Desperate Measures (32 page)

Fear rippled through her. Caitlin pivoted in the direction of the voice. She failed to conceal her panic and squeaked, “Who’s there?”

Her eyes darted in desperation, searching the premises for a possible escape route, even though she knew there was none. The one exit and entrance was blocked by this mysterious figure. The open slot in the roof, fifteen feet above her, wouldn’t work without a ladder. Helpless, doomed, trapped. Worse than that, she knew her enemy was about to win. There was no escape yet she continued to hope Chris would arrive. Certainly he had established the best vantage point to take this person down. Why hadn’t he?

“Come here. Don’t be afraid. It’s your mother.”

“Mom?” Caitlin said in a whisper.

“Yes, it’s me. I just flew in today. I caught a terrible cold and have lost my voice.”

Something wasn’t right but then the figure stepped out of the blinding glare of sunlight. At the sight Caitlin couldn’t control her forward momentum. As confusing as it seemed, the face she looked at assuaged her doubts, her mother stood before her in the flesh. Caitlin ran and hugged her.

When she touched a muscled arm, Caitlin recoiled and realized her mistake. Too late, restrained in a choke hold, the barrel of a gun pointed at Caitlin’s temple.

There were times when Bucklin money was useless, green hard cash couldn’t buy everyone off. Mother Nature refused to compromise her principles. A small inconvenient lightning and thunderstorm closed Bridgetown Barbados Airport for twenty minutes. Barry and Lukas didn’t have twenty minutes to spare. The pilot conferred with the two worried men and assured them he would make up the time once the plane was in the air. Radar showed clear weather to the north and a strong tail wind.

Barry, antsy to get answers out of Lukas, refrained from doing so to capitalize on the time he had to attempt phone conversations and e-mail correspondence. He utilized the time to call Chris again, no luck. He checked to see if Constance had been apprehended in Miami, strike two. An e-mail message notified Barry that Mackenzie Zegar hadn’t been located either. Calls to Jack got him nowhere, cell-phone went to voice mail, the house phone rang and rang. The answering machine didn’t pick up. The damn reception on Barry’s phone worked for once and no one answered. Shit. What were they doing?

At last the Bucklin jet cleared for take-off and roared down the small runway. The nose of the plane lifted off the ground. Lukas and Barry were airborne. Despite their animosity at the moment, both men shared a common goal and prayed they could divert the impending disaster on St. Kitts.

Barry sat stiffly, on the right side of the plane, in his plush leather seat, biding his time until the plane leveled off. His strong hands gripped the armrest of the large seat which rivaled any found in the first class section of a commercial flight. He stared straight through the open door of the cock-pit, and could see the plane ascend into a bank of clouds.

His jaw clenched, not attributed to a fear of flying but due to the uneasy feeling he had in the pit of his stomach regarding the upcoming conversation with the man sitting across the aisle. There were too many loopholes in this whole situation. The plane reached cruising altitude and leveled off. Barry tried to orchestrate the order and tone of his questions but when he shifted in his seat and faced Lukas, he fired away. “Start talking.”

Lukas raised his hand in a gesture of surrender. “I’ll tell you everything with one condition. Let me tell you the pertinent facts first and then you can grill me and pass judgment.”

Barry scowled at the gall of this man, making demands when lives were in danger. To save time, he said nothing and waved his hand for Lukas to get on with it.

Lukas began his confession. “Caitlin is indeed my granddaughter. Nick Holland, her uncle, somehow found out about my son, Jack and tried to blackmail him and use me as bait. Yes, I said it, my son, Jack. I lied to you last night. I did know Jane Spencer.”

Barry leaned forward ready with a slew of questions but before he could speak, Lukas held up his hand to silence him.

“Let me continue my story before you go ballistic. When Jane notified me of what Nick threatened to go public with, I sent him the quarter million he tried to extort from Jack. He swore he’d go away. He even went so far as to change his name to Michael Holmes. This part you know already but I didn’t until many years later. I’d never met Nick Holland face to face until I started my electronics division.

