The Black Feather (21 page)

“I tricked him and ran off on my own.”

David whistled.

“Well, that explains a lot. Once you have that happen in our business with disastrous results, you aren’t going to want to go through it again.”

“What do you mean by ‘disastrous results’?”

“I thought you knew. But since you don’t, it’s not my place to go into detail.”

Suzanne grabbed his arm when he started to walk away. “David, please tell me what you meant.”

“I’d rather not.”

Thad rubbed a hand over his eyes and down his beard roughened face. He’d just come off a job involving long hours without any rest. The phone call woke him from some much needed sleep.

“Novak.”

“Thank goodness you still have the same number. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get a hold of you.”

He leaned up on one elbow. “Mrs. Harold. This is a surprise. Is something wrong?”

“Yes. I’m calling you about Suzanne. She’s in trouble.”

His insides tightened before he made himself relax.

“I’m beginning to think that’s her middle name.”

“I suppose it does seem that way because you’ve only known her since all this business with her father began. She has never been troublesome before. She’s in a bad way.”

The hairs on his arms stood out.

“What’s happened? Is she all right?”

“I wouldn’t be calling you if she was all right. I want you to go back to her.”

“I’m sure you’re aware that I’m no longer on the case. Suzanne has a perfectly good man watching over her. I can give you his number if you’re worried about something.”

“That something happens to be you.”

“I beg your pardon.”

“When I said Suzanne was in trouble, I meant trouble of the heart. If ever two people needed each other it’s you and my goddaughter. I can’t understand why you left when she just found you.”

“Who said I was lost?”

“Doing fine on your own, are you?”

“I’m . . . okay. I’m really not sure why you’re calling me.”

“I’m calling because Suzanne loves you, and I believe you left because you’re in love with her, too.”

Thad’s heart gave a single hard bump against his chest before he pushed himself up to lean back against the headboard.

“Why would I leave if I love her?”

“Your reasons are you own. Tell me, wouldn’t you like to have someone share your bed at night and wake up in the morning seeing them smile knowing you were the one who made them happy?”

“What sane man wouldn’t? But I’m no good for your goddaughter.”

“Why don’t you let her be the judge of that? Unless I’m wrong and you don’t love her.”

His breath tumbled out of him on a tired sigh.

“I do love her, but that love puts her in danger. She needs someone who can be more objective to look after her.”

“I admire such noble thoughts, but are you trying to convince me, or yourself?”

“I . . .” Thad swallowed. “Maybe when this is all over I’ll give her a call.”

“Suzanne’s already been hurt enough by the people she loves. Are you going to smear her face in her own feelings like so many others have?”

“No, but I . . .”

Nesta interrupted him again. “I know when I see two people who belong together. Don’t be like me, young man. I wasted a lot of years with the wrong men until I met the colonel. We’re old and we don’t have a lot of time left, but we’re determined to enjoy every minute of what we do have. You and Suzanne are young enough to have plenty of years together if you’re willing to take them. Are you going to throw that opportunity away?”

“The timing hasn’t exactly been encouraging to make any long range plans.”

“I realize that, but it looks as though this situation with Wendell will be coming to an end soon. When it does that means you and Suzanne can go back to just being two people in love.”

Thad sat up straighter.

“What did you mean about the situation coming to an end soon?”

“I thought you knew.”

“I’ve been out of the office quite a bit lately. What’s happened?”

“Her father woke up enough to say he’d hidden the phones in a stuffed toy Pegasus I’ve kept from Suzanne’s childhood. They didn’t find it at my place, so the fellow with her now decided they needed to return and question Wendell again. You can see her if you go to the clinic.”

“Love may not be enough for Suzanne considering the things I said when I walked out on her.”

“Love is a darn good start, and I’m telling you my girl really does love you.”

“I may not be the best person to protect her,” he said in one last feeble attempt to dissuade Nesta.

“You are the only one who can. Don’t fail her, dear boy,” Nesta implored and hung up.

