by Tony Lavely
“It’s just… she sounded so… worried. And then, giving everything over to me…”
“If we have a chance, everyone putting themselves at risk does the same thing, I think.” She reached out to grab Amy’s thigh. The girl didn’t pick up her hand. “I think she wanted you to know she was thinking about you. Especially after a weekend with Eilís.”
“Eilís said—”
“None of my business. That’s why I went down the beach while you guys were talking.”
“I know. Thanks for that. But this… I want you to know. Eilís told me she never had Abby’s interest, at least… for… lovemaking, I guess she meant.”
Amy was staring up at the sails, so Beckie laid a finger along her chin. When the girl dropped her head to look into her eyes, Beckie said nothing, just held out her arms. Amy slid forward on the cushion and accepted the embrace.
After a couple minutes of silent communion, Amy sat up straight. She glanced at Beckie’s bare arms and legs and grinned. “As captain, I order you below to get some lotion from the port-side locker. You’ll be burnt, otherwise.”
“Aye, Cap’n! But first.” She handed Amy the letter before going below.
Amy stayed in her seat while Beckie applied the suntan lotion to her exposed skin. Finished, she handed the bottle over. “Your turn.” She smiled as she waited for Amy to relinquish the cushion. Beckie then minded the tiller while Amy spread sunscreen on her arms and legs, then restowed the lotion.
When Amy took the tiller again, Beckie hiked herself up to sit on the rail, looking around. “I can’t see the Nest,” was her first reaction. Immediately, she wanted to take back the whiny tone her unease had imbued the words with.
“Don’t worry; it’s still there.” Amy glanced at the speed gauge on the cabin bulkhead. “We’re doing about 4 knots, so we’ve gone below the horizon from them.” She looked up the mast, then back at Beckie. Her grin was huge. “If you want to climb up there—”
Beckie snorted. “No way!”
Amy laughed. “The reflector on top of the mast is still in Mr. Go’s radar’s range, so he knows where we are. If he’s watching.”
“I’m pretty sure he’s watching. And if you see a helicopter… that’ll be Ian, making sure we’re okay, too!”
Amy laughed again, then straightened herself and scanned the horizon again. “Okay, nothing but water. Sit back down while I come to a southerly course. Actually, a little east of south will bring us west of the Nest.”
Beckie kept her head down as Amy spent a couple of minutes bringing Guppy to the new heading. When everything settled, Beckie climbed back up to sit on the rail, watching the waves and a meandering dolphin.
There’s a glint over there… “Hey, Amy, what’s that?” She pointed toward the bit of reflected sunlight.
“That’s a good reason to call home,” she said after a concentrated stare. She picked up her phone. “Hi, Mom. Can you tell Mr. Go or Mr. Jamse we’ve got a power boat coming up on us? I can’t tell how fast, she just showed up. We’re about five miles out and tacking to head back. Yeah, we’ll be careful. Love you.”
Everything came together in the next ten minutes. The intruder came up but not quite to them, because by then, Jean-Luc had the helicopter over their heads. Beckie and Amy watched, awestruck, as Jean-Luc made a pass over the boat and someone aboard the boat fired a shot at the copter.
As the man at the wheel put his gun down and spun the wheel, Jean-Luc responded with an overflight that just cleared the boat’s Bimini top and blew it on its beam. A second man screamed in fear as he tumbled over the transom. The man at the wheel apparently didn’t notice; he’d thrown the throttles to full power and headed back the way he came. The man in the water was not so well off; he’d disobeyed the first rule of boating and had no life jacket. As Beckie watched, she was pretty sure he couldn’t swim, either.
Amy was bringing Guppy about to intercept him, but she hadn’t lowered any sails. Beckie’s phone buzzed; as she reached for it, Amy shouted over the copter’s noise, “We’re gonna go right by him; I don’t want him aboard with us. Throw him a life ring as we go by.”
Beckie nodded and pushed the accept icon. Jean-Luc’s voice almost exploded out of the speakers. “Don’t pick him up!”
“We’re not. Just gonna throw him a life preserver.” She held it up and shook it.
