Debra Burroughs - Paradise Valley 06 - The Harbor of Lies (24 page)

“Ah, stop your whining,” Rosco hollered. “It’s just a little rain and wind. I’ve been sailing this ocean for the better part of twenty years. I know what I’m doing.”

With her heart hammering in her chest, Emily gazed at Rosco from her spot curled up on the floor. She could just imagine that he was thinking only about the fifty thousand dollars waiting for him. A chilling sense of fear continued to rattle her. It was clear they were going to drown her at sea, if they didn’t shoot her first.

“You’d better go up there and get us out of here,” Rosco told Eric, his gun still pointed at Emily.

“You’re the captain,” Eric snapped back.

Rosco shot him a cutting stare, then flipped the pistol around and handed it to Eric, grip first. “Then you hold the gun on her.”

Eric reluctantly took the weapon and Rosco bolted up the steps. “Don’t worry, Caleb,” Eric said, glancing over at the young man, as he focused the pistol on Emily. “You tie her up while Rosco casts off. We’ll be in Boston harbor before you know it.”

~*~

Colin phoned the police chief. “This may sound stupid, but I’ve misplaced my fiancée. Do you think you could put out an APB on Emily and have your guys keep their eyes peeled for her?”

The chief laughed.

Colin was silent. He couldn’t go into the details of his request.

“Oh. You’re not kidding, are you?”

“No.”

“So, she’s really missing. How long?”

“Maybe twenty minutes.”

“Mighty short time to report someone missing.”

“I’m not officially reporting her, I’m just concerned because of the weather and I need to find her. Will you help?”

“Funny,” the chief said, “she called me about ten minutes ago to make sure I was monitoring that GPS tracker she had planted on the boat, ’cause tonight is the night they’re supposed to go and pick up a load, remember?”

In all the furor over Evan, he had forgotten about the case. “That’s right. Have you heard from her since?”

“No, I haven’t. Sorry.”

Colin sighed in frustration. His gaze flew toward the docks.

The chief cleared his throat. “Say, aren’t you supposed to be having your bachelor party tonight?”

“Uh, that’s been postponed,” Colin replied. “I really need to find Emily.” Would she have gone down to check on the boat?

“Did you two lovebirds have a spat?”

“Something like that.” Colin glanced over at Peter, not wanting to have to explain about Evan and what transpired. “Have you seen any activity on the boat?”

The chief paused and Colin assumed he was studying the monitor. “As a matter of fact, it has moved a bit from the dock. They must have taken off for Boston a short while ago, but don’t you worry. The search warrant came through and we’ll be waiting for them when they get back in the morning.”

“That’s good to hear, but let’s get back to Emily,” Colin paused briefly, working to keep his words calm and coherent, caring more about finding her than about arresting the drug runners. “Chief, if I give you her cellphone number, can you track that?” Colin was anxious to find her.

“You sound worried, Detective.”

Apparently he hadn’t kept his voice as calm as he’d thought. “Can you track her?” he repeated, contemplating if they should start walking toward the wharf.

“Oh, we don’t have any of that kind of fancy equipment in Rock Harbor. What would we need that for?”

“Do you have any connections at the Bangor Police Department, someone who could track it for you? I’m desperate here, Alvin.” Colin cut a quick glance toward Peter, whose brows twisted into a suspicious expression.

Peter was a reporter after all, and Colin’s statement of desperation had to be making his senses tingle.

“Whew! That must have been a humdinger of a fight, my friend.”

“Do you, Chief?” Colin pressed.

“Sure, what’s her number?”

Colin recited it to him. “Could you put a rush on it?”

“I’ll try. What’s the big hurry?”

“Knowing Emily, if she was thinking about the boat taking off from the dock tonight, she might have gone down to do a little snooping around.”

“You figure she’s on that boat?”

“She might be.” He hoped he was wrong, but he wasn’t taking any chances. “And if that’s the case, do you have a police boat?”

“Eyah, I do,” the chief replied. “It’s moored down at the end of the dock. Are you thinking we should chase after the Hoosier Daddy? What if Emily’s not on it? Then we’ll blow our morning drug bust. We’ve got to catch these guys, put a stop to the heroin they’re bringing into our area. I’d want to know for sure she’s on that boat before we go chasing it, especially with the storm out there.”

