While Landon was certainly glad to know that Eddie had survived more than one attempt on his life and wasapparently still standing, he wasn’t as thrilled at the notion that Raquelle’s brother had vacated the shelter of the tribal lands for places unknown.
Had he thrown caution to the wind and returned to Falona County?
Would Pimentel get word that Eddie was still alive—assuming it had ever been believed to be otherwise when no proof of death was presented by Pimentel’s hired bomber—and seek to finish the job with a new assassin?
Where are you, Eddie?Landon asked himself. Would his CI reach out to him for help before the clock stopped ticking?
Raquelle was asking herself the same question. While Landon had deployed all available resources to try and locate Eddie, his former brother-in-law had proven to be quite adept at doing a disappearing act. But how much longer could his luck hold out—when someone with financial muscle and self-interests wanted him dead?
Landon gave the go-ahead to break the lock on the storage unit door.
They went inside and, as expected, saw that the large space was filled with artwork and artifacts.
Wearing nitrile gloves, Landon began to sift through the items. He asked, “See anything that catches your eye as recognizable or suspicious?”
Katie responded, “Yeah, here’s something—”
With her own gloved hands, she held up a Native American work of art that Landon recognized from the National Stolen Art File as having been swiped from an art museum in Kentucky. “Looks like the real deal,” he remarked.
“If not, it’s a great counterfeit painting,” she said. “Either way, it will still work against Pimentel.”
“I agree,” Landon said.
Zach told them, “We’ve got more art theft to work with…”
They looked as, wearing gloves, he lifted up two more paintings that were on their radar from intel provided by Eddie.
Landon flashed a half grin with approval as he discovered another hidden gem that fell within their purview and said, “Looks like we’ve hit the proverbial jackpot here—adding to the strong evidence we already have—in our bid to outmaneuver Pimentel and put his racket out of commission for good.”
* * *
LATE THAT AFTERNOON, Raquelle went for a run on the trail through her property. She felt a mixture of emotions. There was the fact that Eddie was still breathing, answering one prayer. But keeping him alive would likely take more than prayers alone. Landon and his Art Crime Team would need to find and protect her brother—something that had already proven to be easier said than done.
I have to believe that having survived this long, Eddie can come out of his ordeal stronger than ever, Raquelle told herself, feeling the tension in her quads and calves as she pushed herself.
Then there was the situation with Landon. Apart from the totally in sync lovemaking that left her continually wanting more, Raquelle knew she loved him. And sensed that he loved her again. But he hadn’t expressed as much. And neither had she. Was that some sort of omen that itmight not be in the cards after all for them to give it another try?
Or am I totally misreading the signs that should be telling me we really are onto something in this resurrection of our romance, she mused as she headed back to the house.
After getting a bottle of water from the fridge and downing one-third of it, Raquelle was ready to hop into the shower when her cell phone rang. She removed it from the pocket of her shorts and saw that the call was coming from someone with no caller ID.
Instinctively, as she remembered Penelope receiving such a call with no response, Raquelle answered it and asked guardedly, “Eddie…?”
It took a moment or two before the caller responded, “Yeah, it’s me.”
“Where are you?” she asked, heart pounding.
“Meet me on the pier at the Knotter Marina,” Eddie said tersely. “Come alone…”
“Okay,” she replied without hesitation.
Before Raquelle could pepper him with more questions and get some needed answers, the phone went dead.
* * *
AWARRANT FORIvan Pimentel’s arrest was issued—along with his crony, Yusef Abercrombie. Both were facing a slew of art-crime-related charges, supported by the evidence. That included a direct link to Fred Davenport and the bombing of Eddie’s Crest Savannah 250 SLSC vessel after intel obtained from Davenport’s laptop indicated that he was indeed working on behalf of Pimentel— having been hired by Abercrombie—to blow up the pontoon with Eddie aboard.
Landon was also prepared to charge both men under federal law with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of Lim Ramírez and Fred Davenport. Abercrombie’s alibi and attempt to throw others under the bus fell flat once DNA evidence proved that he had been inside Davenport’s apartment—the bathroom where his body was found, in particular—while doing Pimentel’s bidding to eliminate a person who could tie them to the two attempts on the life of Landon’s CI.
