Gentlemen Prefer Nerds (8 page)

Maddie rushed to his side. A helicopter had banked and was circling back around to land on the roof of her apartment building. “I don’t believe this.”

Pixie yapping outside drew her attention to Shirley Tamworth talking to Detective Sergeant Billson in front of the building. Maddie wouldn’t put it past Shirley to have called the cops because Fabian frightened her precious Pixie, but it was more likely Billson had found out where Maddie lived from Grace. Another police car drew up, and two uniformed policemen got out. Shirley pointed up to Maddie’s window.

Fabian snaked an arm around Maddie’s waist and yanked her back, out of sight. “Forget packing. We have to go now.”

Her phone rang. She reached into her pocket.

“Don’t answer it!” Fabian barked.

Too late. She’d automatically clicked it on. “Hello?”

“Hey, Maddie! You’re not answering your emails.”

“Liz!” she exclaimed, recognizing her best friend’s voice.

“How’s the grand unveiling of the pink diamond going? I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”

“Uh…” Maddie heard a few musical notes and glanced over to see Fabian answer his own phone. His terse instructions about the roof suggested he was talking to the pilot of the helicopter.

“I’ll try to get down there around lunchtime,” Liz chattered on. “Will you have time for a bite to eat?”

“I’m a little busy.” Maddie crept back to the window and peered around the curtains. Billson was leading the uniformed police inside the building followed closely by Shirley Tamworth holding Pixie in her arms.

Fabian clicked off, pocketed his phone and grabbed Maddie’s elbow, hustling her out of the bedroom. “Hang up. We have to get to the roof.”

Maddie yanked her arm back. Covering the phone’s mouthpiece, she said, “I don’t go anywhere without my toothbrush.”

“Be on the roof in one minute. Or I’ll come back and throw you over my shoulder to carry you up there.” Checking his watch, he strode down the hall, calling, “Take the stairs.”

“You can spare half an hour, can’t you?” Liz was saying.

“Actually, I’m going away for a few days.” Maddie hurried to the bathroom. She gathered up her toothbrush, special toothpaste, dental floss and gum massager and jammed them into her jacket pockets.

“Really?” Liz was incredulous. “I thought you’d stay put as long as the diamond was at your aunt’s shop.”

Maddie ran back through the apartment. Jinx sat in the open doorway, trying to decide if she could be bothered taking a stroll along the corridor. “Sorry, Liz. Gotta go. My flight is boarding.”

“You’re at the airport right now? You never told me where you’re going.”

“It’s…a mystery flight.” Maddie clicked off, scooped up Jinx, who emitted a startled trill, and ran out of her apartment. The lights above the elevator indicated the car was climbing. Second floor, third floor… Her heart pounding, she froze, unable to move. Fourth floor…fifth!

The elevator dinged for Maddie’s floor. With Jinx wriggling in her arms, she raced to the emergency exit and shouldered her way through. She was halfway up the first flight when she heard the elevator doors open. The heavy fire door was slowly closing behind her. Billson would see and know where she’d gone. Adrenaline flooded her like a shot of pure caffeine. She tore up the stairs, lungs and thigh muscles burning, and emerged, panting and gasping, onto the roof.

A stiff breeze buffeted her, blowing her hair into her eyes. Pushing it aside with one hand, she looked up. Twenty feet above the roof hovered a shiny black helicopter.

Oh. My. God. She was going to throw up.

Fabian, who’d been waiting in the middle of the roof, hurried over and wedged the door shut with metal slats he’d removed from the ventilation shaft.

“How did you do that?” Maddie asked, babbling from nervousness. “Do you carry a screwdriver with you? Or one of those all-in-one tools?”

“Be ready to board,” he said, ignoring her questions. “This won’t hold them off for long.”

Clutching Jinx, Maddie hung back. A kick-butt heroine wouldn’t get sick at a time like this. A kick-butt heroine would be dying to take off in the whirlybird. “Jinx is afraid of heights.”

“You’re. Not. Bringing. The. Cat. Now, come!” Fabian strode to the center of the roof, his dark hair blowing and the flaps of his suit jacket lifting in the breeze from the rotors. He glanced back and frowned. “Hurry.”

Maddie tightened her grip on the squirming feline. “Shirley will call the RSPCA. Jinx will be caught and euthanized in ten days. Of course I’d be back before that happened.” Wouldn’t she? “But she’d be frightened without me.”

Fabian signaled to the pilot and the helicopter began to descend. “Let her go. She’s got a sporting chance.”

The stairwell door rattled, pounded upon with fists. Detective Sergeant Billson shouted to Maddie to open up. The helicopter touched down, but didn’t settle. The skids did a drunken tap dance on the roof as the pilot worked the controls, trying to maintain balance in the wind. Larger thumps were now battering the door to the stairwell.

