Tidal Rage by David Evans (bill gates books to read txt) 📕

had endorsed the social worker’s assessment, and Cheryl had been fighting ever since to get her back, to no avail. Cheryl was petrified; if she could not prove she was sane and a good mother, before too long the authorities would put Esme up for adoption, and she would be lost to her forever.

The Sturgeons arrived back to the Miami South Beach property a little after 8 pm, and were surprised to see Chloe, their foster liaison worker on their doorstep. She was accompanied by a man with olive skin, black hair, and a square jaw.

***

Cheryl Ross took the phone call from Fabienne at around 9 pm. She had received the transcripts from Cortez a little over two hours before. At first, Fabienne thought it was the normal transmission from Stahmer and Ghislaine, but then she noticed the name on top: Cortez.

For several weeks, she had been supplying information and analysis to Cortez at Cutler’s request. Fabienne realized that this investigation was not what she had initially been briefed on, and she had not met Cortez, yet.

Only that morning she had received a secure call from Cheryl Ross telling her that any information that came in from this investigation that she deemed to be important was to be either e-mailed across to her, or she was to telephone if there was any critical news.

Analysing the transcripts and realizing that this information was not just critical but hit at the heart of the company, as it was highly personal to Cutler, Fabienne followed orders and telephoned Cheryl Ross.

“E-mail me the transcript immediately,” were Cheryl’s last words before her world changed forever.

The door flew open, and Esme Ross screamed and ran towards Cheryl, who dropped to her knees and burst into tears immediately.

It was several minutes of Cheryl crushing her baby close to her chest, sliding her hand down the back of her hair, and kissing all the available skin on her forehead and face before she said, “I don’t understand.”

Standing there was Tuck Walters. The tough Maori wiped a tear away from the corner of his left eye as he witnessed the highly charged scene.

“Maybe this card will explain,” Tuck said, as he handed her a large card hidden within a large pink envelope. Cheryl would not let go of Esme, and between them both they managed to open the envelope. It said, ‘Congratulations, Mommy’. Cheryl missed a breath and caught a sob, as her little girl could not read or write when she left. How much she had missed!

Again, Cheryl let Esme read the card, albeit a little slowly, and some words were accentuated as Esme broke the words down into sizeable chunks, ‘A-pol-o-gise’.

Cheryl could read the message far quicker than it was being related to her, but she would not interrupt her baby, not for the world.

‘Hope this makes up for not being as open and honest with you, I apologize. Enjoy and have a wonderful day and a beautiful life together,’ it read. It was signed by Max Cutler.

Cheryl kissed Esme once again. She moved away from her slightly and adjusted the Minnie Mouse hair ties and looked her little girl up and down. How lovely she looked in her polka dot outfit. And then she hugged her again as the tears began to flow. Cheryl looked up at Tuck. “How?”

“Wyatt Rockman, Cutler’s old recruiter from the Secret Service. Evidently, he was a qualified lawyer, and on leaving the Secret Service was fast-tracked as a circuit judge. He is now quite a senior judge for Dade County. Cutler approached him after we had caught the two boys who killed Don and relayed your story. Since then, the judge has moved heaven and earth to get you both reunited, and here she is, yours forever.”

The final words became too much, and she clutched Esme tightly again and wept. And because she wept, Esme wept and hung onto her mommy ever so tightly. Tuck smiled and wiped away another tear, a tear of satisfaction.

I am going soft, he thought.

Cheryl somehow came back to reality and let one hand unglue itself from Esme and pointed at the printer.

“Transcript on the printer. Crucial, Tuck.”

Tuck pried his eyes away from the cosy scene, and went to the printer to retrieve the e-mail from the top of the stack. He read the contents, becoming increasingly aware of the importance of the e-mail and the likely stratagem that Cutler would put into motion. He went back to Cheryl, kissed her on the head, and stroked Esme’s hair.

“Going to leave you two alone to get reacquainted. See you later,” Tuck said, on his way out the door.

The night was hot and humid. Even though Tuck had shorts and a T-shirt on, he started to sweat as he left the air-conditioned house. He walked the short stretch to the seafood restaurant that sat atop the inlet from the river system, and asked the waiter for a private table where he could not be overheard.

He sat down and ordered a Coors beer and a bucket of boat trash, his favourite: crab legs and lobster tails with prawns and scampi, and the odd crustacean he had never learned the name of, nor wanted to. From the laptop bag he had grabbed on the way out of Cheryl’s office, Tuck removed an iPad and iPhone.

Cutler had issued each member of MIDAS with such a bag. Also inside was a satellite phone for when they were in areas with no mobile towers, and a laptop and external hard drive that were both encrypted with the latest security software.

He video-called Matt Rice first, and after several seconds his face filled a good portion of the screen. After the preliminary banter, Tuck explained what he wanted, and then he phoned Ghislaine, followed by Nathan Colton, his backup in the Hilton case.

Colton was back in Nassau, spending