by Jayne Castle
“What treasure?” Sabrina demanded distractedly.
“We were playing a game on Cindy’s home computer,” Brad said carelessly. “One where you have to find the treasure without getting croaked in the process.”
“Cindy has a computer?” Sabrina asked in amazement, relief coursing through her.
“Yeah. Her parents bought her one. It’s neat. Think Dad would get me one?”
“Given the alternative possibilities, yes,” Sabrina said briskly.
“I could tell him I need it for schoolwork,” Brad said brightly. “Hey, where are we going? Your apartment is on the other side of the swimming pool.”
“My car is parked in front of the manager’s office. I couldn’t find a slot in front of my own apartment because that moron next door took up two spaces for his new pickup truck. Thank God.”
Hurrying along beside her, Brad slanted Sabrina a strange glance. “So why are we going to your car?”
“We are making a getaway, Brad.”
“From what?”
“I wish I knew.” Sabrina dug out her keys as she ran and had them ready when they reached the sleek white Alfa Romeo. “Just get in and fasten your seatbelt. I’ll tell you everything on the way to the airport.”
“The airport! Sabrina, what the heck is going on? What’s all this about Dad?” As he pelted her with questions, Brad opened the door on his side of the car and got into the white leather bucket seat.
Sabrina had the car in gear before he’d slammed the door. “I don’t know for certain, but I don’t feel like taking any chances.” She wheeled the car out of the parking lot. “There are two men back in my apartment who claim they work for Rafferty Coyne. They flashed some badges in my face, but I don’t trust their story.”
Brad considered that. “Dad works for Coyne,” he finally said hesitantly.
“Your father is different,” Sabrina informed him with the grand illogic of a woman who is in over her head with a man and knows it. Even as she spoke the words the irony of them hit her rather forcibly. Something drastic had changed within her, she thought fleetingly.
“Oh.”
“At any rate, and you have a right to know this, Brad, because I could be all wrong, they told me that your father’s been hurt.”
Brad’s head snapped around and he stared at Sabrina in utter shock. “Dad’s hurt?”
“That’s what those two men say. They wanted to take you to see him.”
“I want to see him! Turn around, Sabrina. We’ve gotta go back.”
Sabrina took a few steadying breaths, concentrating on finding the freeway entrance. “Brad, I think something’s wrong. I don’t know whether or not Matt’s really been hurt, but I don’t think we can trust those two back in my apartment to tell us the truth. One of them’s wearing makeup around what appears to be a swollen, black eye. The other one can’t move his right arm. They look a little like you and Alex looked after that brawl in the parking lot last night. What’s more, they claim they’ve notified your mother to be ready to leave Houston with you as soon as they arrive.”
“But Mom’s in Europe with El Creepo.”
“El Creepo?”
“Never mind,” Brad muttered.
“Well, I want to check, Brad. I want to call your grandparents and see if they’ve been told about your father and I want to call your mother’s house in Houston and see who answers.”
“Because you don’t think Dad’s really been hurt?” There was pleading hope in the boy’s voice.
“Your father is very good at taking care of himself,” Sabrina said firmly.
There was a long silence as Sabrina swung the Alfa Romeo onto the airport freeway. Brad appeared to be thinking over the situation.
“But why would they say Dad’s been hurt if he hasn’t?”
“I just don’t know, Brad. But these guys are government types, convinced they’re saving the world and probably willing to stoop to any depths to do it. You can’t let people push you around just because they think they know what’s good for you or what you ought to do.”
“Not even government people?”
“Especially not government people. Brad, we’ll know more when we reach the airport. I want you to make the phone calls while I buy the tickets. Have you got your grandparents’ number?”
“No. It’s at the house in Houston.”
“Whoever answers the phone in Houston can give it to you, then.”
“And if Mom answers?”
“Then I may have to reevaluate my paranoid tendencies,” Sabrina said evenly.
