The Secret Heiress (14 page)

The trio went through the hospital’s front door into the deserted lobby. A lone nurse sat at the reception desk, where she did double duty, admitting patients—usually minor scrapes from moped accidents—and watching over the few patients the small hospital normally cared for.

“Could I help you?” she asked. When she looked up at the trio, she laughed. “Party tonight?”

Viv slipped the revolver out of her straw tote and pointed it at the nurse. “Who else is on duty tonight?” she asked, ignoring the nurse’s comment.

“What the—?”

“Shut up,” Viv hissed between her teeth. “Now, be a good girl and take us to Kees Vanmeerendonk’s room.”

“But there’s—”

“Just shut up and do it,” Viv said.

The nurse eyed the revolver in fear, then slowly rose to her feet. “This way,” she said, indicating a single wide door that led off the lobby. They followed her through the door into a hallway that stretched right and left. “Down here,” she said nervously, walking to the right.

Several doors down the short hallway, the trio saw a uniformed policeman slumped in a chair, sleeping soundly, his chin resting on his chest, his cap in his lap. “You take care of him,” Viv whispered, poking Tyler’s arm.

They waited while Tyler went ahead, creeping up on the sleeping policeman. He lifted the revolver, holding it by the barrel, then brought the grip down hard on the policeman’s head. There was a loud thwack as it made contact, and the policeman slumped forward.

The nurse started to cry out, but Viv shoved the small barrel of her revolver against her back. “Shut up.”

Tyler grabbed the policeman before he fell out of the chair, and with Doug’s help propped him back up. They slid the chair out from the wall slightly and pulled the policeman’s legs forward in the seat so that he appeared to be merely asleep, his head back against the wall, his mouth open. Doug put the man’s cap on his head, the bill down over his eyes, resting against his nose. If someone from emergency ventured this way, nothing would look amiss.

Viv pressed the revolver against the nurse’s back as the terrified woman opened the door to the room. Once inside, Viv turned to Doug. “Watch her.” She nodded toward the nurse. Of the four beds in the large room, only one was occupied. Kees lay asleep, one arm handcuffed to a metal bed rail and one foot cuffed to another.

Viv turned to the nurse. “The cop have the keys?” she asked.

The nurse nodded.

“Get it,” Viv said to Tyler.

He opened the door and peeked up and down the hallway. No one in sight. He went to the policeman and immediately saw the key chain dangling off his canvas web belt. He unsnapped the key chain and took it back into the room, searching as he went for a handcuff key.

“Here we go,” he said, spotting the key at once, it being much smaller and more oddly shaped than the others.

Kees’s eyes opened, then widened in surprise when he saw them gathered around the bed. His lips spread in a smile, but he didn’t say anything.

Tyler unlocked the handcuff on his wrist first, and Kees rubbed it vigorously with his other hand while Tyler unlocked the cuff on his ankle. He sat up in the bed and threw off the sheet as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.

“Here,” Viv said. She tossed him a pair of cargo pants, a T-shirt, and flip-flops. “Put these on.”

Kees untied the hospital gown he wore and tossed it onto the bed. He stood naked except for the large white bandage covering the wound on his left side.

“Jeez, mate,” Doug said. “Looks nasty.”

“It’s nothing,” Kees said as he quickly began to dress. Finally slipping into the flip-flops, he said, “Ready.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Viv said.

“What about—?”

“Shut up,” Viv hissed again. “You’re coming with us.” She held the revolver at the nurse’s back, nudging her forward with it.

Tyler opened the door and checked the hallway. The policeman was still out, to all appearances sleeping peacefully. “All clear.”

They rushed down the hall to the lobby door. Tyler opened it and checked out the small lobby. “Okay,” he said.

Shoving the nurse in front of them, they went through the door leading outside. “To the parking area,” Viv said, letting the nurse lead the way. It had been mere minutes since they had first entered the building.

In the parking area, Viv looked at her wristwatch. “It ought to be here any second.”

“Wh-where are we going?” the nurse asked, her eyes widened in terror.

“None of your business,” Viv replied.

In the distance, they heard the unmistakable
thwack-thwack
of a helicopter’s rotors. “There we are, mates,” Doug said. “Our ride outta here.”

The sound grew louder, and they could see the powerful lights of the approaching craft. Viv stood at the nurse’s side, the revolver still at her back, but it was concealed from any passing traffic.

The noise of the helicopter became deafeningly loud, and they felt the downdraft from the rotors as it hovered directly overhead. “Hang on to your hats,” Viv said, referring to their wigs, as she placed her free hand atop her head.

The helicopter bobbed in midair for a moment, then slowly descended to the parking lot. Its door slid open, and a man inside yelled, “Hurry up. Let’s get out of here.”

“Go on,” Viv said to Tyler and Doug.

They raced to the chopper and were virtually lifted inside by the man just inside the door. “Now, go see to your patients like a good girl,” Viv said to the nurse. She shoved her away, and the nurse stumbled but didn’t fall. Viv ran to the helicopter and was lifted inside.

The door slid shut, and the chopper began ascending into the air, already heading east, away from St. Barth’s and away from St. Maarten, where it had been commandeered from the Dutch side of the island. Twenty minutes later, in international waters, the helicopter landed on the helipad of
Earth Mother,
Mother Earth’s Children’s converted research vessel that the organization used to attain maximum publicity for its maritime activities.

The ship’s doctor, a young German, examined Kees to make certain his wound was healing properly. “Ah,
ja,
” he said, a gleam in his eyes. “You’re almost ready for the next fight.”

Earth Mother
cruised off into the night at top speed.

