Shadow Kill (Nick Teffinger Thriller) (39 page)

Teffinger cocked his fist.

“You little bastard.”

Rail held his hand up in defense.

“Hold on,” he said. “It get’s worse. Foca kept Kelly as part of his stable for a while but quickly got tired of her. He likes his women more animated and cooperative and enthusiastic than she was. So he sent her out to one of his porn operations.”

“He forced her into porn?”

“Yes.”

Teffinger punched Rail as hard as his fist would go.

The man fell back.

Teffinger pulled him to his feet, picked him up and threw him over the side.

The man disappeared under the surface, then gasped for air and treaded water.

Teffinger headed for the controls and said, “Have a nice swim back.”

“Wait,” Rail said. “There’s one more thing.”

Teffinger
almost cranked over the key. Instead he said, “Tell me.”

“What I did was wrong,” he said. “It was born from my hate of her but that hate faded. When we arranged the deal with Foca to exchange Dandan and Susan Smith for the painting, I asked him to throw Kelly Nine in as well. He wouldn’t do it, plus he said the logistics were bad. She was all the way on the other side of the island. Plus it was already going to be risky flying Susan Smith all the way to San Francisco.”

“He never even mentioned her to me,” Teffinger said.

“No reason he would,” Rail said. “Anyway, I later cut a deal with him. Mun Yin was out to kill Foca, first because Foca killed Savina Bandini in Rome, which ended up getting ten million of Yin’s money stuck in a Cayman account that he can’t get out, and second because Foca jacked up the whole painting exchange. My deal with Foca was simple. I would kill Mun Yin for him. After I did that, he would return Kelly Nine to me and throw a small amount of money my way—five million. I killed Mun Yin three days ago. It took me a whole month. Do you see that sailboat heading our way? Kelly Nine is on it. That’s Foca’s part of the bargain.”

Teffinger processed it.

Then he pulled Rail out of the water.

As the sailboat
approached Rail said, “Kelly is supposed to be blindfolded. I don’t want her to know I’m here. I don’t want her to see me. I don’t want to feel her hate. I’m afraid it will kill me.”

Teffinger nodded.

He understood.

The boat came closer and closer.

A rough, brown-skinned man threw a rope.

Rail grabbed it and tired the boats together.

A timid woman was led out of the sailboat’s cabin.

She was blindfolded.

Rail hopped aboard the sailboat, held the woman’s hand and carefully helped her into the go-fast.

He stayed on the sailboat, untied the ropes and pushed the boats apart.

He said nothing.

Then he took one last look and disappeared into the cabin.

Teffinger
removed the woman’s blindfold.

When she saw who was in front of her a measure of life returned to her eyes. She hesitated for a second, almost as if she wasn’t sure if this was some kind of a cruel trick. Then she put her arms around Teffinger and pulled him tight with every ounce of strength in her body.

Her body trembled.

“It’s all over,” Teffinger said. “You’re going home.”

The End

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