A Pale Paradise

by Carol Anne Vick

  ******

  "Thad, I can't believe we're finally here." Phyl turned to her husband, sitting next to her in the taxi, and squeezed his hand, noticing that he was deep in thought. "What's wrong?"

  "I just have a bad feeling about that guy, Sam Davis." Thad took a breath. "He seemed shady to me."

  "Well, he most certainly is rich, considering his gorgeous house and that forty foot boat he brought us back on." She pictured the rather large man who seemed friendly enough as he escorted them onto his elegant yacht, and she sighed, looking out the window at the lights and throngs of people walking down Nassau's West Bay Street. "That was a beautiful boat and the two hour ride was very relaxing. It almost made me forget everything that's happened," she laughed. "Not really. I am anxious to call Scott and Leah as soon as we get back to the hotel."

  "He was asking too many questions, in my opinion. I'm finding it difficult to trust anyone now." He narrowed his brows as he gazed at her seriously in the dark cab. "I understand how Jonathan must feel. Sullivan's influence is, indeed, everywhere."

  "We don't know for sure that Sam is involved with Sullivan," Phyl sighed. "Why would Calvin, who has to be the kindest man on earth, suggest that Sam bring us here, if he's involved with Sullivan?"

  "Perhaps Calvin works for him in the fishery and isn't aware of his side dealings. Who knows."

  "Why are there so many police around?" Phyl leaned toward the driver after noticing many more black and white uniformed officers than usual walking along the very busy streets.

  "De Queen of England is here for a short visit." The driver tilted his head toward her as he maneuvered the taxi through the crowded streets. "She's leaving tomorrow."

  "That's right, I had forgotten."

  Thad turned and looked out of his window. "Here we are. We're back. Finally." The taxi pulled in front of the pale coral British Colonial Inn, and Thad grabbed the shoulder bag and after tipping the driver, they headed into their elegant hotel. They walked quickly through the lobby, anxious to get up to their room, take a shower, and book a flight back to Vermont. They both swung around when they heard the clerk call out to them as they walked past the desk.

  "Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher."

  They sighed in unison and retraced their steps back to the smiling clerk.

  "Yes?"

  "You have two phone messages." The young man held out the small white envelopes.

  "Oh, I'll take them." Phyl reached past her obviously exhausted and slightly exasperated husband and took the envelope from the clerk. "Thank you so much." She smiled at him and they turned back and picked up their pace to the elevator.

  "Thanks, Phyl." Thad pushed the button for the third floor. "My patience is wearing thin, for some reason."

  "I wonder why?" Phyl teased him, squinting up at him as she fiddled with the envelopes. She glanced at her watch. "It's almost ten now." They exited the elevator and walked the short distance to their room.

  Thad unlocked the door and stood aside for Phyl to enter.

  "Oh my gosh." Phyl gazed around the room and promptly fell across the end of the bed and closed her eyes. "This feels so wonderful. I know I need a shower, but I can't help it." She opened her eyes and saw Thad set her shoulder bag down next to the chair. As he sat on the plump cushion and leaned his head back, he took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

  "How is your head?"

  "I think it's all right."

  "Good." He lifted his head and looked at her. "Do you want to see a doctor before we leave Nassau, or wait until we get home?" She slanted her head and sighed at him, twisting her mouth.

  "Neither, I think I'm fine now, honestly."

  "We'll talk about it when we get home then." He leaned his head back.

  She propped up on one elbow and slid her finger under the flap of one of the sealed envelopes, pulling out the small card. "It's from Leah. She called yesterday at, umm..six pm., and left their hotel number and room number in Lucaya." She opened the second envelope, and peered over at her husband, who appeared to be asleep. "She called again this morning. I don't think it's too late to call now."

  "If it's all right with you, I'm going to shave and hit the shower while you do that." He got up slowly and kissed the top of her head as he passed her on his way to the bathroom.

  "I'm going to book a flight first." She sat up and scooted over to the nightstand and picked up the receiver. Within five minutes, she had reserved tickets to Burlington, with an hour layover in Atlanta. They could get a good night's sleep and head out by six thirty in the morning for their eight o'clock flight. As she dialed the desk clerk and gave him Scott and Leah's hotel number, the enticing sounds of the shower made her fidget, and she was anxious to get a hot shower herself and snuggle under the covers with her husband in this comfortable air-conditioned room.

  "Hello?"

