Wood's Wreck (20 page)

Hauling the twenty-plus-pound cooler through the water was harder than he’d thought it would be, and sweat stung his eyes as he made it back to shore. He stashed the gas in the clearing behind the kayak and made his way back to the house. 

Marvin hadn’t moved and he went into the bedroom, where he peeled off his cargo shorts and climbed in bed. At least he had insurance now.

Chapter 22

“What the hell is going on here?” someone yelled from the patio.

Trufante pulled his gaze away from the girls, noticed that the gun remained pointed at the Cuban’s head, and started looking for the source of the new voice. A gun fired and he quickly ducked behind the bar and looked back to Jay, who hadn’t flinched at the shot, and still held the man at gunpoint. There had to be another shooter. 

“Put that gun down—now,” the man said, his voice sounding closer. “That’s valuable property you’re messing with.
My
property.”

Trufante peered around the edge of the bar and saw the newcomer walk up to Jay and take the gun from his hand. 

“Nice party you got going on here. You couldn’t wait until you made the transfer?” He wound up as if to strike Jay, but recoiled at the last second. “Now I’m glad I came in unannounced to pick up Armando here.” 

He ordered Jay and Cayenne to the couch with one gun trained on them while he used the other to motion for the Cuban to come toward him. “Get those women out of here. I want them gone now.”

Jay looked towards Commando and nodded his head. “Take them.”

A few minutes later, a loud roar could be heard from the water as a motor started, and the man went to the open patio doors. Trufante looked over the bar and saw the stern of Commando’s boat as it dug into the water, the propellors trying to generate enough inertia to push the boat forward. 

“Who the hell was that?” the man asked.

Jay got up and ran toward the doors. “It’s just a dude I use for supplies. Those girls won’t be a problem. Trust me on that one.”

The man turned toward him. “You have jeopardized this whole operation. I’ve overlooked your petty smuggling for years, but now I have the best earner we’ve ever had standing right here and you’ve got a party going on.” He looked around the room. “There’s guns and hookers. I wouldn’t be surprised to find a pile of cocaine somewhere.”

Trufante wondered if he had missed something.

“It’s not like that,” Jay said defensively. “Just bad timing. That guy, Commando, is a piece of shit. Just let it go. The player is here.” He looked at the man. “And you have the payment?”

The man wound up, smashed the gun into Jay’s temple, and stood over him as he went to the floor.

“You get your payment as always—when he gets his first paycheck. You think I’m fronting your ass money?”

Cayenne had moved to the bar and poured herself a large drink while the men fought. Trufante couldn’t help but be distracted by her bare leg, just inches away from his face, but tried to ignore the mention of cocaine and the lure of the flesh. He had been in enough bad situations to know he wanted out of this one, so he slid back and crouched at the opening between the bar and the house wall. He couldn’t see the men from here, and more than likely they couldn’t see him either. It appeared the confrontation was over, and they were working out what to do next. 

They moved to the bar and he heard the unmistakable sound of good booze pouring into expensive glasses. “And who might this lovely creature be?” the man asked Jay.

“Hi,” she slurred. “I’m Cayenne, but my friends call me Cay. Do you want to be my friend?”

“Well, darling, I’m Norm.” 

Trufante heard the clink of glasses as they toasted. 

“You two want to knock it off before I puke?” Jay asked, and they laughed. “No, seriously, I’d keep my distance from this one if I were you. Been there and done that. Nothing but trouble.”

“Asshole,” Cayenne spat.

He heard a crash and a scream, and then feet shuffled and someone fell to the floor. With a quick glance, he saw Jay and Cayenne wrestling on the floor. The man named Norm got up from his stool and went to break them up. 

Thinking this might be his best chance, Tru sprinted from the bar, making the ten feet to the patio doors. Risking a quick look, he saw Cayenne kicking and pulling at both men as they lifted her from the floor. All three had their backs to him as he ran from the house onto the dock.

