The man coming toward them had on a blue uniform, a billed cap, and wide belt with a gun holster prominently displayed. He lowered the flashlight so they weren’t blinded and came up to him.
“Hola,”
“Do you speak English?” Rod asked.
The policeman nodded. “Did you come from the hospital?”
Michelle shook her head; the guy was staring right at her. She thought fast and pulled Lucifer out of her purse. “I was just hunting for my kitty with my friends. He ran away when we took him out for a potty break.”
“You’re all wet,” the man said, looking them over with suspicion.
“Caught in the sprinklers,” Rod said, feigning a laugh, like it was a funny situation. “We saw police cars in the area. What’s going on?”
The policeman used his thumb to point back at the hospital “A nurse was burned at the Gynecological Clinic behind the main hospital. She almost died. No one knows how it happened. But a patient is missing, believed to be loco...crazy. We think a deranged patient hurt that nurse. I have a description of the missing woman. She’s tall with black hair, name of Michelle Satinov. We’ve been hunting all over the hospital and grounds for her.”
Oh shit. Michelle almost put her hand on the sheet covering her head to make sure her hair was completely covered, then stopped abruptly. It would be a tell. If the Mexican policeman couldn’t see her black hair, she might be safe. She reasoned Omar probably harmed the nurse if he got angry enough when she was missing during the time the lights were out in the hospital. He might have blamed the nurse for not doing her job.
“We’re just tourists visiting your beautiful city,” Rod said, trying to deflect the man’s attention away from Michelle. “I’m sorry. We didn’t see anyone like the woman you describe around here. See?” he pointed at the rental car where Sammy was standing, “Our driver is ready to take us back to our hotel.”
“Okay, sorry to bother you folks. My respects, sister,” he said with a head nod at Michelle.
“Bless you,” Michelle said, surprised, hoping that was the appropriate response.
“Gracias,” he said, and started walking away toward the hospital.
“Whew, that was close,” Michelle whispered as they hurried to the car. “Let’s get out of here.”
The mood in the car, driving away from the hospital, was jubilant and euphoric. Rod let out a loud bellow of happiness, ‘Yahoo,’ and hugged Michelle. Then everyone was laughing and talking, hugging. The men were slapping each other’s shoulders in triumph.
It was a great moment for Mike to take advantage of. He hugged Heather.
“Operation Rescue...completed in less than twenty-four hours,” Rod said happily. “Thanks to Heather’s quick response to the emergency.”
“I don’t know how you all did it,” Michelle said, shaking her head. “I’m just so grateful.”
Rod, Michelle, and Sammy were sitting in the front seats. Heather, Mike and Vincent in the back.
Rod said, “You haven’t met one of our team’s rescue members, Michelle. Sammy is our Heroshi Corporation jet pilot. He got us all safely to Mexico, with a stop-off in California to refuel and pick up the professor.”
“Thank you, Sammy,” Michelle said.
He nodded. “Now, where are we heading? To the hotel, or the airport?”
From the back seat, Mike said, “We have to go to the hotel. We need to pick up the eggs.”
Eggs? Michelle thought. What were they talking about?
“Not necessary,” Vincent said. “I’ve been to Mexico quite a few times, and things are kind of loose here. I slipped a little incentive to the concierge. They’re already on the way to San Francisco.”
“I wondered why you were talking to him for so long,” Rod said. “You bribed the concierge?”
Vincent nodded. “I’m not stupid. He got a little upfront, but he’ll get more when he provides proof that they’ve arrived safely.”
“Excellent,” Rod said. “I’ll pay you back.”
“No you won’t,” Vincent said. “I got a free trip in a Lear jet to Mexico. I got to be part of the rescue team to save my favorite witch.”
As he drove along the highway, Sammy leaned across Michelle and said to Rod, “You want to see if we can get a night flight out of Guadalajara?”
“I’d like to, but we’re all pretty tired. You and me, by our Japanese time clock, I’d say we’ve been up a couple of days.”
