“When this is over,” Sin said, “remind me to sh-sh-shoot you and then put you on Jeopardy. We are bound to win a fortune. Now let’s m-m-move out.”
An hour later, the sun was waning right along with their energy reserves. They dragged their ragged bodies up the ladder of a boat docked at one of the slips. It was covered in a tarp, so they knew no one was on board. Using every ounce of energy they had left, they worked the snaps on the tarp with pruned fingers until they had enough of an opening to crawl through.
Sin tore a piece of her ripped shirt and used it to bandage her leg. As their adrenaline subsided, they soon collapsed on the deck and passed out from exhaustion.
50
Jack and Gonzales raced from headquarters when they heard the report of a boat blowing up across from the Fontainebleau Resort. They told Evelyn to find out as much information as she could about what happened, and then raced to the scene.
As they questioned people, a valet from the hotel came running up to them. “Ms. O’Malley!” he yelled. “Is she all right?”
Jack could see that the young man was shaken up, so he asked one of the medics who were just standing around for a bottle of water, and then sat the valet down on a makeshift bench.
Jack waited for him to take a sip of water and then, reading his name badge, he asked, “Lenny, have you seen Ms. O’Malley today?”
“Yeah. I mean yes,” he said, nodding. “She and two men drove into the garage a little while ago. She asked if I could keep their jeep up front because they wouldn’t be long. I told her to park it next to her bike. About five minutes later, I heard an explosion and when I looked, her boat was on fire.”
Lenny dropped the open bottle, spilling the water on his pants and on Jack’s shoes. Tears ran down his cheeks as his emotional dam burst. “I called 911 and searched for her up and down the sidewalk. When I didn’t see her, I started yelling her name but she didn’t answer. I ran back to the garage hoping that maybe they went back to their jeep, but they weren’t there. I came running back down here and that’s when I saw you asking about her.” Realization seemed to blossom in the young man’s eyes. “Oh God, do you think she’s dead? I mean, she must be, right? What else could have happened? She and her friends must have been killed in the explosion.”
There wasn’t much left of the boat by the time the fire department was finished containing the scene. Once the fire was out and the steel hull cooled, the dogs arrived and started sniffing for explosives, organic materials and, most painful, the flesh and blood of victims.
The first found what they were sniffing for; the C4 was evident to the hounds. But the second search came up empty.
“The dogs found nothing. What does that mean?” Gonzales asked. “Was Sin on board or not?”
“It means what it means,” Jack answered, shaking his head. “It could mean a lot of things, but one thing’s for sure, there were no human remains among this destruction.”
“So—”
Jack grabbed Gonzales by the collar of his shirt and yanked him close. “So we go on the assumption that she is still alive until it’s proven otherwise.” His frustration and anxiety showed in his tone and his actions, as he pushed his partner away and walked in the direction of the fire chief. “That’s what’s ‘so,’ ” he grumbled as he walked away.
“Chief, can I get a moment of your time,” Jack asked.
The man stepped away from the charred remains of the boat and removed his helmet. “Just a few minutes,” the chief said. “We still have an active scene. I don’t want to be distracted.”
Jack nodded. “Just one question. Are the dogs ever wrong? You know, about finding victims?”
“Nothing is ever definite until the fire investigation is complete, but this boat blew fast and hot.”
It wasn’t very hard for Jack to read the chief’s thoughts. He walked back to Gonzales and placed his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “I apologize for the way I acted. My emotions got the best of me.”
“No problem,” Gonzales said. “I know you two were close.”
51
Sin had no idea what time it was when she woke up. Most of her shock had subsided, allowing the pain to set in. Her bleeding had stemmed, and she knew she needed to get in touch with someone without being seen.
She looked to her left and saw two shadows lying next to her.
“Hey, Fletch, you still alive?”
He groaned his response. “I don’t know if you would call this living, but I’m still breathing.”
“Don’t you two know better than to wake a bear when he’s sleeping,” Garcia hissed.
“Too late, Yogi,” Sin said, “we need to get moving.”
“If we leave this boat, I don’t care how dark it is, someone is bound to see us,” Fletcher said.
“Yeah, not a good way to stay dead,” Garcia agreed.
“Let’s search and see what we can find.” With movement, came more pain. “Fuck,” Sin moaned, “I feel as if I’m going to break like a piece of peanut brittle.”
The others groaned their agreement, moving at a sloth’s pace.
A few minutes later, Sin saw the inside cabin light up.
“I found the emergency stash,” Fletcher said. “There are some survival rations, bottled water, and flashlights with extra batteries.”
Sin and Garcia joined Fletcher in the stateroom and dined on the rations.
“I never thought these things could taste good,” Garcia mumbled with his mouth full.
“It’s amazing how a good case of dehydration and near death can alter your perception,” Sin replied.
Fletcher swigged from the water bottle and then eyed the others.
“What are you thinking, Fletch?” Sin asked.
“I’m thinking this tub is pretty damn big. More of a
