Deep-Fried Homicide (The Laurel Falls Mysteries Book 1) (26 page)

Diane eyed her as she passed, most of her attention captured by the filling of the salt shaker in her hand.

“Let it go? Are you kidding me?” Clearly, Macy took offense at that and was not going to let it go at all. “They were building tunnels under the town. You got captured by drug lords and lived to tell about it. How can I let that go?”

Rachel rolled her eyes in Macy’s direction and laughed. “They were hardly drug lords. Just thugs. And they weren’t building tunnels under the town. They just used what was already there.”

“Still, you’ve got to tell us about it.”

“She can’t tell you about it,” Rick said, more to remind Rachel than to explain to Macy.

“Yea,” Rachel sighed. “I can’t.”

Macy let her hands drop to her sides, her face falling and her eyes darkening. “Never?”

“Not for a long time,” Rachel said with a shrug.

“Well…darn.” Macy dropped onto a stool and glared at the back of Rachel’s head.

“The important thing is that everyone is okay,” Diane offered. She smiled good-naturedly but Macy wasn’t buying it.

The bell on the door rang out just then and Logan stepped in from the sunshine. “Good morning, fellow hostages. And how are we this fine day?”

They all turned to stare at him in unison. No one spoke.

Finally, it was Rick who said, “We’re all fine, Logan. And looking forward to getting back to normal. Aren’t we girls?”

There was a pause, then they all added their assent.

Rick managed to keep them on task through the lunch rush, which was even more of a rush than usual. It wasn’t that anyone knew about the previous night’s doings because certainly there had been no news in the media and even the grapevine had seemed to fail. But the diner being opened late was a cause for concern for everyone in town and there was no stopping the good citizens from coming in to find out the reason.

Rachel went on break at the tail-end of the rush. There were about twenty people still in the diner when she slipped into the office to take some aspirin and brush her hair. She had a soda with her and she took ten minutes to sit down and put her feet up on the desk. It had been oddly comforting to drop right back into the normal swing of things, but she had begun to feel tired and her head hurt a little.

Then she went back into the diner, apron in place, ready to finish her shift. That’s when she spotted the dark figure huddle in the back booth. She stared at the back of his head for a minute, knowing who he was, why he kept his hoodie up. To anyone else, the whole situation would spell a robbery. But Rachel knew why he was there.

She fidgeted and fussed, anxious for the rest of the customers to leave the diner so she could speak to the man. And when the last of the lunch customers ambled out the door, she flipped the sign to CLOSED.

“Rachel, what the heck are you doing?” Rick said, his face slightly reddened from the heat of the grill and the rush of confusion.

“Trust me,” she said with a wink, and started toward the back booth. She slid easily into the seat opposite him, folded her hands on the table in front of her, and smiled. “We meet again.”

He looked up, questioning her with his eyes, not yet cracking a smile. “I was really hoping to see Diane.”

Rachel cocked her head to one side. “She’s right over there. Don’t worry. I put out the CLOSED sign. We’re safe.”

He tossed back the hoodie, revealing a face that was not quite how she remembered it. Gone were the heavily lidded eyes, mustache and beard. The hair was cropped shorter too. Then he unzipped the hoodie and took it off. In those two swift movements, Mr. Hoodie became all-American boy-next-door. Rachel smiled.

“I think I like you better this way. Hey, Diane, there’s somebody over here who wants to see you.” She spared a wink for him.

Diane spun on her stool, her eyes widening and her mouth falling into a little “O” as she took in the scene. Then she was crossing the diner, her face lit from within and her eyes bright. “Mike!”

He took the hug awkwardly, chuckling a bit as he did so. “Yep, it’s me. In the flesh.”

Diane took possession of his hand, kept it as she slid into the booth and pulled him in after her. “I can’t believe you’re here. It’s really you.” She reached out and stroked his face, teared up a bit, but didn’t fight it.

“I figured I owed you an explanation.”

“I showed her the note you gave me,” Rachel interrupted. “I wasn’t sure what it meant at the time, but I knew she deserved to see it.”