They all agreed they needed a good night’s rest. Rescue operations were strenuous and exhausting. Especially when trying to foil an evil warlock with supernatural powers.
Chapter 32
When they arrived at the Tapatio Hotel and Resort, they agreed they’d each freshen up in their own rooms and then meet together in Rod’s in about a half hour. The place was lush with plants, the lobby luxurious, and bell hops rushed to take the luggage to each of their rooms. Keys were distributed. They were all on the top floor in adjacent rooms.
The concierge again proved useful, to Rod this time. It was two in the morning and room service had ended for the night, but he was able to advise Rod where to call for a take-out dinner that would be swiftly delivered.
Michelle didn’t have any clothes except the robe she had taken from Leilanie, and several layers of sheets, so Rod gave her a pair of his own jeans and a shirt to change into after she took a shower. The jeans were loose and she had to roll up the cuffs, but she didn’t care. Popping the diamond in her shirt pocket, she made sure Lucifer was comfortable, with his litter box and food, and then she went down the corridor to Rod’s room.
Heather rushed to shower and change in her own room. She was especially pleased to be out of the blouse that had been burned. Then she walked along the balcony of the hotel to Rod’s. Down below she could see a large pool which looked thoroughly inviting. She wondered if late night swims were allowed.
As she entered Rod’s suite, the caterers were just arriving with what looked like a huge banquet. Waiters started unloading all the food on a table near the balcony. Her stomach started growling at the sight.
Michelle came in next. Heather hugged her and jumped up and down. They were both still excited about the daring rescue that had been accomplished.
Vincent and Sammy arrived a minute later, both with wet hair from their recent showers. Then Mike came in. There were all-round hugs, and then they started filling their dishes with Mexican food. Everyone was famished, but it seemed there was enough to feed an army: Tacos, enchiladas, Flautas with guacamole, Carne asada, rice, beans, and corn tortillas.
There weren’t enough chairs in the room, so Michelle, Heather and Mike sat on the bed, with plates in their laps. For a while there wasn’t much talk, except exclamations about how wonderful the food tasted. Their adrenalin levels were gradually coming back down to normal after a day of anxiety and fear.
The common tradition of friends gathering together and putting food in their stomachs settled them and was a welcome relief from all the tension.
It felt like a grand celebration.
When Michelle couldn’t take another bite of food, she looked at the professor and said, “You were saying something about eggs? How they were being sent to San Francisco? What was that about?”
“We didn’t just rescue you from Omar’s clutches,” Vincent said. “Mike went to the top floor and managed to get your ovum from the refrigeration unit in the lab. That was during Omar’s blackout. We packed them up and the concierge here at the hotel sent them DHL to a doctor friend of mine at the university hospital in San Francisco. He’ll keep them safely frozen until you decide what you want to do with them.”
Heather was smiling. “Mike also found Omar’s sperm refrigerated there, and threw them in the trash. Theoretically, Omar can produce more, of course, but it might piss him off.”
Michelle laughed so hard she flopped backwards on the bed. “I’m at a loss for words!”
They took turns bringing her up to date on the whole operation: First ho
w Heather became upset when Michelle didn’t answer her cell phone the night before last. Then searching her apartment and feeding Lucifer.
Mike chimed in about their trip up to Omar’s apartment that night and finding an almost-double there, who looked enough like Omar to fool anyone from far away. Which led to taking pictures of Omar’s double with the gorgeous witches staying at his place, from the top of another building the next morning.
Heather showed the photos of Omar’s double to Michelle on her cell phone, which was then passed to Vincent, Rod and Sammy. They were all laughing when they learned the most spectacular pornographic shots had been sent to Omar’s cell phone. They agreed, he must have been fuming mad.
“Which reminds me,” Mike said. “We need to send those pictures to the Hawaii PD, to prove Omar broke parole. I have some pictures of him in Michelle’s hospital room, too. I think their police computer forensics team can deduce where the pictures were taken. Further proof that Omar was in Mexico.”
“Talk about documents!” Michelle produced the wedding pictures and marriage license, which were handed around.