“Let go of the cat!” Fabian ordered, ducking to run under the whirling rotors.

“I’d rather go to jail than leave Jinx to die!”

“Don’t be so bloody melodramatic!”

The door to the stairwell opened a crack, shifting the metal slats through the gravel. Jinx dug her claws into Maddie’s arm and yowled, angry at being confined.

Fabian motioned with a sharp jerk of his arm. “Get in!”

Still gripping her cat, Maddie ran past him and hauled herself one-handed up the steps, helped along by Fabian’s hand on her butt. He boosted her into the backseat of the helicopter, sending her sprawling, and Jinx shot out of her arms. Fabian stepped aboard as the helicopter started to lift off. Jinx streaked past him through the open door and sailed through the air onto the roof.

“Stop!” Maddie screamed, leaping out of her seat and lunging for the door. “We have to go back.”

Fabian grabbed her around the waist and hauled her back just before she fell out headfirst.

“I’ve had her since she was a kitten. She’s not young anymore.” Maddie’s eyes blurred as she struggled in his arms. Jinx was a cranky old lady cat, and Maddie didn’t know what she would do without her.

“Bloody hell.” Fabian signaled to the pilot, who didn’t so much as lift an eyebrow when he jumped out of the rising helicopter.

Fabian landed on the roof and ran in a crouch over to Jinx, who’d plastered herself against a ventilation shaft. “Here, kitty.”

The cat arched its back and hissed at him. Why on earth was he rescuing a cat? It was ridiculous. It went against his training as well as his natural survival instincts.

The helicopter sank to a few feet off the roof and hovered. He glanced up. Maddie had her nose pressed to the Plexiglas window, her eyes made huge by distress. She was why he was doing this. He would have his head examined when all of this was over.

Fabian lunged at Jinx and caught her. Just then the door to the stairwell burst open as the slat wedges gave way to brute force. Billson and two uniformed cops ran out. They headed straight for the helicopter, not noticing Fabian on the other side of the ventilation shaft, forcibly stuffing the stiff-legged, hissing and spitting cat inside his jacket.

The helicopter started to rise.

Fabian sprinted for the chopper. Maddie was waving her arms at Jack, no doubt yelling at him to wait. But Fabian had given the pilot orders to take off immediately if anyone else came onto the roof.

Billson changed direction, lumbering forward to cut him off. Shots rang out. Gravel spurted up from the roof. Jack spun the helicopter, wedging the tail between Fabian and the policemen. The cops and the detective skidded to an abrupt halt, their faces inches away from the whirring blades of the rear rotor.

The nose of the helicopter dipped. Fabian grabbed onto a steel strut at chest height. Inside his jacket, Jinx squirmed, her needle-sharp claws digging into his skin. He hung on by one arm as Jack took the helicopter straight up in a rapid ascent.

Behind the Plexiglas, Maddie’s face turned white.

The helicopter flew away from the building. Fabian gripped the strut with his other hand. Jinx erupted out of the front of his jacket and scrambled onto his shoulders, where she clung, her body pressed against his neck. Her outraged meow was swallowed by the roar of wind and rotors.

Fabian swung a leg over the skid. The motion loosened Jinx’s hold. She started to slide off, then regained her balance, crowding close to his head, getting in his way so he couldn’t see. He would have cursed her but he needed all his breath to pull himself hand over hand up the struts. When his feet were braced, he risked a backward glance. On the roof, Billson’s upturned face was flushed, his fists clenched at his side.

Fabian dragged his torso inside the open door of the helicopter. A furry black head with snapping green eyes poked out around his ear. There was a furious scrambling, then Jinx leaped, yowling and squalling, onto Maddie’s lap.

“Jinx, oh my darling, you’re safe!” Maddie cradled the bristling cat, stroking her fur, soothing her offended dignity.

Fabian hauled himself the rest of the way inside and sank onto the seat next to Maddie. He pulled off his jacket and peeled back his shirt to inspect the red punctures that were welting up. “That fiendish animal’s claws have pierced my skin in at least twenty places. And look what she’s done to my jacket.”

“But you saved her! You were amazing the way you climbed up the helicopter. Modesty Blaise couldn’t have done better.”

Modesty Blaise? She was comparing him to a character in a spy novel, and a woman at that? She had no idea who she was talking to.

“All in a day’s work.” Fastidiously he brushed the dirt from his suit, his mouth turned down in disgust.

Jinx slid out of Maddie’s embrace and leaped lightly onto Fabian’s lap. Curling herself into a smooth circle, she closed her eyes and started purring.

“She likes you,” Maddie said. “You like her, too, don’t you? Come on, admit it.”

