Claire Gulliver #06 - Carnage Goes Coastal Read online

  “Karen, wake up. We’re staying here the rest of the night. Come on, grab your shoes and purse.”

  Karen, still half asleep followed Claire through the locked door to their first floor room off the main corridor.

  “Take your choice of beds. It will take us another six hours to get home and I’ll never make it without getting some sleep.

  It took only a few minutes for Karen to use the bathroom, change into her pajamas and crawl into the bed she chose. Claire was sound asleep only moments later. It was the sound of the shower that woke her in the morning. Karen was obviously awake and already getting ready to leave.

  They were on the road by nine, even though they only drove for five minutes before pulling into Claire’s favorite truck stop where they were each able to put away a truckers’ breakfast. Eggs, bacon and ham, hash brown potatoes, and pancakes were piled high on gargantuan plates, and they both managed to eat much of it.

  This time when Claire pulled back onto the freeway, she set the cruise control, sat back and said, “Okay Karen, let’s hear the whole story. Start at the beginning and tell me every detail. We have plenty of time to talk and I want to know everything.”

  They were many miles down the road when Karen finished. They were both silent as they processed the story.

  “It all sounds so stupid,” Karen admitted, her voice trembling with disgust. “I mean I was so convinced he was my soul mate and now, just listening to the story I realize I was totally out of my head. I was delusional, wasn’t I? He’s right! I had to have known he was lying, it’s so obvious now.”

  Claire shook her head. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Why should you expect someone you care about to tell you lies, or to string you along like that? You’re a nice person, you expect people to be nice, to be honest, in return. And really, Karen, not everyone in the world behaves as this man did. Don’t believe that. He’s the aberration, not you.” She glanced at Karen waiting until she finally saw her straighten up and nod her head. “So do you have any clues as to why he was so devious? Do you have any ideas about where he came from or who he is? For instance, did he always stay at the same hotel? Did he have a favorite restaurant?”

  Karen gloomily shook her head. “I thought I knew him so well and then I found I knew nothing about him. That was a real shocker.”

  They were both quiet for a while and then at Karen’s request, Claire took the exit for the rest stop posted on the highway. After that short break, when they resumed their journey, Claire responded to Karen’s questions about how Claire met her father. Claire told her about that time her bookstore co-sponsored Lucy Springer’s tour to England. That tale got them all the way to the exit for Pea Soup Anderson’s restaurant where they stopped for lunch.

  During lunch Claire told Karen of her second meeting with Jack. That was when she went to Washington D.C., and of course, by then she already knew Jack worked for the CIA.

  After lunch she had some questions for Karen. By that time she had processed Karen’s story and felt there were some gaps that needed to be filled in. They were getting closer to home now, and Claire spent the last part of the ride telling Karen about her bookstore, her mother and her life, preparing Karen for what she would find in Bayside.

  CHAPTER 11

  “Come in,” I responded to the knock.

  “It’s Mr. Hampton,” the maid reported and then, seeing my nod, she pushed the door wider and stepped back so Mr. Hampton could enter.

  He exuded confidence, as he should, considering how much he was charging me. He sat down in one of the chairs in front of my desk and only then I could see a gleam of anxiety in his eyes that warned me his news wasn’t going to be good. Still he seemed determined to play his role to the end, so I prepared myself for the wait.

  He glanced at a leather notebook in his hands and began his report. “We received notification from the bank that the account was accessed at eleven- fifteen Monday morning. Obviously the target was alive when she withdrew twenty-seven thousand, seven hundred dollars in cash.

  “That told us her remains weren’t going to be found in the ashes of the apartment building. Somehow she was not in the building at the time of the explosion. And the withdrawal suggested to us she needed the money, because she intended to flee. We immediately sent our agents to the local airports armed with pictures, but they didn’t locate her. So we tapped into the airlines’ reservation systems and at six p.m. we found the listing. She had purchased a ticket and was onboard a United Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, arriving there at eight p.m. local time.

