Dead in the Water (19 page)

“
You can use the bathroom first.”

“
Great. I'll hop out to my car and get my duffel.”

“
You packed your overnight bag? So you expected I'd agree to your staying here?”

“
Sure, Eve. You're a smart gal. It was the best plan.” He waggled his eyebrows at me and headed out the door.

“
Stop that thing with your eyebrows. It's creepy.”

That's the last thing I remember that night. When I awoke on the couch the next morning, someone had placed a blanket over me. I sat up, checked to make certain I was fully clothed, and noticed the only item missing from my body were my boots, which lay on the floor beside the couch. I smelled coffee.

“
Rise and shine, morning glory. Here's your java. Take a sip and hop into the shower. Your limo leaves for West Palm in fifteen minutes.” Jerry handed me a cup.

“
What time is it?”

“
Around eight.”

“
If I don't get some decent sleep in a bed following a normal day, I'm going to age a year in a week.”

“
Nah. You look great.”

I could tell he was lying, but I took a few gulps of coffee and dragged myself to the bathroom. A shower could only help.

The water woke me up enough to make me realize that I had to do something about our consignment shop before I left for the coast. There was no one I trusted to take over the shop, unless ….

“
You want to stop by where?” Jerry's face registered shock and disbelief. He almost drove off the road.

“
Sammy's airboat business. Watch where you're going. Should I drive?”

Jerry made a sound in his throat that sounded like a growl.

“
What's wrong with a stop at Sammy's?”

“
It's damn hard keeping up with you and all your men. You have half the cowboys in this county at your beck and call and now you're moving in on the Miccosukee tribe. I thought Alex was the one, but this Sammy guy keeps popping up lately.”

“
It's not Sammy I'm after today.”

“
No?”

“
I need to talk with Grandfather Egret.”

“
He know something about the kidnapping?”

“
He might, but what he knows he won't share, at least not yet. Not until he thinks it around some.”

“
You're beginning to talk funny. Like you're going native. I think you could use a visit back to Connecticut when this is all over. The fumes from the traffic in Hartford will clear your head and a brief trip to Neimen Marcus should reestablish the core of your life.”

“
What's my core?”

“
Shopping.”

I thought about Jerry's assessment. Maybe that was true of me a year or so ago, but I felt different now. I never shopped in fancy department stores anymore. I rarely went to a city or a mall. My life was here. I'd landed in an odd place for a city gal, but I realized I thought of it now as my home.

“
You are so wrong about me, Jerry. Here's the drive. Pull in.”

The chickee was abandoned, but I knew just where to find Sammy and his grandfather. I jumped out of the car, telling Jerry to wait, and ran down the path to their house. Sammy stood on the porch.

“
Heard the car, did you?”

“
No. Grandfather said about a half hour ago that he was expecting you.”

I laughed. “Good. Then I won't have to twist his arm. You're back in the airboat business, and your grandfather will be learning a new trade today.”

Sammy looked puzzled, but his grandfather came out onto the porch wearing a colorful shirt and jeans that looked so new I wanted to check to make certain the price tag had been pulled off. He clapped his cowboy hat on his head and smiled at me. “I'm ready.”

“
Wait. Where are you two off to? You're not going to put my grandfather in danger, are you?”

“
Some danger, being surrounded by women shoppers. When they see a bargain, you better get out of the way or you could get trampled.” I wiggled my fingers in a goodbye wave.

Grandfather headed down the path toward the parking area, a jaunty lilt to his walk.

He carried a woven bag slung over his shoulder.

“
What's that?” I pointed to the bag.

“
My lunch and some of my wood carvings. If we're doing what I think we are, I thought I might entertain the ladies with my skills.”

“
You can sell them if you like.”

“
No. I'll give them away.”

“
This will be an interesting place for you today. I'll bet you've never done anything like it before.”

“
No, but I'm thinking it will be a good spot to meet women.”

Grandfather greeted Jerry, who still looked puzzled at my behavior, though now there was an added element of annoyance in his expression.

Grandfather introduced himself as Sammy's grandfather and shook Jerry's hand. He looked at me, then leaned over and whispered, “Hands are as soft as a girl's. Doesn't this man work?”

“
You know how we white folks are. We prefer to work with our heads.”

“
You pay big for it too. That always puzzled me.”

Grandfather got into the back seat, Jerry and I the front, and we drove off.

“
What's he doing here, Eve?” Jerry asked.

“
Frida pointed out to me that most folks around here open their shops on a regular schedule. We missed yesterday because someone nabbed Madeleine. To protect our business, I'm having Mr. Egret tend the store today. Right, Mr. Egret?”

He nodded. “I'm looking forward to it.”

“
He's an Indian, an old Indian.”

“
Yup, he is, and that's why I wanted him. Of all my friends here, I'll bet he's the smartest one, so I knew he could handle the shop with no problem.”

We pulled up in front of the consignment shop.

“
Here are the keys.” I handed them to Grandfather.

“
Aren't you going to go in with him and tell him what to do?” Jerry seemed both amazed and exasperated.

“
He knows what to do, dummy. He's there to sell stuff.”

“
And meet the ladies.” Grandfather waved and entered the store.

W
e didn't talk much as Jerry drove down the Beeline Highway for West Palm. Jerry sat hunched over the wheel, grinding his teeth as if he had eaten something for breakfast that required extensive chewing. I leaned into the seatback and checked the side view mirror every now and then, keeping an eye on the black SUV that followed us. Maybe Jerry had become more reliable and arranged for protection.

