Page 62 of Terminal Voyage

"Have you been drinking?”

"No. Of course not."

The officer grinned and egged him on. "Not even just one?”

"No, sir.”

"But how can you come to the Riviera Maya and not have a margarita?”

"I'm saving a margarita for later.”

“I smell alcohol.”

It was total BS.

“I promise, I haven’t had a drop.”

The officer’s eyes narrowed at him. "I want to show you something.”

The patrolman escorted Silas to the rear of the vehicle. He pointed to a broken taillight.

I hadn't noticed it, but maybe it happened when the cartel thugs shot Felix and Antonio.

They had an intense conversation for a moment. Before long, Silas was in handcuffs. The officer escorted him to the patrol car and stuffed him into the back.

We all groaned. This wasn’t looking good.

The officer returned to the driver’s side window. “I’m arresting your friend.”

“What for?” Declan asked.

“You can follow me to the police station, where you can pay the fine for speeding, the taillight, and his drunk driving.”

I didn't like that idea one bit.

Neither did anybody else in the van.

"Is it possible we can just pay the fine right here in cash?" Declan asked.

The officer pretended to think about it. "I guess that would be acceptable.”

Declan smiled. "Fantastic. How much do we owe?”

31

The patrolman thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "$500 American.”

Declan winced. "I don't know if I have that much. Let me check."

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a fat wad of cash, trying not to let the officer see just how much he had. Declan peeled off five crisp hundred-dollar bills and handed them through the window to the officer.

The officer counted them and smiled. "Have a nice day. Drive safe.”

He waddled back to his patrol car, released Silas, then climbed in and waited for a moment.

Silas returned to the van and slid behind the wheel. “I don’t know what you did, but thank you.”

“Don’t worry,” Declan said. “I’ll take it out of your pay.”