Lisa Jackson's Bentz And Montoya Bundle Part 61

But this, with Abby, was different. She didn't flirt with him. She didn't pretend to be innocent and flash him glimpses of her body, nor did she play the naughty vixen to intrigue him.

h.e.l.l, she hadn't had the chance! He barely knew her. Had met her a few times under tense circ.u.mstances. He was just stressed out, that was it, and it had been a long time since he'd been with a woman. Too long.

Now, in the pelting rain, he unlocked the cruiser, slid inside, and pulled the door closed. Swiping the raindrops from his face, he turned on the ignition and wondered why he was already fantasizing about her.

She was out of reach and that was the end of it. He checked his mirror, found the side street deserted, and cranking on the steering wheel, pulled a one-eighty and drove into the wet, dark Louisiana night.

The d.a.m.ned gate was stuck!

How the h.e.l.l had that happened?

Asa Pomeroy leaned out the window of his Jaguar and punched in the electronic code to open the gates to his estate. Again. Nothing happened except that he got wet. Again. Rain was coming down in sheets, sliding down the sleek winds.h.i.+eld and drumming the top of his balding head. "Son of a b.i.t.c.h! Come on, come on." He punched in the code a final time and swore loudly. Then he tried the remote again. Clicked it several times but the d.a.m.ned gate still didn't move.

He had his cell phone with him, of course, but whom would he call? Vanessa was off at her mother's for a blissful week, the maid was gone for the night, the gardener-handyman was twenty minutes away. And he'd been drinking too much to call a cop. Any of his friends would take a full forty minutes to get here and they, too, would be tanked up from a night of drinking at the club.

No, he was on his own.

Which was usually not a problem. He was nothing if not efficient and capable. h.e.l.l, he hadn't spent two tours in Vietnam only to come back to the good old US of A to build, market, and s.h.i.+p a better weapon. He sold rifles, grenades, bazookas, ammo, and every weapon imaginable all over the planet and because of it was rich beyond his wildest dreams. All because of Yankee ingenuity from his father's side of the family, Southern charm from his mother's, and red-blooded American know-how, cast in iron from generations of his WASP ancestors.

Tonight, by G.o.d, no cheap-a.s.s piece of j.a.panese technology was going to thwart him. He grabbed his Stetson, rammed it onto his head, pulled a flashlight from the glove box and slipped his reading gla.s.ses onto his nose, then stepped outside his car. Rain was running in rivulets, soaking his G.o.dd.a.m.ned Italian leather shoes, the ones Vanessa had insisted he buy on their last trip to Tuscany. Jesus, what a waste of time and money that had been.

He was leaning over, peering at the backlit keypad, when he realized the dog hadn't come out to greet him. Without fail, Geronimo, upon hearing the Jag's smooth engine, would run pell mell down the long driveway and be waiting, tongue hanging from his mouth, on the other side of the gate. Once Asa pulled through, the big dog always raced the car up the long drive. Asa, without fail, let him win.

So where the h.e.l.l was he?

Water dripped from the brim of Asa's hat. His half-gla.s.ses fogged as he stared into the darkness, through the iron gates and trees where, though the house was hidden, lights should glow.

Now, save for the glow of the Jag's headlights, where mist rose and swirled in the twin beams, there was only darkness.

He whistled loudly.

Nothing.

Something was wrong, he thought, and was just starting to sense that he'd been set up when he felt something hard and cold against his back. He started to whirl, but it was too late.

Zap!

Three hundred thousand volts of electricity jolted through his body.

His hat flew off.

He dropped to his knees.

Gasping, he tried to reach into his pocket for the knife he kept hidden there.

But he was confused, his body and mind at odds and he couldn't so much as raise a finger. His brain ordered his hands to stretch into his d.a.m.ned pocket, but he couldn't move a muscle.

Disoriented, he saw a big man step out of the shadows to loom over him in the rain.

Panic grabbed Asa by the throat.

Someone, this guy and probably his friends, had planned this attack. Meticulously.

Fear cut through him.

His a.s.sailant was dressed in black, in some kind of tight-fitting body suit, his face covered by a mask. Leaning over, he had the audacity to hold his weapon up so that it was visible in the light from the car's headlights.

Still unable to move, to barely focus, Asa caught a glimpse of the stun gun and recognized it was one he manufactured.

Jesus H. Christ, what was this?

Then he knew. The guy was going to abduct him. To demand ransom in the form of millions. And he was going to kidnap Asa by using the very "self-defense" weaponry Pomeroy Industries manufactured.

Terror struck deep in his heart. Again he went for his knife. Again his hands failed him.

His a.s.sailant calmly set the stun gun against his neck and gave him another shot.

Electricity rocketed through him.

