Never Too Late by Watters Patricia

Author:Watters, Patricia [Watters, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-04-21T21:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

Andrea and Jerry arrived at Andrea's parents’ suite at Finnigan's Hideaway about the same time Inspector Schribe did. They'd just come from Andrea's bungalow, where both Inspector Schribe and the island police inspected the place and made reports. Andrea's parents knew nothing yet, but Andrea could predict her father's reaction. More aptly, his action.

Hire a bodyguard for her and fly the man to the island at once.

When her father answered Jerry's rapping, he looked startled to find Jerry standing in the doorway, with Andrea and Inspector Schribe standing behind him. Jerry got right to the point. "I'm putting Andrea in your care, Ellison," he said, in a voice that was not open for discussion. "Her bungalow was trashed, no doubt by Cavallaro or one of his men. Until Cavallaro's arrested, Andrea isn't safe. You keep her here with you and I'm going after the man."

"That's a whole lot of bravado," Carter said, "but what makes you think you can catch a man who's been eluding authorities for years?"

Silence hung as the men stood eyeing each other. Then Jerry replied, "Because that gutter I grew up in taught me how to deal with scum like Cavallaro. Hiding on this island isn't much different than hiding in abandoned buildings or shadowy inner-city alleyways. I can still find my way around in the dark with only a knife for protection, and I'm sure I can figure out how to use it if I have to."

The inspector patted Jerry on the shoulder. "Unfortunately, this isn't the inner city. Andros Island is one of the last unexplored areas in the western hemisphere. Cavallaro's inaccessible when he's here. Like I said before, he's hiding out at a base camp buried deep in the interior of the island, and besides that, the place is fortified by booby traps. So far, it's been a one-way trip in for anyone Cavallaro doesn't want in there."

"What kind of booby traps?" Carter asked, eyes sharp with interest.

"The kind the Viet Cong used to kill and maim," the inspector replied. "We've known for some time there's someone skilled at setting and monitoring those kinds of traps. On occasion, islanders have wandered in and found themselves with spikes in their legs. On two occasions we sent men in to search for Cavallaro's headquarters and neither man came out. We suspect they were killed and their bodies dumped in a blue hole. The island's riddled with them. When the tide's rising, ocean water's pushed into the holes, and when the tide changes, the water's sucked back into the ocean, along with any dead body that's been dumped in."

Carter, who'd been listening intently, straightened his spine, threw his shoulders back, and said, "I'll go in then." All heads turned his way, faces displaying total disbelief.

Barbara, who'd been standing in the background observing the interaction, hurried over to her husband and placed her hand on his arm. "You can't possibly be serious," she said. "You're not a young man anymore, and it's been over fifty years since you were in a jungle.

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