Love On the Run Page 18

  “Sampson’s gone,” he said.

  At once she was out of bed. “His hat’s missing.” She met his gaze. “He wouldn’t be so stupid as to leave. Doesn’t he realize how serious this is?”

  “Maybe he’s downstairs eating.”

  “That’s right. He’s always hungry.” As she spoke, Cassi straightened her clothes. Jared followed suit, wishing briefly that he had a toothbrush and time to use it.

  They hurried down the narrow stairs to the small kitchen. The landlady looked up at them in surprise. “Sampson?” Cassi asked, putting her hand at the level of Sampson’s head. “Where is he?”

  Because of the language barrier, it took a while for them to make her understand. Then her eyes opened. “O rapaz!”

  They followed her as she ran to the front door, where one of the men from the national guard sat on an uncomfortable chair, his weapon resting on his knee. Jared assumed the other man was at the back door.

  The landlady spoke rapidly, and the two began to search the house. Jared and Cassi helped, their fear mounting. “When I get hold of him, I’m going to strangle him!” Cassi muttered. At another time Jared would have laughed. How many times had his mother said the same words about him and his brother?

  Sampson was nowhere in the house. One of the national guardsmen used the phone, presumably to call in the disappearance. As he did, the doorbell rang. The guardsman peered out the window next to the door before opening it. A little girl with the typical dark hair and eyes held a note in her hands. The guardsman glanced at it briefly and began to question her. She shrugged, babbling something in Portuguese before skipping down the stairs.

  The guard handed Jared the note. Startled, he saw that it was written in English:

  We have the boy. If you want to make an exchange, we will trade him for both of you. Meet me inside the church in an hour. I won’t wait. The next message you receive won’t be as pleasant.

  “They have him!” Cassi said. “What are we going to do?”

  Jared didn’t know. He’d seen what little value life held for these people. He had no way of knowing if Sampson was even still alive.

  “I’m willing to make the trade,” she said. “I mean, they want us for some reason. I don’t think they’ll kill us.”

  “I don’t want you in danger.”

  Her eyebrows scrunched together in determination. “Well, I’m not letting you go alone. We’re in this together. Besides, the note says for both of us to go.” She looked at him earnestly. “Jared, we have to do it. We would never forgive ourselves if he ended up dead in some alley.”

  She was right. “Let’s call Fred. He’s supposed to be here soon. Maybe he’ll have some ideas.” He took out the number and went into the sitting room where the lady kept her phone. Without asking permission, he began to dial. The landlady nodded, hope written on her face. She’s been watching too many American movies on her TV, Jared thought. She’s expecting us to make everything right.

  The phone rang and someone answered quickly. “Fred here.”

  “It’s Jared.”

  “Are you okay?”

  Jared told him about the note.

  “Don’t you do it, Jared! Sit tight. I’m almost there.”

  “We have to. He’s just a little boy. He has no one.”

  “He has you. But not if you go in half-cocked. All you’ll do is get yourselves killed.”

  “We know that. We’re hoping you could come up with some way of making sure they let him go and then somehow get us back after the exchange.”

  “Okay.” Fred’s voice was calmer now. “That’s more like it. First off, we know from all that has happened that they don’t want to kill you, so we have to assume you will be safe until you give them what they want.”

  “We don’t know what they want.”

  “Neither do we. We don’t even know who they are, though the process of elimination points strongly to a man named Nicolas Donelli.”

  “You mean now that Brohaugh is dead.”

  “Something like that, though there are others involved for sure.”

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was Laranda.” Jared felt stupid as he spoke, but to his surprise, Fred didn’t refute him.

  “She might have more to do with this than we suspect.”

  Jared felt as though he had fallen off a mountain. “You can’t be serious. She’s dead.”

  “I know, but someone bearing a passport with the name Laranda Garrettson flew to Portugal Friday night in a private plane owned by the Donelli family. I don’t know what the connection is yet, but when you make the exchange for Sampson, be on the lookout for something very strange.”

