"Little Bo Peep."
"Nope. Peter Baldwyn."
His intestines suddenly felt watery. "You're kidding."
"Nope."
The man hadn't cared enough about others to even apologize for ruing Dolly's deck. He hadn't been concerned about anything except the oil on his own hand.
"And,” Windy added, “he was arrested for pushing Danielle in front of the bus."
Windy made a sound of agreement. "He testified that he'd been trying to grab her out of harms way, but lost his grip. Darn, I wish there was a transcript of that trial here. I'll get one by the time I see you."
"I'd bet anything that jerk Baldwyn pushed her."
"Had a rough time cleaning up the deck, huh?"
Stone growled. "More like the look in the guy's eyes. Dark, darting and sinister."
Windy snickered while she typed. Abruptly, there was an odd stillness on her end of the line. "Scotland Yard has some interesting comments in Baldwyn's file."
"What is he some sort of international criminal?" He was willing to believe it.
"Let's just say that his movements coincide with certain events and that makes him appear suspicious."
"Such as?"
"I'll print it out and bring it with me. When are you heading to Valdez?"
He glanced at the clock. “We’ll be at Dolly for dinner. What about you? Want me to fly over and pick you up?"
"I'll wing it, but for certain I'll be there for the fishing, tomorrow. Uh, and Stone?" He grunted. "This isn't going to be like the last time you took me out, is it?"
"What do you mean?"
"The brass. I'm giving you fair warning that I will not polish my fingernails off on that stuff, again."
“Trust me, I did it last month.” By the time he put down the receiver, he was too keyed up to go back to sleep and too tired to stay alert. He got up, tugged on some sweats and went downstairs to brew a pot of coffee.
Chapter 26
"The Bronco just passed, again. That's the third time he's been by in," Tempest looked at the clock, "fourteen minutes."
"He’s trying to flush us out, just like a fox does a rabbit, who is safe in the briar patch.” Ariel swallowed. “There's no way we can get Mozart out of here without him seeing."
"But we can't leave him!" Tempest stared at her.
"We’ll ask Link to send him to Elizabeth on Monday. We'll just have to leave out enough seed and water for the weekend." She gestured helplessly. Tempest's lower lip trembled as she got the bag of sunflower seed. Mozart rolled his eye and cocked his head as more seeds clattered into his bowl, then she went back to keep her vigil behind the curtain.
Ariel tried to swallow the thick lump in her throat. Perhaps this was best in the long run. They'd always snuck Mozart out, so Peter wouldn't realize they weren’t planning to come back until their trail was cool. Cold would be better, but that seemed impossible to achieve. Still, she hated putting Link in the middle of her problems. Knowing Peter would probably pick the lock as soon as they left, was even worse. Knowing how much Peter loved to kill things, and that he might take his fury out on Mozart made it impossible to think. But she had to survive and to do that, she had to make everyone else believe things were okay.
Oblivious to his impending abandonment, Mozart preened his feathers, preening was the first thing he had done when her real father had given him to her. She took a deep, shuddering breath, then began writing out instructions for Link. When she was done, she folded the sheet along with airfare and tucked everything in an envelope.
"There he is, again," Tempest called from the living room. "Sherry, I'm scared. What if he shoots us on the way to the airport?"
"You think he'll get close after yesterday?" Tempest's irises looked like islands in a white sea. Ariel forced her tension into hiding and smiled. "If he ran away from me, he'll run away from Link and Stone. They're pretty big and intimidating looking."
"Father always said, 'guns win over knives'. What if that guy is pissed about yesterday and just decides to shoot us? What if he shoots poor Uncle Link?"
"We'll make it." They had to.
"You can't know that."
"People who shoot others get sent to jail. Do you think one of Peter's hired thugs is willing to go to jail for shooting a stranger?"
"I hope not." Tempest didn't look convinced, and Ariel couldn't allow herself to think of the hundreds of awful things that could happen before they got to Valdez. "Sherry, are you okay?"
"Just a few cramps. I'll be fine." She gestured toward the window. "What's really sad is that the Bronco's driver doesn't even know the truth about who he's spying on or why."
