Echoes of the Past (34 page)

“I had to shave a small patch of your hair, but
the rest of your hair will cover it. It was the only way to put the stitches in
the gash. It was quite deep. Any headache, nausea, blurred vision, ringing in
your ears?”

He’d gotten up and was flashing a penlight in her
eyes.

“No, I’m good.”

“You have minor frostbite on your ears, fingers,
and toes. They’ll be sensitive for a couple of days, but there won’t be any
permanent damage.”

Maggie came back into the room carrying clothing
Michelle recognized as her own.

“I’ve washed your clothing. You can change
whenever you want. I think the others will be here shortly.”

Michelle looked down at the nightgown and reached
for the clothing.

“I’ll change now.”

She hurried down the hall to the room she’d slept
in. She noticed a few feminine touches she hadn’t appreciated before. This must
be Maggie’s home. It wasn’t Joseph’s. She dressed quickly, found the bathroom,
decorated in sunshine yellow and green, further attesting to the fact this was
a woman’s home, and using a hairbrush she did her best to fix her hair without
disturbing the stitches. She examined her face in the mirror. She hadn’t
escaped without a few bruises of her own. Knowing how badly they’d beaten Tony
made her realize how lucky she’d been. Had they treated her the same way, she
wouldn’t have survived.

Instead of going back to the kitchen, she was
drawn instinctively to the room across the hall. Tony was in there, and she slowly
opened the door. The small room was decorated in shades of blue and cream.
Three walls were painted cream while the fourth was navy. The room was
warm—someone had turned up the heat. There was a chest of drawers, a small desk
and a chair, and a bedside table. It must be a guest room. The queen-sized bed
was only a few feet from the door and Michelle saw the lump in the bed that was
Tony. She closed the door softly behind her and walked over to the bed startled
by the blue eyes and the smile that greeted her. His face was a mass if
bruises, but they appeared to be healing quickly. His lips, which had been
split and swollen, were almost back to normal.

“Hi, you’re awake.” She smiled down at him and didn’t
try to hide the love she knew shone in her eyes.

“I sensed you come in. I was dreaming about you.”

She reddened remembering some of the dreams she’d
had of him.

“Yup, you were lying beside me, and I was telling
you how very much I’ve always loved you.”

Michelle sat on the edge of the bed, knowing she’d
collapse from need if she didn’t. His words had flooded her with desire. She
bent her head and placed a gentle kiss on his swollen mouth.

Tony’s naked arm came out from under the blankets
and pulled her tightly to him, he deepened the kiss with a savage need leaving
her unable to breathe. There was a hungry urgency in his kiss as he fed
fiercely from her mouth. His tongue demanded admission, and she opened
willingly to him, taking from him as he did from her. They were alive. They
were together.

His tongue stroked and teased her, bringing images
of another type of coupling, and she moaned. He pulled away reluctantly.

“Part of my body so hates me
right now.”
He chuckled. “I have the feeling this isn’t the time and
place for this. Where are we?”

“Joseph Smoke’s son’s house.
They would have killed us. I don’t know how we survived. It had to be the sprits.
They didn’t let us drown. Chad, Joseph, and Andrew are in the kitchen waiting
for the rest of the task force. I’ll go and tell them you’re awake and get your
clothing.”

“Not yet. One more kiss—I need to know I’m not
dreaming. I need to know you’re real.”

“You didn’t dream every night last week.” She felt
herself redden at the memories.

“I had no idea how much was missing from my life
until I met you. You realize I’ll never let you go?”

He recaptured her lips, and this time the kiss was
a slow, sensual exploration, a promise of what was to come.

* * * *

Tony helped Michelle out of the RCMP vehicle. The
task force was launching a three-pronged assault. One team was hitting the
Happy Valley Winery where they suspected the meth was stored until it could be
flown out. A second team was rolling up to the Whippoorwill Winery, while a
third team, which included Michelle and him, prepared to enter the
slaughterhouse. Timing was critical so no one could be warned. The meth might
be manufactured at the slaughterhouse, but its delivery system was through the wineries.
They intended to put them all out of business. Team A at Happy Valley would
secure the
warehouse,
Team B would enter the
Whippoorwill Winery, but reveal nothing until Michelle and Tony arrived. Team C
would secure the lab. RCMP officers had been dispatched to the airport as well.
No planes would land or takeoff until the raid was over.

