Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

along. Prakenskii gave him to us, figuring he had a fifty-fifty shot at making it with us and none with Nikitin.”
    Jonas had crouched down beside the suitcase. “Chernyshev could certainly identify Prakenskii.”
    “Not as our shooter,” Aleksandr told him.
    Jackson handed Jonas gloves and the camera he’d retrieved from the car. “I wouldn’t count on Chernyshev identifying anyone. I just got off the radio. Dispatch said someone ran Tom’s car off the road before he could reach Ukiah with the prisoners. The deputy’s in the hospital but the two prisoners are dead. Both took a bullet in the throat.”
    Jonas swore again. “We don’t have this many dead bodies in a year.” He flashed Aleksandr a dark, suspicious look. “You don’t seem too shocked.”
    “I can’t say I am. Nikitin is known for his penchant for killing anyone who might betray him. Kingman and Chernyshev could identify him. It was a matter of time.”
    “You might have warned me. I could have lost a good deputy. As it is Tom is injured.”
    “I had no way of knowing Nikitin would strike so fast.”
    Jonas straightened up and moved around with care as he took pictures of each body from several angles. “It could have been Prakenskii.”
    “You know it wasn’t.” Aleksandr spread his arms out wide to include the entire cove. “This is Prakenskii‘s work. We’ve got the bomb and that’s what counts.”
    “And I’ve got a bunch of dead bodies,” Jonas groused. “We’re going to be here all night securing the scene and most of the day tomorrow waiting for the feds.”
    “I’ll get coffee,” Jackson said.

Chapter 19

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    ABIGAIL tightened her fingers around Aleksandr’s and dragged him behind the large bread rack, ducking down in an effort to hide. The grocery store was fast filling up with early morning customers. “I thought we’d be safe,” she hissed. “Who gets up this early?”
    “Apparently everyone.” He couldn’t help but grin at her antics.
    “You think it’s funny now.” Abigail glared at him. “You won’t in another minute or two. I have to get to the cove today. I can’t let the dolphins go another day or they’ll head out to sea and I’ll spend ninety percent of my time trying to find them.”
    Voices drifted back to them: “Inez, that can’t be. I heard there were at least thirty bodies strewn around on the beach. The bomb exploded. We’ve all probably been exposed to radiation. Believe me, cancer is going to run rampant here in Sea Haven.”
    Abigail peered through the open bread shelves to see Clyde Darden clutch his wife tightly as he delivered his message of doom in a loud, carrying voice. Several residents gasped in alarm.
    Behind the counter, Inez Nelson shook her head. “That’s just silly, Clyde. Jonas was right there and he took care of everything. The bomb squad came and they handled it with no problem. The bomb certainly didn’t explode. There were only four men killed, not thirty, and if you ask me, good riddance. They shouldn’t have been bringing bombs into our country.” She gave a little sniff and banged the cash register a little harder than necessary.
    Clyde leaned over the counter as he picked up his two bags of groceries. “Frank Warner was involved.
    His gallery is closed and he was hauled off to jail. They took several paintings out of his place as evidence. Some hotshot Interpol agent was watching him all this time.”
    Abigail dug her thumb into Aleksandr’s ribs. “That would be you,” she whispered. “The hotshot.”
    “Is it true, Inez?” Gina Farley, the local preschool teacher, asked. “Was Frank really arrested? He was such a nice man.”
    “And so quiet,” Mrs. Darden added.
    “He had shifty eyes,” Clyde said. “I always suspected him of being a spy.”
    “He’s an art thief, not a spy,” Inez corrected with a little sigh. “He had nothing to do with the bomb.
    Chad Kingman was involved in that, along with the Russians who were in town.”
    Clyde shook his head. “It’s the cold war all over again. They’ve invaded and are spying on our coast. I told those young punks at the coast guard station they needed to be on the alert, but they didn’t listen.”
    “We haven’t been invaded,” Inez corrected him again, a small, unusual bite in her voice. “Really, Clyde.
    We had an unfortunate incident and we lost a really great businessman. Frank Warner did a lot