"Why d'ya say that? 'Cause Father always lies?"
Ariel made a sorta gesture. "Do you think Peter is going to admit that he was arrested and put on trial for suspicion of killing his estranged wife so she couldn't testify against him?"
Tempest shook her head so hard that her hair flew in her eyes. She wiped it and tears away on the back of her hand.
Ariel started climbing the stairs two at a time. "Let's get our luggage piled by the door, then as soon as he's past, we'll run out and throw a bag or two in the back of Link's truck. That way, even if he sees us leave, he'll think we're empty handed." With luck, the lackey would focus on the Suburban and townhouse and not even see them in the back of Link's truck.
And if he thought they were inside, Mozart might be safer. At least for the weekend, which would have to be enough time for them to get far away.
Tempest ran up the stairs. "I'm gonna copy all my computer files on a CD then reformat my hard drive so all my notes are gone."
"Why? There's nothing on it, is there?"
"Father doesn't know that I only use it for homework and skype." Tempest tried to laugh. "He'll think there was information on it that I deleted and spend lots of time trying to get it back."
"Now you're thinking!"
Later, as she climbed into the backseat of Link's truck. Tempest looked out the side window, then half dropped, half threw down her teddy bear. As she ducked to retrieve it, Ariel plunged down, too and her forehead collided with Tempest's jaw with an audible thunk.
"Ouch!" Tempest yelped. She grasped her ankles and remained doubled.
"You okay?" asked Stone.
Ariel made an affirmative sound. "Just being a tad clumsy." She silently counted off the seconds it took the Bronco to pass, then added another twenty for good measure before she inched up with the bear. She was just in time to see the Bronco make a left hand turn into a driveway.
Stone's expression was concerned. Ariel gave him what she hoped was a disarming smile, but most of her attention was on the Bronco, which was executing a three point turnaround. She switched her attention to Link. "So, how do you think your chances are of winning your contest?”
Link rolled his gaze heavenward, then shrugged and started the truck.
As the Bronco returned, Ariel sneezed and bent forward, her arm across Tempest's shoulders to keep her down. She faked four more sneezes and stayed down. By the time she found the nerve to take a second peek, they were cruising down Airport Road and the only Ford in sight was a battered green pickup truck. She heaved a sigh of relief.
Tempest straightened, her bear clasped tight against her chest as if it was a lifeline. Link glanced at them in the rearview mirror. "You two sure you want to make the trip today?" You don't look so good, he left unsaid. Stone turned to look back at them, his gaze suspicious.
"I want to go," Tempest said. She sneezed. "You clean in here with pepper or somethin'?"
The mirror reflected the fact that Link's attention was now totally centered on her. So was Stone's.
Ariel forced a smile. "Sorry if I'm not the life of the party."
"She's got cramps," Tempest said. Neither Stone nor Link wanted to know that tidbit. It amused Ariel that neither of them realized a female could get cramps from stress and she was grateful that the remainder of the ride to the airport was conducted in silence and wit
hout the sight of a black Bronco.
Once the Cessna was airborne, she leaned back, closed her eyes and dared to believe they might actually have made the first step toward safety. Though the ache in her stomach eased, she couldn't completely believe that this was more than a short reprieve. The more she relaxed, the more she was reminded of the middle of the night call Stone had gotten. While she hadn’t been able to hear much through the wall, his tender tone had suggested that he was talking to his girlfriend. Ariel opened her eyes and saw Denali's peak glistening to the right side looked just as cold as the dose of reality she'd gotten when Stone said the hated name, Dolly.
Even though she knew there had never been a chance for them to have a relationship, the memory of that call still hurt. Would she feel any better after she’d left Stone O'Banyon far behind? Or would she torture herself about might-have-beens? Ariel leaned against the cold window, which felt wonderful against her feverish skin. Eventually the calming throb through the hull brought the escape of slumber.
"Look!" Tempest's excited yelp woke her. "Is that a real, honest to goodness glacier?"
Ariel blinked sleep out of her eyes and peered out the window.
"Yes," Link said. "If we have time, do you want to go see it up close? Perhaps hike on it a bit?” Tempest nodded. He turned his attention to Ariel. “There are safe sections."