“A very impressive Michael Holmes interviewed for a position. His experience and knowledge were impeccable. As a bonus he worked for the competitor. We discussed off the record information that Michael could bring with him legally. I repeat legally, that would give Bucklin Electronics a head start. A few weeks later the whole damn place burned to the ground, killing ten employees. Only nine were declared legally dead.”

Barry couldn’t let this bizarre tale continue without clarification. He threw up both his hands in protest and demanded Lukas to explain. “Whoa, whoa. What do you mean ten employees were killed but only nine were declared dead? Where is the tenth?”

Barry cut off his own question. His mouth formed an ‘o’ and the light bulb turned on literally and figuratively. In raising his hand, Barry accidentally hit the overhead cabin light that illuminated his seat.

“Ah, you finally got it,” Lukas said matter-of-factly. “I’m surprised you hadn’t pieced this puzzle together earlier. Mackenzie Zegar died but his identity continued on in the body of Michael/Nick. This bit of information I recently found out from the phone call, I’ll get to that in a bit. They looked enough like each other and it was Michael Holmes who was taken to the hospital with Mackenzie’s ID. Michael bragged that he buried the body in some remote location, never be to found. The new Mackenzie received a settlement of two million dollars from the insurance company for pain and suffering due to the faulty fire alarm system of the building. That wasn’t enough for Michael. He came after me again with his newly found weapon and threatened to implicate me in the fire, said he had evidence that he acted under my orders.

“Once again I paid him off, this time a million, and I hadn’t heard from him in ten years. I thought he finally died or found some other schmuck to blackmail. Last week that hope vanished. He called and pompously informed me of whom he had been impersonating for the past decade. That was the worst call I’ve ever taken in my long, miserable life. He mentioned Caitlin.”

Lukas stopped speaking for a moment. His eyes sparkled and tears threatened to flow. He shook his head as if to ward off the past and the emotions stirring inside of him. He continued his confession. “I never realized Nick could be this evil. There has never been any love lost between him and his sister, but this? The plot he’s concocted is sick. Caitlin has been in the news lately. That must have resurrected the deep seeded resentment he harbors for his family. Hatred festers inside of Nick. The sick bastard must have finally unraveled. He specializes in revenge. He uses everyone and everything, especially when he can get money in the process. Why, oh, why did I let this happen? I should have come forward years ago. I only wanted to protect Jack. Now I’ve shattered my son’s world and his daughter is the target of a madman.” Lukas clutched his chest and sagged back into his seat.

Barry stood and took the old man’s pulse. He didn’t give a damn if this asshole croaked after what he just heard but he still needed the rest of the story. “Let me get you a glass of water. Take it easy for a few minutes before you continue.”

Barry shuffled backwards, keeping the man in sight. Lukas craned his neck and his gaze followed Barry to the rear of the aircraft. Barry entered the kitchen area and retrieved the water. The task took a few seconds but when completed, the sight Barry saw caused him to race down the aisle.

Lukas crouched on his knees, his left hand supported him and his right hand was lodged in his pants pocket.

Barry helped him up from the floor. Lukas appeared to be healthy but seemed flustered as if he’d been caught doing something wrong.

Barry handed him the water and asked, “What the hell happened, are you okay?”

Lukas nodded and pulled his closed fist from his pocket. “I’m fine. I just wanted to stretch my legs. When I stood I got a little dizzy. It’s time for my blood pressure medication. I have a pill right here. I had it in my pocket.”

Lukas placed his right palm over his mouth and then gulped the water.

Anxious to hear the rest of the sordid details Lukas had to offer, Barry swiveled to return to his seat. In the process he stumbled on his briefcase. It must have shifted during the flight, or Lukas knocked it over before he collapsed. Whatever, Barry had more pressing matters.

“Thank you, I’m much better. Where was I?” Lukas asked.

Time for sympathy over, Barry couldn’t refrain from making a snide remark. “In your spare time you earned yourself a psychiatry degree and have taken on Nick Holland as your pet project, studying the inner workings of his demented mind! Michael, Nick, Mackenzie, whoever the hell he claims to be, called you last week and mentioned Caitlin. What the fuck did he say?”

“He said that Caitlin received some warnings about DNA, blood was found on the floor of her new home in St. Kitts.”

“And?” Barry prodded.

