"It was necessary. After all, a girl could be taken advantage of in a strange place, doing business with people she doesn't know."
"I'll see what I can do," he assured her. "Now, how about a number where I can reach you?"
"Sure." She smiled and gave him her number at the hotel where she had a room.
I
Liane hurried straight back to the hotel, wanting to call Marsh as soon as she got safely inside. But when she opened the door she found him waiting for her there.
"How did it go?" he asked.
"I think he believed me." She sighed and threw herself onto the bed. "At least he should have. I told him the truth. At least, it was the most truthful I've been in the last couple of weeks."
"What do you mean?" Marsh stared down at her as he came closer to the side of the bed. "What did you say to him?"
Before she could word her reply the telephone rang. It was the bartender, and he was ready to do business.
"Stall him," Marsh said. "Nothing before tonight."
"When does your boss want to see me?"
"He doesn't," the man replied. "There's been a slight change. You'll be dealing with me."
"You . . .? You mean you have Jack?" she asked in mock surprise.
"Yes. And I have someone looking after him."
"When can I see him?" she asked, seeing Marsh shaking his head with a growing frown. Ignoring him she went on with what she was saying. "I told you, my sister won't pay unless I tell her I've seen Jack and I'm certain he's fine."
"I'll take you to him tonight. Then you'll see for yourself that he's okay."
"Very good. Tonight then. Do I meet you, or will you pick me up here?"
"Meet me in front of the club at six o'clock. But stay close to your phone in case I have to call and change things."
"All right, the club at six," she repeated before hanging up the phone.
"What the hell did you do that for!" Marsh fumed. "Do you have some kind of death wish?" He ran his fingers roughly through his hair, leaving it in disarray. "Why can't you follow orders just once?"
"I did what I felt was necessary to save my brother!" she shouted in reply. "And that's what I intend to do!"
"And what do you think I want to do?"
"I hope save him, and keep me alive as well," she said sarcastically. "Though I wonder about the latter."
"You . . ." He bit back his retort, then turned stiffly, heading for the door. "I better go and see what I can arrange in order to do that." She saw him clenching and unclenching his hands at his sides, as if trying to contain his anger. "Please let me know of any more changes you may see fit to make; since it seems you're the one running things now. And by the way, if you need to contact me, I'll be staking out the club."
It was five thirty when Liane left the hotel on her way to the Calypso Club. After calling for a taxi, she decided to wait for it outside where she could get some air.
Outside she was surprised to find a strange car pulling up in front of her. "Get in," the man ordered as he leaned over in the seat and opened the door. "We thought it would be nice to save you the trip to the club."
"Who are you? A silent partner," she asked, trying to sound cool as she got in beside the strange man.
"I am now." The man laughed roughly, then pulled away from the curb.
"I'm not familiar with Los Angeles, but isn't the club in the other direction?" she asked after they were driving a while.
"I decided it would be best to leave Georgie Boy at the club. In case he's being watched. You see, I'm not as trusting a fellow as he is." The man turned to stare coldly at her. "You'll find out once we stop up here at a place I know."
"What do you mean?" she asked, suddenly frightened. "What do you intend to do?"
"I intend to give you a change of clothing," he said, pointing to the back seat. "The Feds like placing wires on people so they can keep track of what's going on."
"I can assure you that I'm not . . ." She stopped, seeing it was useless to deny it. "Oh, here we go again." She thought of all the times she had worn someone else's clothing since trying to find her brother.
"What's that?"
"Nothing!" She sulked until they pulled into a small, dirty-looking motel. "You don't expect me to go in there!" she said with distaste.
"No. We are going in there. They rent by the hour."
Liane choked as the realization hit her that she would be totally at this stranger's mercy should she enter a room with him. Actually, she was at his mercy now. Slowly she fumbled with the car door.
"Do you want your brother?" the man asked as he firmly grasped her arm, preventing her escape.
Her shoulders sagged as she looked at the man. "Okay, let's get this over with."
I
Later, as they returned to the road, she wondered how she had withstood the indignity of this man watching her every movement as she undressed. Still she supposed she should feel fortunate he had only watched when he could have . . .
She forced the thought from her mind. Instead she thought about Marsh, wondering what he'd do now that she was gone. It was well past her planned time of arrival at the club, and she knew he'd be worried.
Yes, but will it be about my getting hurt, or because his plans were ruined?
She reflected on how often she had gotten in his way since attempting to find Jack. Now, she wondered if this wasn't the last straw. Would he give up on her and Jack? Me maybe . . . but never his partner. She felt sure of that.
They were outside the city and heading into a less populated area when she finally turned to her driver. "Where are you taking me?"
"To your brother, like you asked," the man replied. I hear George's girlfriend has been taking real good care of him. You'll see that for yourself once we get there. But why don't you just relax and listen to some music." He leaned forward and turned on the radio. "We'll be a few hours getting there."
Liane wanted to scream. The hours of air travel she had spent in the past weeks did not prepare her for the patience she needed for this trip.
