Cut and Run

by Fern Michaels

  Myra strained to see ahead of her for any similar-looking vehicles. There were none. It doesn’t belong. Somehow, Enrico and his people had found her. Avery’s warning rang in her ears. “Do not panic. Assess the situation. Remove yourself from the situation. If you only have a split second to make a decision, go with your gut.” Myra whirled around and started back the way she had come. She didn’t look back, but she could see through the streamers hanging from her straw hat that she was almost alongside the large van. “Don’t run,” Avery had said. “Don’t run but move as fast as you can.” Normally, Myra could move as fast as the others, but not after the monster breakfast she’d just consumed. She cursed the stack of pancakes she’d just eaten.

  Just move, Myra, just move. She heard a sound then, a sound she was familiar with, a panel door on a van sliding across. Run! Her mind shrieked. Run! Directly in her path was an elderly man walking two large dogs, so she couldn’t run even if she wanted to. She stepped aside and pressed herself up against a plateglass window. When the man and the dogs swept past her, she ran; but she wasn’t fast enough. She felt strong arms grab her from behind. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she tried to jerk free as the straw hat with the streamers was ripped off her head.

  “Jack! Oh, my God! Jack, is it really you?”

  “Yeah, yeah, it’s me. Will you just shut up already, Myra, or people are going to think I’m kidnapping you. It’s me, it’s really me. We’re all here in the white van. Myra, shut up, okay?”

  Myra clamped her lips tight.

  She knew how to follow orders.

  Chapter 7

  Myra felt herself being pushed and shoved toward the van, the straw hat with the streamers clutched in her hands. She gulped at the air like a fish out of water as willing hands pulled and pushed at her. She heard people shouting, “GO!” And then the white van was moving, its horn blasting the vehicles and the hordes of mopeds in front to get out of the way.

  “Easy, old girl, easy,” Charles crooned as he stroked Myra’s hair, which was damp with perspiration. Everyone was talking and shouting and trying to get close enough to hug her. “You’re safe now. Everything is going to be okay. We’re on our way to meet with Avery. Easy now, luv. Deep breaths.”

  Myra took a huge, deep breath and let it out slowly as tears rolled down her cheeks. “They have Annie. I don’t know if I should have stayed with her or not,” she gasped. “I saw a chance to run, and I took it. We have to find her. The man is a maniac; he’s going to do something bad to her if she doesn’t do what he wants. I don’t know where he took her,” Myra wailed. “I just ran and ran. I still can’t believe he didn’t come after me. He’s going to make Annie pay for it.”

  “We’ll find her, Myra,” Charles said soothingly. “We won’t give up till we find her.”

  “Promise, Charles. Promise we’ll find her.”

  “I promise,” Charles said solemnly.

  A weak smile tugged at the corners of Myra’s lips when everyone in the van echoed Charles’s words. And then the questions came laser fast, with Myra trying to keep up. When she realized she was babbling incoherently, she threw her hands up in the air just as Jack whistled sharply for silence.

  “Okay, people, one at a time. Myra,” he said gently, “slow and easy wins the race. Take your time, we have all day,” Jack said.

  “No, Jack, we don’t have all day. Annie is in that man’s hands. He is not a nice man, either. He wants what he wants, and he won’t stop till he gets it. Annie is at his mercy, and I don’t know where he took her. This is his country. We’re at a severe disadvantage. I should never have made a run for it. Oh, God, why did I do that? I left her! I left Annie behind!” Myra cried.

  “You’re wrong, luv. You did exactly what we were all trained to do. Any one of us, and that includes Annie, would have done the same thing. Running as you did gives us a fighting chance. Avery’s entire team is here. He’ll leave no stone unturned. He’ll enlist the aid of the locals.

  “We can’t rush into anything. Annie is safe for the moment. If you’re thinking he’s going to harm her, you’re wrong. He needs her, and Annie is no fool, she knows that. She’ll do whatever she needs to do.”

  “She’s never going to forgive me for leaving her. Never. She has nothing, they took everything. All she has is her wits and . . . and . . .”

