strong grip, tilted his head back.
“I’m sorry Vince,” he said, “but this is really going to hurt.”
The morning was becoming a little overcast when Manny came up to Tommy. “We’ve looked everywhere,” Manny complained. “Searched near the waterfront where he was supposed to be last night and then widened our search to all the surrounding blocks. Regina and her people, even Sean and his, searched all over. It’s as if the night just swallowed Vince up. There is no trace of him.”
“Jesus Christ, he must be somewhere,” said the frustrated Tommy. “He wouldn’t have just run off. Not Vince. He really was looking forward to the voyage to Antigua.”
“I know,” said Manny. “Vince is not the AWOL type.”
They were standing in the street talking while all the activity went on around them. Suddenly, Mike came running up to them. “Hey, Tommy,” he called.
Tommy and Manny ran to meet him. “What did you find out?” asked the concerned sergeant.
“On a whim, Malik took a walk along that long, deserted dock at the end of the wharf area,” Mike said breathlessly.
“And?” Tommy impatiently asked.
“Malik said he found several spots of blood at the end of the peer,” Mike stated. “From their consistency, he suspects that they’re not very old.”
Throwing his sweat-stained fatigue cap on the ground, Tommy yelled, “Fuck.” With his hands on his hips and his head down, Tommy said, “Shit,” and, reaching down to snatch his cover back up, continued. “I bet anything that our scary friend in the warehouse was part of this ‘snatch and grab mission’ last night. Fuck! Right under our noses. They were after info on Jake’s boat, and when we took him, they grabbed one of ours. Shit. This screws things up royally.”
“Let’s go talk to our friend again,” suggested Manny.
“Nah,” spat Tommy disgustedly, “he’s not gonna talk. You could probably cut his balls off and he’d just smile at you. Wasted effort.”
“Yeah,” said Manny, “but knowing he took Vince, I’d sure like to try.”
Shaking his head, Tommy said, “No, we will need him whole to use as a bargaining chip. I have a feeling that guy is more than just your bargain-basement hired help.”
Two hours later, Tommy, Manuel, Sean, and Regina were huddled together talking over their options when Del walked up and said to them, “Hey, Mel Gorman sent me. He said for me to tell you that a speedboat is heading for the marina.”
They all scrambled and ran out of the former accountant’s office they were working in. They quickly followed Del down to the marina. As they arrived, they saw a sleek speedboat circling in and heading to the end of one of the piers. Sean, Tommy, Manny, and Regina walked warily down the pier toward the approaching boat. There were twopeople on board. When they got closer to it, Regina said, “Holy shit. That’s Bouchard. What is he doing here?”
The boat turned in so that it was next to the dock but with a little space between and facing back out toward the gulf. The driver of the boat had shaggy blond hair and an unshaven face. He was dressed in old jeans and a ragged, plaid shirt with the sleeves ripped off. In contrast to him, the other man looked as if he’d stepped out of a magazine. He had long, dark hair flowing past his shoulders and blowing in the breeze. Sean, oddly, thought,
Fabio
. He had a neatly manicured and sculpted beard. With tight black jeans, knee boots, and a ridiculous puffy-sleeved gold shirt, he looked as if he had just finished posing for the Captain Morgan rum bottle. All that was missing was the eyepatch and a parrot. Why, the fucker was even carrying a sword.
Tommy walked to the end of the dock. “Trick-or-treat, kid. Isn’t it a month early for Halloween?”
Bouchard, with one booted foot on the side of the boat, smiled and called out, “Ahoy there, matey.”
“Oh, for the love of—”Sean started.
“I think you have something of mine,”
“I’m sorry Vince,” he said, “but this is really going to hurt.”
The morning was becoming a little overcast when Manny came up to Tommy. “We’ve looked everywhere,” Manny complained. “Searched near the waterfront where he was supposed to be last night and then widened our search to all the surrounding blocks. Regina and her people, even Sean and his, searched all over. It’s as if the night just swallowed Vince up. There is no trace of him.”
“Jesus Christ, he must be somewhere,” said the frustrated Tommy. “He wouldn’t have just run off. Not Vince. He really was looking forward to the voyage to Antigua.”
“I know,” said Manny. “Vince is not the AWOL type.”
They were standing in the street talking while all the activity went on around them. Suddenly, Mike came running up to them. “Hey, Tommy,” he called.
Tommy and Manny ran to meet him. “What did you find out?” asked the concerned sergeant.
“On a whim, Malik took a walk along that long, deserted dock at the end of the wharf area,” Mike said breathlessly.
“And?” Tommy impatiently asked.
“Malik said he found several spots of blood at the end of the peer,” Mike stated. “From their consistency, he suspects that they’re not very old.”
Throwing his sweat-stained fatigue cap on the ground, Tommy yelled, “Fuck.” With his hands on his hips and his head down, Tommy said, “Shit,” and, reaching down to snatch his cover back up, continued. “I bet anything that our scary friend in the warehouse was part of this ‘snatch and grab mission’ last night. Fuck! Right under our noses. They were after info on Jake’s boat, and when we took him, they grabbed one of ours. Shit. This screws things up royally.”
“Let’s go talk to our friend again,” suggested Manny.
“Nah,” spat Tommy disgustedly, “he’s not gonna talk. You could probably cut his balls off and he’d just smile at you. Wasted effort.”
“Yeah,” said Manny, “but knowing he took Vince, I’d sure like to try.”
Shaking his head, Tommy said, “No, we will need him whole to use as a bargaining chip. I have a feeling that guy is more than just your bargain-basement hired help.”
Two hours later, Tommy, Manuel, Sean, and Regina were huddled together talking over their options when Del walked up and said to them, “Hey, Mel Gorman sent me. He said for me to tell you that a speedboat is heading for the marina.”
They all scrambled and ran out of the former accountant’s office they were working in. They quickly followed Del down to the marina. As they arrived, they saw a sleek speedboat circling in and heading to the end of one of the piers. Sean, Tommy, Manny, and Regina walked warily down the pier toward the approaching boat. There were twopeople on board. When they got closer to it, Regina said, “Holy shit. That’s Bouchard. What is he doing here?”
The boat turned in so that it was next to the dock but with a little space between and facing back out toward the gulf. The driver of the boat had shaggy blond hair and an unshaven face. He was dressed in old jeans and a ragged, plaid shirt with the sleeves ripped off. In contrast to him, the other man looked as if he’d stepped out of a magazine. He had long, dark hair flowing past his shoulders and blowing in the breeze. Sean, oddly, thought,
Fabio
. He had a neatly manicured and sculpted beard. With tight black jeans, knee boots, and a ridiculous puffy-sleeved gold shirt, he looked as if he had just finished posing for the Captain Morgan rum bottle. All that was missing was the eyepatch and a parrot. Why, the fucker was even carrying a sword.
Tommy walked to the end of the dock. “Trick-or-treat, kid. Isn’t it a month early for Halloween?”
Bouchard, with one booted foot on the side of the boat, smiled and called out, “Ahoy there, matey.”
“Oh, for the love of—”Sean started.
“I think you have something of mine,”
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