Duty Bound (1995) (46 page)

I got the rope off they had me tied up with and went looking for Stacy. By the time I found her it was over and they were all gone. At least I think they're gone . . . maybe they left some dead behind in the estate, I don't know."

Parker motioned to Ashley. "Your partner says she had a gut feeling you were here--you were lucky."

Eli faced Ashley, looking into her unbandaged eye. "I've always considered myself lucky having Agent Sutton as a partner--she's the mother-hen type . . . tries to keep me out of trouble."

Parker patted Eli's shoulder again. "I'm going up to the house to take a look at those bodies and see if Mendez is one of them. Stick around; I want to ask you some more questions later."

Ashley waited until Parker was out of hearing, then lowered her head. "You think the guys in the speedboat killed Bonita?"

"I don't know." Eli shook his head. "But it doesn't look good for her. There was blood all over the deck, and she wouldn't have left the dog if she'd been conscious. I figure Ted and the others got in a cigarette and went out to exact some revenge on the shooters. They got them, all right, but it was a helluva fight."

"You think Ted has Bonita's body?"

"She wasn't on that boat. I checked. I saw the dog in the cabin but he appeared dead. Only when we were about to leave did I hear him whimpering. The water must have revived him when it flooded the cabin."

Ashley looked at the billowing dark cloud forming over the estate before lowering her head. "Poor Bonita . . . I guess Mendez won after all."

Eli shook his head. "Nobody won . . . everybody lost."

Faraday placed his hands on Eli's and Ashley's shoulders.

"Talking about losing reminded me of something. Agent Sutton, I know somebody you made a promise to. I think you'd better get goin' . . . you wouldn't want somebody else to do it."

Ashley's eyes narrowed. "Thanks for reminding me. . . .

See you two later. I have business to attend to." Setting her shoulders, Ashley strode up the walkway.

With a loud pop the smoking motors stopped. His hands sticky with blood, Glenn let go of the wheel of the shot-up cigarette and looked out at the open sea. Virgil patted his shoulder. "You tried, Glenn. How's your arm?"

Glenn glanced at the bullet gash across his forearm and turned, looking at the two men lying on the deck. "I'm okay.

How're they doing?"

Virgil lowered his head. "They'd both make it if we could just get 'em to a hospital. I stopped Ramon's sucking chest wound . . . lucky for him he's unconscious now. Ted's just lost too much blood. He should have never helped us search for Bonita."

Glenn got up and leaned over Ted, looking at the bullet hole in his stomach. He took Ted's hand into his own. "It's over, Ted . . . the motors are shot. I'm sorry, buddy. Looks like this is it."

Ted rolled his head back and forth and spoke weakly. "I killed her, Glenn . . . I killed her. I shoulda never let her go with us."

"She loved you, Ted. She wouldn't have left you."

Ted closed his eyes. "It wasn't what I thought it would be, Glenn--killing him didn't feel good. It was all for nothing. . . . Oh God, Bonita, I'm so sorry . . . I'm so damn sorry."

Virgil poked Glenn's shoulder and pointed. "We got a cigarette coming up fast toward us."

Glenn picked up his Mac from the deck. "I guess this is it, Virg."

Virgil slapped in his last magazine and released the charging handle, chambering a round. "I guess it is, Glenn.

Never thought I'd buy it in a damn boat, though. Guess it's okay--at least my mama won't have to worry about no funeral expenses."

Glenn flicked off his weapon's safety. "Better wait till they get close. I've just got what's in the mag, and it's. not much. I've got a frag left--I'll save it for us. I don't want them to get Ted and Ramon."

"That's okay with me. If I'm still standin' just let me know; I wanna shut my eyes and pray a little."

Glenn stood erect and watched the boat approach with his finger resting lightly on the trigger. Suddenly the sleek maroon cigarette slowed and a man climbed up on top of the bow deck with a bullhorn.

"Glenn, it's me, Gee. Do you need help?

Glenn smiled and tossed his Mac overboard. He climbed up to the bow deck and began waving his arms.

Virgil canted his head. "Who the hell is Gee?"

"An angel!" Glenn shouted. "An ugly squid angel!"

