Tourist Trapped (4 page)

SIX

Wednesday December 9, Afternoon

Amanda pressed the
buzzer and listened to the opening staccato notes of “The Blue Danube.”
Classical chimes? You have to be kidding.
She slapped her notebook against her thigh while waiting on the front step of her father’s pretentious edifice. She considered the mausoleum—with its two-car-and-one-golf-cart garage, walk-in closet the size of the standard living room and in-ground pool that nobody used—as foreign territory. Quartz countertops, marble floors, arched entries: thirty-three hundred square feet of pure, unadulterated ostentation. All it needed was a Greek statue in the foyer. One with a big dick.

Miriam opened the door and Amanda forced herself to cross the threshold, her sandals clicking against the stone flooring. Two Siamese cats sauntered past and into the dining room.

“Where’s my father?”

“He went to the rec center for a quick swim, to ease the stress. Donny wasn’t expecting you for a while.”

“Light traffic.” Amanda drummed her notebook against her leg again and stood in the entryway. She didn’t want to venture farther into the bowels of the home—especially with her father absent. It was bad enough to be alone with Miriam without the prospect of sitting down for tea. Or possibly hemlock with eye of newt. “I’ll come back later.”

“He won’t be long—please stay. How about waiting on the lanai? It’s warm enough for use today.” Miriam led the way, barefoot and wearing a pair of khaki trouser shorts and an aqua sleeveless shirt. The shorts rode on her hips and her atrophied arms reminded Amanda of breadsticks. A white headband pulled back her chin-length, Clairol-brown hair from her furrowed brow. Pale, no make-up, and red eyes, it must have been a few tough days.
Was that a twinge of pity? For the shrew?

The expansive lanai opened into a screened pool enclosure. A landscaping crew mowed the yard next door, the growl of the motors reverberating against the house, ushering in the scent of freshly-cut grass. Amanda eased herself into one of the merlot-upholstered wicker chairs next to a ten-by-fifteen-foot pool, a requirement of The Village’s middle crust. “Has anyone started using the pool?”

“No. We thought it would be great for grandchildren. We were so hoping that Becky and Trent would have a baby…but…” Miriam covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head. Tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m sorry, but I’m so worried, I want my little girl back.”

Amanda picked at the edge of her notepad. “Still no word? I thought maybe you’d hear something by the time we got here.”

“No, nothing.” The husband thief wiped her eyes. “Thank you for helping, Amanda. I know this can’t be easy for you.”

“Yeah, well, nothing’s been easy for the last thirty years when it comes to Dad…and you.”

“Donny loves you so much, Amanda, if you only gave him a chance—”

“Miriam, I didn’t fly across the continent to endure a lecture from you, of all people.” The adrenaline coursed through her veins, urging her to flee back to Chicago. “Please stop talking to me or I’ll leave and come back after Dad returns. It’s all I can take to be in the same room with you.”

“I begged Donny not to involve you, but he did, Amanda. I know you’re not thrilled, but somehow we’ll have to work out some way to get along for a few days, until Rebecca is found.” The bony mass that passed as a woman departed from the lanai, mumbling something about stubborn mules.

* * *

Vince, please, give
me good news.
Chad opened the car windows and shut off the engine. A warm, humid breeze carried in the groans of commercial lawn mowers. He sat for a moment, gazing at the manicured estates of the romping retirees, and sending positive thoughts to Wyoming. He dialed the number. “What have you got for me?”

“Sorry, Chad, we lost them again.”

His head dropped to his chest. Disappointment washed over him. “How?”

“Evidently they found out I was in town. I didn’t even have a chance to get a team together and they vanished.”

A pair of golf carts with clubs strapped to the back whizzed past. The seniors looked so relaxed, confident their kids and grandchildren were safe and happy. No worries.

“When are they going to run out of money?”

“They don’t exactly choose plush locales as their residences, and considering they started out with one hundred and fifty grand, they could probably lie low a few more years.”

“Any leads on where they might have gone?”

“Not yet, but…”

“What?” Chad said.

“Are you up for a little law breakage?”

“At this point I’m up for a lot of law breakage. What do you have in mind?”

“I know a guy who can get me cell phone records and credit card transactions if any are out there, but it’ll cost a chunk of change.”

“Make it happen,” Chad said.

“As always, I’ll keep you in the loop.”

