Breaking Creed

50

Creed couldn’t help thinking that if he’d already installed the cameras, he’d know exactly who left a bunch of bananas with spiders hatching on Hannah’s kitchen counter. His best guess was the electrician, although Hannah insisted he was wrong. Tony was staying at Segway House, she told him.

“No way, no how, did that young soldier do this.”

But Creed saw in her eyes that she was questioning her own words. He didn’t have to confront the young man because he knew as soon as he left the house that Hannah would be on the phone interrogating whoever had sent him.

On the way to the kennels he stopped off at the building they had just finished for Dr. Avelyn Parker’s clinic. Hannah still complained that it was an incredibly expensive investment. The equipment alone had required a chunk of money, but Creed knew it would pay off in the long run with all the dogs that would be cared for.

Having a facility out here on their property was as much about convenience and saving time. And having Dr. Avelyn on staff — even if it was for a limited number of hours so she could tend to her own practice in Milton — was more than worth the money.

He dropped off the garbage bag filled with spiders and deposited it in a metal trash can with a note attached. One great thing about the woman was that she knew almost as much about the creatures that dogs had to watch out for as she did about dogs. By the time he reached the kennels, he saw her black Tahoe coming up the long driveway.

Most likely the spiders were meant to send a message. Someone was trying to tell him what he already knew all too well — that despite the isolation of their facility, and despite Creed’s best efforts to keep strangers off his property, they were able to walk right into the house and leave a bunch of bananas.

Simple as that.

If they could do that without anyone noticing, what else were they capable of doing? And suddenly he thought about the kennels and the dogs. Immediately he started searching every inch of the facility for anything that looked a bit out of place.

What occurred to him and bothered him most was that whoever took the risk to come here didn’t seem the least bit concerned with finding or taking Amanda or the cocaine. Maybe they just didn’t have time. Or wanted to learn the layout of the entire place for when they came back. And that made him realize this was just a prelude. There was more to come, and they wouldn’t stop until they were satisfied with taking or destroying whatever they wanted.

Creed heard the electronic buzz of the back door and turned to see Jason coming in. All the doors were ultrasonic-sensored, allowing only those wearing the infrared bracelet with the coded signal to come inside without using hands. The same technology opened the six electronic dog doors. As long as the dogs had on their coded infrared collars, they could come in and go out to the fenced yard as they wished. It also meant that no one had access to any of his buildings without a bracelet to trip the sensor, and Creed was very careful about who he allowed to have one.

He watched Jason struggle with a load of training buckets despite the door opening automatically. The kid had been working his ass off. And yet Creed caught himself wondering how much would it take for a cash-strapped amputee to betray him? The best way to get to Creed would be through someone he’d never feel threatened by. Someone he was supposed to trust.

No, he stopped. Even if by chance Jason was the one someone had paid to plop a bunch of bananas down on the kitchen counter, no drug cartel would use this kid to finish the job. They would use a hit squad, wouldn’t they? And if they came here, they were on his territory.

He scanned the ceiling, the sprinkler system, the doors, the kennels, and the windows that lined the very top of the building, two stories up. He’d positioned them purposely too high for anyone to come through or for a scared or manic dog to jump through.

“Everything okay?”

Creed turned to find that Jason had put down the training equipment and was now ten feet away, staring at him. The kid actually looked concerned. Or was it guilt?

“Everything’s fine. Why wouldn’t it be?”

Creed’s cell phone started ringing before Jason could respond. He grabbed it out of his pocket and took a quick glance. It was a number he didn’t recognize.

“This is Ryder Creed.”

“Creed, hi. It’s Liz Bailey. From the Coast Guard.”

“Rescue swimmer Bailey, how are you?”

He didn’t remember giving her his phone number.

“Sorry to call you like this, but there’s something you should know. Can you talk?”

He shot a look at Jason, but the kid had already retreated out of earshot, going on to his next task. “Sure, what’s going on?”

“This isn’t public knowledge yet. I heard it very unofficially. There was a body fished out of the Potomac.”

He almost stopped her to say he had already heard about Trevor Bagley and the possible drug connection. But she surprised him with what she said next.

“He was pulled out yesterday morning. Tortured with spider bites all over his body. Gagged and dumped in the river. They think he might have still been alive when he was thrown in.”

“How do you know this?” He checked his wristwatch. Bailey had to be talking about the second floater. The autopsy that Maggie’s boss wanted her back in D.C. for. Was it possible they already had an ID on the guy?

“Our crew’s been working with the DEA for a while now,” Bailey said. “The Blue Mist isn’t the only fishing boat we’ve been tracking that Choque Azul might be using. But I think everybody was surprised with the cargo we found. Seems to be sending a shock wave even through the cartel.”

“Are you saying the body in the Potomac is connected to what we found?”

“The victim was the captain of that fishing boat.”

That surprised Creed.

“DEA thinks there’s a hit list. We all might be on it.”

“Seems to me they’re eliminating their own employees.”

“That’s what I thought. Not such a bad thing, right? Look, this is just talk at this point. You know how talk starts, even in organizations that aren’t supposed to talk. But you might want to be careful.”

“I already know.”

“Excuse me?”

“I know I’m on their hit list.”