“Then I’d better let you go so you can call the Bangor Police and get a trace on her phone,” Colin said. “We need to know right away, one way or the other.”

“I’ll phone you back and tell you what they find.”

“Thanks, Chief.” Colin slipped his phone back into his pocket, trying not to make eye contact with Peter. “Let’s head down toward the marina.” Colin zipped up his jacket and took a few steps, expecting Peter to catch up with him.

“Whoa,” Peter sputtered, grabbing Colin by the arm. “One freakin’ minute! What’s really going on here?”

“Let’s talk while we walk. We’re losing time.”

As they hurried toward the docks, Colin explained that there had been a murder in town the day after the girls arrived. Because the police chief was just a young guy with no experience with murder investigations, he had asked for Colin’s and Emily’s help to find the killer.

“So instead of kicking back and enjoying the sights, you and Emily have been working a murder case all week?”

“Afraid so, only it seems it’s also turned into a drug bust.”

“Oh, man. And now Emily’s in danger? How’d that happen?”

“Well, we got into an argument and she had to get some air, she claimed.”

“I didn’t want to say anything,” Peter grinned, “but I saw that fat lip she gave you.”

Colin touched his lip and winced. “This wasn’t Emily.”

“Then who?”

“It doesn’t matter. We’ve got to find her.”

Once they reached the dock, Colin saw the empty slip where the Hoosier Daddy had been tied. He looked around for any clues, anything that would lead him to believe she’d been on the boat, but there was nothing.

“Peter, a few of these boats have their cabin lights on. Maybe someone saw or heard something. You take that one,” Colin said, pointing to a schooner a few slips away. “I’ll take that old trawler down this way.”

They split up and proceeded to question the occupants, but none of them claimed to have seen or heard anything. A middle-aged man was climbing out of a sports craft, stepping onto the dock, so Colin approached him, asking if he’d seen a pretty young woman with curly honey-blond hair, about five seven, a hundred and twenty-five pounds.

“Wish I had,” he joked, “but no.” He marched up the dock toward town.

“Now what?” Peter asked. “The rain is starting to come down pretty good.”

Colin’s phone rang in his pocket and he quickly pulled it out and answered it. “This is Colin.”

“Hey, this is Chief Taylor. My friend at the Bangor Police verified that Emily’s phone is on the same path as the boat, which means—”

“She’s on the boat!”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Now can we go after her?”

“Eyah, I thought you’d say that. Like I said, the boat’s down at the end of the dock. I’ll get one of my men and be down there shortly.”

“Thanks, Chief.” Colin stared out over the dark, choppy water as he tucked his phone away. “Emily’s out there.”

Peter put a hand on Colin’s shoulder. “I heard. Tell me, what can I do?”

Ideas swirled around in Colin’s head, trying to rush a plan together. “I’m going to have Isabel meet me down here, but you call your sister and tell them they don’t need to search anymore.”

“Are you sure? I’m happy to go with you.”

“I know, Peter, but this is a police matter. It’s best you take care of Camille and the others.”

Peter patted Colin on the back a couple of times. “Good luck, buddy.”

He began walking down the dock, back to the inn, his auburn hair darkening with the rain. He stopped momentarily, turning his head. “I want to hear about that fat lip tomorrow,” he called over his shoulder.

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Colin muttered to himself, waving a hand in the air.

He phoned Isabel right away and explained the situation. “Meet me at the far end of the dock, and have Alex and Evan go back to the inn and wait for us.”

“Roger that,” Isabel confirmed. “I’m only a few minutes away.”

Chief Taylor met Colin at the police boat, wearing an opaque rain slicker, with his portable GPS monitor tucked underneath it. Alongside him was one of his men, Officer Cantrell. The officer climbed aboard and started up the engine. “We’ll be ready to cast off as soon as the rest of the parties arrive.”

Colin turned back to Cantrell. “We’re only waiting on one.”

Before long, Isabel approached, the sound of her boot heels clicking as she marched down the dock. She struggled to hold onto her small black umbrella in the wind, and she was not alone. There was someone with her, someone taller, wearing a hat and coat and walking behind her. As they drew closer, Colin saw it was Evan.

“What’s he doing here?” Angry, Colin pitched his chin toward Evan.

