2 Lady Luck Runs Out (20 page)

Feeling better, I opened my eyes and took a shuddering breath. Zach had reached the curtain. Pulling it gently to one side, he peered in. One, two heartbeats. He motioned back to me and slid it open wide enough for us to enter. I pushed forward. This part was a living area, complete with a cream colored sofa, coffee table, a wall full of kitchen equipment—microwave, coffee pot, sink. Zach pointed to another set of thick, blue curtains further back into the jet. I nodded.

He moved cautiously around the coffee table. I wasn't so cautious and smacked my knee hard. Stifling a scream, I limped behind him. His large hand gripped the curtain and he stuck his head beyond it. My heart threatened to knock right through my chest as he slid it open. I peered around him. A bedroom? My face flushed as I realized my chest was pressed up against Zach. I backed up, putting a few inches between us.

Two steps lead up to an octagon shaped bed. A sea-blue satin bedspread covered the bed. On top of it sat wooden boxes. Inside the boxes, something was moving, bumping against the walls.

"I'll give you three guesses what's in those boxes," Zach said warily.

"I only need one," I answered. "But why would they leave them in the jet?"

Suddenly we heard the horrifying sound of the hanger doors rolling open. We looked at each other, eyes wide.

Zach's jaw tightened. "To come back for them under the cover of night."

 I glanced around. We were trapped. Zach pulled me up the two steps and closed the curtain behind us. We sat on the satin bedspread. The tiny bedroom morphed into a sauna.  

 Voices and laughter reverberated outside in the hangar.

"We can't stay in here." I motioned to the boxes on the bed behind us. "Not if they came back for those."

"You're right," Zach said. He grabbed my hand and led us back out into the living area. We glanced around frantically. "All right. Here's the plan." He turned and looked down at me. His dark eyes glowed with pinpricks of red. "You hide in the bathroom. I'm going to confront Bernard."

"What?" I shook my head. "No! You can't do that."

"I have to. This may be our only chance to get to the bottom of all this. To get to the truth."

"But if Bernard is the murderer, he's not going to just confess and let you go."

"That's a chance I'm willing to take." He rested a large palm against my damp cheek. "But I can't let you take that chance, Darwin."

"Oh no you don't." I pushed his hand away. "We're in this together. Let's go."

In hindsight, this may have been one of those times when I should have swallowed my pride.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

The surprise on Bernard's face was priceless as we appeared in the jet doorway. In any other situation, I would have appreciated the ability to surprise the bugger out of someone. Like maybe an actual surprise party.

"Hi," I said, waving.

"Jesus! What the..." He yanked the cigar from his mouth, eyes wide.

 Three burly men acted immediately, reaching us in a few strides, pulling us out of the jet's cabin and down the short flight of stairs. I recognized one of them as the scar-faced guy who let us into Bernard's party.

"Hey!" I tried to pull my arm free. "You're hurting me." This apparently was thug code for "please squeeze my arm tighter".

"Well, well, well." Bernard's body stiffened as he moved his icy gaze from Zach to me.  "What do we have here? Snoops." He turned to one of his guys. "Shut the door."

My mouth went dry as the guy obeyed the order. The hanger door rolled shut with a definitive boom. Scarface held Zach by the arm and pulled a gun from his waistband. My mind raced.
All this violence for snakes?
Why?

"You caught us red-handed," Zach said. His voice was steady and calm. His hands were clasped in front of him. "No need to get jumpy. We'll wait for the police without giving you any trouble."

 "The police?" Bernard shoved one hand in the pocket of his slacks and puffed on his cigar. A mean little smile played on his mouth. He nodded to Scarface.

"Kneel," the guy grunted, pushing Zach to his knees. The guy had one hand on Zach's shoulder and the gun in the other.

"We have no need for the police. We have our own methods of dealing with trespassers."

Thug number three emerged from the plane with zip ties. Panic and anger battled within me. Anger won.

"Your own methods? Like using a poisonous snake to murder Rose Faraday and Alba Diaz?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zach shaking his head, trying to stop me. But, it was too late. This was our moment to find out the truth about who murdered Rose and Alba. "All for what? Some illegal snakes?" I had no idea what Bernard's motive might be but we had come too far not to find out.

