From The Grave

Chapter 19

"How is she doing?" Wayne stood at the end of the bed while Carl inserted the needle into her arm and pushed the fluid into her vein.

"She'll be out for about twenty minutes and then she'll start some major hallucinations." To emphasize his warning, he adjusted the arm and body straps holding her to the bed.

"I don't want her permanently damaged, Carl." Wayne warned. "I want her waking up and knowing where she is and what's coming."

"I know what I'm doing, Mr. Jenner. You don't have to worry. When this treatment is over she will sit up and roll over on command, no hesitation. But she will be addicted permanently to this drug."

"I don't care about that. I want her knowing everything that will be happening to her and unable to resist."

Carl nodded and gave his assurance once more as they left the room.

---------------------------

Hunter pulled the rope to the side of the dock and tied it off as Arlo scrambled ashore after locking the ignition.

"Getting' really dark. At least the friggin' rain has stopped." Hunter said, pulling up his collar.

"We might have wanted the cover." Arlo adjusted his holster and settled his jacket before starting up the hill from the water.

"So how do we do this? We gonna hike to this guy's place or what?"

"Well we sure as hell aren't takin' a cab."

"Okay, Okay. How far?"

"About a thirty- minute walk from town but we ain't goin' into town, we're going to skirt the main area so I don't really know how long that will take. Why? You got a date or something?"

"Screw you, Arlo." Hunter clamped his mouth shut and trudged on without further comment.

Almost an hour later they stood on the unlit road at the edge of Tomambou's property gazing unhappily across the open space to the smallish house overlooking the bluff and the ocean.

"It ain't gonna be a surprise." Arlo said.

"We could go to the far side there and come across at an angle, maybe cut down the view from the place." Hunter shifted from foot to foot.

"Better still, we split up and come from both sides."

"What's the rest of the plan? We just take 'em out and search for the stamp or we burn that freak, Cecil and work on the old man?"

"We work on the old man. Don't waste any time with Cecil either; you see him, you nail 'im."

Tomambou took the large shotgun off the rack over the fireplace and loaded both barrels, returning to his seat and lowering the light to leave him in shadow. When his dog had become excited and started growling and pawing at the door, Tomambou went outside and discovered Cecil bleeding to death beside the house.

He rolled him over and determined that it was a knife wound and realized that it was possible the friends of the man he killed in the hotel hadn't turned tail. He commanded the dog to search and, as trained, the dog did a complete circuit of the property, finding the trail Luane took back to the street. With another command, the dog took off into the night, nose almost scraping the road's surface.

----------------------------

Gretta came back to the room and Arny lifted his eyes from the TV, watching her gather up her 'Gretta going to war' gear.

"What's up?"

"I learned from our Constable friend that the woman who was in the dining room with us was Luane Treeline and she is staying in a private home about forty minutes from town."

"You and Fatty are getting to be real pals, eh?"

"It's pronounced, Faw-tee, and he happens to be a self-important bureaucrat who has been given some authority and takes every opportunity to flaunt it. Pushing his buttons was child's play."

"I bet. So, Luane Treeline. Is that a real name?"

"It is and it belongs to a very dangerous woman. I made some calls while I was out and our Luane is a freelance assassin."

"Luckily for me not a good one."

Gretta gave him a grim smile and picked up her stuff. "Coming?"

"Coming where?"

"To set Miss Treeline straight." She waved him on and headed for the door.

"Oh no, wait a minute!" He caught the door and closed it behind him, chasing her down the hall. "This is not another duel in the sun is it?"

"Nope. It's night time, Arny." She winked and laughed as he started to swear.

The taxi was an old Camry with a well used body but the engine still purred and the driver was more than pleased to have a long trip.

"I'll wait for you to come back?" He asked hopefully.

"How about you give me your number and I'll call." Gretta said.

"But then that's two trips empty."

"I'll see to it that you don't lose out... what's your name?"

"Callin Wade."

"You won't go short, Callin, okay?"

"You say so, Miss."

The rest of the ride was silent and very dark. Lighted roadways weren't a priority in Niue. They watched the silhouettes of trees and small communities flash by under a starlit sky. When Callin said they were almost there, Gretta told him to pull over and they would walk the rest of the way.

"But it's about a mile."

"That's fine. It's a nice night for a change and we have some things to discuss before we get there. You just wait for my call, Callin, and we'll meet you right back at this spot."

"You say so, Miss."

They climbed out and waited until the taillights were mere dots then Gretta turned and began her determined stride down the highway with Arny jogging to keep up. The night seemed to grow blacker with every step and soon they had to slow sown to see where the entrance to the property was that they were looking for.

"Is that it?" Arny grabbed her arm an pointed through the trees to the dark shape of the bungalow.

"Must be. See any lights anywhere?" They crept slowly up the long drive and stopped behind a small stand of trees.

"Maybe she isn't—"

The scream split the night and the following shot punctuated the sound. Gretta immediately began sprinting toward the house with a reluctantly trailing Arny. Another shot sounded and a howl that didn't sound human. They stopped short of the house, looking for any sign of what they had heard. Another wail and a figure staggered around from the side of the house, one hand braced against the siding and the other holding a gun.

"Lose the gun right now, Luane." Gretta yelled, stepping cautiously forward.

The figure stopped and swayed, the empty hand groping for support on the house. The other hand came up and waved uselessly then the gun fell to the ground and Luane slumped against the house.

"Jesus! What happened to her?" Arny made a wide circle around Luane and came up from the other side, freezing as he saw the writhing body of the dog lying just around the corner. "Gretta. We've got a wounded dog here."

"And a mauled assassin here." Gretta lowered Luane to the ground and covered her with her jacket while she made a quick call on her cell phone.