“Bien. Mr. Jamse wishes to speak with him. He and Kevin are coming. I’ll stay on station until they arrive.”
“Cool. Thanks! And thanks for running him off.”
Amy was touching up her course; the man was attempting to tread water about thirty feet ahead. It was a matter of seconds before Guppy passed by, close enough to splash him with her little bow wave, but not close enough to hit him. Beckie marveled at Amy’s control; she’d placed the boat within five feet of the man, who was in the water on Beckie’s side of the boat.
As Guppy swept by, Beckie dropped the ring directly in front of the man, who seized it as if it was his last hope. Once he’d clutched it to his chest, he screamed something at Beckie, but between the sound of the boat in the water, and the chopper overhead, she couldn’t make it out.
In another five minutes, Beckie could no longer see him, but Jean-Luc assured her he was still afloat. Since she’d brought Guppy back to a course to the Nest, Amy had focused on the tiller, making what looked to Beckie like minute adjustments having little or no effect. Both girls looked up as Ian and Kevin went by in one of the team’s powerboats; they exchanged waves and Beckie watched as they drove on to where Jean-Luc was holding station.
Beckie looked at Amy again; she was back playing with the wind vane thing that was steering. “Okay, girl. Leave that damn thing alone for a second. Com’ere and tell me what’s wrong.”
The look of disgust on Amy’s face was surely intended to tell her she should know exactly what was wrong, but she made one more tweak and then came around the end of the tiller to sit between Beckie’s legs. “They were after me, weren’t they?” She put her forehead on Beckie’s knee and cried softly.
“Only in passing. If you were the easiest target, then sure. But, without Abby, who would they pressure to get you released? I’m pretty sure if they were after us, it’d be me, ‘cause then they’d think, you know, Ian would be willing to… bend over backwards.”
Amy looked up, wiping her eyes. “I’m so silly. But, I don’t know if it makes me feel better or worse that I’m not a big target anymore.”
Beckie pulled her closer, so her head lay back against Beckie’s belly. “You got your phone? You should call your mom.”
Ian waved as he and Kevin shot by, headed back to the Nest. Beckie couldn’t see where the man was being held, but since Jean-Luc had waggled his rotor at them, she was sure he wasn’t in the water.
After the three hour return to the Nest, Beckie helped, as much as she could, tying up Guppy and straightening up while Amy furled the sails more neatly than she’d done just outside the anchorage. They went to Go Shen’s office. “He’s got a place to hold the guy, so that’s where they’ll be.”
As they hurried along the walkway from the dock, Ian came out of the building. Beckie ran to him and they greeted each other with a kiss. Amy stood, one eye on them, the other on her watch. Beckie could just see her out of the corner of her eye and guessed what she was doing; she held Ian lip to lip until Amy cleared her throat. Based on his embarrassed laugh and repentant look to Amy, Ian had also guessed what both Beckie and Amy were attempting.
Beckie pulled Amy into their hug. “She needs love, Ian.”
He squeezed both of them tight. “She has it, Rebecca. She has it.”
Beckie saw Kevin appear from the security building, but waited until he’d approached to greet him.
“What did you learn from that guy, anyway? He didn’t bite down on his cyanide tooth, I hope.”
Ian laughed. “No, though he may have wished he could do so.” He turned serious and spoke to Amy. “Amy Rose, you are invited to dinner, s
ince Kevin wishes to dine with his family. Call your mother, please, and invite her as well. Tell her I’ve taken a demanding sort of turn, and you fear for your sanity if she fails to appear.”
Beckie was still hugging him, but laughing so hard the hug was to keep her from falling down. Amy had stepped back; her wide eyes and slack jaw gave her surprise away until she grinned and pulled out her phone.
Forty minutes later, showered and in clean clothes, Beckie and Amy joined Millie and Ian on the lanai.
After Boynton had stuffed them with a wonderful cedar plank salmon, Beckie felt her head nodding and asked Ian once again, “The guy you dragged out of the water; what’d he say anyway?”
