Vendetta: Mexican Standoff Page 3

  Sitting on the patio they watched the tourists and a few folks likely to be local, identified by their colorful dress, walking by on the crowded sidewalk. Jimmy Buffet never came by to visit his restaurant or if he did they never saw him. Susan eased her disappointment with another margarita.

  As hard as he tried, Tucker couldn’t keep his mind off Orlando Ruiz. He wondered what the man would do, as it was obvious he had identified Tucker. He might possibly jump ship here in the Keys but as there were no warrants open on him he could remain on board. Tucker had had no contact since that attack years ago, so him making another attempt to kill Tucker seemed pretty far- fetched, but the possibility existed. Also, since Tucker was no longer a cop, it seemed unlikely Ruiz would do anything.

  The crowd became thicker as the lunch hour approached and at last Susan announced.

  “Tucker, let’s go have some pie then head back to the room. I’ve seen enough of Key West for this trip.”

  “I’m with you. Let’s head toward the dock. It’s not a long walk and they say the best Key Lime pie in town is down there.”

  The route to the dock was along a crowded street with barely enough room for cars to pass through two lanes of tourists. The pedestrians would occasionally spill on to the roadway resulting in a minor scene each time as cars swerved to avoid striking them. Seeing the rickshaw-like bicycle taxis made the place seem almost oriental.

  The couple was walking unhurriedly hand in hand toward the pie shop when suddenly Tucker felt Susan’s hand slip from his grasp. He heard her scream, as she stumbled into the street directly in front of a white SUV. Just as the big vehicle struck her side, Tucker jerked her back onto the walkway with all his strength and heard her grunt with pain. He held her closely as they both sat down on the hard concrete and tried to get their heartbeats under control.

  “Are you OK?” Tucker gasped as he watched the SUV drive away, too far away for him to read the license number.

  “I’ll have an ugly bruise tomorrow but nothing’s broken.” Susan responded, eyes open wide and staring into the crowd. “Someone pushed me, Tucker. I couldn’t tell who it was but I was definitely pushed!”

  Before Tucker could respond a policeman forced his way through the crowd surrounding the scene and knelt next to Susan.

  “Miss, can you tell me what happened?”

  “Someone pushed me into the street. I didn’t see who it was but I was pushed. I’m sure of that!”

  “How are you? Anything broken?”

  Without waiting for a reply the cop used his shoulder mounted radio to call for an ambulance and his supervisor. He did not want an injured tourist screaming on his street today. Most likely this was just an accident and the woman would calm down but if not, he was involving detectives to take the heat.

  “Was it a man or a woman that pushed you? Did you see him?” Tucker yelled.

  “I couldn’t tell who it was.”

  Tucker was livid. He grabbed the cops arm, yelling repeatedly, “Stop everyone on the street. Get it blocked off. Someone pushed her into the street! Get out an APB! Get some roadblocks out!”

  The policeman calmly asked Tucker to slow down and describe what happened.

  Tucker spoke first. “Someone pushed her in front of a white Escalade. It knocked my wife down and then drove off without stopping. Someone tried to kill her.”

  The policemen knelt beside Susan.

  “Did you see who pushed you? Man or woman? Any way to identify them?”

  “No. It was someone strong. That’s all I could tell.” Susan replied, tears in her eyes.

  Standing and turning toward Tucker the cop continued with his questions.

  “Do you think the vehicle was damaged? Could we identify it by body damage?”

  “It hit her on the bumper. I doubt there’s anything visible.”

  “Would you recognize the driver? License number? Anything we could use to know it’s the right Escalade. That’s probably the most common vehicle on the island. It’s Key West, you know.”

  Tucker shook his head in response.

  Still visibly shaken, he knelt beside Susan and with his best bedside manner, hugged her and held her hand until the ambulance arrived.

  The cop said, “A detective will come see you at the hospital. Try to think of anything you can to help us identify the person that pushed you.” Turning to Tucker he continued, “You need to think of something we can use to ID the vehicle. Anything at all would help.”

