Double Jeopardy

by Sheila Hudson

  Neither of us spoke on the walk back to the Riviera, Natalie slid the room key into the device and gasped when the door opened. Our room had been ravaged. The safe was standing open. Every drawer had been dumped onto the carpet. The bed was stripped, and the sofa overturned.

  Natalie had carried her gun to the meet so she had it on her person. My pearls were untouched, so robbery wasn’t the motive. Obviously the perpetrators were after what I had in my tote bag.

  “Let’s pack and get out,” Natalie said.

  “My thoughts exactly,” I replied. We pulled out our bags, threw in our belongings, and tried to look casual as we checked out early and hailed a taxi.

  “To the airport,” Natalie told the driver. She was cool under fire. Natalie was gaining more respect from me every day. Who knew she had such hidden talents? And once at the Jose Marti International Airport, which airline? A number of airlines fly out of here to parts unknown – were we on Cubana de Aviación or Aerogaviota? My friend had it all figured out. She paid the taxi and motioned for me to follow. As quickly as I could I went in zig zag pattern dragging my luggage behind me. My tote bag was over my shoulder and kept slipping down.

  Just as we rounded a corner, a passerby snatched Natalie’s tote bag and ran. Oh no. The envelope Evira gave us was in that bag. We had to catch him. I screamed, and Natalie whirled around and put her finger to her lips.

  “Come on quickly now,” she said, and we entered a door marked ‘private’ which led to a private hangar and runway. The airplane ramp was down and a person in uniform was beckoning. We hurried up the staircase and in minutes we were buckled in and on our way – but to where?

  19

  My tears were flowing as the pilot guided us into the sky. Natalie unbuckled her seat belt. She rummaged through her carryon that we had stashed in the overhead compartments. We were the only ones on the flight and I felt that this MUST be part of the plan. However, losing the documents was not.

  “Is this what you’re worried about?” Natalie said with a smile. She handed me a stack of papers – loosely bound.

  I stared at her in wonder as I accepted the stack of documents.

  “Where’s the envelope Evira gave us?”

  “In the tote bag that was stolen, stuffed with toilet tissue and newspaper clippings,” she replied. “I think whoever hired the thief will be disappointed.”

  I began to read what she handed me. It was a documented history of Cuba’s crime syndicate complete with details about assassination attempts by both our government and the Cuban government, use of poisons as a way of killing with undetectable results, and a covert plan to bring the leaders to justice.

  Richard and Finn were named in all the documents. They had been undercover for a few years. Richard stayed mostly in Cuba – that’s where he and Evira became involved. Finn worked mostly from the Miami office, but led his family to believe that he was working in New York. So my husband was a spy!

  But until Richard showed up, Finn was out of the game. Finn knew enough about the tactics of his enemies to note the symptoms. He sensed that Richard was dying and wanted to pass along his findings. But alas it was too late! Unless of course, Richard put them somewhere for safe keeping. That’s where Evira came in. She must have been in contact with Finn and Mr. A. Since Evira’s battle with thallium was deemed terminal, it was urgent that she get the proof to us before the inevitable happened.

  I was so busy trying to absorb all of this information that I didn’t notice that we were landing. Thank God. I just wanted to see Finn and tell him all about our adventure.

  Natalie gathered her things and advised me to put the stash of papers in my suitcase – not my purse.

  “Purses are too easy to snatch as you saw,” she repeated. I unzipped the red Samsonite ‘honeymoon’ suitcase and buried them underneath my pajamas. We were deplaning when I noticed the surroundings weren’t familiar.

  “Just where exactly are we?” I asked the pilot as I prepared to deplane.

  In broken English, he replied, “Santiago.”

  Like someone gut punched me, I felt as though I couldn’t breathe. We were still in Cuba. That meant we could be attacked by someone working to get this information – someone who killed Richard and who was in the process of poisoning Evira. Why were we here?

  My feelings were reflected in my face, of course. I couldn’t keep a secret if I tried. Natalie urged me on by tapping my arm. Was this part of the plan or had we been hijacked, kidnapped, delayed or what?

