Claire Gulliver #06 - Carnage Goes Coastal (25 page)

The others looked surprised that Steve knew her, but seemed to expect him to take over the interview. He was apparently more interested in hearing her story than just asking her questions. He was the only one who was not surprised that she had broken the man’s arm and rendered him unconscious.

“Why didn’t you just shoot him?”

That question surprised her and she thought about it a minute before answering, “I don’t really know. I’m a good shot. I practice every week and I usually hit the target just where I want to, but, I guess I really didn’t want to kill him. I really don’t want to kill anyone. There have already been too many deaths.” She sat up straight, and clarified that statement. “But I would have. If he had made a move towards Jamie’s room, or if he had come up off the floor in a threatening way, I would have shot him dead.”

Steve nodded. Apparently he found her explanation plausible.

“Did you know that man, Kay?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never seen him before.”

“You called him an assassin when you spoke to the nine-one-one operator. You said they came in pairs. Why do you know that, Kay? And what did you mean by
too many deaths
?”

Suddenly she seemed to remember her status. She looked at Steve carefully and said soberly and carefully, “I’m in the Witness Protection Program. I need to contact the U.S. Marshal as soon as possible. He will tell me what I can tell you.” She gave him Chuck’s number and sat there scolding herself for waiting so long to contact him. She realized all her careful training was starting to seriously unravel. Obviously, she had not been trained as well as they all thought she had been.

“Miss Gulliver, right this way. Here, let me take your bag. Just follow Marianne. There is a cart waiting for you.” She handed Claire’s rolling bag to the woman waiting on the jetway. “And Miss Gulliver, thank you so much for flying with us today.”

Claire hurried up the ramp after Marianne and her bag, aware the rest of the first class section was following behind her, wondering who she was to deserve such treatment. Marianne stowed her bag on the back of the little electric cart and helped Claire into the seat before starting the cart and heading for the exit. “There is a car waiting for you already, Miss Gulliver. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Claire shook her head. She loved traveling on Vantage as they always went overboard in treating her as a special person just as the VIP card she carried signified she was. But sometimes she admitted that it embarrassed her. It wasn’t like anyone else in life went out of their way to treat her like a queen. And other passengers stared at her, not understanding why she got so much attention. But the Lickmans and subsequently their whole airline treated her this way, because they insisted if it hadn’t been for her actions all those years ago, there would be no Vantage Airlines and no David Lickman.

When she emerged from the terminal, there stood Charlie Watts, a smile on his face and a big Lincoln Towncar sitting at the curb behind him.

“Welcome to Washington, Miss Gulliver. Pardon me, it’s Mrs. Rallins now, isn’t it? Well, it’s about time you came back for a visit.”

She threw her arms about his neck and gave him a big hug. “Charlie, this is so nice of you. I told MiMi I didn’t need any fuss. I could have taken a cab.”

“No, you couldn’t have. First of all it would have cost you a fortune to go all the way to the house, and second, no one was going to let you wander around Washington by yourself after what happened the last time you were here. I am glad to come get you. It’s my job, after all.”

He looked around before asking with surprise, “Is this all your luggage?” When she nodded he picked it up and put it in the trunk and then opened the door and helped her into the backseat. “You just make yourself comfortable and we’ll be there before you know it.”

The Lickmans didn’t live in Washington D.C., rather in a fine old house on an inlet off Chesapeake Bay. Still it was a reasonable commute, especially when Charlie Watts was available with the car.

The Lickmans were important people in this area. They knew everyone in D.C., more importantly, everyone knew them. That’s why Claire was certain they could get her access to Scott Ellington. And, she knew they would be delighted for a chance to pay her back for her role in saving David Lickman’s life all those years ago when she was visiting them just before the Nine-Eleven disaster.

Last night after talking to Karen, Claire had spent the rest of the night preparing for her trip to Washington. She carefully assembled the information she wanted to use in her confrontation with Scott. She had thoughtfully packed a small suitcase. She made a list of the people she needed to contact the next day and the tasks that needed to be completed to ensure the shop was covered and the animals taken care of while she was gone.

