Curse of the Painted Lady (The Anlon Cully Chronicles Book 3)

by K Patrick Donoghue

  Turning her thoughts to Omereau, Pebbles wondered why Muran believed Anlon had the man’s Sinethal. She said it had been stolen from her. She said the same of Malinyah’s. Stolen by whom? She recalled Muran’s angry reaction to the use of the word “found” when discussing how Devlin ended up with Malinyah. It was a reaction that implied Devlin had stolen it.

  Pebbles heard a sound and opened her eyes. She twisted her head to see Kora in the galley, soaking two more towels with enjyia. When Kora disappeared back into the cockpit, Pebbles mumbled, “Serves you right, bitch.”

  Closing her eyes again, she refocused her thoughts on Devlin. Had he stolen Malinyah’s Sinethal, or had he just been on the receiving end of the stolen property? Foucault, she recalled, had been adamant Muran had taken Malinyah’s Sinethal from her Maerlif. He’d been equally passionate in his belief that Muran had given the Stone to Devlin so that Devlin might coax Malinyah to reveal where she’d stashed caches of Lifintyls before Munirvo. Although it now appeared to Pebbles as if he had been right about the former, Foucault had obviously been wrong about the latter.

  So, where did Devlin get the Stone? Pebbles thought of Jennifer’s suspicion that Anabel had been the one who passed the Sinethal to Devlin, a suspicion based on one of two premises. Either Anabel had been a cover identity for Muran, and under that cover, she’d given him the Sinethal directly, or Muran had used Anabel as a go-between and had encouraged her to give the Sinethal to Devlin. In both cases, Jennifer speculated the same motive as Foucault — to get Malinyah to reveal the map. But, so far, Muran had not asked about a map. Instead, she seemed far more interested in Omereau’s Sinethal. Which, as far as Pebbles knew, had nothing to do with the map.

  The sound of a door closing caused Pebbles to open her eyes. Looking in the direction of the cockpit, she saw Kora walking toward her. When she reached Pebbles’ spot on the floor, she crouched down and reached for the towel. Pebbles let go of the cloth and Kora pulled it back to reexamine the wound. “Good. The bleeding is almost stopped. I’ll bandage it up and we’ll get you off the floor.”

  Kora retrieved the plane’s first aid kit and taped a gauze bandage between Pebbles’ clavicle and breast. She then assisted Pebbles back into her seat and provided her with another glass of enjyia. As Pebbles sipped the pinkish fluid, she looked down at the tattered, blood-stained dress. God, she thought, please help me get out of this alive!

  Kora sat in the window seat opposite Pebbles, crossed her legs and placed her hands in her lap. Smiling, she said, “Let’s have a chat, shall we?”

  Pebbles massaged her wrists and eyed Kora with suspicion.

  “I presume you’d like to avoid any more bodily harm?” Kora asked.

  “I think I’ve had my fill,” Pebbles grumbled.

  “Oh, believe me, it can get much, much worse,” Kora said.

  “Like what happened to Anabel, right?” Might as well throw all the chips on the table at once, Pebbles thought.

  Kora nodded and smiled. “Yes, just like Anabel. Although, there was a bit more personal animosity involved in her situation.”

  “She stole it from Muran, didn’t she? Malinyah’s Sinethal.”

  “Right again. It was very disrespectful for Evelyn to steal from her queen.”

  “Hold up. You lost me. Who is Evelyn?”

  “Evelyn is Anabel, or to be more accurate, Anabel was Evelyn before she was Anabel,” Kora said, looking out the window at the darkening sky.

  “All right, that helps fill in a blank.”

  “I thought it might,” Kora said. “Now, you fill in a blank for me. Your friend, Dr. Cully. He has Devlin Wilson’s entire collection, no?”

  “As far as I know,” Pebbles said.

  “Does this collection include a statue of my queen?”

  “A statue?”

  “Yes. It’s smallish. About yea high,” Kora said, holding her hands a foot apart. “It depicts her wearing a Taellin. You know what a Taellin is, right?”

  The fish-man statue! “Yes, I know what it is. And, yes, Anlon has it.”

  “And the other statue as well? The one of the man with the Tuliskaera?”

  Pebbles nodded. “Anlon has both of the statues.”