Rita Lopez dropped her TV remote when she saw who opened the door and stepped inside the hospital room.

Ashley walked slowly to the bed. "I guess you didn't pray hard enough--I'm back. Miss Rita Lopez, I'm arresting you for obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and one count of murder in the third degree. You have the right to an attorney.

If you cannot afford an attorney you . . ."

As Ashley spoke she took out her handcuffs and slapped them on Rita's wrists. After Mirandizing her, Ashley picked up the remote and tossed it to the floor. "You'd better call your hairdresser and makeup lady; you're going to be making the news instead of reporting it."

Ashley leaned over and whispered in Rita's ear, "By the way, Mendez is a crispy critter--he won't be paying for your lawyer." Ashley stepped back and opened the door.

Two agents and a police officer walked in, followed by an orderly pushing a gurney.

Ashley faced Rita again. "We're moving you to a room across town that has bars." She motioned to the television screen. "Don't worry, I saw it, it's a repeat. The good guys win. Get her out of here before I puke on her clean sheets."

It was almost midnight when Genesse walked into the small, dimly lit room.

Glenn and Virgil rose from their chairs.

Genesse nodded. "The doc says they're both out of danger."

Glenn lowered his head. "Thank God."

Virgil looked past Genesse. "Can I see Ray?' , "Sure, but he's sacked out."

"That's all right--I'll just sit with him awhile."

When the black man left the room, Glenn raised an eyebrow. "You're taking a big risk doing this, Gee."

"Risk? Naw, you guys took the risk. I had a couple guys watchin' the yacht. When Mendez's boys fired up your cruiser, they contacted me. Good thing my guys followed you and kept me informed by cell phone or I never would have found you."

"What about the doc and this place?" Glenn asked.

"No sweat, Glenn, relax. The doc owes me a favor, and nobody lives near his old house. Tomorrow I'll have my guys drop by a big van, a nice one with a foldout bed. The doc will tell ya what to do as far as how to take care of Ted and the little Cuban until they're on their feet. He says a couple of weeks for the Cuban and a little longer for Ted.

The bullet just missed his kidney. He was lucky."

Glenn shook his head. "He wasn't so lucky, Gee. He and Bonita got tight and--"

"I know," Genesse said. "He told me a few minutes ago.

It don't figure, you know. A guy like Ted and a broad like that."

"She was no broad, Gee. She was a lady--Ted had a good thing going with her."

Genesse put his hand on Glenn's shoulder. "I'm sorry I couldn't have been there when you iced that bastard. At least it's finally over."

"Maybe for you and me it's over, Gee, but for Ted it's just begun. He loved Bonita. He never said it, but I know he did.

It'll never be over for him."

Genesse's hand slipped from his former teammate's shoulder. "I gotta go, Glenn. I won't be seein' you again.

Take care, huh?"

Glenn forced a smile. "Thanks, Gee, for everything. Team Two-two was together again, at least for a while. Mendez finally paid."

Genesse nodded and walked toward the door.

It was just past midnight when Ashley heard the door open. Eli entered the hotel room, shut the door, and froze, seeing Ashley seated on the bed.

She got up, took a bottle of iced beer from the bucket on the nightstand, and handed it to him. "Sit down, Tanner. It's wind-down time."

Eli screwed off the top, looked at the bottle a moment, then took a long drink. Lowering the bottle, he sank onto a chair. "God, I need this--thanks for remembering about my wind-down thing."

She sat on the bed again. "Sorry, I looked for a Garth Brooks tape and a Walkman, but Miami isn't into country music. Couldn't find his tape with 'The Dance' on it."

Eli put the cold bottle against his forehead. "You tried, Sutton, that's what counts. You get Rita put away?"

"Yeah, her station came up with a lawyer, but once they heard the facts they withdrew him. Seems they don't like her as much as they thought. What about you? You been to the hospital?"

"Yeah, the dog is goin' to be okay. The vet says the bullet missed the spine. Poor mutt is goin' to lose a rib, but otherwise he's goin' to be fine."

"Tanner, I wasn't talking about the dog. I was talking about Stacy. You go by and see her?"

"I'll do it tomorrow."

"You went by to see the dog but not Stacy?"