He saw the smaller rental boat that Norm had come in on. Risking another glance back, he ran across the dock, jumped into the boat, and went straight for the helm. The engine started on the first try, still warm from its run here, and he went to untie the lines when a bullet grazed his arm. 

Ignoring the pain, he rushed back to the helm, staying low as two more shots were fired. Not caring about damage to the dock or boat, he backed hard to port and immediately slammed the throttles forward. 

Crouched behind the helm, he was thrown to the deck as the boat careened off the dock. He rose enough to see over the dashboard, aware of the bullets zipping over his head. More shots were fired and the windshield shattered as he ducked and pushed the throttle all the way forward, driving blindly into the cove. 

He heard screams from the dock and the start of an engine as the boat scraped against the mangrove-lined bank, then took a chance and looked up to see the last switchback directly ahead. There was more screaming on the dock, but then the sound of the other boat’s engine changed and he knew they were in pursuit. 

The boat bounced as he crossed his own wake on the last turn before hitting open water, and then he was in the clear. He glanced back, but the other boat hadn’t emerged. Wasting no time, he maxed out the throttle and sped away into the night. 

The boat was on plane now and he crossed the Cudjoe Channel and sped toward Crane Key. The engine screamed as he pressed the button that raised the angle of the outboard from the water. The top of the propeller was catching air now and he lowered the engine a few inches until it bit. 

He hoped this would give him the clearance he needed to lose them in the shallows. 

As he passed Raccoon Key, he could hear a boat in the distance and looked up, cursing the full moon. The rental boat, even without running lights, stood out like a cherry on a sundae, and he knew he was not going to lose the faster vessel over open water. He turned to port and aimed toward the Content Keys. 

As he closed on the island he looked for the opening into the channel between the islands. It appeared and he cut the wheel to starboard to avoid the partially submerged coral head blocking the entrance. Turning hard back to port, he entered the Content Passage and followed the snaking cut until he hit open water on the other side of the Key. 

He looked back as he turned north and realized that no one was behind him. The other boat had either not wanted to risk the shallow entrance to the passage or had grounded. 

A large smile crossed his face as he set course for Wood’s. 

***

“Why are you slowing?” Norm yelled over the roar of the three outboards. “He’s getting away.”

Jay looked at him as he slowed to an idle. “This baby’s too big to follow him through there. And getting away with what? He’s a lobster-poaching loser. What’s he going to do to us?” 

Norm wondered how his associate could be so short sighted. “If you thought about the long term for a tenth of a second instead of worrying about your nickel-and-dime smuggling business, you would realize what’s at stake here.” 

The boat idled past the small channel running through the Content Keys, where the other boat had disappeared. 

“You act like bringing in the players is a sideline, but when one finally pans out, and I think he’s sitting in your living room, we’re rich. That guy saw and heard too much,” Norm said.

“Well we can’t follow him in there. Pretty crafty of him to get by that coral head at that speed.” Jay pushed the engines into gear and accelerated past the islands. “But he’s going to have to come out the other side. We’ll pick him up there.” 

As he neared the end of the island he slowed again, nosing forward until he had an unobstructed view. “There,” he pointed. “That’s him.”

Norm gripped the leaning post as Jay spun the wheel and pushed down the throttles. The other boat was about a half-mile ahead, but in the moonlight, its outline was clearly visible. They could follow at a distance and see where he went.

***

Mac jumped with a start when he heard the boat engine. He must have nodded off, and it took a minute to clear the cobwebs from his head. The engine was louder now, and sounded like it was coming toward them. This was not the kind of neighborhood that had boat traffic during the day; nights were desolate here. He sat up, realizing just how tired he was, and almost lay back down, hoping it was just a chance boater.

Then the motor suddenly stopped. It was too close to be a coincidence, and he could feel his heartbeat in his ears as he lay still, waiting to see if the engine would restart. Mel stirred next to him.

“What are you doing up?” she asked.

“There’s a boat out there,” he answered as he put his feet on the ground and slid the wet shorts back on. “It just stopped. Sounds like they’re by the beach. Stay here, I’ll go have a look.”