  “Well, you can understand why my queen believes Dr. Cully also has Omereau’s Sinethal?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t,” Pebbles said. “Are you saying Anabel, um, sorry, Evelyn, took all of those things from Muran?”

  “Those things and more. Like a thief in the night, she stole them and disappeared. She did it to hurt my queen,” Kora said.

  Pebbles thought of sweet, little Anabel. A thief in the night? Preposterous. Yet, there was nothing to be gained by arguing the point. Instead, Pebbles zeroed in on Kora’s repeated use of “my queen.” She asked, “Okay, another question. You keep referring to Muran as your queen. I thought she was an Andaer? The Munuorians didn’t have a queen.”

  “You are correct, they didn’t. But she has lived many lives since. And she has been a queen many times over,” Kora said. “Now, it is only fair you answer my previous question. Do you see why my queen believes Cully has Omereau? You’ve confirmed he has Devlin’s artifacts. You confirmed those artifacts include pieces taken by Evelyn.”

  “I can see why she might think so, but I’m telling you, Anlon doesn’t have any other black stones. We’ve got Aromae—”

  “Omereau’s Sinethal is not like Malinyah’s. It is made of gold, not stone. It is round, not square. It is marked with his symbol, the sun with six rays, but without the Lifintyl icons on other Sinethals,” Kora said. “Have you seen a piece like that in Devlin’s collection?”

  “Absolutely not,” Pebbles said. “Why is Omereau’s Sinethal different? Was he a special Andaer?”

  “Malinyah has not told you of Omereau?” Kora asked.

  “No.”

  “Even though you have his key?”

  “I swear, I just thought it was one of her necklaces with a medallion. She showed me a vision where she gave it to Mereau after Munirvo. I thought it was a gift. You know, something to remember her by.”

  “I see,” Kora said, picking a speck of lint from her pants. “And Jacques Foucault gave it to you? Freely?”

  “Yes. You know him?”

  “I’ve met him once or twice. When did he give you the lyktyl?”

  “Three, four weeks ago. It was spur of the moment. He knows I can communicate with Malinyah. He said it belonged with her. We were saying good-bye to each other and he took it off and handed it to me. He didn’t call it the lyktyl. He didn’t say anything about Omereau.”

  “He was wearing it?” Kora asked, her voice rising with surprise.

  Pebbles nodded.

  Anchoring her elbow on the armrest, Kora propped her chin atop her hand and stared blankly out the window. For several minutes, she remained in that position, her crossed leg bobbing back and forth. Then, without warning, she stood and started to walk back to the cockpit.

  Pebbles held up a hand. “Hey, wait a minute.”

  Kora stopped and turned to face Pebbles.

  “What’s going to happen to me?” Pebbles asked. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see soon enough. If you want my advice, I’d try to get some sleep while you can. It’s apt to be a long night,” Kora said.

  As soon as Kora disappeared into the cockpit, Pebbles replayed their conversation in her mind. So, Anabel stole Malinyah’s Sinethal…

  That certainly would explain why Anabel had been evasive when Jennifer questioned her about the Stone. As Pebbles mulled it further, she realized it explained another mystery they’d wondered about since Devlin’s death. Why had Devlin been so afraid that he stored the Sinethal with George Grant shortly before he was murdered? Anabel had told Anlon that Devlin feared for his life. At the time, it had seemed a strange reaction to Pebbles. Yes, Devlin had discovered that Dobson had borrowed the Waterland Map and had swiped his Munuorian statues, and Pebbles could understand why that incentivized Devlin
to hide the Sinethal and the map. But, as far as they knew, no one had threatened Devlin’s life. Why, then, had he feared for his life? Was it possible Devlin had learned Muran was looking for the Sinethal? Had she discovered he had it and threatened to kill him unless he returned it? Or…maybe she’d threatened to kill Anabel and Devlin? But, if that had been the case, why had Devlin left the Waterland Map with Anabel? Why hadn’t Devlin given the Stone and the map to Grant?

  As Pebbles further played out the scenario in her mind, the less likely it seemed. The gap between Devlin’s death and Anabel’s murder was too long. If Muran had known Anabel had given Devlin the Sinethal back in May, it seemed impossible to believe she would have waited five months to go after Anabel and try to reclaim Malinyah. No, it seemed more likely Muran had discovered the connection recently. But how?