Virginia Martin did not answer the phone in Houston. Sabrina turned away from the airline counter, tickets in hand, to find Brad standing by the bank of pay phones. He looked anxious. As soon as he saw her coming toward him, she realized that there was a certain amount of relief in his eyes. Relief and trust. Somehow the boy seemed to be communicating the fact that this was an adult disaster and therefore an adult could deal with it.
“Was anyone at all there?” Sabrina asked gently.
“Felicia, the maid. She gave me my grandparents’ number. She said Mom hadn’t phoned ahead to say she was arriving back in Houston unexpectedly. As far as Felicia knows, Mom and El Creepo are still in Europe.”
“Let’s call your grandparents. I’ll do the talking, if you like.”
Gratefully, Brad handed the phone over to Sabrina. The call was answered in San Diego by another maid.
“I’m sorry, but the Augusts are at their country club. They played golf today and won’t be back until this evening. May I take a message?”
“You’re sure they’re at the club?” Sabrina pressed nervously.
“Yes, ma’am. They just left twenty minutes ago.”
“I see. Well, thank you very much. There haven’t been any other, uh, calls for them, have there?”
“I beg your pardon?” the maid said in a frosty tone.
“I mean from their son, for instance? I’m trying to reach him and I was just wondering if they’ve heard from him recently,” Sabrina temporized quickly.
“It has been some months since Matthew August has called his parents,” the maid informed her bluntly. “That man should be ashamed of himself, if you ask me. No sense of responsibility.”
“I’ll tell him when I see him,” Sabrina said briskly, and hung up the phone.
“Had the government people contacted them?” Brad asked urgently.
“No. Neither your mother nor your grandparents seem to have received any messages about Matt.” She frowned thoughtfully, tapping the tickets against the side of the phone.
“So what happens now?” Brad’s eyes were wide and serious.
“I’m going to try to get hold of Alex. Then we leave town,” Sabrina said decisively.
“But where will we go? To find Dad?”
“I don’t know how to find your father, Brad. Therefore, we’ll have to make sure he can find us,” Sabrina said, trying to sound sure and in control. Her fingers were trembling as she waited for Alex to answer his phone.
“No, I cannot come in early tomorrow, Sabrina,” Alex began as soon as he realized who was on the line. “This has got nothing to do with work. Alex, I’m at the airport. I’m on my way to Oregon with Brad.”
“Oregon!”
“Alex, I have to know something. During that scramble in the parking lot do you think you might have hit one of the guys in the arm? Hard enough so that it would still be unusable today?”
“I did a little damage, Sabrina,” Alex admitted cautiously. “I didn’t have much choice.”
“I know that. For heaven’s sake, I’m not blaming you for that! It’s just that one of those men I thought was from the IRS showed up at my door today with a right arm that won’t function. The other guy is wearing makeup around one eye. They told me some story about Matt getting hurt and lying in a hospital in Puerto Rico.”
“Jesus.”
“My sentiments exactly. Plain brown shoes.”
“Nerd shoe
s.”
“And not cowboy boots.”
“Not much to go on,” Alex warned softly.
“I know. But they work for Rafferty Coyne.”
“I know how you feel about Coyne.”
“And part of the story they just told me doesn’t check out.”
Alex groaned. “I thought I was working in the simple, tacky souvenir business. Not very impressive but a stepping-stone to greater things, I assured my mother. I didn’t know my boss was going to get in trouble with the government. I should have been suspicious when the IRS kept pestering you.”
“These two guys who look like they’ve been in a parking-lot brawl don’t work for the IRS, I discovered. I’ve never even heard of the name of Coyne’s agency.”
“Why would they have come after Brad and me last night?”
“It probably had nothing to do with you. It’s Brad they seem determined to get,” Sabrina whispered, hoping the boy wouldn’t overhear. “And they might be legitimate, for all I know. God knows the government works in mysterious ways.”
“So what now?”