When she finished everything, it didn’t seem advisable to go to bed for the few hours left of the night, so she had sat in a comfortable chair in the living room, thinking about what she wanted to accomplish. She knew once she was on the plane she could sleep away the hours it would take to get to Washington, and that’s what happened.

The Lickmans, when she called, insisted she stay with them. MiMi told her to bring at least one formal gown as they were scheduled for several events in the next week and would want Claire to accompany them. And she promised by the time Claire got there, they would have already figured out how to get Claire and Scott together in the same room for a personal meeting.

As the big car rolled over the bridge Claire tapped on the glass partition so Charlie opened it. Now Claire questioned Charlie about all the people she had met at her previous stay at the Lickmans. She asked eagerly about Mrs. Kramer, the housekeeper, Marilou, who controlled the kitchen and Percy Imamura, who oversaw the work in the gardens. By the time those subjects were exhausted they were pulling up to the portico at the front of the house. The door opened immediately and the two Lickmans were heading for the car. Claire didn’t wait for Charlie to open the door, she jumped out and hugged them, all of them laughing and talking at once.

“Come in. Come in. We’re so glad to see you, my dear. It’s been far too long.” MiMi, her arm still around Claire guided her toward the big door.

David managed to dart ahead to hold the door for them. “Let’s go into the library and talk a minute. We want to hear all about your life. Somehow emails and letters just aren’t enough.”

MiMi turned back to tell Charlie, “I’ve put Claire in the Rose Room, Charlie, just like the last time.” Then she turned her attention back to her guest. “We were so thrilled about your marriage, Claire, and surprised, too. Although I told David, when you were here, I thought there was a special connection between you and Jack. But it seemed there was a whole world separating the two of you.”

When they entered the library, MiMi’s dog, Tuffy, appeared. He obviously remembered Claire, dancing around her feet to show his delight. She bent down to pat him. “Good boy. How are you, Tuffy?”

She nodded at David’s offer of white wine and took a seat near MiMi’s favorite chair. “Can you believe Tuffy still remembers me? It’s been almost seven years, but he seems the same.”

“Well, not quite. He’s getting older as we all are. He’s not quite as mischievous as he was and he seems a little hard of hearing. But he’s still our baby, aren’t you, Tuffy?”

The dog settled by her chair and promptly rested his chin on one of her feet. David handed MiMi a glass of some amber liquid and Claire a glass of wine before sitting in his favorite chair. “So Claire, where is Jack? Why isn’t he with you? I would think this kind of mission is right up his alley.”

Claire explained about the Ranger survival mission and then proceeded to tell about how she met Karen four years ago.

“So, as you can see, this is the first chance we’ve had to resolve this mess and ensure Karen’s and the baby’s safety. I had to take immediate action. I couldn’t wait for Jack to come back and really, he wouldn’t want me to. He would expect me to do whatever was necessary to resolve this situation. We want Karen and little Jack back in our lives. But most important, we want them to be safe.”

“Oh, you poor dear. What an awful situation. I can’t believe that Scott Ellington would behave so unconscionably. He must be stopped.”

“Well, I can’t prove he did this. But, I think there is a pretty good chance either he or someone close to him, is responsible. And I’m betting he can stop it.”

David just shook his head sadly. “My money is on you, Claire. We certainly know first hand how astute you are. If you think he did it, then I’m willing to bet he did.

“Now, Claire dear, we think we have the perfect plan. We were invited to a big reception for the party tomorrow night in town. We had originally declined because frankly there are so many of these affairs we just get tired of them. But after you called this morning I did a little sleuthing and determined that Scott and his wife will be there.” She smiled at Claire. “So I reversed our R.S.V.P. and told them we would be attending and we were bringing a guest.”

Claire looked at her open-mouthed. “They didn’t mind?”

“Of course not. They’re always hoping we’ll come and bring our checkbook with us.” She giggled. “You’d be surprised how our money inspires people to welcome us at so many affairs. It certainly keeps us grounded.”

