Crystal Blue (Buck Reilly Adventure Series Book 3) by John Cunningham (novels for beginners txt) 📕

leaving in one piece and I might have Boom-Boom Burke’s network working on my behalf, which could be a good thing.

But I’d owe him an introduction to someone I didn’t know.

What a tangled web we weave when trying to save our asses.

ONCE BACK AT FRENCHMAN’S REEF I wanted nothing more than to collapse on my bed and sleep for a week. Couldn’t do that without knowing Crystal’s fate with the picketers on Jost. I also wanted to know what Booth’s intel on her might be, but I had a feeling it would take me a while to find out, assuming I could.

The pile of papers I retrieved from John Thedford’s briefcase brought back the brutal reality that I had to be in three places at once over the next few days. I ran my palm down my cheek—the pain in my jaw was still sharp from today’s brass knuckle brunch. That realization led to another one: I hadn’t had a meal all day. And so with a cheeseburger and cold beer on order from room service I sat back to consider my options.

I only came up with one.

After several rings, Ray Floyd’s voice came on the line.

“Based on what I see on caller ID, I shouldn’t be taking this call.”

Damn Booth.

“Don’t be silly, Ray. Would I be calling to cause you any heartburn?”

“Heartburn, no. Brain damage, yes. How’s Crystal Thedford doing? Are you two an item yet?”

“She’s a married woman,” I said over the sound of machine gun fire and explosions in the background. By day Ray was cerebral, a true island philosopher, but by night he was Delta Force and Seal Team Six rolled into one, poised to dole out serious punishment to video bad guys. I’d actually seen him dig deep and deploy those virtual skills in real life a couple of times, which is one of the reasons I was calling him now.

“Is the Beast okay?” he said.

Boom-bam-whoosh…

“Ray! Can you pause the noise for a minute!”

Silence. “What’s the problem, Buck?”

“Have you seen the news? John Thedford’s still missing, and that actor Stud Mahoney has been—”

“Kidnapped, yeah, I saw that. Is it all related?”

“I think so, but in addition, there was a bomb threat against the charter airline that was supposed to ferry Crystal’s guests around—”

“Seaborne Airlines? I ever tell you I turned down a job offer from them to be their head mechanic? They’re grounded?”

“No, you didn’t, and yes, they are. I have a couple speed boats at my disposal, but Crystal’s like the little Dutch Boy with her finger in the dyke trying to keep the whole concert from unraveling, and…” I paused, not wanting to give Ray too much to be worried about.

“And what?” he said.

“And I need your help.”

Silence.

“And Lenny Jackson’s help too—did he have his debate last night? Did you go?”

“Oh my God, you missed it. Lenny was…well, a true island original’s about all I can say. Holy smokes. The other candidates sat there with their mouths open when he got on a roll. The crowd loved him.”

I’d really wanted to see him but couldn’t dwell on that right now.

“What do you need me to do?” Ray said. “And why is South Region SAC involved?”

Damn caller ID. Booth’s a ninny.

“Nothing hairy—”

“Sure, Buck, that’s what you always say.”

“Flying celebrities around the islands sound hairy to you? Movie stars, singers, all kinds of famous people are descending here tomorrow. I can’t babysit them and look for Thedford and the missing action star.”

“What am I supposed to fly?” he said.

“How should I know? Charter something. ISA had budgeted to pay Seaborne, they have money.”

When I recited the schedule of who was arriving and when, I had him. He oohed, he ahhed, he said “This could be really fun,” and promised to see if Lenny was available too.

What would he say if he saw the bruise on the side of my face?

Didn’t matter, because I had no intention of putting Ray in harm’s way. He could have the glory runs with the big shots while I chased my tail looking for answers.

“Tell Conch Man I really need his help. His constituents will be all the more impressed with him if he can get some celebrity endorsements.”

We hung up just as there was a knock on the door.

Now what?

Room service dropped off a cheeseburger that turned out to be cold and in a soggy bun, but as hungry as I was, I could have eaten the metal tray. And as tired as I was, after eating it I fell into deep, dreamless sleep—until the phone rang.

Damn!

I grabbed the cell phone off the end table and sent half the contents from the dinner tray flying off the bed. It was 3:20 a.m. But I couldn’t even be mad—caller ID said it was Crystal.

“Buck, I’m so sorry to wake you. I just don’t know what—or who…”

“What’s the matter?”

“We’re running out of time and I’m… Let’s just say the center isn’t holding.”

I paced around, trying to blink away the sleep.

“Has something else happened?”

“Viktor and I spoke with that detective—you know, the one from VIPD who met us when we arrived on St. Thomas?”

“Viktor?”

“He’s on our Board—”

“Lieutenant White?”

“I hadn’t heard a thing so I called him earlier and he finally called me back tonight. Those bastards haven’t even been looking for John, all their energy is focused on Stud Mahoney. They say if they’re connected, Mahoney will lead them to John, but they’re not even sure they are connected, so that means they’ve given up—” Her voice broke.

I walked to the balcony window and stared out over the halos of light in the tropical courtyard while she sobbed quietly on the other end of the phone.

“Crystal, listen, I’ve been talking to a lot of different people. When I used to search for artifacts around the world, I found that people either parallel to the obvious partners—or in some cases diametrically opposed to them—often provided more indirect yet better information because they had an entirely