Nelson, page 10
part #21 of SEALs of Honor Series
“We’re waiting to hear from everyone,” Nelson said. “So the investigation’s at a standstill.”
“Did any of you think to follow my brother’s money?”
“I believe the cops are on that. They said something about his credit cards hadn’t been used, and his bank account hadn’t been accessed.”
“Oh,” she said in a small voice. “Here I was thinking it was a great avenue to consider.”
“It’s one of the first things law enforcement does,” Taylor said. “Everybody needs money.”
“He has multiple bank accounts,” she said. “So I don’t know if law enforcement is checking every one of them.”
“You know what banks?”
Elizabeth nodded. “Sure. We shared a couple. It’s a good way to move money back and forth between us as needed.” She logged on to her bank account, showing them the two accounts. “This one we’ve had for a long time. You can see there’s almost nothing in it. But this one, when I needed money at school, he used to drop funds into it for me, and I did the same when he ran into some trouble. He was traveling in Europe at one point and ran into difficulty when he crashed his bike. I put money into that account so he could access it over there.”
“Bring up the details on that account, will you?”
She clicked on it and then gasped in surprise. “Money was taken out two days ago.”
“How much money?” Nelson asked.
“Two thousand dollars,” she said in amazement. She turned to the men. “That means he’s alive, doesn’t it?” she asked hopefully.
“It’s definitely some of the best news we’ve had since this began,” Nelson said. He checked the account over her shoulder. “He hasn’t accessed any of that money for months beforehand.”
“No, he usually just keeps it as another source of income if he needs it.”
“There’s still five grand left, so he’ll be fine for a while,” Nelson said. He looked over at Taylor. “We should tell Mason about that. We might find the ATM machine it was taken from and get a shot of the person who removed the money. That would let us know if it was Skunk or some asshole who stole his bank card and password.”
Elizabeth wrinkled up her face. “I was ignoring that possibility.”
“We can’t,” Taylor said. “No blind spots here. It’s the only way we’ll survive this. Full awareness and consider all options.”
Nelson added quietly, his fingers busy on the phone, “Unfortunately the chances of getting any feeds from anywhere around here is likely nil. The country is not known for their IT skills or security concerns, and aren’t as advanced as what we’re used to. But I’m texting Mason to see if anything is available.”
She sagged and nodded.
*
Elizabeth stepped out of the way so Nelson could sit down. He checked the other bank account. “Nothing here, but I have the transaction number written down.” He texted the information to Mason. Not sure who else you want me to contact.
The answer came back immediately. Give us ten.
Nelson dropped his phone on the table and walked over to the kitchenette where he grabbed a glass of water. “They’ll get back to us in a few minutes.” He glanced over at Elizabeth. “Does your brother have another house? Any place you know he would go to ground?”
“Just my place,” she said softly. “He had an apartment but sold it when he joined the navy. I told him to keep it so he’d have a place to come home to, but he just shrugged and said he didn’t want the responsibility or the headache when he would be traveling the world. He figured he’d have to call on me to deal with renters. Headaches all the time. And I admit, I appreciated that because I didn’t have a whole lot of free time in my life then either.”
“Have you two always been close?”
“Pretty close,” she said. “Growing up, there was just the two of us. I helped him through many drunken years where he used to go out and party all the time. He’d wake up, spewing his guts out the next morning because he was still drunk.”
“I remember a few of those days too,” Nelson said. “I’m still surprised he went into the navy.”
“Yes, and no,” Elizabeth said. “You know how he idolized our father. But he could never quite make the grade as far as our father was concerned. And that’s where the problem was. When Chris thought about it, he really did want to go into the navy. He had hoped that maybe, just maybe, our father would finally admire his choices.”
“How sad is that?” Nelson asked. “Go into the navy because that’s what you want.” He shook his head. “Not because that’s what you think your father wants.”
“It doesn’t matter because he did want to and loved his time there. It was more a bid for respect. That’s the sad part. I told him to enjoy the years he had, and, if he came to a point when he was ready to leave, he could leave.”
At her terminology both looked at her.
“I didn’t mean he could just walk away. I meant he could do whatever he had to do to legally leave.”
The men turned their gazes back to their laptops.
Nelson said, “It’s almost time for the meeting.”
Mason texted back. No camera on ATM. Transaction has been identified to location but no other information available.
Nelson sighed and told the others.
“You two go on now if you want,” Taylor said. “I want to be here to run communications. I’m going to send out some questions to NCIS on their father and to check for forensic information on the body.”
“Good. That’s what I should be doing too,” Nelson said. “I shouldn’t even be thinking about leaving. I’m just feeling a little closed in.”
“Understood,” Taylor said. “Waiting is always the hard part. But I’ll be right behind you. Give me about ten minutes.”
Chapter 8
It felt weird heading out in the hottest part of the day this time. It was late afternoon, and they were out in a seedy part of town. And besides, it wasn’t like Elizabeth could forget Chelsea’s sudden appearance last time. Even the reminder had her walking closer to Nelson.
In a smooth and natural movement, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, murmuring, “I am. Just I particularly don’t want to meet someone right now.’