  “We were able to have two of our best West Coast men waiting at LAX when her flight arrived. One of them managed to slip a tracking device into her pocket on the concourse, so we were confident we could follow her out of the secure area.

  “Our man temporarily lost her where the hotel courtesy buses load. He got on a bus with her, but somehow when the bus left, she was still on the curb.”

  He paused to examine the expression on my face and then hurried on.

  “We still had the bug on her. So our men were able to track her to the Crown Plaza hotel. However, she did not check in to the hotel. Our agent was searching the public areas of the hotel when his partner alerted him the tracking equipment showed she had just left the hotel in a private van. They followed, of course.”

  He paused, blinking rapidly. “There was a terrible accident on the San Diego Freeway where it intersected the Long Beach Freeway. The freeway was closed for many hours and several people died, more were seriously hurt and hospitalized,” he reported soberly.

  When I saw the perspiration beading on his forehead I knew I wasn’t going to like this. I said sharply, “Well, was she one of the ones who died?”

  He shook his head.

  “What? She was injured? Surely you could take care of her while she was in the hospital.”

  He shook his head reluctantly.

  “What kind of amateurs are you guys? How did you miss her?” I could hear my voice was getting a little screechy so I tried to modulate it, but I was furious. I wanted this matter resolved. I wanted it finished. And these ‘best West Coast men’ who Mr. Hampton, of Hampton Security Associates, assured me would take care of it had not done their job.

  He sat back watching me uneasily. “It turned out she wasn’t in the van, although apparently the bug was.” He sat back, staring at me, as if daring me to complain.

  “You told us she would be an easy target. Just a naive clerical person, who wouldn’t have any idea of the danger she was in. Well, she’s been acting very professional, more like a well trained agent. We would have approached this whole assignment differently if we had known we were dealing with someone at that experience level.”

  His tone was accusatory, trying to blame me for the fiasco. I stood up abruptly, throwing the letter opener I was toying with down violently as I stomped around the desk. “This is ridiculous. You and your men have managed to mess up this fairly simple assignment until now we have a major problem. I wanted this whole thing, the woman and the baby to just go away before the baby was even born. I told you to make it look like an accident. Somehow you’ve managed to turn that simple request into coast to coast carnage. How many are dead now? Six at the apartment building; how many on the freeway?” I glared at him with disgust, declaring, “If anyone somehow makes the connection between these incidents, no one will think these deaths were accidental”

  Mr. Hampton turned awkwardly in his chair to look at me where I was now pacing behind him. He didn’t look so confident now. Sweat was dripping off his forehead, and he kept swallowing nervously.

  I didn’t try to control my anger. “This is a joke; your people are incompetent. And you dare brag about tracking her to Los Angeles where your best men planted a bug on her, and yet they still lost her. She could be anywhere. She could even have doubled back to the City for all we know. That baby is due soon and I tell you, Mr. Hampton, this world is not big enough for both me and that baby.
The baby has to go, and the mother, too!”

  I paused, then turned and demanded, “What are you going to do to fix this mess, Mr. Hampton?”

  “We’re going to find her. We’ll get her.” As he spoke he seemed to gain confidence in his ability to succeed. “We’re good at this!”

  “I’d like to believe that, but I’m finding it difficult. Just how are you going to do that?” I sat down again, staring at him intently.

  “We’re going to go back and start checking everything about her, where she was born, where she lived and where she went to school. We’ll check out all her relatives, and all her friends. Somewhere we’re going to find the answer to where she is. No one can just walk away without help. Someone is helping her and we will find out who it is. Then we’ll find her. When we find her we will honor our contract with you. I promise you that.”

  I was skeptical, but I nodded. I didn’t have another plan right now. I would have to see how serious Mr. Hampton was about honoring his commitment to me and keeping his reputation from being destroyed. Meanwhile, I would be figuring out a Plan B.