N
ikoletta tossed her leather-bound notepad on her desk and went into the private rooms that adjoined her office. The bathroom was spacious, sheathed in sparkling onyx, and the dressing room, reached through double doors, was paneled in pale Russian birch. The rooms had all the features of such spaces in the most luxuriously appointed homes, but she proudly told everyone who commented upon them that for her they were an absolute necessity. She often began work early in the morning and worked until late at night, leaving for parties or business engagements directly from her office.

She checked her makeup in the mirror over the double sinks, applied a fresh coat of Crystal Tiger lipstick, then washed her hands. Leaving the bathroom, she went through her office and into her private dining room. The table had been set for three with starched white linen, heavy Buccellati sterling, Flora Danica china, and St. Louis crystal. A small arrangement of creamy white gardenias adorned the middle of the table, their heady scent perfuming the room. Nikoletta wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“Christian,” she called angrily.

Her office butler immediately appeared from a jib door that hid the butler’s pantry. “Yes?” he asked imperturbably.

“Get rid of those damned gardenias,” she said. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want flowers with heavy scent on the table? They interfere with the aroma of the food.”

“They were sent by one of your guests,” he replied, “so I thought it would be appropriate to use them.”

“Well, you were wrong,” she snapped. “Get them out of here.”

Christian, whose face had turned a bright red, quickly picked up the bowl of gardenias and whisked them out of sight.

She heard the telephone on her desk bleat and went to answer it. “Yes, Maria,” she said, knowing that it was her secretary. She sat down behind her desk.

“Bianca Coveri is here,” Maria replied.

“Send her in,” Nikoletta said.

The door to her office opened, and Bianca stepped warily into the room. Her appearance was strikingly elegant as usual, but Nikoletta didn’t miss the cautious demeanor. It contrasted significantly with the Bianca who normally swept into the office with authority and confidence.

“Hi,” Nikoletta said. “Why don’t you have a seat.” She indicated one of the chairs facing her desk.

“You told me that Heidi Lyons was going to be here.” The statement was almost an accusation.

“She is,” Nikoletta replied, “but I wanted a few minutes with you alone to discuss a private issue.”

“Then why don’t you get to the point, Niki?” Bianca said.

“Okay,” Nikoletta said, folding her hands on the desktop and looking Bianca in the eye. “First, I want to get the obvious out of the way. The business with Frans wasn’t meant to be sexual, whether you choose to believe me or not. I went there to discuss job possibilities with him.”

“Oh, right,” Bianca said sarcastically.

“I don’t expect you to believe me,” Nikoletta said, “but it’s the truth. He’s good-looking and personable and could be an asset to the company. Plus he was
your
friend. I figured that if you kept company with him, then he had to have something on the ball besides his looks.” She paused and gazed at Bianca with a gleam in her eye. “Meaning brains, Bianca. I know you don’t suffer fools gladly.”

“I’m flattered,” Bianca said, “but that still doesn’t account for what happened.”

“No, but I’m getting there. I’d asked one of the waiters to make drinks for us. The three of us. I’d already had a little too much to drink, and I didn’t even notice the pills he’d put on the tray with the drinks. Frans saw those after we’d already started drinking. And I had no idea that the drinks had been spiked. I guess he thought he was doing me a favor, but he didn’t know me. You know that I’m not the type to use drugs. How the hell would I do my job?”

Bianca knew that this was probably true. Nikoletta might get a little drunk sometimes, but she’d never heard anything connecting her with drug use. “Go on,” she said.

“What happened is all a blur,” Nikoletta went on. “I had no intention of having sex with Frans, and we didn’t have any. We were too busy laughing.”

“So what’s the point?” Bianca asked.

“I’m offering you a promotion,” Nikoletta said. “A huge promotion, with a corresponding increase in salary. It would be a new position in the company. International vice president and director of Ethics and Goodwill.”

Bianca blurted a laugh. “
You
are suddenly interested in ethics and goodwill?”

Nikoletta nodded. “Yes. Nobody on the board seems to think that I’ve been listening, but they’re wrong. I can see that today’s business climate is really changing, and we have to change with it.”

Bianca didn’t know what to believe. Was it possible that Niki—the Niki she’d known so many years—could actually be changing her mind?

“Anyway, that’s where you come in,” Nikoletta went on. “I’d like your help. You’d be sort of a roving ambassadress of goodwill and ethics for PPHL. Helping find solutions to the problems at various facilities. Reporting back to me what the conditions are.”

“I have to admit that I can hardly believe what I’m hearing,” Bianca said.

“I guess what’s changed me—at least a large part of it—is that I was nearly killed by that ecoterrorist,” Nikoletta said in a small voice. She looked at Bianca with her huge, dark eyes. Bianca thought she saw tears about to spill.
Is that possible?
she asked herself.
Niki tearful?

“The guy who tried to murder me in St. Barth’s escaped,” Nikoletta continued, “and it makes me furious. And now that he’s on the loose, he’ll probably try again. If he doesn’t, another one will. So part of this move is for my own self-protection.”

Bianca’s mind was reeling. She’d reluctantly come to Nikoletta’s office. In the back of her mind there still lurked the urge to tell Niki off. But now Nikoletta had stunned her with an enticing opportunity. Under ordinary circumstances, she’d jump at the chance.

Her reverie was interrupted by Nikoletta. “So, what are your thoughts about it?”

“I agree with you about the changes needed,” Bianca responded, “and the job sounds like it’s made for me.” She paused and looked down at her manicured fingernails. “But I’ll have to think about it.”

“Fine,” Nikoletta said. The telephone on her desk bleated, and Nikoletta picked up the receiver. “Yes?” She listened for a moment. “Send her straight in, Maria.” She gazed at Bianca. “Heidi’s here. I think you’ll be fascinated to hear what she has to say. She knows a lot about what would lie within the scope of this position, and the possibilities are intriguing.”