  "Leah, it's Phyl." She leaned against the headboard, feeling very conflicted. She wanted to know how Jonathan was, of course, but most of all, she wanted this whole thing to be over and done with, and get home to Lake Saint Catherine.

  "Phyl!" Leah exclaimed. "Oh, my dear, there has been a search and rescue team looking for you." So that would explain the helicopter. That made her feel a little better. "When I couldn't get in touch with you, we contacted the authorities, and, oh, I'm so glad you are all right. We've been so worried."

  "Thank you, Leah." Phyl sighed. "Our plane crashed on a small island, and the pilot turned out to be one of Sullivan's men. He left us on the island, and luckily, we were rescued this morning by a sweet man and his grandson from Turtle Cay. We took a larger boat back to Nassau and just got to the hotel."

  "I'm so thankful you are all right." Leah spoke quickly before Phyl could reply. "Phyl, the police found Kristin."

  "Oh, my goodness, Leah. Where did they find her? And is she all right?"

  "Yes, well, you can imagine she was traumatized by it all, but they didn't seem to mistreat her, which is good." Leah paused. "The police found her in an old warehouse on the north side of the island. It seems that the kidnappers had just left her there."

  "Was she able to identify them?"

  "I don't know, frankly, if she told the police anything or not. I do know that her father is taking her back to the U. S. in a couple of days after everything calms down."

  "Hmm...mm. That's interesting." Phyl twisted the cord. "Where do the Sullivan's live in the states?"

  "Jonathan said their main home is in Newport, Rhode Island. One of those mansions on the Cliff Walk. I would imagine that he has lots of security there."

  "How is Jonathan?"

  "He's...much better, Phyl." Her voice seemed hesitant. "We will all be heading home as soon as everything breaks and that will depend on....umm." She paused.

  "Leah, what's wrong?"

  "Well...Phyl, I have no choice but to tell you this."

  "Tell me what, Leah?" What on earth was she talking about now? She could hear the woman take a deep breath, and for some reason her chest tightened in apprehension as she waited for Jonathan's mother to tell her whatever was on her mind.

  "All right, Phyl, I don't know how you want to handle this..."

  "Handle what, Leah?" This was getting ridiculous. She turned and shook her head as Thad entered the room wrapping a large, white towel around his waist. He stood by the bed, his hands on his hips, as she waited impatiently for an answer from the obviously distraught woman.

  "Jonathan told us something important," Leah began slowly, then blurted out. "Oh, Phyl, he sent the papers to you."

  "What?" Phyl shot up straight and looked up at Thad. "He sent the evidence against Sullivan to us?" She saw the incredulous look on Thad's face at her outburst. "You mean he mailed them to our home in Vermont?"

  "Yes, he told us all about it last night and that's one reason I had called you." Leah sounded like she was on the verge of a breakdown. "Phyl, I can't believe he did it either. I don't blame you for being upset."

  "Leah, 'upset' doesn't even come close
." Phyl stared hard at Thad, her eyes wide, as she continued the conversation. "What are we supposed to do with the papers? Casually drop them off at the nearest police station?" She paused. "Oh, no. We asked our neighbors, Emma and Pete, to collect our mail for us while we were gone. So they have the evidence."

  "We've been so upset that he didn't send them to us, if he had to do it at all." Leah's voice seemed calmer now. "He said that he trusted you to get them to the authorities and that he can't divulge anything until the papers are in safe hands."

  "Honestly, Leah, I can't talk any more." Phyl exhaled loudly. "Put Scott on the phone to talk to Thad. I need a shower." She stood up and handed the receiver to Thad, giving him a look of total frustration, before storming off into the bathroom. As she peeled off her filthy clothes, she heard Thad take over where she had left off.

  "Scott, we wanted to help you and Leah with Jonathan's predicament by coming to the Bahamas, but we had no idea that we would be held at gunpoint and involved in a plane crash in the course of four days." Thad's deep voice was calm. "Phyl was knocked unconscious and I believe suffered a concussion in the crash, and all we can think about right now is getting back to Vermont and getting her to a doctor. We are exhausted." He paused, listening patiently to Scott's reply. "I know, Scott, but to find out that Jonathan sent the proof of Sullivan's illegal activities to our home is more than upsetting, and I don't know how much more we can be expected to do."