Perhaps it's just the company, she thought, letting her eyes return to the driver. She realized now, just how much she had really trusted Marshal Todd. This man she could never trust.
She had nearly dozed off when she heard a report over the radio. She was certain they had mentioned the Calypso Club when they said they had found the body of a man in the basement. But as she sat up to hear the rest, the driver quickly changed the station.
"I prefer music to news," he said gruffly. "Nothing but murder and crime on the news." Suddenly he burst into laughter, looking toward her. "Right, Sweetie?"
"Right," she mumbled as she looked out her window into the growing darkness. The only things she knew for sure, was that they were heading into the mountains.
CH-14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
When finally she opened her eyes again, she was unable to distinguish exactly where they were. But she thought she could see small lights flickering in various spots in the distance.
Within moments they were driving through a gate and onto a long gravel lane. As Liane watched out her window, she saw them passing many tents and recreational vehicles before driving down a long stony lane and parking in front of one R.V. secluded from the others.
She watched as the door to the R.V. opened and a woman with a shotgun came rushing toward the car. "You!" the woman exclaimed. "Where's George?"
"There's been a slight change of plans, Christine," the man explained as he opened his car door.
"What are you talking about? Who the hell is she?" The woman nearly shouted when she saw Liane step out of her side of the car.
"She's the sister of the fellow you've been keeping company in there," the man said as he walked over to Liane's side.
"George told you about him?" Christine said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Of course, you know how close we are." The man laughed, shoving Liane toward the doorway.
"I don't get any of
this," the woman said tensely. "George said everything went wrong. He was coming tonight and we were going to get out of here."
Liane could tell the woman was sprung to so tight it probably wouldn't take much for her to snap. She also could tell the woman obviously disliked her companion. Not that she blamed her for that.
"Like I said, there was a change of plans," the man repeated.
"Liane," Jack called from the doorway of the trailer.
She looked up and saw her brother with his hands bound behind his back. "Jack!" She was about to rush toward him but the man grabbed her, preventing her escape. "Now that you see he's all right, we have a phone call to make."
"Let go of me! I want to talk to him." She struggled to pull free of his hold.
"Let her alone!" Jack ordered as he stepped further outside the vehicle.
"Hold it!" The woman pointed the shot gun at him. "No one is doing anything, until I know exactly what's going on." She turned back to the man. "Art, a little while ago I tried to call George to see why he wasn't here yet. I couldn't reach him."
"He's still at the club," Art replied. "We thought it would be better that way. Like I said, he thought he was being watched."
Out of the side of her eye, Liane thought she saw the bushes moving. She looked back at Jack and saw that he too, was glancing in that direction.
"I want to check with him before we do anything," the woman said as she stepped toward the man. "We have to arrange to meet him someplace after he gets away."
"You can't talk to him now. Maybe later," Art said quickly.
Liane remembered the radio report. "Don't you mean she can't talk to him ever again? Because you killed him when you found out what was going on." The man slapped her to stop her from saying more, but the damage was done.
"George . . . dead!" Fear clearly etched on the woman's young face as she looked back at them. "No . . .Not my Georgie!"
"Don't listen to this broad, Christine. She's making it up."
"All you have to do is listen to the radio," Liane said as she slowly side-stepped the man as he went for his gun.
"That's enough of this bull shit!" Art ordered, waving his pistol in the air. "If you want to call George, you can. But at least wait until we get on the road, in case they trace the call."
At that moment Liane saw her brother nod to her. As she turned to run, she heard the man shout for her to stop, and a dark figure lunged toward her. A shot sounded as she was pushed to the ground.
She saw Marsh laying on the ground next to her, holding his leg where he'd been wounded. When she looked up she saw the man holding the gun on her brother as he tried to escape. Marsh saw it too, and raised his gun again, but the man saw him and turned his gun on him. Their shots rang out simultaneously.
She heard Marsh gasp and knew he had been shot again. This time trying to save her brother.
Jack made it to their side. "Liane, get out of here!" he yelled just as a louder explosive sound filled the air.
"Jack!" She gasped, waiting for her brother to fall, then instead, watched as he knelt down beside her. She turned to see Christine standing above Art's lifeless body with the shotgun still in her hand.
"Untie my hands and let's get Marsh out of here before she decides to turn that thing on us too," Jack said quickly.
"Will he be all right? Liane asked as she struggled with the ropes biding Jack's hands.
"It's bad, Liane. Damn bad," he said grimly as he checked his friend's wounds then looked back at his sister's tear-stained face. "Liane . . .Hey, I don't know what the hell has been going on, but right now you can't go to pieces on us. We've got to get him to a hospital!"
"I'll be okay." She forced the words through trembling lips as she watched her brother lifting his friend. The man she loved.
I
"It's been a long night," Jack said as he came to sit beside Liane, handing her a cup of coffee. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, then burst into tears. "When will someone tell us how he is?"
