CATRINA’S AFRICAN ADVENTURE ( Catrina Series Part II )

by J. Willbanks, Susan

  Lorelei has talked to her father yet again and found out even more information that she will need to relay to Patrick and Robert when they arrive. Carlo has also told her he is sending two of his best people to watch her and to help aid the investigation, He is not usually on the same side of the law when it comes to things like this, but he wants to make sure his daughter is safe and he has the means and men to get information that Patrick would otherwise not have or be able to get easily.

  Chapter Nine

  Meanwhile, Barnaby has to go back to Roberts’s room to do a final search before he leaves to meet his UPI contact. He needs to get some vital information about Reed and about whom it is that Robert is currently working for; the last he had heard, Robert was retired from the FBI and just Patrick was still working with them.

  Little does he know, however, that both Sam and Marty are still stuck in the Congo basin at the mine with no means of communication and no transportation. At least, not until daylight comes and they have a way to see where they are going to get to the nearest town for some help. They would have to call Barnaby because they cannot afford to alert the UPI syndicate about Roberts’s disappearance for fear of what they might do to them for botching what seemed to be a simple job.

  ***

  Patrick, Reed, and Robert are just outside the hotel perimeter. They can see all the confusion and response vehicles just outside the front entrance of the hotel, and there is a gaping hole in the wall nearest where their suite use to be. Many people standing out front are watching to see what was happening. Patrick will leave Robert at the perimeter for a short time with his secure line and will call him when it is safe to smuggle him in via the employee entrances as a worker for the rescue and response teams. He and Reed will go into the hotel a while, and it’s time for their Oscar-winning performances regarding the death of both their best friend and Patrick’s wife.

  As Patrick pulls into the front drive of the hotel, he sees the manager, Mr. Lawson, talking to a few of the rescue workers. He walks over with Reed to see what they are discussing and to ask what was going on. When the manager sees Patrick coming toward him, he excuses himself from the conversation and moves to meet Patrick near the front doors.

  “Mr. Ahearn, could you come with me? I need to speak to you in private, sir.”

  “Certainly. What’s happening here?” Patrick asks. “Reed, we need to go over here please.”

  “I’ll explain everything as soon as we get to my office. I’m sure it’ll be quieter and easier to talk there, Mr. Ahearn.”

  “Wow. Of course. Looks like a bomb went off with all the rescue and response people that are here.”

  Mr. Lawson gave a quick look of total shock and went back to leading them to his office.

  Reed can hardly contain his laughter at that statement and has to turn his face away from the manager so not to give away that they are fully aware of what happened and by whom. He knew it was time to play the part of grieving people and make sure they were convincing at it.

  Opening the door for the two of them to enter, Mr. Lawson tells them to be seated.

  “Gentlemen, I am not quite sure how to explain this, so I will just tell you what I know. If you have questions, then I’ll do my best to answer them from what I am aware of. Will that be all right with the two of you?”

  “Yes, of course. That’s fine. Please tell us what’s going on out there. Looks like a circus act came to town with all the commotion and confusion.”

  “All right, here is what I know as far as the facts of what has happened. About an hour ago, a bomb did in fact go off up on your floor. It was located inside your very suite, I am afraid, Mr. Ahearn. We are not aware of why it happened nor do we yet know how it got there or who is responsible—”

  Patrick stands up, cutting him off mid-sentence.

  “Wait a minute. You’re telling me that the suite I left my wife and business associate in has had a bomb explode inside of it? Where are my wife and Barnaby? I want to see them. What hospital have they been taken to?”

  Reed grabs Patrick by the arm.

  “Patrick, please sit down and listen to what Mr. Lawson has to say. Don’t jump to any conclusions here until we have the facts. Please, Patrick, sit down.”

  “Fine, fine. I’ll sit for only a moment. I need to see Cat. Where is she? We’ve only been married a few weeks, and I want to reassure her that she’ll be fine and see how badly she and Barnaby are injured.”

  “Mr. Ahearn, that is what I was getting to. You see, sir . . . well . . . we just have no idea if . . . umm, if either of them survived the blast. We have not found them in the rubble but have found both their cell phones and personal effects. We haven’t seen them on the hotel premises for some time now, and we can’t be sure, but we think that they were lost in the explosion, sir. I . . . I am so sorry for your loss. Is there someone I can call for you to help you here?”

  Both Reed and Patrick look at each other in total shock at what they have just heard.

  “What—what did you say, Mr. Lawson? You can’t find my wife, she’s not here? Well, maybe she went shopping or to the pool or . . . ” His voice trails off to a whisper.

  “Mr. Ahearn, we’ve had the hotel security go all over the immediate area looking for them with no luck, I am afraid. The response team told me that they strongly felt that both of them perished in the blast. I am so sorry that this has happened to you, sir.”

  “What? Catrina gone? No!” Patrick screamed. “No! This is not possible! She must be here somewhere; you just haven’t found her.”

