Shadows of Love

by Crystal V. Rhodes

  Spotting the three of them, the nurse rushed from her office, followed by Nedra. Mrs. Ruiz took up the rear.

  “What happened?’ Nedra asked Sin as she watched the men put the unconscious Hardman on a gurney and he was rolled into an examining room.

  By some standards, the clinic that served the island wasn’t large. It consisted of ten beds, two examining rooms, and one operating room, all housed in a modest cement building. The physician, Dr. Fuente, was assisted in his duties by a Nurse Practitioner and two RNs. Despite its size, the facility was fairly well stocked with medical supplies.

  Abandoning the sprained ankle he was attending to in the first examining room, Dr. Fuente rushed to see about Hardman. Meanwhile, Sin paid the two men he had recruited from the beach to help him, and then he joined Nedra and Mrs. Ruiz in the waiting area, which consisted of a bench located opposite the admission desk. In Spanish, he recounted what had happened at the house.

  “And you say you helped him to the bathroom?” Nedra looked pleased.

  Giving a long suffering sigh, Sin switched to English. “Yes, Nedra, I did help him, and I don’t want to hear a word about it.”

  The nurse that Mrs. Ruiz and Nedra had been talking to earlier came out of the examining room. She addressed Mrs. Ruiz.

  “Mr. Hardman is conscious now, but Dr. Fuente says that he’s seriously dehydrated. He needs antibiotics and lots of rest. The doctor’s putting an IV in his arm now.”

  Mrs. Ruiz turned to Nedra. “Pedro said that he’ll bring the truck around early.”

  Sin raised a quizzical brow. Pedro?

  “Then I’d better go back to the house and get us ready to go,” Nedra replied.

  Sin was glad to hear that. “Great! Let’s go.” He rose and headed toward the exit.

  The nurse addressed Nedra this time. “As you requested, our nurse, Rita, will ride with you as far as Puerto Escondido.”

  Sin stopped short and turned back. “What? As requested by who?”

  Nedra stayed focused on the nurse. “The plane should be there to pick us up from that point.”

  The nurse withdrew a notebook from her pocket. “If there’s any problem before you reach Los Angeles I’ll write down the name of a doctor and hospital in Mexico City…”

  “L.A.? Mexico City?” Sin asked the woman. “What are you talking about?”

  The nurse looked from Nedra to Sin and then back at Nedra. “Is the airplane that’s meeting you not going to Los Angeles?”

  “Yes,” Nedra assured her, not daring to look at Sin.

  “I’ll tell Pedro to go by the house first and pick you up before coming to the clinic to get the senor,” Mrs. Ruiz told her. “Sorry I can’t be here to see you and Senor Hardman off.” She gave Nedra an affectionate hug. “You a good woman, Senora Reasoner.” She gave an impassive Sin a hug. “You too, Senor.”

  Nedra signaled to Sin to follow her out of the clinic. As soon as the doors closed behind them, he exploded.

  “Piecing together what was said in there I take it that Thomas Hardman is going to America.”

  Nedra remained calm. “Yes, but not until tomorrow. You see, I…”

  Abruptly, Sin walked away. For a moment, Nedra stood watching her husband storm down the beach. He was angrier than when he found out about their trip to the island. How was she going to handle this? She hurried to catch up with him, struggling to keep pace.

  “Listen, Sinclair…”

  “For what?” He kept walking. “What do you have to say to me now?”

  “Thomas is a human being. He’s sick and he needs help.”

  “Good for him.”

  “On the way to the clinic Mrs. Ruiz told me that her sister is ill and she has to leave the island to go see about her. She was worried about Thomas…”

  “I don’t want to hear it!” He increased his pace. Unable to keep up, Nedra dropped behind, watching his retreating back.

  By the time she arrived at the house, Sin had gathered the rest of their belongings and he was still furious. What she was planning to do was insane. He couldn’t and he wouldn’t accept it.

