Inadvertently, Ray’s gaze fell on a trio of men standing to his right. Their attention was trained on a small aircraft parked on the tarmac that stood ready to board its three passengers.
One of the men stood out. He was an older man, an African American, whose finely creased jeans and expensive polo shirt, didn’t peg him as an average tourist. The watch that he wore cost as much as a car and Ray knew that the price of a ticket for the chartered plane that he was about to board would be prohibitive for most people.
There was no interaction between him and the other two men who were dressed in business suits and engaged in conversation. Apparently the man was traveling alone. Designer sunglasses were shading his eyes. Ray didn’t think that he knew the stranger, yet there was something familiar about him.
Shaking off the feeling of familiarity, Ray returned his attention to the tarmac. The first ones to get off of the airplane were Darnell, Thad and Nia. They were followed by Nedra and her children.
When they entered the terminal, Sin had gone to the men’s room, and hadn’t returned to join Dana and Ray as they stepped out of the small terminal to greet their family members. Simultaneously, the trio of men that had caught Ray’s attention stepped outside to walk to their plane which was ready for boarding.
James stayed in the terminal. This was a family reunion, and he wasn’t part of the family; but if things continued with Dana the way that he hoped, who knew? Maybe one day he would be.
He watched as the happy travelers hurried toward Ray and Dana. The smiles on the faces that he had seen only on Skype and in photographs were as bright as sunshine. They were almost home! He watched with special interest as the heroine of this epic affair, Gillian Reasoner, strutted confidently toward her relatives.
Suddenly, Ray came to a dead stop. The others didn’t seem to notice as they greeted Dana with hugs and kisses, but James was on alert. Was something wrong?
His eyes swept the tarmac as he stepped outside of the terminal. Dana’s uncle was at his aircraft dealing with the luggage. The only other people visible on the airstrip were the trio of men headed toward their waiting aircraft. One of the men had taken off his sunglasses and turned toward the noisy reunion, but he hadn’t stopped walking. He didn’t appear threatening.
Perhaps the man had recognized Darnell and Thad. Not wanting to alarm the family, James began to walk slowly toward them until he heard footsteps behind him. He turned in time to see Sin trotting toward his family.
Chaos reigned. Squeals filled the air as another round of reunions began. James halted his steps. He couldn’t help but smile at the sheer exuberance of the greetings being exchanged.
Ray remained frozen in place. The man that he had noticed earlier had taken off his sunglasses and turned his head in his direction. It was at that moment that he was no longer looking into the eyes of a stranger. He knew to whom those eyes belonged. He knew that face.
Years before, Ray had uncovered a secret whose existence he had tried to destroy. Now the truth stood before him. There was no denying it. Those eyes and that altered face belonged to Colton Cameron. He was alive!
Hardman couldn’t believe it. When he looked up and saw Darnell, her husband and Nia getting off of that airplane, he had taken his sun glasses off to make sure that what he was seeing was real. When Sin’s wife and youngest children appeared behind them he had to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other and force himself to keep moving. If not he would have collapsed. He was that dizzy with excitement.
As Ray watched Bev’s late husband slip his sunglasses back on his face and continue walking toward the aircraft waiting for departure, he recalled how fearful he had been about what he had discovered many years ago about Colton Cameron’s history. It indicated that he was both dangerous and deadly. From what he had uncovered there was the possibility that the man might still be alive. That had been Ray’s worse nightmare, and it had come true. Here he was in the flesh, mere steps away from his children and grandchildren.
Despite Ray’s shock and surprise it dawned on him that he felt no fear. The truth was that Colton Cameron might still be breathing, but he really was dead. Whatever he was doing in San Francisco, it didn’t matter. He could never come back to claim what he had abandoned because he no longer existed.
Colton had made choices in his life that had forced him to give up everything. Except for Ray, no one would recognize him. No one would know that he still drew breath—not his wife, not his children or his grandchildren. With the death of Nathan Webb and the shredding of all evidence of the man’s existence, he was as dead as he had chosen to be.
As Hardman climbed the steps on shaky legs to board the small aircraft, he looked back briefly at the children and grandchildren who he could never claim. Sin and Darnell were chatting happily, as they walked beside their spouses holding their hands.
Thad was carrying Nia on his shoulders. His youngest granddaughter was sporting a pair of stylish sunglasses, looking every inch like a miniature movie star. The diminutive Gillian was walking in front of her parents with her arms out stretched to some man who stood waiting for the others to approach him. Hardman noted that there was confidence in every step that the little girl took. Beside her strolled his youngest grandson, seemingly oblivious to everything around him as he tweeted on his cell phone.
