03 - Organized Grime (25 page)

“Hey, hey, hey!” Chad’s surfer-like tones were enough to make anyone feel more laidback. “What’s going on?”

I scowled. “You were supposed to meet me at the crime scene.”

“I got a message saying to meet you here.”

“From who?”

“Your father.”

I craned my neck around. “Dad?”

“We decided to schedule an intervention.”

“An intervention for what?” I nearly screeched.

“You and Riley. You’re throwing away something good, Gabby.” Teddi’s sweet voice did nothing to calm the anger that flared through me.

“Chad—everyone—I don’t have time for this. I’ve got to go get Sierra.”

Tim leaned between the two front seats. “Sierra? What about her?”

“I think I know where she is… thanks to Megan.”

The back door opened again, and Chad joined the gaggle. “We’ll just do the intervention on the way then.”

“I don’t have time to argue. Everybody hold on because I’m out of here.”

I backed the van out—probably a little too hard. I glanced in the back of my commercial van and saw four people sitting on the sides of the van, between my equipment and suddenly felt more like someone smuggling immigrants from Mexico than a crime scene cleaner.

This had the makings of a terrible sitcom…or a beautiful tragedy, depending on how you looked at it.

“Where do I go?”

Megan pointed in the proper direction. “Emeryville Wildlife Rescue.”

“The Wildlife Rescue? That’s where Sierra’s been?”

Megan nodded. “She’s been hiding out in the stalls with the animals for the past few days. Before that, she was with that Indian guy.”

“Native American,” I corrected.

“Whatever.”

“You said someone else was following me also?”

She nodded. “I don’t know who he is. He always wears a ball cap and keeps it low, along with a big coat and sunglasses. I couldn’t give a description if my life depended on it.”

“Nothing else?”

She shrugged. “He left you those notes. He seemed…casual, like sneaking around and scaring people didn’t faze him.”

I tried to process that, but came up with nothing.

“Gabby, about your relationship with Riley…” my dad started.

I shook my head. “This is not the time for an intervention. Can we save that for after I save my best friend’s life?”

My van bumped down the road, and, at the moment, I didn’t even feel bad for my passengers in the back, whose bums probably ached. Served them right for trying to interfere.

The irony of the moment hit me. I was going to rescue my best friend whom I’d thought was dead, all the while toting along my father, his girlfriend, my kidnapped brother who’d come home, my business partner and my stalker. Was God trying to teach me something through this? Because if I weren’t so anxious to find Sierra, I might laugh hysterically at the picture I’m sure we all formed.

We headed out to the rural area of Virginia Beach. My breath came in short spurts as I drove. All I could think about was Sierra, not the bickering people in my backseat who chatted about the weather and the van needing new shocks or how I should use vinegar to clean instead of my chemicals.

Could I even trust this crazy girl sitting beside me? What if she was leading me to a death trap and I was taking everyone I care about with me? Everyone but Riley.

My heart panged every time I thought about him. Had I made the biggest mistake of my life by breaking up with him? Probably. Was it too late to fix it? Possibly.

I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw my dad talking on his phone—a Smartphone. How did he afford that? He could barely afford to pay his rent. And more importantly, who was he talking to right now?

Finally, we pulled down a narrow, mostly gravel lane that was surrounded by swampland on either side. The wildlife refuge. I knew Sierra was friends with the woman who ran it. And it was out here in the middle of nowhere—well, nowhere for Virginia Beach, at least. Was this why Sierra’s phone connection with me always sounded so broken?

As I pulled up, I didn’t see any cars around. How had Sierra gotten here? Where had she hidden her car?

I put the van in park and turned around to look at my passengers. “I want all of you to stay here. Got it?”

My tone must have been harsh because they all grew silent and nodded.

I looked at Megan. “You get in the back with everyone else, just in case anything funny happens. Chad,” I tossed him my keys, “take these just in case.”

He held up his phone. “I already have 911 on speed dial.”

“You’re a good man. And you’ve known me way too long already.”

I got out just in time to see another car pull up. I blinked in surprise when the car parked and someone stepped out.