  Entering the bedroom, Nedra didn’t say a word to him. Instead, she went to Hardman’s desk and opened the center drawer. His passport was where Mrs. Ruiz said it would be. She pulled on the two drawers to the right of the middle one. They were locked. Leaving the room, she returned with a knife and proceeded to try and pick the lock on the upper drawer. It didn’t budge. She tried to open the one under it. That lock was just as stubborn.

  Exiting, she re-entered carrying a hammer this time.

  “May I use your screw driver?” she asked dryly.

  Having transferred his makeshift weapon to his luggage, Sin dug beneath his clothes and handed it to her. Using it as a wedge, she positioned it on the first drawer and hit it hard—once, twice, a third time. The drawer opened.

  “So now you’re a burglar.” Sin wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled.

  “I’m doing what I have to do.”

  Reaching inside the drawer, Nedra withdrew a large manila envelope and opened it. She pulled out two neatly bound wads of cash and a bank book.

  Sin grunted. “Blood money, I assume.”

  Ignoring his comment, she forced the second drawer open and discovered three additional envelopes. Two of them contained the same as the first. The third one held photographs. Nedra looked inside.

  Sin had had enough. “Face the fact, Nedra, the man is dangerous. He’s alive because someone else died, and there’s little doubt that he killed him. He had to disappear for a reason. If he’s wanted by the law, you’ll be aiding a criminal. If he’s wanted by the mafia, the mob, a drug cartel, or whatever, it’s even worse. Those people don’t play. If they want him dead, they don’t care if they kill his whole family to get to him. They’ll kill them all, and they butcher people in horrible ways. So, what you’re thinking about doing is as dangerous as he is, and it means not only endangering us, but the lives of our children.”

  Nedra tore her attention from the envelope. “I understand what you’re saying, but I feel that helping him is the right thing to do. This money I found should pay for his care and his recuperation, and I have faith that God will take care of everything else.”

  Sin shook his head in disbelief. The woman could be so naïve. “Nedra…Nedra.”

  “I’m telling you, Sin, there’s some good in everybody and I know that there’s good in him. As for the reason Colton Cameron disappeared, whatever the circumstances, I no longer have any doubt about why he felt he had to go away.”

  Withdrawing one of the photos from the third envelope, she handed it to him. It was a black and white photograph of a beautiful, young woman, in a sideward pose smiling happily into the camera. Her hands were resting lovingly on her extended belly. The picture was of a pregnant Bev Cameron.

  CHAPTER 25

  The next day when Hardman was placed on a pallet of blankets on the back of the rusted pickup truck, he was sedated, unaware of the arrangements that Nedra had made for his care. Mrs. Ruiz had approved all plans and it was because of her that the clinic staff cooperated with Hardman’s removal from the island. If she trusted these Americans, so did they.

  One of the nurses from the clinic climbed into the truck bed to care for Hardman until the flight that had been arranged left Mexico. Nedra’s generous donation to the clinic helped secure Dr. Fuentes’ cooperation in allowing this arrangement. She was pleased with how smoothly the operation was going, that was until Sin caught her upper arm as she was about to get into the truck bed to sit beside the nurse.

  “Not so fast.”

  Nedra looked at him with knitted brows. “What’s wrong?”

  “You’re not riding back there with him. You’re riding up front with me.”

  Nedra was taken aback. “Really?” She knew he was upset with her, but now he was issuing orders?

  “The nurse is back there,” Sin whispered harshly. “He doesn’t need you too.”

  N
edra started to give a sharp retort, but reminding herself that it was her actions that had pushed him this far, she bit her tongue—this time.

  Sin opened the truck door and she climbed in beside the driver. He sat on the other side of her, well aware of her displeasure, which couldn’t possibly be any stronger than his own. How quickly things had changed.

  Yesterday morning had been filled with mind blowing lovemaking. By the evening, he was sleeping on Hardman’s couch. It was the first time in their years of marriage that they had voluntarily slept apart. Their fight had been a loud one.

  “I’m not putting up with this, Nedra,” he told her before retreating to the living room for the night.

  “You can’t stop me from helping him!” she challenged.

  “No, but I can demand some respect.”

  “I’m not trying to disrespect you, Sinclair.”