Mike nodded jerkily and hung his head. “I couldn’t let any of you know the truth. Heck, I still can’t tell you the whole truth. But I can tell you most of it.”

The nearby booths had filled up with Rick, Macy and Logan. They sat on the edge of their seats, listening, waiting…

“I knew you weren’t a bad person,” Diane said softly. “You couldn’t be.”

“And that’s why I bothered sticking around. You know I was working undercover, right? I was always working undercover.” Mike checked her face, searching for hope.

“I did hope. But when we saw you on the security camera, the day the bank was robbed, I almost gave up hope.”

Mike sat back suddenly, driving the air from the seat cushion and chewing on his lip. “I guess I better start at the beginning. But it’s a long story.”

“We’ve got time,” Rick said, drawing a look of surprise from Rachel.

Mike studied his hands as he spoke, sparing a fast glance for Diane every now and again, checking her responses.

“I work for the DEA. But you probably knew that. They sent me here to infiltrate this group. They’ve been after this meth cook for a long time, but he’s been really smart so far. They gave me a cover ID and set me up with the apartment and the so-called day trading job. And then they told me to go out and find a girlfriend, to make myself more established and credible. That’s where you came in, Diane.”

For a moment, Diane looked like she was going to cry. Out of instinct, Rachel reached out and squeezed her hand.

“I chose you, Diane, because you were pretty and smart and seemed like the kind of girl who a guy like me – meaning my cover identity – might actually fall for. And then I did the dumbest thing I could possibly do: I fell for you. I almost got out of it right then and there, but command talked me into sticking it out. They made certain promises, which I can’t talk about. And I made certain demands, which I won’t talk about.”

Diane nodded slowly, watching his face, the side of his head, whatever he offered of himself as he spoke.

“Once I got deeper into things, I realized that it wasn’t at all like we thought it was. The cook, the guy in charge, he was being handled by someone else. Someone from a cartel, we thought, but it turned out not to be that way. And it turned out that the plan they had in place was a lot more intricate, so I knew I was in for the long haul.

“The bank robbery was set up to fund the operation. It was also to test my loyalty, I’m sure. And by then I knew exactly what I was getting into and I had a pretty good idea that meant danger for Diane. So, I did the only thing I could. I broke up with her. I acted as much like a heel as I could to make sure she stayed away. But I couldn’t just leave her high and dry. She’d changed her whole life for me. I couldn’t leave her homeless and alone.”

“So, you dropped her on the sidewalk outside our diner,” Rachel offered through tight lips.

“Yea. I’d been in here a few times and you seemed like good people. Actually, you all seemed like suckers for a sob story.” He looked embarrassed at that, tried to shrug it off.

“But how could you possibly know that she would come in here? Or that she would stay long enough for you to run by after the robbery?”

“Working undercover makes you a darn good judge of character. Heck, I could be a profiler in another life. I knew that Diane wouldn’t make any rash decisions. She would need to go somewhere and calm down, get herself together. And that place was here. She had about twenty bucks in her purse when I left her. Not even enough for a motel room. I figured the chances were good that she’d come in, stay as long as possible. And then when you all finally figured out that she wasn’t leaving, you’d offer to keep her around.”

“That was a heck of a gamble, Mike,” Rick said. “What if you’d been wrong?”

“Then, I guess she would have had to call her parents and go back home. But, things worked out and you all took her in. You kept her safe and I’m in your debt for that. And since I’d seen the security camera before, I knew I could leave a sort of message for Diane. You guys are ex-cops and military, so I knew you’d eventually look at that video and maybe take it to the police.”

“But you didn’t count on me chasing you down, huh?” Rick laughed.

“No, and if I hadn’t been all-state track in school, you’d have caught me. Thank God you didn’t because I don’t know what I would have done.” It was Mike’s turn to laugh now. It was a nice laugh, full of warmth and gentleness.

“Oh, if I’d have caught you, I’d have hauled you off to jail. You can count on that.” Rick’s face was almost menacing. He obvious felt very certain of his skills.

“Then Rachel got involved.” Mike looked at her head-on, a quirky smile on his face.

“Oh, Rachel
always
gets involved,” Logan added and received a punch on the arm from Rachel for his trouble.