“Pretty dress,” Heather commented, as she studied the pictures. “Omar must have been planning the whole thing while he was in jail.”
Rod nodded and said to Michelle, “As soon as Heather called me and said Omar broke bale and you were missing, I knew something bad happened. So that night I made up excuses at work for leaving Japan to check out some Heroshi properties in Hawaii and California. Not so much for me, as comptroller of Heroshi I have a lot of autonomy, but for Sammy.
“Then I told Sammy the whole back-story; the complete history of you and Omar. I told him we could be in trouble at work and that the trip might be hazardous, but he agreed to pilot us to Honolulu, and then San Francisco, and finally, on to Mexico.” Rod smiled at Sammy. “We‘ve been friends for years.”
Sammy nodded and smiled back in agreement.
“How did you get involved,” Michelle asked Vincent.
“Heather called me and told me you were missing, and about Omar being out on parole. She wanted to understand the psychology behind Omar; why he would do such a risky thing. She meant abducting you, because that’s what Heather thought happened. So I deduced what Omar was after; his grand scheme for his future. He wants children with psychic abilities, partially because he’s getting older. He wants to create a dynasty to reign over us mere mortals without any of those abilities. He thinks he can have it all with Michelle’s progeny. I knew he was up to no good.” Vincent shrugged. “I wanted to help.”
“Sounds like Hitler’s plan for the master race,” Heather said, shuddering.”
“Evil and diabolical,” Mike agreed.
“Now tell us what happened to you.” Heather said to Michelle. “How Omar married you and took you to the fertility clinic.”
Michelle told them how the lights blacked out in the parking garage when she was leaving work, two nights ago. That’s when she was abducted. She still didn’t remember much about the wedding, except that it was cold on the beach in the white satin gown, and that Omar carried her to the altar because her high heels kept sinking in the sand.
She woke up in the hospital, believing she’d been in some kind of accident. Her memory of the previous hours were wiped out. But when she figured out what Omar had done to her, she was devastated.
“First he had me raped by that horrible creature, Samson, so I fled to Hawaii. For years I had panic attacks. I thought I’d never have the ability to have children because I’d been so badly hurt during the assault. And when I woke in the hospital, last night, and figured out Omar had also stolen my few remaining eggs, any tiny hope that I could have babies in the future was gone. I was so sad.”
Michelle had tears in her eyes. “So what you all did, saving my eggs, well, it means so much to me. There’s a possibly I could have a family of my own someday. Something I never conceived could happen.”
Heather put her arm around Michelle’s shoulders. To lighten the mood she laughed and said, “We sure didn’t want Omar to have use of your potential progeny.”
They were all ominously thinking it had already happened, though. Leilanie was carrying three of Michelle’s eggs. Eggs that had been fertilized by Omar. No one said a word about that, but it was a fact, like an elephant trumpeting blatantly in the room.
Vincent got up and stretched. “I’m so tired. I think I’ll mosey on down to my room and get some shut-eye.”
Everyone was nodding. They quickly stacked the dishes and utensils on trays that had been left by the caterers and placed them in the hallway outside Rod’s room.
Michelle got hugged by each person as they left, Vincent, Sammy, Heather and Mike.
Then Rod and Michelle were alone in the room together. Michelle went over to him and they embraced for a long time.
“When the time is right, we might just use those frozen eggs,” Rod whispered.
Michelle nodded. “But first, we could practice the natural way...see what happens.”
Rod laughed, “You’re the Witchy Woman. Anything could happen, but I agree. Lots and lots of practice first.”
***
As Heather was leaving Rod’s room, she whispered to Mike. “I’m much too hyper to sleep. You want to take a dip in the pool?”
He gave her a wide smile, looking over the balcony at the huge pool below them as they went down the hallway to their rooms. “Sure.”
“We’ll have to be quiet. They probably don’t allow swimming this late. All the pool lights are off.”
“Meet you there. Ten minutes,” Mike said, and hurried off to his room to change.
