Tom McInnes - Dog Island Part 3

"s.h.i.t. Can you call that deputy from Apalachicola?"

"What am I supposed to say? h.e.l.lo Officer. Somebody kicked in the door of my office in Mobile tonight, and now my secretary can't find her appointment book. So, I was wondering if you'd mind driving back out on the island there and checking on a female client who I told you earlier today was a man. And, by the way, I know I wouldn't tell you the client's name today and I'm still trying to keep it a secret because it might put her in danger, but..."

"You got a better idea?"

I didn't like it, but I dialed up North Florida information and then the sheriff's office in Apalachicola. Deputy Mickey Burns was off duty. "We have a deputy on patrol. Is this an emergency?"

"I don't know. Probably not. I just asked for Deputy Burns because he helped me earlier today. I'm a lawyer in Mobile. I've got a client on the island who may be in trouble. It'd be a big help if your patrolman could just ride by and check on her." The operator agreed to have a deputy do just that. I gave her the address and said goodbye.

Joey said, "You know if you don't say it's an emergency they'll take f.u.c.king forever to get there."

"Yeah, I know. But I'd have to do a lot of explaining to call in an emergency on St. George from a car phone in Alabama."

"We're in Florida now."

"Thanks for the update. But to make it an emergency you usually have to say someone's inside your house or you're in some kind of imminent danger."

"I know all that. I used to be a cop."

"Then what are you b.i.t.c.hing about?"

"I just don't like it."

The truth was that we were both worried and irritated and feeling impotent and, in general, acting pretty graceless under pressure. I asked, "How much longer?"

"If we don't run into any blue lights, we'll be there in less than two hours."

I glanced at the digital clock on the dash. 10:33. Yellow-tinged high beams swept gray pavement ahead of the Expedition as it lunged and swayed and rocked along Highway 98 northwest of Panama City. Every ten or twenty miles, bright eyes stared and fixed on the headlights as whitetails froze along the roadside. "It'd be hard to miss a deer at this speed if it was in the road."

Joey said, "f.u.c.k 'em."

More road. Joey turned on the radio and played with the search b.u.t.ton until he found a soft rock station. I put up with Mariah Carey for a while, then reached over and turned it off when an old Journey song came on. Joey didn't complain. I don't think he realized I had done it.

We had been outside of cellular range for some time. As we neared Panama City, the in-service light flashed on, and I tried Susan again. She answered on the third ring.

"Where have you been? Are you okay?"

Susan sounded surprised. "I'm fine. You knew I was going to pick up Carli from work."

"You've been gone a long time."

"She didn't get off till after ten. I had to wait. What's wrong? Has something else happened?"

"I don't want to scare you."

"Then that's not a good way to start."

"Sorry. Look, somebody broke into my office about three hours ago. All they took was Kelly's appointment book. It probably doesn't mean anything, but the book had your name in it. And, you know, after everything that happened today."

"We're fine, Tom. Carli's here. We're locked up in the house, there's a guard at the gate, and I put the .38 in my purse. Go back to sleep. We can figure all this out in the morning."

I said something like, "Uh."

"Is there more to it?"

"Kind of. Joey and I got worried when we couldn't get you. And, we're most of the way there. We'll probably be knocking on your door in about an hour."

"Tom, that's sweet." Now she sounded amused. "Like I told you, we're fine. But you're almost here now, so you may as well come on. I'll put some coffee on."

"It was Joey's idea."

After I ended the connection, Joey said, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah."

"What was that about something being my idea?"

"She was thanking me for coming."

I looked over at Joey's face in the glow from the dash. He looked like he was thinking about that. "Want to turn around and go home?"

"No. We've come this far. I'll feel better if we go have a look around."

The dash clock glowed 12:18 as we pulled onto Susan's driveway and a motion detector light popped on. Susan met us at the door.

We were sitting at the butcher block table drinking decaffeinated coffee when Carli descended the dark staircase and walked into the downstairs light. She wore a maroon Florida State football jersey for a nightgown, and a huge white towel wound around and covered her head like a turban. Wet black curls peeked out from beneath the towel. Susan said, "Feel better?"

Carli just smiled and sat down next to Joey. Susan introduced them.

I said, "Did you tell Carli why we're here?"

"I told her about your break-in. I also told her there's no reason for her to get worked up over it. Right? We don't have any reason to think the break-in was connected to Carli in any way, do we?" As she spoke the last two words, Susan gave me a meaningful look.

I'm not stupid, or, if I am, I can at least take a hint. I looked at Carli and said, "No reason at all. Joey and I are only here because we tried to call Susan to tell her about the burglary, and we couldn't get her. If we had known she was just out picking you up from work, we would have stayed in Mobile."