Another three hundred thousand volts.

Asa screamed.

Pain sizzled and popped down throughout his body. Despite all the advertis.e.m.e.nt to the contrary, the jolt stung like a son of a b.i.t.c.h. He writhed, flopping in the mud while his attacker slowly and calmly pulled out a roll of duct tape from his utility belt. Then he came up with a circle of fis.h.i.+ng wire as well as a knife. Asa recognized that weapon, too. His attacker clicked open what appeared to be a Pom 4SF-a folding knife with a quick release and four-inch serrated blade-a specialty knife advertised in Pomeroy Industries latest catalog for gutting big game as it could easily slice through gristle and bone.

A knife strong enough to eviscerate a man.

Fear turned his blood to ice.

He got the message.

Don't do this! I'm rich. I'll pay. Anything! He was screaming but only a garbled mewl came from his throat. He couldn't form words. He was screaming but only a garbled mewl came from his throat. He couldn't form words.

He tried to struggle, but it was no use. Helpless and without control of his limbs, he was flailing in the mud like a warthog in quicksand.

He glanced up at his a.s.sailant and swore he saw satisfaction in the eyes looking down at him through the slits in his mask.

But that was impossible . . . right? It was dark.

Who was this guy? What did he want?

Jesus, help me, Asa silently pleaded. He watched helplessly as first a six-inch piece of duct tape was sliced from a roll and slapped over his mouth, then his hands were jerked roughly behind him bound first by the same tape, and fortified with a plastic-coated steel fis.h.i.+ng wire he recognized as the same type he used when he was trying to land a marlin. The tape would have been enough: the wire was some kind of statement. Asa silently pleaded. He watched helplessly as first a six-inch piece of duct tape was sliced from a roll and slapped over his mouth, then his hands were jerked roughly behind him bound first by the same tape, and fortified with a plastic-coated steel fis.h.i.+ng wire he recognized as the same type he used when he was trying to land a marlin. The tape would have been enough: the wire was some kind of statement.

All hope failed as his ankles were taped together, but no fis.h.i.+ng wire used. Then a hood was forced over his head and tied at the neck. There were air holes so that he could breathe, but he was surrounded by darkness.

Just like in 'Nam.

He'd been captured by the Gooks. Held in a cage for nearly two weeks before he managed to escape. Well, he'd do it again, G.o.dd.a.m.n it. He'd fight back the terror, the bone-numbing fear, and beat this son of a b.i.t.c.h at his own d.a.m.ned game.

He was hauled to his feet by the collar of his jacket. He tried to fight, to spin away, but it was useless. He heard a car door open and his a.s.sailant pushed him inside, banging his forehead as he fell into what smelled and felt like the backseat of his Jag. His legs were pushed up so that they bent at the knees, then the door was slammed shut.

A few seconds later he heard the attacker climb behind the steering wheel, the car sinking slightly with the added weight, and then that door, too, shut. With a deafening click, all the doors were locked, the gears.h.i.+ft rammed into reverse, and then the perfectly tuned engine revved as they backed down the quarter mile to the main highway.

Asa's only hope was that someone would recognize his car.

But it was late.

Few vehicles drove this stretch of isolated road.

For now, he had to do whatever this b.a.s.t.a.r.d had in mind. No doubt it was money. He'd be held for ransom. Well, that was fine; he had enough cash to pay whatever exorbitant figure the kidnappers came up with.

He might lose a finger in the process.

Or an ear.

He inwardly cringed, but reminded himself it was worth it, if he could just get out of this alive.

Vanessa would willingly pay the ransom, right?

The board of directors at Pomeroy Industries included his children. They would be eager to fork over the cash, wouldn't they?

Hadn't he helped his wives and children, even his grand-kids, for Christ's sake? He'd paid for braces, college, vacations, any d.a.m.ned thing his progeny needed, even the ones who disdained his wealth, claimed they needed only a "little something" to "get started" or to "find themselves." He'd sh.e.l.led out for face-lifts and b.o.o.b jobs and trips to psychiatrists. Health spas, new cars, even a boat; he'd come up with it, so those who owed him not only their lives but their lifestyles had d.a.m.ned well better offer up the cash to bail him out of whatever the h.e.l.l this was.

Don't count on them, Pomeroy.

You've been in tough spots before and who was the only person who came to your rescue?

No one but your own d.a.m.ned self.

And the truth of the matter was, if he examined his life closely, he had a lot of enemies, and some of the worst were his own kin. Backstabbers, money-grubbers, liars, and cheats . . . all either having been married to him or with his blood running through their veins.

And then there were his series of partners, most of which he'd screwed over.

Was this his punishment?

Don't think that way. This is just some greedy, sick opportunist. You've dealt with worse across a boardroom table.