  “Oh, yeah? You know how I feel about that man, but you’re ignoring that and doing exactly what you want.”

  “That’s your ego talking!”

  “No, this is my ego talking. I’m going to respect you and let you know what my plan is.”

  “And what is that?” Nedra snarled.

  “I’ll see you safely out of Mexico, and then I’m going home to Carmel, with or without you.”

  The battle line between them had been drawn.

  As the truck maneuvered the bumpy roads, the tension in its interior was as pervasive as the silence. Even Pedro, the driver—who had kept up a lively discourse with the clinic staff before they left—avoided conversation.

  Nedra was glad. She wasn’t in the mood for happy talk. All she was doing was her duty as a Christian. How Sin could fault her for that was beyond contempt. Yet tugging at her subconscious was his charge that she had disrespected him. She wasn’t ready to address that, so putting it aside, she turned her thoughts elsewhere.

  Thomas was to be cared for at a L.A. hospital and then she needed to put him some place so that he could recuperate until he regained his strength. After that she expected him to go back to the island. The only glitch in her plan was where he could stay after being released. There was no way that she could take him to their home in Carmel.

  Sin and she had a condo in New York City, but if she flew to the East Coast with Thomas to arrange for his care there, she could only imagine her husband’s reaction. He was angry enough. No, that wouldn’t work.

  The relatives on her mother’s side, owned an apartment building in San Francisco, and Darnell owned a condo in the building. But even though her cousin was out of the country, she wouldn’t dare take Darnell’s “dead” father to his daughter’s home. Maybe she could rent a beach house for him somewhere in Malibu. She could hire a housekeeper to help out. The ocean air would be good for him. But, that wouldn’t do. He would be among strangers with no one he knew to look in on him.

  Nedra was still wrestling with the dilemma when the truck pulled into the airport parking lot.

  “You have Hardman’s passport, right?” Sin uttered his first words since leaving the island. He spoke in English so Pedro wouldn’t understand what he was saying.

  Nedra patted her pants pocket. “Yes, I do.”

  “Then that means you do understand that it’s a fake.”

  Nedra hesitated. She hadn’t thought of that.

  “Mrs. Ruiz said that he used it before to travel outside the country.”

  Sin sneered. “Then for both our sakes let’s hope it passes inspection again.”

  She held her breath as they went through customs. It wasn’t until they boarded the private plane that Ray had hired, and it was in the air, that she exhaled.

  The aircraft was large enough to accommodate Hardman’s pallet. The three of them were the aircraft’s only passengers. Nedra took a seat on the right side of the plane. Sin sat opposite her, across the aisle. Hearing his wife’s relieved sigh, he gave her a pointed look.

  “Engaging in illegal activities isn’t as easy as you thought, is it?” He glanced back at the sleeping Hardman, before returning his attention to her. “So, now that you’ve smuggled him through customs how are you going to get him into a hospital in L.A.?” He was curious as to just how far his wife planned on going with this farce.

  His sarcastic remarks irked Nedra. If he couldn’t cooperate the least he could do was shut up.

  “The doctor contacted a hospital before you came to the clinic with Thomas. They’ve agreed to admit him.” So there Mr. Smart Mouth!

  “Which hospital are you taking him to?”

  She told him. Sin’s eyebrows shot up.

  “That’s the one Dana was at when she was sick. You’re taking him to where his former sister-in-law was treated?” He snorted. The woman had gall!

  “Nobody knows that but us. There’s no known connection between them. Logic told me to get him into a medical facility where my family has connections. That was the easiest thing to do and it worked.”

  “And who is supposed to pay for all this? I doubt if he has insurance.”

  “You saw the money I took from those drawers, and Lord knows what he has in his bank accounts.”

  Sin’s eyes narrowed. “But you didn’t find the money until after you made the arrangements for him. How was his care going to get paid for before then?”

  Nedra didn’t like being questioned like a murder suspect. She didn’t have to put up with it. Turning, she looked out the window at the passing clouds. This conversation was over!

  Sin got the message. “I see.” As he suspected, she would have paid the hospital bill herself if it had come to that.

