The Choice (18 page)

He raised both hands. “Stop, stop, I don’t want to hear anymore. You tell me right now, Marcie, why I shouldn’t call Jesse, and let him hand you over to Derek. Maybe it’s time I got smart and walked away.”

She shook so hard her voice trembled. She wrapped her arms around her bent knees. “I’ve put you in an impossible situation. You’re a federal officer. You have every right to turn me over. You have your own problems, which were made worse when you took me in. I can’t, and won’t, make excuses for what I did. I don’t have the right to ask you to help me. I just don’t want to go back and be that same person. I feel something so strong for you it hurts. So maybe you should walk away.” She couldn’t see him through the rain of tears streaming out of her eyes. Her nose was plugged and started to drip. Her bag, where was her bag? She used the back of her hand to wipe her nose.

“Ah Christ Jesus, Marcie.” She heard him run, a car door open, slam shut, and his feet pound the dirt as he hurried back. “Take this.” He shoved a box of Kleenex in her hand.

“Thank you.” She croaked, grabbing a handful of tissue, and blew her nose.

His voice softened, and he swore under his breath. “Well baby, guess where we're going? Back to where we started.”

“How soon do I need to be at the airfield?” Sam leaned against the hood of his car and watched Marcie through the front window. She looked like a lost child gazing out the passenger side. He had to fight the urge to go over and hug her.

“The FBI jet’s two hours out. Go to the New Orleans Lakefront Airport. I already spoke with Jesse. He’s going to meet you there. Two FBI agents from the New Orleans field office will be there as well. They’ve handled all paperwork.” Diane let out a sigh on the other end of the telephone.

“Sam, are you sure about bringing Marcie back? I mean really, how good’s your judgment right now? You could turn her over to the Feds down there. Let them work a deal with her. You could walk away.”

Sam ground his teeth. He was irritated and downright tired and didn’t want to hear one more person tell him to walk away. With his warm hand, he squeezed his cell phone. What a bloody mess. What he saw through his windshield was someone he refused to abandon. This trouble wasn’t entirely her own doing, but for now, until he could make sense of his jumbled emotions, she was coming with him.

“No. She stays with me. Did you run what I asked past Dexter? Marcie’s a material witness and will help with our case.”

“You really want her to walk away scot free?”

Diane was like a dog with a bone she wouldn’t let him change the subject. But then she grunted a noise he knew was disgust, about the same time it sounded like a shoe banged the wall. “Forget it, you pigheaded…” She stopped and let out a huff of air.

“Dexter, our boss, has a lot of faith in you. I gave him a sugarcoated version of your story. He believes Marcie’s coming with you as she has first-hand knowledge of the local grow ops, where they are and can help bring down a major player who’s tied to Lance Silver.”

“He didn’t ask too many questions about how I met Marcie and the problems down here?”

“Sam, if you’re asking does he know she transported an illegal substance, the answer’s no. But then no one does but you, me, Jesse and Marcie. And for now, until we have a plan on how to nail Lance Silver, let’s keep it that way. One more thing, because of the leak on our team, Dexter’s agreed to let us handle this investigation, for now.”

Sam felt hope teeter within every muscle of his body. Positive the tide was about to change, and he now stood on a threshold of something, which could alter his whole world. But for good or bad, he didn’t know.

“See you tonight.” He disconnected and watched Marcie, clutching her bulky bag, staring at him through the thick glass, like a wide-eyed baby doe. She’d allowed him to decide for her what happened next. No lies and no games. What was this need for her growing inside of him? As he shut his eyes, he couldn’t shut off his heart. When had he started wanting more?

“Bad idea.” He mumbled to himself before climbing in the car.

“All set?” She held her head high. Ready to face the piper with a pink, blotchy face and swollen red-rimmed eyes.

He started the engine and merged back onto the highway. “Jesse’s meeting us at the airport. My partner’s arranged for our flight back on the FBI jet. There won’t be any problems.”

Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m not worried when you take care of things.” Sam looked over, but she’d already turned away.

