The Greatest of These by Greg Wendleton (booksvooks txt) 📕

MP in the Army. I was a nursing student and he had hip surgery. He had been shot on Pearl Street in Honolulu by a drunk soldier. I was doing a rotation at Tripler Medical Center. Very romantic, but he swept me off my feet.” She chuckled and then sipped her Diet Coke.

“We can’t control the when and how we meet someone. Sometimes it’s just meant to be. So, how did you end up here?”

“Ah, yes, Scott received a medical discharge and began receiving disability pay. So, he wanted to change his career path and decided to pursue the real estate business. He was a natural and after a few years he was offered his own shop.” Smiling, she added, “So, here we are enjoying a wonderful life.”

“That’s a wonderful story. My wife and I literally bumped into each other on campus at the University of Texas in San Antonio. I tell everyone she thought I was a meathead and I thought she was hot. I was right on both counts.”

That brought a sincere laugh from Leilani as the door opened and in walked who I presumed was Scott Crowley. We both stood and I replaced my face mask. He placed his over his mouth and extended his right hand.

“Hi, I’m Scott Crowley. How are you doing today Mr…?”

“Cooper. Garret Cooper. It’s nice to meet you sir. Thank you for cutting your meeting short and coming back to visit with me.”

“It’s no problem, we were wrapping up our business. It never hurts to have another mortgage banker willing to work with our potential buyers. Now, Leilani told me you have some concerns about the Wilhites?”

“Yes, I do. They seem to have disappeared and I’m trying to build a timeline so that I can find them.”

“What is your connection to Chad and Jamie?”

“Oh, of course. My wife and I are their neighbors in San Antonio and I flew in last night due to our concerns for their well-being.”

“Okay, let’s go into the conference room and see how we can help you.”

I followed Scott and Leilani into a small conference room that they probably used for closings and client meetings. After I entered, he closed the door and offered me a seat.

“I was very disappointed when I didn’t hear from them yesterday. They were prepared to make an offer on a beautiful home in Kihei. Now I’m a bit embarrassed about how I was feeling.”

“No need to be embarrassed, that’s understandable. Is there anything you can tell me about how your day went or more importantly ended?” I asked.

“Well, we filled out an offer sheet on a property and agreed to reconvene yesterday, after Chad checked on the status of a bank deposit he was expecting. He had completed some big deal and was waiting for a big payment.”

“I see. I think I know what the business deal was about and yes, it was going to be a good payday. Did you see what they were driving?”

“Yes, I did. A white Nissan Maxima. I remember because Chad commented about the car compared to the BMW we were touring homes in. I think our security cameras might have a picture of it. Excuse me for a while and let me go check.”

While Scott was gone Leilani said, “He’s a bit of a computer geek as well. He set up a pretty sophisticated security camera so that we can see when someone parks outside and heads toward the door.”

Scott returned with a printed page that showed a White Nissan Maxima with Hawaii plates, KZE-527 clearly displayed on the front of the car. This was a huge lead. I thanked Scott and was getting ready to leave when he said, “You know, some of the rental companies have an application they’ve installed to track key fobs.”

“What? You’ve got to be kidding!”

“No sir, I’m not kidding. If you can find out which company they rented that car from, you might be able to track where their key fob is located.”

“That would be unbelievable!”

I knew just who I needed to reach out to.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Conrad had received a message from Smith stating that he and Johnson had arrived in Dallas earlier that morning and that they would rendezvous at The Farm on March 6 at six in the evening. Now, if he would only hear from that moron, Jones. Had he made a huge miscalculation leaving him behind to babysit two secured captives for forty-eight hours? How could a man who could shoot the eye out of a fly from a hundred yards be incapable of such a simple task?

It was nearly three in the afternoon, and not a word. Conrad couldn’t stand it and typed a text message to Jones:

Are you alive? How about checking in?

Jones heard a ping and felt the buzz in his cargo pants pocket. He reached down to the side pocket and removed his phone. It was a message from Conrad. He read it and sighed. Thinking to himself, he mumbled, “Leave me here alone and then look over my shoulder, why don’t ya?” Instead, he typed:

Yeah, everything is good. 24 more hours.

He pushed the icon to send the message and threw his phone on the counter. Pissed, he twisted off the cap and took a long drink from the Jose Cuervo bottle. The water bottles Smith had purchased for him yesterday morning were still untouched. Scrounging around the grocery bags, he found the Poke. Jones had no idea what it was, but he was hungry, again. So, he opened the lid and scooped some out with his fingers. It tasted fishy, but was kind of spicy, so he scooped out some more. After he chewed and swallowed what was in his mouth, he finished the container of Poke and washed it down with another slug from his bottle. In less than thirty hours he had consumed more than half of the 1.75-liter bottle of tequila.

Conrad read the reply and sighed. He didn’t really believe Jones, so he sent