Thad set the phone aside and kicked back the sheet to swing his legs over the side of the bed while he thought of Nesta’s comments. Love may be a good start, but a good start didn’t guarantee a good ending. Countless lovers over the centuries had discovered that to their cost.

He realized what he’d felt for any other woman was nothing more than infatuation once his feelings for Suzanne began to develop and grow. Thad supposed he couldn’t be blamed for confusing the two. He wouldn’t be the first guy to have testosterone mess with his brain.

Who knew there could be so many layers to how you loved a person and how deep each level went until you couldn’t draw a breath without thinking of that special someone? He hadn’t forgotten Suzanne’s tears when he left her. The memory continued to cut into him, gouging deeper grooves more and more with each passing day. Now, according to her godmother, Suzanne still loved him.

But that could just mean she’d drawn the short straw.

Twenty-one

Bobbett stumbled as she climbed out of the helicopter.

“Ugh. This eggbeater is messing up my hair.”

David took her by the arm and grabbed Suzanne’s hand before hurrying them to a charcoal gray sedan. He opened the doors and gestured for them to get in.

“Where’s the limo?” Bobbett asked.

“You’re not Cinderella going to the ball. This is all I could get on such short notice. Come on, we’re due at the clinic.”

“Did they tell you how my dad is doing?” Suzanne said while climbing into the back. 

“About the same. I’m hoping once he hears your voice again he’ll give us something more.”

“And I hope you two get what you’re after, so I can go back to enjoying myself,” Bobbett grumbled.

Suzanne was more upset about her father’s health than the Pegasus. Maybe he’d been confused about putting the phones inside the toy. She couldn’t help being concerned about his chances of recovery. She also had the latest black feather to think about.

Bobbett wasn’t the only one who wanted her life back. Suzanne not only wanted things to be normal again, but she wanted to share her life with Thad. The only problem with that idea was he didn’t want to share his life with her. She stared out the car window with those depressing thoughts heavy on her mind and heart.

Thad went over various strategies on his way to the clinic thinking of how to tell Suzanne he was sorry that he left. His hands squeezed the steering wheel wishing to God he hadn’t said he didn’t want to be with her. He’d lied thinking it would make her angry enough to be glad he was going. He knew if Suzanne rejected his attempt to reconcile with her, it’d be his own fault. He’d actually thought not being around Suzanne would help him to get over her, which turned out to be an exercise in futility. The only thing he’d accomplished for himself by being away was to make him want to be with her more than ever.

Now he’d been given a second chance to take care of Suzanne. Perhaps her godmother was right, and he should start thinking about a career change. But he couldn’t afford to ponder the future until he made sure he didn’t repeat the mistakes he’d made in the past. He once thought love was all a person needed to ensure a happy life, but he’d been wrong.

And that knowledge had come at a costly price.

David stared at the doctor standing in front of the door to Wendell’s room blocking the way.

“What do you mean I can’t go in there? You didn’t have a problem with it before. I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on both the women,” he protested, pointing to Bobbett and Suzanne.

“I understand your job is to protect them. They’ll be safe here. Mr. Conway has had too much excitement. I’m limiting the number of visitors. Ms. Conway has priority because she’s his daughter.”

“I’m glad you didn’t include me. I certainly don’t want to be in there,” Bobbett shuddered.

“What about Muriel? She’s not family. Why does she get to be with him?” David challenged.

“I’m allowing her to stay because her presence seems to be a comfort to Mr. Conway.”

“We came back because I need to question my dad again,” Suzanne explained. “All right?”

The doctor nodded.

“Yes, but don’t try to force him. He’ll talk when he’s ready.”   

“I understand. May I see him now?”

He opened the door and stepped back. Suzanne started to go inside, but David squeezed her arm.

“You have to tell me as soon as your father gives you any information we can use.”

“I know, David. Now please let go of me,” she said and waited for him to step away.

She closed the door shutting out David’s taut expression. Her father’s eyes were closed. Muriel sat dozing in a chair by the bed, but stirred when Suzanne cleared her throat. Muriel struggled to her feet, pressing one hand to her back and the other on the chair.