An hour later, Sam pulled into the small New Orleans airfield where private charters flew in and out. Jesse waited in a small grey pickup truck, alone. He popped open his door and climbed out, wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt.

“Can’t be department issue, it’s too nice. When did you start driving a truck?”

“My wife wanted it. She thought we could use it to haul things.”

Sam squinted. This was the first time in years he’d seen Jesse dressed in something other than a suit. Jesse lifted a small carry-on bag from the back of the truck.

“Going somewhere?”

The sharp blast of a small jet engine provided enough distraction so they went unnoticed. The passenger door of Sam’s car popped open. Jesse watched Sam and then allowed his eyes to linger on Marcie. Her stride faltered. Then she tightened her mouth before moving toward them.

“You think I’m going to allow you to dig yourself in anymore trouble? I’m going with you.”

“What about your wife, the department, you can just take off?”

Jesse’s smile deepened. His silver tooth gleamed in the rays of the setting sun. “I’ve got so much holiday time banked. I told my Cap’n now’s a good time to use some up. And my wife’s a good lady, more than fine with me helping a friend.”

Sam didn’t know what to say. A lump jammed his throat. “Thanks Jesse…” Sam stopped, and squinted. He’d always had a hard time sharing his feelings.

“It’s what friends do. Listen we better get going. Plane should be here.” Jesse took a couple steps toward Marcie. “You got your memory back. I hope for your sake you told Sam everything. No tricks, no lies, Marcie.”

Her face softened, but she held her head high. “I’m not standing here making excuses for what I did, for what I’ve done, Jesse. I’ve not lied, not once, nor will I. I’ll do what I can to stop Dan and bring an end to his madness, his stronghold. I need to make up for the wrong I’ve done. But more important, Sam’s name needs to be cleared.”

“I hope you mean that, Marcie.” Jesse watched her thoughtfully, as if trying to decipher the truth.

“So this Dan, he’s partners with Lance Silver. The guy you've been after Sam?”

Marcie remained in their circle but isolated a few steps away. Sam could see the hurt that stiffened her spine. “I’m pretty sure this Dan McKenzie’s someone in Lance Silver’s back pocket. He sounds too big to be some little guy.”

Marcie spoke so softly. “I know Lance from the Island but at a distance. I can honestly tell you if Dan has some connection with him, I know nothing about it. I don’t know who all Dan’s contacts or buyers were. Thankfully, I was kept out of that loop.” Marcie shook her head. “You two need to know. Lance Silver’s not a man you mess around with.”

There was something in her eyes Sam hadn’t seen before. An awareness of whatever they were about to walk into could have consequences, harsher than any they could imagine.

The small FBI jet flew them directly to the Port Townsend airfield in Washington State.

Diane Larsen stood at the gate wearing blue jeans, hiking boots and a faded jean jacket. A ball cap was pulled over, from what Marcie could tell, was a mouse brown boyish haircut. She wore dark shades and her jaw worked a piece of gum. But to Marcie it seemed this was her way of pondering something in her head—good Lord, another deep thinker.

Marcie stood off to the side while both Jesse and Sam bonded with Diane. With handshakes and pats on the back. She held her cloth bag in front of her and shivered in the cool night air. She still wore the vibrant sundress Sam bought her, making her grossly underdressed for the Pacific Northwest coastline where fall temperatures hovered around fifty degrees overnight.

When Sam introduced Marcie, Diane studied her with not so much as a flicker of emotion. Her throat squeezed shut. This hard woman loved Sam. Not so much in a way lovers do, but  the closeness good friends shared. So Marcie didn’t try to win her over. This woman wouldn’t be swayed by any nice, frilly words.

Marcie followed obediently, climbing in the back seat of Diane’s dark blue Toyota SUV. Sam rode shotgun, and Jesse slid in beside Marcie. She never asked where they were going. They weaved their way onto the isolated highway toward Gardiner. She felt some sense of balance nurture her inner self when they drove on, immersed in old growth forest surrounding the land. This rural preserved area of the Pacific Northwest was a crown jewel. Land the logging companies had yet to rape. There was power here in the trees, bushes and branches that reached out and hid secrets and life deep in the forest. Even developers hadn’t yet taken over and built row after row housing.