Bamboo splints set alight beneath his fingernails wouldn’t get him to admit such a thing. “Do your cat a favor and keep it away from me.”
Before I strangle it
. With a sneeze Fabian plopped Jinx back onto Maddie’s lap. “From now on, remember I’m in charge of this operation. You’re to obey my strict instructions.”

She pulled back. “Why would I? You abducted me.”

“I’m helping you,” he stated with exaggerated patience.

“You said I would be helping you.”

A muscle began to twitch in his jaw.
Never work with civilians.
There was a reason he’d made that rule for himself. “Let’s call it an arrangement of mutual benefit and leave it at that.”

She was quiet a moment. “What operation?”

“It’s a figure of speech.”

He turned to the window to scan the topographical features passing below. The helicopter continued to climb as it flew northeast, away from the city center, following the snaking tree-lined banks of a river. A helicopter was far too visible to remain with for long. The next phase of their getaway would be crucial if the police weren’t to catch up with them.

“Oh no,” Maddie said suddenly. “I left my apartment door wide open.”

Fabian shrugged. “That will save the police the trouble of getting the building manager to open it so they can search.”

She paled. “They wouldn’t!”

“They’re probably rooting through your barnyard as we speak, looking for the Rose.” A thought struck him. Maybe he’d made a grave error of judgment. “Will they find it? Were you in on the plot with the Chameleon?”

As unlikely as that scenario seemed, Maddie’s eyes slid away and she hunched in on herself, her body language shouting guilt. “No,” she said, stroking Jinx. “I’m just worried about that detective going through my underwear.”

He’d wager his Aston Martin back in London she was worried about the detective finding something far more important. But he didn’t have time right now to work out her various neuroses. “Look, can we save the chitchat for when we’ve got a martini and a bowl of cashews? We’ve got to land and get rid of that damned feline.”

“Don’t listen, Jinx,” Maddie cooed into a furry black ear. “He doesn’t mean it.”

“Someplace safe,” he conceded. “Then we can get on with finding out where the Chameleon’s gone.”

Maddie glanced out of her window. “We could take Jinx to my father’s house. He’s not far from here in Diamond Creek.”

“Seriously? Diamond Creek?”

“It’s the outer suburb where I grew up. Al’s property backs onto school grounds where the helicopter could land.” She paused. “On second thought, maybe that’s not such a good idea. My father doesn’t exactly put out the welcome mat for strangers.”

Fabian wondered if he should feel offended. “What could he object to about me?”

“For one thing, his convict ancestors were sent to the penal colony of Australia three hundred years ago by the likes of your ancestors.” Her nose tilted up. “Not that Maloneys hold a grudge or anything.”

“So that’s where you get your reverse snobbery. Is there anywhere else we can land and get rid—I mean, take your cat to safety?”

“When you put it like that, no.” She gave Fabian the address and he switched channels on his headset to communicate with the pilot.

“Your arrival in a helicopter is going to require explanations,” Fabian said. “Can you trust your father not to cooperate with the police?”

She gave him her blandly innocent look. “Oh, probably.”

A sudden falling feeling in his stomach made him glance down. Streets and houses were rushing upward to meet them. There was the strip of shops along the town’s main street, a train station and a school.

Between the railroad and the highway, isolated in a scrubby patch of bush and vacant land, stood a ramshackle house. The single-story Edwardian weatherboard had peeling white paint and patches on the gray tin roof. The garden was overwhelmed with weeds and the grass needed cutting. Fabian glanced at Maddie. Having met her aunt, he was surprised she’d come from someplace so shabby.

“It used to be nicer,” she said. “When my mother was alive.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t need to.” She met his gaze, not defensive but fierce.

The pilot landed the helicopter at the edge of the football field. Maddie unbuckled and gathered her limp cat into her arms. Jinx blinked sleepily and yawned. Coming fully awake, the cat meowed and tried to scramble onto Fabian’s shoulder.

Maddie dragged Jinx off and climbed out the door and onto the strut. She jumped off, landing on gravel, and scooted out from under the still-whirling rotors. “I’ll be right back.”

Maddie ran across a short stretch of grass, through a stand of gum trees, and then plunged into the thick bushes that grew along the high paling fence surrounding the property. Jinx’s heart pumped furiously next to her chest as the cat squirmed in her arms. Maddie prayed her father would be home. And that Al and Fabian wouldn’t meet.

Al was standing on the sagging porch, looking up at the sky when she came around the side of the house. The collar of his green shirt was turned up under the neck of a bright yellow pullover. He didn’t seem surprised to see her, but then, not much fazed Al Maloney.

“Nice of you to visit, darlin’. Did you arrive in that helicopter that just flew over?”