  “I assure you, sir, we are still looking for her. But we’ve had no luck in finding her within a fifteen-mile radius of the hotel. None of the taxi drivers have seen her, and no one seems to have seen her since she ordered room service a few hours ago. We will continue to look for her, of course.”

  “Reed, did you hear what he said? Reed, Catrina is gone, my new and beautiful wife is gone, Reed.” Patrick looks at Reed for consolation.

  “Patrick, I’m sure they will do everything possible to find out if she was in that blast and Barnaby too. Come on, I’ll take you back to my suite and we can talk there, buddy. I know this is a big shock, but let’s just get out of here.”

  “No! No! Reed, I have to go and look for her. She might be hurt or wandering around with amnesia from the blast. No! I have to go and—”

  “Patrick, we need to be here in case she shows up,” Reed interrupts. “Let the authorities do their jobs. They’ll tell us if they find anything. Please come to my room, and I’ll have a drink sent up and some food.” Reed leads Patrick out of the office, and as he gets to the door he turns to talk to Mr. Lawson.

  “Lawson, please send us a bottle of whisky and some food right away to my suite. And some water and aspirin too.”

  “Yes, Mr. Simons, and I will make sure it is on the house, sir. Please try not to worry. We’re doing all we can to find them, sir.”

  “I’m sure of that, Mr. Lawson. Just be sure you alert us the minute you have any word. We’ll be going now.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The two of them leave the office. Reed helps Patrick onto the elevators, and as he does, he spots Barnaby in the crowd near the front of the hotel. He tells Patrick to go to his suite to wait for the food and drinks and to call Lorelei and let the girls know they are back. He then tells him he’ll be right up and stops the elevator doors from closing.

  “I’ll call Robert as well and tell him with all the confusion he can sneak in the back up the staff elevators to your suite as well,” Patrick says. “See you shortly, Reed.”

  Reed takes off after Barnaby so he can take him to Roberts’s room where he intends to have a long talk with him. Sneaking around behind him, Reed grabs Barnaby by the arm.

  “Wow, you’re all right! So good to see you made it out of the explosion unharmed, Barnaby. Were you going somewhere with that?” Reed points to the box housing the emerald under Barnaby’s arm.

  By this time, Robert has ma
de his way back up to Reed’s suite and is with Patrick, who gets a call from Reed on the secure line.

  “Patrick, I know you are worried about both Barnaby and Cat. I’ve found Barnaby in the lobby of the hotel. He seems to be a bit dazed but I am bringing him back to the room with me. We’ll be there in a few short moments. I just wanted to alert you that we have found one of them. I know how upset you are over the disappearance of both of them.”

  “What a relief! Thank you for the call, Reed. I’ll look forward to talking to him to see what happened. See you when you get here.”

  “On our way.”

  Patrick has to get rid of Robert quickly so he calls to Lorelei and tells her that he is sending Robert to her suite. He asks her to go out in the hall and see who is around so no one recognizes him on his way there; it’s only four rooms down the hall, but they can’t be too careful.

  Robert quietly sneaks into Lorelei’s room unnoticed by the emergency personnel that are on the floor. No one seems to notice him at all as he walks the hallway to her door. Once inside, he is greeted with hugs and kisses from both Lorelei and Cat, who are thankful he is once again safe and, for the moment, out of harm’s way.

  Patrick, however, is faced with seeing Barnaby only moments after Robert leaves. Trying to contain his anger, frustration, and feelings of total betrayal by his once-trusted friend, he knows he has to get some answers and fast to keep all of them safe—and to get to the bottom of UPI’s involvements in the death of several agents in the DRC in the past months. To accomplish that, he must keep the façade of losing his wife and his brother’s disappearance alive.

  “Barnaby, we’re so glad you are all right,” Reed says. “That means that maybe Cat is too. Patrick is anxious to talk to you. Here we are at my suite, let’s go in and talk to him.”

  “Sure, Reed.”

  Reed opens the door and steps aside to allow Barnaby to enter the room. If he had a camera on him, he would have loved to capture the look of horror on Barnaby’s face as he walked through the door into the suite where Patrick was waiting for him.

  “Patrick, hello,” Barnaby says.

  “Hey Barnaby. Please come in and have a seat.”

  “I was so lucky to have spotted Barnaby in the lobby,” Reed says. “He looked a bit confused and dazed when I found him and he still looks a bit shaken up, but I’ll get us some drinks and we can all try to make some sense of all this.”

  “Yes, yes, a drink. That would be nice, thank you, Reed. Maybe it will help me to calm down from the explosion and the confusion that has been going on here.”

  “Speaking of the explosion, Barnaby, where were you when it happened? And do you know where my wife is? They told me she was unaccounted for and presumed caught in the initial blast in our room?”

  “Umm. Well, Patrick I have no idea where Catrina might be. The last time I saw her, she was still in the room. I was going to check out a lead I got from one of my informants and told her to stay there and I’d return soon. My God, I hope she wasn’t injured and went shopping for our clothes or other needs instead of staying in the room. Has no one seen here in the hotel or the local shops?”

