Hunter's Moon.htm (14 page)

We dropped off Sue's rental car at the airport lot. Plane tickets were easy to come by. The next flight boarded in only twenty minutes.

We went to the airport stores and found several outfits for Sue. I was a little surprised when she selected size fourteens. I'm usually better at guessing than that. We also bought her a travel case, new cosmetics and toiletries.

"I can't believe I'm doing this!" she exclaimed, as we paid the cashier. "This is so… "

"So… what?"

"I don't know! Wicked? Extravagant?"

Still that sense that she wasn't entitled to be happy. I turned her to face me right at the cash register. I put a hand on each shoulder and held her gaze. I repeated something I said the first day. "You're allowed to enjoy this, Sue."

Her eyes thanked me with words she couldn't say. A smile spoke the rest and she hugged me.

When we arrived at the security gate, I accompanied a guard to a separate room after flashing a card that identified me as a high-security courier. It hadn't been an easy I.D. to obtain and I was proud of it. I was fully bonded and could transport large sums of cash and jewels all over the country as carry-on. I had to check my gun but I could keep it as concealed carry when I landed. I just make sure that my carry piece isn't what I use for jobs. My carry piece is either the Sig or a snub nose Taurus .38.1 had the Taurus today. Sweet shooting gun. It'll put five rounds in a one inch group right out of the box.

The drug dogs were a trip. They completely ignored the case and sniffed me all over. Then they went to their bellies in submission with tails flipping madly. A female beagle flipped on her back and howled. Apparently I'm a big dog now. I've seen it before, but the guards didn't know what to make of their reaction. They finally had to drag the dogs through the crowd of laughing passengers and then hand searched the bag.

Sue was waiting for me on the other side of the x-ray machine when I returned. My briefcase now had a security seal taped across the opening. She looked at it with undisguised curiosity but didn't ask any questions. Smart girl.

We had to scramble a bit to reach the gate, two concourses over. She was out of breath but laughing happily when we slid through the door and handed our boarding passes to the flight attendant.

The flight attendant tried to tell me that I had to stow the briefcase. When I showed her the handcuff and the security tape, she relented but wasn't happy. Oh, well. Her attitude wasn't my problem.

The weather was perfect for flying. I'm used to flying, but it was obvious that Sue wasn't. Her scent changed to nearly abject terror. Terror goes beyond the ammonia smell of panic. It's like a week-old cat box— it could peel paint off the wall if humans could smell it. Her knuckles were bloodless on the chair arms as we accelerated toward take-off. I could hear her heart beat faster and faster until it was hummingbird quick.

"Don't like to fly, love?"

"Never have before," she said, eyes closed. "The thought of being suspended in a tin box ten thousand feet in the air just came home to me. I think I might be sick."

I thought it best not to mention that we'd be significantly higher than ten thousand. I tried to take one of her hands to hold it and comfort her, but she refused to let go of the armrest. So I settled for resting my hand over the top of hers, and stroking the skin gently. Take-offs are usually the worst for non-flyers. I could feel her pulse race where my fingers touched her wrist. She whimpered slightly. The sound made me want to nuzzle her, comfort her.

"It'll be over soon," I said instead, and patted her hand.

Her eyes opened suddenly, and she glanced at me in panic. "Why do you say that?"

I chuckled softly. "I didn't mean we were going to crash. Once we're at level flight, you'll see that it's not so bad."

The acceleration decreased, and I could feel the flight level off. The pilot came over the speaker to welcome us and tell us that weather conditions were perfect for the short hop to Vegas. It would only be an hour flight. The plane was packed, and the flight attendants were at a dead run. They came around and offered us coffee or sodas. Sue turned a little green when I ordered orange juice.

"This really doesn't bother you, does it?" she asked.

"I really like to fly," I admitted. "I've even got ground school under my belt, but never had the time to finish getting my pilot's license. There's lots of air time involved. Life has just been too busy."

The trip was nearly half over before Sue relaxed her hands on the chair arms. I suggested that she might want to get some blood back into them. They were stiff and rigid at first, and I helped rub them to get the circulation going again.