  “What if they don’t let him go? What if they keep him to make us do whatever it is they want?”

  “We’ll make sure they don’t,” Fred said. “Besides, they’ll have both of you to play off each other for that.”

  “But you’ll protect us.”

  “I’ll do what I can. But you know as well as I do, Jared, how these boys play hardball.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Jared’s mouth tasted bitter.

  “Are sure you want to do this?”

  “No. And I certainly don’t want to risk Cassi. But we have no choice. He’s only eleven. His father is dead, his uncle, his mom. I feel responsible. I hate it, but I feel responsible. And he’s a good kid, Fred. Smart. You should see him.”

  There was a moment of pause before Fred spoke. “Okay, look, here’s what we’ll do. You go to the church alone. Talk to whoever is there and tell them Cassi will join you after they turn over Sampson.”

  “What if they refuse?”

  “They might, but you just hold firm.”

  “So how do we make sure Sampson gets completely away after they let him go?”

  “We’ll have Cassi standing across from the church with a few of the Portuguese national guards. The people after you may not fear them, but they are well-trained. I believe that in broad daylight, with so many people around, our opponents will think twice about opening fire.”

  “So I tell them to send Sampson over to the guards, and Cassi will walk to us.”

  “Something like that. They’ll insist, of course, that the exchange happens at the same time.”

  “But what if they know I’ll do something like this?” Jared had learned enough about organized crime to know that they planned for every contingency.

  “To be honest, Jared, I don’t believe they’ll let Sampson get all the way to the guards. I think as soon as they are sure they have Cassi, they’ll have someone in position to recapture him, national guards or no. I believe they want him dead, just like his father and uncle and all the rest of the family. There’s more than money at stake here. I just don’t know what.”

  Jared felt despair engulf him. “Then how—?”

  “That’s where I come in. I’ll be parked near the church, and as soon as I see the exchange happening, I’ll drive up and get Sampson. I’ll get to him long before he gets across the street.”

  “But what if they try the same thing?”

  “I’ll handle it. Trust me.”

  “I do. But let’s say it all works and you have Sampson safe. What then?”

  “After the exchange, I’ll be following you. I’ve brought a tracer and a few bugs I’d like to place on you and Cassi. I’ll have to stay within range to pick up on the signals, but you two can give me clues to your destination through the transmissions.”

  “So how soon can you be here?” Jared asked. “We only have about fifty minutes left of the hour they gave us.”

  “Just a minute, I’ll ask.” There was a brief silence before Fred came back on the phone. “My driver says we’ll probably be there in twenty-five minutes. That’ll give us enough time.”

  “You’re coming here? I’d better give you the address.”

  “No. I’m sure your location is being watched, and they’ll know if we meet. For right now it’s better that we keep our contact a surprise—at least u
ntil I have reinforcements. After we’re done talking, put one of your guards on the phone and he can arrange for someone to meet us at the national guard station. My driver will pass the stuff to him and he can carry it back to you. It’ll take longer, but then they won’t suspect the bugs. Not much cause for surveillance in that little town.”

  “So it’ll look like our guards have called for help after receiving the note.”

  “Hopefully. As soon as I drop off the stuff, I’ll go wait in my car outside the church.”

  Jared took a deep breath. “Okay, I got it. But let’s run it through once more to be sure.” He rehearsed everything, verifying the details. Next to him, Cassi looked nervous, but still determined.

  “We’ll see you then, Fred,” Jared said.

  “Real soon. I’ll do everything I can to get you free.”

  “I know you will. Oh, there’s one more thing. Sampson’s not going to know you. We need a code word so he’ll get into your car.”

  “I was just going to grab him, but that might be easier. What’ll it be?—providing they let you talk to him first.”

  “I didn’t think of that, but tell him Jared said you’d take him fishing.”

  “Okay.”

  Jared passed the phone to one of the guards and turned to Cassi. “That’s it, then. We just have to wait.”