  After Susan was loaded into the ambulance, Tucker stepped up through the back door and watched as the EMT entered and closed the doors behind him.

  Tucker, never a believer in coincidence, couldn’t help but wonder if somehow this had been connected to Ruiz. His mind raced as he sat quietly in the ambulance that sped, lights and sirens activated, toward the Lower Keys Medical Center.

  He’d do whatever it took to protect Susan from harm.

  After a short examination and a session with the X-ray machine, the emergency room doctor released Susan to go back to the ship. As she and Tucker sat in the emergency room lobby waiting for the paperwork to be completed a thirtyish man, dressed in khakis and a tropical shirt approached them. He introduced himself.

  “Hello, I’m Detective Davis. I need to ask you some questions.”

  He sat down beside Tucker but turned toward Susan and asked quietly, “Can either of you tell me exactly what happened? Mrs. Tucker?”

  Susan, slightly taken aback by being called by her new name, hesitated then exclaimed in a rush, “Someone tried to push me in front of the car. I felt hands on my back pushing me toward the curb and I couldn’t stop. I tried to hold on to Tucker but-”

  “Mrs. Tucker, you’re safe now. Everything’s OK. Please calm down.”

  Tucker took her hand and held it tightly. His usually calm Susan was quite distraught and he’d never seen her this way. At least not since the attempt on their lives in North Carolina.

  Susan quickly got a hold on herself and calmed down.

  “Did you see who pushed you? Man? Woman? Anything we can go on?”

  Tucker spoke first.

  “It happened so fast all I could do was grab for her and try to pull her back out of the street.”

  “How about you, Mrs. Tucker? Did you see anything that could help us ID the pusher?

  “Someone very strong. I didn’t see anything though.”

  Tucker suddenly had a moment of insight and interrupted, “The SUV didn’t slow down. It didn’t swerve to miss you. That driver had to be in on it!” He jumped to his feet and began to pace around the room until finally he turned toward Susan and the bewildered detective and announced loudly,

  “This was an attempt on your life. Planned! It must have been--!” He stopped himself just in time, before he mentioned the man on the ship.. He knew if that came out, they’d never get back on the ship.

  The detective stood up, took Susan by the hand and together with Tucker they walked outside the hospital into the parking lot where the he asked the couple to sit in his vehicle while he made a call. Moments later, he got in the front seat. He turned around toward them and with a dismissing tone said, “I’m taking you back to the ship now. Another detective interviewed the people around you when you were hit and no one saw you get pushed, Mrs. Tucker. With nothing else to go on we’re calling this an accident.”

  Susan’s face flushed with anger and she immediately began to exit the car,

  “Someone tries to kill me and you guys are more concerned with your tourism reputation than with finding out who it was. What a crock!”

  Tucker grabbed her arm and pulling her back into the car, said quietly, “Let’s just go back to the ship. They’re not gonna do anything. It was probably an accident anyway!”

  Susan looked up into Tucker’s face and started to protest. Seeing the dismissive look he gave her, she nodded her head and sat back down. He would explain later.

  The detective said nothing as he drove them back to the dock just in
time to board the ship as it was being readied for the evening trip to St. Maarten. Another paranoid tourist. Good riddance.

  Chapter 7

  The pair ate without speaking after ordering from the menu and waiting briefly for their food to arrive. Neither really tasted the food as both their thoughts turned to the day’s events. Finally, Susan broke the silence.

  “Dammit Tucker! You know it wasn’t an accident. Someone pushed me in front of that truck. You said yourself that it didn’t try to miss me.”

  “Baby, I know that. We just needed to be back on the ship. Those Key West cops aren’t gonna do anything and we can’t either if we’re being held as witnesses on the island. We don’t know if it was an attempt on your life but if it was I know who might be behind it, someone on the ship. We can investigate here better than the cops can with all the jurisdiction issues. Jessup will help.”

  “But, what about the car? Maybe the cops could find out who owns it?”

  “Stolen, I’d bet. If this was a set-up like we think, why’d they try to kill you instead of me? First off, we need to know if you were the target and if they were trying to kill you or just scare you?”

