CHAPTER 10

It didn't take long for the sub to make it up even with Matt and the others, all of whom were wearing bulletproof vests and armed: the two seamen with AR-15's and Matt and the other men with pistols. On the commander's signal, the two cutters moved in flanking the sub. The petty officer onboard one of the cutters used the loud speaker to identify them as the US Coast Guard and told the crew of the sub to prepare to be boarded in both English and Spanish. When the vessel continued to move, warning shots were fired across the bow and the engines were finally shut down. Two seamen and the petty officer boarded the sub and the crew was removed to the other cutter. After a short trip below, the petty officer returned and reported that the sub was indeed loaded down with marijuana and cocaine. The crew was placed under arrest and the sub was towed back to the Coast Guard dock where Captain Horner was waiting. The prisoners were removed and escorted into the brig.

As Matt and the others stepped off onto the dock, the captain was all smiles. "Mr. Houston, I'll say it again: you're a lot like your uncle." The two shook hands and walked back up to interrogate the prisoners.

Just as Matt expected, the crew of the sub refused to speak English, a fact that didn't slow the private investigator down one bit. He simply switched to Spanish. After spending an hour with each of the men, Matt found out that they did indeed work for Asuncion, a fact that only one of them was willing to give up. The other three wouldn't say a word.

Matt went back to the third prisoner that he had talked with, Miguel Torres, and talked with him some more about his boss and his dealings. While the man was scared, he made it clear to Matt that the only reason he had been a crew member of the sub was because of threats to his family if he didn't. He was also able to shed some light on why the Wentworth's had been fire bombed.

Tony Yearly had been doing business with Doug Hayes and Ricardo Asuncion for several years. Yearly would get his supply of drugs from Hayes who got them from Asuncion. Then Hayes began to get greedy and decided that he would start running his own sub instead of buying from the Mexican drug lord, a fact that didn't sit well with Asuncion. He had approached Yearly and offered to help him get set up in place of Hayes: Asuncion was planning on taking out his new competitor. Since the drugs in the Potts home had come from Hayes, Yearly tried to destroy them by the fire bombs in order to prove his loyalty to Asuncion.

As Matt, Roper, and Traywick waited to board the chopper to head back to LA, the private investigator called Jenkins and Holt to let them know what had happened and what they had found out. "We really need to find Yearly. He's the one behind the firebombing for sure."

"Houston, we've got people out looking for him right now and his house is under surveillance but we haven't been able to find him." Jenkins was frustrated. They were so close to being able to nab the drug dealer but couldn't find him anywhere.

Once they got back to the airport, Matt decided to call it a day and headed for the ranch. The storms that had been predicted had finally made it ashore and were pounding the area. He was drenched by the time he got from the truck into the kitchen of the house.

CJ walked in to find him heading for the laundry room. "You look like a drowned rat." Giving him a big smile, she went to one of the cabinets and pulled out a towel and handed it to him as he stripped off first his boots, then his clothes. As he dried off and put on a pair of shorts, Matt told his wife what he had managed to find out from the crew of the sub.

"So they did that just to…" She closed her eyes and shook her head. Matt hugged her close. "They didn't have to do that!"

"I know, Babe. But these folks just don't give a damn." He held her close and could tell she was crying.

When she pulled back away from him and dried her eyes, she looked at her husband. "I better get you fed – or Mama might come after me." They both laughed.

"Well, Mama hasn't seen me in a while – I've been putting on some weight lately." He grinned.

"You look good to me." CJ planted a kiss on his lips and then headed into the kitchen to get him some dinner.

Sheila walked into the kitchen with Catey who started squealing the minute she saw her daddy. Matt took her and received a big slobbery kiss from his daughter. He looked up at Sheila. "I've got some news. Do you feel up to hearing it?" The nanny nodded. Matt set Catey down on his lap as he took the cup of coffee that CJ handed him. "Thanks, Babe." He took a sip and set the mug down on the kitchen table. "Yearly is the one behind the firebombing. He was doing it to prove his loyalty to Ricardo Asuncion. He's the drug runner from Tijuana."

"But what in the heck did Charles and I have to do with that?"

"Absolutely nothing. These guys don't care who gets hurt – all they're interested in is money." He explained how Asuncion supplied Hayes who in turn supplied Yearly. "So Hayes decided he wanted to take a step up and become an importer and naturally that pissed off Asuncion. Asuncion approached Yearly and offered to help set him up – basically giving him a promotion to Hayes' job. I'm sure there's probably a hit out on Hayes – and if he's heard about what Yearly has tried to pull, he's probably put a hit out on him. But I would like to find him first and send him to prison. Hayes may already have gotten to Yearly – we haven't been able to pick up a sign of him since the raid on his house." Matt wanted to put the man in jail, but knew that might not happen. "I will tell you this, although it might not make you feel any better. I can almost guarantee you that Yearly is going to end up dead either at the hands of Hayes or in prison."

CJ spoke up. "Didn't you say that Melanie Potts had a history with Hayes?"

Matt took another sip and nodded. "She did before she got locked up about four years ago. Supposedly she took off with him Sunday. Somehow I've got the feeling that she decided that Potts wasn't her ideal husband anymore."

Sheila nodded and Matt noticed that while she was definitely upset, she was no longer crying. "Houston, I really appreciate what you've been doing. I never dreamed it would turn into something this big – and dangerous." Catey leaned back and looked up at her dad. "I don't want anything happening to you."

"Nah, nothing will." He picked up Catey and blew a raspberry on her belly sending her into a fit of giggles. "Tomorrow I'm going to concentrate on Yearly – now that I know for sure that he was behind what happened. Hell, if I can track down a semi-submersible and get it stopped I should be able to find one drug dealer, don't you think?" He gave the nanny a smile.

"At this point I don't think there's much that you can't do. But whatever you do – be careful, okay?" She reached over and patted his hand.

"I always am."