  She held his hand tightly. He knew she was as afraid as he was.

  * * *

  A THIRD NATIONAL GUARDSMAN ARRIVED at the bed and breakfast shortly before Jared needed to leave for the church. He and Cassi had been pacing in front of the door while the landlady and the other guards watched them with bright, nervous eyes. Jared took a deep breath, recognizing the man who had spoken in poor English the day before. Without a word, he handed Jared a briefcase. He fingered his thick gold necklace while Jared opened the case.

  Inside, Jared saw the listening and tracking devices that Fred had promised. Everything was labeled and an explanation attached. One of the sound transmitters was a pair of gold earrings in the shape of sunflowers. A matching barrette was a signal booster. The second transmitter was cleverly disguised as a man’s silver necklace, with a large book charm as long as Jared’s middle finger. He could just make out the words Holy Bible. The tracking device was built into a woman’s compact, complete with a purse and other womanly items to make it appear authentic.

  “I feel like we’re in a James Bond rerun,” Cassi said, holding a lipstick tube. “I wonder if this is really lipstick or poison.”

  Jared’s laughter died on his lips. “Look at this.” What he held was a man’s bulky ring. The directions said it hid a tiny needle and a sleeping potion. “This evens the odds just a little.”

  Cassi fingered the woman’s compact and tracking device. “I wonder how it transmits. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter as long as it works. Fred certainly came prepared.”

  “He’s a good man. If anyone can help us, he can.” Jared picked up the necklace and put it around his neck. “Now I really look native.”

  Cassi gave him a tight smile. She gazed in a mirror on the wall as she put on the sunflower earrings and matching barrette. The barrette held back a few strands of hair from her face, accentuating her fine cheekbones.

  “It’s time to go,” Jared said. “I’ll leave first, and you follow in about two minutes with the guardsmen.” He glanced at the guy with the gold necklace for approval.

  “Yes,” the man said. “Be careful.”

  “Thanks.”

  Jared pulled her into his arms. “I love you, Cassi. No matter what happens today, remember that.”

  “I love you, too.” They kissed once, long and hard, before Jared turned away and walked out the door.

  Jared searched the street as he strode quickly to the church near the center of town. People around him were dressed in their Sunday best and walked without hurry. The delicious smell of olive oil and cooking meat filled the air as many women had already begun to prepare their Sunday feasts before leaving for morning mass. Jared’s stomach rumbled, and he remembered he’d forgotten to eat.

  Unseen eyes followed him, but he couldn’t be sure if they belonged to hostile thugs or curious natives. He approached the church cautiously, making sure no one jumped him from behind. He saw absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, not even a vehicle that did not belong. Was Fred already in place? Was he using an Embassy vehicle, or had he borrowed something less conspicuous?

  The note had said to meet the kidnaper inside the church. Jared wasn’t a Catholic, but he felt much respect for those who were, and having such a meeting inside the church violated his deepest sense of honor. Who would do such a thing?

  He walked inside slowly. Services were apparently over, but more than a dozen scattered people still sat praying on the benches inside.

  No one approached his position, so he chose an aisle seat on a bench in the third row from the back, ever watchful and alert. For five minutes he sat alone. Then a woman came up the aisle, slid past him, and sat gracefully on the bench beside him, her expensive perfume filling Jared’s nose.

  He had smelled that fragrance before.

  He looked sharply at the woman. She was dressed in a form-fitting black suit with a matching hat and veil which fell almost to her jawbone. Jared could see that her hair was blond, much too blond for any native Portuguese. Large diamond earrings glinted through the veil, and a matching necklace gleamed from her neck. On her hands she wore black lace gloves that left the tips of her fingers bare. The long red nails recalled memories he would prefer to forget.

  “Where is Sampson?” he asked.

  The lady’s veiled face turned toward him slowly. He saw the red-painted lips smiling. Green eyes pierced him to his very core, even through the lacy veil. Jared felt sick. “Hello, Jared,” she said. “It’s nice to be with you again. I’ve missed you.”