  Tucker’s eyes narrowed and his voice became grim as he turned Susan to face him and said, “I have a confession to make. I didn’t want you to be afraid so I held back some information. Didn’t want to mess up our wedding!”

  “You can tell me anything, you know that!”

  “OK. The man who’s been watching us isn’t just a man I busted for drug dealing. He’s the man that shot me. I thought it looked like him and Jessup confirmed it. If anyone is really after us, it’s likely him.”

  Susan was wide eyed as she said, “Why isn’t he in prison? How can he be here on this ship? Did he follow us here?”

  “We never had enough evidence to try him for anything. Even with my testimony the DA wouldn’t pursue it. I don’t think he followed us. Just a coincidence. I know what I say about coincidence but this time I think that’s all it is.”

  Susan’s voice became louder as she continued. “You should’ve told me about him, not tried to protect me. We could get off the ship and honeymoon later. I don’t want him to control our lives but what if he tries to hurt us again?”

  “We don’t know if he was responsible for the car accident. Maybe it was just a bad driver. If we find out it really wasn’t an accident and he was the one behind it, we’ll leave the ship, OK?”

  They arrived at their stateroom. Later, lying in bed Tucker assured her, as well as himself. “I’m here to take care of you. Nothing will happen, I promise!”

  She smiled over at him and he saw her relax and drift off to sleep.

  Later that evening as the ship plowed its way through the Caribbean toward St. Maarten Tucker lay awake, restless and unable to sleep, as he considered the situation. Seeing Ruiz again made his mind go back to the time he’d spent supine in the Rehabilitation Center at Duke, and he remembered the months that followed the shooting as he fought his way back to health. He’d vowed to get revenge on his assailant but eventually his intensity had dimmed and he’d moved on with his life. Now, after all this time, he felt his hatred of the man return. His life had changed and now he had Susan to consider. His thoughts, as he tried to sleep, were about her, lying beside him, innocent in this deal but at risk none the less. He knew he should drop it and just go on with their honeymoon, but wasn’t sure he could really do that. Sleep came, finally.

  The cell phone in Ruiz’s pocket buzzed softly and vibrated until he answered its summons. He listened carefully, nodding his head as he followed the voice on the other end. A slight smile formed on his lips as he heard the news he’d been waiting for.

  “The woman wasn’t hurt badly, correct?” Ruiz spoke in English in deference to the American he was on the line with. “No way for the accident to be traced back to you?”

  “No sir, Mr. Ruiz! We stole the car on Boca Chica Key and swapped tags like you said. She never saw me push her. We’re clean!” the voice said.

  “You’ll be paid the rest tonight at the bar like we discussed. She’ll be there at 11 PM.”

  Orlando Ruiz, El Vendedor, knew that Tucker would realize the hit and run was no accident, just as he’d planned. Each day he could make the cop suffer brought him satisfaction and eased the pain of his little brother’s death. Soon enough Tucker and his blond woman would pay the extreme penalty at Ruiz’s own hand. He smiled at the thought as he left his stateroom and walked through the narrow hall to the casino. His luck was running hot and he’d take advantage.

  “Hola” he said, nodding to the young steward he’d met earlier, as he continued on his way through the crowd to the casino.

  Chapter 8

  The sun, shining through the sliding glass patio door, awakened Tucker. Rising, he walked quietly to the bathroom to splash water on his face. He brushed his teeth before gently opening the door and walking out to the small patio, just large enough for a table and two chairs. Everything was wet with the morning mist. Before sitting down he wiped off one chair with a towel he’d brought and then, looking down, he noticed that on the other chair there was a small business card sized piece of paper, held tightly in the crack between the seat back and the bottom. He pulled on it and the corner tore off, releasing the card to his grasp. After looking to see if Susan was awake he held the card so he could see it.