  For reasons he couldn’t fathom, his wife couldn’t seem to get it though her stubborn head that her involvement with Hardman could lead to disaster. This situation had to be neutralized. All the way to Los Angeles the only thing he could think about was how that could be done.

  ****

  Ray was on his way to LAX to meet the Reasoner’s flight. He wanted to surprise them and welcome them back. From the look of the traffic flow, he should be there in time for their arrival. Not only was he curious about what had brought them to L.A., but he was anxious to hear what they had discovered about the late Thomas Hardman-Charles “Moody” Lake-Colton Cameron. He couldn’t wait for that conversation.

  His car phone rang. Caller I.D. flashed the name of one of his clients, an up and coming director whose last picture was rumored to be a contender for next year’s Oscar.

  “Hello?”

  The voice on the other end offered no greeting, just a string of profane curses as he related the legal situation he found himself in presently. It was serious and he was in immediate need of Ray’s assistance.

  Since the Reasoners weren’t expecting him to meet them, Ray decided they could wait. Taking the next exit, he headed back toward Brentwood, hoping to catch up with the couple later.

  ****

  Ham was in love with San Francisco. The booze was plentiful and the women were wild and ready. His trip to Moody Lake’s kill site had settled any concerns he’d had previously. After contacting Russ and assuring him that he was in the clear, the matter with Lamont Madison was finished. Now, he had real work to do.

  Earlier that day he had received a call from the cartel. He was needed for a job. After getting the assignment, he figured he could do the deed quickly and then get back to his vacation without missing a beat.

  As he was packing, Ham decided that he would keep his hotel room. The price was right and the location was great. He wouldn’t be gone long. No need to give it up. He’d fly to L.A., eliminate the target and then come back to the City by the Bay to continue another week of debauchery—maybe two.

  CHAPTER 26

  It was the jangle of his cell phone that roused Sin from a less than peaceful sleep. Glancing at the clock, the illuminated numbers stared back at him—1:10 in the morning. His heart thumped. Nedra! Was she all right?

  He snatched the phone off the night stand. “Nedra?”

  “No, it’s Ray?”r />
  Sin gave a sigh of relief.. “What are you doing calling me this late?” he asked behind a yawn. “Is something wrong?”

  ”You tell me? I was going to meet you at LAX today, but something came up. Why are you two in L.A. instead of Carmel?”

  “So, it was you who made the arrangements for that plane to meet us in Mexico .”

  “Yes, didn’t she tell you? She said that you two had to get home quick. I thought something had happened to one of the kids, but she said that wasn’t the case. Listen, I’m sorry I’m calling this late, but I just wrapped things up with a client and I was too anxious to wait until later to call you. So again, why are you in L.A.? And where is Nedra?”

  If only Sin knew. They had parted at the airport when she climbed into the ambulance with Hardman. Mutual farewells had been the only words spoken between them—no touch, no hug, no kiss. He paid the pilot of their chartered aircraft to fly him to the Monterey Peninsula, alone.

  “I’m not in L.A.,” he informed Ray. “I’m at home.”

  “In Carmel?”

  “That’s where we live, Ray.” Sin was too exhausted from his long journey to have this conversation.

  “Sooooo, Nedra’s not with you?”

  “No, she’s in L.A.”

  Surprised, Ray hesitated before asking, “Why is she here?”

  “You have her cell number. Call and ask her. I’m going back to sleep.” Sin disconnected.

  Ray didn’t know what to think. What in the hell was happening? He had never known Sin to be so dismissive when it came to his wife. Did they have a fight? What happened in Mexico? He didn’t care what time it was, he was calling Nedra.

  At a hotel near the hospital, Nedra was unable to sleep. Earlier, she had been preoccupied with getting Thomas settled and then trying to find somewhere he could stay to recuperate after his release. She hadn’t had time to think about her rift with Sinclair. Now that night had fallen, and she found herself in the king size bed alone, she missed him. She wanted to call to see if they could fix the latest disagreement between them, but decided that he needed more time to get over his anger before they could talk.