“Oh, hey, I’m going to be in Mexico for a few days.”

“You’re taking a vacation?” Vince asked.

“No, I’m helping my boss—her sister disappeared in Cancun. I’m going down to keep up with our caseload while she searches for the woman.”

“Kind of ironic, isn’t it?”

“Don’t I know it—one more thing. Fozzy probably told you, but in case he didn’t, I’ve engaged him for some side projects for my boss and there may be more.”

“Sounds like you’re doing more than case work,” Vince said.

“After so many years of searching, it’s pretty much instinct.”

Chad hung up.
So many years
. He twisted the gold band that had rested on his left hand for two decades. He and Danielle had inscribed “My heart always” inside the rings. Did she still wear hers?

A golf cart zipped up the driveway and into the garage. A tall man in a bright shirt and designer glasses emerged. He walked over to Chad. “Are you with Amanda?”

“Yes, she’s in the house.”

“What are you, the mutt that needs to stay in the car? Nice she opened the windows for you.”

“I had some calls to make. She’s probably waiting for you inside.”

“And her mood?”

“Sir, I work for her. I don’t think it’s my place to comment.”

“Pleading the fifth. Must be a lawyer.” He slapped the car door. “Wish me luck. Sometimes she makes the Tasmanian devil look like the Dalai Lama.”

* * *

If Miriam so
much as looked at her wrong, Amanda planned to jet back to Chicago to avoid the aggravation.

The door slammed. “Where is everybody?” Moments later her father appeared in the doorframe, wearing white shorts and an electric blue, parrot-themed Hawaiian shirt.

“Who’s the guy in the car? It can’t be a boyfriend; you got a bodyguard?”

“He’s a little scrawny for that job.” Amanda pictured Cooper fumbling through one of her self-defense refresher courses, a cadre of women coaching him through the moves. “And besides, I can take care of myself.” She must have clocked in more than two hundred hours of target practice at gun clubs over the years. After a run-in with the ex-husband of a client, Amanda considered buying a gun, but settled on a Taser. She hadn’t packed it, certain she’d be stopped at customs.

“Gee, I hadn’t noticed. Well, who is he, then?”

“Chad’s a new lawyer at my firm. He’ll support our caseload while I hunt down Rebecca.”

Her father cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled toward the doorway, “Hon, can you bring us a couple of iced teas?” He settled onto the wicker loveseat. “Thanks for coming down; we can use someone with your smarts on the ground in Cancun.”

“Your wife said no word.”

“Nothing. Miriam’s a wreck, crying constantly, calling anyone she can think of to issue me a new passport.”

Amanda sighed, rested her notepad on her leg and poised her pen. “Okay, fill me in.”

“Rebecca told Miriam that Trent had a surprise planned for Sunday. It’s the last we’ve heard.”

“Did you reach them through their cell phones?”

“No, they aren’t using them in Cancun, too pricey with their phone plan. Miriam had to call the room to reach Rebecca.”

“Where are they staying?”

“Fiesta something or other. Give me a minute.” He headed into the house. The moan of the lawnmower ebbed as the landscaper finished the next-door backyard and headed to the front. Sitting alone, in her father’s home, Amanda felt neither a daughter nor a guest. More of an interloper.

Her dad returned. “Miriam said it’s called Fiesta Oasis Royale and it’s in the north end of the hotel zone.” He handed her a piece of paper. “Here, she wrote it down for you.”

“When did they arrive in Cancun?”

“Thursday. They were—I mean are—coming back a week from Saturday.” He plopped back down in the chair.

“What do you think happened to them?” Amanda asked.

“Hell if I know. Maybe they rented a car and somebody mugged them and stole the vehicle. They could be in a rural area, trying to make their way back to civilization.”

“None of it makes any sense,” Amanda said. “We’re talking Cancun, vacationers’ paradise. It may not be as safe as in the past, but I can’t fathom tourists disappearing out of the blue.”

Miriam walked in. “I just opened this.” She handed an envelope to her husband. “It came in today’s mail.”

“That important?” He pulled out a note and a newspaper clipping.

Miriam left as quietly as she came, a wisp of a woman.

“It’s from Marge and Ted, congratulating me.” He unfolded the clipping and waved it at Amanda, its edges fluttering. “On your engagement.”