  The voice was also familiar, but Jared wouldn’t let himself believe. Laranda was dead. Dead! This person before him was an imposter, and he would expose her. But first he had to free Sampson. “I don’t know who you are,” he said, “but the note said you would trade us for the boy. Where is he?”

  “This church is quite extraordinary, don’t you think? See that magnificent tile work. All hand-painted, of course. The guidebook says it’s from the seventeenth century. So quaint, so original, so expensive. It’s a pity we can’t take it with us.”

  “You would try.”

  The woman laughed, and a chill crept up Jared’s spine. Whoever she was, she sounded exactly like Laranda.

  “For the third time, where is Sampson?”

  Her red smile didn’t fade. “I said I’d trade for both you and Cassi. Where is she?”

  “You expect me to trust you? You show me the boy and let me talk to him to make sure he’s all right, and then we’ll do the exchange.”

  The woman’s hand shot out and grabbed Jared’s in a tight squeeze. “I’m the one who’s calling the shots, my love. You are along for the ride.”

  “No, I’m here because you need me. Cassi isn’t joining us until the boy goes free. That’s final. So make up your mind.”

  “Tell her to come, and we’ll all talk about this rationally.”

  “Rationally?” Jared snorted, shaking off her hand. “The last time we tried to talk rationally, you almost killed us both!”

  The woman’s laugh was deep and amused. “So now you remember me, do you?”

  Jared realized his mistake. Laranda was dead, but whoever it was impersonating her gave such a real performance that he’d forgotten she was only an actor.

  “If you really are Laranda,” he said, “you’d take off that veil. Let me see your face.”

  “You can see enough of it. You know who I am. And you wouldn’t ask a lady in mourning to take off her veil, would you? You know that Big Tommy is dead.”

  “I know Laranda was the last person on earth to mourn anyone.”

  “Oh, but that is where you are wrong,” said the silky voice. “I mourned yo
u, Jared. When you married last Monday in San Diego, I mourned you.”

  “Where is the boy? I won’t let you kill him.”

  There was a pause before the woman replied, sounding abruptly strained. “I’ll do whatever I please. I always do. But why won’t you call me by my name?”

  Was the imposter’s mask cracking? Jared hoped so. “Because you are not Laranda.”

  “Aren’t I? Don’t you believe your ears and your eyes? I’m here, and I’m not leaving until I get what I want.” The voice was now firm, the strained tones completely vanished. So much for any advantage he’d hoped for.

  “And what do you want?” Jared’s voice was sharp. The problem was, she did look and act like Laranda, though his heart rebelled at the recognition.

  “I want you, of course. As I always have. And Cassi, because she means so much to you.”

  “Then where is Sampson?”

  “You would trade him for her?” She laughed again. “You don’t know the meaning of real love.”

  Anger swept into Jared’s heart. “You’re the one who knows nothing about love or sacrifice. Sampson is a little boy who has no fault in this whole mess, and he is going to walk free or I leave now.” He began to rise.

  “Stop,” she commanded.

  Jared saw the glint of a pistol in her hand. “Go ahead, shoot me in this church. You don’t believe in God anyway. Do it.” He saw her hand waver. “But you can’t, can you? Because you need me alive. So where is Sampson?”

  “Sit down.” The voice was calm, but the anger behind it was like a slap to Jared’s face. He sat again on the bench. “Look over there by the entrance.”

  Jared followed her gaze and saw Sampson with an olive-skinned man. Sampson looked young and scared.

  “You may go to him and talk to him for one minute. Then we make the trade. But first you must tell me where Cassi is.”

  “She’s across the street with three national guards. When she sees Sampson coming toward them, she’ll leave and join us in front of the church.”

  “Very well. But it must be a simultaneous exchange.” The woman stood and walked briskly to the entrance of the church. Jared’s stomach clenched again as he followed her. She even walked the way Laranda had walked. Could it really be her? Then who had he seen cremated?