“Thus the warning and the note. I wanted you out of it, Rachel, before you got hurt. And I wanted to explain to Diane, but I just couldn’t. So, I let you know that I’d be back for her. That I wasn’t just some jerk who had some fun with her and dumped her.”

“You scared the heck out of me with that warning, I want to tell you…” Rachel began.

“And still it didn’t keep you away.” Mike shook his head and leaned forward again. “And then you fell through the big intake at the farm and dropped right into the middle of the bust. It was scheduled for that night, but it wasn’t supposed to happen for another couple of hours. After I left you with the lab guys, I managed to get out a text for my guys to come earlier. I let them know we had a civilian in danger and that I couldn’t help you without getting us both killed.”

“And thank God they came!” Rachel laughed.

“They almost didn’t. They almost hung us both out to dry.” Mike shook his head once more, his eyes closing for a second.

“And when they did get there and all the commotion started, that’s when Mike shoved us into that big metal trunk and kept us safe until it was all over.” Rachel beamed at that. It had been a terrifying moment, to be sure, but it was also the most exciting moment of her life.

“The trunk was there for just that purpose. I was to hide in it in the event that shooting started or something. We’re just lucky that we’re both small and it had room for two.”

“So, when did you know that Sheriff Dooley was involved?” Logan asked.

Mike’s head snapped up and pivoted in Logan’s direction. “Say again?”

“Dooley was right smack dab in the middle of it all. We called him last night when Rachel went missing. He showed up…alone…and pulled a gun on us. Apparently, he’s been funding his retirement account with drug money.”

All eyes were on Logan now, though Rachel spared a quick look of surprise for Rick.

Mike sat up straight and cleared his throat. “You say he pulled a gun on you. How did you get away from him?”

“We overpowered him.” Rick shrugged. “Left him bound ankle to wrist in the …Oh my God! Dooley might still be tied up in the woods.” Now Rick looked like he might be sick. “I forgot all about him after the mess down at the beach.”

“So did I,” Logan said.

“I can’t do anything about it. He can’t see my face.” Mike whipped out his cell phone and dialed fast. When somebody picked up, he said, “We’ve got a problem.”

Mike gave his superior the digest version of Rick and Logan’s story, then nodded a few times. Then he slapped the phone shut.

“Well?” Rick blurted.

“There’ll be a car pulling up in five minutes. You go with my guys and show them where he is…if he’s still there.”

The two men nodded and stood up. They ripped off their aprons and tossed them down, then ran a hand through their hair.

“We got this,” Logan said.

Rachel laughed, perhaps a bit more loudly than she should have. “You two are just itching to get in on the action, aren’t you?”

“You’re just jealous that we know something you don’t,” Rick said as he bent to kiss the top of her head.

“Go on with your bad selves,” Macy giggled. “But stay in the car. Don’t come back full of holes or anything.”

They waved her off and slid through the door just as the car was pulling up to the curb.

When Rachel turned back to them, Mike and Diane were holding hands.

“So,” Mike said softly, “I’ve got a month’s worth of vacation and a regular slot down in Atlanta for six months.”

He left it hanging right in the air, waiting to see if it would soar like an eagle or pull a Hindenburg.

“T
ake that dirt road off to the right,” Rick said to the man behind the wheel. “We’ll have to walk to the tree line once we run out of road.”

There were four men in the car: Rick, Logan, and two men from the DEA. Neither of the agents looked any too pleased to be scrounging around in the backwoods in the middle of the afternoon. No doubt they had been about ready to leave town when Mike had called them and put their plans on hold. But it would all be worth it if they could bring in Dooley. A rotten cop was about the best catch you could make.

The driver brought the car to a stop some ten feet beyond where the gravel and dirt road ended. Then they climbed out of the car as a unit, the agents letting Rick and Logan lead the way.

What had been shadowy and sinister the night before seemed much more sedate in the light of day. It was almost a pastoral scene just then, if you could ignore the strangled cries coming from the woods. It sounded like a moose had become tangled with a barbed wire fence and was trying to scream itself to death.

“I think he’s still here,” Logan said smartly.