Addicted To Him (Man Season) (7 page)

“I’m not sure, Mom. Oh, I know! We
were talking about going away to an island someday. He mentioned you could buy
one in the
Florida Keys
for
under
two million dollars, and
I said that was chump change for him! Do you think that’s where he is?”

“Westcott Limited owns properties all
over the world,”
Digby
sighed, “but I’m not privy to
their whereabouts. And I can’t get any satisfactory answers from the people at
the studio. They either don’t know anything, or they’re being paid handsomely
to lie! I believe it’s the first option. Fleet surrounded himself with good
people. They’re likely being duped by Ned Grant.”

“Well, can’t we find some way to make
Grant tell where Fleet is?
Some legal way?”

“I’ve been working on that all
morning. So far it’s a dead end.”

“I can’t sit around here, not
knowing. I’m leaving for the Keys, tonight!”

“You will not! The doctor said
they’re keeping you over the weekend for observation. That was a nasty bump on
your head.”

“Why can’t I file charges against Ned
Grant for hitting me?”

“We tried that, too. He has an alibi,
placing him a hundred miles away at the time of the fire.”

“That is nuts! How do the cops
explain my being in Fleet’s house?”

“They thought you were there
illegally. But Ned Grant went to bat for you, said you were delivering flowers
for a party, but he gave you the wrong date.”

“Oh, isn’t he sweet! Damn him! So
where was my delivery van?”

“He must have supplied one. It was
parked by the beach. Once he gave the cops a fairly reasonable explanation,
they moved on. Case closed.”

“God, Mom, what can I do now?”

“Rest up all weekend.
Digby
and I will fly down to the Keys, and look around. When
you get your discharge, you can join us.”

“You’d do that? You really believe
what I’ve said?”

“Of course, darling!
We never doubted you.”

“Hum, I was thinking of taking a mini
vacation this week,” Kenny smiled. “Maybe I’ll escort you down to the Keys when
they release you from the hospital.”

“You’re all taking a terrible chance!
Ned Grant is a tricky bastard. I don’t think he’d stop at anything to get what
he wants!”

“Well, we’ll just have to be trickier
than him, to make sure that doesn’t happen!”

“I’m kind of amazed at you all! Who
knew I was surrounded by daredevils?”

“Good souls rise to the occasion when
danger strikes. I learned that from my folks back in
England
… certainly got them through the
war.”

“Yeah, and I learned it on the
playground at PS #8 in
Brooklyn
Heights
!” Kenny smiled.

“We’re all here for you,
Tegan
. All you have to do is gain your strength back. We
may have a hard battle ahead!”

After they left,
Tegan
watched the video of Fleet every time the news channel aired it. It made her feel
better to be able to see him. She wondered how Grant and his creeps had
overpowered Fleet, and what they threatened him with to force him to make that
false statement. She clung to his eyes, watched his mouth, his expression, his
gaze. He seemed so angry underneath the public reserve. She feared for his
safety if they couldn’t find him in time. And she feared what he might do to
Ned Grant if he saw an opportunity.

“Hold on, Fleet!” she whispered to
the video. “I’ll be there, soon!”

CHAPTER FIVE

The sun was gentle, the ocean
swaying; hypnotizing
Tegan
as she settled into her
room at the private house
Digby
had rented for the
four of them. If only she could have visited the
Florida Keys
on a happier journey. It was a
magical place! There were sand and surf and palm trees galore; with the
sweetest, warm breezes flowing through the open floor-to-ceiling windows of the
old, restored house. She breathed deeply, imagined Fleet lying with her on the
fluffed up mattress of the mahogany four poster bed. “God, I hope he’s all
right!” she screamed in her head. “He must be! I would feel it if he were dead,
I know I would!”

“Maybe you can share some good times
with Fleet down here one day,” Callie encouraged her as she helped her unpack.

“I hope so. Have you found out
anything?
Anything at all?”

“Like I told you on the phone,
Digby
hired a young woman out of
San Francisco
, named Ryder Dane, to do some
discreet snooping. So far she’s found that Fleet’s private jet arrived in
Marathon
Saturday afternoon. She’s still
trying to discover where the passengers were taken. We must have a little
patience, darling!”

“Oh, I know, but I’m so afraid
they’ll hurt him once they get control of his money! They might be torturing
him even now, to make him sign it over!”

“He’s strong, you’ve said he is.”

“But he’s in withdrawal! Unless they
strung him out on the drugs. Grant wanted to give him an overdose. Mom, I’m so
worried!”

Callie hugged her. “I know you are,
Tegan
. So is
Digby
. He loves that
young man like his own son. I think he feels guilty because he wasn’t there at
the house when those men showed up.”

“I’m glad he wasn’t. They might’ve
tried to kill him, too! This intrigue is so bizarre! I feel like we’re caught
up in the plot of some old Bogart movie! Ned Grant is the ultimate villain!”

“He’s merely a man, darling, with
weaknesses. If we can find them, we can bring him down!”

“I know.”

“Take a walk before dinner. It’ll
relax you.”

“Is it safe? I keep thinking if Ned
Grant is so clever, he knows we’re down here already.”

“I doubt he does. His arrogance
probably lets him think he’s won his little game.”

“Do you have a map of the area around
here? Maybe Fleet left me another clue I’m just not seeing.”