  PART 2

  CHAPTER 12

  September, 2003

  Claire was day dreaming while standing at the kitchen table folding a basket of laundry when Tuffy-Two gave a short yip of surprise and scurried, slipping and sliding across the slick hardwood floors, heading for the front door. Curious, Claire followed. She heard the key turning the lock, but it seemed too early for Karen to be returning.

  “Jack! Oh, Jack.” She threw herself in his arms, hugging him tightly. It took several satisfying kisses before she was willing to let go long enough to say, Thank God you’re back. Are you all right? No new wounds?”

  He shook his head before kissing her again.

  “Dear God, how I’ve missed you.” Then he noticed Tuffy-Two prancing around their feet. Jack stooped to pet the dog. “How you doing, Buddy? Did you take care of Claire while I was gone?”

  Claire just smiled, waiting patiently while the white fluffy dog rubbed against Jack’s ankles and writhed beneath his hand. When Jack stood again, she grabbed his arm tightly to lead him to the kitchen. “Come sit down and tell me what happened. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Coke? Something stronger, or what about something to eat? Are you hungry?”

  He laughed. “Just some water. I managed to eat while I was gone, you know. But, I’m glad to be back. I’m glad to see you weren’t just...”

  He stopped, abruptly. “What’s that?”

  “Oh, baby Jack’s awake. Wait until you see him....” She laughed with excitement as she headed down the hall.

  “There, there sweet baby, I’m sorry I didn’t hear you. Don’t cry, I’ve got you now. Are you hungry? Is little Jack starved?” She crooned down at the bundle she had scooped up in her arms. She laid the baby on the changing table and quickly changed his diaper, talking to him the whole time. When he was wearing a dry diaper he started responding to her voice, making little cooing sounds as he tried to smile at her. She picked up the baby and turned toward the door to find Jack was now standing there, statue-like and pale as a ghost. For a moment she thought he would keel over.

  “Jack? A baby named Jack? Is that baby...?” he managed to choke out.

  She realized what he was saying, what he must be thinking. “No, no, he’s not ours!” But then with a teasing smile, she held out the baby. “But he is yours. Meet your grandson, Jack David Rallins.”

  “My grandson?” Jack was struggling to make sense of that claim, but accepted the wiggling bundle graciously.

  “Come on, I need to fix his bottle and it’s a long story. We can talk in the kitchen while we’re feeding him.”

  Claire quickly warmed a bottle in the microwave, testing it carefully to make sure the milk was just the right temperature. Meanwhile Jack sat at the table, carefully examining the child in his arms, while all the time making clicking noises at the baby with his mouth.

  When Claire handed Jack the bottle, he showed his experience by promptly inserting it in the baby’s open mouth. “Where is Karen?” Jack asked abruptly after deducing who the mother had to be if this really was his grandchild.

  “She’s at Gulliver’s. She’s kind of taken over the responsibility for the website business. She likes to go in Mondays to process the orders we get over the weekend as well as update the website with new items and any specials we want to run. She says it doesn’t take as long when she can work undisturbed. She’ll be home soon.”

  “And the baby’s father? Is he here?”

  Claire just shook her head.

  “But, how did Karen get here? How long has she been here? What is this all about?”

  “She’s been here since April. Be patient, Jack. When she gets here she’ll explain it all. After all it’s her story, she should have the opportunity to tell it to you. Meanwhile, I’m more interested in your story. I’m hoping you are going to say that Guiness is no longer a problem. Are you?”

  He looked at her soberly and nodded.

  She sat down abruptly, relief flooded through her. “And you’re sure?”

  Claire and Jack had gone to San Miguel de Allende in March for a bit of vacation. They were hoping the warm climate would help Jack recover faster from the ghastly wounds he had arrived with. It had been a blissful retreat until they had gotten in the way of an old enemy, who was in the midst of a scheme to create new capital to finance his terrorist activities. Their vacation had ended abruptly with Claire returning safely to her bookstore in Bayside, while Jack had followed the fleeing villain, determined this time to stop him for good.

