Merciless lies, p.3
Merciless Lies, page 3
Tetyana was sure the body was a “Mafia kill.”
I had to agree.
The dead man could have been a thug, a member of a local gang, or someone who had the misfortune to cross them. Either way, I wasn’t going to allow Theodore to treat a human corpse like roadkill. Billionaire or not, there was some basic decency I expected from my clients.
“It’s a crime scene, Mr. Henry,” I said, trying to keep my voice level. “If we’re going to move the body, we have to do it with care.”
Theodore’s nostrils flared at my words. This was a man not used to disagreement, let alone anyone refusing to obey his commands.
He didn’t know I’d faced much more formidable adversaries. I was well aware my five-foot petite frame made me look years younger and weaker than I truly was.
I always got the opposite reaction my friends got when we met strangers.
Katy’s height gave her an advantage. Given her buff, athletic built and her military crew cut, Tetyana intimidated most people. While she could be deadly and was trained to kill, they didn’t realize it was me they’d have to watch out for, if they ever crossed me, my friends, or my family.
“We have to call the authorities first, Mr. Henry,” I said, keeping my voice firm and my gaze steady. “Before we move the body, we’ll have to take pictures, document as much as we can, and make sure we don’t mess with the evidence.”
“What evidence?” shouted Connor, who’d been fuming on his side of the table. “What the heck are you going on about?”
I turned to him.
“This wasn’t an accident, Mr. McNamara. This wasn’t some lost hiker who’d stumbled onto the tracks and frozen to death. We’re miles from anywhere. That man was dressed in a suit and that body was embalmed. That tells us there’s more involved here than meets the eye.”
“What are you now? The FBI?” snarled Connor. “Why don’t you shut up and get me another drink, wench.”
I glared at the man. Tetyana took a step closer to him, her eyes so fiery, they’d have burned him to cinder if she could. With an irate hiss, Connor looked away.
I knew his type.
He was a bully until you stood up to him. Then, he turned into a coward.
“Katy’s already calling the authorities,” I said. “As soon as we get their permission, we can start moving.”
“If you think I’m going to stay stuck here while the stupid pigs from the nearest county figure out how to get here, you’re wrong,” said Theodore, jabbing a finger in the air, inches from my nose.
“We need to be patient,” I said, not flinching.
“I didn’t pay you to play cop, dammit!”
“That no longer concerns me,” I said, suppressing the urge to slap this man down. “There’s a dead body on the tracks with a face mutilated beyond recognition. We can’t just toss him off and go on our merry way.”
“I’ll be happy to kick him out myself,” mumbled Theodore while turning back to his drink, as if he’d given up the debate.
A part of me felt bad.
He was traveling to Seattle for cancer treatments, after all. He was stuck in a wheelchair with a potentially incurable disease, having to wait for everyone around him to help him out. That was probably weighing him down.
But another part of me was sure he was being his usual egocentric and pompous self. I wasn’t about to take rushed action I’d regret later, however much he had promised to pay us.
My eyes swept over his companions.
Stella was sitting immobile in her chair, like she was glued to it. Her face remained expressionless. She hadn’t even blinked an eye when we came over to tell them about our discovery.
Something was wrong with that woman. I wondered if she was also sick. Whatever it was, she was hiding it well.
Doctor Wilson merely gazed at us with dull eyes. He was so infused in alcohol, I could almost see fumes emanating from the top of his head.
He was an old friend of Theodore, but I still couldn’t help but wonder why the gold baron, who could afford any physician in the world, had hired a drunk for such an important treatment.
Footsteps from the back kitchen made us all turn.
It was Katy.
“Asha,” she said as she appeared on the threshold, her mobile phone in her trembling hand. Her voice had notched up several octaves, like she was at the verge of panic.
“All okay, Katy?” I asked.
“There’s no cell phone reception,” she said, sounding out of breath. “Been walking up and down. Went all the way to the back and even tried the bathroom. Nothing.”
She stared at me with wide eyes.
Tetyana and I pulled our phones from our pockets while Connor and Theodore fumbled in their pockets for their mobiles as well. Stella sat still, like a statue, watching us.
I looked at my phone in dismay. All the bars were red.
No amount of clicking or swiping or even restarting the phone was going to do anything.
“You’re right,” said Tetyana with a disgusted sniff. “Did you try outside?”
“No,” said Katy. “I came to tell you first—”
Tetyana whirled around. “Lemme try.”
She stomped out of the train carriage and pretty soon we saw her pacing along the tracks, holding her phone in the air.
As we watched, a flash of light came from near Tetyana’s hand. She’d turned on the flashlight app.
It was getting dark outside. I’d forgotten how quickly day turns to night in this region in spring.
I stepped up to the window and waved. Tetyana shook her head.
My stomach sank as I heard her shout through the window.
“Negative reception!”
“We’ll try the radio in the engine car,” I shouted back.
She nodded. “I’ll go check on Tank,” she said, pointing in the direction of the cadaver on the tracks.