"The dog liked me, okay? We kind of hit it off."

"Are you sayin' you and the news lady didn't hit it off out there?"

"It's wind-down time, Sutton. No more questions."

Ashley lowered her head. "So it really was duty . . . I thought maybe you put it on the line for her because you-"

She stopped herself, reached out, and touched his hand.

"Take another drink, Tanner. I have some bad news for you."

Eli shifted his eyes to her. She rose from the bed and walked to the window. "The Coast Guard found one of Mendez's cigarette boats in the mouth of the bay about three this afternoon. It was shot up very badly. From the blood found in the boat, we think the people who had been inside were wounded severely or had been killed. No bodies were found, but the Coast Guard is still searching. Parker is working it. He thinks whoever was in the boat transferred to another. He's checking the hospitals for people admitted for gunshot wounds."

Ashley turned from the window. "I'm sorry, Eli, it doesn't look like Ted and his team made it-you were right; everybody lost."

Eli leaned forward and stared at the bottle in his hand. "I guess I should retire, Sutton. I broke all the laws I swore to uphold. I lied to Parker and will have to keep on lying. It's not my style. I never liked liars, and right now I don't care for me very much." He got up slowly from the chair and sank down onto the bed. "I'd like to be alone, Sutton."

Ashley was searching for the proper words when someone knocked on the door.

Eli tiredly shook his head. "I don't want to answer any more questions. Do me a favor and tell 'em I took some sleeping pills and sacked out."

Ashley walked to the door and opened it a crack to see the visitor. She took a step back in shock. Oh, God.

At Ashley's silence, Eli rose and walked toward the door just as Bonita entered the room.

Chapter 23.

Looking as if she'd gone through a car wash in a convertible, Bonita hobbled across the room and fell back on the bed.

Eli closed his open mouth and sank down in a chair, still not quite sure whether to believe his eyes. Ashley stood over the prone woman. "My God, Bonita, how . . . how'd you get away?"

Bonita kept her eyes closed and didn't move as she spoke.

"I saw the speedboat coming. I cut the engine and ran down into the cabin to get a gun . . . then everything seemed to explode in little pops around me. Baby whined . . . poor Baby . . . he didn't understand why he was dying. He lay there looking up at me. So pitiful . . . so helpless, then he was gone . . . just laid his head down and--"

"How'd you get off the boat?" Ashley asked, pressing the woman as tears formed in the corners of Bonita's eyes.

"They kept shooting and I knew I had to get out. I crawled out of the cabin onto the deck. I could hear them circling and firing. I began crawling around the side of the cabin and saw one of Ted's scuba tanks. He had used it the day before and it was still rigged with the regulator. I thought maybe I had a chance. When they were on the other side of the boat, I jumped overboard. Oh, God--I was so scared . . . I couldn't see anything. I kicked and fought to stay under but it was like a giant hand was pushing me up. I finally got the regulator in my mouth and that helped. Once I didn't have to hold my breath, I managed to stay under.

God, the noise of that boat passing over me . . . it was like nothing I've heard before. I knew the propellers were going to tear into me any second . . . it was all going to be for nothing."

Ashley sat down beside Bonita as she continued. "When I heard that horrible sound going away, I put on the straps of the tank but didn't know which direction to go. Everything was just a blur without a mask. I told myself to be calm and think. Then I saw it . . . the brightness. The sun, I guess. I knew it rose in the east and that was the way to shore. I headed for the brightness."

Ashley patted Bonita's hand. "Go on. You got to shore, then what?"

"I made it, but not to shore. . . . I knew I was heading back in the direction of the estate. Once I got close to shore I headed south, and kept going until I ran out of air. I got rid of the tank and kept going south, keeping my head just above water, and walked along the bottom. My feet . . . my feet hurt so bad. Finally I saw some people on a small beach, a family. I came ashore and told them I fell out of my boat and would they please take me to a gas station so I could call my brother. They were nice people . . . tourists from Maryland. They insisted on taking me home. They wrapped my feet in towels and drove me to the safe house off Dixie. I soaked my feet . . . and decided I'd still do what I told Agent Tanner I would. . . . I'm turning myself in."