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

locked in its stored position behind the driver’s side Captain’s chair. Lying on the carpeted floor, was a case of water, a bag full of energy bars and a new sleeping bag. Bobby had done good, so far. It was time to see if he had a location for his quarry.

He removed a burner phone from inside his backpack and dialed the preprogrammed phone number for Bobby Wang. Wang answered his call on the second ring. “This is Bobby.”

“Where are you Bobby?”

“I am following the FBI agent and the car with the Wilhite couple.”

“Very good Bobby. I’m in the van, it is very nice. Where do I need to go?”

“When you leave the airport follow signs for Highway 36 toward Wailuku. Stay on the highway until you see a sign for Kihei. Follow that road into the town. I can meet you at Coconut’s Fish Café on Kihei Road. I’m confident they will be staying at a safe house in Kihei. I will be able to give you the address when we meet.”

“Very good Bobby. You are showing great promise that will not go unrewarded.” At that, Jackie hung up and started driving toward the western shore of Maui.

He had no problem finding the brightly decorated restaurant in Kihei. He parked the van, locked it and entered the establishment. Since it was only 4:30pm, there were not many occupied tables. He saw a slightly built, but handsome, young man sitting alone at a table with four chairs. The young man ever so slightly nodded his head that was full of jet-black hair. That must be his agent.

Jackie approached the table and said, “Bobby?”

“Yes.” He made a movement to stand, but Jackie placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Please remain seated. My name is Jackie Ming. It is good to finally meet you Bobby Wang.”

Jackie took a seat opposite Bobby and drank from the water glass that was sitting on the table. “It has been a very long day and I am hungry. Shall we eat?”

“Yes, that would be good.”

The waitress came over to their table and placed menus in front of them. “Welcome to Coconut’s, would you care for a drink?”

“No thank you, just plenty of water please. What do you recommend?”

“Our fish tacos are to die for! But our Ono and Mahi plates are very good too. With the fillets you can add your choice of sauces. Asian, South of the Border, Wasabi…there’s a whole list of sauces to choose from.”

“Ah, Wahoo, I will have that with the Asian sauce.”

Bobby looked up to the pretty young lady and said, “I’ll have the fish tacos, please.”

The curvy waitress smiled at Bobby and then walked away, adding a little extra wiggle to her graceful gait. She was back with their dishes in about five minutes and again, gave Bobby a wink and a smile.

“If I can get you gentlemen anything else, please don’t hesitate to ask.” Jackie knew for whom that message was intended.

As they ate, they continued to converse in Chinese, to cut down on the chances of unintended ears hearing their discussion. Bobby had followed the two cars to a single level home about five minutes from the restaurant. He described the location of the house and Jackie sighed. The rear of the house was not viewable from the street or the hills above the home’s position. A wise choice on the part of the FBI.

After they had finished their meals, Jackie removed two, twenty-dollar bills and laid them on the table to cover the check. He looked at Bobby and smiled. “You have done well today. You will be rewarded for your efforts. Now, forget you met me today. I will let you know where I leave the van when I am finished.”

Without any other discussion, he rose and walked out the front door and climbed into his transportation. He drove past the location of the safe house and then parked on a side street facing the hills. Jackie grabbed a bottle of water from the back of the van and removed the binoculars, he had brought from Taiwan, from his back pack. He then waited a few more minutes for the sun to set. He watched the beautiful sunset in the sideview mirror of the van. It was going to be a long night.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

As dawn broke over Kihei and the safe house, Special Agent Presley stepped out the side door into the carport. He carefully checked both vehicles for any sign of tampering during the night. He found nothing of concern. He then walked toward the back of the property and stopped at the drop-off that overlooked the homes closer to the beaches and the coveted ocean front designation. He stood admiring the beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean that this property afforded. Confident that no one could climb up the back property line and sneak into the home, he turned and circled back to the front of the property. Presley walked down the street a full block and looked down the side street. He saw nothing concerning there. He retraced his steps and walked past the house to the next corner. Nothing. No cars parked on the street. For good measure, he walked another block, and again found nothing alarming. The dark blue conversion van was parked one block further down the street and unobserved by the Special Agent.

When he reentered the house, he heard the sound of water running in the master bathroom. The Wilhites were ready to start another day in Paradise. Only problem was they were confined to an eighteen hundred square foot house, with a killer view of the ocean.

A few minutes later, as promised, Scott Crowley, and his wife, drove up in a gray Dodge pickup truck. Quite a change from his BMW. They parked on the street in front of the house and began grabbing grocery bags from the back of the truck. Presley ran out the kitchen entrance and down to the street to help