  “No, Barnaby, the hotel manager has sent scouts to go and see if the local retailers have seen her or if she is indeed shopping. But they tell me it doesn’t look good for her to still be alive. They found her wallet and personal effects still in the room, fragments from the initial blast. I have no idea what I’d do without her. We’ve only been married a short few weeks.” Patrick puts his head in his hands, staring blankly at the floor, and resumes looking pathetic and lost while Reed brings their drinks over to where they are sitting.

  “Here are your drinks. They might help a bit.”

  “Don’t be so condescending, Reed. If I’ve lost Cat and Robert is still missing, nothing will help.”

  “Patrick, they’re still looking for them. You mustn’t give up yet. There is still the possibility that Robert is alive and that Cat wasn’t in the room. We have to wait till we’ve exhausted all possible avenues. By the way, Barnaby, what were you doing taking that emerald with you to meet an informant? Wasn’t that a dangerous idea? I mean, it seems to me it was safer in the room with Cat. No one knew it was there.”

  “The emerald. Oh, that. Well, I, just thought it better to keep it in my possession so nothing could happen to it, that’s all.”

  “Did your informant tell you anything about the whereabouts of my brother? Or who might be behind all corruption in this area?”

  “No, no. We never had the chance to meet up. Just as I was exiting the elevator on the main level, the bomb went off and all the confusion began.”

  “Really? How did you know it was a bomb, Barnaby? How did you find out?”

  “I—I, well, Patrick things don’t just explode for no reason. There must have been a bomb.”

  “Enough!” Patrick shouted. “Enough of this charade, Barnaby! My wife is dead, my brother is missing and presumed dead by the FBI, and you, you weasel, know exactly what is happening here. So you will tell me or you will not live to see tomorrow. Do I make myself clear enough to you? Reed, take that box from him now and lock it in your safe here in the room.”

  Barnaby was now stuck there with the two of them and nowhere he could possibly escape. He had to tell them all he knew or risk losing his life in the immediate future. Even the thought of jail was better than the thought of dying right then.

  “So start talking, Barnaby. You have exactly two seconds to tell me who is behind all this and what they want with Robert and Cat?”

  “Patrick, I really—”

  Patrick cuts him off mid-sentence.

  “Don’t try and weasel your way out of this. I’ve a good mind to just cut your throat and leave you here.”

  “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you what I know, but you have to protect me from them. They’ll have me killed too.”

  “I’ll make you no promises, Barnaby, not until I find out what happened to my wife and brother. Now start talking or I’ll make it so you can’t.”

  Barnaby really has no choice. He has to tell Patrick and Reed all they want to know or they’ll certainly take him out of existence. At least if he talks to them, he stands a small chance of getting protection from the boys at UPI.

  He decides to tell them everything from how he got involved to planting the bomb in the room and leaving Cat in there with it. He tells them all about the mine tunnels where Robert is supposedly being held and about how Sam and Marty are also working for UPI to generate millions of dollars on raw gems. And how they are selling the real thing and then substituting them for fake ones and reselling them again and again, all over the world, to unsuspecting buyers.

  He also gives them all the information he has about the recent murders of the agents and where they can find the evidence for that as well. He also admits to them that he has been a double agent for over ten years and has compromised several missions for Interpol. He knew he would be handed over to them, but at least he felt he would remain alive and not be tortured by the UPI clan and then left for dead. He knows all too well how they handle informants.

  Patrick picks up the phone and begins to make a call, and Barnaby assumes it is to Interpol to have him picked up, but instead it is to Lorelei’s suite.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello. Can you all come down here please? There is someone here that needs to talk to you all and explain things.”

  “Are you sure we can risk walking out in the halls they are still filled with emergency workers?”

  “Yes, I am certain it’s safe at the moment. Come on over here, thanks.”

  “Okay, Patrick. We’re on our way.”

  Chapter Ten

  Antonio and Sarah have just landed at the airport, and they hear on the news that there has been an explosion at the hotel and two are presumed dead. He knows what is going on since Cat’s call alerted him about the explosion. However, to continue the charade of realism, he didn’t tell Sarah that Cat and Robert wer
e alive and well so she would react to the news as if it were true.

  The two of them watch the news channel and see the aftermath of the explosion. Immediately, Sarah recognizes that, although the headlines are in French, it is Cat and Robert they are talking about from the photos they show. She asks Antonio to take her directly to the hotel to see Patrick and find out what has happened to her best friend. The two of them get a taxi and leave the airport as quickly as possible.

  Arriving at the front desk, Antonio asks to see Mr. Lawson, the manager, to get his room squared away. He also asks him for the room numbers of Robert, Reed, and Lorelei. Having the bellman take their things to their room, he decides to call Patrick’s secure phone to find out where all of them are.