"Soon, Sis, soon." Jack put a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"Your friend is out of surgery," the doctor said as he came into the waiting room, still dressed in a green surgery gown. "He's alive, but in pretty bad shape. He lost a great deal of blood."
"Will he be okay?" Liane rushed to face the doctor. "He will pull through, won't he?"
"I think it's safe to say his chances are good. He's strong, and in good shape." The doctor looked down at her. "Right now, you look like you could use some attention."
"I'm fine . . .really," Liane said with very little conviction.
"I can give you something," the doctor offered.
"No . . .I'm just concerned about Marsh," she insisted.
"I'll look after her," Jack promised as he took his sister's hand.
"As for your friend . . .He's going to have a long road ahead of him. There was some serious damage. He's going to need all the support he can get."
"When can we see him?" Jack asked.
"Not until tomorrow," the doctor replied. "I think right now, it's best you all get some rest. You look like you need it."
I
She and Jack had taken rooms at a small motel near the hospital and Liane had spent most of the night explaining to her brother about the events that had taken place while trying to find him. The one thing she had carefully omitted was that she had fallen in love with his partner.
When Jack finally knocked on her door the next morning she had to drag herself out of bed. All the events had finally taken their toll and she was exhausted.
"Ready to go to the hospital? he asked as he came into the room. "Ooops, sorry I woke you. I guess I forgot everything you've been through."
"It's okay, I wanted to leave early anyway." She stretched with a yawn, then turned slightly, avoiding his eyes. "I won't be going to the hospital with you.
"Why not?"
"I hardly think a visit from me will improve Marsh's spirits. You go alone, Jack. I'm going back to Los Angeles and taking the first flight I can get to New York." She forced a smile. "It'll be good to get home."
"Do you have any message for me to give Marsh?"
She turned to stare at her brother, trying to decide whether to say what was on her mind. "No. But you can do one thing for me, Jack. Don't even mention me to him. I'm certain he'll be happier if he can forget he ever met me."
Jack whistled. "That's a tall load."
"Please," she said softly.
"Okay, Sis, if you're sure that's how you want it," he said and turned for the door.
"I'm sure." Then she smiled. "And what about you? What will you do now?"
"Go back to work when the next job comes along," he replied. "Until then, I guess I have a new barn to build and probably stables from what you've told me. Then I'll take some time to enjoy my horses. You must come up there sometime . . .It's really a very restful place. At least, usually." He winked and opened the door.
"One question." She stopped him. "I know M.C. is going to ask, and I'm still not sure I know the answer. What exactly are you anyway? A Federal Agent working for the government, posing as a soldier-of-fortune, or a soldier-of-fortune hired to act as a government agent?"
He laughed. "I wonder that myself sometimes. I suppose a little of both."
"A little of both," she repeated. "But why did you get into it in the first place? Was it the money?"
He closed the door again. "Well, Sis. The money is good. But considering the risks . . . well, you found out about them first hand. Anyway, I've spent my life being the third half, never certain exactly what I wanted to do. Now I am certain. For the first time I feel like I'm doing what I want to do. And I can help other people while I'm doing it."
"Was it the same for Marsh?"
"Marsh has been in it a lot longer than I have. But I'd say it's pretty much the same reasons. He did some special work for the military when he was in the gulf. When he got out he planned a simple charter service." Jack laughed. "But it seem
s the government wasn't through with him yet. Whenever they need a special job, they come to him."
"Like this one."
"Yep." Jack nodded. "His first one with a partner."
"I remember him saying something like that," she said. "Well Brother, in case you don't already know it – as a partner, he's one heck of a good one to have. He worked hard to get you back."
"Yea, with his other partner."
She looked away as her eyes misted over. "Jack, all I did was get in the way. That's why I don't ever want you to talk to him about me. Trouble is something everyone wants to forget."
"Trouble." Jack took her chin and turned her tear-stained face toward him. "Don't you think that should be up to him to decide?"
"He already has decided that, Jack." She sighed. "When he thought he was rid of me the first time . . .and the second . . .and so on. This time I will kindly grant his wish."
"If you're that certain . . ."
"I am."
"Okay." He shrugged. "I'll be going then. But remember, I expect you to visit me at the farm as soon as I'm home."
"And I expect you to stop by and see Mary Catherine." At the thought of her sister Liane pulled a face. "After I'm through explaining everything to her, she'll probably never speak to me again."
"Hardly, Sis. She's more forgiving than that. Even if she will have to change some of her plans."
"Because of everything I did while I was pretending to be her."
"I like to think she'd have done exactly the same thing if she hadn't gotten so ill from her shots."
Liane blushed, doubting that she would have. Not everything, Jack. Not everything. She quickly gave her brother a hug good-bye.
I
Liane was happy for the added work of returning to the play. As soon as she had returned home and called to let Martin know she was all right, he poured out the dozens of problems he had had with Tina Berry.
"Please, Liane. Come back to the show," he pleaded.
For a month she was busy rehearsing and studying her lines, with little time for anything else. The busy pace was like balm to a wound that refused to heal.
Third Half Page 20