  Another puzzling question invaded her thoughts. If Anabel had stolen both Sinethals, as Muran seemed to believe, why hadn’t she given Omereau’s to Devlin as well? Pebbles shook her head. It made no sense. Nor did it make sense why Malinyah had never mentioned the name Omereau, or why she had been silent about the medallion’s true purpose. To Pebbles, the medallion had simply been a memento that made her feel close to Malinyah. If she had known it was more than just a piece of Malinyah’s jewelry, she would have treated it differently…especially now knowing how precious it appeared to be to Muran. And it was precious to her. That much was obvious from her emotional outburst.

  Yes, Muran wanted something stored on Omereau’s Sinethal. Badly. What could it be? Pebbles cursed. It was yet another question that demanded an answer. Trying to clear her mind, she looked down at her bandaged shoulder. The gauze was spotted with a small amount of dried blood, and she noticed the stinging had stopped. She reached up and gingerly probed the bandaged area with her fingers. It was sore to the touch, but she could move her arm without too much discomfort. Enjyia was more than just a life-extending potion.

  Leaning her head back against the seat, Pebbles closed her eyes and contemplated the meaning of Kora’s parting words: “…it’s apt to be a long night.”

  As Kora reentered the cockpit, she said, “I think we need to face facts, my Queen.”

  Aja looked up from the navigation screen. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t think Cully has Omereau,” Kora said. “I told you as much after I met him in New York. He didn’t bat an eyelash when he saw the tapestry, nor did he flinch when I said the name Aramu Muru.”

  “Bah! That means nothing. He was just being clever, that’s all. He has it. I’m sure of it,” Aja said.

  “I disagree, and I think we should consider the alternatives.”

  “Alternatives?”

  “Based on what she just told me, I can think of three,” Kora said.

  “Well, what are they?” Aja asked.

  Holding up a hand, Kora began to tick them off. “One — Evelyn gave it to Devlin and Devlin hid it somewhere without telling Cully. Two — Evelyn told us the truth. She never gave it to Devlin. Only, she didn’t put it in the bank either. She hid it somewhere else. For example, it might still be in her house and we overlooked it. Or, another bank. Or a storage locker somewhere. There were a lot of keys in that house. Three — she gave it, or sold it, to someone else. She lied about putting it in the safe-deposit box to protect the other person. Jacques Foucault, perhaps.”

  “The first two are possible, but, Kora, why would Foucault give the girl the lyktyl if he had Omereau’s Sinethal?”

  “Why would he give it to her at all? Did you know he was wearing it himself? Our hostage says he took it off and gave it to her. Just like that.” Kora snapped her fingers. “Like it was a toy, a trinket.”

  “What? That makes no sense. Mereau would never have sanctioned Foucault to wear it. He considered it holy.”

  “I know. You’ve told me a million times,” Kora said, her eyes glued to the medallion on Aja’s chest.

  “Then I don’t understand your point.”

  Kora reached over and lifted the medallion to inspect it. “How closely did you look at this?”

  Chapter 17 – Musical Chairs

  La Quinta, California

  September 29

  A cool breeze drifted into the courtyard. With eyes closed, Anlon listened to it rustle the flowers of the bougainvillea bushes lining the surrounding walls. The tranquil sound helped soothe his weary mind after a second sleepless night. There still had been no follow-up call from Muran, no news of Pebbles or any sightings of Goodwin. Throughout the long night, Anlon had stared at the ceiling of his suite, wondering where Pebbles might be and praying for her safe return.

  Had Goodwin killed her? Had she died from her injuries? If she was still alive, how bad was her condition? Where was Muran? Had she linked up with Goodwin? Was Pebbles with the both of them now? If Pebbles was with her, had Muran discovered Pebbles’ medallion was a forgery yet? Was she torturing Pebbles, like she had Anabel? The questions cycled endlessly in his mind, eating away at his energy and confidence. Yet, whenever his confidence flagged, he focused on Pebbles’ toughness. Anlon knew if she was still alive, she would not give up hope, and so neither would he.

