Cast An Evil Eye (8 page)

Zack heard a thud—nothing more. “Gus? Gus! Are you there?” Silence. “What happened? Gus?”

Again—silence.

Zack jiggled the hook on the phone.

Still a deadly silence.

Finally the sound of the phone being hung up.

Zack sat there with the phone in his hand. He was visibly shaken. Gus! he groaned. What have I gotten you into?

A knock on the door brought him to his feet. “Who is it?”

“Zack?” Jay called. “May I come in?”

“Yes—yes, of course,” Zack answered.

It didn’t take a mind reader to know that something was terribly wrong. The color had drained from Zack’s face.

“Zack, who was that on the phone? Was it Gus?”

Zack nodded, unable at the moment to say a word.

Jay went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “What happened? Did he tell you anything about Manny?”

Zack turned to Jay, tears in his eyes. His hands shook as he replaced the phone on its cradle. “Gus started to tell me something. He was about to board the plane, but he said he was being followed. He was afraid he might not make it back to Spain.” Zack’s voice broke.

“Did he tell you anything else?”

“He was right in the middle of telling me something when he—he—stopped. I heard a thud. Then silence. Someone hung up the phone.” He put his head in his hands. “It’s all my fault. I sent him there.” He had hard work to hold back the sobs. “He must have walked into a trap. I don’t know what happened to him.”

“Do you know the Flight number of his plane?”

“Flight #4.”

“Can’t you find out when it’s due to land? You can call him at his hotel tonight in Spain and see if he arrived safely.”

“Yes—yes, that’s what I’ll do,” Zack answered in a daze. But he had the awful feeling that Gus wouldn’t be there. “You’d better go back to the breakfast room,” he said turning to Jay. “I don’t want the others to know anything’s wrong.”

Jay started to leave, then turned back. “What was wrong with Angus yesterday? I think you know.”

Zack answered in a monotone. “Manny hypnotized him.”

Jay sat down on the bed. “What?!”

“Andre clued me in. He’s seen people hypnotized on stage, and he recognized the symptoms. I don’t know how the vet snapped Angus out of it, but I intend to find out. I’m wondering—”

“Maybe the vet knows something about hypnotism!” Jay interrupted.

“Exactly! I’m going to have a talk with him and find out if I’m right. Maybe he can remove whatever spell Manny has over Courtney. Make my excuses to the others. Just tell them I’ve gone for a walk. Do you mind if I take Angus with me? That way they’ll think I just wanted to walk the dog. What’s the vet’s name?”

“Dr. Nathaniel Drake. He lives four houses down the street. There’s a sign on the front lawn. You can’t miss it.” Zack rose and walked to the door with Jay. “I’ll go down the back way and pick up Angus’ leash. We won’t be gone long.”

CHAPTER XII
 

A
s Zack walked briskly down the street with Angus on a leash, he couldn’t help noticing how full of life he was today. He pranced with delight, looking up at Zack every now and then in a playful manner. So different from the lethargy he expressed yesterday.

When Zack saw the sign “Dr. Nathaniel Drake, Veterinarian” on the lawn four houses down from Stuart Manor, he walked up to the door and rang the bell. He was deeply worried about his former partner, Gus Johnson. What happened to him? For some unexplainable reason he had a gut feeling that Dr. Drake could throw some kind of light on the situation.

While he waited for someone to answer the doorbell he reached down and patted Angus on the head. Angus licked his hand in response.

Dr. Nathaniel Drake opened the door. “Is this an emergency?” he asked Zack. Then he recognized Angus. He bent down and stroked him. “Well,” he said, “you look a lot better today than you did yesterday.”

Zack extended his hand. “I’m Zack Davis, a friend of the Stuarts,” he explained. “I have a problem I hope you’ll be able to help me with.”

“Come in,” Dr. Drake invited. He ushered him and Angus into the waiting room. “Sit down. Now—what’s this all about?”

Zack scrutinized his face. “Didn’t I see you in a stage show in Paris some years ago?”

The vet smiled. “I used to have an act in some of the night clubs.”

Zack’s eyes widened. “You hypnotized people. I remember now. You were very good.”

“That was a long time ago,” Dr. Drake told him. “I didn’t use my real name. Mr. Davis, how may I help you?”

“Please, Dr. Drake,” Zack said, “call me Zack.”

“I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll call you Zack if you’ll call me Nate.”

