Severed Threads (37 page)

He leaned on his elbows and stared into the corner, masking his presence in the shadows.

One of the vociferous characters on his left suddenly stood up, knocking his chair over.

“
I didn’t sign on for this,” he yelled. There was something oddly familiar about the respectable-looking guy with the specs. But Devon couldn’t place him. His companion, on the other hand, was easily recognized.
Skylar Zane.
He’d spotted him days earlier in the warehouse with Gabe Pollero. But it wasn’t the first time he had seen him. The smooth-talking character with the buzz-cut red hair had strutted into Devon’s office six months earlier, bragging about his substantial net worth. He claimed his lucrative salvage company had multiple government contracts and that he was interested in buying stock in Mesoblast Limited, a biotech highflyer, and Brambles Limited. At the time, Devon had been extremely impressed by his confidence and share market knowledge. But as it turned out, the guy never invested a dime. He never returned his calls.

And there was something else. Something blatantly missing from Selena’s story. Zane hadn’t just showed up out of the blue like she thought. He’d been making the rounds in town for at least a week. He even had a private meeting with Walter Moten only days before he turned up missing. Or more accurately, was killed. Zane had obviously been scheming on the Polleros’ behalf for quite a while. The crazy thing about it was apparently nobody knew. Not even Selena.

“
Sit down,” Zane snapped.

Devon continued to watch the two men from the corner of his eyes, amazed at how his ears could pick out their voices from the room’s constant drone, and how these two idiots would pick such a public place to meet.

Zane’s companion dragged his chair upright. He dropped back into his seat. “We had a deal. I pass on information, you cut me in. Nothing was said about drowning anyone.”

“
I told you to fix a tank…same as you did when you were working in the dive shop. No one’s going to suspect nitrogen narcosis or your part in this. Just like they didn’t four years ago.”

“
Yeah, but I did that gradually. After a month, the guy was walking around half stoned. It’s not going to be so easy this time. We’re dealing with the same ship, same coordinates and same helmsman. You don’t think the police are going to come asking?”

Wham!
Another woman blew in the door, turning the heads of the devious conspirators. She took a seat directly behind Devon and smiled. He ducked down and pulled up his collar. When the men resumed their conversation, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

“
Like you said,” Zane continued. “There’s loose rocks, hazards, dozens of drownings. Who’s going to freak over one careless diver? Especially Chase Cohen? Everyone knows he takes stupid risks.”

The mystery guy shook his head. “I can’t do it. Not this time.” He glanced nervously around the room.

“
Goddamn it, Jeremy,” Zane huffed. “Just tell me what I need to know. I’ll take care of him myself. But your share’s getting cut in half.”

“
If you weren’t my brother, I wouldn’t be doing this at all.”

“
And if Lyons had admitted we were his sons, he wouldn’t be dead.”

Sons? Dead?
Devon’s mouth slacked. He felt the air go out of his lungs. Zane had to be lying. It just wasn’t possible. They couldn’t be talking about his father. He leaned closer, trying not to miss a word.

“
Cohen’s still at the hospital looking after his sick kid,” Jeremy continued. “With it getting dark soon, he’ll be staying in San Palo for the night. Hawkins came in with Rachel, so there’s only Ian and Blaine to contend with. Ian has the first watch. Blaine takes over at midnight. He always falls asleep after a few hours. You’ll find the storage locker where Cohen keeps his gear below the aft deck. It’s easy to find and well marked. You shouldn’t have any problem switching his tanks. Like I told you, all the gold’s being stored in the
Stargazer’s
hull under the mid-ship hatch. But you’ll need the key on Cohen’s neck and at least three guys to transfer the gold to the
Legend.
Also Cohen dives everyday at 10 A.M. sharp, but you’ll still have to deal with the Indian, that damn Irishman and the computer nerd. So, what are you planning to do with them?”

“
Slit their throats. Toss them over the side. Cohen said there’s pirates in these waters, right?”

“
Yeah.” He looked down.

“
With all their records destroyed and Cohen finally gone, the
Wanli
and whatever’s left of his claim will be up for grabs. I’ll simply be at the right place at the right time.” Zane leaned back and took another drink from his glass. “Even though Pollero’s bumbling hoods fucked up and didn’t kill Rachel like they were supposed to, after her close call and stealing anything she could get her hands on to save our dear brother, she’ll be keeping a low profile.”

Devon clenched his jaw. Rachel was back in town, safe and sound – that’s what Novak had claimed.
Shit!
Right now she was probably thinking he was a self-absorbed asshole.

Zane smiled. “When the time’s right, collect from her too.”

No!
Devon’s pulse quickened. In the worst way possible, he wanted to jump out of his seat, slam his fist into Zane’s contemptuous face and beat the shit out of his gutless brother. But where would that leave him? How could he prove they were murderers? They were plotting against his sister, Cohen and his men. As he weighed his objections, Zane’s chair suddenly scraped the floor. His brother stood and left a few bills on the table. Then they filed by, one after the other, exiting through the barroom’s heavy wood door.