Tempest grabbed her biceps. "Can I? Please? Purty pull-ease?"
"Valdez's airport is at the base of Chugach," Stone said, as if her silence was an evaluation of proximity.
"Pull-ease? I may never, ever get this opportunity, again. Just think how educational it would be."
There wouldn't be any glaciers where they were heading. Ariel wet her lips as she looked at the ancient packed ice and snow. What the heck, they deserved one last bit of pleasure; something that she could think about instead of Stone in Dolly's arms. She gave a short nod.
Tempest tried to throw her arms around her, but was held back by the seatbelt. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!”
"But I get to come, too."
Tempest nodded so hard, it was a wonder she didn't sprain her neck.
Ariel leaned back in her seat and looked at Stone's hair. How had she allowed herself to fall for a man who loved another woman? After witnessing the way Peter had pursued her mother and been willing to murder to have her, she'd vowed never, ever to even look at an unavailable man. She's kept that oath, too. It had been easy since she'd had limited time. And until Fairbanks, no man had really caught and held her attention.
A tapping sound brought her attention to the present. She peeked around Stone's broad shoulder and saw him rap the face of an instrument. Both he and Link were frowning at it.
"Is some'thin wrong?" Tempest's eyes looked frightened.
"The altimeter still isn't reading right," Stone said.
"Instruments," Tempest said, with a superior grin.
Link nodded. He looked from the panel to the mountains below. "Looks like we're reading about twenty-two-thousand-feet higher than we really are." He turned to Stone. "When did you last confirm the setting?"
"Prior to take off." Stone gave him an annoyed look. "I always check."
Tempest tugged on Link's sleeve. "Will we need any instruments before we land?"
"No," Stone said.
Link patted her hand, then pointed out the window. "There's the airport, now. See it at the base of the glacier?"
"Oh, wow!" Tempest flattened her nose against the window.
Stone chuckled. "How about we all plan a picnic-hike?"
Tempest squealed with delight. Ariel hoped he didn't bring along his ladylove. She’d like one more great memory of him to hold in her heart.
Chapter 27
"Just toss your stuff in the back of my truck." Stone gestured to a Dodge Ram, which was identical to Link's truck. Tempest tossed her Mickey Mouse duffel bag in.
Ariel towed her big, wheeled suitcase to the truck, then with a groan, Link put it in the back of the truck. “Think you packed enough?”
Ariel made an ‘I don’t know’ gesture. “I’ve never been fishing before.”
After Stone finished securing the Cessna, he announced, "If you aren't too tired, I’d like to go to the office and let Link get his confrontation over." Link grimaced. That office manager of theirs must be a cross between Genghis Khan and the Marquis de Sade.
"Of course,” Link said, “if you're tired, we can go over to Doll-"
"No,” Ariel said. “I'm fine." She looked at Tempest. "We're both fine. I'd like to see your office." Anything was better than meeting Stone's girlfriend.
Link straightened his broad shoulders and got into the truck. On the trip from the airport to the old clapboard two-story building on the main street of the small town, silent tension emanated from Link and bubbling babble from Tempest. Stone's profile seemed set, as he drove through traffic while Ariel's stomach churned with acid as she looked for something that would inspire a spur of the moment escape plan.
After Stone parked the truck, Link marched to a heavily varnished wood door and opened it to reveal stairs to the second floor. He took a deep breath and stepped into the dim passage. Tempest's elbow jabbed between her ribs. "Will Uncle Link be okay?"
"He wouldn't face her otherwise," Ariel whispered back.
Stone gave them a lopsided smile as he held the door open. "Don't worry. Mavis isn't half as formidable as either she or Link think she is."
Tempest glared at him. "Uncle Link is the bravest man I've ever known. Mavis must be Mrs. Godzilla." He tried to hold back laughter, but failed. Tempest looked ready to kick him in the shins.
Ariel shoved Tempest toward the stairs. "Don't take it out on Stone. If Link needs defending, use your karate." Tempest took the stairs two at a time.
Stone doubled over laughing.
