Celestial Bodies (23 page)

“But surely he’d want Felix far from the action, once he got him there? If Felix cried out for help, someone would be bound to hear him,” Diana reasoned.

“That place is so huge, there must be some isolated out- buildings that no one ever goes near. With a henchman or two to keep an eye on Felix and warn away intruders, Claude would have the perfect hideout for his hostage—convenient to him, guarded by high walls and electronic gates, and unsuspected by everyone. Even us.”

“Jora said he was near water,” Diana mused. “Do you think he could be in a boat house or something?”

“It’s possible. We’ll find out when we get there.”

“Nick?”

“Hmm?”

“Jora’s definitely right about one thing. Felix won’t approve of your gun.”

“Hopefully he’ll never have to know I brought one.”

“I don’t suppose you could leave it in the car?” she suggested.

“Claude’s playing for pretty high stakes, Diana. Kidnapping is a felony. We don’t know how far he’ll be willing to go. I’d rather keep my gun with me than risk something happening to you or Felix because I left it behind.” He hesitated before adding, “Just trust me.”

Diana glanced at him uneasily. The words were an uncomfortable echo of the night he had left her alone in the House of Ishtar—the night before she’d found out that trusting him had been a mistake. That was behind them now. She had forgiven him. But she felt a strange chill of superstition, all the same.

Nick saw how uncomfortable Diana looked as soon as the word
trust
passed his lips. He clenched his fists in his lap and looked out the window. What would it take to win her trust a second time?

They were both silent during the rest of the trip, each tense about the confrontation to come. By the time they turned down the country road that led to Beaux Champs, Diana was jittery with anxiety.

“Maybe we should call the police,” she said.

“The police can’t search the estate for Felix without a warrant.”

“How long would it take to get one?”

“They’re not going to get a search warrant for us, Diana.”

“Why not?” she demanded.

He let his breath out on a long sigh. “Because the police aren’t going to disturb and publicly embarrass one of the wealthiest, oldest families in New Orleans on a special occasion like this because a psychic, a yoga teacher, and a private eye on probation all think an astrologer is being held hostage at a society girl’s birthday party.”

“Oh.” Put like that, it did sound a little hopeless. “So it’s just you and me?”

“Peter will be there.” Nick glanced at his watch and swore. “Poor guy, he’s been there since just after dawn. He must be going stir-crazy. I forgot to call him after you talked me into going to Jora’s.”

“But going to Jora’s was a good idea. Come on now, admit it.”

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “She’s gifted,” he hedged.

About one hundred yards before they reached the gates of Beaux Champs, Diana pulled her car off the road and into the shadows. They had left Peter and his car near here early this morning. She killed the engine, got out of the car, and followed Nick over to where Peter’s car sat in the dark night.

As soon as he saw them, Peter jumped out and came running toward them. “Where the hell have you been?” he demanded. “You were supposed to relieve me two hours ago!”

“Sorry, Pete. We had to go... No, you probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Nick frowned, noticing that Peter was practically hopping up and down in agitation. “What’s the matter with you?”

“I’m having a baby!”

“I beg your pardon?” Diana said.

“You can’t be!” Nick said.

“I am! The pains started about an hour ago! Jenny’s on her way to the hospital, and I’m stuck here, babysitting the rich and over-privileged.”

“Who’s Jenny?” Diana asked in confusion.

“Peter’s wife,” Nick explained. “She’s the one having the labor pains. But the baby’s not due for two more weeks.”

“Well, I guess it got tired of waiting. It wants to party
now
,” Peter said.

“All right, calm down, Pete. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner. Just tell me what’s going on.”

Practically dancing in his agitation, Peter said, “About a million limousines have pulled in there during the past hour. There are lights and music and people everywhere. Listen, Nick, I can’t believe we didn’t think of this sooner. If Claude’s got Felix, he must be—”

“Inside the estate,” Nick and Diana said together.

Peter gaped at them. “You
know?”

“We just figured it out,” Nick told his partner. “Personal stress is bad for deductive reasoning, or I would have thought of it sooner.”

Peter started hopping up and down again. “All right. We’ve got to get Felix out of there now, while Claude’s distracted with the party. But let’s make it snappy! Jenny needs me to coach her breathing.”

“Hey, Diana’s a yoga teacher. Maybe we could send her to the hospital to coach Jenny’s breathing,” Nick suggested eagerly.

Both Peter and Diana glared at him.

“I am
not
letting someone else coach my kid into this world,” Peter said irritably.

“And I’m not letting you shuttle me out of the way, so you can do your manly rescue thing without me,” Diana added scathingly.

“All right.” Nick sighed. He hadn’t really thought they’d fall for it, anyhow. “Let’s go to it.”

“How do you think we should get inside the walls?” Peter asked Nick. Although the gates were wide open, four guards at the entrance were checking everyone for invitations and comparing their names to the guest list.

Diana listened as Peter and Nick worked out a complicated plan for breaching the security at Beaux Champs and sneaking onto the grounds undetected.

After they had agreed on their plan of action and double-checked their automatic weapons, Nick turned to Diana and squared his shoulders resolutely. “I’m sorry, Diana. It’s best if you wait here. I can’t drag an amateur into danger.”

Diana frowned. “But Nick, why don’t we just go through the main gate?”

Peter rolled his eyes and Nick looked impatient. “Because we can’t get in without an invitation,” he said in the tone of one addressing a slow child.

Diana smirked at him and pulled an engraved invitation out of her purse. “It just so happens...” She waved it in their faces.

Nick snatched it out of her hands. Then he grunted and handed it to Peter, who read aloud, “Felix Stewart, Diana Stewart, and guests.”

“Call it precognition. Sorry to spoil your fun, boys,” Diana said airily. “Shall we?”

