Mystery Man

by Diana Palmer

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Canton said.

  “Aw, please, Dad,” Karie moaned. “It’s safe here, you said so. There are people looking out for us. Mom won’t try again.”

  Karie took off her Atlanta Braves baseball cap and wiped her sweaty blond hair. “Please?”

  They looked desperate. It was hard for kids to be cooped up all day.

  “All right. Let me make a phone call first,” Canton said. “And make sure Kurt’s parents don’t mind.”

  “It’s okay, if they’ll be watched,” Dan agreed.

  They exchanged conspiratorial glances. “Thanks, Dad!” Karie said enthusiastically.

  Canton made his phone call. The kids took their bag and went down the steps to the ground floor, and out toward the white beach.

  “Stay out of the ocean!” Canton called after them.

  “Sure, Dad!” Karie agreed.

  “What have they got in that bag?” Janine asked curiously.

  “They’re probably going to collect seashells in it,” Canton murmured, sliding an arm around her. He smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure they don’t bring anything alive back with them.”

  Janine shuddered delicately. “You’re sure your man will watch them?”

  He nodded. “He’s one of the best in the business. When he isn’t working for me, he works for the federal government.”

  “Oh? As what?”

  He chuckled. “I don’t know. He says it’s classified. He travels a lot.” He glanced down at her and smiled. “But he’s good. Very good. The kids will be safe.”

  “Okay.”

  Kurt glanced over his shoulder as he and Karie rushed down to the sand near the water. “Whew,” he said, wiping his brow. “I never thought they’d let us out of the room! And we’ve gone to all this trouble to get things together, too!”

  “I know,” Karie said, equally relieved. “And they didn’t even ask about the bag, thank goodness.”

  “We’d better get busy,” he said. “We don’t have much time.”

  “Stupid kidnappers and pothunters,” she muttered as she unzipped the bag. “They sure know how to make life hard on enterprising preteens, don’t they?”

  Chapter Eleven

  The kids played on the beach. Dan and Joan Curtis rummaged through their crate of artifacts, double-checking everything in preparation for the arrival of the government antiquities representative.

  Meanwhile, Canton and Janine sat on the balcony, holding hands. They were too nervous to let Kurt and Karie completely out of sight.

  “What are they doing?” Janine asked, frowning as she watched the bag being slowly unpacked.

  “Maybe they’ve got some cups and glasses to use in sand castle sculpting,” he suggested. “Karie always empties the china cupboard when she’s planning one.”

  “Could be,” she murmured. But that didn’t look like cups and glasses. It looked like pieces of hose, a cow skull, some pieces of rubber, a bag of feathers, several small balloons and a little fur. “Look at all that stuff,” she exclaimed. “Could they be making a sand castle with it?”

  He let go of her hand and moved closer to the balcony. His eyebrows lifted. “Strange sort of a sand castle…”

  The sudden shrill of the telephone caught their attention. Inside the room, Dan Curtis picked up the receiver and began conversing with someone.

  “Yes, I could,” Dan said slowly, and Janine knew from the past that he was deliberating when he spoke like that. “But why?”

  There was a pause.

  “I see. But it’s a lot of work to pack it all up again,” Dan explained. “Why can’t you come to the hotel?”

  Canton, interested now, got up and went into the room. “Who is it?” he mouthed at Dan.

  Dan put his hand over the receiver. “The man from the ministry of antiquities.”

  “What’s his name?” he asked shortly.

  “What’s your name?” Dan asked the man.

  “Carlos Ramirez” came the reply.

  Dan relayed it to Canton.

  Canton nodded. His eyes narrowed. “Now ask him how Lupe likes her eggs cooked.”

  It was an odd request, but Dan passed it on. Seconds passed and suddenly the connection was cut.

  “Ha!” Canton burst out with a satisfied smile.

  “You sound just like him,” Janine sighed dreamily.

  He scowled. “Just like whom?”

  She flushed. “Never mind.”