In the distance, I could make the silhouette of Tank huddled in his overcoat as he stood under a pine tree, several yards away from the body.
“Roger that,” I called out. “We’ll keep fort.”
With a quick salute, Tetyana marched toward Tank.
The sound of heavy footsteps from the front of the car made me turn. Someone was dragging their feet.
It was Dwayne.
He stopped and stared at his boss, like he was reassessing what he’d come to share.
“Sir…” He swallowed hard.
“Stop gawking like an idiot and get this thing moving!” shouted Theodore. “Do your damn job.”
“But sir…”
“What is it, Dwayne?” I asked.
From his expression, there was something other than a dead body on the tracks that was bothering him. Dwayne’s eyes darted from Theodore to Connor, then to me and back.
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” said Theodore. “Speak, man.”
“Sir,” said Dwayne, withering under his boss’s glare. “The radio’s dead.”
Chapter Six
Theodore slammed the table with his fist, making everyone jump.
“What the hell do you mean it’s dead?” he shouted, his flinty eyes protruding. “I paid good money for this operation. Make it work!”
“Sir,” said Dwayne, swallowing. “We’re in a dip, in the middle of a valley and it’s getting dark.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“SATCOM doesn’t work in these conditions and latitude, especially at this time of day.”
“What about your backup radio?” I asked.
Dwayne nodded, a somber expression on his face. “I need a clear line of sight for VHF to operate, and we’re nowhere near a tower or station.”
“Why the heck didn’t you prepare for this, man?” shouted Theodore, his face turning red. “What do I pay you for?”
The engineer gulped and looked like he wished he could melt into the floor.
“It’s just that we don’t normally stop in the middle of nowhere like this, sir. This is highly irregular.”
“Contingency planning,” yelled his boss, who appeared ready to explode. “Why didn’t you make one before we left? You should have known better than that!”
I looked down at my phone. Those red bars on the top right-hand corner of my screen looked even more ominous.
“What about the cellular networks?” I said. “There must be a tower in the vicinity?”
Dwayne shook his head sadly. “We’re thirty miles from the nearest cell towers in both directions.”
“What the hell? I need a drink,” said Connor, grabbing the vodka bottle from the doctor’s hands, who’d just opened it to pour himself a glass.
“So,” said Katy, her eyes widening, “does this mean we’re stuck in this valley with no way to reach anyone?”
Dwayne was silent for a moment as if afraid to answer her question.
“Problem is we’re in the middle of a mountain range,” he said. “If this happened fifteen miles either way, we’d have been able to pick a signal. But even then, there wouldn’t have been any guarantee…” He trailed off.
Nobody spoke for a while.
I wondered if Theodore’s idea was actually a good one. Maybe we needed to move the body and get to the nearest station before anything else.
I turned to Dwayne, trying to come to terms with where we were at.
“With no cell towers or radio working, this is the perfect spot to drop a dead body, isn’t it?” I said. “Someone wanted to hold us up.”
Dwayne looked away, like he didn’t even want to consider the thought.
Connor swore. Theodore looked like he was about to throw something at someone. Dwayne wiped the droplets of sweat that had gathered on his forehead.
“If I wasn’t stuck in this wheelchair—” growled Theodore.
He didn’t get to finish.
The sound of a gunshot echoed through the woods outside.
Tetyana!
Pushing Katy aside, I dashed through the doorway into the sleeping carriage behind us.
I slammed my cabin door open and dove into my suitcase, which lay open on the luggage rack. I’d just plucked my sidearm from its secure case, when the door banged and Katy came in, her hair standing up, like a lion’s red mane.
“What was that—”
“Get your gun,” I said, checking my weapon.
Not waiting for her to reply, I ran past her to the exit nearest to our cabin.
I yanked the handle down, expecting the door to open, but it didn’t budge. That wasn’t a surprise as until a half hour ago, the train had been rolling. Dwayne must have secured all exits.
“It’s locked?”
I spun around to see Katy, her Glock in her hand now.
“This way,” I said, pulling her away from the door.
We rushed back to the dining car.
Given the circumstances, I had expected chaos, but Doctor Wilson and Stella were still seated, immobilized in fear. Dwayne had disappeared from the dining car.
Theodore had half risen from his wheelchair, and was holding shakily to the table, staring out the window. His eyes were darting back and forth, as he muttered darkly to himself.
Connor was hiding behind the liquor cabinet, looking pale and flustered. His eyes widened as he saw our Glocks.
“What the hell are you doing with those?” he asked.
I didn’t have time to answer.
“Come on, Katy,” I said, as we stepped up to the exit which Tetyana had jumped out of, just moments ago.
But the door was shut and Robin and Dwayne were bolting it with a steel rod.
“Hey, open up!” I yelled.
They spun around. Dwayne’s eyes widened when they fell on our weapons. He shot us an alarmed look.
“I said, open the door.”
“You… you can’t go out,” he stammered. “I don’t know what’s going on, but the train is on lockdown.”
“But Tetyana’s out there,” said Katy.