Zack grinned. “Fair enough.” He grew sober. “Nate, I’ll come right to the point. I used to own a detective agency. I have reason to believe that my former associate, Gus Johnson, is in big trouble. He was in Paris looking into something for me, and I may have put him in great danger without meaning to. He called me about an hour ago from Paris with some valuable information. He said he was about to board a plane back to Spain, but he was being followed. He was in the middle of telling me something when I heard a gasp—then a thud—then silence. Then someone hung up the phone. I think whoever was following him caught up with him and didn’t want him to give me that information.”

Nate listened intently. “How do you think I can help you?”

Zack stood up and began to pace. “It’s hard to know where to begin,” he said. “First of all, Jay’s and Hildy’s granddaughter, Courtney, is quite taken with a young man who introduced himself to her on our way here from Paris. It’s a long story, but I’ll be as brief as possible. Gus told me that this man is a hypnotist who has appeared in night clubs in Paris and Madrid. I have reason to believe he’s hypnotized Courtney. She’s acting very strangely.”

“What’s his name?” Nate asked him.

“Well, the name he’s using now is Manfred Kasnov, but I’m not sure that’s his real name.”

Nate gave him a piercing stare. “Was he at Stuart Manor yesterday when Hildy and Jay brought Angus here?”

“Yes, he was, and a strange thing happened—”

“He hypnotized Angus!” Nate interrupted. “I recognized the symptoms right away. I wondered who did it!”

Zack sat down again. “And you undid it! I wish you could do the same for Courtney.”

“You said you weren’t sure Manfred Kasnov was this man’s real name? What makes you think that?”

“Gus told me he’s used several aliases—Carlos Mantilla, Juan Moya, and Mario Sanchez. Do any of these names ring a bell with you?”

Nate nodded. “I worked at one time with a Carlos Mantilla. He was my assistant. Tall, slim, handsome, dark hair—”

“That’s him!” Zack exclaimed.

“He’s bad news, Zack. He hypnotized patrons in the audience and stole their money. It took a while before the authorities caught on. One night he tried it on a lady police officer. She pretended she was hypnotized. Because Carlos was my assistant, they thought I might be an accomplice. I was able to prove my innocence, but he was convicted and sent to jail.”

“Is that why you no longer work the night clubs?”

Nate looked grim. “That experience made me realize how dangerous hypnotism can be. I vowed then and there that I would never use hypnotism again. With one exception—when an unscrupulous hypnotist such as Manny uses it for his own gain at the expense of the victim, I will do all in my power to bring that victim back to a sane state of mind, and undo the damage that the hypnotist has caused.”

“I admire that,” Zack told Nate. “You gave up your livelihood for your principles.”

“I’ve never regretted it,” Nate averred. “Of course, I had to find another career, but that wasn’t difficult. I always wanted to be a vet. I love animals. I decided the time had come to realize my dream. It kind of pushed me into it.” He leaned forward in his chair. “I can’t do anything for Courtney unless I can see her in person. Isn’t she the new sensation on Broadway? She wrote ‘Déjà Vu?’ What a talent! She’s following in her grandmother’s footsteps.”

“Yes. I’ve known the family for over forty years—ever since I helped to save Hildy from the devious scheme of Gregory Wilcox, Sr. when he planned to kill her. And Cammie, Courtney’s mother, from Gregory Wilcox, Jr. I can’t believe that Courtney is in for a similar experience! It’s too much of a coincidence! I’ve got to stop that from happening. I feel that Gus is on the right track, but I’ve got to know what happened to him.”

“I wish I could help you,” Nate said, “but I severed all connections with my friends in the business when I became a veterinarian.”

Zack smiled. “Oh, you have helped. More than you know.”

Nate looked wary. “I don’t want Carlos—uh—Manny—whatever name he goes by now—to find me,” Nate cautioned Zack. “My wife and I could be in danger. Keep me posted as soon as you know if Gus is okay. I care.” He shook hands with Zack and patted Angus on the head.

Zack returned his handshake and headed for the door with Angus on his leash.

“Be sure to let me know what you find out after you call Spain,” Nate reiterated. “I’ll be waiting to hear.”

The urgency in his voice aroused Zack’s curiosity and made him extremely nervous. He pondered this on his short walk back to Stuart Manor.

Breakfast was over when he arrived. The group was out on the back patio by the pool, ready to take a swim. The rain had stopped and the clouds had been chased away as the sun broke through and took possession of the sky.