“I’m heading out to Oregon. There would be way too many questions if I arrived at the homestead with the kid in tow. But my dad has a cabin on the coast. Lots of privacy. No one could possibly guess Brad and I will be there. We’re going to stay there until I can clear up this mess. I’ll be checking in by phone after we get to the cabin.”
“Have you got the cabin’s phone number?”
“No, there is no phone. I’ll be calling from a pay phone. But I’m going to tell you where the cabin is just in case”—she broke off uncertainly, aware of Brad’s nervousness—“just in case Matt should happen to call the store. Don’t tell anyone else where it is, Alex. Regardless of what kind of story they give you.”
“Got it. Okay, I’ve got a pencil. Give me the details.”
Sabrina recited the location as best she could remember, knowing that landmarks might have changed since she had last visited the cabin. “It’s the only one at the end of the road above the sea.”
“Okay, I’ll tell him if he calls. But, Sabrina … ?”
“What, Alex?”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“No.”
“I was afraid of that.”
“I don’t dare go to the authorities. Those two guys have a great act. They could probably convince anyone I was insane, unpatriotic, or worse.”
“You’ve got a point.”
“Too bad I wasn’t born with the family banker look. Trustworthy, reliable, cooperative.” Sabrina sighed.
“But why would they want Brad?” Alex persisted.
“I don’t know, Alex. I just don’t know. But I do know that for Matt, Brad is first on the list.”
“What about you? Where do you fit in to August’s list?”
“Good question. I’ll call you from Oregon.”
Chapter Nine
“For Christ’s sake, Matt, if you’ll stop yelling at me, I’ll explain everything!” Alex exploded over the phone.
Standing in the island’s tin-roofed airport lounge, Matt resisted the urge to kick a stray chicken that was strolling past. He held the phone slightly away from his ear and winced. “The connection is lousy, Alex. Can you run that by me again?”
“I said Sabrina left for Oregon last night. She called from the airport,” Alex repeated. “I have the address of the cabin she took Brad to until she figures out what’s going on. What is going on, Matt?”
Matt stared at the scene of cheerful confusion that was taking place at the front door of the shack that served as an airport. “She left with Brad? She had Brad with her? You’re sure?”
“She said that two government types who claimed they worked for Coyne seemed to be trying to get their hands on him. You know Sabrina. A little paranoid sometimes.”
“I think the lady has cause,” Matt murmured in heartfelt tones. “Jesus! I can’t believe it. She actually took Brad and left town? What about the two who tried to pick him up?”
“Griffin and Shadwell. At least that’s what Sabrina said they called themselves. Came on with a real official line and then told her you were heroically dying in some hospital. They wanted to take Brad to his critically injured father’s bedside.”
“And Sabrina didn’t buy it?”
“She didn’t know what to believe. Called your parents and your ex-wife. No one seemed to know about brave Matt August being wounded in the line of duty,” Alex said sardonically. “And then there was the malfunctioning right arm.”
“Okay, Alex, try that one again,” Matt ordered with a patience he wasn’t feeling. “What arm?”
“Well, I took Brad to the ballet a couple of nights ago—”
“The ballet! My God, whatever made him go to the ballet?”
“Sabrina thought it would be good for him. I think she had some theory about countering the more macho influences in his life. At any rate it didn’t work because two rednecks hassled us in the parking lot afterward and I used a little karate on them. Brad got his two cents’ worth in, also, by the way. In the clutch that kid has guts. I know I was scared to death, myself. We sent them packing, but the next day Griffin and Shadwell turned up on Sabrina’s doorstep looking like they’d been in a parking-lot brawl.”
Matt inhaled sharply. “I owe you one, Alex.”
“Put in a good word for me when I get my salary review from Sabrina.”
“So she dashed off to Oregon with Brad.”
“I think Griffin and Shadwell really blew their case when they told her they worked for Coyne. She doesn’t like that man.”
“Nobody does,” Matt informed him absently. He studied the milling crowd of people and chickens and tried to think. “Give me the directions to that place in Oregon. I’ll head straight out there.”
“Where are you now?”
