Caribbean Hustle (A Nick Teffinger Thriller / Read in Any Order) Read Online Free Page B

Three guys are in the car with her. They’re all wearing black. It’s fading. It’s gone now. I’m out.” She swallowed. “I think he knew I was there.”
     
    Teffinger pulled Station’s business card out of his wallet and dialed her cell. She answered on the second ring. “It’s me, Teffinger. Where are you?”
    “Walking home.”
    “On the mall?”
    “Yes.”
    “What are you wearing?”
    “Why?”
    “Just indulge me.”
    “Shorts.”
    “What color?”
    “White.”
    “Are you wearing a black T-shirt too?”
    “Yes.”
    “Did a car almost hit you?”
    Silence.
    “Are you following me or something?”
    “No, just answer the question.”
    “Yes.”
    “Where?”
    “At California.”
    “Tell me about it.”
    “I’m okay, it didn’t hit me.”
    “That’s not what I’m getting at,” he said. “Describe the car.”
    “It was red, an older Camry I think.”
    “Who was inside?”
    “Teenagers,” she said. “A girl and three boys.”
    “Was the girl driving?”
    “Yes. She skidded to a stop. I’m okay.”
    “Tell me about her?”
    “She was punked up, with pink hair. I don’t understand what’s going on?”
    “Look behind you,” he said. “See if someone’s following you about thirty steps behind.”
    “There are a lot of people.”
    “It would be a man by himself,” Teffinger said.
    “A guy just turned off. He stared at me for a second when I looked at him and then he veered off.”
    “Don’t follow him! What’s he wearing?”
    “A red baseball hat, sunglasses, jeans.”
    “What about the shirt?”
    “It’s green. He looks strong. A shuttle just stopped right next to me.”
    “Get on it and get out of there!”
     
    Teffinger hung up, grabbed Kovi-Ke’s hand and headed for the mall at a trot.
    “What kind of car almost hit Station?”
    “It was older,” she said. “A Camry I think.” Then she pointed. “There it is! That’s it right there!”
    It was right next to them, stopped at a light.
    Inside was a punked-out blond and three guys in black.
    Teffinger stopped long enough to memorize the license plate and then kept going.

    10
    Day Two
    June 5
    Thursday Afternoon
     
    The afternoon was a flurry of motion but whether that motion was forwards or backwards only time would tell. Station hired two security men—guys personally known to Teffinger—and promised to keep them with her day and night until Teffinger said otherwise.
    The man following Station was long gone by the time Teffinger got there. Several security cameras in the area shinned on the guy but none showed his face thanks to the baseball cap. They did show that his arms were pythons and his chest was steel. In a fair fight Teffinger would be able to hold his own but not for long.
    Was he Tarzan?
    It was possible.
    It was very possible.
    Tarzan’s mane could have been tucked up under the hat, or cut off by this point, although Teffinger doubted the later. The mane was too much a part of Tarzan’s being. He’d cut off an ear before the mane.
     
    Had Kovi-Ke actually seen through the eyes of the guy?
    The details were extensive and verified by security cameras, including Station stopping to look in a window and taking off her sunglasses, almost getting hit by the Camry at California, and wearing the clothes as described. She’d snuck out the back of the building; that’s why Kovi-Ke didn’t see her leave. She’d changed into different clothes before she left.
    Teffinger didn’t want to believe it was possible.
    His initial inclination was to look for something that could be explained. Possibly Station and Kovi-Ke were in some kind of conspiracy with each other. While good in theory, the facts didn’t pan out. When Teffinger questioned Station about whether she knew Kovi-Ke, the concept was so strange that the woman didn’t even know how to respond.
    No, no, no.
    She didn’t know Kovi-Ke.
    She had no idea what was going on.
    The truth of what she was saying resonated in Teffinger’s gut.
    She