Claire Gulliver #02 - Washington Weirdos (27 page)

The girls’ eyes were big, their mouths forming an open circle expressing their horror.

“So, how’s Tuffy?” David diverted their attention.

“Oh, he’s glad to be home, isn’t he, Gramimi?” Amy was almost bouncing on her chair. “But he can’t run around a lot, so I can’t throw the ball for him for a while. That’s what the Doctor said, isn’t it, Gramimi?”

MiMi nodded fondly at the little girl. “That’s right. He’s sleeping already in his basket in our room. I’m sure he’ll be back to his old self soon.”

“But he’s never going to eat spinach again. Is he?” Then she looked around the table. “Me either. I’m never going to eat spinach. I knew it wasn’t good for you.”

Even David had to laugh. And then he nodded soberly, saying, “You’re absolutely right, Amy. I don’t think any of us will ever eat it again.”

“Girls, I’m sorry to say it’s long past your bedtime. Say goodnight and go get ready. Grandpap and I will be up in a few minutes to tuck you in.”

The girls reluctantly said good night and headed obediently for the stairs. The room felt very quiet after they left.

“Okay, let’s hear that story one more time. This time I want to hear all the details.” MiMi’s eyes were on her husband.

So she heard the unabridged version. She sat back, stunned at the horror of it.

“It was Neil? All along it was Neil. And we never suspected. We didn’t have a clue?”

She leaned forward putting her hand over David’s. “Are we losing it? Were there clues and we just didn’t see them? We thought he was wonderful, so talented and smart. We treated him like part of the family.” She shuddered and sank into silence.

Then sitting up straight again she said, “Tell me about these people who picked you up. What were their names?”

“Jerry and Rhea, they own the Emma Louise, and their friend, Billy John. Jerry was going down the east side of the bay to avoid the traffic in the Intracoastal Waterway and that’s how they spotted us. Thank God, I don’t think we had much more gas. And, since that part of the Bay is pretty remote, even after we rowed to land, we would have had to get through the sloughs before we found some help. Anyway, Wiley took their addresses as I thought we’d want to do something to thank them for their rescue.”

“For sure! Of course, we would.” MiMi nodded. “Come on, dear. We’d better go up and get those girls to bed.”

David stood to follow his wife. “Wiley, stay a bit longer and meet with me and MiMi in the library. We have work to do.”

“Claire and Jack, if you would like, Mrs. Kramer can serve you coffee in the parlor. And then Charlie will take Jack and Wiley back to town when we’re through.”

Mrs. Kramer appeared as she was conjured up. “Can I get you anything?”

Claire looked at Jack. “I wouldn’t mind coffee. Could we have it on the terrace? I feel like some fresh air.”

“Of course. And you?” Jack nodded, stood and held Claire’s chair for her. They headed through the solarium and out to the terrace.

Claire relaxed on the little wicker loveseat, facing the inky bay feeling safe with Jack’s arm around her. Mrs. Kramer brought a tray with the coffee and a little dish of cookies and then disappeared. It was warm, not muggy, and a gentle breeze came off the water bringing a tangy salt smell.

Jack poured the coffee, put a cookie on her saucer and handed her a cup. “I was afraid I had lost you for a while there.”

She nodded. “I was pretty worried myself, as was David.” She took a bite of cookie and then sipped the coffee through the cookie she held in her mouth. It was wonderful. Somehow, everything was better tonight, brighter, cleaner, and more hopeful.

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to find I wasn’t the cause of this. I was so stressed at the thought I brought this trouble to the Lickmans, that somehow I had put them in danger just because they were being nice to me.”

“And it was the other way around.”

She nodded.

“Well, I’m sure David and MiMi are thanking God that you were with David and had the presence of mind to attack Neil.” He shook his head. “I know a lot of the books tell you to do whatever your captor asks in hopes that he will release you, but if you had done that, you would have been dead.” He shuddered.

