His car sat in the shadows of the forest where he could watch the parking lot. Alex had fallen asleep in the backseat. What was he going to do with the kid while he grabbed the necklace? His mother would almost certainly rush to him. The trunk might work, but he’d have to gag him, and he didn’t want to do that. Alex wasn’t so bad, and he was so much like his dad that it hurt to think of having to deal with him.
Was there a way around it? He dabbed lavender on his bee sting while he thought about it.
Before he could decide what to do, the satellite phone on his console rang. He snatched it up. “Everything okay on your end? I’ve told Shauna she can trade the necklace for Alex and his grandmother. She’s bringing it to me now.”
“No, she isn’t.” Penelope sounded gleeful. “I’ve got it in my hot little hands right now, and we’re going back to Lewis’s to collect the drawings.”
He grinned, and the pressure in his chest eased. “How’d you get it?”
“Her new honey had it in his pocket.”
“Zach’s there?”
“And the sheriff and Lewis, but I’ve got everything under control. We’re nearly to Lewis’s house. I’ll grab the plans, then set fire to the place with them in it. I’ll meet you at our spot, and we can get on our way.”
He glanced in the rearview mirror at the sleeping boy. “We can’t let any of them get away or we’ll be hounded for the rest of our lives.”
“I know that,” she snapped. “Just get going, okay? Let’s get this over with and catch that flight to Cambodia.”
“What time should you be done on your end?”
“Send your buyers to the building in the morning, and I’ll turn over the plans to them in your place. You can handle things on your end, then meet me. That will give us time to take care of any loose ends and get out of town. I don’t think we should meet until we’re ready to leave. You got the money, right?”
“Yes, half is in my account as promised. I’ll have to call them. That’s not the original plan.” His pulse ratcheted up at the thought of altering the plan and getting the Chinese suspicious, but he had no choice. “You did great, sweetheart. See you soon.”
He sat back and exhaled. At least he didn’t have to wait and confront Shauna. He could take Alex back to the cabin and make sure Marilyn was still there. They hadn’t seen his face so they couldn’t identify him. Alex’s comment about his grandmother knowing his identity was just bravado. He could leave them confined to the cabin while he escaped with Penelope. The only ones who had to vanish were the sheriff and Zach. Lewis didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to say anything because he’d be implicating himself as well.
He placed the call to the Chinese. “There’s been a slight change of plan. My partner is going to meet you in my place with the plans. I, ah . . . I have some things to handle on my end.”
“This is not acceptable. I will not transfer the money unless you are present. We will not walk into a trap.”
He spit out a silent curse. This guy meant business. There was no dissuading that implacable determination. “Fine. I’ll be there too.”
“See that you are.”
The call ended, and he dropped the phone back onto the seat. He smiled and started the car. By this time tomorrow, they’d be safely away from any chance of arrest. And rich. Very rich.
Shauna parked in the same spot as before and sat back to wait. No other vehicles were around, so the man must not be here yet. Right now she was a hot mess, trembling and shaking like she had a fever. This was all going wrong, and she didn’t know how to fix it.
She got out of her truck and lifted her face to the salt-laden breeze. Closing her eyes, she prayed for wisdom and courage. She’d never get through this alone. How could birds sing so carefree and happily in the trees when her world was crashing down? The waves rolled onto the rocks below, and she stared down the steep cliff into the water. She felt like she was at the mercy of one of those roiling waves and didn’t know which side was up and which was down.
There had to be something she was missing. Surely there was a clue that would tell her who was behind all this, but what? She ran through all the events over the past few weeks. A hint of lavender floated on the wind, and her head began to throb. Wait a minute, there were no lavender fields for miles. She retreated to her truck and grabbed peppermint oil to rub on her temples.
As the pain began to abate, she realized that every time the murderer had been around, she’d gotten a headache. She stopped and looked around. Maybe the guy used lavender oil as a remedy. It was well-known to help many conditions: dandruff, hay fever, eczema, bee stings.
Bee stings. Something about that issue set alarms flaring, but no matter how much she tried to grasp the memory, it escaped her.
She paced the gravel lot and watched. Her phone confirmed it had been nearly ninety minutes since the last call. Was he not going to show up? Maybe he’d already run off. She knuckled her wet eyes and turned back to her truck. Her phone rang, but the screen read Anonymous. She almost didn’t answer it, but then she realized he might be using his own phone this time instead of Marilyn’s.
She answered the call and put the phone to her ear. “Yes?”
The weird distorted voice was loud in her ear. “I warned you not to play games.”
“I’m not playing games!” When he didn’t respond, she pulled the phone away and stared at the screen. The call had ended. Did he hang up or did it drop? She tried to call it back, but without a valid number it didn’t do any good.
Her heart squeezed, and panic nearly dropped her to her knees. Where was her baby, her little boy? She longed to hold him and breathe in the little-boy smell of mud and hard candy. She had to get to Zach. Together they could figure this out and find Alex.
She tried his number again but only connected with voice mail. Calling the sheriff yielded the same result. What would be the fastest way to reach that building and intercept him there? The chopper would get her there in about thirty minutes, but she was an hour from the airfield. Or she could go back to her dad’s. She was about half an hour from the turnoff back into the forest, and then once at her dad’s, she would be about two miles from that building. If she jogged as quickly as she could, she could get there in about half an hour.
Wait a second. She was within a mile of Jermaine’s place. Just over the hill. He had an ATV she could borrow for the two-mile trek. She’d be back there in minutes. She jumped into the truck and stomped on the accelerator. The tires spit gravel as she aimed the truck toward Jermaine’s. In two minutes she was at his driveway.
A movement caught her eye, and she saw Jermaine mowing with a garden tractor. He wore headphones and belted out some country tune way off-key.
She skidded to a stop and jumped out, waving her arms. “Jermaine!” The scent of freshly mowed grass hung in the air.
He stopped the tractor and turned off the engine. His pale-green eyes were always startlingly vivid in his dark face. “Shauna, what’s up?”
“I need to borrow your ATV, right now. I’ve got a hitch on my truck. Can I take it? I don’t have time to explain, but Alex is in trouble.”
“You got it.” He pointed to the trailer already loaded with the ATV. “Back up your truck, and I’ll hitch you up.”
She breathed a relieved sigh, then jumped into her truck and backed up to the trailer. It could only have been a minute or two before he slapped the back of the truck, but it felt like hours.
“All clear to go. I can come with you to help if you need me.”
“I just need to get to Zach.” She hesitated. “You might check in at the sheriff’s office and let them know I’m heading out to my dad’s area to meet up with him and Zach. If they don’t hear from us soon, they’d better send a deputy.”
His face held concern. “I’ll be praying. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll come too.”
“Thanks, Jermaine, you’re the best.” She hit the accelerator and pulled away as fast as she dared with the trailer.
No other traffic was on the main road as she headed for the forest turnoff back to her dad’s. She could drive straight to his cabin, then drive the ATV from there to the building. He might have returned to his cabin and could help her, though she doubted it. Still, it was worth a try.
She sped up until the trailer began to sway behind her, then she made herself slow down. Her dad’s place was nearly in sight when her truck gave a cough and began to run rough. She pounded on the steering wheel. “Don’t quit on me now!” It sputtered and wheezed, then the engine stopped. She tried to start it again, but it turned over without firing. What was wrong with it?
Her focus landed on the gas gauge. Below empty. How could she be so stupid?