Chapter 22: The Confrontation at the Pier
The next morning, I didn't go to the precinct. I drove straight down to the harbor docks, where the fishing boats were tied up against the icy pilings. The air was thick with the smell of diesel and frozen fish. I found Vance standing near the engine room of a large trawler named The Sea Hound, conversing with a group of local dockworkers.
When they saw me approaching, the workers dispersed, leaving Vance alone on the deck. He looked down at me from the railing, a cigarette dangling from his lip.
"You're a long way from your desk, detective," he said.
"I got your message last night, Marcus," I said, my voice cutting through the freezing wind. "You want to threaten me? You do it to my face. You ever take a picture of my house again, you won't be dealing with a detective. You'll be dealing with a woman who has nothing left to lose."
Vance’s expression hardened. He climbed down the metal ladder to the pier, standing just inches from me. "I didn't send you any message, girl. If someone’s taking pictures of your house, it isn't my people. We're businessmen down here, not thugs. We don't threaten families."
I studied his eyes, looking for the telltale signs of a lie—the micro-movements of the jaw, the shift in weight—but I found only genuine irritation. "Then who sent it?" I demanded.
"Evan had partners you didn't catch," Vance said, lowering his voice so it didn't carry across the pier. "People from the city who used this harbor long before I was captain. They’re angry that the route is closed down. They think you have the records of where the money went. If someone’s watching you, it’s them. And if I were you, I'd stop looking at me and start looking at who’s driving the black sedan that’s been parked at the edge of the highway for the last three days."
A chill that had nothing to do with the winter air went down my spine. The threat wasn't local corruption protecting its territory; it was the remnants of the city syndicate seeking vengeance and looking for their lost assets.
May you like
"If you're lying to me, Vance..."
"I'm a lot of things, detective, but I'm not stupid," he interrupted. "I like my retirement. I don't want a crew of city hitmen turning my harbor into a shooting gallery. If they're here, they're bad for business. For both of us."