“Will they find out why the boat exploded?”

“Probably not, but I’d say whoever supplied the bomb wanted to make sure there were no survivors. And you know who I would guess that would be?”

“Guiness? You think Guiness was involved?”

“Who else? Neil was a threat to them. He knew how to contact them. He actually met with them. It seems to me that if Guiness wanted to erase this whole episode this would be a good way to do it. If it didn’t work, no problem. But my guess is the bomb was already rigged to detonate at a certain time and if Neil went to set it before that time it would have just detonated when he tried to set it.”

She shivered. “I had one of those feelings.”

“I know, the Guardian Angel.” He squeezed her into a warm hug. “Thank God for Guardian Angels.”

Later, the coffee finished, he said, “You know, Claire, I’m thinking of retiring soon.”

She looked at him. “Aren’t you kind of young to retire?”

He grinned. “In this business you retire young, if you can. Some of us never get the chance to retire. Anyway, I was thinking if I was leading a different, more settled life, maybe we could work something out.”

“Something?”

“We’re a little old to be pinned. And besides, in my line I don’t like to make any promises, but, well, you know?”

She nodded. She did know. They had something going between them, but it didn’t seem likely it would go anywhere with his job and her living on the West Coast. But, if he was going to retire...

“What are you planning to do when you retire? Where do you think you’ll want to settle?”

“Actually, I was thinking about setting up a little business somewhere, maybe on the West Coast. What do you think?”

She smiled at him. “Sounds good! It would be nice to have you around in case I get in trouble again.”

“Hey, no more trouble for you. Do you hear? You definitely need to stay out of trouble. But just in case, I’m going to give you a number to call, day or night.”

He took a card and a pen from his pocket and wrote a number on the back. “I’ll set it up. Ask for Bernie and someone will help you. Will you remember?”

“Sure, my Uncle Bernie left me his bookstore. I’m not likely to forget that name.”

“Memorize the number and test yourself occasionally. You don’t want to be searching for that card when you’re in trouble and need help in a hurry.”

“Oh, there you are.” David and MiMi came out on the terrace. “We didn’t interrupt, did we?”

“Of course not. We were just enjoying life and the breeze.”

“Isn’t it heavenly!” MiMi dropped in one of the chairs. “My dear, I just don’t know what to say to you. We thought we were saving you and we put you into dreadful danger. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you were quite angry with us.”

“MiMi, it wasn’t your fault. How could you have known?”

David shook his head. “That’s what we say but we feel like we should have known. I just thank God you had the presence of mind to use that bottle of beer. And that you insisted we get off the boat when we did.

“That said, I’m heading for bed. Wiley and Charlie are waiting in front for you, Jack. And, Claire, I’ll see you in the morning. Charlie will be taking me in quite early; I have a lot to do. But he’ll be back for you around eight, and I’ll see you at the office.” He bent over her and kissed her gently on the cheek, then helped MiMi out of her chair. And, arms around each other, they walked into the house.

Jack and Claire stood up. Jack put his arms around her and gave her a kiss she felt all the way to the end of her toes. It was a promise of things to come.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at the Vantage Offices and we’ll go to Marcus’ from there. Don’t worry. They’ve promised to make sure you make your plane. Take all your things when you leave here in the morning, as you’ll go right to the airport from there.”

Claire stood there until the taillights disappeared into the night, then closed the door and saw Mrs. Kramer heading for the terrace.

“Oh, Mrs. Kramer, let me bring in the tray.”

“No dear, you go to bed. That’s my job. I like to make sure everything is in order and secure, so I can sleep soundly. And besides, you’ve had a big day. I’m sure you need to sleep. Have a good night. Now that everyone is safe and Tuffy is back, I know I will.”

