Oklahoma's Gold (30 page)

As they headed out to find a drink stand, Jess was troubled to notice that same man with the cigarette standing nearby. He was talking to one of the fair vendors and didn't appear to be interested in Jess, but she felt uncomfortable anyway. Must be all this excitement making her jumpy. Nothing more than that. She then turned her attention to the refreshments and Daniel.

"Five lemonades, Tammy," Daniel requested from the young woman running the stand. He kept up a lively conversation with her as she filled the order.

Jess was noticing how the two of them carried on like they were very old friends. Close friends. Tammy kept throwing her head back to laugh, as if she found Daniel very humorous and entertaining. When she turned around to set the cups on the counter Jess took in her looks. Big, expressive, blue eyes, a luminous smile with perfect teeth. And her hair was a luxurious, long, thick main, wheat-colored with lighter highlights streaked throughout. She wasn't quite as tall as Jess, but her figure was as perfect as her teeth. At this point, Jess was feeling just a little insecure and a lot irritated.

"Old girlfriend," Emma offered, as she had been watching Jess' reaction. "A long, long time ago. Tammy Lewis is now Tammy Fallon. Mrs. Lyle Fallon?"

Jess raised an eyebrow as she digested what Emma had just said. Suddenly, she relaxed and smiled. "I see," was all she commented and took the lemonade Deek handed to her.

They sat under a shade tree at one of the picnic tables, taking advantage of the cooling breeze. Emma was telling one of her father's famous tales of his younger days when cowboys were still a very live reminder of the old west. They all were enjoying her colorful account when suddenly Caleb Gentry came running up. Out of breath, he could hardly speak.

"Aunt Emma! I've been lookin' all over this fair for you."

"And now you found me, so calm down, nephew," she scolded.

"Doc Willis sent me to fetch you. He said Fred's tryin' to come around and he's been askin' for you."

"Landsakes," Emma exclaimed and jumped up from the bench, nearly spilling lemonade all over her lap. "Well, then let's get over to that hospital." She grabbed Caleb's arm and tugged, but he held back.

"Now, just a minute, Aunt Emma. I have something else to tell."

Emma looked miffed, but didn't say anything.

"Lucas is gone." He waited for their reactions.

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Daniel spoke sharply.

"Gone as in vamoose. He cleaned out his office desk and his bedroom closet. He's gone." Caleb said the words, but even he sounded as if he couldn't believe them. "His secretary, Betty, came stormin' in my office at around one o'clock. She was rantin' and ravin' about how that no good, no account, schemin' rat Lucas had left durin' her lunch hour. Not a word, not so much as a look to let her know. Then she goes on about how much she'd trusted him, how they were supposed to get married, how she'd done things, illegal things for him cause she'd loved him. Now, don't that beat all?" Caleb shook his head.

"What kind of things?" Daniel inquired.

"Well, she hasn't rightly said. And I didn't get much of a chance to talk because of the call from the hospital, you know," Caleb defended. "I warned her not to leave town, though. Bein' a possible material witness and all."

Daniel scratched his head and considered his words for a moment. Looking at Jess and Emma, he asked, "Are you two gettin' the same idea as I am?"

They both answered at the same time. "Martinique."

"Yep." Daniel now looked back at Caleb. "I think I know where our Lucas is heading."

Chapter 42

Lucas glanced at his watch for the third time in ten minutes. Less than an hour, he figured, if the flight took off as scheduled. His eyes studied the airport entrance, watching for any unwelcome visitors. He could hardly contain his excitement. He was about to get away with one big scam, bigger than he could have imagined. And he had the money to stay away, hidden for years, if needed. They'd give up looking for him long before he was ready to resurface.

The latest check had arrived this morning from N. Rep., after he'd sent them the geologist's latest report. Well, he had them just salivating with greed. It was like taking candy from a baby. He felt as gleeful as a child on Christmas morning.

Oil equipment. He'd told them he needed money to buy it for all that drilling they expected to do. At least that's what they thought was happening. He chuckled. What a bunch of greedy fools. He never intended to drill on that land. That land belonged to all the Choctaw and Cherokee who owned it. His foster parents taught him its value was more than just money. It was sacred and shouldn't be stripped naked. Worm scum like N. Rep. deserved to be cheated. It was a bittersweet victory though. His foster parents hadn't lived to witness his revenge. Long ago they had met the same misfortune as many others. They had lost their land to the same type of greed. Only it came with a name. John Wallace. His blood pressure rose at the reminder of that business tycoon. A prominent figure in Grady County history. Yes, he'd read all about him. What a crook. His thoughts soured. And such an evil force. As a young boy of four in that year of nineteen forty-six, he remembered his foster mother weeping and he couldn't comfort her. It was a misery, a suffering he never forgot. So now, in a way, he had his revenge against John Wallace and all his kind. Now, he was the one laughing.