  Another breeze pushed by. Anlon, sitting by the suite’s pool, watched the water’s surface ripple and thought of the last time he’d been with Pebbles. They had taken his boat out on the lake for a final excursion before dry-docking the cruiser for the winter. For most of the afternoon, they had lazed about in the early autumn sun, talking and laughing about anything and everything. Bundled in coats and long pants, a flannel blanket wrapped around them, they had watched the sun set and the stars rise. It had only been a week since their outing, but given how much had happened since, it felt as if it was a year in the past.

  They had returned to the dock, walking hand in hand down its dark planks until they reached his patio firepit. With the fire aglow, they’d shared dinner delivered by Sydney’s, accompanied by a little too much wine. The conversation had been light and flirty and had led to a sensuous coupling to cap the night. Afterward, he recalled lying with his body curled next to hers, tracing his fingers over her shoulders and back until she fell asleep. They had shared similar days in the past, but this one stood out to Anlon as one he would remember for a long time to come.

  The sound of a doorbell stirred Anlon back to reality. Rising, he walked barefoot past the pool until he reached the courtyard door. When he opened it, a wide smile spread across his face. Jennifer had finally arrived.

  Though her face sported abrasions and bruises, and a large bandage was plastered on her forehead, she still managed a smile in return. Anlon gently wrapped his arms around her, knowing her injuries included some rather sore ribs. “God, am I happy to see you!”

  She squeezed him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder. “Same.”

  “How are you feeling?” Anlon asked as they separated.

  “Rough, but I’ll be okay,” she said. “You?”

  “Exhausted. Worried,” he said, escorting her to the patio table by the pool.

  “Any news?” she asked. She gingerly lowered herself onto one of the chairs.

  Anlon sat next to her and shook his head. Jennifer laid her hand on his arm and said, “I’m so sorry this happened, Anlon. I feel like it’s my fault.”

  “No, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I should have seen this coming, especially after what happened to Anabel.”

  “We should have seen this coming, I’m equally responsible,” Jennifer said.

  “Well, we are where we are. There’s only one thing that matters now. Get her back. Alive.”

  “Agreed. So, what’s the plan? What can I do to help?”

  “Until we hear something from Muran or the police, we’re in a holding pattern,” Anlon said. “In the meantime, best thing we can—”

  The suite doorbell chimed again. Jennifer rolled her eyes and said, “It’s probably my new shadow, FBI Special Agent Elizabeth Li.”

  “Making new friends, are we?”
Anlon smiled. “Actually, I think it’s Antonio. Be back in a sec.”

  Anlon walked to the door. To his surprise, both guesses were wrong. It was Antonio’s assistant. “Katie! Come in.”

  “Hi, just wanted to check to make sure everything was okay with the room,” she said.

  Anlon told her the accommodations were perfect and expressed his gratitude for Katie’s assistance. She had stayed with Antonio’s plane at the Twenty-Nine Palms Airport after Anlon, Antonio and Detective Emerson had disembarked for the road trip to Ludlow. When the prospect of finding Pebbles there faded, Antonio had called Katie to let her know they were on their way back to the airport and he asked her to arrange overnight accommodations.

  By the time they had retraced their way to Twenty-Nine Palms to pick Katie up, she’d already booked rooms for all of them at a hotel in the town of La Quinta, about an hour’s drive from the airport. Anlon had been puzzled by the choice of a hotel so far from the airport, but then overheard her telling Emerson it was the facility closest to Antonio’s lab in Palm Desert.

  Katie had spent most of the drive to the hotel on the phone, working out additional arrangements with the hotel manager. One such arrangement had been purchasing a set of fresh clothes for Anlon, as he was still clad in the clothes he’d worn to dinner with Cesar twenty-four hours prior. In addition, Katie made dinner reservations for the group, coordinated the set-up of two conference rooms for the police to use as a makeshift command post, booked rooms for Jennifer, Foucault, Henri and Agent Li, and of course, continued doing her day job for Antonio.

  “Come on in, I’d like you to meet a friend. Jen, this is Antonio’s right hand, Katie Kierney.”

  The pert, blond-haired assistant marched into the courtyard and greeted Jennifer. Anlon watched her take in the sight of Jennifer’s facial injuries and adopt an instant motherly demeanor. “What are you doing standing? Please sit. Can I get you anything? Do you need some ibuprofen? Water? Something stronger?”