“How is my dad doing?”

“He’s been talking more and his thoughts seem clearer, but he hasn’t mentioned the phones again. Maybe if you tell him you didn’t find the toy horse, he’ll add something else.”

“That’s why I came back, but I hate to wake him.”

“He dozes off a lot, but he’s not thrashing around like before, and his fever’s down. Just take hold of his hand and let him know you’re here. He’s been asking about you. He wants to be sure you’re okay.”

“Has he . . .” She let her breath out slowly. “Has he talked about what happened at the motel?”

“I told him all about it. He said he had a feeling something was fishy with your friends. That’s why he insisted we escape the way we did.”

“Thank heavens he had enough sense to suspect them. I certainly didn’t.”

“Your father is a very wise man.”

Suzanne would not have described her father in that way not so very long ago, but now she realized there was a lot she didn’t know about him. She’d been so busy focusing on his negative traits that she never bothered to notice he had a lot of good in him. Her fingers gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

“Dad, it’s Suzanne. I had to come back. I don’t have the Pegasus. Can you tell me where you hid it?”

He continued to lie quietly for the next several seconds making Suzanne believe he hadn’t heard her until she saw his eyelids flicker and open. She smiled at him and leaned down to kiss him on one cheek.

“Someone’s given you a nice shave.”

“The phones?” he rasped.

“I couldn’t find my Pegasus in Nanadoo’s house,” she repeated.

“Not the house. I . . . “ 

He coughed. Muriel picked up a glass of water sitting nearby and adjusted the straw to his mouth while Suzanne lifted his head. He took a few sips before waving the glass away. He cleared his throat.

“Golf cart.”

“Are you saying you hid the Pegasus in the colonel’s golf cart?”

“Yes.”

“I never thought of looking there. What a good idea you had. Don’t worry. I’ll see that we get the toy and the phones. You concentrate on getting out of this bed, so we can celebrate.”

Muriel clasped her hands together in a gesture of prayer. “At last. Will you go get them now?”

Wendell’s eyes closed again. Suzanne didn’t want to leave him just yet. She knew David was outside the door and probably pacing the hallway. But she had a strong urge to sit with her father a while longer.

She didn’t mind having Muriel be here. Somewhere during all this running back and forth she’d begun to think of her as a younger sister. The two women sat quietly each holding one of Wendell’s hands.

“Do you have any siblings, Muriel?”

“No. I grew up lonely. I couldn’t have playdates for obvious reasons. I do have one cousin, Franco, but we’ve never been close. He’s a few years older and has inherited my uncle’s meanness.”

“I had a lonely childhood, too. We could pretend to be sisters. You know, bonded by my dad’s love.”

“I’d like that very much.”

They reached for each other’s free hands and clasped their fingers together.

“I hope you won’t mind if we don’t cut our wrists and share our blood.”

Muriel shivered.

“God, no. I’ve seen enough blood to last me for the rest of my life. I think we should exchange a little gift. It doesn’t have to be much, but it should be something very special to us.”

“That’s a much better idea than mine. I’m sorry about the wrist thing. Bad joke on my part.”

Suzanne looked at her purse sitting on the floor by her chair. She gently tugged her hand free and bent down to unclip a tiny plastic unicorn her father had given to her years ago.

“My dad gave this to me. It’s what started me collecting them when I was a child.”

Muriel let go of Wendell’s hand to accept the gift.

“Are you sure? Maybe you’d rather not let go of something from him.”

“You said something special. Keep it, please.”

“Thank you. I have something for you, but it isn’t from my father because I don’t want to keep anything from him.”

Her mouth clenched for a moment, but softened again when she reached into a pocket of her jeans, pulled out a penny, and handed it to Suzanne.