He looked at his watch again. Ten minutes. No one at the airport entrance. Then the first call to board flight 715 came over the P.A. Lucas walked to the boarding gate. He grinned at the thought of how Betty and anyone else she blabbed to would think he was heading for Martinique and that beautiful property he supposedly purchased. He laughed and shook his head. He would have never believed how easy fake documents were to come by. And how incredibly stupid people could be.

"Ticket to Fiji with a layover in Los Angeles? Ah … Mr. Smith?" The young, attractive woman smiled up at Lucas as she handed back his papers.

He tipped his hat, grinning pleasantly. "Ma'am, now you just call me Justin."

She looked at him with new interest and answered, "All right, Justin. Justin Smith. It's a nice name."

"Yes, it is, isn't it? You have a great day, ah, I didn't catch your name?"

"Vanessa."

"Vanessa. Maybe we can get together when I'm back in town."

"Yeah. Maybe we can," she answered coyly.

"Good day then." Lucas was off and boarding the plane. Within fifteen more minutes the announcement came to make sure everyone was seated and buckled in. The take off was smooth. As Lucas glanced back to get one last look at the airport, he noticed a sheriff's car pulling up. Caleb and Daniel were running inside the terminal.

Lucas turned, smiled, and leaned comfortably back in his seat as the plane rose higher into the sky. Soon, the lights gave the okay to release their seat belts.

"Our flight will arrive at LA in approximately one hour and fifteen minutes."

A stewardess approached Lucas just then. He tensed for a moment, still nervous about his narrow escape. What if they found out and were turning the plane around?

"Ticket, please."

"Ah, yes. Here you are." He tried hard to keep his hand from shaking.

"Have a nice flight, Mr. Smith." She smiled and walked away.

He breathed slowly and smiled to himself. "I will. Believe me, I will."

* * *

"What do you mean there's no flight to Martinique?" Daniel was surprised and outraged.

"I'm trying to explain, sir. If you'll just listen." The lady at the information desk smiled patiently, then went on when it appeared Daniel would keep quiet. "There was a flight to Martinique. At ten this morning. But I cannot let you see the passenger list. It is against regulations."

She continued to smile. However, the message Daniel read in her eyes said, "Don't mess with me". So, he didn't. Instead he tried to bargain with her. "Could you at least look at the list and see if the name Lucas Martin shows up?"

She looked put out for a second, but then checked the list. "Nope. No Lucas Martin. In fact there are no males traveling on that flight with a last name starting with M. Does that satisfy you, sir?"

She was beginning to lose that stoic patience.  Daniel then decided it was best to walk away. He'd failed. Been duped by a true con artist. Boy, did that sting, he realized.

"Thank you for your cooperation, ma'am." He tipped his hat and walked over to where Caleb was standing. "So, what did you find out? Anything?"

"Not really. People I've talked to say they remember several men fittin' his description. Unfortunately, employees here don't seem to recall any Lucas Martin takin' off on any flight." Caleb sounded truly defeated. "So, what now?" He was looking for any suggestions because he was stumped.

"Maybe go back to town. Find a photo of Lucas and come back. Try again. Could trigger someone's memory." Daniel was desperate, not wanting to give up on the only lead they had. Lucas may have fooled them and not gone to Martinique. But he'd bet the farm the man got on some flight. Lucas was running and you took the fastest way out when you were running.

"Okay. What I'll do is send my two deputies out here with a couple of photos. They should be able to handle the job. In the meantime, we get a bite to eat, wash up and then sit down and hash over what we got. Maybe come up with some fresh ideas. What do you think?"

"All right then. Let's get going. We should probably go through Lucas' things. See if there are any clues. And have another talk with Betty," Daniel suggested. As they walked to the car, flight 715 was flying over Las Vegas, more than half way to Los Angeles and a good start to Lucas Martin's escape.

Chapter 43

"Son of a biscuit! I don't believe our luck!" Caleb swore and threw his hat down on the floor, then stomped on it with his boot, the anger seething.

"She must have cut out while we were at the airport," Daniel guessed. "Can't say I'm surprised. She'd already admitted to illegal doings. Probably got scared, panicked and ran."

"I should've talked to her then. Hell, I should've locked her in a cell till I had the chance to question her!" He picked the hat off the floor and began wringing it in his hands.

"Don't beat yourself up, Caleb. You did the right thing. Locking her up wouldn't have done any good. She probably would have clammed up and not said a word." Daniel tried consoling him.

"I don't think we'll ever solve this case. Everybody we could point a finger at is either dead or left town!"

Caleb's frustration was evident and Daniel was at a loss. He didn't have any answers. Of course there still was one thing he could do.

"I have to get going, Caleb," Daniel suddenly announced and started walking out of the sheriff's office.

"Now, just a minute! Where you headin' off to?" Caleb shouted.