  I trailed behind Natalie and tried to prepare myself for whatever this was. Down the ramp, watching my every step, and paying no attention to the one waiting for me at the bottom – Mr. A!

  I ran into his arms and cried into his thick chest – tears of relief, joy, and fatigue. He grabbed my luggage and we proceeded into the airport terminal. We settled onto a sofa and I blubbered until I could catch my breath. It had only been a few days but it felt like an interminable time since I left everyone I knew. Everyone except of course, Natalie, who had a few secret faces of her own.

  I pulled myself together – well sort of. I had made a wet spot on Mr. A’s shirt but he didn’t seem to mind. This was a side of him I’d never seen. Natalie suggested the Ladies’ room where I dried my eyes and splashed a little water on my face. When I returned I asked about Finn.

  “Finn’s as good as he can be without you,” Mr. A replied. His eyes twinkled. “Nemo is loving being with us. As for Phyl, she’s gotten her crying jags down to about one a day so we are good.”

  “I didn’t know you could come here,” I said dabbing my eyes again. Natalie who probably knew all the answers was talking to the pilot who had flown us here.

  “Finn’s the one who can’t leave the country, not me. I wanted to come and explain this madness. I didn’t want my favorite daughter-in-law to hear it from another source. It’s true I’m on a watch list, but that doesn’t apply when the plane is chartered.”

  I blushed and settled myself beside Mr. A. This was going to be a long discussion I could tell. It seems that Finn was recruited to the CIA while he was still in college. His dad was in on it from the beginning but they didn’t tell his mother. The story was that he was in business in New York City while in reality Finn was in Miami working with Richard Kenman. They were tasked with getting proof of the Cuban Mafia’s activities in drugs, prostitution, and smuggling. Richard knew Spanish so he was the inside man in Cuba with Finn only occasionally traveling to the island.

  After years of working together an agent turned on the twosome and the CIA was forced to pull out of the operation to assassinate Castro and his cronies. But by then Richard was involved with Evira. He traveled back and forth to visit her. When they recognized their symptoms of thallium poisoning, Richard contacted Finn for help.

  “Wow I said when Mr. A took a breath. That’s a lot to keep secret for years.”

  “Oh you can’t imagine. If Phylomena ever realizes how much I’ve lied I don’t know if she will ever forgive me,” Mr. A said and wiped his brow. “We took Natalie into our confidence some time ago because contacts in the CIA had given us a warning. You and Phyl had to be protected whatever it cost.”

  “I need some time to process all of this and I will probably have some questions. Just to know the ones I love are okay is enough for now. But now that we are in Santiago, what’s the next step. We have the paperwork, but how to get it out of the country. I guess Natalie told you that we’d already had our room tossed and she had a purse snatching episode.”

  Mr. A chuckled. “We anticipated that and Natalie was one step ahead. If the coroner’s office ever wants to part with her, she’d make an excellent CIA agent. Now to get the paperwork copied and faxed to the proper authorities. I’ll give them until we get home to dismiss charges on Finn, expunge the record, and let him go on a proper honeymoon.”

  I could have kissed him. In fact, I did.

  Natalie returne,d and I had more questions for her. “Natalie, when did you get included
in all this CIA business?”

  “A few months back, Finn had emails from Evira relating Richard’s illness. When Richard could travel, he got in touch with Finn and managed to make the trip. Finn made sure that every piece of communication was documented on a USB which made its way to me via personal messenger. I was sworn to two things: secrecy and your protection. Remember the times I used the excuse that I had dance lessons? I was really taking lessons at the gun range.”

  “Who else knows about all of this?” I asked almost afraid of the answer.

  “Finn, Mr.A, Richard and Evira, Chief Harden, and oddly enough your half-sister,” Natalie answered.

  “What? Merry Bell is in on this too?”

  “Yes. She was surprisingly helpful. That’s why the authorities allowed her to attend your wedding.”