  Canton threw up his hands. “I am not an alien,” he said. “Neither am I an actor!”

  “Sorry,” she said, wincing.

  He glared at her. “Later, we have to talk.” He turned back to Dan. “What did he want you to do?”

  “He wanted me to crate up all the artifacts and drive them into town, to a government warehouse, he said.”

  “More likely into a trap,” Canton replied angrily. “They must realize that we have this place staked out. They tried to trick you. It didn’t work. They won’t stop there.”

  “What will they do now?” Joan asked worriedly.

  “I don’t know” came the quiet reply. “But the first step would be to put a call through to the real minister of antiquities,” he added. “And I can do that for you, right now.”

  He picked up the telephone and made a long-distance call to Mexico City and asked for the official by name when he was connected with the governmental offices.

  There was a greeting and a rapid-fire exchange of greetings and questions. Janine heard the name Lupe mentioned.

  “Lupe is the minister’s wife,” Joan translated. She chuckled as she listened to the conversation. “And she doesn’t eat eggs—she’s allergic to them.”

  Another question and a pause and still another, then a quick thank you and Canton hung up.

  “He’s sending some men right down,” Canton said. “And they’ll not only have proper identification, they’ll have guns. If the pothunter has tapped into this telephone line, he got an earful.”

  Janine listened interestedly, and then suddenly realized that they’d left Karie and Kurt on the beach and weren’t watching them.

  She turned and ran out onto the balcony, scanned the beach, and her heart stopped. The kids were nowhere in sight. There was a long, odd mound of sand where they’d been, but no kids.

  “They’re gone!” she cried.

  Canton and Dan were halfway out the door before she finished, leaving her to follow and Joan to stay behind and watch the crate.

  They took the stairs to the ground floor instead of the elevator and ran toward the beach, automatically splitting up as they reached the back of the hotel. Dan went one way, Canton and Janine the other.

  A loud cry alerted them. It came from the shadowy confines of the unoccupied wooden scuba rental station.

  Two men had Karie and Kurt and two others were rushing toward them. One had a gun.

  “Oh, my God, it’s him!” Janine blurted out when she got a good look at the man with the gun. “It’s the kidnapper and his cohorts!”

  “That’s Perez, the pothunter, who has Kurt,” Dan Curtis said furiously. “For God’s sake, they’ve joined forces,” he groaned. His voice carried as he glared toward them. “Let go of those kids, you slimy cowards!” he raged at the men.

  The two men holding Karie and Kurt moved out into the sunlight, the man with the exposed pistol by their side. Janine sank a little lower into the sand, thinking. She didn’t dare rush the man with the gun, but if there was any opening at all she was going to take it.

  “Don’t,” Canton said under his breath as he saw her tense and sensed what she was thinking. “For God’s sake, you have to trust me, this once. I have an ace in the hole. Give me a chance to play it!”

  Dan, standing beside his daughter, didn’t understand. Neither did Janine. But Canton’s deep voice held such conviction, such certainty, that they hesitated. He wouldn’t risk Karie. He must have a trade in mind, a bargain of some sort. Wheeling and dealing was hi
s stock in trade. If there was an angle, he’d know it.

  Janine waited with bated breath, hardly daring to look at the frightened faces of the children as they were held securely by the two men.

  “We want the Mayan treasure, Señtnor Curtis,” the man, Perez, demanded. “We want it now. If you give it to us, we will let the children go. Otherwise, we will take them with us until you comply with our…request.”

  “Joined forces, have you?” Canton drawled. “How convenient.”

  “There is an advantage in superior numbers,” Perez said smoothly. “I required assistance and these men only want to be paid off. They have no further wish to work for Señtnor Rourke’s former wife, who has not even paid them for their services to date.”

  “Typical of Marie,” Canton replied. “They should have known better. And so should you. You crossed the line this time. And you’ll pay with a very long prison sentence.”

  “We have the gun, señtnor,” Perez said with a mocking smile.