I wasn't the only nonstupid person at the table. Carli said, "But your office got broken into after I talked with you today about those guys on the beach. And Susan told me what happened with those painters at the beach house where it happened."

"Carli, it's easy to tie unrelated problems together when you're scared, but, like Susan says..."

Carli kept going. "You called here right after you figured out Susan's name was in that book they stole. And you drove all the way here at midnight when we didn't answer the phone." Silence hung in the air above the table. "Isn't that right, Mr. McInnes?"

"You can call me Tom." Carli sighed and lowered her eyes to stare at gnawed, glitter-pink fingernails. "Carli, you really don't need to worry. Not about my office break-in, anyhow. You have to understand my and Joey's history with Susan. I got her into a pretty nasty mess about six months ago, and she ended up getting hurt pretty badly."

Susan interrupted with surprising force. "That was not your fault." She held my eyes for a few beats and then turned to face Carli. "My husband was killed last summer. They found Tom's younger brother a couple of months later on the bottom of the Alabama River. It wasn't easy and it cost him, but Tom found out what happened. While he was doing it, I got attacked by someone involved in both deaths, but that wasn't because Tom did anything wrong or messed anything up." I opened my mouth to interrupt without really knowing what I wanted to say, but Susan kept talking. She was still looking at Carli. "I just want you to understand that Tom feels some misplaced sense of duty to me because of what happened. That's why he and Joey drove down here in the middle of the night, and, as much as I hate to admit it, even to myself, that's how I knew he would drop everything and help you if I asked him to."

Carli looked up at me for a moment. The towel on her hair had tilted to one side, and the insides of her eyelids, the part just inside her lashes, had turned red. I tried to smile rea.s.suringly.

Carli's brown irises seemed to have grown larger, and, when she spoke, her voice was soft and unsure. "I was up all night last night. I gotta go to bed." And she got up and climbed the stairs.

I looked at Susan. "You're right. She's not stupid."

Susan nodded slowly. "More there than meets the eye."

"Yeah, but well-adjusted she's not."

Susan shrugged. "Who is?"

It was past one in the morning, and suddenly I was bone tired. "It's been a long day. We better go and let you get to bed too."

Joey said, "I don't know where you're going, hoss. But I'm tired, and I'm staying right here if it's okay with Susan."

Susan said, "It's perfect. If you're as bushed as I am, you don't have any business driving anyhow. I was up most of the night last night with Carli. And I know Tom's wiped out, because I called and woke him before sunrise."

"And he woke me up to tell me about it," Joey said.

"Well then," Susan said, "I suggest we all hit the sack and think this through in the morning."

The house had exactly four bedrooms, which was exactly how many we needed. Upstairs, Susan showed us past Carli's closed door to the empty rooms. Joey said good night and walked down the hall to find the bathroom. Susan walked me to my room, clicked on the bedside lamp, and turned to look at me.

She sounded tired and a little hoa.r.s.e when she spoke. All she said was, "Thanks." I looked down into her upturned face. Missed sleep and tension showed around her eyes, but they were still beautiful eyes. Very quickly, Susan rocked forward onto her toes, kissed me lightly on the lips, and left the room, closing the door behind her. I stripped down to boxers, switched the light off, and stretched out on top of the covers. I smiled up at the ceiling. My mouth still tingled where her lips had brushed against mine.

I didn't think I had been asleep when Joey shook me awake. He was whispering. "Wake up, bubba. Wake up. We need to look around."

I rubbed my eyes and looked at my watch. I was too groggy to focus on the glowing dots and lines that were supposed to show me what time it was.

"Whatsa matter?"

"I thought I heard something a couple of times, then the bedroom clock went out."

I was too tired for this. "What're you talking about?"

He sounded exasperated. "The power's out. You understand that?" I sat up. He went on. "The phone's dead, too. Something's going on, and I'm gonna go look around a little. I need you to keep an eye on Susan and Carli."

I swung my feet onto the floor and felt for my pants. I said, "Go," and Joey moved silently through the door and down the hallway. I managed to pull on pants and loafers. My shirt and socks had disappeared on the dark carpet, and I left the room bare-chested.

Out in the hall, I found Carli's door and stuck my head inside. A shadowy shape, surprisingly small and childlike, breathed beneath the covers. I eased the door shut and moved to Susan's door, which swung open without a sound. On the wall opposite her bed, open double windows welcomed moonlight and a cool breeze into the room. I crept over and looked outside, wondering who might be out there in the dark with Joey. When I turned to look at Susan, she was looking back.

She still sounded tired but wide awake. "You scared me."