“He demanded another five million.” Lukas picked up the case below his seat.

Barry became unglued. “You’ve got to be shitting me! You aren’t seriously going to pay this monster, not to mention murderer, off are you?”

Relaxed and in control once again, Lukas retorted, “Of course not, this case only contains a million, just like last time.”

Barry exploded and lost all self-control. He yanked Lukas by his shirt collar and lifted him out of his seat. The plane started to make its descent. “Just what are you up to? Where are you supposed to make this payoff, goddammit?”

The jet banked sharply to the left, both men stumbled. Barry’s nose pressed against the plane’s window. He was able to make out the clouds hovering over the rainforest. He had to act quickly. He stood erect and pushed Lukas back into his seat. “Thanks to your shenanigans, throwing up road blocks with your fancy lawyer, Zach Owens, to run interference in an FBI investigation, you just may have signed the death certificate of my goddaughter. I love Caitlin more than you ever could, even though she has the misfortune of your tainted blood flowing through her veins! Nick Holland is already on the fucking island!”

Unfazed, Lukas relayed the plan. “When the plane lands, I have a helicopter chartered with a customs agent ready to fill out our paperwork. The chopper will take us to the Black Rocks, a car will follow on the ground.”

Taken aback, Barry didn’t know how to counter the remark. The bastard had it all figured out, didn’t he? Barry cursed, the plane was landing. He couldn’t use his cell-phone to get a message to Chris or Scott. The aircraft made a low pass over the beaches, the wheels of the plane disengaged. Barry prayed that Caitlin and Chris were back at the hotel, safe and sound.

Cell-phone in his hand, the minute they touched down he intended to start dialing frantically. He couldn’t wait that long, a burst of inspiration shot through Barry. The pilots had sophisticated communication equipment. In violation of Federal Aviation rules, he unbuckled himself and entered the cockpit. After a brief conversation with the co-pilot, he commandeered a line of communication. He successfully sent a short, concise, urgent text message;
If Caitlin is not with you go to the Black Rocks. Now! BS.

Satisfied, for the time-being, Barry returned to his seat.

* * * *

Caitlin walked to the waiting silver truck, her back ramrod straight. The gun poked against her lower spine. Forced into the driver’s seat, Caitlin scooted over to the passenger side and pressed her body against the door. As her captor moved behind the wheel, the gun remained on her. She wanted to lunge forward but knew she couldn’t dodge the bullet that would be discharged if she made any sudden movements. Instead, she spoke in what she hoped was a confident voice. “Who are you?”

An eerie and sinister laugh erupted from the driver holding the gun. “You still don’t know? You’re not as smart as I thought you were. Nana would be disappointed, Aces!”

* * * *

The driver removed a shoulder length wig. The rest were just cosmetics, blush, eyeliner, and lipstick. The resemblance between Constance and Nick was uncanny for fraternal twins, especially a boy and a girl. Nick didn’t look feminine in the least while Constance by no means appeared masculine. Nick was short by male standards, Constance tall for a woman. The structure of their faces so similar, seeing them side by side, even when they were young children, caused a double take. The wig gone, he rubbed off the make-up. Caitlin should finally make the realization that it was her very own uncle that held her fate in his hands.

“Recognize me now, my dear niece?”

Caitlin gasped, “Nick? Why? Why have you done all of this?”

He laughed like a crazy man. “I’m your uncle. Address me correctly!” He pointed the gun at her forehead.

Caitlin gauged her response, assessing her uncle’s demeanor. She knew he was unstable, psychotic more like it. From his tone, she knew any mention of his beloved and departed mother would only add to his angry and agitated state. The same if she mentioned her own mother, his sister. She carefully weighed her options, studying the direction in which her captor drove. They were on a small path at the base of the mountain.

Nick kept looking up at the main road, obviously searching for someone speeding to her rescue. The road remained empty. Making matters worse, the sandy path they traveled on was devoid of civilization. If Caitlin attempted to flee, she had nowhere to go for help. To top it all off, today was Sunday. Many, if not all, of the locals were at church until eleven a.m. She decided to make small talk and hope for a diversion of some kind.

“Uncle Nick, where have you been all of these years?”