Remember Love: Saints Protection & Investigations (26 page)

Preston, now visibly nervous, ducked his head, studying his hands once again. Heaving a sigh, he said, “Look, we lose some people…the hours are long and the work can be backbreaking. We are standing almost our entire shift and we have to be on point all the time. We miss one bag, one suspicious bag, and a plane full of people can die.” He lifted his gaze back to Blaise and Chad. “I wasn’t sure she was up to the challenge, so yes, I rode her hard and even tried to get Bernard to let her go. But she was making it. She and her dog met every task.”

Rubbing his hand over his face, he continued, “I was surprised when she didn’t come in. HR made a couple of cursory calls to her house but we don’t have the luxury of sitting around waiting to see if someone is going to phone in. After a few no-show days, Bernie went to the next person on the training list. Yes, it was a friend of mine and I was glad to be able to work with him. But as to what I told the others…well, I felt kind of guilty.”

“Guilty?” Chad asked, leaning forward. “You want to explain that?”

“I felt bad thinking she had left because I rode her hard. I was afraid that someone might report me for overstepping my training bounds with her.” Giving an embarrassed shrug, he admitted, “So I told them she had taken another job.”

The Saints sat for a moment, both stewing over Preston’s confession before he interrupted their thoughts.

“So, are we done here? I’ve really got to get back to work.” Obtaining their nods, he hustled out of the room.

“What do you think?” Chad asked as they drove away from the airport.

Shaking his head, Blaise admitted, “I don’t get an angry vibe from him, but then he hasn’t been forthcoming with us, so it makes me wonder if there is more to him than we have found out.” Pulling out his phone, he called Luke. “Hey, man. I want you to dig into the finances of Bernard Tanner and Preston Solter. I want to know if it looks like they have unexplained jumps in their income.”

Looking back at Chad, he said, “I’ve been thinking about the possible drug cartels flying in and out of the farmer fields in obscure areas. Who might know about them? Who might be paid hush money? Anything to tie in what happened to Grace.”

*

“Oh, girls, you
don’t have to stay here,” Miriam protested as she smiled at the group surrounding her bed, “but I love your company.” The doctor told her and Cam that her cramps were false labor but she should stay close to home. Cam immediately pronounced that she was to stay in bed, which Miriam objected to. The compromise had been that when he was out, she would have someone with her. Between her mom and sisters, Cam’s mom and his sisters, her house was clean and food was cooked.

The Saints’ women piled in Miriam’s bedroom, munching on cupcakes and catching up on the news. Dani moved awkwardly, trying to give her baby room to stretch. “This one’ll be coming next,” she declared.

Laughing, Miriam added, “If mine doesn’t come soon, your baby might come first!” Looking over at Grace, she said, “I heard you made another trip to the assisted living home.”

Nodding, while trying not to choke on the large bite of cupcake in her mouth, Grace smiled. Swallowing, she replied, “Yes, Gypsy and I went this morning. I think the residents really enjoyed her.”

“Have you thought about what you want to do?” Faith asked softly.

Licking more frosting from her lips, Grace shook her head. “I know Gypsy and I trained for TSA, and from all indications, we were good at what we were doing, but…” her voice trailed off.

“Are you afraid you won’t remember what to do?” Dani asked.

“Well, for now, Blaise doesn’t want me out and about too much. As they investigate, they aren’t telling anyone that I’ve been found. That helps keep me safe from whoever might have been trying to kill me. So I couldn’t go back to a very public job. At least not now.”

“Do you want to?” Sabrina pressed, crossing her legs as she shifted on the floor.

Scrunching her face in thought, Grace looked around at the expressions of the women with her.
All friendly. All concerned.
“You know, right now, that life isn’t what I want. I’m happy with Blaise and his menagerie. I’m happy visiting the Assisted Living home. And I’m happy making new friends.”

“Yay!” cried Bethany and Angel at the same time, giggling.

“It will come to you,” Faith added. “Whatever you want to do…are destined to do…it will come back. And it may take you in a completely different direction than what you assumed would be your future.”

Smiling at her new friends, Grace relaxed, popping another bite of confection into her mouth.

*

“I ain’t never
had anyone want to go up in my duster,” Bob said, taking off his worn, dirty ball cap and wiping the sweat from his brow.

“I’d like to take a trip down memory lane and I’ve convinced my friend that this is the only way to see the countryside,” Marc said easily. “We’d be more than happy to pay for your gas and to rent the plane for an hour.”

Bob looked down at his scuffed boots for a moment then looked up. “You don’t gotta rent ‘er from me, but I’ll take a little somethin’ for the gas.”

Grinning, Marc shook hands again, palming a hundred dollar bill into Bob’s hand. The older man met his grin and they walked over to the crop duster. Blaise stayed on the ground with Bob as Marc hefted himself up into the plane.

Fifteen minutes later, with the front propeller rotating, Marc and Patrick were airborne. Patrick sat behind Marc but easily peered out of the windows as the vista passed below them. The fields, each a slightly different hue of green, peaked out between the thick groves of trees covering the mountainsides. Curves of asphalt snaked between the fields and disappeared into the forests. Cedars and pines shared the space with hickory, elm, and oaks.

“What are we looking for?” Patrick asked, looking down at a few houses dotting the mountainsides.

“See if you find a field that looks as long as Bob’s…one that might be cleared off enough to have a small plane land on it, or has an outbuilding nearby. Or perhaps one that ends in the woods. That’d be a good place to hide incoming planes.”