  “You said, did you not, that when you bolted, she screamed, ‘Run, Myra, run!’ That’s the proof that she wanted you to do what you did. She’s counting on your finding us and our finding her. Trust me, knowing Annie as I do, she is figuring all the angles. If I were a betting man, which I am at times, my money would be on Annie. We’re thinking positive, here, luv,” Charles said gently.

  Myra’s head bobbed up and down, just as a symphony of sound hit the roof of the van. She doubled over, her eyes wild. “Gunshots! Oh, my God, they found us!”

  “No, no, no! It’s rain,” Nikki said. “The sky just opened up. Look outside, Myra. It’s just rain.”

  Myra went slack in Charles’s arms. “I’m . . . ah . . . just a tad twitchy. I’m sorry.”

  “This rain is a good thing,” Ted called over his shoulder. “All the mopeds ahead are looking for cover. Does everyone in this country drive a moped?” he asked to no one in particular. No one answered him, so he concentrated on trying to see through the heavy downpour, with windshield wipers that were less than efficient going as fast as they could.

  “Do we have a plan?” Myra asked.

  “Not yet. Once we meet up with Avery and get to our hotel, we’ll get down to work,” Charles said. “I want you to relax now. We’ll go through all the questions and answers when we’re behind closed doors. Are you listening to me, Myra?”

  “Of course I’m listening to you, Charles. What you all need to do is listen to ME.”

  “And we will, luv, just as soon as we can get settled. For now, we all just want you to calm down and relax. You better than anyone know what can happen when you strike out without a solid foundation. This is Annie we’re talking about. The one thing I am really grateful for is that you did not go to the American embassy. That’s the first place people like Annie’s captors will be watching. We need to be extra careful and cautious here, luv, as this is not our country, and we’re starting off at a serious disadvantage. Tell me you understand.”

  Myra’s head bobbed up and down.

  “Good. Now try to relax.”

  “Okay, people, we are approaching the square. If Snowden is out there, I can’t see him through this heavy rain. What do you want me to do? Should I park in the hope that he will see us first or what?” Ted asked.

  Everyone had a comment. The end result was that they parked as close to the square as possible, with Dennis and Espinosa getting out to look around.

  The mother in Myra surfaced. “No, don’t get out, boys. It’s a cold rain, and you’ll get a chill and get sick. Just park. Avery will find us. You can always call him, Charles.”

  Charles chuckled. “Now, why didn’t I think of that! Thank you, dear, for being so insightful and reminding me of my position here.”

  While Charles took care of business, Myra lowered her voice to a whisper, and said, “I am so worried about Annie. I just know she’s going to do something that is going to get her in more trouble than she’s in now. She’s furious. I don’t think she’s going to wait for us to find her. It’s just a feeling I have, one that I can’t shake.”

  Everyone was stunned when Harry spoke up. “Annie is no fool. She knows the score. She won’t do anything rash. She’ll watch and bide her time until she thinks the moment is right to make a move. Show some faith in her abilities. It’s amazing what people can do when their life is in danger. Look what you did, Myra.”

  The group simply stared at Harry, who was not known for talking or giving speeches. They all nodded as Yoko patted her husband on the head. Harry beamed his pleasure.

  The van turned silent just as Charles ended his call. Cyrus barked to show he was ready for
some action.

  “We’re to follow that gaggle of mopeds over to the right, Ted. At least they have ponchos on. They’ll lead the way. Avery said the only way to move around here is by moped, as we’ve just learned. They’re going to lead us to our hotel. He said it’s about fifteen minutes from where we are right now.”

  “We should make good time then,” Ted shouted, “because the road ahead is clear as far as I can see. Maybe we should ditch this set of wheels and go with mopeds ourselves.”

  “To be discussed at the hotel,” Charles shot back.

  Ted shrugged. “Easy for you to say; you aren’t driving in this unholy mess. Have any of you noticed how narrow these roads are? This is not your average vehicle, as you can see compared to those minicars out there. The darn thing takes up the whole road. I’m not complaining; I’m just saying.”

  “It’s raining harder,” Maggie said, just to have something to say.