  “Do you really?” Canton nodded toward the familiar tall, dark man with the gun, who turned with an action so smooth and quick that Janine barely saw him move as he freed Karie and Kurt from the grasps of their captors, leaving both men groaning and shivering on the sand. Perez backed away with his hands in a supplicating position. The gun was trained on him now, and the attacker hardly looked mussed.

  Janine’s gasp was audible as Dan held out his arms to Kurt and Canton did the same to a frightened, weeping Karie.

  “For scaring the children so, I really should finish them off,” the tall, dark man said without expression as he looked from Perez to the still writhing men on the ground. The pistol hadn’t wavered once. Perez swallowed audibly.

  “It is a misunderstanding,” he faltered.

  “Yours,” the dark man agreed. His eyes cut back to Canton. “Well?”

  “The Mexican authorities can deal with them,” Canton said coldly. “And the more harshly, the better. Kidnapping is a cowardly act. If he’d hurt my daughter, I’d have killed him.”

  “I was close by,” the dark man replied. “And so was my colleague.” He waved to a man down the beach, who turned and went away. “There was never a minute when the children were in any real danger, I assure you.” His black eyes slid over Perez’s pale face. “I could have dropped him at any time.”

  “I think he realizes that. Thanks for your help, Rodrigo.”

  He shrugged. “De nada. I owed you a favor.” He nodded, motioning for Perez and the other two men, who were on their feet if shaken, to go ahead of him.

  “But he pushed me off the boat,” Janine said insistently. “Didn’t you hear what I told you about him?”

  “He infiltrated the kidnapping gang,” Canton told her. “I didn’t dare tell you who he was. One slip could have cost him his life. Not that he’s ever been shy about risking it for a good cause,” he added. He looked down at Karie. “Are you okay, pumpkin?”

  “Yes, Dad. Wasn’t it exciting?” she burst out.

  “It sure was! He had a gun, too! Where’s Mom?” Kurt added, looking around. “I’ve got to go tell her!”

  “Make her sit down first,” Dan called.

  Karie took off with him, and Janine wondered all over again at the resilience of the very young. She just shook her head.

  “No wonder he was always hanging around,” she said. “I should have my detective’s license pulled for being so blind.”

  “He’s good at his job.”

  “Tell me about it.” She glanced at him. “Is he CIA?”

  He smiled. “I don’t know. I told you, I’ve never been clear about the agency he works for. When I knew him, he, like Laremos and the others, was a mercenary. He was with them in Africa.”

  She pursed her lips. “A book is forming in my mind…” she began.

  “Have Señtnor Perez eaten by giant alligators,” Dan suggested to her. “On second thought, quicksand is a nice touch.”

  “Prison sounds much better, don’t you think?” she countered. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that little detail.” She looked up at Canton. “Will she try again?” she asked worriedly.

  “Who, Marie?” He shrugged. “I doubt it. She’s basically lazy, and when she realizes that she may be implicated in the gutter press in an international kidnapping story, that will probably be enough to stifle any future ambitions. She’ll have to wait for her alimony.”

  “How can she get alimony when she’s remarried?” Janine wanted to know.

  “She calls it child support.”

  “You have the child,” she said pointedly.

  He chuckled. “True.”

  “You need a good attorney.”

  “I suppose so.” He caught her hand warmly in his. “And a minister.”

  She smiled gently. “Oh, yes. And a minister.”

  Dan slipped away while they were staring at each other, thinking privately that they were going to be a good match. Canton and Janine had a lot in common, not the least of which was their penchant for surprises. He was overwhelmed that the pothunter was finally going to be out of circulation.

  He went back into the hotel room to find a pale Joan being regaled with gory summations of the incident by the two children.

  “Don’t believe anything they told you,” Dan told her comfortingly. “It’s all lies.”

  “Aw, Dad,” Kurt groaned. “We were building her up.”

  “Let her down,” he suggested. “It’s all over now.”

  “Or it will be,” Joan said, sighing, “when the government official gets here to take the artifacts back to Mexico City.”