Devon waited a few seconds before crossing the room. He found Naomi behind the bar mixing drinks. “I need to make a call right away,” he insisted.

“
Don’t know,” she teased. “Depends on who.”

The kid seated at the bar flashed his pathetic lopsided grin, leaving Devon wondering what he found so humorous.

“
How about my sister and the local police?”

Naomi faced him, concern etching her brow. She set the bottle down and reached for the house phone. “Anything I can help you with?”

“
A cup of coffee. Fast!”

“
No problem, doll. Let me get that for you.”

Devon punched 9-1-1 on the keypad and stood beside her, waiting for the operator to answer.

Bam!
The front door slammed. Jeremy was back, standing ten feet away. Devon turned away quickly and waited.

“
Forgot my coat,” he told Naomi.

Devon could feel Jeremy’s cold dark eyes on the back of his neck, on the phone resting against his ear. Time stood still until the door slammed again. Until he ventured a look over his shoulder. The blue jacket on the wall hook was gone and so was Jeremy, but there was every reason to believe he’d been seen.

Thirty-One

Rachel shifted her position on the seat in the hospital hallway for the umpteenth time. Twenty minutes had passed, feeling like forever, and she was struggling to stay awake. More than anything she wanted to go home, crawl into her bed, and forget the last two weeks had ever happened. It wasn’t bad enough spending every waking hour worrying about her brother. Now she’d become the self-imposed guardian of the cobra in her bag.

The door to room three-ten finally opened, amplifying Dr. Bailey’s voice. “Look forward to hearing more about your great adventure.” He passed his assistant, bringing Rachel to her feet. “That’s quite a man you’ve got there,” he said.

“
Thank you, but actually we just work together.”

“
Oh, I see. Somehow I got a different impression.”

A quick diversion. “So, is she doing better…Allie, I mean?”

“
Like I was explaining to Chase, it’s all about faith. Today, I operated on an eight-year-old girl that was in a car accident. She desperately needed O negative blood, which is a bit rare. We didn’t have any available, but her twin brother had the right type. I explained to him that it was a matter of life and death – that his sister desperately needed his blood. He sat quietly for a moment before saying goodbye to his parents. I didn’t think anything of it until after we took the blood we needed and he asked, ‘So when will I die?’ You see, he thought he was giving his life for hers. Thankfully, they’ll both be fine.”

Rachel met his gaze and smiled. She wasn’t clear about the message he was sharing, but the story was cute.

He waved a hand in the air as he strolled down the long corridor with his nurse trailing behind. They were soon joined at the rear by a slow-moving, aging orderly. Rachel remained still, watching the odd procession. When they were finally out of sight, she pushed open the slightly ajar door and stepped back inside. Chase was hunched over in the green chair, watching his daughter sleep. Her tiny hand held two of his fingers, as if clinging to the life source within him.

Sweet.
Rachel swallowed hard and drew closer. “Hi,” she half-whispered. “Is everything all right?”

He angled a doleful look. “She’s amazing. Never complains. Not even when they poke her with needles.”

She looked down at his daughter, silently breathing. Her long dark eyelashes resting on her round chubby cheeks. Her uneven bangs naively covering one brow. In many ways she represented a younger, unsullied version of Chase.

“
I can handle her hospital bills and occasional disappointments,” he said, “but I have no control over Allie becoming a test patient.”

“
There isn’t a way to add her name to the list?”

“
Not unless someone falls off of it.”

Or if the hospital received the right incentive.
Her gaze dropped to her bag. “Wish there was something I could do.”

“
Believe me…you being here is enough.”

But in reality, it wasn’t. Not when she had a chance to make a
real
difference. She glanced up at the ceiling, suddenly conscience-stricken.

“
What is it?” he demanded.

“
I need to tell you something.”

He stood slowly, allowing Allie’s fingers to slip away. “Outside,” he breathed, motioning with his head.

Rachel collected her bag and headed towards the hallway.

As soon as the door was closed, Chase turned to her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

She deliberated on how to apologize. On how to explain her dilemma. “About the gold Marcos took…” she began.

“
How much do you think he made off with?”

“
According to Blaine, a quarter million.”

“
Wow. That much?” He quirked a smile. “Have to admit you were a better thief than I thought.”

She stared at him, perplexed until his words sank in. “You
knew
?”

“
Not for sure. Suspected a few of the guys when the counts came up short. Then I realized, aside from myself, you’re the only one with complete access. Knowing how you feel about honesty, I knew you had to have a good reason.”

“
That’s it? No questions asked? You’re not pissed off or anything?”

Chase shook his head. A smile came to his face, like a spoon in fresh dough.

“
But what you said in front of Novak…”

“
That was purely for his benefit, not yours, sweetheart. There’s no reason for him to know we’re working together.”