  It appeared to be a simple business card, printed on a computer, no picture just a name, address, telephone number, and nothing else. He read, his lips moving silently:

  “Ruiz Imports, 200 North Main Street, Raleigh, North Carolina, 919-555-1245”

  Tucker’s teeth clinched hard with anger and he almost cried out. He was barely able to maintain his composure as he realized how close someone had been to them, as they slept just inside the glass door. He looked around the small deck to see how the card could have been placed there. There was no easy way to access the area from the outside but it might be possible. He quickly put the card in his pajama pocket to prevent Susan seeing it and went back into the stateroom. He checked the door and found the deadbolt in place, indicating no one had entered their room over-night, not that way. He sat on the side of the bed, forcing himself to breath slowly, until he heard a knock on the stateroom door.

  “Buenos Dias! Room service.” came from outside the locked door to the corridor. Cautiously Tucker opened it to see a young, short, olive skinned man dressed in the white livery of the stewards on the ship. He took the tray and immediately closed the door behind him, calling out “Gracias!”

  He took the tray outside to the patio and poured himself a cup of the steaming coffee from the carafe. Noticing that Susan was up and putting on her robe, he poured her coffee as well.

  “Good morning, my love.” he called pleasantly as his bride slid back the door and came outside to join him. He hugged her and kissed her lightly on the cheek as she reached for her coffee. Remaining silent, he waited for her to come fully awake. He’d discovered early in their relationship she wasn’t a morning person and would be herself only after a couple of cups of coffee.

  As he waited Tucker’s mind analyzed the events surrounding his nemesis, Ruiz. It was clear to him now that the car accident was an attempt to harm Susan and not merely bad luck. He believed that the intent hadn’t been to kill her but to send a message to Tucker. The card, however it had been placed on the patio, was also a message. Tucker was unclear what the message was but he was sure there was more to come between him and the drug dealer. His thoughts were interrupted just then as Susan rose and pulled his head down to her level, kissing him passionately. She tugged at his pajamas as she pushed him back through the patio door and down on the bed.

  “I’m awake now. We’re newlyweds, you know! The car bruised me but I’m not broke!”

  Later, much later, the couple exited the stateroom, dressed for a travel day on the ship as it headed toward St. Maarten, trying to put thoughts of old enemies out of their minds, at least for a while. br />
  Chapter 9

  Settling into the lounge chairs they’d found empty near poolside, Tucker and Susan waited just a few moments before a waiter arrived carrying a tray of mysterious drinks in tall glasses decorated with a slice of coconut and a tiny umbrella. Ordering two, Tucker reclined in the lounge and soon realized the sun was just too bright for him to enjoy the day. He asked Susan if she’d mind moving to the side of the ship where the small tables and chairs were shaded by the deck above. They rose but walking around the deck saw that all the tables were occupied by other couples. Susan, with her ability to instantly make new friends, approached a young couple and asked if they could join them.

  “Sure, sit down. Love to have the company!” The man said as he rose from his seat stiffly.

  “I’m Dave Jones. Yeah I know! Heard all the jokes. And this is my girlfriend Amanda. We’re from Alabama. Where bouts are you guys from?”

  “North Carolina. At least I am. I’m Tucker and this is my wife,”

  Amanda interrupted, saying, “I know, she’s Susan. We were at your wedding, Mr. Tucker. Nice of you to buy a round for the ship. Beautiful ceremony. Convinced me to try and talk Dave into getting married on the ship, but no luck so far!” She laughed and waved her finger at Dave who just smiled and blushed.

  “You guys are so young. You’ve got plenty of time for marriage. I’m a misplaced Kansas girl. Came south and found the man of my dreams. He got away, but Tucker’s a good substitute!” Susan grinned and kissed Tucker thoroughly.

  The couples got acquainted over drinks. It turned out that Dave was a recently discharged Marine, just returned from Afghanistan after spending the last two years there. His girlfriend was a grammar school teacher in Guntersville, Alabama, where they now lived. They were taking the cruise as a way of getting reacquainted after the long time apart. Meeting someone like Tucker was just what the doctor had ordered for Dave. Amanda had waited for him to finish his military obligation and was determined to make his life back in the States as good as possible.