Heather hadn’t packed a bathing suit, but thought her black bra and underpants would be okay. They were sheer, but they weren’t see-through. Mike would see her scar from the lightning strike, though. She smiled, he’d see it sooner or later, anyway. Of that there was no doubt.
She went to the end of the hallway and down the stairs, barefoot. Mike was already sitting on the lip of the pool, his feet dangling inside. He’d changed into jean cut-offs.
He winked at her and slid into the water, soundlessly. Heather went down the stairs into the pool. It was cool and refreshing, the night sky twinkling with stars above them. They both started a slow breast stroke toward the other end, trying not to splash or make any noise.
After a few laps, Heather glanced up at the top floor of the hotel. She noted that the light was still on in Rod’s suite; Michelle’s room was dark. She was glad they were together.
Then the pool was suddenly empty. Where had Mike gone? It was too dark to see clearly, lights just bounced off the dark surface of the water, and she circled around in place, her heart beating fast, suddenly panicked, wondering if Omar had found them.
Then she felt a gentle jerk, and knew enough to take a deep breath as she was pulled under water. Mike’s arms were around her. His skin was very warm. Kissing underwater was a fun, breathless—and brief experience. They both popped up out of the water and tried not to gasp or breath too hard, knowing noises from a pool seemed to reverberate, bouncing off the water’s surface, and seemed louder than they really were.
They both laughed soundlessly and swam to the shallow end. Mike helped Heather out of the pool and they went to the stairs, climbing to the top floor on wet bare feet.
Heather’s room was the first one they came to, so they hurried inside. There wasn’t much clothing to remove. They were alive and celebrating urgently after a long and fearful day. For this time there was nothing else but heat and closeness. Mike was fierce, gentle, and warm.
Together, Heather and Mike slipped into the best kind of exhausted sleep together.
Chapter 33
Three Months Later:
Michelle made another necklace with the diamond. This one wasn’t as ornate as that first one she’d fashioned, but she didn’t need it to be. It wasn’t for show. The diamond was on a long chain she tucked hidden inside whatever she was wearing, each day. At night it was
carefully laid on the table beside her bed, where she could grab it fast. If Abigail was inside still, Michelle believed she would receive a warning, and possibly a way to counter another attack from Omar.
So far, she had drifted seamlessly back into work at Heroshi Hawaii Corporation, managing the high-rise buildings they owned. But she couldn’t help getting an electrical frizzy-hitch type shock any time a light went out, whether at home or at work.
Now she sat on her balcony after work, watching the sunset. Lucifer was hunkered in her lap and she stroked him absently until she felt his soft, warm muscles become hard as stone.
He gave a little squall, then did his alert, the tiny ears pricked back, body becoming still as a statue. Michelle waited for the knock on the door.
The usual tattoo. Heather. Michelle ran to the door to let her in.
Coffee was made, as usual, and they sat together. Michelle smiled as Heather talked non-stop about her plans with Mike. They had decided to live together. Michelle was thrilled with her friend’s happiness.
After the trip to Mexico, Lucifer seemed to decide Heather was another surrogate mom. Right now he was sitting in her lap, patting her cheek with one tiny paw.
Never far from their minds, though, was a mystery they might never solve.
Omar seemed to have vanished. The police were searching for him using the evidence Mike provided of his pictures of Omar’s double, who had also mysteriously disappeared, and the cell phone shots that were taken of Omar while he was in Mexico. So now the police had new charges against Omar. Fleeing bale was the least of them. Michelle didn’t know if marrying someone by force really had a legal charge attached to it, but the police were taking it seriously.
Kidnapping and illegal imprisonment with the use of drugs were very severe allegations though, with a penalty of lifetime imprisonment with conviction. So it wasn’t too surprising that Omar fled.
Omar was so distinctive in appearance, Michelle hoped he wouldn’t risk coming back to Hawaii, or anywhere else in the United States. The Mexican authorities had been alerted, but they didn’t have any success in finding the fugitive either.
Witchy Woman - Book 2 - The Necromancer Page 22