“Your dad gave this to me the first time I met him. I was curious about him and went to his office. We introduced ourselves. He saw me look at the penny sitting on his desk. He handed it to me and said a lot of people didn’t bother to keep pennies because they think one cent isn’t significant enough to bother with. But he told me what people didn’t realize is it was the beginning of a dollar and a dollar was the beginning of five dollars and so on. He explained that if you kept saving you never knew how much money you might accumulate from a single penny.”

Suzanne closed her fingers over the coin.

“Thank you, Muriel. I never would have thought of a penny in those terms. You were right about my dad being a wise man.”

“It wasn’t so much what he said about the penny that became important to me. Rather, it’s special because it came from your father.”

David sat brooding in the cafeteria while Bobbett stood at the counter choosing a salad. He expected Suzanne to leave her father’s bedside by now. His fingers drummed on the table. How much longer would he have to wait before he got his hands on those phones? He’d about run out of patience and he knew he wasn’t the only one when his cell phone signaled a message making his body go ridged when he identified the caller. He rose quickly from his chair and motioned to a security guard entering the room.

“Keep an eye on Mrs. Conway for me, will you? I need a smoke.”

“I’m on my break. You’ve got fifteen minutes.”

“I’ll be back in ten. Thanks,” he called over his shoulder and hurried from the room.

Suzanne stood up and stretched. “Looks like Dad won’t be waking up again for a while. Do you mind if I go outside for some fresh air? Or would you rather go first?”

“I’ve been out a couple times already. You should know you won’t be allowed to be on your own.”

“I know. David is probably having a fit by now and will insist on being the one to go with me.”

Suzanne felt happy when she discovered David and her mother had gone to the cafeteria. She told the guard she was headed there for coffee. She walked away and slipped outside instead, anxious to be on her own only to have her privacy spoiled when she heard a man’s voice coming from around the corner.

It sounded like he was talking on a phone. She soon realized it was David. Suzanne knew she was being a snoop, but she couldn’t help wondering if he might be talking to someone in his office. Maybe it could be Thad. How pathetic to be relegated to listening in on someone’s conversation hoping to hear any news about him. She decided to go back inside when something David said made her stop.

“Yes, Mr. Montane. I’m disappointed, too.”

Her heart gave a sudden lurch. Why would he be talking to one of the Montanes? The realization went through her like an electric shock. She had to stay and find out what was going on. She stood there straining to hear his every word while her pulse began to pound like a two-year-old banging on a toy drum.

“This is just a little setback. Suzanne Conway is with her father right now asking him where he put the stuffed toy I told you about earlier. I’ll be taking her back to her godmother’s as soon as she tells me. Yes sir, I’ll take care of her father for you. I know you’d rather do it yourself. What’s that you say? You want me to make it as painful as possible. I’ll do my best. Don’t you worry, I won’t fail. Those phones are as good as yours. I’ll be in touch.”

Suzanne almost tripped in her haste to get away. She ducked into a janitor’s closet, panting heavily from the exertion and shock. She flattened herself against the door, shaken to her core. But she knew she wasn’t the only one who was scared. She’d heard the way David’s voice sounded. No doubt the Montanes weren’t happy with his latest delay and when the Montanes weren’t happy, no one was safe.

David hadn’t been able to completely mask his fear and sometimes people who were afraid did fearful things. Unfortunately, in this instance that fear was going to result in her father being killed.

How long had David been a mole for the Montane brothers? Had he been the one who left the black feather at Nanadoo’s? It boggled her mind just thinking about how many people they had doing their twisted bidding. Her father warned her about Thad and even David, suspecting them of not being honest. His instincts were certainly right about David. Suzanne knew she had to warn the staff that her father was in danger from a man who was supposed to be one of the good guys. And her father’s life probably wasn’t the only one in jeopardy. She and Muriel would no doubt be next on David’s hit list.

Unless she could stop him.

David checked the time again wondering if he should go back and see if Suzanne had gotten anything more out of her father. He knew she better come through with something useful pretty damn quick or he’d never be able to get his hands on all that money the Montanes were willing to shell out. Not to mention what they’d do to him if he failed. He wiped away the burst of sweat that beaded his upper lip.