“Oh.” Amanda twisted her pen, feeling her face warm.
Damn
. She had forgotten that many of her dad’s old buddies never left Chicagoland. She’d hoped to break it off with Matt before her dad caught wind of it.

His cheeks deepened to a cranberry hue as he leapt up and circled the loveseat. “I know you’re unhappy with me, Mandy, but do you hate me so much that you’d purposely avoid telling me you’re getting married? Have you completely shut me out?”

“Look, it’s not what you think.”

He stopped pacing. “Engaged is engaged, Mandy. I don’t think there’s another way to explain it—even for a lawyer.”

“Dad, he asked me at his grandmother’s ninetieth birthday party. I couldn’t say no, although I don’t think we’re at the nuptials stage in our relationship.”

“Who is this Pat guy?”

“Matt, Dad. He’s Matthew Baird, an attorney running for Senate.”

“Another lawyer. He tricked you into accepting his proposal?”

She gulped. “Yes.”

“Should fit right in with the rest of the politicians in D.C.”

“Okay, can we get back to Rebecca and Trent?” Amanda said.

Her father dropped back into the seat. “We’ll drag Miriam out here in a bit. She can give you more details than I can. But take it easy on her, Mandy. She’s barely keeping it together, waiting to hear something from our baby girl.”

Amanda’s feathers ruffled with the mention of the blood connection between her father and Rebecca. “Isn’t there anyone else who can help hunt them down? Do you really need me to do this? It’s not as if I have some deep, burning desire to save the girl who snatched you away.”

“I’m sick to death of your whining, Mandy.”

Her gut boiled. Instead of admitting his failures, her father continually accused Amanda of stirring up drama. She rose. “I came down here to help, not to be insulted. Screw this. I’m heading back to Chicago.”

He blocked her path. “No, you are not. You are going to help us find your baby sister.”

“I find it fascinating, how you can remind me of my familial obligations. The man who deserted Mom and me.”

“Yes, I left your mother, but I didn’t leave you.” He stabbed his finger at the air. “You turned your back on me.”

Her indignation reawakened, like a long-lost friend. “How could you walk out on Mom—especially with her breast cancer ordeal?”

“They diagnosed Lizzie after I married Miriam. What was I supposed to do? Divorce my new wife so I could be a nursemaid to your mother?”

“You shouldn’t have left in the first place—especially to hook up with your secretary. Your life is such a cliché: marry your high school sweetheart, screw your admin and get her knocked up, then leave your wife to wed your mistress. I see Neanderthal pricks like you every day.”

“I’m going to pretend you never said that.”

“Look, this is a bad idea. Hire a private investigator, Dad. I need to go home.”

He grabbed her shoulders. “Mandy, I realize this is tough for you—we haven’t exactly been a model family, but I need your help. Please.”

She rubbed her throbbing temples, hoping to stave off a migraine. Returning to Chicago appealed to her, but not enough to walk away from a family member. Even Rebecca. “Fine.”

Miriam, holding a tray of iced teas, led Cooper onto the lanai. “I thought the car might be getting too hot so I asked him to join us.”

Amanda took a deep breath, cleared her mind, and sat down. Her father perched on the edge of the loveseat, as if ready to grab Amanda if she tried to escape.

Cooper checked out the net bird cage over the pool and whistled. “Great place you have here. Not too shabby…is that an outdoor kitchen over there?” He sat down in the chair next to Amanda and set up his laptop.

“We entertain a lot and having the summer kitchen makes it easier to be with our friends while cooking dinner.” Miriam handed Amanda a glass.

“Because there’s merely room for twenty in the kitchen?” Amanda said.

“We enjoy the outdoors.” Miriam sat next to her husband and rubbed his knee. “Now that Donny’s here, is there anything I can tell you to help?”

“Do you know their plans for the week? Were they going on any excursions?” Amanda said.

“Other than Trent’s surprise, they had gone to Isla Mujeres.” Miriam wiped her eyes. “I’m not sure how much more they wanted to do. Becky hoped they could spend some quiet time together, lounging on the beach, but Trent hates sitting around.”

Cooper focused on his computer screen. “Has there been any drug cartel activity on the Yucatán Peninsula? There have been a lot of reports of violence in some parts of Mexico. I checked Trent’s arrest record and he’s been busted a few times for marijuana. Could he have mixed with the wrong crowd, looking for a seller?”