“Or anytime,” Nelson said. “Particularly given your interactions up until now.”
She winced at that. The afternoon held a deep mugginess, the smell off the ocean stronger than normal. She usually loved the salty tang, but today it had a sourness to it.
They walked in silence. But the air was filled with loud music, reeking of alcohol, drugs and cheap sex. They made their way to the coffeeshop and the far back corner where they were supposed to meet Special Agent Stan Johnson.
“Why here?” she murmured, as they sat down.
“Our request,” Nelson said. “Otherwise, it would be in an office and likely not until Monday. This way we share information—” She snorted at that, but he continued, “And it’s over faster.”
“Okay, that makes sense.” She was cheered to know she was in a very different situation than the last time she spoke to NCIS. Nelson and Taylor had supported her every decision, even when they hadn’t been the best choices. She appreciated that. “Thank you.”
Nelson slid her a sideways look. “For what?”
“For working with me and not treating me as a useless featherbrained female,” she admitted. “I know I haven’t been the easiest to live with, work with. But it’s because I care about Chris so much.”
He squeezed his arm tighter around her, tucking her up closer. “You’ve been fine,” he said. “Sure, we weren’t too happy when you showed up, but we adjusted. We all want the same thing—Chris home safe and sound.”
“Exactly.” She beamed at him. “Anyway, thank you.”
A tall lean man arrived before Nelson could answer. It wasn’t hard to identify the austere look on the man’s face. Nelson stood and quietly introduced themselves. “Taylor should be here in ten minutes.”
“Call me Stan,” said the stranger with a brief smile as he sat down beside Nelson. A waitress came, took their order and disappeared. And returned almost immediately with their coffees. Elizabeth really didn’t want caffeine at this hour but …she might need it to get through this.
Stan pulled out his tablet, set up the keyboard and said, “What do you have for me?”
She stayed quiet as Nelson filled Stan in on what they’d learned about Chris’s disappearance. Nelson kept the discussion minimal regarding King and Chelsea. Elizabeth found that interesting. Yet it made sense as NCIS needed to know some stuff, but did they need to know it all? How much was enough? She was glad Nelson talked to Stan, although she knew her turn would come.
There were several questions back and forth.
“And what say you, Elizabeth? Why do you think Chris is missing?”
She stiffened. His words were fine but the tone? “Because he got into trouble he couldn’t get out of easily.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Seeing something he shouldn’t have seen kind.” She kept her tone cool, level. The last thing she wanted to do was lose it on him. It wouldn’t help Chris’s case. Yet, she knew she wouldn’t hold back if Stan threw accusations around.
“What information do you have for us?” Nelson asked.
The NCIS officer shrugged and said, “Not much more than you. He’s missing in unusual circumstances in which a murder has occurred. Obviously it doesn’t look good for him. However, we’re still looking into his case.” He lifted his head and looked directly at Elizabeth. “We won’t jump to conclusions, but the longer he’s missing, the worse it looks for him, so if you have any way to contact him and to convince him to return, it will help all of us.”
She opened her mouth to snap at him but felt Nelson gently grip her hand and squeeze it in warning. “I’m more concerned that my brother is a second victim here,” she said flatly. “I’d just as soon he did kill his friend than be found floating like we found Peter. But”—she leaned forward—“I know he’d never do that without a hell of a good reason, so I’ll keep looking for him and for the truth.”
She stood. “If you have nothing else to offer us, and obviously we have shared what we know with you, I’ll say good night.” And she turned and headed out to the street. She didn’t know if Nelson would follow, neither did she care. She was done.
*
Nelson stood immediately. “I guess we’re done here.”
Stan stared at the door, where Elizabeth had disappeared. “She’s pretty touchy.”
“With good reason,” Nelson said. “No one wants a family member, particularly one who isn’t here to defend himself, accused of murder.”
“I didn’t accuse anyone.” Stan was quick to defend himself.
“No, but you certainly implied it.” Nelson dropped his card on the table and said, “That’s how you can get a hold of us, if you have more questions. And we’d like to know what’s going on with her father’s death.”
Stan’s face thinned. “Nothing. We suspect he either took his own life or got so depressed he mistook his medication. She’s seeing shadows where none exist. He’s completed a distinguished career and we’re not going to mar it with anything other than death from preexisting condition.”
“And you don’t believe he was helped to his death?” Nelson asked searching Stan’s face. But the look of surety convinced him that at least in this Stan believed in the facts as they stood. “Not in any way.”
“Good, then we don’t have to worry about his death being connected to Chris’s disappearance.”
“No you don’t.”
On that note and feeling better, Nelson exited in time to see Elizabeth cross the street at the end of the block. Taylor joined him from the shadows and laughed. “When’s she mad, she can move.”
“She can.” Nelson laughed too. “She held it together nicely in there though. I was afraid she’d get emotional and blow up.”
The two men jogged to catch up, just in time to see Queen and her two henchmen making a move on Elizabeth. Nelson and Taylor both took off at a stealthy run. Queen was closest to Elizabeth, and Elizabeth was completely unaware of what was going on behind her. She was so angry still, which made her clueless to her surroundings.