“Like hell.” She got up, dressed quickly, and followed him out the door.

Mac looked at Marvin on the couch, still snoring peacefully, and went past, Mel close on his heels. They left the house and went downstairs, where he grabbed the machete stuck in a pole by the door and scolded himself for leaving the shotgun on the boat.

“Wait.” 

He watched as Mel went toward the shack, opened the door, and emerged with a speargun.

“How about you point that at the ground,” he said, as she ran into his back. “And slow down. We have no idea what’s out there.” He started down the moonlit path. Before they broke from the brush into the clearing, he stopped suddenly and crouched down with her at his shoulder. 

“See anything?” she whispered in his ear.

“Not yet. That boat’s in the way.” He pointed at Marvin’s cruiser. “You stay here. I’m going to crawl over there and get a better view.” He slid on his belly underneath some scrub palm trees and into the clearing with the boat trailer and kayak. Once clear of the brush, he got on his hands and knees and crept toward the water using the mangroves for cover.

He heard the unmistakable sound of a man sloshing toward shore and prepared to attack. Mel had probably heard it also, and if he knew her, the speargun was cocked and ready. He was just about to charge the intruder and yell at her to shoot when he saw Trufante emerge from the water. 

“Shit. What the hell are you doing here?” He stood and walked toward the Cajun. Mel came out of her hiding place as well, speargun at her side. 

“Got to talk.” He looked back over his shoulder. 

Mac picked up on the movement. “Did anyone follow you?”

“They were, but I was crafty and lost them in the Content Passage.” 

Mac was not convinced. They might not have followed him through the tricky channel, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t skirted the island and followed from a distance. “Come on. Let’s at least get off the beach.” He looked back at the boats tied to the pile. There were too many to go unnoticed.

He led them through the path to the clearing and started up the stairs to the house. “Should be able to see anyone coming from the back deck.” 

He led the way through the house and out the back door of the bedroom, where the palm trees opened up and allowed a 120 degree view of the water. After tying a bandana around Trufante’s arm to stop the bleeding from where the bullet had grazed him, he looked straight at him. 

“All right. Spill it.”

“Shoot. You talking to me like I done something wrong,” Trufante whined.

“When was the last time the three of us were together and you
hadn’t
done something wrong?” Mel accused.

Trufante looked down. “I might have got us into this, but I got some intel now. Might be able to save this mess.” He told them about the scene at Jay’s house on Sawyer, about the new man, the player, Commando … everything he could remember. Mac noticed Mel perk up at the mention of the player, and his mind started to calculate how to get Cayenne. Knowing she was there made this more interesting. He had to get her out of there before the men realized she was a risk and eliminated her. 

He put a finger to his mouth to quiet them. Over the rustle of palm fronds blowing in the breeze, the sound of a motor could be heard in the distance. He waited to see if it was coming towards them.

Chapter 23

Mac knew they were in trouble as soon as he heard the engines stop. On the small island, with no weapons besides a speargun, a shotgun, and a machete, they were bound to be outgunned, and could be easily cornered. The wood-framed house, though built to withstand a hurricane, was no match for bullets. With nowhere to go and no way to defend themselves, his first concern was to create a distraction and get Mel and Marvin to safety. Marvin’s boat, although not as fast as the triple outboard he’d heard, was fast enough, and with a small head start would make the mainland safely. 

He turned to Mel. “You’ve got to grab the boy and go. We’ll figure some way to keep them busy so you can get out of here. I’m not sure what it will be but as soon as you see it, go for Marathon and tell Jules what’s going on.” He was not sure what the sheriff would be able to do about the CIA agents, but she was the only card they held. 

“What about you? We can all get away,” she said.

“Tru and I are going back to the house on Sawyer Key to get that woman. That’s the only way I can clear my name and get the boat and house back. Without her, I’m going to jail.”

Mel didn’t say a word—a sure sign that he was right. She gave him a quick hug and went to wake Marvin.