Gray Ghost (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 1) (9 page)

Dix heard the tension in Roger’s voice when he said, “Sure.” Dix decided to create a diversion. “If you don’t mind my asking, what do you guys do for excitement on the island? After all, it’s pretty small.”

“
What? You think the police don’t have much to do here?”

Dix smiled. “I don’t see how you could.” The rookie Royal Bahamian police officer turned to Dix and Petersen while Roger slipped into the house.

The officer chuckled. “We have locals trying to get rich off tourists like you by picking their pockets. We deal with robberies and narcotics smugglers. There’s a lot happening on this island, so we need to keep things quiet. Tourists would not come here as much if they knew about our issues.”

Roger returned just as the officer concluded, “… and that’s why we work so hard.” The rookie grabbed the plate as the police radio came to life. “Got a call. Thank you.”

He jumped in. The driver started up and the van sped back down the dirt road with lights and sirens blaring.

Petersen watched as they drove out of sight. Well, that was fun.”

Dix grimaced at him, then turned to the others. “Don’t mind him. He’s an idiot.”

Roger sighed. “The bastard in my shed slips in and out of consciousness. I don’t know if he’ll talk, but we should try.” They entered the house.

Dix turned to Petersen. “Stay here while we go to the shed. Holler if there are any problems.”

They circled the shed. At the door, Dix saw two armed men wearing black clothing. The entrance faced the back fence, so the men were not visible from the street. He recognized one as the guy they’d seen at the front door of Roger’s home. Roger told the guards it was okay to let Dix in.

They hesitated.

Dix stepped in front of Roger. “Listen, boys, I’m here to help. I want to find out if your prisoner is the guy who killed Sean and Preston. If I really wanted to stir up some shit, I’d point out that you both forgot to take the safeties off your MP-5s. I’d have plenty of time to disarm you before you figured it out.”

Roger chuckled, then pointed to the guy on the left. “This is my son and that is my baby brother. Guys, he’s right. Get the safeties off just in case.”

The guard Roger had identified as his brother spoke. “I think the man is awake, but he’s pissed.”

Roger grimaced. “He has big problems to worry about.”

The guards stepped away. Roger removed a key from a chain around his neck and unlocked the door. He walked in, followed by Dix. They entered the second room and the sniper looked up but said nothing since he was still gagged.

Roger ripped the duct tape off to release the towel. The prisoner took a deep breath as Roger glared at him. “Just checking to see if you’re alive.”

The man in the chair looked from Roger to Dix. “Yes, barely. Do I get bread and water? I won’t be much use to you dehydrated and famished.”

Dix listened carefully. The guy’s English sounded Midwestern. “Listen, prick, let’s skip the formalities and get to the point.”

“
A fellow American. What a relief. Maybe you can convince them to give me something to eat. And maybe remove the blindfold as well.”

“
You’ll get food and water when I decide they can give it to you. As for the blindfold…” Dix answered, motioning for Roger to take it off.

The guy blinked a couple of times. “Thanks. Now how about something to drink? I can talk better if I’m not parched. Besides, isn’t providing sustenance to captives required?”

Dix shook his head. “That only applies during wartime. Since it appears you’re a mercenary, whoever hired you won’t be contacting local law enforcement to report you missing.”

The prisoner sighed. “Well, if you’re going to kill me, just do it. I’ve been in worse situations. This contract was supposed to be my last. I was going to retire.”

Dix raised an eyebrow and stared at the man. “You retired once before I bet. Why are you doing contracts at your age?”

“
Two daughters in college.” He eyed Dix and smirked, “And I can still get the job done.”

“
That may be, but now you have major problems.”

The shooter looked at the room, his hands, and his legs. “Maybe.”

Dix watched as the sniper slowly slumped over, and he motioned for Roger to get the man a drink.

Roger left and returned with a glass of water and a large piece of bread which he fed to the prisoner.

When he was finished, he turned to Roger. “Was it you who got me good? What did you use, a piece of wood?”

Roger smiled. “Yes and yes.”

“
Snuck up on me. Didn’t think it was possible. I watched you and your family and dismissed you as a threat. Apparently my judgment failed me.”

Dix wanted to get on with the interrogation. They’d already wasted valuable time. “Let me tell you what I know. Stop me when I’m wrong.”

“
What? You’re not going to ask my name, and who I work for, and what I was doing?”

Dix grabbed another chair from the corner and sat opposite the suspect. “I know most of that already. You were hired, most likely by the Caller, to hijack a large shipment of coke. It probably belonged to one of the Caller’s competitors. You took the job and came to Andros Island intending to disable the boat and secure the cocaine. Unfortunately, you allowed the speedboat to get underway before you could intercede. So you figured you’d kill the occupants to stop it. I’m not sure if that was part of the contract or not. ”

Thomas tried lying first. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I came here last night. I did take a contract from the Caller, but it was to fix someone else’s mistake. All I was told was there was a vessel underwater containing precious cargo. I was provided GPS coordinates for the vessel and was scouting out the location to see how to retrieve the boat when I was smacked across the face.”

Dix thought for a moment. “As you fired on the occupants, you accidentally disabled the vessel, and it sank. You jacked up the mission. To make up for your mistake, you offered to fix the situation quickly and quietly, which the Caller agreed to. You monitored the location and saw a flats boat arrive. After a while, one of the occupants left the boat and dove down to your sunken speedboat. As he came up, another boat arrived. So you were going to eliminate the people on the boats. For some reason, you moved around too much underneath your ghillie suit. That’s what gave you away.”

The prisoner remained in eye contact with Dix. “You keep saying I killed two people. It’s not true. I admit I was going to kill the guys poaching in the area I thought the speed boat was in.” He shrugged. “Business is business.”

