“I tried to leave. I wanted to tell somebody what I saw out here, but before I could get my boat out of the swamps, a big man named Octavian Holmes blocked my passage and demanded information from me at gunpoint. I didn’t want to tell him the truth, obviously. If he knew that I had been digging around, he would’ve killed me. So I decided to play dumb. At that moment, I became a buckwheat by the name of Bennie Blount.”
“Go on,” Payne said.
“I convinced Master Holmes that I’d be useful around here. I could cook, clean, and show him around the local swamps. One thing led to another, and he decided to hire me. I figured it was perfect. I could roam around the Plantation while I got to the bottom of things.”
“Did you?”
Blount nodded. “Up until recently, the Posse was bringing random groups of people onto the island, mostly homeless people. They’d beat them, train them, then ship them overseas for big money. It’s a lucrative business. But all of that changed with this last group of slaves. The people that were selected were no longer random. These people were brought here for a reason. They were brought here for revenge.”
“What kind of revenge?”
“Revenge for the black race. Theo Webster, the brains behind the operation, traced the roots of the Plantation’s four founders and determined their family origins. Three of the men came from slave backgrounds, but Levon Greene didn’t. His family came to America after slavery had been abolished. Anyway, Webster determined the names of the slave owners that had once owned the ancestors of the other three men. Then, tracing their family trees to the present day, he located the modern-day relatives of those slave owners.”
“And the people that were kidnapped were the relatives?”
Blount nodded. “Ariane and her sister are distant relatives of Mr. Delacroix, my great-great-great-great-grandfather. That’s why they were brought here, and that’s why I’m related. I realize it doesn’t make her my first cousin, but she is my relative. I even have the data to back it up.”
Payne shook his head. “Don’t worry. I actually believe you.”
“Great,” muttered a relieved Jones. “Now that this Ebony and Ivory reunion is over, do you mind if we get out of here? We got some people to save and not much time to do it.”
Payne lowered his gun from Blount’s chin. He was finally convinced that Bennie was on his side to stay. “Mr. Blount, would you please show us the way inside the house?”
Bennie grinned. It was the first time in his life that a white man had ever called him mister.
CHAPTER 51
WHEN
the truck arrived at the western dock, Harris Jackson breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he realized he wasn’t safe until Payne and Jones were caught, he felt a lot better with Holmes and Greene by his side.
“Hey, Harris,” Holmes called, “where’s Theo? I thought he was supposed to meet us here.”
“He’ll be here any minute. He said he had to go to the house for something.”
Holmes nodded as he searched the dock for a trace of the missing boat. There were no clues except for a number of dead guards that littered the ground.
“These guys are good,” he admitted.
“So, what are we gonna do?” Jackson wondered. “The boat’s gone, half the slaves have escaped, and Payne and Jones are still running around killing our men. Is there any way we can salvage this?”
Greene gave Holmes a quick smile before speaking. “Sure we can. Remember, that’s the reason we wore our masks at all times. None of the slaves can identify our faces, so they won’t be able to give the cops our description. Once we leave this place, we’re home free.”
A flash of panic crossed Jackson’s mind. He had revealed his face to Ariane Walker and Susan Ross when he tied them up inside the house.
Holmes noticed the tension in Jackson’s eyes. “What’s wrong? You look upset.”
“I took my mask off in the bedrooms, and two of the whores saw my face.”
“You idiot!” Greene blurted. “Thinking with your wrong head again, huh?”
Annoyed, Jackson took a step toward Greene. Even though Greene outweighed him by sixty pounds, he wasn’t about to back down. He had to stand his ground now, or Greene would tease him forever. “What’s your problem, man? Why do you have to ride me so damn hard?”
“Because I feel like it.”
“And why’s that? What’s your problem with me?”
Greene stood his ground, reveling in the thought of a confrontation. “Here’s my problem. I’m fed up with all your perverted games, your groping and raping. That shit is wrong, and it’s gotta stop.”
“Oh, yeah? And who’s gonna stop me?”
“Who’s gonna stop you?” Greene smiled at Holmes. They had discussed this moment back at the house, and Greene had volunteered for the duty. “Me, my Glock, and I.”
Greene pulled his trigger and the thunderous blast echoed off the water and the surrounding trees. The bullet struck Jackson in his forehead and plowed into his brain with the finesse of a bulldozer. Then, as if in slow motion, Jackson slumped to the edge of the dock and hung there for just a second before he tumbled into the water with a loud splash.
“Nice shot,” Holmes remarked. His nonchalant tone suggested that Greene had just made a free throw in a game of HORSE. “Try to keep your elbow in more. It’ll improve your accuracy.”
“Thanks. I’ll have to remember that the next time I kill someone.”
Holmes glanced at his watch and realized time was running short. “That might be sooner than you think. We have to take care of Webster before we leave. Why don’t you give him a call and see what’s keeping him?”
Greene nodded. The adrenaline from killing Jackson surged through him, practically making him giddy. “Breaker, breaker, one nine,” he said, laughing. “Theo, do you read me?”
There was a slight delay before Webster answered. “I’m here, Levon.”
“Where’s here, Theo? We’ve been waiting for you at the dock.”
Another pause. “I’m up at the house. I figured we’d have to flee, and I wanted to pack a few things before we left.”
“No problem.” This would work out well for Holmes and Greene. They needed to stop by the house before they left the island anyway. “I’ll tell ya what, why don’t we swing by the mansion and help you out with your things?”
Relief filled Webster’s voice. “That would be great. I wasn’t looking forward to going down to the dock by myself. I’m not very good with guns.”
A wide grin returned to Greene’s face. “Don’t worry, Theo. I am.”
PAYNE
patted Webster on his head, then took the radio from his hands. “You did great. You sounded very natural.”
But he refused to speak. Instead, he slumped in his chair and pouted about getting caught.
“What now?” Jones asked as he chewed on his first food in what felt like days. “We got them coming here, but what are we going to do with them when they arrive?”
Payne flicked Webster on his ear. “I say we make a trade. I’ll gladly give up Theo here if they give us Ariane. As far as I’m concerned, anything we get after that will be icing.”
Jones swallowed a mouthful of apple and decided it was the best goddamned piece of fruit he had ever eaten. “Speaking of icing,” he said as he searched the pantry for anything that resembled cake. A box of Twinkies was the only thing he could find. “Once we get Ariane to safety, will we have time to hunt down Levon?”