“I have as much right to be here as you do,” Evan snapped back.

The chief stepped between them, facing Evan. “And you are?”

“Emily’s husband.”

Chapter 24

“Emily’s husband, eh?” Chief Taylor’s gaze slid over to Colin. “Sounds like an interesting story, but right now we need to catch that boat. Everyone on board!”

As fast as they could, the four of them poured into the police vessel. The officer untied her from the dock. “Squeeze into the control cabin and hold on,” he yelled.

Chief Taylor checked the GPS monitor again as the boat backed out of the slip and pulled away from the dock. “We’d better get moving at warp speed, Cantrell, if we want to have any chance of catching up to them.”

“Yes, sir.”

Isabel moved to a rear corner of the enclosed area and held onto the metal railing that ran around the back of the interior. Evan took a spot beside her, and Colin went to the other corner and stood behind Cantrell, grabbing onto the bar.

Cooped up with Evan was the last place Colin wanted to be, but he didn’t have a choice. He stepped up next to the chief, grabbing hold of a rack overhead to steady himself. He peered at the screen over the chief’s shoulder. “Looks like we’ve got a lot of distance to make up.”

“We’ll do the best we can, Detective,” the chief said. “I’ve become kind of fond of that feisty girl of yours.”

Cantrell turned the forward lights on and gradually pushed the speed lever upward until they were away from the other boats, then he opened it up full throttle.

Colin gazed out over the dark water with a dreadful heaviness in his chest.
Hold on Emily—we’re coming.

The wind whipped at the boat and the rain was beginning to come down harder against the windows. The water was already choppy, with three- to four-foot-high waves slapping against the hull as the rescue boat cut through them.

“What does the weather report say?” Colin asked.

“I just got an updated report. It says the storm has taken an unexpected turn and is heading back toward land,” the chief hollered, raising his voice over the wind and the roar of the engine.

Colin’s gut tightened at the thought.

“Where are they now?” Cantrell asked.

The chief checked the monitor. “Looks like the Hoosier Daddy is just about to break the mouth of the bay. It’s best if we can reach them before they hit open water.”

“Chief,” Cantrell’s head turned toward his boss, “do you think we should wait for the Coast Guard?”

“I wish we could.” Chief Taylor sounded concerned.

Officer Cantrell checked the gauges again. “But what if—”

“Don’t worry,” the chief jumped in, seeming to know what the man was about to say. “The storm is moving pretty slowly.”

The chief’s gaze drifted to Colin. “But even at that, Cantrell is right. It could get real nasty out here.”

Emily’s image filled Colin’s mind. How terrified she must be out there with those men. She was probably pretty confused too, considering what happened with Evan and Isabel only minutes before she ran off. He willed his eyes not to move in their direction, but he couldn’t seem to stop his thoughts from going there.

What if those men had already killed Emily? Or dumped her overboard somewhere in the bay? They wouldn’t need to wait until they were out at sea to do it. No. He had to stay positive. He shook his head, trying to let loose of the negative thoughts.

His gaze drifted out the window, to the dark waves and black sky, his eyes watering with emotion as he wondered about Emily.

“You okay there, Colin?” the chief questioned, studying him with concern.

The sting of embarrassment rippled through Colin’s chest and up his neck, flashing hot on his face. He roughly wiped a hand over his eyes. “Yeah, it’s just rain dripping from my hair. I’m fine.” He didn’t dare look over at Evan now, although he was certain he could feel the heat of the man’s eyes boring into the side of his head.

Why did Evan have to show up now? Why couldn’t he have just stayed dead?

“I’ve radioed for the Coast Guard,” the chief announced loudly, “but they’ll be about fifteen minutes behind us. With any luck, they can make up some of that time with their larger vessel.”

Colin nodded at him, then his gaze went back to the ominous black water outside. The growing swells mirrored the emotions that were roiling inside of him. The boat continued to rise and crash against each angry wave in a jolting rhythm. “Looks like the waves are getting bigger.”

“Eyah,” the chief agreed, watching the GPS monitor. “Hopefully it won’t be too long now. We’re gaining on them.”

Colin stared out the window again, his anxiety growing. He hadn’t realized how tightly he had been gripping the grab bar until his hand began to tingle, having gone almost numb. He switched hands and flexed the fatigued one.