I let my mind wander while we cruised by fields of cattle and a citrus plant north of Indiantown. I could smell the sweetness of the fruit being pasteurized. It smelled as if someone was baking lemon poppy-seed muffins, an aroma I liked, but then I didn't have to sniff it day after day.

It felt like weeks had passed since my uncle's death, yet little more than a week had gone by. In that time, my life had experienced ups and downs: the agony of his death, being run off the road and threatened, inheriting his estate, losing it, and now Madeleine's kidnapping. I also realized I didn't care anymore if this money freed the sister of Sophia and Boris. My concern was Madeleine and only Madeleine. As if thinking about my recently acquired Russian relatives set up a disturbance in the cosmos, my cell rang. I looked at the ID, hoping it was the kidnapper making contact. But no. It had to be Sophia. And why was I not surprised at her first question?

“
Do you have the money yet?”

I sighed and tried to control my temper.

“
I'm working on it, Sophia. We're on our way to the bank in West Palm. I'm doing my best. You'll have to forgive my terseness, but this is my friend we're talking about and I am worried. Your sister is being held hostage and my best friend who is like a sister to me is also being held hostage.” There was silence on the line.

“
Are you still there?” I asked.

“
They haven't called, not last night or this morning.” There was a small catch in her voice.

“
I'm sorry. I'll be in touch.” I ended the call. The cell rang again, but I ignored it.

“
Good for you. She's putting far too much pressure on you,” Jerry said.

“
Do you use a burner phone?”

“
Why would you want to know that?”

“
Nappi said the family uses them to do their business.”

“
They do. So?”

“
No one found a burner phone on my uncle.”

“
He got rid of it then. That's protocol.”

“
There's protocol in mob business? It sounds like the state department.”

“
There are ways we do things, yes.”

“
You don't think Nappi had anything to do with my uncle's death, do you? I mean, this money he's giving me, it's not out of guilt?”

Jerry slowed for the PGA Boulevard stoplight and looked over at me.

“
You're so suspicious. You know that was what ended our marriage, don't you?”

“
What? No, you dunce. What ended our marriage was your philandering and getting Nappi's daughter pregnant.”

“
But she wasn't pregnant.”

“
That's not the point. You thought she was. So did Nappi, so did I. Only she knew the truth. If you thought she was, then you were messing around while we were still married.” I stopped talking. It was no use explaining this to Jerry. Sometimes his version of logic left me breathless. “Leave it. You'll never understand.”

He stepped on the gas, and we drove in silence until we got to the Turnpike, took it south, and exited at Okeechobee Boulevard. We drove several miles to City Place, parked the car in the parking area, and walked to the bank, arriving just as the doors were opened. Jerry headed right to the Vice President's office. We were expected, and after we'd signed numerous documents, the VP handed Jerry a briefcase that held the money.

Jerry hefted the heavy case. “It's not marked, is it?”

“
What do you think?” The VP looked at Jerry as if he thought he was the class dunce.

As we walked through the bank, I grabbed Jerry's arm and stopped him on the sidewalk. “Is it marked? They'd know, wouldn't they? That's not smart.”

“
I'm not having this conversation with you in the middle of the street, holding half a million bucks.”

“
You're right. Where's the security?”

“
What security?”

“
You know. The guys who were following us all the way from Sabal Bay. In the black SUV.”

He looked confused.

“
Jerry? You did arrange for security, didn't you?”

“
Sure.” He patted his pocket.

“
You're packing. You. You've got a gun. Give me that. You'll hurt yourself.” I grabbed for his pocket.

He swatted away my hand, and we continued into the parking complex to the car. Just as Jerry unlocked the doors, two individuals dressed all in black like ninjas confronted us. Their faces were covered, making it impossible to see any distinguishing feature other than the cold gray of their eyes.

Without a word, the shorter one performed a karate chop on Jerry's hand, forcing him to drop the briefcase. The taller of the two patted down Jerry, extracted the pistol from his pocket and hit him across the face with it. Jerry slammed into the car and slid down the passenger's side onto the cement. I rushed at the one holding the briefcase, grabbing for the money, but the other ninja stepped between us. I grabbed his arm as he raised it to hit me and held on. He stepped back and my hand slid down his arm. I fumbled with his fingers, thinking I could at least break his thumb before he turned the gun on me. My hand slipped free, and I came away with his black glove. As suddenly as they had appeared, the two ran down a line of parked cars. I watched them toss the gun away before they disappeared at the far end of the garage. Soon I heard an engine start and the squeal of tires as a black SUV careened down the parking ramp. I couldn't get the license number or see the occupants because the windows were so dark.

Oh crap. I was cursed. I couldn't hang onto an inheritance, and now I couldn't hang onto a loan.

My cell rang. Sophia again. “Do you have …?

“
Yes. I'll get back to you later.”

“
Well, you don't have to yell.” This time I could hear traffic noises in the background.

“
What's that noise? Are you in the car?”

“
No we're sitting out in front of the apartment having coffee. I thought you would keep in closer touch.”

“
This is not a good time.” I ended the call.

Right now I had to call for help and then concoct a story about the money that would make sense to the cops. As I'd acknowledged to myself earlier, I was becoming a great storyteller. Little did I know it was a skill I'd need over and over again.