The Girl Beneath the Sea (Underwater Investigation Unit #1)(86)

“Renegade intelligence operatives who have taken over the illegal narcotics trade.”

She stares at me, trying to decide if I’m joking or not. “Why are you wearing a wet suit?”

“I had to use it to get this.” I point to the Kraken.

Jackie turns and for the first time notices something other than me. “Holy shit!”

I exchange glances with Run. We have bigger problems to deal with than our daughter’s language.

“We may need a place to hide,” I tell Jackie, then notice a ladder that leads to the second level of boats. “I want you to be super careful and go up there and see if there’s a cabin we can hide in if we have to.”

This will keep her occupied for a while and could be helpful if things get bad.

Jackie runs to the ladder and scampers up it like a monkey.

Run glides a hand along the Kraken. “What are we doing with this?”

“There are fifty Pelican cases in there with half a billion dollars. Inside one of them are files that Jason Bonaventure hid in case the shit hit the fan. Well, it’s raining shit now, and we need to find those files before the people who are after me figure out we’re here.”

“And the half-billion dollars?” he asks.

“Not important right now. We need the files. They may be the only way we get out of here alive.”





CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

SKIFF

Four hours later the sun is out, though hidden behind storm clouds, and fifty Pelican cases are spread across the floor of the warehouse like split clams. The money, tightly wrapped hundreds in hundred-thousand-dollar bundles, is laid out in rows.

Jackie is watching us in wide-eyed wonder from above. Adults are mysterious enough in so many mundane ways; I can only imagine what she’s thinking right now.

Run taps the inside of another case with the handle of a screwdriver. “Nothing here either.”

We’ve searched all the obvious places and found zero documents. We’re about to split apart the money packs and toss the cash into garbage bags.

“Nothing on the sub?” he asks again.

“This is everything,” I reply.

The inside of the Kraken is pretty spartan. Other than the battery compartment and the motors, there’s no sealed-off compartment that we can find. Winston made sure every square inch was utilized.

“Can I help?” asks Jackie.

“Stay up there, Sunfish,” Run replies. “Go check the Sea Ray at the end. Okay?”

“I hate busywork,” Jackie grumbles as she rises from her roost.

“Me too,” says Run. “Me too.”

“It has to be someplace convenient, right?” I ask.

“Your guess is as good as mine. Better, actually. Was Bonaventure always going to be on the receiving end?”

I pick up a stack of bills and flex them. “What do you mean?”

“Would he stick those files in the money if there was a chance it could get lost in the shuffle? I’d think he’d want them separate.”

“Maybe. He was a launderer and a banker. I don’t know how much planning he had time to do. When they served the warrant on his place, he had to act fast to get the money out and away.”

“Why not just leave it at the dummy house?” asks Run.

“I think he was planning on fleeing the country. When the sabotaged Kraken didn’t meet up with the Morning Sun, Bonaventure had to stick around.”

BANG! BANG! BANG! I nearly jump out of my skin at the sound of someone hitting the metal door. Run picks up his shotgun from its resting place, and I draw my pistol from the fold of my wet suit at my waist. I motion for him to stand back as I approach the door.

Run ducks down behind the boat trailer, and I keep to the shadows as I walk to the side door where we heard the banging.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

I put my eye to a peephole in the door and see George and my father standing outside in the downpour.

“Took you long enough,” says Dad as he steps inside and greets me with a hug.

George gives me a lopsided grin. His shirt is cut away, revealing a bandage that matches the one on his head. He has a hospital admission bracelet around his wrist.

“Did you just bust out?”

“People die in hospitals,” he replies, then lets out a whistle when he sees the money. “Why didn’t you two just take this and run?”

“I’ve been asking her the same thing,” says Run, greeting them.

“Grandpa!” Jackie shouts from above.

“Hey, Princess,” he calls up to her.

I point to the Pelican cases. “We’ve gone through everything. Tons of money but no sign of Bonaventure’s files. I’m beginning to think he didn’t actually have any.”

“I’d say we ask him, but we can’t. He was found floating down a canal an hour ago,” George says.

“What? Not because of us? Is it?” My stomach twists at the thought.

“His days were numbered,” says George. “He was not a nice man. I’m guessing K-Group decided the files weren’t under his control and got rid of him.”

“Damn it. And we’re at a dead end here.”

“Were you hoping for a box that said secret files?” asks George. “Think about it.”