“His name is Flores,” Ian said. “I believe he works for the lawyer Goldfarb, and he seems to have been attempting to enforce Goldfarb’s comment about compensation.”
“‘Comment about compensation?’” Amy said. “What’s that about?”
Mr. Jamse inclined his head toward Beckie.
“This morning, before you called, I had an email from Eilís. I don’t have it here, but best I recall—check me, Ian, if I miss something—she said she’d received an unsigned message she thought was from Goldfarb. He wanted, compensation, she guessed, for the dead men, but more, he wanted the gold back. He said the package we’re looking for wasn’t there, and we could negotiate for it after compensation had been agreed.”
“Wait, what?” Amy spluttered. “They tried to kill— They killed Abby!”
“In their view,” Mr. Jamse said, “their loses were greater, especially since… Since we took Ms Rochambeau’s body with us, they may be unaware of her death. But the reference is to the gold, I am certain. No matter how competent the men she terminated, hired guns are available.”
“Is that like you, then? Hiring guns?”
He looked at her. Beckie thought, This is an interesting test of our relationship, too, almost as important as when I went into Billy’s building alone. “No, Amy Rose,” he finally said. “We do of course have men, and women too, who fall into that category, but generally, that is not their main qualification.
“I think you realize Rebecca does not fall into that group. Nor did Ms Rochambeau. Indeed, if your own plans come to fruition, you would not be a ‘hired gun,’ either.” Amy nodded. “None of our critical team members would be so classified.”
“So, the fact it was us was incidental?”
“Indeed. They were seeking a ‘target of opportunity,’ as he described it. Talos’ organization has been watching both the Nest and the airport at Fort Lauderdale for several days, seeking to intercept one of us alone. Guppy was the first boat out of the Nest since they began looking at us, and as you know, since Ms Rochambeau’s memorial, we have been hanging fire.”
“So, where’s the package, then?”
“Either he does not know, or fears his employers more than he does his captors.”
“Okay,” Amy said. “What’s this ‘package’ we’re looking for?”
Beckie’s face lit up like Christmas. “See, Ian, I told you she’d get it!” His smile was full as he nodded to her. “We have no idea,” Beckie continued. “But with the link to Peru—”
“What link is that?”
“Ah,” Beckie said. “Sorry, Millie. You haven’t been as involved. The murder Abby witnessed, committed by Talos, was of a Peruvian government official…”
“Mateo Huamán, Minister of the Interior, at the time,” Boynton said.
“Thanks. The police called it a mugging, but Talos… Well, he didn’t seem like someone who’d be involved in a mugging except from a great distance. More a boss, you know? And the box the gold was in came from Peru, too. So, being curious, Ian and I called Barbara this morning, to see if her contacts had any different information.”
“And?”
“Haven’t heard back, yet.”
Beckie glanced out over the channel toward the security building. “Are you going to send him back? Flores?”
“Eventually. I doubt he will register a complaint. Monsieur Fereré made a most enlightening video.”
“I’ll say!” Amy said. “The prop wash when he overflew the boat gave me a scare, on Guppy.”
While Boynton refilled their coffee cups, Doctor Ardan finally spoke up. “Ian, you spoke as if… Amy’s role later on, when she graduates, was a… fait accompli?”
“At present, subject to all the vagaries of fate between now and then, it is.” Beckie was watching Amy, who had a twisted grin on her face, along with wide eyes, as if she was saying I told you so while at the same time thinking, It can’t be. Beckie remembered the same feeling when Ian had invited her to join his team, over two years ago, now. “Of course, at the time, she must still wish to join us. I am confident she will complete the courses of study you and Derek set her.” He reached to take Beckie’s hand. “I have been reassured by Rebecca’s exploits… once I manage to overcome my fear of them. I see no reason Amy Rose should be less effective.”
Beckie sat forward a little, without removing Ian’s hand. “I don’t think you need to worry about her starting field work just yet.”
“But I already helped Abby! And Mr. Hamilton asked me to look at some things for him.”
“Do you have reservations, Millie?”