“There was a shooting,” said Robin in a stern voice. “Didn’t you hear?”
“There are two people outside right now,” I snapped, pushing her away from the door. “Get out of the way, for heaven’s sake.”
Someone stepped through the door toward the gangway connection. It was Connor marching toward us, his finger pointing accusingly.
“Why are these damn catering girls running around with guns, telling us what to do?” he shouted. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
I’d have gladly pistol whipped him. But Tetyana was outside and could be in trouble.
“Get away from the door,” I said, ignoring Connor and pushing Dwayne away. I pulled the steel rod from the door.
“Are you trying to get us killed?” shouted Connor.
“Let the girls out,” came Theodore’s voice from behind us.
We all turned to see him wheeling in through the connecting door and onto the gangway.
“They’re not caterers,” he said, turning to his friend. “They’re my private investigation team.”
Connor’s eyes bulged. Dwayne and Robin gave us shocked looks.
“You’re PIs?” said Robin in a breathless voice.
“And didn’t you tell me?” spluttered Connor, his cockiness evaporated, looking dejected for a change.
“I brought them over from New York,” said Theodore, his voice wavering. “I had an inkling something bad would happen on this trip. Something told me in my bones.”
He turned to his crew members.
“Let them do what they’re here to do.”
Without a word, Robin and Dwayne stepped away from the door.
I pulled out the steel rod and yanked the handle. The door flew open, and a swirl of cold air blasted inside.
With my gun aimed forward, I popped my head out and swiveled around.
Where’s Tetyana?
It was getting darker and harder to see. The only light came from the train carriage windows, but they didn’t go far.
I peered into the distance to spot the silhouettes of Tetyana and Tank, but twilight had already enveloped the side of the tracks where the corpse lay.
Strange.
I’d expected to see the flashlights from their phones at least.
If anyone had been waiting to take a shot at me, I’d have made a perfect target, standing by the train’s doorway.
We had to move. And move fast.
With my heart in my mouth, I jumped down the steps and jogged along the tracks toward the dead body, with Katy right next to me.
Who fired that shot? Please let Tetyana be okay.
We were halfway there when she grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
“Did you hear that?” she whispered.
I stopped and strained to listen.
“Someone’s in there,” she said, pointing her gun at the shadow of a large tree, fifty yards from us.
“What did you hear?” I whispered back.
That was when an anguished yell came from the woods.
Chapter Seven
“Tank?” said Katy.
“Keep it down,” I whispered.
“Sounded like he’s in trouble,” she whispered, looking around nervously. “Is Tetyana in danger too?”
I didn’t know what the woods held. But I wasn’t about to leave our friend alone with whatever was going on, despite her training.
Katy and I crept across the icy ground toward the thicket of trees.
We were doing our best to stay in stealth mode, but to my ears, the sound of our boots crunching on the snow was as loud as a herd of bison thundering across the plains.
It was getting darker, and the temperature was dipping. I shivered, thankful I’d pulled on my jacket and my gloves this time.
As soon as we crossed the threshold into the snow-covered woodlands, I slipped behind the nearest tree trunk. Keeping my hand steady on my gun, I craned my neck to spot anyone through the trees. Katy’s anxious breaths fell on my neck as she peered over my shoulder, inches behind me.
“To the left,” she whispered. “Something’s going on down there.”
She was right.
Suddenly the sound of thrashing came from deep within the woods, like the herd of bison had wandered in there now.
What’s going on?
Katy and I stepped carefully from tree to tree, our backs to each other, scanning our surroundings to make sure we weren’t being followed.
Or watched.
Another yell came from the direction we were heading.
It was Tank.
A loud and angry curse followed the shout.
“Tetyana,” said Katy, relief in her voice. “She’s alive, and she sounds mad.”
It seemed like there was a scuffle up ahead in the middle of the woods.
We quickened our pace, trying not to make any noise. But my heart was pounding so hard, I was sure the entire world could hear it.
Did they find the person who dumped the body? Are they fighting an attacker?
Tetyana could and would single-handedly take on the entire Alaska Army National Guard, if she put her mind to it. But for her sake, I hoped she was being prudent. And I wasn’t about to make any stupid assumptions and get us in trouble too.
I stepped up to the next tree.
“Frigging hell!” came an angry voice.
That was definitely Tetyana.
That’s when I saw them.
Two figures were brawling underneath a massive Douglas fir, about five yards ahead of us. Tank was trying to get away, but was doing a lousy job at it, and Tetyana, was trying to grab him and hold him back.
“I said, calm down!” she shouted.
Tank looked like he spent all his spare time at the gym. Or in a prison. He was putting up a good fight, but Tetyana had a strong hold on him.
“Lemme go!” he roared and lifted his hands to push her away or punch her.
I jumped out from behind the trees.
“Freeze!” I shouted, pointing my weapon at him.
Tank stopped moving, hands in mid-air, and stared at us, his mouth open.
“I got him,” said Tetyana, grabbing him by the shoulder and forcing him to turn around.