“I need a favor, Dad. I don’t have much time,” Maddie said, desperately trying to keep her grip on the cat. “Can you look after Jinx for me for awhile?”

“Sure, as long as she doesn’t scratch my furniture.” Al’s bright blue eyes sharpened beneath bushy black eyebrows as he took in her flustered appearance. “Something wrong?”

“The Rose has been stolen.” Maddie hurried up the steps. “I’m on the run.”

“Maddie!” Beaming, Al opened his arms to her. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“I didn’t steal it!” With her arms full of squirming cat, she couldn’t hug him so she went straight into the house.

While the exterior was a shack, the interior was tastefully, even luxuriously, decorated with oil paintings, antique furniture and quality Persian carpets. Early in their marriage Al had risen to his late wife’s high standards to please her and then discovered he also had a taste for the finer things in life. How he acquired them was nobody’s business but his own.

However, to Jinx, a Louis IV chair was just another scratching post. Maddie hurried down the hall to the back of the house. “If I don’t set Jinx down she’s going to claw me to death. I’ll put her in the laundry room.”

“You can’t go on the run in a chopper.” Al followed her through the French country kitchen. “The cops will be on to you in minutes. They’re probably on their way now. Where’d you get a helicopter, anyway?”

“Fabian arranged it. For all I know he flew it over from England.” Maddie opened the door to the laundry room, Jinx mewing loudly in her arms.

“Too small for a transoceanic flight, I should think.” Al leaned against the doorframe. “Where are you off to?”

Maddie put Jinx on top of the washing machine and started filling an empty cardboard box with clean towels from the cupboard. “I don’t know.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“I don’t know that, either.” Maddie didn’t want to think about it. Nothing like this had ever happened to her. It was the stuff of her fantasies—except now that it was happening, she wished she would wake up and find it was all a nightmare. That instead of being stolen, the Rose was on display and she was answering reporters’ questions. It wasn’t even noon. In less than two hours she’d gone from being a respected gemologist to a wanted woman.

“Can you call Grace and tell her I’m all right?” she asked Al. “Don’t tell her where I’ve gone or who I’m with.”

“Naturally not.” Al sniffed indignantly at the very idea. “Grace could never keep a secret.”

Maddie rummaged in the recycling bin and found an old ice cream container. She filled it with water from the tap and set it next to the wall. “It’s time you two got over your antagonism. For my sake, if nothing—” She broke off at the sound of the helicopter overhead. Leaving.

A complicated sequence of emotions rolled over her. She was relieved she wouldn’t have to get back in that helicopter. And glad to get away from Fabian, who was dangerous and very annoying. On the other hand, without him she didn’t have a hope of getting the Rose back. If she felt the teeniest bit disappointed at the thought of never seeing him again, well, it was probably because she was under a lot of stress.

“Maddie?” Fabian’s voice sounded from the lounge room. “Are you in here?”

“Who’s that?” Al said sharply, frowning. “You know better than to bring outsiders here.”

Ignoring Jinx’s piteous meows, she shut the door to the laundry room and hurried back to the lounge.

Fabian was bent over an antique Swedish writing desk, inspecting the ornamental brass designs on the legs.

“What’s happening?” she demanded. “Where’s the helicopter going?”

“I sent it away,” he said, straightening. “Jack was monitoring the police scanner. It seems they’re on our trail.”

“Told you so,” Al said to Maddie.

“Fabian, this is my father, Al. Dad, this is Fabian Montgomery.” Maddie made the hasty introductions then quickly cut to the chase. “What are we going to do?”

“Lovely collection of Scandinavian antiques you have here,” Fabian said to Al. “Unless I miss my guess, this table would be early 1800s Gustavian.”

“Circa 1815.” Al’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “I came across a consignment last year direct from Stockholm and couldn’t resist.”

“Ah.” Fabian ran his long fingers lovingly over the mahogany inlay. “Did you get a good price?”

“It was a steal.” Al’s bright blue eyes twinkled.

“Da-ad,” Maddie warned.

Al glanced at her, and then his gaze flicked to Fabian. “I thought, since you’re on the run together…”

Imperceptibly, she shook her head.

“Let’s just say it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.” Al’s astute gaze took in his visitor’s expensive attire. “What do you do for a crust? How do you know Maddie?”

Good grief, this was no time for Al to go into his protective father act. “Fabian’s the one who warned me the Rose might be stolen.”

“I’m in the British Civil Service,” Fabian replied.

“Is that so,” Al said evenly. “Which branch?”

“Foreign office. Boring paperwork, mostly. Now and then I get out a bit.”

“What’s your part in this diamond business?” Al asked.

“I was trying to prevent the Rose from being stolen. Haven’t done a very good job, I’m afraid. I’m going to help Maddie retrieve it. The police are under the misapprehension that she stole it.”