What the county hadn’t preserved, state park land did with tough environmental guidelines. Leaving miles and miles of vast forest and Mountain ranges protected and unpopulated. Living on the west coast, with her love for the land, Marcie understood the importance of keeping a healthy ecosystem intact.

She knew this part of the Olympic Peninsula well. After all, it’s where she planted her outdoor marijuana gardens for Dan.

Diane turned down an isolated, well-treed driveway hiding a lovely cedar A-frame house.

“Nice place Diane, how many acres you got here?” Marcie enjoyed seeing this property through Jesse’s eyes.

“Ten acres.”

“Wow, is this whole property treed?”

She chuckled. “Yes, I like my trees and my privacy. I think you’ll find most of the properties around here are heavily forested.”

Diane led them into her home: three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a river rock fireplace, cozy and comfortable.

It was late. Marcie was tired and cold. She needed time to regroup. Diane handed her a worn beige sweater. She must have seen her shiver. “Thank you. If you don’t mind, I’d like to sit out back for a bit.”

Sam and Jesse exchanged a meaningful glance. Diane extended the flat of her hand to the sliding glass door in the kitchen, leading onto the back deck. Diane, Sam and Jesse sat around the kitchen table. A large plate glass window looked onto the massive back deck. Marcie felt the heat from Sam’s gaze when she walked out and sat in a cozy Adirondack chair. She wrapped her arms around her stomach. And only then did she allow herself to reflect over the circle of events. The sun drifted low, sprinkling vast orange and yellow light over the horizon.

She didn’t realize how far her thoughts had drifted until she heard the mechanical purr of the truck and a vehicle pull away.

“Mind if I join you?” Diane didn’t wait for a response, before sitting beside Marcie in a second Adirondack chair. Diane was what you called big-boned with her compact, tidy body. Once you cut past the deep protective role she appointed herself, as friend to Sam, Diane came across as an honest take-me-as-I-am woman, in her early thirties with a boyish fit-in-with-the-guys haircut.

“So…” Marcie couldn’t finish. She didn’t know what to ask—what to say.

“Sam told me how you met.” Diane studied her in a way similar to how Sam did, when he was in cop mode. Except with Diane, it was kinder.

“Where’s Sam?”

“He’s meeting with Agent Dexter, our boss. Jesse went with him. Listen Marcie, we need some questions answered, and we decided it’d be best if I spoke with you.”

Her heart sank a little more. Maybe this is his way of saying he’s done with her. She couldn’t blame him really. But it didn’t stop the ache that scraped inside her chest. On top of that, she was exhausted, all this traveling, the attack, her memory loss; she just didn’t feel well. This left her vulnerable and nowhere near the top of her game.

“You look kind of pale Marcie, you feel okay?”

“I just need some sleep I think. What do you want to know?” She forced a smile to break the sympathy that had surfaced in Diane’s big, round hazel eyes.

“We need to know about the people involved, where you’re growing, inside, and out. Who the buyers are? All about Dan McKenzie and his connection to Lance Silver. That would be a start for now.”

“Well why not ask for the sun and the moon?”

Diane frowned in reply.

“Sorry, that wasn’t fair. I already told Sam.”

“You need to tell me, Marcie. I’m sorry, but I’ll probably keep asking the same questions over and over.”

The air around them flickered with distrust. A lot needed to be established between them, ground rules at the very least. She closed her eyes to block out the disgrace that wouldn’t go away. “Dan has two plots of land in Jefferson County. One he owns by himself not far from here. The other’s a rural zoned commercial property right off the highway in Gardiner. He bought that one with a partner, Richard.

The commercial property’s been cleared to build houses. Dan has this dream of being a big time contractor and developer. Dan lives in his fifth wheel on this property,  along with a few other RV’s belonging to friends, parked around a really old wooden outbuilding. Inside the large shed is where Dan grew over 800 marijuana plants, which I babysat for him. Richard wasn’t involved in the marijuana part of it. He’s Dan’s partner in the housing development. We need to leave him out of this.”