"You must think that I'm some sort of wimp," she said ruefully.

"Not at all," I said with a gentle smile. "Thousands of people don't like to fly. You're not the first. You won't be the last. I've known some real tough guys that turn into jello in an airplane. We all have our phobias."

"What are yours?" she asked. Curiosity filled the pressured air and then disappeared through a vent.

I chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me."

"Please?" she pleaded. "It'll make me feel better to hear about someone else's."

"Okay," I said, "But it's stupid. I'm afraid of needles."

Her eyebrows raised. "Needles? Like shots, or sewing?"

"Like shots," I repeated. "Now, understand. I know that they have beneficial uses, but all the stuff inside looks the same to me. Could be medicine, could be poison. Get a needle near me, and I'll beat the person holding it senseless. I almost got tetanus once because I wouldn't go to the hospital. Dad finally had to hold me down— with the help of three interns, so they didn't have to cut off my foot."

She gave a crow of laughter. "Needles! That's wonderful! A big, strong… " I could sense that she nearly said the word, assassin, but stopped short, "man, like you."

I gave her a sarcastic smile. "Glad I could amuse you. I didn't laugh at you, ya know."

That sobered her right up. "I'm sorry," she said, with humor still in her voice. "I guess you don't get flu shots, huh?

"No," I responded, "That's not high on my priority list. I figure if everyone around me gets one, I should be safe. But tell you what, I'll roll up my sleeve for you if you'll go flying with me. Just you and me in the wild blue. We can do barrel rolls and Immelmans." There was a sparkle of teasing in my eyes. At that precise moment, the plane hit an air pocket, and we dropped a foot or two. She went slightly white and her panic tickled my nose.

"Okay, I give," she said quickly. "Sorry I laughed. Really, really sorry." I laughed, loud and hard until she finally joined in.

We talked more about our likes. It turned out that we both could live on Italian food forever, but that neither of us liked veggies on our pizza. She doesn't like scallops, but enjoys calamari— which I detest, and we both adore shrimp.

"You will love the shrimp cocktails at the casinos," I commented.

"Good, huh?" she asked.

"Even better. Free."

Her eyebrows disappeared under her bangs. "They give away shrimp cocktails? Cool!"

"Food's cheap," I said with a shrug. "Free food keeps people spending money at the tables."

Sue kept glancing out of the window nervously so I reached over and shut the blind. She smelled startled but it really did calm her down. We talked about books. Turned out that we had major differences in taste.

"Mostly I like real life stuff," she said. "Not biographies, but like true crime."

"Ah. Joseph Wambaugh and such?"

She nodded her head. "Yeah, that sort. And drama about people who have done interesting things. What about you?"

"Nope. I like escapism. I've already got enough drama in my life, thank you. Real events are traumatic enough without borrowing other people's problems. Sci-fi, good mysteries—the ones that make you think about whodunit— and thrillers are good, too. I read a lot of Asimov, Cussler and Clancy."

All in all, I managed to distract her enough with conversation that she didn't even remember most of the flight.

But when we started to descend into Vegas, we ran into turbulance. We were racing down the runway before I could forcibly remove her bloodless knuckles from my arm. If she'd lost much more circulation we'd have had to amputate.

After we arrived I had to check in with Security to get my piece back, have the tape removed and get the money counted a second time. I snapped the case around my wrist and locked my fingers around the handle.

Sue was waiting for me at the luggage carousel. The bags were on the floor next to her and she was smiling broadly.

"Happy?" I asked, even though it was obvious from her scent.

"I've never done anything like this. I am having so much fun."

"The fun hasn't started yet."

She opened her mouth to speak when my cell phone rang. I have it set to actually ring. It sets it apart from all of the chirps and inane songs from other phones. I glanced at the display. Damn it. I might as well take the call. Sara would dial constantly until she reached me. I held a finger up to stop Sue's reply, pressed a button and held the phone to my ear.

"Tony here."

"Tony, it's Sara. I've been trying to reach you!"

"I've been in a plane, Sara."