  Claire had spent the intervening months, worrying and praying for Jack’s success, so now she felt a vast relief he had returned safe.

  He nodded. “I’m sure. It turned out to be quite a chase and in the end I didn’t have to capture him, or even kill him. He was shot by his own colleague, the Columbia drug lord, who had been supplying him with the cocaine he was processing. It seems Guiness had led the Columbian drug enforcement task force troops right to his partner’s hideout in the remote Columbian jungle and that caused no end of problems. It was apparently the last straw in the increasingly deteriorating association for the drug kingpin, so he decided to cancel the partnership permanently.

  “I saw Guiness’ body, so I know for sure he’s dead. And his partner is waiting for trial in a Columbian jail. His cocaine operation is in ruins.

  “I wasn’t needed any longer, so I headed home via Houston. I helped the authorities establish that the three people who died in an explosion outside of Houston during a drug raid were Kathleen and two men who were Guiness’ key lieutenants. That means Guiness’ whole terrorist group has finally been eliminated. Trust me on this Claire; we don’t need to worry about running into Guiness again.”

  “Jack, I’ve been so worried about you. Why didn’t you call me when you got back to the States so I’d know you were okay?”

  He looked surprised, and then sheepish. “I’m sorry Claire. I guess I should have thought to do that.”

  “You think?” she responded somewhat angrily.

  Now Jack went on the defensive. “I had to report in, and I wasn’t sure how long the debriefing would take.” He paused for a moment, taking the now empty bottle out of the baby’s mouth and lifting him to his shoulder. Apparently he thought about what he had just said, because as he started patting little Jack’s back he admitted, “I guess I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was just anticipating how excited you’d be when I just showed up and surprised you.”

  An embarrassed look spread across his face. “It didn’t even occur to me how you were waiting for word from me. Maybe I’ve been on my own too long. I was just thinking about what I was doing, what I needed to do.” He shook his head in disgust. “I’m sorry for that, Claire. I should have been thinking of how you were feeling. I promise you, I’ll shape up.”

  “You’d better,” she said seriously. “It’s no fun being the one left at home, wondering and worryin
g. If you had contacted me I would have understood your need to fill out reports and cross all the T’s before coming back, but at least I would have known you were out of imminent danger and I could have relaxed a bit.”

  “It wasn’t that I wasn’t thinking of you, or missing you. It’s more like when I’m on a mission I tend to just zero in on that task, putting everyone and every other thing out of my mind. It helps me stay alive. But, I should have considered how you were coping.” He paused, thinking a moment. “Maybe that’s part of why my first marriage failed.”

  He had an earnest expression on his face as he promised, “I’ll do better. And if I don’t, please call me on it. I don’t want to take a chance of destroying our relationship. Promise me?”

  She nodded. “Okay, hopefully you won’t be going on more missions so I won’t have that to worry about. Did you get the job as liaison in San Francisco?”

  He nodded, smiling. “I start in a month.”

  Just then little Jack let out a loud satisfying burp and they both laughed. Jack, still gently patting the baby’s back, noticed how heavy the baby’s eyelids were getting. Little Jack sighed as he went to sleep and his grandfather looked questioningly at Claire. She pointed to the back bedroom and followed him quietly, tucking a light blanket around the sleeping baby after Jack laid him in the crib.

  As they walked back down the hall to the front of the bungalow, Jack whispered, “Where is Karen? I’m anxious to see her and hear her story. Should I go over to the store?”

  “No, I’ll call her. If you go over there I’m afraid I won’t see either of you for hours.” She picked up the phone and poked in the number on speed dial.

  “How’s it going, Karen? Will you be much longer? Well, why don’t you stop what you’re doing and come home? We have some company you’ll want to see. No, it’s a surprise. Just come home.”