Murder and Mayhem (4 page)

Nicola’s fingers tingled from his touch. She felt a
slight flush of heat rise to her cheeks.

“Not much. Have you got everything? Is there only the
one bag or are there others to collect?”

“I travel light.” Danny indicated the black carry-on
bag he was holding. “That way I don’t have to stand in the queue to check it or
wait at the carousel to collect it.”

“The car is through here,” Nicola said and headed for
the door trying to portray more confidence than she felt praying she wouldn’t
trip and make a fool of herself.

Danny hesitated just long enough to admire the sway of
her hips outlined by a pair of white Calvin Klein jeans and turquoise silk
shirt–that whispered softly when she moved. He followed in her perfumed wake
caught up and kept pace as they headed for the car park.

The click-clack of Nicola’s heels on the hard concrete
floor echoed across the cavernous car park while the soles of Danny’s Dockers
made no sound at all.

“The car is down here,” Nicola said as she shuffled
around inside her bag and came up with a set of keys attached to a small black
remote. She stopped in front of a current-model black BMW convertible, and
popped the locks.  

Danny’s eyes roamed over the sleek bodywork, polished
to a mirror finish, and gave a low whistle.

“Nice wheels,” he said.

Nicola gave a shy self-conscious smile opened the door
and slid behind the wheel. While Danny dropped his bag into the trunk, Nicola
checked her reflection in the mirror, slipped her sunglasses on and waited
while Danny adjusted the seat to allow for his long legs. Once he’d clicked the
seatbelt in place, she turned the key in the ignition, put the shift into
reverse and was about to back out when a couple of teenagers roared past in a
red Mustang heading for the exit. The tires screeched as the driver took the
tight bend in a hurry, hit a speed bump and took off in a roar of black smoke
and burning rubber. Nicola looked at Danny, shrugged, and followed the Mustang
down.

After passing through the boom gate, Nicola edged her
way into early-morning traffic and turned onto the highway. A short time later
the black BMW crossed the 380 flyover and headed north on Highway 280.

Danny leaned back and relaxed in the comfort of the
plush leather seat and enjoyed the ride through fast-moving traffic. The early
morning sun held the promise of a perfect day, unlike the cold weather he’d
left back in Sydney–still caught up in a late winter freeze. He found the right
button and lowered the window a fraction. Having been cooped up for fourteen
hours in the aircraft he needed to feel the wind on his face.

Nicola brushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes as
the unexpected breeze sent it dancing around her head.

“I’m sorry,” Danny said and reached for the button.

“No, don’t worry, it’s fine. The weather is just
perfect, isn’t it? I’m so pleased San Francisco has turned on its best for you.
Not every tourist gets the same treatment.”

“Then I’ll consider myself privileged,” Danny said.

The sun glinted in through the windshield lighting the
coppery highlights in Nicola’s hair, like devils dancing on the top of her
head.

While her attention was focused on a reckless driver
zigzagging his way through traffic, Danny took the opportunity to study her
more closely−and liked what he saw.

Her chestnut-colored hair curled at the tips and hung
halfway down her back in shimmering waves. Her face was lovely, her skin smooth
and flawless; her nose was straight and well proportioned; her cheekbones, high
with just a light wash of color. Her lips, soft and moist, were so inviting he
wanted to lean across and kiss them. His eyes traveled down a long slender neck
that disappeared beneath the soft folds of turquoise silk. Danny remembered how
the color of her shirt had accentuated the green of her eyes, and wondered if
it was an intentional decision–or just a chance happening.

Nicola turned her head and caught his gaze. Her eyes
lingered briefly on his–then back to the road. She wondered if she had passed
his inspection.

“I think you mentioned you’d been to San Francisco
before?” she said.

Danny nodded.

“Yes. A couple of years ago Sara and I spent four days
in the city doing the tourist thing. Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Square,
Golden Gate Park and the Golden Gate Bridge.”

Nicola recalled Danny had mentioned the name Sara in
one of his emails, but he hadn’t gone into details, and she hadn’t asked. She
felt sure he would tell her if he wanted her to know.

“…And rode a cable car down to the bay. What an
incredible experience that was.
The
cable car stops at Lombard Street where everyone gets off to walk down and
admire the homes and gardens−while the cable car waits.

“Did you know Lombard Street is known as the
Crookedest Street in the world?” Nicola asked.

“What an incredible street it is. The homes and
gardens are beautiful but living there would be would be like living in a
fishbowl. Then, when everyone’s back on board the cable car continues down Hyde
and you’re admiring the magnificent view of the bay when suddenly the road
drops away and you feel like you’re hanging mid-air. Then, before you’ve had
time to catch your breath, the car hits the downside−and you’re doing
your best to keep you lunch down. I’ve been on roller-coaster rides less
scary!”

Nicola laughed. “It’s a special ride we put on for
tourists. Did you go to Alcatraz Island?”

“No. We planned to, but ran out of time.”

Nicola bypassed the city and turned onto 19
^th
Avenue
taking them through Golden Gate Park. Even though it was mid-week the park was
crowded with people taking advantage of the last of the sun before the cool
days of autumn claimed the good weather.

Danny noticed the Park Presidio Boulevard sign by the
side of the road. “I remember seeing a movie on cable years ago called, The
Presidio with Sean Connery and I think, Meg Ryan. But it was an army barracks.”

“It’s still called The Presidio even though the army
camp closed years ago. Now it’s government offices, the Gorbachev Institute,
and George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic Special Effects Studio.”

Danny grinned. “Ah... Star Wars, I remember it well. I
always pictured myself as the dashing Hans Solo.”