They all climbed into Diana’s jalopy. She started the engine, drove up to the gates, and handed her invitation to a security guard. They were waved through within seconds. She couldn’t resist saying to Nick, “Of course, I’m sure this seems terribly dull to you dangerous professional types.”

“Don’t gloat, Diana, it’s so unattractive,” Nick said grumpily.

“Can we hurry it up?” Peter snapped.

“Let’s all just keep a low profile,” Nick advised after they had turned the car over to a valet. He looked around at the throng of people living it up. He, Peter, and Diana were all distinctly underdressed for the occasion. “The last thing we need is to be spotted by one of the Bouviers.”

“Damn it!” Peter exclaimed suddenly. He grabbed Nick’s arm and pulled him away from the bright lights near one of the marquees.

“What now?” Nick said with forced patience.

“Maurice LeCoz,” Peter whispered.

“Where?” Nick followed the direction of Peter’s gaze. A moment later he spotted LeCoz’s thin, fox-like face about fifty yards away from them. Nick turned his back quickly.

“That’s LeCoz? Do you think they’re in cahoots?” Diana whispered. “He and Claude?”

“No,” Nick said, “they just travel in the same circles. Great. This is all we need.”

“Come on,” Peter urged. “Let’s get out of here.”

As unobtrusively as possible, the three of them walked away from the festivities, rounded the manor house, and ran into the shadows. As soon as they were out of sight and alone, Peter stopped and asked, “Where do you think we should starting looking?”

Nick glanced sheepishly in Diana’s direction before saying, “Near water. Let’s look down by the river.”

Nick assumed that wherever Felix was being kept it had to be out of earshot of the house, the stables, and the guest cottage. The three of them walked a considerable distance in search of a likely hiding place. He was just starting to wonder if they should reconsider their plan when he saw a tiny light, far away through the trees. Next to the water.

He nudged Peter and Diana. They all crept toward the source of the light, treading softly and looking out for a trap. When they were within ten feet of the tumbledown shack on the waterfront, Nick saw someone inside the building pass by the window. He dropped to the ground, motioning for Diana and Peter to do the same.

“This is it,” he whispered. “I’m sure of it. You guys stay here.”

Diana watched with a pounding heart as he levered himself up and ran crouching toward the shack. Careful not to be seen by anyone on the inside, he peeked into a window. He glanced back at Peter and Diana and made a circling motion with his hand.

“What does that mean?” Diana asked.

“He’s going to check the area for additional guards.”

Within minutes, Nick was back at Diana’s side, graceful as any predator.

“Is he here?” she whispered eagerly.

“Yes. There’s only one guard with him. The guy’s just sitting there, staring off into space. No one else is around.”

“I’ll get the window, you get the door,” Peter said.

“Right.” Nick pulled out his gun.

“What do I do?” Diana asked fearfully. She would die if anything happened to Nick or Felix.

“Stay out of sight,” Nick ordered.

 
For once she decided to cooperate without argument. He was right. This was his job, and she would only be a liability. Particularly if Felix’s guard was dangerous.

Nick crept up to the door of the shack and tightened his fingers around the hard grip of his gun. He felt a familiar wave of adrenaline flood his system as that strange combination of hot fear and icy calm propelled him forward. He and Peter worked together like two parts of a whole, and he had absolute confidence that Peter’s gun would smash through the window to cover him before anything could go wrong.

Nick kicked in the door and burst into the one-room shack with an explosion of noise, motion, and energy. He registered the sound of breaking glass at the same moment as he shouted,
“Freeze!”

The reaction he got from the two men sitting face-to-face on the floor was the last one he expected. The guard remained absolutely still, as if oblivious to Nick’s dramatic entrance. Felix looked up at Nick with his familiar, serene expression.

“Please put down the gun, Nick,” he said. “Violence is always reprehensible. Even when motivated by—”

“Felix!” Nick said incredulously. He looked at the motionless guard. The man still stared into the distance, his eyes tranquil and unblinking. “What’s going on here?”

“What
is
going on here?” came Peter’s voice from the window.

Felix glanced at Peter and said, “I have succeeded in hypnotizing my guard.” He looked back at Nick. “I was questioning him about Claude Bouvier’s plans. Then I intended to effect an escape.”

At that moment, Diana appeared in the doorway. “Felix!”

“Diana!” Felix hopped off the floor and met her halfway across the room. Father and daughter flew into each other’s embrace and held one another tightly, while Nick met Peter’s confused gaze.

“Oh, Daddy!” Diana cried at last.

Felix was obviously touched. “Why, Diana, you haven’t called me that in nearly twenty years!”

“Yeah, well, somebody’s gonna be calling
me
Daddy in a few hours,” Peter reminded them all. “Can we get out of here now?”

Nick nodded. He put a hand upon Diana’s shoulder and tried to get her attention as she hugged her father and checked him for signs of physical damage. “Honey, Pete’s right. We’ve got to get out of here.”

As soon as Felix released his hold on Diana, she flung herself into Nick’s arms. “I was so afraid something terrible would happen to you when you kicked open that door!”

“Oh,” he said, enjoying the sensation that her seeking arms created. He slid his arm around her waist and kissed her forehead. A moment later he caught Felix’s speculative stare and muttered, “Uh, let’s get going, everyone. We’ll deal with Claude later.”

“We can’t!” Felix declared.

“Why not?” Nick demanded.

“Yeah, why not?” Peter said plaintively.

“When he finds out I’m gone, he may do something desperate!”

“Don’t you think
kidnapping
you was pretty desperate?” Diana said.

“I mean, he may harm his mother,” said Felix. “Right now, I’m the only thing standing between Mrs. Bouvier and the next life!”