Bernard's face turned crimson. He lowered his head and stood like that for a moment. I snuck a glance sideways. Zach was sliding his hands into his pants pockets. I hoped he had a miracle in there.

Finally, Bernard lifted his head and glared at me. I shrank back. His eyes held both rage and pity. "Little girl, you have just sealed your own fate." He nodded again at Scarface.

Quick as a flash, the thug raised his arm and hit Zach in the temple with the butt of the gun. I screamed and broke free as Zach collapsed in a heap. A strong hand grabbed my hair before I could reach him. My scalp caught fire. My knees buckled. I stifled another scream as he forced me to kneel. Choking back a sob, I winced as the guy pulled the zip ties tight on me, binding my hands and feet. I glanced sideways. Zach was out cold. The guy then worked to bind Zach's hands and feet. In case he woke up I supposed. This wasn't the plan at all. Okay, so there was no plan. But, if there was, this definitely wouldn't be it.

Bernard ambled over to us. Gray cigar smoke curled around him and floated toward my face as he kneeled in front of me. My throat burned. I coughed until my eyes watered. "Why? Why did you kill them?" I managed to choke out.

"Why?" he chuckled. He ran his tongue along his top teeth as he considered me. Then he stood and crushed his cigar under his shoe. "You are a brave girl, so before you die, I will tell you what you want to know. My gift to you."

Die? Well, thanks for the heads up.
"A gift card would've been fine," I said, adrenalin making me tremble as I watched Bernard disappear into the jet.   

When he returned and knelt in front of me again, I scrambled back, pushing into the legs of the thug standing behind me.

"No, no," Bernard cooed, holding the snake with both hands. It curled its tail around his forearm. "This one is not poisonous."

I eyed the snake suspiciously. It was a brilliant orange with a pattern of black circles. Beady eyes were set high in its striped head. A tongue flicked the air obsessively but the rest of the snake was not very active. Then I noticed a bulge a few inches up from its tail.
Ewe.
It must be digesting one of those frozen rats.

I remembered what he collected. "A Brazilian rainbow boa?"

"No. A mule." A raspy laugh escaped him. The men chuckled with him.

I didn't get the joke. "I don't get it? These snakes aren't illegal." I had a sudden glimmer of hope that we hadn't stumbled into them doing anything wrong and they would let us go. Maybe they were just trying to scare us. That hope, however, died a quick death with Bernard's next words.

"No. They are not." His eyes caught mine. "But the diamonds inside of them are."

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

I stared at the bulge in the snake, stunned. "Diamonds?" I croaked.

"Yes." He caressed the snake, its scales glittering in the moonlight. "These beauties help us bring the diamonds mined from the Cinta Larga Indian reservation in Brazil to the U.S."

I stared at the bulge in the snake's body and shuddered. I didn't even want to think about how they got the diamonds in there. No wonder that poor boa had a stomachache. "Stolen diamonds?"

"No, of course not," Bernard said, seemingly agitated by the accusation that he was a thief. "We buy them. But, mining in the Indian reservation is illegal, so the diamonds are sold on the black market and we pay a fraction of what they're worth."

He seemed very proud of himself. My stomach churned. "But what does this have to do with Rose Faraday? Why kill her?"

"Ah." His lips thinned. "It was unfortunate that she was such a talented psychic. When she did my reading, she saw the Indian reservation and the diamonds. I couldn't let her repeat that to anyone, even if she hadn't put it together."

"So you slipped the rattlesnake into her condo?"

"Well, no." He took a deep breath. "I didn't have a rattler on hand so I traded a few diamonds for the job and made sure I was out of town when it happened."

"Jet Jamison?" I asked.

Bernard glanced up at me and stopped stroking the snake. "Yes. My, you have been a busy girl."

Not as busy as you.
"And that's why you invited Zach to your party? To see if his mother had mentioned the Indian reservation or diamonds to him?"

"Yes." He glanced over at Zach. "Too bad he didn't leave well enough alone. Seemed like a nice guy."

I didn't like the way he used past tense in reference to Zach. "Then you killed Alba because you found out she was an undercover agent?"