“Riley?” My heart pounded in my throat. I’d missed him and mourned for what could have been ever since we’d broken up.

His blue eyes soaked me in as he approached with his hands shoved into his pockets. There was still a heaviness about him, one that I wanted to erase. I guess that breaking up hadn’t done that trick. “Your dad called and asked me to meet you here.”

“You can’t be here.”

He nodded toward the distance. “I’m coming with you.”

“I can handle this myself.”

He stepped closer, close enough that every inch of my skin seemed to sizzle with electricity. “No, you can’t. You have no idea what’s out there.”

His nearness made my heart pang. “My best friend hopefully.”

“Please, let me come with you."

Why argue? “Okay. Just don’t tell me what to do.”

“I won’t as long as you don’t get yourself in any hair brained situations.”

“Hair brained situations? Is that what you—”

“Kids, kids. Don’t you have a mission to accomplish here? You’re losing sight of your goal.” My dad, for once in his life, the voice of reason and wisdom.

“Fine.” I resisted the urge to cross my arms and stick out my chin in pure stubbornness. “Let’s go.”

As I ran toward the barn in the back, I glanced around, making sure no one was watching me. All I saw was the wood-edged property surrounding the refuge. Nothing that would set off any alarms in my head.

But every once in a while, I remembered the feeling of my attacker’s fist as it connected with my face, my ribs, my limbs, and I nearly lost courage. But when I remembered Sierra, I kept going. Riley was beside me.

He’d always been beside me, hadn’t he? Through all of my “hair-brained” adventures, he’d been there.

But there were more important things at stake right now than our relationship.

I tugged at the barn door, but nothing happened.

“Here, let me.” Riley’s muscles were quite an impressive display as he pulled the barn door open, revealing the musty, dark interior. With the door open, the smell of animals drifted outward. But it was strangely quiet. Where were the barks and squawks and brays?

Riley looked at me and I was pretty sure his thoughts mirrored my own. What was going on here? Was this a trap? Should I have gotten that gun I’d briefly considered purchasing?

I took a step back as I imagined being ambushed the moment I stepped foot inside the confined space before me.
Be strong and courageous
. Perhaps this wasn’t what the Bible meant by that?

Riley took a step forward instead. “Sierra? Are you there?”

Silence stretched.

I stepped closer. “Sierra, it’s Gabby. Please, I know you’re here.”

Again, not even crickets responded.

“Do you want to call the police? The FBI?”

“They’ll arrest my friend.”

“Better arrested than dead.”

“They already think she’s dead.”

“It’s your call, Gabby.”

My throat burned. “Thank you.”
Please don’t let me get anyone killed during “my call.”
I took another step inside, chills racing up my already frozen skin.

Sunlight filtered into the space through the door and cracks in the wood. The result looked hazy, creepy. Something didn’t feel right, I just didn’t know what. But I couldn’t leave without answers.

A beam cut through the darkness. I glanced over and saw that Riley had a flashlight. He walked over to the first stall and peered inside. “It’s empty. No animals, no Sierra, no nothing.”

We went through the remaining stalls and found the same. There was no evidence that Sierra had ever been here. Had Megan set me up? Had she sent me here on a wild goose chase? What if she wasn’t stalking me because she admired me, but if she had an ulterior purpose? Maybe that purpose was to advance the bad guy’s agenda?

“The only place we haven’t checked is the loft.” Riley pointed upward with his flashlight. “Should we try it?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.”

I twirled around at the familiar voice. Broken Arrow. He had a gun and it was aimed at us.

I bit my lip. Here we go again.

Chapter Thirty-Six

“I told you to leave it alone, Gabby St. Claire.” Broken Arrow’s tone was all business and annoyance.

Riley stepped between me and the gun. “Let’s talk about this. I’m sure we can work something out here without someone getting hurt.” He used his best negotiating skills. Would they work?

Broken Arrow’s jaw flexed and his gaze remained steely. “You don’t understand.”

From behind Broken Arrow, I saw Chad approaching with a broom, my dad with some aerosol spray cleaner, Teddi with a hammer, and Megan with… her camera?