Panic suffused through her voice. "Does that mean you're out of town?"

"Yes, Sara. I'm out of town for a few days. What's the problem?"

"But I need you to come over. The security system isn't working."

I sighed. The security system is never working when Sara is managing the store. I don't think machines like her.

"What's it doing?"

"It's those damn door sensors! They beep at the customers every time someone goes out the door."

"Every time, Sara?" It helped to get enough information about the problem to be able to fix it.

"Well, no, not every time. But it's gone off six times in the past hour! See, there it goes again!" She was right. In the background I heard the characteristic tones of the shoplifting sensor.

"Did a customer go through? Or an employee? Tell me what's happening, Sara."

"It was a customer. The man had just gone through the register line and it still beeped at him."

"Did he buy something that needed to be nullified? Did the clerk remove the tag?"

"Yes, Tom's the clerk on that register."

Okay. I know him. He's pretty careful. So, maybe it was the sensors. "Is the customer still in the store?"

Her voice sounded hurt. "Of course. I'm standing right here next to him. What do I do?" I heard her cover the mouthpiece with her hand and explain to the customer that she was talking to the security repair company. Then she started chatting with the customer and forgot I was on the phone.

I didn't have the time or inclination to play with her today. "Sara? Sara!"

"Oh! Sorry, Tony. What do I do?"

"Take the customer's bag and stand away from the sensors. Then swing the bag through the sensor and tell me what happens."

"Okay. Hold on." I could hear her set down the receiver and ask the customer for the bag. The male customer objected, which perked my ears. I listened closer, focusing in with my wolf hearing.

"This is stupid!" said the man. "I don't have time to help you fix your equipment. Now, give me my bag. I have other things to do."

Ah, ha. I got an idea.

"Sara! Pick up the phone!"

There was a scrambling sound and then I heard her voice. "Yes, Tony?"

"Do you have the bag?"

"Yep. Right here." Her voice muffled again. "I'm sorry, sir. This will only take a moment. I get a reprimand in my file if I don't report these errors when they happen."

"Sara? Did you wave the bag through?"

"Yes. It didn't do it this time."

"Do me a favor and ask the man to walk through the sensor again. But this time, you hold the bag until after he goes through."

"But… "

"Just do it, Sara. Trust me." The customer didn't want to walk through and I knew why.

"Tony? He doesn't want to walk through. I can't force him to. What do I do?"

"Call security, Sara. The guy's shoplifting."

"No, really, Tony. I've got the bag right here. I watched him check out."

Sue was watching me closely with furrowed brows. I knew that she was listening. Even if she could only hear part of the conversation, she found it interesting.

"He bought some things. He just didn't buy every thing.Don't let go of that bag, Sara. If the guy bolts, follow him out to his car and get a plate number. I'll bet that whatever is hidden in his pocket or under his shirt is worth a lot more than what's in the bag. But he probably won't leave without what he paid for. Call me back after security's checked him out."

I hung up without waiting for a reply.

I held up one finger aloft for Sue to wait and didn't even look at the display when the phone rang a second time.

"Tony here."

"Oh, my God! Tony, you were right. The guy had pockets sewed all up and down the inside of his pants. There were those real expensive cell phone batteries, some pricey women's perfume and a couple of CDs. Do you think that all of the other beeps were thefts, too?

"Maybe a couple of them. But the unit probably does need to be adjusted. I'll swing by when I get back. Until then, have a couple of the stackers stand at the exit and carry people's bags through. Then you'll know if it's the person or the bag. It'll get you by until I get back."

"Thank you so much, Tony! No wonder Carol insists on using your company!"

"No problem, Sara. I'll be by in a couple of days."

I hung up to find Sue looking at me curiously. The thick, sweet scent of antifreeze filled the air. At least that's how it smells to me.

"How could you know the customer was shoplifting over the phone?"

I shrugged. "Most people consider the security devices annoying, but they're pretty good about understanding the need for them. When he didn't want to give up the bag, I figured that there was something wrong. It takes one to know one."

"So, you run a security company? Is that what you do for a living?"