In the Blink of An Eye by Jerry Baggett (ebook reader for surface pro TXT) 📕

face lit up. “I don’t want to get near that thing. Peel away the cloth and let’s have a look.”

Dick carefully folded back the pajamas. “An older model Smith & Wesson revolver.” He wrapped the cloth over the cylinder and carefully looked down the muzzle. “Not more than a .32 caliber.” He looked at Samantha. “The gun that killed your mother. There never was a child’s backpack inside that toy box. The large stuffed animal only appeared to be a child’s backpack in the dim light.”

“Now, who calls our task master with the good news?” Grant said. He sat down again and quietly wept.

Chapter 33

“Dick! I can’t just not show up for work, after a week off. I owe that to Steven, and our patients.”

“I’m not advising you to skip out. Call Doctor Peyton and explain the situation. He knows your life’s in danger. He’ll understand if he’s the man you know him to be. Your job isn’t as important as your life and the lives of everyone in his office. Marino’s men are killers, without conscience. You’ve seen that. They’ll attack wherever and whenever they find us, and kill everyone in the vicinity. Get that call out of the way and we’ll take the shuttle boat across to Long Beach and scratch some things off the list.”

He sat quietly and listened to the conversation. Steven insisted she call in and report to him daily, feigning concern for his patients. He questioned the doctor’s sincerity. He refuses to accept the end of a romance. He’s frantically trying to hold onto control. She should not allow that.

Samantha clicked off and looked at Dick. “I know, I should not have promised a daily call. He was so insistent. I think I owe him that. Angel can handle things with help from Steven and the office staff. She only works Friday and Saturday each week, sometimes less. She also takes a lot of time off. In a worse-case scenario, appointments can be rescheduled for check-ups and minor illness.”

He paid for their burger and beer at Eric’s on the Pier before walking away. “I’m proud of you for standing up to Steven. From here on, we have to avoid being passive targets and take the fight to the enemy.”

“What are we going to do? Go to the mainland and drive around looking out the window for bad guys? I can look out my side and you can look out your side.”

He laughed. “Not exactly. If Hunt’s right in his assumption that most of the dealers in this area are connected to Marino’s organization, we start with a small-time pusher. You may even know a user that would lead us to a pusher that would take us on to someone in the distribution system.”

She turned in her seat and stared at him. “Seriously? I don’t hang with users, or losers.” She cupped her hand around her mouth, leaned close to him and whispered. “However, I know tons of pushers at the hospital. The job requires a medical degree.”

He reached across and put his big hand on her head and ruffled her hair. They both burst out laughing.

“Actually, users aren’t hard to identify. Most, give themselves away within minutes of serious conversation. So, what do we do now?”

“We stay with the plan,” he said. “Mostly, it depends on where the Drug Enforcement investigation leads us, but—”

“No!” she interrupted. “That’s not what I mean. What do we do now? Finish shopping, go to dinner, leave the island, what?”

“We follow through on our original plan. We rent a unit in the vacant rental house next to your burned cottage. They won’t be looking for us in that area now. After that, we shop for what we need and go on from there. We can do without underwear, but I need my toothbrush.”

She gave him a wicked look. “Well, we may as well take the shuttle boat on over to Long Beach. We can stop at Target, or rent a different car for our use there. Do whatever tickles your fancy, mister funny man.”

“Too bad we don’t have time for a leisurely sail across the channel onboard Ipswich. She’s a beautiful sailing sloop. You can show off some more of your skills.”

“Maybe next time. Things will get better, won’t they, Dick?”

She slapped his hand away after another of his jokes and they lined up with tourists boarding the boat to Long Beach. “I don’t believe we were followed to the shuttle,” he said.

He pulled into the crowded Target parking lot. “We’d better find a parking place in front and remember to look out and see if anyone’s hanging out near the rental car before we leave the store. Our adversaries are relentless.”

They paid out and pushed the loaded cart to the front of the store and stood there, talking for several minutes. “All I’ve thought about this whole time is ‘why me?’,” Samantha said. “Why would someone be looking to hurt me? I thought it was just crazies after me. I know now, that wasn’t true. There was so much more to the story. I worry about you, Dick. I believe you’re the primary target now, and it makes me ashamed that I only thought about myself.”

He put his arm around her, watching her face. Her eyes suddenly opened up wide. Something outside caught her attention. He looked out. Two men were walking away from his rental car. She squeezed his arm. “Those two men copied the tag number of our car, I’m frightened. Now they’re driving away.”

“No! They’re parking close by, to keep an eye on the car. We need to think of something fast.” Dick tapped out the number for the Long Beach Police Department. “This’s Dick McGowin. Samantha and I are standing inside the door at the local Target store in Long Beach. Two men in a black Ford SUV