Ghost River Jon Coon (free reads TXT) 📖

“He doesn’t have Emily,” Carol said. “What’s he done with her?”

“He still knows where she is,” Gabe said.

They watched the monitor as the boat, black smoke pouring from her exhausts, left the marina and turned starboard, downriver.

“Where could he go to hide?” Gabe asked.

“There are tributaries and creeks everywhere, but he won’t get far with those engines smoking like that. The injectors are fouled, and the fuel probably has condensation. There’s a fuel dock about thirty-five miles west on the intercoastal. They’ve got a mechanic and everything he needs to get her running clean again. After that, lots of swamp. If he knows the river, finding a place to hide won’t be a problem.”

“What time does the fuel dock open?”

“Six. They open early for the barge traffic.”

“We need a boat,” Gabe said. “Something fast.”

After a little negotiation and the keys to the state car for security, Gabe and Carol were cruising downriver in a fast bass boat, using a spotlight to keep in the channel. Gabe called Bob and brought him up to speed. Dawn was breaking two hours later when they saw the ominous shadow of Bo’s Baby tied up at the fuel dock.

“I want the shotgun,” Carol said.

“Again? Okay, you stay on the dock in case he gets past me. He’s got two choices: the dock or the water. Either way, we’ve got him. If you do have to take the shot, remember we need him able to talk.”

Carol stopped him with a hand on his forearm. “Gabe, in case this doesn’t go well there’s something I want to say now. I love you. And I’m certain Charlie would want us to be together. Now be careful, and let’s find Emily.”

I guess it’s now or never. “I love you too, Carol,” he answered. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. “Now get behind something solid. Keep your eyes open and your head down.”

Gabe left the crutches in the boat and painfully started down the dock.

His phone rang. “Welcome aboard,” Wyatt said. “I wondered how long it would take you to find me. Come aboard, keep your hands empty, and don’t get stupid.” Gabe stepped aboard. There were no cabin lights on and no signs of life. When he reached the side door into the main salon, it opened. Wyatt said, “Give me your gun, Gabe. Come in and close the door.”

Gabe handed over the Sig and closed the door behind him.

“Where’s the briefcase and the other stuff?”

“On the way. Where is Emily? Is she all right?”

“For now, but not forever. You disappoint me, Gabe. I’m not messing around here. Those files are the only things that save her.”

“They’re coming, but I don’t understand why you need them. You have all the answers. If you want to even the score, what are you waiting for?”

“I need that briefcase and those files. That’s all you need to know.”

“Okay, okay, I got it. Chopper’s on its way. You win.”

“Right. I’ll fly the chopper out, and then you give me twenty-four hours.”

“Emily?”

“I’ll tell you where she is as soon as I’m out of US airspace. She’ll be fine until then.”

“Right. I’ll make the call and get an ETA. Bob said ten minutes, and he has everything you want. You killed Rogers, didn’t you?”

Wyatt snorted, “Yeah, I finally got him. He killed Nancy, and he helped Conners kill my dad.”

“How do you know that?”

“Dirty Billy Johnson has a low tolerance for pain. I didn’t kill him, but he’s not going out for football this season.”

“What about Janna?”

“Devoted to my dad. I would never hurt her. Conners’s goons again. She told you too much. Same with your Captain Brady.”

“How did your dad get messed up with them? Didn’t he know they would kill him too?”

“Money. Lots of money. In the beginning Dad thought it was a game: build cheap bridges and then make a fortune repairing them. Enough work to last for decades. Everyone gets rich. No one gets hurt. Then when his investigator couldn’t find Nancy and Wilson in London, he got worried. Eventually he realized it must have been Conners and Peterson. I didn’t know for sure what had happened until you told me you’d found Nancy.”

“Okay, let’s say you do get out of the country to Costa Rica or somewhere else without extradition. How can I prove what you’re saying is true?”

“That’s your problem. Mine is getting into that chopper.”

“More secrets in ghost river,” Gabe said just before his phone rang again. He hesitated, and Wyatt waved the gun for him to pick it up.

“Speaker,” Wyatt ordered. Gabe complied.

“Bird’s inbound,” Bob reported. “I should be there in five minutes.”

“Tell them to land, leave it running, and clear out. When I’m in the air with the stuff you can leave. Until then we’ll sit tight,” Wyatt said and waved the Beretta at Gabe again.

“Don’t do this, Wyatt. Once you go out that door, there’s no turning back.”

“My second chances here are gone, Gabe, you know that. But my Spanish is good enough, and there’s no better living anywhere. I’m sorry about the cops. They were collateral damage, but Peterson and Rogers are gone. It’s a better world without them.

“Now you’re going to stay here till I call you. I’m sorry, but if anything happens before I’m out of the country, you lose the girl. This would have been so much easier if you had just followed directions, but I guess that’s not your style. Hope your leg gets better. Sorry we had to do it the hard way. I hear the chopper. You sit tight. I’ll call you in just a little while.”

Gabe hesitated, Wyatt moved to the aft cabin doors, left the salon, and a moment later a motorcycle growled to life and launched from the boat deck across the gangplank and onto the dock. Gabe jumped up and out the doors and yelled at Carol, “Don’t shoot.” She stepped out of hiding, and the bike went straight at