Page 46 of Beachcomber Enemy

“When we finally got the word that Whitey was at the funeral, we knew we had more backup coming in. I wanted to go in then, but Joe made me wait. He convinced me that with only two of us someone was likely to get hurt.” Ronnie snorted. “As it turned out, it ended up that only Joe and I went in. I went in the front down the stairs while he watched the window. At the exact second I barged in the room, Joe took a shot at Eli, hitting him in the shoulder. Then he came in through the bulkhead and we got Sassy down and Joe dragged Eli out of there. He was wounded in the shoulder so we didn’t bother cuffing him. We felt a need to get out of the basement fast in case there was a bomb on a timer or another booby trap. Turns out that was a big mistake.”

“You didn’t know he was . . . attached to Whitey, kid. You didn’t know he was going to react like he did, like a maniac, to take vengeance against Shana on Whitey’s behalf. He probably thought I’d killed him.” Dane needed to ease the kid’s conscience on that point. Dane hadn’t guessed the true nature of their relationship right away.

“They were . . . together?” Sassy sounded surprised.

“Lovers,” Dane said. “Or sexual partners, maybe obsessed, because it’s not certain that sick sociopaths are capable of love. Not really.”

“And you observed Dane kill Eli Hughes to save Shana?” Kimble asked.

Ronnie nodded and told her what he’d seen. His account was exactly the way Dane remembered it. Kimble looked satisfied.

“Okay then. I have some papers for you to sign, Mr. Blaise, and then we can leave. But I would like a word alone first.”

Sassy looked reluctant. Ronnie looked all business. They left.

“What’s the verdict?” Dane said when they were alone. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be inside the cell with me?”

Ms. Kimble wrinkled her nose. “It’s not a rule. I’ll pull up a chair. You don’t mind, do you? I have a . . . thing about being inside jail cells.” She flushed.

If he weren’t so impatient to get out of there, he’d ask about whatever bad experience she had, but that could wait for another day.

“To answer your question, I get you off. The DA is already talking about reducing the charge to manslaughter, but we make a compelling argument that you feared for Ms. George’s life, that you assumed Whitey would stab her because he hadn’t dropped the knife when Captain Lynch demanded it.”

Dane wondered what the hell kind of lawyer she was making rash promises about getting him off. His gut told him he was his kind of lawyer.

“What about when I shot him in the face?”

“We’ll need the ME to confirm that he would have died regardless of that second shot, that you’d fatally wounded him and he was as good as dead. It all happened very fast so we can also argue that the second shot was part of a single cohesive act.”

Dane nodded. “Good one. When can I leave this place? I have to get out of here now so I can—”

“Now. Governor Douglas has assented to have you released under his recognizance. Helps when you have friends in high places.”

She didn’t sound like she approved, but he didn’t care. Everything in him started buzzing with anticipation, his juices began flowing as if his physical functioning had been in sleep mode, waiting to be rebooted.

She took a breath. “It will be my pleasure to try this case if we have to, because I believe in your innocence, but we may be able to get a judge to agree to our demand that all charges be dropped.”

“I hear an unspoken but,” he said.

“But the governor isn’t the only one bringing pressure on the DA. I hear that someone from the FBI office in Boston has called.”

“Who’d you hear that from?”

“Captain Lynch was kind enough to inform me.” She paused a beat. “While I don’t agree with his actions in this case, having you arrested and charged this way—some have accused me of being a diehard defense attorney although in less flattering terms--I have to admit that he’s been very cooperative. More so than is strictly necessary.”

“If that were the case, he’d have left the cell unlocked and I’d be at the hospital at Shana’s side right now where I ought to be.” Dane didn’t bother keeping the outrage from his voice. The vitriol roiling around in him at being held captive at this crucial moment had to leak out somewhere, sometime, or he’d go damn crazy.

“Yes, well, you’re out now. Sign these.” She handed him papers and a pen. He put the papers against the cement wall and signed. Ms. Kimble went to the wall near the stairs and took the key off the hook and came back to open his cell.

“That’s it? What about the governor? Aren’t I supposed to be his responsibility?”

“Another irregularity that Captain Lynch is accommodating for us. The governor will arrive later. He had to return to Boston last night to take care of some business. We thought you’d want to get to the hospital now, as you said.”

Dane stepped from the cell and almost grinned. He looked at the woman, and although he felt the need and impatience to get out of this place growing in him to a feverish pitch, he paused.

“Thank you, Ms. Kimble. I owe you.”

Then he pushed past her and rushed up the stairs.