Tony wanted to see the look on Jim’s face when
they walked through the doors of the slaughterhouse. He was disappointed to
find the building deserted, but he watched Michelle lead the officers around to
the back, into the office, and open the secret door to the lab. Like the rest
of the place, it was deserted.

“Watch for trip wires.” Chad ordered the men. “They
may have booby-trapped the place. I’m guessing they’ve shut down operations for
a few days.” His cell phone vibrated, and he picked it up. Tony moved to stand
beside Michelle. He couldn’t bear to be away from her.

“Stevens.” The man listened attentively. He
smiled. “That’s great. I’ll tell them.” He ended the call.

“That was Montreal. They’ve got your vehicles.”

Michelle smiled. “Thank you. I really didn’t want
to lose it.”

Tony laughed. “Yeah, you promised you’d let me
drive it, remember? Mine’s just a loaner. I’d have hated to pay replacement
cost if it had disappeared.”

Michelle shook her head.
“Like
you’d have had to pay anything if we’d died.”

“Where’s your sense of humor? Come on. Let’s get
the rest of this over with.” He heard the resignation in her voice. This was
the least pleasant part of the raid, but it had to be done. They both hoped no
one had taken the time to clean up last night.

They went back up the stairs to the slaughterhouse
and walked toward the meat locker.

“We have almost all the evidence we need. The
piece de resistance is in there. You’ll find Tony’s blood, maybe some of
Aaron’s too. I think Lindsay’s fingerprints will be all over that case as well
as mine. It’ll prove unlawful confinement.”

Tony put his arm around her.

“Hey, we’re in this together, remember?” She
nodded.

Chad opened the meat locker door and flipped the
light switch.

They walked over to the meat hook where Tony had
hung. The upended case sat on the floor where it had been left, the bottle of
wine beside it.

“It looks like the same bottle in the picture
which cost Isaac his life. Given his height and strength, I think you’ll find
Jerome is the one who killed him.”

Michelle showed Chad the discrepancy between the
bottle and the case. With a penknife, he pulled off the bottom layer, revealing
thirty-two neatly packaged one ounce bags of crystal meth.

Go to the
lake. We are doing our part.

Tony stood still. The voice was vaguely familiar,
but so many strange things had happened, he chose to simply obey the command. He
turned to Stevens.

“Send someone down to the lake. Have them follow
the gator tracks. I think they’ll find something there as well. They were
loading barrels for disposal.”

“I’ll send someone right away. I’ll be right
back.” He left them there.

Tony reached for her and with his fingers, gently
traced the bruise on her cheek. He smiled down at her and stole a quick kiss
before Stevens returned.

“Are you ready for the winery? Everything’s under
control here. You won’t believe what they’ve found in the marsh.” Chad called
from the doorway.

Tony made a fist with his right hand and struck
the palm of his left hand with it.

“Yeah.
I have something
for those sons of bitches I want to deliver in person.”

* * * *

The winery employees stood in the foyer when they
arrived. Ron was in heated discussion with the officer in charge, but it was
Mendez’s cry of
Madre de Dios
that
shut the mayor up. He turned and blanched.

Michelle put her arm through Tony’s to stop him
from punching the man in the face. She understood his desire to do so, but it
wouldn’t be in his best interest at the moment.

“Good morning, Ron. I take it you weren’t
expecting us. Where’s Jim?”

Ron tried to bluff his way out.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen my partner in a
couple of days. It’s always a pleasure to see you, Michelle. You know that.”

She smiled. “The pleasure is all ours, isn’t it,
Tony?”

He nodded and kissed her on the head further angering
Ron. The muscle twitching in the man’s jaw showed he’d struck a nerve.

