Blue Descent (Dane Maddock Adventures, #0) by David Wood

Author:David Wood
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: action, adventure, mystery, thriller, travel adventure, dane maddock, david wood
Publisher: Adrenaline Press
Published: 2019-09-11T00:00:00+00:00

21

Echard was fit to be tied. The reliably malleable Lane was on the verge of growing a spine, and it was making his life difficult. He closed his eyes, squeezed the receiver, and counted to three.

“Lane, it’s essential that you keep my name out of this investigation,” Echard said.

“I’ll do my best. But you have to understand, this is a serious issue.”

“You know what else is serious? A cop with massive gambling debts. Do you have any idea how much you owe me?”

“Yes.”

“And do you have the money to pay me back?”

The line went silent. Echard waited.

“Still there?”

“You know I don’t have the money,” Lane said in a sullen voice. “That’s why you’ve gotten away with as much as you already have.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Echard couldn’t help but smile. Lane was a fool, but a useful one. “Now, have you arrested Maddock and Bonebrake yet?”

“Can’t do it. No motive and they’ve got confirmed alibis for the time of death.”

“But their names...”

“The fact that their names were written on a sheet of paper isn’t evidence of a crime.”

“And what about my stolen artifact? Did you recover it yet?”

“The artifact you refuse to describe? That one for which you can’t provide any proof of ownership? You’re tying my hands here.”

“I’m on the verge of tying your hands and your feet to a block of cement and dropping you into the nearest blue hole.” Echard gritted his teeth. He had the stolen CT scan images, but if he showed them to Lane, he’d have to explain how he had come by them. And if it was his word against Raeána’s, they’d believe the college professor over him in a heartbeat.

“It’s a silver amulet shaped like a serpent biting its tail.” That ought to be generic enough to keep an idiot like Lane from putting two and two together.

“Like a sea serpent?”

Dammit! The man was developing a backbone and a brain at the worst possible time.

“No, not like a sea serpent. You’ll know it when you see it. Just get it back from them.”

Lane sighed. “Look, these guys are highly decorated veterans. And not just the same commendations everyone earns if they serve long enough. If Maddock wore all their medals at the same time he could compete in the joust. And that’s just what I was able to find out.”

“What does that have to do with a Bahamas police investigation?” Echard was losing patience. His hired guns had failed him and now his leverage against Lane was suddenly insufficient.

“Within an hour of getting my first report back on Maddock and Bonebrake, I received a call from a Commander Maxwell in the U.S. Navy. He suggested I direct all future inquiries to him. Then he dropped a few names, including that of the Governor-General. Oh, and would you like to guess who called me no more than five minutes after we hung up, just to confirm Maxwell’s instructions?”

Echard’s heart began to race, his skin felt clammy. That was not the kind of attention he needed.

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