Angus was in a playful mood. He went to the edge of the deck and did an enormous belly flop into the pool. He was a happy dog. There was no trace of the ordeal he had been through yesterday.

Courtney sat on one of the chaise lounges in her bikini. She stared at the deep end of the pool as it sparkled and danced in the bright sunlight. She didn’t look very happy. She kept peeking at the phone as if she expected it to ring any moment with Manny on the other end of the line.

Zack walked over and picked up some crackers and cheese from the array of snacks sitting on the table beside the pool. He hadn’t had much to eat this morning. The call from Gus had come during breakfast, and he lost his appetite when he realized that Gus was in trouble. Now he felt the need to keep up his strength.

He toyed with the idea of flying to Paris and scouting around to see what he could find, but decided to wait and see if Gus arrived safely. If not, he would take the next plane to Paris.

He sat on a chaise apart from the others. As he nibbled on the cheese and crackers, Jay wandered over and spoke to him in a low tone so no one else would hear.

“Did you talk with Nate?”

Zack’s eyes were sad and troubled as he looked at Jay. “Yes,” he replied. “I recognized him as soon as he opened the door. He used to have a night club act years ago. He was a hypnotist. He told me a man by the name of Carlos Mantilla worked with him as his assistant. That’s one of the aliases Gus told me that Manny used. They worked together until Carlos—Manny—was convicted of stealing money from the patrons in one of the clubs where they worked. He was sent to prison in Paris.”

“Paris?” Again that look of dread awareness was in Jay’s eyes. “That’s where Gregory Wilcox, Jr. and his mother, the Countess Lilli, were imprisoned! You don’t suppose—?”

Zack nodded. “There may be a connection,” he agreed.

“Did Nate say he could help you find out what happened to Gus?” Jay asked.

“He said he cut all ties with his friends in the business.” Zack looked at his watch. “Eleven o’clock. I’ll call Gus in a couple of hours.”

Jay sat down in the chaise beside him. “What do you plan to do if he’s not there?”

“I’ll fly to Paris. I may be able to pick up a clue about what happened.” He looked at his watch again. “It was eight o’clock here when Gus called. That would make it one o’clock in Paris. The flight to Spain was due to take off in about fifteen minutes from the time he called. It takes about two and a half hours to fly to Madrid. He should be at the hotel by six o’clock Madrid time—one o’clock here—figuring in time for the cab from the airport. That is, if he made the flight. I have a strong hunch he didn’t. I can’t seem to shake the feeling.”

“Why don’t you take a swim with us?” Jay suggested. “It might relax you till it’s time to call Gus.”

Zack grimaced. “You go ahead,” he told Jay. “I don’t feel much like fun and games at the moment. I’ll sit here and soak up some sun. That should relax me enough to gather my thoughts and figure out what to do if Gus isn’t there.”

The next two hours seemed to drag. Zack dozed off and on for a couple of hours in the chaise. It was one-fifteen when he awoke and went up to his room to call Gus.

“Gus Johnson, please,” Zack requested when the hotel clerk answered.

“One moment, please,” he heard the operator say.

As he sat there waiting for her answer he tried unsuccessfully to shake the dire sense of foreboding that refused to leave him.

It seemed forever before she returned on the line. “I’m sorry, Sir,” she said. “He’s not in his room.”

Zack’s heart sank. “Please have him call me,” he told her. “It’s urgent.” He gave her his number and hung up, extremely disturbed. He picked up the phone again and dialed Parisian Airlines. His voice trembled as he spoke to the ticket agent. “I’m checking to see if today’s Flight #4 from Paris to Madrid, Spain, arrived on time.”

“Yes, Sir,” the clerk told him. “It got in a little early.”

“Was there a Gus Johnson on board?” he asked anxiously.

“Let me check.” After a moment of silence she came back on the line. “No, Sir. He was listed as a passenger, but he never showed up. Will that be all, Sir?”

“When does the next flight leave for Paris?”

“There’s one leaving in an hour and fifteen minutes.”

“Please book me on it. This is Zack Davis.”

“How do you wish to pay for this, Mr. Davis?”

“Put it on my credit card.” He gave her the number and the expiration date.

“You’re all set, Sir. Please be here as soon as possible. Will there be anything else?”

“No, that’s all.” Zack quickly replaced the phone on its cradle and rushed to the closet. In less than five minutes he had packed his carry-on luggage. He had just time enough to call Nate and tell him Gus didn’t arrive in Spain.