“They were great movies, weren’t they?”

“Princess Leia, right?”

Nicola laughed. “No. Luke Skywalker. My best friend
cut my hair short and used her mother’s hair color to dye it blond. Boy did I
look a mess. My parents grounded me for a whole month.”

As the black BMW approached the Golden Gate Bridge,
Danny noticed the hills on the other side were bright, with shadows in the
folds. He leaned forward and looked up through the windshield at the
ochre-colored steel supports that looked like pieces of a gigantic Meccano set.

“I just love this bridge. To me it symbolizes America
more than the Statue of Liberty or the New York City skyline. There’s something
about it that arouses a kind of national pride in me, whenever I see it,” said
Danny. “I know it sounds silly, but that’s just the way I feel.”

Nicola smiled. “No, it’s not silly at all. I think
everyone feels that way. Did you get a chance to walk across it the last time
you were here?”

“Yes, we did. The wind was blowing, and the fog was
rolling in like a proverbial pea souper, even though it was the middle of
summer.”

“Usually around three the fog starts rolling in. It’s
caused by cold air coming down from Alaska and meeting hot air drifting out
from the bay. The wind’s pretty constant, but the fog only happens during the summer.
Seeing it’s such a beautiful morning, would you like me to stop on the other
side and we can walk back across the bridge before the fog starts rolling in?”
Nicola said.

Danny looked at the wind buffeting tourists as they
fought their way across the narrow walkway clinging to jackets and caps, and
holding tight to small children. “Not at the moment, but thanks for the offer.
After the fourteen-hour plane trip I doubt I’d make it across. But, I would
love to do it with you some other time if that’s okay.”

“Sure, any time you feel up to it just let me know.”

When they emerged from the Waldo tunnel, Danny noticed
the hills beside the highway were gold in the heat, with the occasional clump
of pine trees and bay laurels. Above the hill a turkey buzzard circled.

Nicola pointed down to the right. “That’s Sausalito
down there.”

Danny looked down to where large homes were built
along the shoreline, and boats were moored at marinas that jutted into the bay.
“Didn’t there used to be a lot of hippies living in houseboats in Sausalito?”
he asked.

“Yes, but that was year’s ago. Now the hippies have
become respectable and affluent and live in homes beside the bay, with boats
tied up at their docks. Have you ever heard of William Randolph Hearst?”

Danny reached back into the far recesses of his mind
and tried to remember what he had read. “Nineteen-thirties millionaire playboy;
newspaper magnate; grandfather to the infamous, Patty Hearst?”

“Yes, that’s the one. Years ago Hearst owned a house
in Sausalito, above Bridgeway, I think, and wanted to build a bigger house for
his mistress, the actress, Marion Davies. But the good folk of Sausalito gave
him so much grief over his outrageous lifestyle he built San Simeon down the
coast, near Big Sur; that’s now a theme park for tourists.”

Nicola checked her side mirror and overtook a
slow-moving SUV driven by an elderly Chinese man who could barely see over the
top of the steering wheel.

“In the eighties the property was sold to a guy who
paid a couple of ‘murder for hire thugs’ out of the San Joaquin Valley, to kill
his wife–with a cross-bow. It was a particularly gruesome murder by all
accounts,” she added.

“Oh my God! How awful. Did he get caught?”

“The killers finally ‘fessed up, when they were
captured. If memory serves me right, there were two trials, but the husband got
off–hung jury, I think.”

By now they were feeling more relaxed and at ease with
each other’s company, as the old familiarity of many months of late night phone
calls settled between them. Danny looked over at Nicola, and smiled.

“I can’t believe I’m sitting here with you after all
this time. You look just like your photo – only more beautiful in the flesh.”

Nicola could feel a slight flush of heat rise to her
cheeks. Compliments didn’t sit comfortably on her. “You look like yours too,
only taller.”

As the BMW exited the highway at the Mill Valley turn
off Danny noticed the peak of a mountain rising above the town.

“I didn’t know you had mountains in San Francisco,” he
said.

“That’s Mount Tamalpais. It’s a lovely state park. It
has lots of walking trails where you get the most fabulous views of San
Francisco.

“How far are we from Mill Valley?”

“We’re in it… all the way to the mountain.”

As they rounded a bend past the Holiday Inn Nicola
pointed to a path that followed the contours of the bay. “A couple of weeks ago
I was jogging down there and I saw a tiger shark swimming close to the shore.
It must have been oh, six, seven foot long. It gave me quite a start, I can
tell you. I’d never seen a shark before, at least not around here, and not up
close.”

When Danny looked in the direction she was pointing
Nicola thought she noticed a slight bump on the ridge of his nose, but then he
moved his head and she thought it may have just been a play of shadows from
trees by the side of the road.

“I’m sure you’ve seen lots of sharks in Australia, but
to us Mill Vallians it’s a rare occurrence.”

“Living beside the ocean I see them all the time. We
have boats and seaplanes that patrol the coast to alert unsuspecting bathers.”

For a brief moment Nicola thought she saw a hint of
sadness in Danny’s eyes–but then it was gone, and she thought she may had been
mistaken about that, too.

They passed Tamalpais High School where the sports
field was covered with wild ducks feasting on who knows what after early
morning showers. A short time later Nicola slowed at the 2 am Club
intersection, turned left onto Edgewood Avenue and headed up the hill.

“If you continue on this road it’ll take you to Muir
Woods National Monument and Mount Tamalpais State Park. The entrance is less
than a ten minute drive from here. It’s a lovely area. If we get some time
while you’re here I’ll take you for a drive. It’s lovely up there and has the
most incredible views.”