Nelson and Taylor each took down one of Queen’s henchmen with a single powerful chop to the neck that laid them out and didn’t even stop Nelson or Taylor or hinder their strides. Covering a few more feet, they overpowered Queen, who immediately started yelling for help.
Elizabeth gasped and turned. “What is going on?”
Taylor grabbed Chelsea’s arms and not very gently yanked them behind her, causing her pain if she remained still and even more pain if she moved. She finally settled down.
Nelson bent over her, nose to nose. “You don’t listen so well, do you?” She tried to spit in his face, but he pulled her arms tighter making her gasp in pain. “I don’t believe in hitting women. Not even if they are hitting me. I will talk them down or subdue them, like Taylor here is doing with you. But you keep crossing the line. So next time I won’t hold back. You’ve threatened Elizabeth one too many times.”
When she opened her mouth, Taylor twisted her arms. All that came out was a cry for help.
“So listen up. We won’t hurt you if you leave us the hell alone. Agreed?” He stared at her.
She seemed to be considering her options.
“Too long,” Nelson said and pinched the nerve at the back of her neck, lowering her to the ground as she dealt with the paralysis. She’d be fine but it would stop her from coming behind them. She lay beside her henchmen on the sidewalk.
“Now what?” Taylor asked.
“Leave them here. It’s our message to the locals. And it’s a humiliation to her. I just hope it takes her a while to regain full motion.” Nelson turned to Elizabeth. “And I know you were mad, but you can’t walk around here all caught up in your mind. You need your wits about you. Understand?”
She seemed flustered, looking at both of the guys.
“It’s okay. You’ve had enough thrown at you for one day. Let’s get to our rooms.” And he again put one arm around her shoulders and pulled her near. They were quiet the rest of the way there.
The three were together as they walked into their hotel rooms.
“After that less-than-stellar meeting,” Elizabeth said, “I’m thinking about getting ready for bed and putting the TV on in my room and watching a show until I fall asleep.”
Nelson nodded. “Go then. We’ll leave the connecting door open. Just make sure all the other doors are locked.” But he hadn’t once checked her room since they’d come back. With one hand up, he stepped in front of her before she went in the connecting room and searched the other bedroom. He checked that the doors were locked and that the glass balcony doors and windows were also locked. He smiled with a nod. “You’re clear.”
She grabbed her nightclothes and headed into the bathroom. Nelson went back into his side but stuck close to where the connecting door was.
“You going to worry about her all night?” Taylor asked.
“Probably,” Nelson said. “I’m really not sure what to think about King.”
“I was thinking the same thing. I’m not sure he’s ready to replace his ladylove, if that’s the woman we keep getting accosted by, but I think King finds Elizabeth something special, unique in his world. A lot softer than he’s used to. And she certainly made him laugh.”
Nelson remembered the amount of amusement King had seemed to find in their conversation. “I think she surprised him several times. I think it’s been a long time since he remembered the softness in life.”
“If he ever had any,” Taylor said, not looking up from his laptop keyboard. “Sometimes guys like that are born in the gutter, raised in the gutter, and never climb out of it. Who knows where he learned to play the piano. Maybe self-taught?”
“Good point,” Nelson said.
The bathroom door opened on Elizabeth’s side. She came out wearing short boxers and a camisole that clung to every inch. Nelson swallowed and forced his gaze away. He glanced at Taylor and noted that knowing look in his eyes. “Don’t say it,” he said.
“I don’t have to say anything,” Taylor said. “You’re already saying it all yourself.”
“I hear you. It just took me by surprise,” Nelson said.
“You shouldn’t have been surprised,” Taylor said. “You’ve been heading in this direction for a while.”
“Hardly. I only truly met her yesterday.”
“Maybe,” Taylor said. “But I think you recognized something happening on a different level.”
“Nothing happens this fast,” Nelson said. “I don’t believe in love at first sight. Lust, yes, but not the other.”
“I think Mason’s group has made most of us take another look at our beliefs in that department,” Taylor said.
“Hah. I’ve been ignoring all those rumors,” Nelson said. “Besides, we’re on a job.”
At that, Taylor really laughed. “As were every other one of the men when they fell. Whether it was a job, a mission sanctioned by the military, or it was a personal mission, like what we’re currently doing, it was always some type of job when the men met their match.”
“I hate those terms, met their match and especially fell,” Nelson said without rancor. “Fell makes it sound like the men are less than what they were. Whereas a relationship should make them more than they are.”
“Oh, they are definitely more now,” Taylor said. “But I think the initial meet is a complete and total wipeout of expectations because you see something that hadn’t ever occurred to you that you wanted or needed.”
Nelson frowned at him. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense, and I’m pretty sure we all know what our type is by now.”
“I don’t think so,” Taylor said. “I’m keeping an open eye. When you think about it, what you think you want versus what you know you want, or what is actually better for you, can often be at very different ends of the scale. We don’t always know ourselves as well as we’d like to think we do.”