  Phyl stepped into the shower and tried to let the steaming water calm her nerves. How dare he send those incriminating papers to them. Now that they understood the lengths to which Sullivan's men and his enemies would go, how could they be safe again anywhere? She scrubbed down the dirt and sweat from their two days on the island and lathered her hair, then rinsed off, trying to relax. They should never have come to the islands. What were they, what was she thinking? Just the word 'kidnapped' should have prodded them toward a more sober contemplation. She was responsible for the mess they were in. She knew it, but it couldn't be taken back now. Too late for that, she fumed as she turned off the shower and twisted the water from her hair. She stepped out onto the floor mat and saw Thad enter the bathroom, and as she toweled off, he related the rest of his conversation with Scott.

  "I told them that we would take the papers to the authorities, seeing that we really have no other choice in the matter," Thad exhaled and she could tell that he was as frustrated with the situation as she. "Scott will call if there's any more news."

  "Honestly, Thad, at this point, I don't care anymore." Phyl towel dried her hair, then looked up at him. "I am so sorry that we even came to help Jonathan. He's no different than before. Looking out only for himself." She sighed. "I wish I had thought of that unpleasant trait of his before coming here."

  "We were trying to help them, Phyl, and we knew things might get a little uncomfortable. We just didn't know how bad it would be," he laughed. "But, we certainly do now, and I'm most anxious to get home, and put this all behind us." He narrowed his eyes. "By the way, what time is our flight in the morning?"

  "It's at eight o'clock. We need to leave here by six-thirty at the latest."

  "Good."

  "Do you think we should tell someone about Matt?"

  "Whom do you suggest we tell?"

  "What about Sergeant Dawes?" Phyl looked up at him thoughtfully. "I can't imagine him being part of all this."

  "We could call in the morning before we leave for the airport."

  "Good idea. Thad, do you think Sullivan's men would go to Emma's house?" Phyl wrapped the large, white towel around her torso, and headed back into the bedroom. "Suppose they've been watching our house, Thad? How will we ever feel safe even when we get home?"

  "That, I can't tell you." Thad pulled back the comforter." The absolute first thing we will do upon arriving home will be to get the mail and take the evidence to a lawyer." He looked over at the clock. "Did you set the alarm?" She shook her head and he reached over and set the clock for six-thirty.

  "I'm going to call Emma." Phyl sat on the bed next to the nightstand after he set the alarm, and picked up the receiver. "I couldn't forgive myself if anything happened to them." She dialed the desk and gave them the Lambertson's number, and listened impatiently to the dial tone.

  "Lambertson residence."

  "Emma, this is Phyl."

  "Oh, Phyl, how is it going there?" Emma continued on. "I just saw on the news that they found the girl, Kristin."

  "I know, Emma, but I have to tell you something." Phyl felt the words tumbling out. "I need you to do something for me." At the woman's immediate consent, she continued. "We found out last night that Jonathan had mailed us some incriminating papers that concern his employer, Jack Sullivan. That's what this whole mess has been about, but I'll tell you about that later. We need to get the papers to the police or a lawyer. Can you look through our mail and see if there's something that looks like it might be from Jonathan?"

  "I'll get everything right now - hold on."

  Phyl looked up a Thad, who was standing beside her, his hands on his hips. His jaw was tight and his lips pursed as he looked down at her. She nodded, and sighed, then turned her attention back to Emma.

  "Okay, let me see here." Emma was obviously holding the phone between her shoulder and ear and Phyl could hear the muffled sounds of envelopes being sorted. "Umm. This one must be it, Phyl. It's a legal size manila envelope with masculine writing and it's made out to just you with your maiden name and no return address. It's pretty thick." She paused. "What do you want me to do with it?"

  "We'll be home tomorrow evening and we'll get it from you and take it to the authorities," Phyl sighed. "Just be careful. We don't know how far Sullivan's reach is."

  "I'll tell Pete," Emma replied. "Don't you worry about us, Phyl. You and Thad have a safe trip home."

  "I'll call you the minute we get home."

  "We'll bring the mail to you then."

  Phyl replaced the receiver, and looked over at her husband.

  "I have no clue which lawyer we would take it to in Wellsley, do you?" Phyl pulled off the towel and slid under the silky sheet and comforter.

  "I'll have to think about that one. At least we'll get home on a weekday." Thad joined her and they settled into their usual posture.

  "I see that you shaved." Phyl ran her finger down the cease beside his mouth.

  "I had no choice. After two days on the island, who knows what was lurking in my beard." He smiled down at her.

  "It looks good." She smiled at him softly, and felt herself finally start to relax. They had gotten through everything so far, and hopefully, within twenty-four hours, their five days in paradise would all be a bad memory.