“There’s one in the study.”

They stepped through the stenciled
hall and into a study with grey paneled walls. A palm-shaped ceiling fan sent
chills over
Tegan’s
skin. It was a masculine room.
Fleet would fit right in, sitting at the colonial style desk, catching up on
his emails and memos. She could see him there; wished that her imagination
could be real, could bring him there to be safe, with her. But then she
realized he was always with her, no matter where they were – watching the same
sea as it caressed the sand, feeling the sun kiss their skin, and the breeze
soothing their brow. He was a part of her being, and she could physically feel
that he was hurting. It nearly drove her mad.

“Oh, I can’t stand this! We’ve got to
find him, Mom!”

“We will,
Tegan
,
have faith! Here’s the map.”

She pointed to a brochure on the desk
that had been unfolded to reveal a recent, detailed map of the Keys.
Tegan
poured over it slowly, noting any seemingly minor
name or reference. Her eyes caught on one name – Red Thorn Key.

“This is it! It must be!”

“Why do you say that?”

“He cut his fingers on the thorns of
the roses at the shop! That must be why he mentioned the rose petals!”

Digby
entered with Kenny and a beautiful
brunette. She was as tall as a man, dressed in tight jeans, a tank top and
sandals, her luscious chocolate hair tamed by a red rubber band.

“I’d like you to meet Ryder Dane.
She’s going to help us find Fleet!”

“Hello.” The two shook hands. “Ms.
Dane, do you know anything about Red Thorn Key?”

“It’s odd you should ask that,” she said
in a silken voice. “I discovered that Red Thorn Key is where Ned Grant and his
sidekicks took Fleet Westcott! Apparently, Grant has a very private,
well-secured retreat on the island, meant for his richest and most high profile
clients.”

“Can we go there? Maybe sneak up in a
boat and find Fleet somehow?”

“The compound is completely fenced,
but I have a plan to get in. Grant doesn’t know me or Mr. Randall. I’m thinking
if I could pretend to be his doctor and set him up as a very wealthy addict, we
could gain access to the island.”

“But Grant’s bound to check up on you
both. Can you fake some documents so quickly?”

“That’s one of the downsides to the
plan. It’ll take a good two weeks to get the documents we’ll need.”

“Oh, but we don’t have two weeks!”
Tegan
cried. “I’m afraid of what they might be doing to
Fleet right now!”

“Ms. Dane, isn’t there some legal
tack we can use?” Callie asked. “If he’s being held there against his will …”

“I discreetly inquired about that to
the local authorities and they say there’s no evidence of him being taken there
under force. They point to the video as proof he’s there of his own volition.”

“This is not right! I know he’s
suffering! I can feel it! I’ve got to get in there somehow!”

“We’ll keep working on a better
plan,”
Digby
consoled her. “You should rest. You may
not be quite well yet.”

“I’m fine.
Physically,
anyway.
And I am grateful that you all are trying to help him. I think
I’ll go for a walk, like Mom suggested.”

“You want a partner?”

“No, Kenny, I’ll be okay. Go downtown
and see the sights. I know you were excited about going to the Hemingway
house.”

“Yeah, but it can wait until another
time.”

“No, go ahead. We can’t do anything
now, anyway, can we?”

She hurried out the door, tears streaming
from her eyes. The frustration at being so close to where Fleet was, and not
being able to save him, was ripping her apart.

She began to roam aimlessly about the
shoreline. There were all sorts of boats for hire, mostly for fishing, but some
were for sightseeing.
Tegan
checked her purse; she’d
brought most of her savings with her, money she’d planned on using to buy a
car. But this was so much more important!

She spied a craggy old bird in a
sailor’s cap and ragged jeans, his brown barrel of a chest covered in white
hair, matching the straggles sticking out from under his cap. He had wary blue
eyes; they were watching her, sizing her up.

“Can I help you, Miss?”

“I’d like to rent your boat. You do
take people for a spin through the Keys?”

“Sure, I do, if they got the cash.”

“Here.” She handed him three times
the amount listed on a sign stuck in his boat’s front windshield.

“That’s enough for all day!
You planning
on getting lost for awhile?”

“Something
like
that. Can we go?”

“I reckon we can! Hop aboard!” He
reached out a thin but muscled arm, eased her onto the boat. “My name’s
Grissom!” he offered. “What be yours?”

“Is it necessary to know my name?”

“These days it is.
Got
to be careful.
The Homeland Security boys get awfully touchy about us carting
strangers around.”

“My name is
Tegan
St. Clair. Here are my IDs.”

He studied over her driver’s license
and a couple of credit cards then nodded.
“Looks fine to me.
Now, where would you like to go?”

“Red Thorn Key.”

“That’s a plain little island. You
got acquaintances there?”

“Maybe.”

“That place caters to the rich and
the insane … personally I’d take the insane over the other. What’s your
business there?”

She sighed; she didn’t have time for
all his questions. She looked him over; he’d sized her up. Now she did the same
with him. He seemed trustworthy. She’d have to chance it.

“Mr. Grissom, I’m going to be honest
with you. The people on Red Thorn Key are holding a man there against his will,
a very wealthy man. They want his money, and I’m afraid if I don’t get him out
of there they will kill him for it! I need to find a way to save him!”