  The van went quiet again as Ted followed the moped brigade.

  Cyrus let loose with a yip that said he wasn’t a happy camper, but he’d endure since he was scrunched between Jack and Nikki.

  Myra suddenly reared up, her eyes wild. “Oh, Charles, I broke my pearls. Annie said I had to break them so we could leave a trail of bread crumbs so you all would know we were on the mountain when you came to rescue us. I didn’t want to do it, but I didn’t have a choice. We need to go back to the mountain so I can try to find them. I can’t . . . I . . . what will I do without my pearls? They’re part of my life. I can’t believe I . . .” Tears welled in her eyes at her loss.

  It wasn’t Charles who consoled Myra at the loss of her beloved pearls but the girls and Cyrus, who tried to lick at her tears. The girls promised that they would go back and get on their hands and knees to scour the ground. “Cyrus will sniff them out,” Nikki said. “We’ll get them back, I promise, Myra,” Nikki said.

  Cyrus yipped his approval. Sniffing for pearls was action of a sort.

  Ted steered the huge van around a curve, then maneuvered his way forward to what looked like a quaint gabled inn that was exquisitely landscaped. Ted parked and pressed a lever that opened the side doors. Everyone clambered outside, backpacks and luggage in tow. Cyrus danced around, yipping and yapping his happiness to have his four legs on solid ground. He nudged Jack forward, his sign that he had business to take care of.

  Avery meandered over to them and saluted smartly. “Welcome to Spain, ladies and gentlemen. This is a small hotel. I engaged every room. The owners have a communal room that they rent out for social occasions, and that comes with our rental. Let us all check in and meet there in an hour. Get your passports ready. I’ll take care of things.”

  Myra hung back and pressed Charles’s arm to step to the side. “I don’t have my passport. That man took it. He also took my special gold shield. He has Annie’s, too. How am I going to register?” she asked fearfully.

  “You’re a guest of mine. A visitor. You are not a guest of the hotel. There is a difference. Just stay in the crowd. They’ll match the room to the passport. Try to relax, dear. I need you to be you. You can handle all this. I promise that we will find Annie. I promise that we will find your beloved pearls. And you know that I have never broken a promise to you.”

  “Oh, Charles, what would I do without you?”

  Charles grinned. “I can’t believe you said that to me. Just look back at all you’ve done in the past few days, and I was nowhere in evidence. You did it all on your own. And now we’re together. End of story.”

  “You left out the part that I am also a thief. I have to make it right for that young woman, Astrid Lansing, as soon as possible. I want to make sure she gets this hat back. For some reason, I think it was special to her. I robbed her, Charles. I did that!”

  “Of course you did, but you did not harm her. It was a question of survival. Yours. Any one of us would have done the same thing. You will make it right in the end, and that young lady will have tales to spin for her friends for years to come.”

  Myra leaned into Charles’s arms. “You always know the right thing to say to me. Thank you, my darling husband.”

  Charles hugged his wife tight to his side. “It looks like we’re checked in. Stay close to me and mix with the others.”

  “This is one of those times when I’m glad you’re on the portly side, dear,” Myra smiled.

  “Portly is it?”

  “Oh, you know what I mean, Charles. If you were a string bean of a man like Ted, I wouldn’t be able to hide behind you.”

  In spite of himself, Charles laughed out loud. One look from Avery Snowden was all Charles needed to turn solemn and serious.

  Snowden took the lead to the ancient-looking elevator. He pointed to a corridor on the right. “That’s the communal room where we’ll meet up in an hour.”

  In the cozy room nestled under the eaves with the door closed, Myra collapsed into Charles’s arms. She cried then, great gulping sobs as she swiped at her eyes with the sleeve of Astrid Lansing’s shirt, which she was wearing. She apologized for crying between sobs. “I feel so guilty that I left Annie. If anything happens to her, it will be my fault. God, Charles, how will I be able to live with that?”

