Targets Entangled (14 page)

“When I figure out which one of you assholes did it, remember that paybacks are a bitch with a flamethrower.” Trigger shoved the coffee pot back onto the burner before making his way back to the table. Daegan grabbed his own crusty old ceramic mug, not bothering with the Styrofoam cups off to the side, and poured himself some full high-octane caffeine. He turned to walk back to the table when something caught his eye through the team gear storage room to the still open hatch. He also noticed Diesel had fixated on the area as well. He’d been lying on the floor next to Trigger’s chair when his ears suddenly perked and his head tilted in interest. No one else saw anything since they were all congregated around the table. Daegan waited for Starr to come around the corner. Something didn’t sit right with him when she didn’t appear. “You’ll know firsthand what it’s like to have a lingering smell on your mattress. There’s not enough bleach in the world. And then I’m going to throw your immunization records overboard. Laugh it up, assholes.”

Daegan let the team continue to banter as he walked out of the team ready room. He strode through the arched passageway into the gear storage room, not seeing anything out of place. He then went toward the open security hatch leading to the main corridor. Stepping over the kneeknocker, he looked both ways down the walkway. There was nothing out of place. He happened to catch a shadow moving beyond the corner down the passageway when he glanced forward toward the bow. Numerous people walked the corridors since the COC was located just aft of their team room, but he could have sworn that Starr had been right behind him. She was nowhere in sight and that shadow had been too large for her frame.

“Something up?”

Gunny had joined Daegan in the gear storage room, just inside the security hatch to the main passageway. He looked in the same direction. There was an edge in his voice, as if he sensed something off in the air as well. Daegan remained silent, but nodded straight ahead as he handed his coffee to Gunny and left him standing just inside the open hatch behind him. He took the corridor immediately to the right where he’d seen the shadow disappear, not looking back to see if Gunny had followed his lead since it was a given. Daegan sprinted and when he finally arrived at a left, no one was in sight down that direction either. That alone told him the person was in a hurry. It was useless to follow in that direction since the person could have slipped into any of the compartments beyond, but he stayed where he was until he saw Gunny coming toward him. The shake of his head indicated he found nothing either.

“Want to tell me what that was about?”

“Someone might have been outside the team gear room in the main passageway listening in on our conversation.” Daegan couldn’t get rid of the suspicious vibe that had settled over this trip since Tami McDaniel had been murdered. On the other hand, maybe it was just his overactive imagination and he needed to cut back on the coffee. “It could have been nothing.”

“And I have some prime oceanside property to sell you back in Twentynine Palms.” Gunny rolled one of his shoulders as if he too felt something settle over them. “We should have just ordered Diesel to search out whoever it was.”

“That’s always an option in the future.” Daegan began walking back toward the team ready room, not liking how still the air had become. “How positive are we that Chuck Farrell killed Tami McDaniel?”

“Considering he was the only one with a motive, as sure as we can be unless there is other evidence we aren’t privy to. With that said, I’ve felt a little uncomfortable myself since we left San Diego. Things have taken place that technically aren’t related, and yet it feels as if they are.”

“Other than the fire in the galley?” Daegan wasn’t aware of anything else occurring besides Tami’s death. “Has something else happened?”

“Chief Jackson reported a few times that the ship-to-shore radio wasn’t on the correct frequency. He doesn’t think that someone was making unauthorized calls, but he’s having his staff monitor the situation.”

“We also picked up a Liberian-flagged fishing trawler in our wake as we exited the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal,” Starr added to the conversation as she came down the corridor that led to the COC. “Is there something I should be made aware of?”

“Daegan thought he saw someone lingering in the passageway,” Gunny explained as he shifted his stance. “Diesel did as well. I saw the Shepherd’s interest, but he didn’t make a move toward the hatch.”

“He would have waited for a command unless he thought a threat was imminent.” Starr looked behind her and it was evident she was considering where the subject could have gone. She gestured that she wanted to finish this conversation inside. “I’m with Gunny on this one though. I’m not sure any of these incidents are related.”

Daegan took the mug Gunny offered him back and then gave the corridors one more lookover. He didn’t see anyone, but he would definitely be glancing over his shoulder for a while until he was certain there wasn’t a threat to this mission. He followed Gunny and Starr through the security hatch, making sure he secured it this time. He wanted to hear more about this radio frequency issue that Ferrin had never brought up to him. They didn’t talk about work while they were together, so it didn’t surprise him that she hadn’t mentioned it. Still, it was something that they should have been told in their daily debriefings.

“Listen up.” Starr commanded everyone’s attention as she made her way in front of the situation board centered on the long bulkhead of the rectangular room. Daegan double-checked that the hatch was secure to satisfy his OCD before he walked through the gear room to take a seat next to Trigger, patting Diesel on the head as he made his way by. He had the senses to let them know if anyone came back and lingered too long in the area. Daegan would have wanted to be close to the exit should that happen, but they each had their assigned positions around the table and protocol trumped Daegan’s suspicious nature. “First, Lieutenant Irvine just informed me that our former crewmember Chuck Farrell has been released from custody and is currently on his way home to the United States from the embassy.”

Daegan shared a look with Gunny, both of them knowing what came next. Son of a bitch. If the federal authorities released Farrell, it was either due to lack of evidence or they were given something that pointed to another suspect.