Claire was putting books on the shelves when the door chimed indicating a customer had entered. Business was slow; really slow. The collapse of the dot com business caused so many companies to close, down-size and merge, it had affected the entire business community, not just hers. For a while she had fought the decline by promoting armchair travel for those who couldn’t afford the real thing, but could dream and plan for when they would be able to travel again.

Then the unthinkable happened. Six days after she returned from Washington, D.C. was Tuesday, September 11.

The shock and horror of her personal experience was almost erased by the universal horror and disbelief at what had happened that day. She, as well as most of the citizens, seemed to move through the following weeks in a daze, fearful of what else would happen; mourning what had happened.

The bookstore business completely dried up for a short time, not that either Claire or Mrs. B seemed to care. But as time went by, the need to survive reasserted itself and once more it was important to put the bookstore in order. Recognizing the public’s aversion to travel, they decided to cut the hours they were open, let most of the help go and cancel the lectures scheduled for the rest of the year. She was confidant that interest in travel would resume and, to that end, she and Mrs. B planned an interesting schedule of lectures in the first quarter which they hoped would stimulate business. And just recently the customers were starting to come back, slowly but steadily.

She considered herself lucky for having a cushion of profits, which allowed her to ride out this period without going out of business.

MiMi had called a couple of times, so Claire knew of Vantage’s search for a new successor for David, who was now determined to retire as soon as possible. He and MiMi both realized life was too short, and they needed to take the time to do the things they had always planned to do. And, of course, the changes 9/11 had instigated in their industry were adding to their difficulties in managing the airline.

Jack had also called. He told her that Marian had reported Carol Daley told her friend her married lover was an executive at Vantage. And while she didn’t remember the name, they suspected it was Neil. Meanwhile they had found when examining Neil’s cell phone records that a call to the Vantage Heathrow Advantage Club on that morning in June was recorded. Neil might have been in Istanbul, but he had still been able to reach Carol with his instructions to assist the Springer Tour.

Additionally, they found several numbers he’d called, which they traced to a contact who had a link with Guiness. They didn’t have Guiness yet, but they were closing in.

Jack told her about the large contingent of FBI agents working with the Security and Exchange Commission to unravel the complicated setup of dummy companies Neil had developed to assist him in taking over Vantage Airlines. They still hadn’t found all the answers but in time they would.

Of course, she hadn’t heard from Jack since 9/11, so she assumed he was already on his next assignment. She sighed. She didn’t like to think about what he was doing. She just hoped he would stay safe and that he would retire soon. Meanwhile, she had her bookstore to keep her occupied.

“Claire, someone to see you,” Mrs. B called interrupting her musings.

Claire struggled to her feet, feeling the time she spent on the floor in the stiffness of her knees. She stretched her legs to get the kinks out and then headed around the shelves to the front of the store.

The man standing at the counter was tall and striking looking in his dark uniform with gold braid.

“Claire?” At her nod, he held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Mike Watson.”

She automatically responded with a firm hand clasp. He held onto her hand while he explained further. “I’m JoJo and Amy’s father.”

“My goodness! Of course, please forgive me. I just wasn’t connecting the name.”

He smiled, finally releasing her hand. “Well, of course, we’ve never met but I feel like I know you. The girls have been talking about you nonstop since September. Especially, Amy.”

Claire laughed. “I can imagine. I’m so glad you stopped in and I’m finally getting a chance to meet you. I so enjoyed my time with your girls. I’m sorry you were away, but I suppose if you weren’t they wouldn’t have been there for me to enjoy, would they?”

He shook his head and then glanced around. Seeing Mrs. B had discreetly gone to the back of the store and no one else was about he said, “Maggie, my wife, and I can’t tell you how grateful we are to you for keeping those girls from going out on the boat with their Grandpap and Neil. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there. And David told us how you saved him as well by knocking out Neil and insisting you both get off the boat immediately.” He blinked rapidly, tears suddenly welling up in his eyes. Then clearing his throat he said, “Maggie told the girls she thinks their Guardian Angels sent you to help us.”