Thomas motioned with his head to Roger. “I paused, which enabled him to capture me.”

Dix asked, “Where did you deploy from?”

“
I was in Nassau diving. The details were sent to my iPhone.

Arrived here about an hour later by boat.”

Dix spoke quickly. “Where were you diving?”

The guy hesitated, then replied, “The Tongue of the Ocean.”

Roger cleared his throat. “Dix. He’s full of shit. The Tongue is about a mile off of the island we’re standing on.”

Dix stared at the suspect. “Thanks, Roger. As far as I’m concerned, unless he wants to tell us who the Caller is, you and your friends can do with him what you want.” Then he softened his voice and added, “Listen, man, tell us what you know, and I’ll do what I can to keep you alive. You know you have no other options. Prison or death.”

The sniper closed his eyes. “Get me some aspirin, and maybe something more than stale bread, and I’ll tell you what I know. No joke, I’ve had it. I choose prison, although I am not too sure I’ll make it out of this shed alive regardless.” Dix asked Roger to get the aspirin and some fresh food.

While Dix was alone, he leaned back in his chair. “Okay, who are you and what’s your background?’

The sniper watched him closely. “M. A. Thomas. Retired Special Ops.”

Dix nodded. “Just as I thought.”

Roger came back with a can of soda, aspirin, and fresh fruit, which he gave to Dix.

“
Untie his hands, but keep his feet tied to the chair legs. The door is locked, and there are no weapons here. Even if he escaped his bonds, he’d be dead as he stepped out of the shed.”

Thomas popped the aspirins and drank the soda in one long gulp.

He peeled a banana slowly and began to eat it.

“
Time is of the essence, Thomas. Finish that bite, and we’ll continue.”

Thomas chewed and swallowed. “Shoot.”

Dix leaned forward. “Now, tell us what really happened.”

“
You got most of it right. I took out the men on the speedboat because I panicked after miscalculating my shot.”

Roger punched Thomas twice in the stomach. Thomas doubled over in pain and groaned.

Roger said, “That’s one for each of my friends, Sean and Preston. If I’d known for sure you were involved before I called Bubba, I’d have cut your fingers off and shot you with your own rifle. I’d kill you now, but I gave my word not to. I hope you rot in prison.”

Roger wheeled around, fists clenched at his side, and left the room.

Dix didn’t feel sorry for Thomas, but he had to get more information.

Thomas quickly reached over to grab Dix’s leg, but Dix was quicker. He slammed his right elbow into the middle of Thomas’s back. The blow knocked Thomas onto the ground with the chair still secured to his ankles.

Dix stood over Thomas glaring at him. “What the hell was that about? I’m not the enemy. You’re lucky to be alive. The quicker you tell us what we need, the quicker we turn you over to the police.”

Thomas gasped, “Help me up.”

“
Not until you tell me everything. Do you understand?”

Thomas groaned and nodded. “The Caller is American and most likely has military training. He has knowledge of drug trafficking trends and interdiction. He does his business through middlemen and uses only secured lines on a cell phone when he calls. He pays very well. Dix frowned. “You’ve done a lot of checking on this guy, haven’t you?”

“
I tried to figure out who he was because I wanted to have some dirt on him as protection.”

“
When was the last time you worked for him?”

Thomas groaned again, but when Dix made no move to help him, he took a breath and continued. “Over a year ago. I hadn’t shot the rifle since.”

“
What else can you tell me about the Caller?”

“
I think he works alone because I ran into roadblocks everywhere when I tried to track him down. I don’t know much about computers, but when I tried to search for cell phone numbers I had and possible associates, my computer froze up and I had to take it to a local computer store to get it working again.”

“
Is there anything else you think could be helpful?” Dix was tired and wanted to get Thomas to the local cops.

“
Whether I’m arrested or one of these men kill me, I think the Caller will send someone else to finish this mission. A hundred million is sitting on the ocean floor. The one person he told about it failed to return it to him. I don’t know anyone who would pass up that much money. Someone else will come.”

“
You killed two men. I hope you rot in hell.” Dix spat on the floor next to the sniper. Then he righted the chair and retied Thomas’s wrists before he knocked on the door.

Roger unlocked it. “What now?”

“
We turn this guy in. It’s time to turn everything over to the local officers.”

“
All right. We’ll take him out of the shed and transport him to the police department.”

“
Okay, let’s go.”

Roger’s guards untied Thomas’s legs from the chair and allowed him to stand to get his balance. After a minute, they started escorting him from the shed out to the backyard.

Thomas brushed past the two young men when he went through the door. His right hand was free of the rope Dix had loosely placed on him. With speed and agility, Thomas grabbed the gun from one of the armed guards and ran toward the side yard of the house. He had fired a few rounds in the direction of the house and the shed before he took cover behind an abandoned car surrounded by tall grass.

Everybody scrambled for cover as a round echoed in the air. A .223 caliber round caught Thomas on the left side of his body. The bullet tore through major organs and he slumped over dead next to the car.

Dix rushed from behind the shed to find Roger standing over Thomas’s body.

Petersen ran from the house and approached the body, checking for a pulse, then turned to Dix. “He’s dead.” Removing the rope from Thomas’s left hand, he handed it to one of the young men looking over his shoulder. “Make this disappear.”

Roger turned to his son. “Get the guy’s gear from the shed.” The only thing they kept was the handheld GPS with the coordinates to the speedboat.

The boy returned quickly. They put the ghillie suit back on Thomas’s lifeless body. One of Roger’s sons placed a Colt .45 close to the dead sniper’s hand.