Whistler's Angel (53 page)

“Looks like a burn. Your friend been in a fire?”

“No, it wasn’t a burn. He was…cut. Flying glass.”

“Well, the one with the limp who got in the back seat…he called the driver Robert; that’s the only name I heard. I’d say you could wait and ask the pilot if you like, but I don’t think he’ll be coming through the terminal.”

She looked out toward the plane. It was taxiing away. It appeared to be headed across the runway to the other side of the airport. The man said, “Over there’s where the private jets park. It’s where I’ll pick up the car later on.”

“Later on. You mean today?”

“Or tomorrow, the next day. They never tell us how long.”

“Well, thank you,” she said. “I’m…probably mistaken.”

“Wish I could have been more helpful. Goodbye, now.”

She began to pace. She didn’t know what to do. In the first place, she couldn’t be a hundred percent sure that the man was actually Briggs. If it were, she’d have expected to see the other one with him. What was his name? Oh, yes. Lockwood. And that younger man was definitely not Lockwood.

But that did look like Briggs, so let’s assume that it was. Let’s assume that Briggs didn’t have the good sense to look for another line of work. That would mean that he’s still working for that man, Felix Aubrey, the one who Adam said looked like a toad. She had never seen Aubrey. Not even a photo. But the little man with them, the last one off the plane, did fit into the frog family somewhere.

But there was also that limp and his bow-legged walk. You would think that if anyone described Felix Aubrey, there would be some mention of his physical impairment. On the other hand, frogs are bow-legged.

All right, hold it, she thought. Do you see what you’re doing? You’re letting your imagination run wild. Except you knew, you just
knew
that Aubrey might be involved from the moment you heard that Philip Ragland had been shot. Philip Ragland had railed against people like Aubrey. Aubrey and that other one, Poole. And if those two were involved, then Harry was right. Adam was definitely involved in that shooting. That was Adam at the bar in that film clip she saw. And the woman sitting with him was Claudia.

It was all she could do not hail a cab and go looking for Adam and Claudia herself. But where to start? She did not know the island. All she knew was that the boat was berthed in a place called Palmetto Bay…which apparently was the one place where they weren’t. As hard as it was, she would have to sit and wait for Harry’s friends to arrive.

As if in answer to a prayer, she thought she heard another airplane. It sounded like a low whistle as it passed overhead. The sound became more distant; it seemed to be leaving. The whistling sound changed its pitch, became deeper. She realized that the airplane was turning to land.

She saw it at last. A smaller jet than the first. Also privately owned, from the look of it.
But this one did not taxi up to the terminal. It turned off to the right where the private planes were parked. She rushed to the window to see as best she could. It had stopped, its door had opened; there were people disembarking. And again, there were men. She saw two of them get off. They seemed unremarkable, casually dressed. Within seconds they had disappeared from view.

The plane, however, was moving again. It approached the single runway, she assumed to take off, but it kept on coming; it was crossing toward her. She held her breath as the aircraft approached and, once again, it came to a stop.
The door opened and a small set of stairs folded out. It was them. Now she saw them. Two women.

Her first reaction on seeing them in the flesh was something that approached disappointment. She’d expected two women, but these were…just women. She’d expected, she supposed, a pair of amazon types. Hard as nails, no nonsense, chewing gum. But the taller one had a look that, even from a distance, made her seem very friendly and approachable. She was nicely dressed in a skirt and a blazer. Dark hair, long and flowing in the afternoon breeze, framed one of those faces that easily smiled. Sad eyes, though. Not unhappy. Just the way they were shaped. So this has to be Molly Farrell, she thought. She’s the one Harry said she’d be comfortable with. Kate began to understand why.

The smaller one looked even less the part of what one would expect in a bodyguard. She was a redhead, very tiny, not much over five feet. She wore her hair short, in an elfin cut. She was dressed much more casually; she wore bluejeans and sneakers and a tight-fitting turtleneck sweater. Kate guessed that she was a size two, if that. From a distance, she might pass as a fourteen-year-old girl although she was probably somewhere in her forties. Her face, while not unpretty, showed almost no expression. She was constantly moistening her lips. This one would be the “unusual” one. This one would have to be Carla.

They both saw that she was watching. Molly nodded an acknowledgment. They waited until the pilot, an older man, deplaned and opened the luggage compartment. He drew out a soft duffle for each of the women and placed them on the tarmac at their feet. He said something to Molly. They both checked their watches. The pilot raised a finger and he shook it Carla. His expression seemed pleasant; it was not a threatening gesture; it done in the manner of a kindly parent reminding a child to behave. That pilot, thought Kate, must be more than just a pilot. It was clear that he knew them both well.