Ariel gave Stone a final disgusted look, then ran upward. As she got to the upper floor, she saw Tempest standing in an open doorway, mouth agape. Dear lord, the woman must be Amazonian to scare Tempest that much. It was silent, except for Stone's laughter. Ariel tiptoed forward and peaked around the doorframe.
Link was standing in front of a highly polished mahogany desk, his posture as petulant as if he was a child being reprimanded. A tiny white haired woman was on the opposite side of the desk, her blue eyes sparkling with triumph as she twirled something silver between her fingers.
Stone edged past her. "Afternoon, Mavis." He gave her a warm smile. Ariel's heart picked up a beat. "How've you been?"
Oblivious to Link's discomfort or perhaps pretending to ignore it, the perfect little granny seemed to focus all her attention and warmth on Stone. "Never better." A corner of her mouth twitched, as if she was holding back a smile. "That fool insurance salesman finally quit pestering me."
The news seemed to startle Stone. "Did you have to shoot him?"
Tempest's jaw dropped. Mavis' eyes twinkled. "Unfortunately, I was deprived of that pleasure." A bead of perspiration broke out on the back of Link's neck.
Revelation struck. The nefarious pair were using Link's illogical fears against him and finding entertainment in his discomfort! Ariel stepped around Stone, her hand extended. "Hello, ma'am." I believe I had the pleasure to speak with you on the phone a few weeks ago." Mavis' piercing gaze focused on her, but she didn't try to shake her hand. Ariel ignored the attitude. "I'm Ariel Danner and this is my daughter, Tempest. We live next door to Link and Stone and they were kind enough to let us tag along on this trip." Ariel smiled at the little lady as if she were the Madonna. Mavis' mask of superiority cracked a trifle and she smiled. Some of Link's tension seeped away and Mavis put down the silver thing and took her hand.
"I've heard of you." Mavis looked past her and Stone chuckled.
"Mavis,” Link said, “I need to apologize to you. I was exhausted that day, and-" She waved away his words with an indifferent motion. "I should have paid better attention," he quickly concluded.
Mavis gave Link a sharp look. "I sugge
st you glue that redial button in place before it gets you in real trouble."
Stone laughed outright. Link looked as if a death sentence had been removed and Mavis had the expression of a cat that had dined on an entire cage full of canaries.
"Good idea," Link said. "I'll do it."
Mavis smiled as she thrust a pile of papers at him. Link's relief was palatable as he took them.
Stone put his hand on the small of her back. Ariel’s vertebrae seemed to melt against his touch. "Come on into our office. We won't be long." She allowed herself to be urged forward into a large airy room dominated by two desks that matched Mavis'. He caressed her spine. Have a seat. Knees weak, she settled onto a comfortable burgundy leather wing chair. He went behind the unoccupied desk, opened the top drawer, pulled out a pair of wire-rimmed reading glasses and put them on.
Every joint melted as she noticed his lack of concern for his ego, and the need to have help reading.
"You aren't what I expected," Tempest said. Ariel looked around. Her sister still stood in front of Mavis’ desk. Link sat up straight, as if torn between saving Tempest from Mavis or fleeing from what might come. Stone hid behind a sheaf of papers. Ariel tried to hide in the chair. Tempest leaned her elbows on Mavis’ desk and studied her. "I thought you'd be taller."
Link scrambled to his feet. "Why don't you three go over to Dolly. I'll take care of the paperwork."
"Bu-"
"Go!" Link cut Stone off.
Obviously amused, but trying to hide it, Stone rose and offered her his hand. She took it. Though he didn't appear to hurry, Stone had Tempest in hand within a minute. Though the drive only took a few minutes, Ariel felt as if she aged a decade, as she tried to figure out how to greet Dolly. She wondered if she was getting a reprieve from being presented to his ladylove when Stone turned into the marina, which seemed odd, until she noticed that several of the boats had laundry hanging outside.
He'd had that Yachting magazine and used an advertisement as a target. Apparently he and his girlfriend shared a love for water. Landlubber that she was, Ariel had never had a chance with him. It was good that she was leaving. Good that nothing ever came of her thoughts and hidden feelings.
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