“How long will you be here? Over.”
“A couple of weeks or so. Over.”
Can you suspend your dredging for a day or so? At least until our divers can search this area? Over.”
“No, sir. We have orders to get this cleared for traffic starting in another week. Over.”
“Thank you. Over and out.” Robert handed the mike back, “I’ll have to contact the company and a judge to get a court order to stop this until we’re done here.”
“I guess that’s quits for today,” Jake interjected.
“I am sorry things didn’t work out like you wanted.” Cappy turned the boat around and signaled to the others to follow after explaining the situation.
“Do you think this could have been the car?” Robert pointed to a few large bumps on the paper.
“We’re close to a spot where we think the car might have gone in,” Jake answered.
“It could be anything. People throw old washing machines, refrigerators, and stuff like that in the river all the time. It would be a lot to ask someone to believe that it was the Stevens’ car, but then again, stranger things have happened,” Cappy interjected as they headed back to the dock.
Bucking the current made the trip back longer than the trip down. When they pulled into the dock, three men waited to help tie up the boats. Robert frowned and gave Jake a lifted eyebrow expression.
The men who tied off the boat wore black turtleneck shirts under sports jackets and overcoats. They stood there as if waiting for someone. Robert hesitated before leaving the boat. They looked like they’d all graduated from the Jack Dempsey Boxing School of etiquette.
The bigger of the three looked steadily at Robert.
Robert refused to look away. “What do you want?” Robert asked, after stepping off the boat, not backing up but not moving forward.
Robert wasn’t stupid. He read this little trio right away. He kept his back to the boat as he faced the three, his knees slightly bent and his body planted. Jake and a couple of the crew moved in behind him.
The second man, slightly shorter than the other two, stepped in front of Robert. “You’ve been nosin’ around where you shouldn’t. For your own good, you gotta keep looking in the same area as all the rest of the flatfoots.”
If the man weren’t so serious, Robert would have burst out laughing. He must watch the same movies that Dawson’s boys did, or maybe they were all related.
“We’re looking in the right area, not that it is any of your business. Just for the sake of argument, why do you care where we look?” He kept all three in his vision.
“My boss don’t like you buttin’ your nose into places where it don’t belong. If you don’t keep to the spots you’re supposed to, you could be seein’ the Stevens family sooner than you thought. That goes for you others too.” He looked up at the men on the boat, watching the interchange. “I’d hate for you to have some unexpected repair bills on your boats or hospital bills from sudden injuries,”
“You threatening me? I can haul you in for that.” Robert took two steps forward.
“You can call it what you want. Just stay outta this area.”
“What do you know about the Stevens family? If I were going to see them, where might that be?” Robert persisted
The speaker didn’t answer. He signaled the others, and they walked up the ramp to where a dark limo sat waiting, engine running. The tinted window was rolled halfway down. After the shorter man spoke to someone in the car, it started to move away.
Robert moved up the ramp at a dead run to at least see if he could get the number of the car license. The big man turned toward Robert and grabbed one arm while the other jerked him to a stop, whipping him around so he couldn’t see the back of the car.
“So, you want to see somethin’? Well, I’m sorry, but my boss don’t like publicity or nosy cops.” With that, he drew back his fist to hit Robert.
“Stop!” came a command from the car interior. The big man stopped and motioned for his partners. Robert could hear some of the conversations behind him. He saw Jake and a couple of the men begin walking toward the ramp. Jake had his gun drawn at his side. Robert waved them off with a jerk of his head. There was no reason to put the volunteers in jeopardy, especially when Robert suspected these were members of the local mob. His heart pounded. Was this the end of his life? Would they kill him right here in front of everyone?
With no warning, he was lifted off the deck, hauled to the edge of the dock and thrown over the rail down into the cold, oily water. He tried to shout to Jake but got a mouth full of foul-tasting water as he sank into the water. He surfaced next to the dock, which was a few feet above him. Jake and the divers ran to the top of the walkway. He hoped they were able to see the cars and get their numbers.
Cappy and the other captain helped him out of the water and on to the dock. Jake and the divers surrounded him; someone handed him a blanket to wrap around his shivering body.
“I couldn’t get the number from the limo, and there wasn’t any tag on the other car. I’ll bet they didn’t go far, or they stopped to put the plates on after they got away,” Jake informed him.
Robert looked at the silent men around him. “Thank you for what you’ve done today. I’m not so callous or unfeeling to ask you to go out again. That little demonstration was enough to put anyone off. If you do want to help me in this investigation, contact Brice or me.” He started to pull out his billfold, but it was dripping wet. Jake handed his own card to any man who would take it.
“I’m still going to find the connection between these men and this case, once I find out who they are. Not because I think I am someone special and the guy with the white hat always wins, that isn’t true, and we all know it. I do feel an obligation to my own integrity. If I were to back down now, I’d never get to the bottom of this case. I will not be threatened.” That last part ended in a sneeze.
“Let’s just get you home and warm.” Jake nodded to the men. “Next time?”
None of the men made a commitment as Robert and Jake shook their hands and went to Robert’s car, Brice following. He didn’t expect any quick decisions on their part.
“What do you make of all this?” Jake asked Robert.
“It sure puts a different light on things. What would a middle-class family have to do with the mob? Drugs? I don’t think so. Could they have witnessed something they shouldn’t have? Possibly,” he answered his own questions out loud. Sounding them out seemed to put them in a better prospect than to carry on a conversation in his head.
“I think the second seems a pretty good bet,” Jake added.
“I want to know why the guy in the limo stopped the guy before he hit you and then ordered the goons to throw you over the rail,” Brice queried, as he stood by Jake, who was going to drive.
“It was a case of calculated thought. The boss probably said something like this,” Robert imitated an old Italian godfather, “Ifa you rough up his face, everyone will believe his story. Justa trow him in da watta soes he can’t get what he wants. He’s been wahned, and he ain’t stupid,” his gravelly voice and clenched teeth made it sound menacing. The other two didn’t join his chuckle. It was too realistic.
“I don’t see how you can laugh. This is serious stuff, and I don’t see anything funny at all. You could go missing just like Stevens family,” Jake accused.
“You’re right. Even though we have no proof they’re dead, my guess is that after this length of time, there would be no reason to keep them alive. I’m sorry, it’s just my way of relieving tension, and I hope everyone else’s.” He tugged the blanket closer to his body and shivered.
“Thanks, Brice, for setting this up. I’m really sorry this didn’t work out.” Jake shut the passenger door and walked around to the driver’s side.