“I’m afraid you’re wrong about that, Ron.” Tony
spoke softly but loud enough to be heard by all those present. “We were all
together last night. Mendez over there was with us, and I think I recognize a
few of those boys, cowering in the corner. Guys, you look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

Michelle laughed. “Maybe they have. By the way,
Ron, we know where Jim is. The team at Happy Valley has him in custody along
with all those cases with false bottoms.” She turned to Ron whose face was that
of an angry, cornered animal.

“Lindsay showed us that. She left us a clue, but
you knew that. You saw the wine bottle she must have been holding cradled to
her chest, the one that slipped out onto the sand. What you didn’t know was
that Isaac had given me the pictures, and I sent them to Toronto. You had him
killed for nothing, but you know something, ordering someone to kill a man
carries the same penalty as doing the deed yourself. It’s over.”

“None of this will stick. My lawyers will shred
you all a new one.”

Chad Stevens laughed as he walked up to them.

“I don’t think so. We’ve just recovered over two
hundred barrels of meth waste all along the coast of the lake. It seems they
weren’t sealed properly. Gases floated them up to the surface. I’m sure we’ll
find a few more over the next little while. Between your winery, Jim’s
slaughterhouse, and the winery across the street, we’ve found over fifty pounds
of meth. Your honor, you’re under arrest for Possession of a Prohibited or
Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purposes of
Trafficking, Trafficking in a Prohibited or Controlled Substance, Producing,
Growing a Controlled Substance, and Possessing for the Purpose of Exporting a
Controlled Substance, as well as four charges of unlawful confinement, two
charges conspiracy to commit murder, and five charges of murder in the second
degree—there’s another body among the barrels. Michelle told us about you
mentioning the coroner’s accident, so we’re throwing it into the mix until we
know what it was for sure. We do have one of the province’s top forensic
experts to help us. You have…”

Michelle and Tony watched as the shock on the
faces of those who had been pawns in the mayor’s drug scheme made
itself
known.

She walked over to Ron who seemed to be shrinking
as Chad read him his rights.

“It’s too bad, you know. You guys actually made a
really nice wine.” She turned to Tony. “Let’s go home.”

* * * *

Six weeks later

Michelle snuggled beside Tony. She was happier
than she’d ever been, sated, and content to the depths of her soul. This is
where she belonged, where she’d always been meant to be. The gentle rise and
fall of Tony’s chest told her he was still asleep. She moved into his
comfortable warmth, and he put his arm around her, but he didn’t wake.

She, Tony, and Joseph knew no one would believe The
Three Sisters had saved them from death, so they’d concocted a story, and
Andrew who was the only other who knew the truth, had agreed to keep the
secret.

Joseph and Andrew had admitted to being out on the
lake night fishing, a minor fish and game violation. They claimed they saw a
pontoon boat coming out, and they’d rowed into the marsh. Since motors weren’t
allowed on the lake, they thought it might be the police. The men had thrown
some things into the water and returned to shore. Joseph rowed out across the
lake ready to go home since he figured whatever had gone into the lake would
disturb the fish. They heard weak cries for help and rushed to the spot where
they found two people in the water. They pulled them aboard and removed the
ankle shackles. The anchors had slipped into the water, but they knew whoever
had tied anchors to them wanted them dead. They were fortunate to have landed
on a sandbar and not in the deeper part of the lake. Since Andrew was a
paramedic, he examined them, and they took them to his brother’s home on the
island before calling Chad, a family friend. The police had recovered the
anchors later that day. The rest of the story was more or less the truth.

Tony shifted, and she knew he was awake.

“Hey, Mrs. Steele, how do you feel?”

“Wonderful,” She moved away, stretched like a cat,
and snuggled in beside him again. “Actually,” she circled one of his nipples,
and it hardened instantly as did another part of his anatomy she could feel
pressed against her abdomen. “I’m hungry. It must be dinnertime.”

“I’m hungry too, but for you, although food does
sound good. Let me take care of this appetite first, and then I’ll wine and
dine you.”

“You’ve got a deal. I love you, Mr. Steele.” She
ran her hands down his abdomen and felt his stomach muscles quiver. “Now, did
you say you have an appetite to assuage?”