  “I knew I saw her in the back row. Thanks, I thought I was losing my mind,” I said much relieved that I was not crazy but troubled that my half-wit sister was on the loose. “Um but she’s back in jail, right?”

  “Yep,” Natalie said as she combed her dark hair. “The wedding was just a reprieve, but she may get a lesser sentence because of her cooperation. Seems she knew a lot of the people that were involved in the Mafia. She certainly hangs with some shady characters.”

  “You could probably thank my dad for that,” I said and realized that I needed to work on forgiving both of them.

  20

  With Mr. A making all the arrangements, we were once again on a private jet and headed for home. They fooled me once but hopefully not again.

  I wanted to pinch myself and wake up from one horribly long dream, but alas this was real. Maggie and her thoughts had eluded me through all of this. Probably because I hadn’t much sleep or any privacy to speak of. Maggie didn’t intrude when I had others present. I wonder if this will be the case with Finn. He’s a permanent part of my life now just as she’s always been.

  The flight home was short but I managed a short nap. My dreams were a mish-mash of the past few days. I freshened up hoping that Finn and Nemo would greet me when I finally reached home. Little did I know it would be hours before that would happen.

  We landed and men in suits gathered around Mr. A. A few moments later they entered a room leaving me and Natalie in a waiting room. She seemed unperturbed by it all and proceeded to take out some yarn and a crochet needle. When did she get so domestic? This girl had skills I hadn’t even considered. Our I-phones had been confiscated so I was left with my kindle which had been thoroughly vetted.

  All I had on it was a copy of Little Women and a few games. After fifty games of Canasta, Hearts, and Spider Solitaire, I caught up with Jo, Beth, Amy, and Meg. At least their troubles seemed small next to my experiences with being a spy. My reading had taken me to Mrs. March leaving to take care of her sick husband and Jo selling her chestnut locks to pay for the trip when the door marked ‘private’ opened and Mr. A and his posse emerged.

  “Ready to head home?” he said with that crooked grin that Finn inherited. This trip made me appreciate my father-in-law like never before.

  “Yes sir. I’ve been ready,” I replied and gave Natalie a nudge. She had drifted off to sleep while I was reading. I motioned for her to grab her suitcase and we were finally on our way to Georgia.

  I tried to sleep on the way but my adrenaline was running too high. Would Nemo be happy to see me? How was Finn? Had they arrested the people who had been poisoning Richard and Evira? I didn’t know either of them but I was eager for justice. Evira was in her last stages and evidently beyond help. I took comfort that she would be with Richard soon. It made me sad to think they’ll never have the joy of a family together but I hope they scooped up all the happiness possible before Richard’s death.

  A quick glance around showed that everyone was taking advantage of this reprieve to catch a nap. My thoughts wouldn’t let me relax. It was like a herd of buffalo was trampling through my brain. What about Merry? How was Phyl taking this? No one had mentioned her. How could I ever settle down with this nonsense spinning in my brain?

  And the Northeast Georgia Beacon? How would its reputation fare through this when their soon-to-be owner had been a person of interest in a murder case? Would the rival newspapers feed us to the wolves?

  Somewhere in my scrambled brain I met up with my twin – only we were playing the roles of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I of course was Jo the wild one – always in trouble and saying whatever came in my mind. Maggie was a combination of Beth and Meg – sweet and thoughtful and stronger than she believed. Finn would of course be the handsome Laurie who lived next door but Mr. Brooks was an unknown quantity. Finn aka Laurie was teasing me about my recent haircut and I must admit the barber had no idea of styling. Meg/Beth aka Maggie set about styling the mop I had left. She used her curlers and mousse and succeeding into making me almost presentable. Through the entire process we were laughing until my side hurt and when I woke and realized it was a dream, the tears came and I wanted it all to be real.

  Finn could hardly wait for me to get through customs when he swept me up in his strong arms. We kissed and I knew all was right with the world. The time away only made me love everyone more. Callie, Beau, and Charlie were waiting their turn to give me a hug. I whispered that Natalie and I would give her a blow-by-blow description of our trip when we caught up.