Beckie watched Amy’s face drop and her eyes fill. Then the girl turned to her mother. “Please don’t answer that, now at least. I need to gain a little more maturity before I face that disappointment.”
Millie reached to grab Amy’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I already told you, whatever works for you is okay with me. I’ll be here to support you, just like I do for all our team members. I make stupid comments at times, or inappropriate ones, but never doubt I love you and want the best for you.” She turned to Beckie. “Ian mentioned O’Bannon’s offer to use her house; I’m sure we can find a couple of weeks, if I can’t go to Chatham myself. But I won’t be so easy to convince if you want to take her… to South America, for instance.”
Beckie did an internal fist pump. Millie hadn’t ruled out taking Amy on the job! But the payoff… We’ve got to see a massive benefit before we can even suggest that. Beckie looked at Ian, who was not quite as happy, implying he’d intuited her desire to indoctrinate Amy sooner rather than later. That’s okay, she thought. We can talk about that… after they leave.
Discretion suggested she change the subject. “If we let Goldfarb junior go, can we follow him? Could we get any useful information that way?”
Ian looked out at the ocean, probably weighing the idea, Beckie thought. “It is problematic at best. I did consider allowing Ms O’Bannon to mediate his return—if he has any value to them—and see what advantage we might gain. But I had not thought of… just releasing him. We shall see.”
In the silence that followed, Amy twisted and wriggled, then sat up. “Uh, Beckie, we need to talk…” She looked around the table. “No. I have something… I… I need to show you.” She stood. “I’ll be right back.”
“Want me to go with you?” Beckie said.
Ian drew everyone’s attention. “Please. Either you, or I, or Shen. She should not be out alone.” He sighed as Amy’s face tightened. “I know you are not a child, Amy Rose. That is not my rationale. Please permit Rebecca to escort you.”
Amy’s nod was spare at best.
The two girls made a quick—and quiet!—trip Bon Secours Cay, to the Ardan home.
She still hasn’t said a word. Ian musta gotten to her. As they entered Amy’s bedroom, Beckie hugged the girl around the shoulders. With a resigned look, she shrugged off Beckie’s arm and opened the top drawer of her dresser, then dug to the back of the explosion of underwear. Beckie glanced around the room; for all their recent association, she’d never seen this space Amy called hers.
She caught sight of a leather belt lying on the bed; it had no closure or buckle. As she reached to pick it up—to examine it—Amy said, “It was Abby’s. With these.” She knelt in the closet entry, grabbing something.
Beckie nodded when she saw one of the team’s black duffles. Amy opened a side pocket and gingerly removed two ceramic knives. Beckie gaped at them for a second before she realized that together, they’d make a buckle for the belt she was holding. “Yeah. With these, I can wear it. Pieter—Mr. Nijs—showed me about cleaning the blades and he sent me to Ms Rios for how to use them—”
Beckie chuckled. “If she’s teaching you weapons, you can probably call her Elena. And him Pieter.”
“Yeah, I suppose. Anyway, they’re ceramic. Like glass, I guess, so really sharp. And breakable, if I’m not careful.” She slid the two blades into the sheath of the belt and draped it around her hips. “See?”
“Cool,” Beckie said with a smile. “But—”
“Yeah. They aren’t what we came for.” Amy handed over the package she’d dragged out of her dresser. “This is what you and Mr. Jamse need to see. It was in Abby’s bag, too.”
“Hmm. Okay.” After a glance in the dark, Beckie handed it back. “You hang on to it till we get there. Wouldn’t want to drop it overboard.”
Beckie led Amy through the slider; they both settled at the table. Dropping the manila envelope on the glass tabletop, Amy looked at Ian, then Beckie, then said, “This was in Abby’s duffle Mom gave me yesterday. I looked, but… I’m worried ‘cause I can’t understand why she’d have anything from Peru… But I’m sure she wasn’t working against… against you, Mr. Jamse.” Her own whisper was barely audible by the time she finished.
“I agree,” he said. “I also wonder how it came into her possession. Thank you for bringing it to light.” He picked it up and gazed into her eyes. “May I?”
“Yeah. Didn’t make much sense to me.”