David nodded. “They would probably prefer we stay home and just send a check, but they know that’s not going to happen. However, in a few more years we may start to do that rather than spending all those hours trying to look interested while people pitch their causes.”

“Anyway,” MiMi continued, “we’ll get dressed up and attend, and David will scout out somewhere private where you and he can wait, and then I’ll capture your Mr. Ellington and bring him to you.”

“Just like that? Will he come?” It sounded so simple Claire couldn’t believe that was all there was to it.

“Oh, my dear. You’ll see. When MiMi tells him she has someone to talk to him, which will affect his future, he’ll be panting to follow her. It will definitely work.”

Either the wine or the plan was having a soothing effect on Claire. She was feeling very relaxed, so when MiMi suggested it was bedtime she was happy to head upstairs to the beautiful Rose room where she had stayed the last time.

“Get up when you wake up, dear, tomorrow can be a lazy day. And thank you so much for coming to us. We’re so glad to see you again. You make us feel young and useful, don’t you see?”

Kay sat in her office struggling to stay awake. Now that the danger was over and her adrenalin rush had passed, she felt like a wet dish rag. And she was all too aware that morning would be arriving as usual in a few hours. And when morning came Jamie would expect her to be just like she was every day.

She could hear the policemen who were still in the house. She had looked up when the paramedics wheeled the stretcher down the hall, admitting she might have hit that guy on the head a little harder than she thought, but she felt no remorse. She knew if she hadn’t woken up in time it would have been her going out on a stretcher and most likely wrapped in a body bag. And she couldn’t even think about what would have happened to Jamie? A shudder swept through her.

“Had a little excitement here, did you?” Chuck came in Kay’s office and sat down, casually reaching over to pat her shoulder. “You okay?”

Kay was embarrassed by the tears suddenly seeping from her eyes. Still she nodded her head even as she raised her hand to wipe the moisture away. “Did you see him? They just took him out.”

“I saw him. Anyone you recognize?”

She shook her head. “I heard something and then I could hear Harley growling in Jamie’s bedroom. I didn’t even question it. I just raced over and got my gun. I had no sooner positioned myself near the wall behind the door when he popped in the room and fired two shots into the pile of bed covers I had left behind. Then the warning signal from the alarm turned into a loud wail which was all I needed to spur me into action. I executed a karate chop on his extended arm. The chop was perfect. It would have done major damage even if I hadn’t been holding the pistol in my hand. I heard the bone in his arm snap, no wonder he screamed. But I didn’t even pause. You should have seen me. I just spun around and laid the barrel alongside his head. He dropped instantly as if he was dead. I kicked his gun away and called the cops.” Kay couldn’t keep the hint of pride out of her voice. She had trained for just this situation. She had been ready.

Chuck just sat there calmly, nodding his head.

“I was certain there would be more of them. I asked the police to search the area, but they didn’t find anything suspicious. I guess lots of the neighbors turned out. It must be a circus out there with the police cars, the ambulance and then my alarm making all that noise. They said they found his rental car parked around the block.” She looked at Chuck with big eyes.

“I knew someday they would come, but I still almost died from fright.”

He reached over and patted her shoulder again. “You did good kid.”

She shook her head. She felt like a kid, a naughty kid. And she needed to confess her sins and get it over with.

“I breached security, Chuck. You warned me and warned me and I thought I could handle anything, but last night I got so excited I called my dad. That’s how they found me!”

“You better tell me what happened. Don’t leave anything out.” Chuck’s face didn’t change, but she could see the disappointment in his eyes. So she told him everything; how she recognized Scott on television at Mulrooney’s, how she hurried back home and did research on her computer. She showed him the printed picture of Scott where she had drawn in a beard and mustache to make sure he was the same man she knew as Scott Hutchins.

She confessed she had gotten so excited about the possibility of solving the mystery of who was behind the attempts on her life she forgot all her training, all his warnings. She called her father because she knew he would know how to proceed. She knew once her dad knew who was responsible he would make it all better.