On the drive up to Bob’s farm, they had discussed how the cartels were using private airstrips to transport drugs around the country…

“Mitch said that
they sometimes fly straight into these small airstrips because they aren’t regulated. Other times, they manage to get larger amounts into the country and then move the shipments of drugs around using the small, private airstrips.”

Blaise wondered what could have led Grace up the mountain the night she and Gypsy crashed.
What did she know? What did she suspect? What was she doing up here at night? And who the fuck was after her?

“Thinking about Grace?”

“Yeah,” Blaise sighed. “I keep wondering why she was up here that night and who was after her. We’re only checking out the area because she was with the TSA. Maybe there’s something we don’t know about her and something she doesn’t remember. Maybe we’re all wrong about—”

“You know how we investigate,” Marc interrupted. “We sift through the evidence, piece by piece. You’re right…we have no idea why she was up here and we may be on a wild goose chase now. But at least we’ll know more than we did before we came. Up in the air, we can check out Luke’s blip.”

Now, up in
the air while still flying low, Patrick and Marc carefully perused the ground below them as the plane hummed along while Blaise waited impatiently on the ground.

“You doing okay up there?” Patrick asked.

Marc chuckled and said, “Just like riding a bike. I remember my dad teaching me how to fly. God, I thought it was the greatest feeling ever.”

Before Marc could reminisce anymore, Patrick called his attention. “Look down there—on the right side. There’s a small field where a strip of dirt is showing between the crops and runs straight into the woods.”

“You may have something,” Marc said, excitedly. Checking his coordinates, he flew over one more time. “Look over there,” he pointed. “The road goes by the other side of the woods and it looks likes there’s a lane going from the road toward the fields.”

Armed with newer information, Marc turned the plane back toward Bob’s field. Landing several minutes later, he taxied to the old barn. Alighting from the plane, Marc and Patrick walked over to Blaise and Bob, who were waiting for them, beers in hand.

After sitting for a few minutes, talking about the flight and planes in general, Bob eyed the two men speculatively. “You weren’t really just up there reminiscing your childhood, were you?”

Marc pinned the old farmer with his sharp gaze for a moment. Grinning, he said, “What can you tell us about the farm up the road about ten miles? The lane is on the left of the road and disappears into trees before coming out to a field that appears to have a cleared off strip running right through the middle of the cornfield.”

Bob leaned back in his rickety chair, pushing the brim of his ball cap up slightly as a slow grin formed on his face, deepening the weather-worn creases. “Figured you musta had a reason for going up. I seen that field. Owned by another farmer. Joe Savine. Never had much dealings with him…seen him around a bit. I ain’t seen planes landing there, but I seen that strip when I was up. Sometimes I fly over and ask if anyone needs my dusting service. He didn’t want any, so I don’t fly over there anymore. But just because I ain’t seen anyone land…doesn’t mean I ain’t seen them fly over.” He pierced Marc, Patrick, and then Blaise with his stare, measuring them.

Grinning, he said, “You gonna tell me what you’re looking for?”

Blaise was the first to speak. “A woman was chased and run off the mountain road not too far from here about a month ago. We think she may have seen something that someone did not want her to see. And then they went after her.”

At his blunt explanation, Bob’s smile dropped from his face, his grey eyes flashing in anger. “Ain’t got nothin’ against Joe, but since he moved to the farm about four years ago, he ain’t never done anything to try to fit in with his neighbors. Ain’t unfriendly…just not friendly, and that ain’t the way we live ‘round here.”

The three men sat quietly for a few minutes, then Bob said, “You need me, or my plane, again, you come on by. You can take her up whenever you need…and I’ll even have a beer waiting for you.”

“We appreciate it,” Blaise said, standing with Marc and shaking the old man’s hand.

“We’ll let you know about the plane,” Marc added, “but I can guarantee we’ll take you up on the beer.”

Nodding, the Saints headed back down the mountain, more questions than answers still swirling.

B
art exclaimed his
greeting as he jogged up the front steps to Jack and Bethany’s home. Entering, he found the group anxiously awaiting his arrival.

“It’s a beautiful little girl, and both she and Miriam are fine. Cam’s fuckin’over the moon!”

The group erupted into cheers, as Bethany’s hand went to her small baby bump, meeting Jack’s hand already there. Smiling up at him, she said, “I’ll get the girls over later, but I have a feeling Cam and Miriam’s large families are filling up the hospital room now.”

The Saints then followed Jack down into the conference room, where strategy planning ensued. Listening to Marc’s description of the obscure airfield, they decided a nighttime reconnaissance was needed.

“I’ll go, of course,” Bart proclaimed, “but my partner is out of commission for a bit.”

“I want in on this,” Blaise said, his eyes catching Jack’s. “I want to be able to see, first hand, what Grace might have been dealing with.”

The other Saints shifted their gazes between Blaise and Jack, as they sat at the conference table.

“There’s no evidence at this time that Grace was anywhere near that field,” Jack stated calmly.

“I know that,” Blaise admitted. “But something sent her up the mountain. She has no friends there, no reason to be there. But she’s a trained TSA dog handler and she went with her drug-dog. There’s a strong possibility that there is a connection.”

“I should go as well,” Marc added. “I’m the only one with flight and aircraft experience. I can tell if the field has been used for flying and how recently.”