Loggins popped up as the wood floor gave me away. A crystal tumbler dropped from his hand as he reached for a .38 sitting on the table next to him. The glass didn’t break but bounced, sending ice and liquid across the floor.
“Don’t!” I urged.
He froze. The revolver was in his hand, but he’d never get it turned toward me.
“Gordon,” he rasped. “This is a surprise.”
“I assumed as much. Otherwise, you might not have left the back door open.”
Cliff explained the migratory patterns of geese. Carla suggested he fly south.
He lifted an eyebrow. “You are quite capable. I think we can work something out.”
The left corner of my mouth twitched up. “Oh, yeah,” I remarked. “What do you have in mind?”
“A job. I need to hire a new security man.” He laid the revolver back on the table before bending over and picking up the overturned glass, depositing it on the table. “I can pay you very well. Whatever you want.”
I studied his face for a second. “What about the Porters?”
“I’ll let bygones be bygones. He can keep the money. I’ll consider it a finder’s fee for putting someone like you in my employ.”
“You’ll leave them alone?”
“My word,” he promised.
Diane references Dante. Carla remarks on how Diane should visit hell. More laughter.
“How much are we talking about?”
The man shrugged. “Why don’t you tell me what interests you?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. “I’ve never hired myself out as a murderer.”
Loggins shook his head. “You aren’t a murderer. I would expect you to just ensure that my safety is secured.”
“You will need to reconsider your properties if I am in charge. The house in Florida. Too much cover surrounding it. I had no problem sneaking in. And I don’t think the police even know there are six bodies out there. No one’s going to check on it.”
He smiled slightly. “You could help me from here out. Design better security systems.”
“And this house is,” I started, “very remote. Top of the mountain in the middle of winter. You’d need a chopper to get in here.”
He nodded. The bar greets Norm.
“Or a lot of incentive.”
He studied me. “No deal, I suppose?”
I shook my head slowly.
“There’s always someone like me,” he remarked.
“But it won’t be you.”
The gunshot echoed in the house. Joe Loggins’ head bent to see the red stain on his shirt. His hand reached for the revolver. The next bullet went between his eyes.
Woody said something about Indiana. Laughter filled the room.
Epilogue
The cable news anchor was speaking over a banner reading “Breaking News.” The television sound was muted. The ticker at the bottom read Justice James Walker and Senator Thomas Riley killed in a tragic boat explosion on Lake Lanier just outside of Atlanta.
Talking heads had been blabbering for an hour since the story broke. The explosion was being deemed an accident, but the NTSB was investigating with the F.B.I.’s help. Suppositions were being made about who the president might nominate to replace the liberal justice. The governor of Georgia had already spoken. He would be making decisions on who would replace Senator Riley in Congress.
Angelika watched the ticker as it continued across. Two other victims were members of the White House cabinet.
She reached for the remote and turned the television off. She stood and walked to the window over-looking the Bahia Mar Marina.
A smile formed on her lips.
Other books by Douglas Pratt
Chase Gordon Tropical Thriller Series
Diamond Reef
Dark Cay
Max Sawyer Thriller Series
Bloody History
Blood Remembered
Baptism of Blood
Blood Stained
Crimson Blood
Blood River
Blood and Roses
Blood Pools
Other
Delayed Indefinitely
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Dark Cay Page 22