As the car purred down the smooth, winding road, some of Asa's disorientation cleared. He thought of his wife who didn't love him. His kids who didn't respect him. His two sons both of whom were missing a screw or two and his daughter, a gold digger like her mother. His grandchildren were just as bad and thought of him as their own personal ATM. His business partners who only pretended to like him because of his net worth.

Had one of those sons of b.i.t.c.hes set him up?

Hot anger replaced his cold fear. He might be hog-tied now, defenseless. But that was only temporary.

Whoever the h.e.l.l the b.a.s.t.a.r.d driving his Jag was, he would d.a.m.ned well get his. The idiot hadn't even checked his pockets, didn't know that Asa's own knife was, even now, resting against his thigh, right next to his money clip. If he got half a chance, Asa planned to use the Pom 3.5F, a deadly folding knife that would slice right through muscle and hide. Asa hadn't spent some of his army hitch with the special forces and not learned how to slip a blade between a man's ribs and slice the heart. It was just a matter of getting the jump on his attacker.

It had been years since he'd practiced killing a man, of course, but he was certain he could take the guy out. This time, the kidnapper had picked the wrong G.o.dd.a.m.ned mark.

CHAPTER 14.

"A sa Pomeroy is missing," Lynn Zaroster said as Montoya walked into the small kitchen at the station the next afternoon. He'd spent the day catching up on paperwork, going over autopsy reports, and interviewing witnesses all the while waiting for the pictures that he'd taken the night before to be blown up. The bodies of Luke Gierman and Courtney LaBelle were being released to their families, the DA wanted answers, and Montoya felt no closer to knowing who had committed the double homicide than the day he'd walked into that cabin by the river. sa Pomeroy is missing," Lynn Zaroster said as Montoya walked into the small kitchen at the station the next afternoon. He'd spent the day catching up on paperwork, going over autopsy reports, and interviewing witnesses all the while waiting for the pictures that he'd taken the night before to be blown up. The bodies of Luke Gierman and Courtney LaBelle were being released to their families, the DA wanted answers, and Montoya felt no closer to knowing who had committed the double homicide than the day he'd walked into that cabin by the river.

Zaroster was carefully dunking a tea bag into a steaming cup of water. Montoya headed straight for the coffeepot.

"The millionaire?"

"Multi-multimillionaire if Industrialist Industrialist magazine can be believed." magazine can be believed."

"You read that c.r.a.p?" Montoya asked as he grabbed a paper cup and poured a thin stream of coffee into it.

"My boyfriend does," she admitted.

"Wait a minute. Doesn't Pomeroy live in Cambrai?"

"Outside of the little downtown area. Kind of out in the boonies, maybe even the swamp."

He felt a tightening in his gut. He remembered driving past the elaborate iron gates securing the Pomeroy estate. "He lives close to Abby Chastain."

"Really?" she asked, tossing the used, wet bag of English Breakfast tea into the garbage.

"Yep. They're neighbors."

"How weird is that?"

"Weird enough." Montoya didn't like the feeling that was creeping over him. Didn't like it one bit. "What happened to him?"

"Don't really know. I just ran into Vera from Missing Persons in the ladies' room and she told me that the wife was out of town, came back this morning and he wasn't there. The bed was still made and apparently he never even pulls the covers up. A real slob. Anyway, both the maid and the gardener hadn't been able to get into the house, the automatic lock was jammed or something. It looks like maybe someone changed the electronic code according to the security guy who came out and checked. So the Mrs. calls Asa on his cell phone but he's not answering. At this point she's starting to get worried and then Asa's secretary calls from his office: Asa's late for a big meeting. After phone calls all around, including the cell again, his cronies, family members, and no one has any idea where he is, the wife called the station and is coming in to file a report . . . it hasn't been twenty-four hours yet, but it's not looking good."

"Where was he last seen?"

Zaroster, testing her tea, held up her free hand and shook her head. "I said I don't know anything. It's just gossip at this point. It's not our case."

Yet, Montoya thought uneasily, remembering how close the Pomeroy estate was to Abby Chastain's house. What were the odds that her ex-husband would end up murdered the same week her next-door neighbor turned up missing? Montoya thought uneasily, remembering how close the Pomeroy estate was to Abby Chastain's house. What were the odds that her ex-husband would end up murdered the same week her next-door neighbor turned up missing?

"Oh," Zaroster said, sipping from her cup. "I called my uncle up at All Saints."

"Yeah? And what did you find out?" Brinkman asked as he, hitching up his pants, strode into the kitchen and grabbed the pot of coffee, pouring himself the last of the dregs. "Don't tell me, the coven meets at seven every Sunday night like my aunt's bingo group."