As the pilot turned and reentered the aircraft, the rental car man, the same one, pulled up, delivering a small gray Mercedes sedan. As before, he had a clipboard. Molly took it, scrawled something, then she motioned to Kate, inviting her to come out and join them.

As Kate pushed through the door; the man saw her and smiled. He said, “Hi. Any luck with your friend?”

She said no.

“I just passed them again. Couple miles down the road. They’d pulled over to look at a map.”

“Which direction?”

“Down island.” He made a vague gesture with his thumb. “They were headed south along the main parkway, but there must be a dozen hotels down that way. Have you thought about calling the hotels?”

“That’s a good idea. Thanks. I might do that.”

Molly waited for the rental car man to leave before introducing herself. She offered Kate her hand and she introduced Carla. Carla kept her hands at her sides, but her expression seemed to soften a bit. She said, “I’m looking forward to meeting your daughter. Is it true that she…”

“Carla…please,” said Molly. “That will keep.”

Molly said this to Carla, rather gently, thought Kate. Kate said to Molly, “Um…this car that you’ve rented…”

“What, why a Mercedes? We’re told that they’re commonplace on this island. Especially in this color.”

She was saying, Kate realized, that it wouldn’t stand out. That’s the sort of thing professionals consider, she supposed, but that wasn’t what she wanted to ask. “Actually, I meant the way you signed for the car. Does that mean that you work for the government, too?”

Molly shook her head. She also saw through the question. She asked, “What friend was he talking about? Who else could you know on this island?”

Kate told her about the other plane that came in. She told her about the
man who she thought was one of those who had raided her greenhouse. She’d thought it was the bald one whose face had been cut, but now she wasn’t so sure. He’d arrived in that plane with two other men, one of whom might have been Felix Aubrey.

Carla’s eyes lit up. Molly’s didn’t. She seemed doubtful. She asked, “Have you ever seen Aubrey before?”

“No, I’ve only heard him described.”

“Felix Aubrey does not get around very well. He had…suffered an injury to his legs.”

“This man limped.”

Still that doubt. “A small man? In his forties? Odd-looking?”

“With two younger men, both much bigger than he is. One, if I’m right, is the man named Briggs. I didn’t know the third one, but his first name is Robert.
The man who brought their car heard him called by that name.”

“So they picked up their car from the man who brought ours?”

“He delivered a black Lincoln Town Car.”

“Did you get the plate number?”

“I didn’t think to. I’m sorry.”

“And the plane that brought them. Still here, or has it left?”

Kate pointed to it across the field. “That’s it.”

“The Hawker?”

Kate answered, “I don’t know them by make. It’s the one to the right of that Texaco fuel truck.” She asked, “By the way, those men who got off your plane…were they just commuters or did Harry send them, too?”

Molly answered, vaguely, “Don’t worry about them.” She chewed on her lip. She turned to Carla.

Kate watched as the two of them looked at each other. No words were spoken. Molly narrowed her eyes and Carla answered with a shrug. The narrowing of the eyes seemed to ask, “
Could it be
?” The shrug seemed to say, “
I don’t know. Let’s find out
.” Carla reached to pick up one of the duffles. She walked back toward the plane that had brought her.

“Carla? Just check. Do you hear what I’m saying? Don’t do anything more than ask around.”

Carla wet her lips. She said, “I’ll find my own ride.”

“Carla? You heard me.”

“I heard you. Where will you be? You’re still going to see Olivia first?”

“Yes, we are.”

Carla said, “I’ll catch up to you later.”

Kate watched as Carla reboarded her plane. It started to taxi at once. It was headed, she assumed, to the far side of the airstrip where the other place in question had parked. Kate turned to Molly and asked, “Who’s Olivia? And why aren’t we going to the boat?”

“We’re not going to the boat until we know who’s where. Adam and your daughter still don’t seem to be on it. Olivia’s a friend who I’ve been trying to reach. She is also the wife of Philip Ragland.”

K
ate blinked in surprise. “Wait a minute. You know them?”

“Not the husband,” Molly answered, “but we all knew Olivia. Adam has met her, if that’s your next question, but that was a long time ago.”

“So…he
was
in that bar and it
wasn’t
by chance. What the hell did he get my daughter into?”

“Mrs. Geller, we don’t know yet. Olivia will.”

“So that
was
Felix Aubrey who flew in with his thugs. They’re here after
Ragland? To finish the job? Or are they after Adam this time?”

“We don’t know.”

“Y
ou can’t guess? It’s one or both. Why else would he have come?”