  Phyl was there and we cried onto each other’s shoulders. She reported that Nemo was fine but missing me. Natalie gave hugs all around and I noticed a new face in the crowd who was particularly smiling at her.

  “Who’s that?” I whispered to her.

  “Bryce. He’s new at the office and we’ve been out a few times,” she blushed.

  “Well, well. We must get together and I have to warn him about you and your hidden skill set. Not only are you good at your job but you are a great bodyguard and a fairly good spy,” I joked.

  “Please. I don’t think he’s ready for that,” Natalie said and went in Bryce’s direction. She waved goodbye as he took her luggage and walked her out.

  “That about wraps it up for now,” Mr. A said to the others. He had his arm around Phyl’s waist. Finn and I followed them to the van. Finn and Mr. A loaded the luggage and we were off. I snuggled next to Finn and he probably felt as though I had a death grip on him. I didn’t ask where we were headed. I didn’t care as long as we were together.

  21

  The Anderson household was abuzz. Finn’s old room had been set up for the ‘honeymoon couple’ which would be us. I’d almost forgotten that we hadn’t had a honeymoon. Now you KNOW I’m exhausted.

  After a hot bath, a change of clothes, and a dinner to die for the elder Andersons and the staff made themselves scarce. Finn and I had a lot to catch up on and not just conversation. We held hands up the stairs when I remembered Nemo who was asleep on the couch.

  “Is it okay to leave him there?” I asked.

  “Yes it’s fine. Mom hired a trainer and got him potty trained and even doing a few tricks. Nemo has officially been adopted into the Anderson clan – allergies be damned!”

  Phyl made sure that my white lace lingerie was laid out on the king size bed. She had champagne chilling and roses on the bedside table. My mother-in-law must have done all of this while we were having dessert. She had excused herself on the pretense of getting something from the library. Tomorrow we would move back to the apartment and life would get back to normal for us. We had wedding presents to unwrap, thank you cards to write, and a lot of adjustments to make our two lives into one.

  There’s nothing like an international incident to let you know who your friends are. We had invitations from the mayor, the chief of police, and a number of media executives who requested our presence at this and that. The other newspapers wanted our story but of course that was exclusive to the Beacon. No one could print anything until the FBI and the CIA had gone through it with a fine-tooth comb and redacted what they didn’t want known. That could be as late as the fall.

 
After my honeymoon leave was over I planned to return to my job and maybe even hunt down those pirates but from the comfort of my laptop. I wasn’t up for a cruise or anything near Cuba or the Caribbean for a while. In late summer, Phyl and Phineas finally took their trip around the world – a honeymoon they never had. They trusted us to run the paper. They gave the servants time off with pay and closed up the house. By the time they returned we would be celebrating our first anniversary.

  Finn received news that Evira and Richard’s murderers had finally been apprehended. They were to stand trial in Cuba. From what was described their courts were stricter than ours. So life for the Andersons was good at least for now.

  Dr. Eldridge confirmed that I was pregnant as we were about to celebrate our first anniversary. Seems that our plans to wait were not to be. Never mind the timing, Phineas and Phylomena were thrilled. To save money, we moved out of the apartment we moved in with the Andersons temporarily. Finn arranged a home loan while Phyl and I tracked down housing possibilities. One afternoon a package was laid on the mail table. It was addressed to Finn and came from an address in Cuba. Naturally I was curious.

  After dinner Finn opened the mysterious package which correspondence between Richard and Evira. I wasn’t sure about reading their intimate thoughts. We laid them aside for the mean time. There was a small note from Emil Ramirez, Evira’s lawyer, concerning her wishes for cremation and forwarding this material to us. Mr. Ramirez stated that the trial for the two murders was concluded. The perpetrator got fifty years and the actual killer received a lifetime sentence. He surmised that neither of them would serve since they would keep everything tied up in court until a mistrial was declared.

  “That’s so unfair,” I declared. A tear dripped from my cheek onto the note paper.