I walked over and stood by the bed. As I approached, Susan sat up, holding the sheet against her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She appeared to be naked beneath the covers. I held my index finger against my lips and then leaned down to whisper. "The power and phones are out. Joey's outside checking on it."

To her benefit, Susan hesitated only a few seconds before saying, "Turn around. I need to get dressed." I walked back over and looked out through the open window. Night air flowed into the room, sprinkling chill b.u.mps across my chest and shoulders and making me wish I had been able to find my shirt. I scanned the sh.o.r.e and the sand dunes and listened for strange voices or the sound of feet on the wooden deck or... something. Everything just looked and sounded and smelled like a spring night at the beach. Behind me, I could hear Susan walk barefoot across the carpet and open dresser drawers. She asked, "Have you checked on Carli?"

"Yeah. She's fine, but I wanted to get you first." I heard Susan slipping her legs into jeans.

"Afraid you'd scare her?"

"I though it'd be better if you woke her. But we need to hurry. If somebody's out there, she needs to be up and ready to move."

Susan told me I could turn back around. When I did, she was sitting on the bed in jeans and a dark T-shirt, pulling on running shoes. She made loops and knots in the laces and stood up. We moved down the hall. Carli's door was closed. Inside, the delicate shape I had seen breathing under the covers was gone.

chapter six.

Fine lines of moonlight angled through miniblinds and faintly streaked Carli's empty bed with light. Visibly shocked, Susan said, a little too loudly, "Where is she?"

I shushed her and made a quick search of the closet and the floor beneath the bed, thinking, hoping the girl had heard something and tried to hide. I looked at Susan and said, "I don't know. Come on." The hall was preternaturally darka"no windows, no electricity, just black. I ducked into my bedroom and Joey's and then checked the bathroom. Back in the hallway, I leaned in close to Susan. "She probably heard something and got up to look around. I think we would have heard some kind of scuffle if something worse than that had happened."

"Maybe she heard Joey."

"Where's that thirty-eight you told me about?"

"In my purse. I think it's on the kitchen table." I looked at her. She said, "You know, downstairs."

I wasn't that sleepy. I knew d.a.m.n well where the kitchen table was. I just wasn't happy about it. I thought about asking Susan to stay upstairs, but decided I didn't want to take a chance on losing someone else. I also realized that, with Carli missing and probably in trouble, Susan wasn't likely to take instructions from me and hide in the closet while I ran around doing manly things.

I said, "Stay with me, okay," and led the way to the circular aluminum staircase. Three steps down, I heard a soft hiss and froze. Susan heard it too. She stopped as still as death.

A sharp whisper from the kitchen, "Tom!" The gla.s.s wall along the front of the living area allowed a diffused fog of gray light into the room. Joey stepped out from a shadow and whispered, "Carli's here."

Thank G.o.d. I started down the stairs and was quickly stopped by another hiss. I looked down and back toward the kitchen where Joey stood in the shadows. He appeared to be holding up three fingers, waving them back and forth like a kid saying bye-bye. Then he pointed at the gla.s.s door leading out onto the deck. I looked but saw nothing. I looked back toward Joey and still saw nothing. He had disappeared. I glanced at Susan. She was looking past me toward the deck.

I whispered, "What?"

She held up an index finger, telling me to wait. I watched her pale eyes scan back and forth and stop. She tapped my shoulder and pointed. The gla.s.s wall overlooking the Gulf was made of ten-foot squares of tempered gla.s.s separated by thick cypress beams. Silhouetted against the outside of one of the vertical beams was a very human shape. I held up one finger. Susan nodded. She shook her head when I held up two. I pointed to where Joey had been and held up three fingers. She nodded and raised her palms in the air.

We agreed. Joey said three. We saw one. Another hiss.

Joey's hand and arm materialized out of kitchen shadows and motioned us back upstairs. We watched the silhouette outside run from one beam to the next. He held a long, thick gun at an angle across his midsection. Maybe a shotgun. When he flattened against the second beam, Susan and I tiptoed back up to the hallway.

She asked, "Has Joey got a gun?"

"Joey's always got a gun. But one pistol against three rifles or shotguns is a real bad idea. And Joey's got a scared fifteen-year-old girl to take care of."

"Can't we help him?"

I tried to slow my breathing and think.

She was scared and talking fast. "What do you think he wants us to do?"

"Joey waved us up here, so it's probably safe in the house for now. But if there are three of them with guns and they come inside, there won't be much we can do but hide. Look, everybody but you and me and Carli has a gun, and Carli's with Joey. We've got to trust Joey to look after her. He's going to expect me to do the same for you."

"I'm not fifteen, Tom."