin,
‘“
Pantelli
s
’
dead–double X,
’”
and slid it over to Cyrus.
He read the note and nodded.

“
Looks like Al was playing both ends against the middle
,
”
I said.

“
Yeah, I
’
m shocked,
”
Agent Monroe said
,
dryly
.
“
A
nd so is Chang. We thin
k
the
Pantelli
s
demanded Chang pay them in cash. Then they
knocked off his courier and stole
the
money.
All
of which
is
probably now at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico
, w
hich somehow seems kind of fitting.
”

“
Well you were right about one thing, Agent Monroe,
”
I said.

“
W
hat
’
s that?
”

“
We got the shares out of their hands
,
in the nick of time.
”

“
FYI, Trace, we
’
re going to keep investigating the
Pantelli
plane crash
,
a
nd the disappearance of Chang
’
s courier. But between you and me, I doubt it
’
ll
go anywhere. Good news is
two
more
killers are off the board. Unfortunately, a couple of civilians went down
along the way
.
”

“
It
’
s interesting how things kind of even out in the end, isn
’
t it?
”

“
Yeah, I guess it is, Trace. I
’
ll be in touch
,
if we need anything else from you.
”

I put the phone do
wn
and looked across the table at Cyrus.

“
Did you get the gist of it?
”

“
Yeah. The
Pantelli
s got just what they deserved
,
and I think it
’
s pretty ironic the
y
bought it over the Gulf.
What goes around comes around
.
Hell,
I
’
ll bet old Malcolm
’
s
laughing his ass off.
”

“
From wha
t Agent Monroe said, I think Al and Pino
had a lot of time to think about it while they were on the way down.
”

“
Seems only fair
.
”

“
Thank God
,
Jim bought the
ir
shares when he did. Otherwise we
’
d be dealing with the
Pantelli
heirs. Can you imagine what a feeding frenzy that would have been
?
”

Cyrus laughed
.
“
Yeah, you can say that again
.
“
So, what
’
s next? Where
do we
,
you
,
go from here?
”

“
We
’
ll, I
’
ve decided to join the
Pantelli
s.
”

“
What?
”
Cyrus
said with
a chuckle.
“
D
on
’
t tell me you
’
re crossing over to the dark side
.
”

“
No, no. I mean I
’
ve deci
ded to sell my shares to IUC. I
’
ve taken Montana Creek Mining about as far as a no
-
ac
count geologist can.
”

“
I see. Well, it
’
s the smart move, Trace. It
’
s going to take someone like IUC to finance a full
-
blown mining operation. Hell, you
’
re like me. You enjoy finding the deposit, doing enough drilling to prove up a discovery
,
and then move on. The fun
’
s in the finding, not in the operations
. T
rust me.
”

“
I couldn
’
t agree more. By the way,
as I
’
m soon to be cashed
-
up,
do you have any interest in selling your condo
,
in George Town?
”

Cyrus laughed
.
“
Dominic got to you, eh?
”

I nodded
.
“
U
h-huh, I guess she did. So what about the condo?
”

“
No sale, Trace
. . .
b
ut I
’
ll lease it to you for a year. Provided you look at a
concession
I
’
ve been eyeballing.
”

“
I
’
ll take the lease. What kind of
concession
?
”

“
Alluvial diamonds
,
in West Africa.
”

“
A ground
-
floor opportunity
, I suppose
?
”
I asked, raising
m
y eyebrows.

A big grin spread across Cyrus
’
s
face
.
“
Abso
-
damned
-
toutly.
”

229