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Broken Arrow muttered over his shoulder. “One person makes a move on me and I could take your friend down. Valiant effort, though.”

My menagerie of companions lowered their “weapons.” Great. I should have taught them sleuthing 101 before I left the van, I guess. Broken Arrow was totally outnumbered. Couldn’t they see that? Didn’t they have any type of plan before they tip-toed from the van?

I glanced over at my little “shadow.” “A camera, Megan? Really?”

She shrugged. “I was going to document everything so the police could know to look for The Rock when we all died.”

The Rock? Maybe Broken Arrow did resemble him slightly. I had to give her kudos for at least thinking of that.

Broken Arrow sighed. “Look, everyone just put the weapons down and let’s talk. There’s something you all need to understand.”

“What did you do with Sierra?” I blurted.

“I didn’t do anything with Sierra. She was here, but now she’s gone.”

“So Megan was telling the truth…”

“I would never lie to you, Gabby.” Her voice was just so earnest. I wasn’t used to having people look up to me.

My gaze remained on Broken Arrow. “Do you know what happened to her?”

“We’re still trying to piece it together.”

“Define ‘we’re,” Riley said.

Broken Arrow looked behind him. “I’d be happy to explain some more. This is more complicated than it seems, and I need everyone to take a step back for a moment. And I need the homeless guy to drop his screwdriver.”

Tim scowled. “I’m not homeless.” But he dropped his screwdriver anyway.

Broken Arrow finally lowered his gun and glared at me. “You’ve almost ruined a very important investigation several times, Gabby St. Claire.”

“What are you talking about?”

He flipped a badge out. “I’m DEA and deep under cover. Sierra has been one of my informants, but she got in over her head. The threat on her life became so great that she went into hiding under my protection.”

My mouth dropped open. “Does the FBI know about this?”

“They do now. Interdepartmental communication is something we still need to work on. But we’ve been busting our behinds on this case for months. We’re close to getting the evidence we need if you don’t screw it all up.”

“You’re giving me a lot of power. I haven’t done anything. I haven’t gotten any answers. I can’t even find my friend.”

“You’ve been poking in the right places. Nearly got me killed that day at the park.”

I sliced my hands through the air. “You know, that’s all fine and dandy, and I’m sorry. But I really just want to find my friend.”

“So do we. She was here this morning and now she’s disappeared. We don’t know what happened.”

“Just what was she informing you on?”

“That’s classified. I can’t give you information on current investigations. In fact, I’ve probably told you too much already.”

A car rumbled up the lane. “You have backups coming?” I asked.

“No, everyone down!” Broken Arrow shouted.

Just as we hit the ground, a spray of bullets littered the area around us.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The ammunition kept coming and coming. The smell of acid filled the air. Wood splintered. Riley covered me, protecting me from anything that might rain down me. I could feel his heartbeat against my back, feel his strong arms sheltering me.

Riley would give up his life for me, I realized. How many people could I say that about? So what if we were from two different worlds? Did that really matter when you loved someone? It didn’t seem to for Riley; I was the only one who seemed to care.

Wheels spun on gravel. Dirt sprayed the air. And then silence.

The shooters, just as quickly as they’d come, had left.

This didn’t make sense, though. James had been arrested. Sure, he probably still had men out there to do his dirty work. But how had he advised them from jail?

As soon as the dust cleared, I looked up. Was everyone okay? Had anyone been hurt? I prayed they hadn’t.

One by one, everyone stood and dusted off their clothes.

“Anyone hurt?” Broken Arrow asked.

Everyone mumbled that they were okay. Thank God.

“Who was that?” I brushed some dust from my slacks, trying not to bend over in pain.

“Good question.” His gaze zeroed in on me like a laser. “We need to talk.”

Riley stepped up behind me. I could feel his protective gaze on me.

I nodded toward him. “You remember Riley?”

“Your male secretary?” Broken Arrow’s eyes twinkled, but only for a moment.

I shrugged. “Yeah, that one.”

“Can you and I talk? In private? Better yet, I’ll drive you back to your apartment. You’re not looking well.”