“Island hopping,” Matt replied. “I’m trying to get to an island that’s big enough to have decent airline connections. It’s going to take a while. Supposedly there’s a small charter plane leaving here in fifteen minutes. If they can get the pilot out of the bar.” His hand clenched and relaxed as he forced back the frustration. “Any sign of Griffin and Shadwell since Sabrina left town?”
“They haven’t shown up here at the store. Think they might be on her trail?”
“I don’t know what they’ll do. Have to assume they’ll keep trying to get Brad. Those were the last instructions from Coyne.”
“The last instructions?” Alex inquired delicately.
“Mr. Coyne has gone on to new levels of diplomacy. Listen, does Sabrina have a phone at that cabin?”
“No, but she said she’ll be checking in sometime this morning. She said there was a pay phone she could use at a local store.”
“Okay. Tell her I’m on my way. Tell her to bolt the doors and sit tight until I get there.”
“She was nervous about trying to explain everything to the police.”
“She’s right. Griffin and Shadwell could easily outtalk her, and once they start flashing the government ID, most local cops would back off. With any luck she shook them off her trail when she flew to Oregon. Just tell her to stay put and not open the door to anyone until I arrive.”
“Got it. When should she expect to see you?”
Matt gazed disgustedly at the empty runway out in front of the tin shack. “Damned if I know. As soon as I can get there. Just tell her… tell her I’ll be there,” he finished, not knowing how else to say all the things he wanted to say to Sabrina.
“I’ll tell her,” Alex said calmly.
“I’ll see you when I get back to Dallas with Sabrina and Brad.” Matt replaced the receiver, grimly grateful that he’d finally found a working telephone, and then picked up Coyne’s briefcase and his own flight bag. He walked purposefully through the noisy crowd of the airport and out the back door. The nearest bar was a block down the road. With any luck the pilot hadn’t had time for more than a couple of shots. It wa
s, after all, only ten o’clock in the morning.
“She and the kid landed at Portland late last night. Rented a car and headed for the coast,” Griffin said, glancing at the notes he’d been making while on the telephone.
“Did the contact in Portland follow orders?”
“Sure. What else would a loyal, hardworking government man do when faced with a polite request from another department? He tailed her to the coast. She and the kid are in a beach cottage. Isolated and remote.”
“Sounds simple enough,” Shadwell mused, studying the shopping center outside his window. He’d never seen so many shopping centers in his life as he had in Dallas. Apparently shopping in air-conditioned comfort was how most of the locals amused themselves. When they were finished for the day they piled their Neiman-Marcus packages into their air-conditioned Cadillacs and went home to their air-conditioned houses. It seemed a somewhat limited lifestyle to Shadwell but, then, what did he know? Vaguely he felt for the handle of his knife and relaxed when he touched the leather-wrapped surface. Things were getting messy, and Shadwell got nervous when things got messy.
“I’ll book us a flight to Portland. We’ll be there by late this afternoon.” Griffin picked up the phone again.
“No rush. We won’t want to move until tonight, anyway. Wonder what Coyne’s going to think when he tries to check in with us this evening.”
“There’s no way I can tell him things have gotten this screwed up. I can’t get a call through to that goddamned island.”
“Maybe it’s just as well,” Shadwell speculated. “He doesn’t like excuses.”
“He also doesn’t like loose ends. For that matter, neither do I. We’ve got to get this under control before it explodes in our faces.”
“And if we can’t?” Shadwell asked reflectively. “Then we’ll cut our losses.”
“Making sure there are no loose ends left dangling,” Shadwell concluded.
***
It was not paranoia, Sabrina told herself. It was simply heightened tension that had made her suspect that every third car on the road behind her had been trying to tail her last night. She lay in bed, aware of the musty smell of the sheets and blankets she’d dug out of the closet. She and Brad had finally arrived at the cabin at three in the morning. Brad was apparently still asleep in the other bedroom. The poor kid had been absolutely exhausted.