Crinkles appeared between his brows and his eyes clouded. "Yes. That one. She broke my heart. I bought a six carat diamond just for her. I was going to propose." His face hardened. "Stupid mistake." He stood abruptly. "No more loose ends. Take them to the office."

"Ouch!" I squealed as the thug pulled me up by my arms. Then the wind was knocked out of me as he threw me over his shoulder, carried me across the hangar and dumped me on the office floor with a thud. My tailbone screamed from the assault. "Not very nice," I said, trying to catch my breath.

He shook his head and moved out of the way as the other two thugs dropped Zach's still unconscious body beside me, shutting the door on their way out. Well, at least they didn't shoot us. Yet.

"Zach," I whispered, wriggling over and nudging him with my shoulder. "Zach, please wake up!" My mind raced. I glanced frantically around. One door, one window. No way I could open either with my hands and feet bound.

Suddenly, I heard the low rumbling sound of the doors rolling open again.
Were they leaving? Oh, please let them be leaving.

One of the thugs burst back into the room and shoved a rag into my mouth, tying it roughly with a piece of nylon rope. "Be quiet," he hissed. He did the same to Zach and then quickly exited the room.

 Voices were right outside the door but I couldn't make out any words. Claustrophobia began to set in. I could only suck in the stale air through my nose. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to calm my labored breathing, reaching out with my mind to the water. As my mind and body calmed, my eyes flew open.

Mallory.I sensed Mallory!
She went out with Sammy tonight. He must have brought her here.

No!

I tried to scream, but the rag was doing its job. I nudged Zach harder. No response. I looked around wildly. Okay. I had to calm down and think. I worked on taking deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out.

I closed my eyes and immediately sensed water in a close proximity. Someone had brought water with them into the hangar.

Moving into the space in my consciousness that was able to connect to the water, I concentrated, losing all sense of time, willing the water to move.

I opened my eyes as the voices escalated. I was spent, my energy depleted from the effort
. How much time had passed? And had it worked?

There was shouting. A scream and then silence.

Precious seconds ticked by.
What's happening?
Mallory!
And then the door opened and my baby sister was there. Eyes wild, hands and feet bound, being dumped on the floor next to me.

"Darwin!" She cried, fear and tears stinging her eyes. "What's going on?" The thug shoved a rag in her mouth, too.

I felt so helpless at that moment. So terrified. It welled up inside me like a tidal wave with nowhere to go. The pressure in my skull was almost unbearable. By moving the water in the water bottle, I had just meant to alert Mallory I was there, so she could get help. I should have known she would react immediately, without thinking it through. Now she was in danger, too.

Sammy pushed the thug out of the doorway and stared at Mallory, running a hand through his hair, his face pale. "Mallory, I'm so sorry," he said finally. "I didn't know they would be here." He turned from the room and shouting ensued. Sammy and Bernard barked at each other, their voices escalating. I scooted next to Mallory and tried to comfort her, pressing my shoulder against hers.

"I'm getting her out of here!" Sammy yelled.

He tried to come back into the office, but Scarface pulled his gun and leveled it at him. Sammy stopped dead. His eyes moved helplessly to Mallory before the thug backed him out of the doorway and slammed the door.

 Mallory and I stared at each other, both of our chests rising and falling rapidly. I knew they weren't going to let us go. We knew too much.

Zach moaned and stirred.

 
Zach!
I scooted back across the floor and nudged him with my knees. I screamed through the cloth and then decided it wasn't worth the expended energy. Twisting so I could use my feet to try and wake him, I pushed at his body, rocking him back and forth. His head rolled to the side and he coughed into the rag.

My heart knocked against my chest as the door opened.

There stood Bernard, holding one of the wooden boxes. Scarface entered behind him.

Then it hit me. Of course, he wouldn't shoot us. Guns weren't his weapon of choice. My heart raced. Time was up. We had no plan. No one knew we were here. Was this really it? Was he really going to get away with murder again?

Strolling over to the desk, he sat the box down and looked us over, a new cigar held in his teeth.  There was a thump and thud against the box walls. I felt Mallory go still beside me.