“An autopsy has been performed and according to the results examined during the inquest, the person who strangled Tami McDaniel had slightly smaller hands. Fortunately for Farrell, he is a relatively big man and couldn’t have left the marks found on her neck. This new evidence doesn’t determine for us if it’s a man or a woman. It just rules out the prime suspect.” Starr took a seat at the head of the table before continuing. The way her brow dipped showed her displeasure at the news. “DNA found underneath her nails has been sent out but the results could take weeks. In the meantime, Lieutenant Irvine is obviously treating this as an open case—as he always has—and continues to investigate.”

“So what you’re saying is that someone still on this ship is a murderer.” Stick leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. The atmosphere filled with tension as the reality of what they were dealing with set in. “What’s the status of the mission? Are we turning around to head back to Panama or continuing on to the Nigerian coast?”

“Lieutenant Irvine will continue to do what he’s been tasked to do. We will do the same.” Starr took a deep breath and sat back in her chair. She moved her lips to where she could bite the inside of her cheek. Daegan was aware of the worried tell that she had and damn if her doing that didn’t put him more on edge. The woman was a wall of steel and hardly anything got to her. “We were given a contract to rescue those girls and we need to see this through. Captain Hensel is going to brief every department head while Lieutenant Irvine is in attendance to answer any questions. The department supervisors will then relay that information to their subordinates in order to keep them vigilant.”

“You don’t think that’s going to cause a ship wide panic?” Doc asked, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers together over his abdomen. He always did try to be the rational one, but Daegan didn’t see any other way to handle the situation. “We’re talking about two hundred plus crewmembers being trapped on a ship with a killer in their midst. If Farrell isn’t the one who committed murder, we’re talking about someone who had no known motive. That’s not going to rest well with the crew.”

“It’s not something we can keep from them,” Starr countered before she rubbed the back of her neck in frustration. “It will make them more cautious, which isn’t a bad thing. I’m following this investigation as closely as I can without getting in Lieutenant Irvine’s way or stepping on his toes too much.”

“By the time the DNA evidence comes back, we might well be back on U.S. soil,” Gunny said after taking a drink of his black coffee. He shared a look with Daegan and he knew where this subject was headed. “Daegan and I were talking about the other events that have occurred, such as the fire and the radio frequencies being messed with. Chief Jackson is monitoring that situation, but it makes me wonder if these actions aren’t related somehow.”

“It makes me just as uneasy as it does you to think someone aboard this ship could be a murdering psychopath.” Starr stood up, pushing back her chair with her legs. She walked over to the coffee station and poured herself a cup. Daegan figured she was using the act to choose her words carefully. Everyone’s eyes were on her by the time she turned around. “I have always prided myself on hiring the best and my vetting process is strict for a reason. I’ll start going over the personnel records to see if anything stands out. I want every one of you to concentrate on our mission first and foremost. None of this will mean shit if we fail to rescue those girls. As for the other incidents, the fire was ruled an accident and the odd radio frequencies could be someone flipping some dials while they were shooting the breeze. We have no evidence that any of this is related to Tami McDaniel’s death. One thing that concerns me more than the thought of us having a raving lunatic aboard with us—that is the thought that we might have a cold, calculating, professional killer among us.”

“What about the Liberian fishing trawler?” Stick asked, reaching for his red can of Classic Coke. “We’ve already got our own government in bed with Krasken-Mobile to a certain extent. Do you think other countries are going to be a problem?”

“First reaction? No, I don’t think it’s anything related to our mission.” Starr returned to her seat, swiveling it so that she could see the picture the projected screen put out on the bulkhead that Gunny had previously set up. “They most likely saw we’re a United States-flagged vessel and wondered what we were doing on this bearing. Liberian-flagged vessels are in actuality from just about any other country in the world. It’s common traffic to register a ship as Liberian to avoid taxes and embargos placed on nations by the major trade powers. Our little friend could be anyone’s intelligence gathering platform or just someone looking to make a buck in the open market. We are going emissions control until we lose our tail or we determine that he isn’t a threat. Captain Hensel has orders to notify me immediately if he sees any other traffic out of the ordinary.”

The meeting then commenced to their daily agenda and the team engaged in discussions regarding their upcoming mission. Today they were going over each prominent member of Agu Tumo Mykelti’s rebel force to spot any weaknesses as well as to determine if there were any skilled operators that would be harder to contain. His right hand man Rabiu Oluwa was a ruthless bastard. He would be a primary target for Daegan should this man pop his head up during their operations ashore in Nigeria.

As the meeting dragged on, he kept a watch on Diesel who was currently lying beside Trigger’s chair with his eyes glued to the hatch. He would be the first one out of his chair if the dog gave any indication that anyone was outside that entrance. It was good to have an extra set of eyes and ears that didn’t need to concentrate on the screen in front of them. With that said, he couldn’t keep his mind from wondering who could have murdered Tami McDaniel or if there was any reason to fear for Ferrin’s safety. She would probably have already been briefed on the ongoing investigation by the time he spoke with her later this evening. It wouldn’t hurt to add in his two cents regarding what safety precautions she should take going forward. He refused to think there could be any more parallels between Ferrin and Kayla.

‡

F
errin looked around
for her eyeglasses and couldn’t find them anywhere. She’d been in the radio room for over an hour of her shift discussing the Super High Frequency (SHF) satellite communications antenna array located high above them on the main mast and what Roger and Spivey had done to try and rectify the issue short of climbing up there and replacing the damaged components. Jerry was going to take a crack at it and while he was doing that, she was going to go over the rest of the logs from last night. The rush of crewmembers wanting to make ship-to-shore communications shouldn’t occur for another hour, but she still needed her glasses first. Unfortunately they were nowhere to be found and she was relatively sure she knew where she’d left them.