It seemed that Lady Luck had struck again, and Hardman was grateful. He had been given a moment in time that he would remember until the day he died. With that, he stepped inside of the aircraft and the door shut behind him.
As Ray stood waiting for the family members to join him, James appeared at his side.
“Is everything alright?” James looked past him to the aircraft that had caught Ray’s attention. It was moving toward the runway.
“Everything is perfect,” Ray answered just as Gillian flung herself into his arms in greeting.
“Hi, Cousin Ray!” She said happily as she gave him a sloppy kiss.
“Boy! Am I glad we’re almost home,” Trevor confessed. Looking up from his tweeting he accepted a bear hug from Ray.
“That goes for all of us,” Nedra added as another round of greetings was exchanged between Ray and the rest of the family.
Gillian peeked around Ray to observe the man standing behind him. His impressive height and commanding presence demanded her attention.
“Who are you?” Her curiosity was mixed with suspicion.
Dana introduced James to her grateful family.
“We’re thrilled to finally meet you in person, Mr. Starr,” Darnell grinned up at him. “We’ll never forget what you’ve done for us.”
“What did he do?” Gillian wanted to know.
“This is the man who tracked down those men who took you and Nia,” Sin explained.
“Oh, cool!” Trevor was impressed.
So was Gillian. “Thanks a lot!”
“No problem, but I did it with your father’s help.” James gave credit where credit was due.
“All right, big brother!”Darnell flung her arms around Sin’s neck, while his delighted children gave him high fives. Nedra was the only one who wasn’t impressed.
“Oh, Lord! I knew that you were up to something. We’re going to talk later,” she threatened before turning back to James. “We’d better get home and get settled before my husband decides to sell his business and go into partnership with you.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Sin teased. He jumped back in time to miss Nedra’s attempt to punch him on his arm.
As the happy party headed toward the terminal, James thought about what Nedra had said. He realized that he wouldn’t have any objection if Sin did want to join him. Despite his initial skepticism, the two of them didn’t make a bad team.
“Don’t even think it,” Dana warned teasingly, reading his mind. “You don’t want to start World War III in the Reasoner household.”
James held his hands up in surrender. “It was just a thought.”
With the others walking ah
ead of them, Dana and James stole a quick kiss before entering the terminal. He glanced over his shoulder as he opened the door for her. The charter plane containing the stranger, who had drawn his attention earlier, was disappearing into the clouds. Dana nudged James to gain his attention as they strolled through the terminal.
“You know, I was just thinking I still want to know who put that note about Robert Heflin in your mailbox.”
“Unless somebody steps up to claim the reward, I guess we’ll never know.”
“Well, whoever it was, our family will always be grateful.”
James took her hand in his. “I know that I’m grateful.”
Dana smiled up at him. She understood exactly what he meant.
EPILOGUE
The engagement announcement of entertainment attorney Dana Mansfield, and James Starr, CEO of Webb Starr Security Services, appeared in a copy of the Los Angeles Times newspaper. Identified as superstar, Darnell Cameron’s aunt, Dana’s celebrity was shared with James, who was identified as the private investigator who had tracked down two of the men involved in the kidnapping of the superstar’s daughter.
As the man finished reading the brief article, he folded the newspaper neatly, withdrew a writing pen from his pocket and placed an x on the front page, indicating that he had read this particular issue. Getting up from the table where he had sat enjoying a cup of coffee and a breakfast roll, he nodded goodbye to the café owner, placed the year old newspaper back in the bin and with a slight smile on his face, he walked out of the door.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Crystal V. Rhodes is an author and an award-winning playwright. Her romantic suspense novels include Sin, Sweet Sacrifice, Sinful Intentions, Singing a Song…, Small Sensations, Stillwaters…, and Secrets.
Her Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy mystery series, co-written with author, L. Barnett Evans, includes the titles Grandmothers, Incorporated and Saving Sin City. A play based on the characters from Grandmothers, Incorporated and written by Evans and Rhodes, enjoyed a successful Off Broadway run.
Written Word Magazine named Rhodes as one of the Ten Up and Coming Authors in the Midwest. As a playwright she is the recipient of the BTA Award for Best Original Writing for her stage play, Stoops. Rhodes has a Masters degree in Sociology and has written for newspapers, magazines, radio and television.
Visit her web site at www.crystalrhodes.com
Follow her on Twitter and Facebook
Follow her blog The Sin Sentinel@
www.thesinsentinel.blogspot.com
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