  Charles gently pushed Myra so that she was facing him. “Listen to me, Myra. It’s okay to cry until you can’t cry anymore. Tears are cathartic. What is not all right is for you to blame yourself. I promise you that we will find Annie. I promise, Myra. I’ve never made a promise to you, ever, that I did not keep. We will find her, and it might not be on your immediate timetable, but we will be successful.”

  “I know, I know. I hear everything you’re saying, and I believe you, but . . . but until that happens, that man can . . . he can hurt Annie. What if . . .”

  “There are no what-ifs. We will find her, and when we do, Annie will be the victor. I know in my gut that, wherever she is, she is planning her escape. You have to put your faith in Annie.”

  “I am more than a little worried that Enrico, that’s his name, Enrico, he has our gold shields. What if he figures out . . . Good Lord, I can’t even bring myself to say out loud what he could do with not one but two of those shields.”

  A tentative knock sounded on the door. Charles opened it. Nikki handed over a pile of clothing for Myra. Charles simply nodded. The Sisters took care of one another.

  Myra smiled as she reached for the pile of clothing. She almost swooned at the thought of taking a shower and washing her hair, then putting on clean clothes. She nodded as she made her way to the tiny bathroom that was blindingly clean. She hoped the water was hot and steamy.

  The shower was all Myra could have hoped for. The water was hot, the soap lemony, and the complimentary mini-bottle of shampoo smelled like fresh peaches and vanilla. The complimentary toothbrush did double duty as Myra brushed and scrubbed. Satisfied that she was good to go, she walked out of the bathroom, feeling better than she’d felt in days. She looked at Charles and smiled.

  “I feel like my old self, Charles. Thank you for bringing me up short. I’m sorry for the tears. No, no, I’m not sorry. I needed to cry. And you’re right, tears are cathartic. You’re right about something else, too. Annie will fight and make things go her way. She has the advantage of knowing Enrico by now since she has been his captive for three long months. She’ll figure out something. She will, Charles. I know this. Go along now, the bathroom is all yours. I’ll be fine. I am fine, dear.”

  “Yes, dear. Bossy bossy,” Charles said, chuckling.

  Myra didn’t respond; she just nodded, her thoughts having moved on to Astrid Lansing and to Annie. But this time with a new perspective. Her eyes narrowed when she thought about what she and the Sisters would do to Enrico Araceli when they found him. Not if they found him but when.

  Twenty minutes later, Myra and Charles followed Avery Snowden into the hotel’s communal room. The others straggled in one by one, their expressions tense until the room was full. Extra folding chairs were brought in by the hotel staff. A hug
e silver urn of coffee along with what looked like delicious pastries sat invitingly on a sideboard, along with a heaping bowl of fruit.

  Charles waited till everyone had coffee and pastries before he called the meeting to order. “Who wants to go first?”

  Cyrus barked. Everyone laughed, the tension broken. Avery Snowden stood up and started to talk. “I don’t have any answers at this moment for you all. I’ve reached out to some people here who I think can help us. They in turn know other people. You all know how that works. I do have some background information on Enrico Araceli and his two brothers. Newspaper stuff and the like. We’re compiling a list of people to talk to: old neighbors, the mother’s friends, the padre at the local church they all attended. We need time to schedule interviews and sort through it all. Enrico’s mother, whose name was Elena, had a sister.

  “Annie’s husband, the count, was what, back in the States, we would call a big wheel over here. No one appears to have known that, though he was a count, he was actually penniless. This is something one of my operatives got from one of the locals, who knew the three sons. We have to put it all together. It’s ongoing.”

  “What about the mountain?” Ted asked. “We tried to find out the name of it and struck out. It has to have a name.”

  “I did find out the name of the village at the bottom of that mountain. It’s called the Village of Tears,” Maggie said. “I Googled it, and there seem to be conflicting stories about how it came to have its name. One is that the monks all died off on the mountain, and the few who were left moved down off the mountain and set up the village. Another story was that the count’s family lost all their money and had to move to the village and scrounge out a living. The third story was that the mountain was haunted, and bad things happened to the people there, mainly the de Silva family. They started dying off, one by one, until only Annie’s husband remained. He hightailed it down the mountain, so the curse wouldn’t get him, and relocated to the village.