  “The guy that Janine attacked was a spy, and he was working for Karie’s dad,” Kurt told his mother. “You should have seen him deck those guys. Gosh, it was like watching that spy movie we just saw—”

  “Except that it was real,” Karie added. She glanced at her watch. “The game’s already started,” she groaned. “I won’t even get to see if my team makes it to the World Series!”

  “The airport will be back on schedule by tomorrow, I’m sure, and we can all go home,” Dan Curtis said with relief. “I can’t say I’ll be sorry, this time.”

  “Nor I,” Joan agreed. She hugged Kurt. “One way or another, it’s been a hard few weeks. Where are the other two?” she asked suddenly, looking around.

  “Down on the beach staring at each other.”

  “They’ll get over that in about thirty years,” Dan mused.

  Joan grinned at him. “Think so? Then we have ten to go.”

  “At least.”

  Canton was walking back toward the hotel with Janine’s hand in his, but he looked preoccupied and aloof. She knew that something was worrying him, but she didn’t know what.

  “Are you absolutely sure that it isn’t my resemblance to your science fiction hero that made you agree to marry me?” he asked.

  So that was it. She was relieved. Her fingers curled into his big ones. “Yes, I’m sure,” she told him. “I’ve already said so.”

  “So you have. But you keep coming up with these little comparisons. It’s worrying.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said genuinely, stopping to look up at him. “I won’t do it again.”

  He sighed, searching her eyes quietly. “I’ve been thinking about getting married.”

  She could see it coming, as if she sensed a hesitation in him. “You don’t want to?”

  His eyes were troubled. “I want to. But not yet.”

  Her heart felt as if it were breaking. She smiled in spite of it. “Okay.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Never let it be said that I trapped a man into marriage,” she said airily, turning her pained eyes away, so that he couldn’t see them. “I’ve got a deadline that I have to meet right now, so it would be more convenient for me, too, if we put our plans on the back burner and let them simmer for a while.”

  He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Then let’s do that. I’ll give you a call in a month or so and
we’ll see where we stand.”

  “Fine,” she agreed.

  They parted company at the front door, all the excitement over for the moment. Janine put on a brave face for her family all evening and then cried herself to sleep. The one kind thing was that nobody had asked any questions. She couldn’t know that her pinched, white face told them all they needed to know. The next day, the government official arrived and took charge of the artifacts. Shortly thereafter, the Curtises boarded a plane for Indiana and Janine flew to Chicago. Canton and Karie had elected to stay another few days in Cancñaun, so they’d said their goodbyes at the beach house. It had wounded Janine that Canton didn’t even shake hands. He smiled very pleasantly and wished them a good trip home, promising to be in touch. And that was it.

  It turned out not to be one month, but two, before she heard from Canton again. In that length of time, the Atlanta Braves won the World Series in an incredible game that went all the way to the eighth inning with no score until a home run by the Braves ended the deadlock. The other team couldn’t catch up, although they tried valiantly. Kurt had a call from an almost hysterically happy Karie, who sent him a Braves cap and a World Series victory T-shirt by overnight mail. From Canton, there was no word. Even Karie didn’t mention him in her telephone call. Apparently her mother had stopped pursuing either her or her father, and that was good news.

  Janine, meanwhile, finished her book and started on a new one, set in Cancñaun. She went back to watching her favorite television program, groaning at the continued absence of her alien villain until news of his reappearance surfaced through the internet fan club to give her a reason for celebration. She watched him in one rerun and on tape, and it occurred to her that even though he resembled Canton, the resemblance wasn’t strong enough to account for her ongoing attraction to the missing tycoon. She wondered what he was doing and where he was. His movements lately seemed a mystery to everyone, including the media, which was now joyfully following him again.

  The only tidbit of news came through a tabloid, which pictured him with a ravishing brunette at some elegant party. She was looking up at him with bright eyes, and he was smiling down at her. So much for hope, Janine thought as she shredded the picture in the paper and smushed it into the trash can. The heartless philanderer!