“Not necessarily.” Bennie wracked her brain. “I have to get her.”
Grady glanced over, saying nothing.
“We’ll stop her,” Officer Stern said, with confidence. “An APB’s out already. We’re on it.”
“But what will you do? Your jurisdiction ends in Philly.” Bennie turned to Special Agent Wingate, who looked like a straight arrow, with dark eyes, short black hair, and a military bearing. “You’re FBI. She’s going down to the Bahamas. What can you do?”
“We’ll contact Bahamian authorities and alert them to be on the lookout for her at the Nassau airport. They’ll pick her up as soon as she gets off a plane.” Special Agent Wingate flexed his jaw. “I understand that the Bahamian bank is freezing the accounts. In addition, we’ll follow up and put them on security alert. They won’t let her withdraw the money.”
“What if they slip up?” Bennie looked over at the Miami gate, where the last of the passengers was disappearing into the jetway.
“They won’t. They have procedures. It’s not like they tape her picture on the cash register.”
“But she has all my ID. She’s me.” Bennie made a decision. “I have to get to Nassau tonight.”
“Why?” Grady looked over, alarmed. “You don’t have to go yourself. The accounts will be frozen. She can’t get the money.”
Special Agent Wingate nodded. “He’s right. The Bahamian authorities can handle this.”
“No. She’ll be down there. I have to go.” Bennie crossed the aisle to the Miami gate, and Grady caught up.
“Bennie, you really want to do this?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I just do.” Bennie headed for the ticket counter at the gate, and Grady matched her, stride for stride.
“Then I’m going with you, too.”
“I’d rather go alone.”
“Look, I know we have to talk, and we will, but it’s not safe for you to go down there.”
“I’ll be fine.” Bennie reached the counter, which was staffed by an airlines employee. “My name’s Bennie Rosato. I’m booked on this flight and I want to go.”
“It’s already boarded,” the employee said, frowning.
“Come on, you see the situation. I have to get on that plane. It hasn’t left yet.”
“Hmph. May I see your ID?”
“I don’t have any.”
“I can’t board you without ID. TSA regs.”
Bennie turned to Officer Stern, who had walked up beside her. “Vouch for me, will you? I have to get on this flight.”
Officer Stern addressed the employee. “This is a police emergency. She’s Bennie Rosato, and she’s ticketed on this flight. We’d appreciate your full cooperation.”
“That’s not the way we usually do it, but I suppose so.”
Grady touched her arm. “What about in Miami? And Nassau? They won’t let you into the Bahamas without a passport. You’ll have to go through immigration.”
Bennie turned to Special Agent Wingate. “Can’t you help me with that? Call down to Miami and Bahamian immigration? Tell them I’ll be there tonight?”
“I can call down to our people in Miami, but I can’t promise they’ll work with you, in the islands. I’ll try my best, though.”
“Try, please. I have to go.” Bennie headed for the jetway door, but Grady stopped her, his hand on her arm.
“You’re sure about this?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’ll need money.” Grady opened his wallet and handed her his Amex card and all his cash. “It’s six hundred and change. If they give you a problem with the card, call me.”
“Thanks.” Bennie avoided his eye and took off, hurrying down the jetway. Grady never would have believed that she would have three grand of drug money in her purse.
She never would have believed it herself.
Chapter One Hundred and Eight
Alice was nude in the leather seat, enjoying the afterglow. The mile-high sex had been terrific, and Knox was stepping into his pants, standing up in the moving jet. She tugged him into the chair opposite hers, and his pants were still unzipped, so she slipped her fingers inside his boxers, finding him with knowing fingers.
Knox chuckled. “I’m only human.”
“Relax.” Alice kept her fingers moving. “How long have you lived in Nassau?”
“All my life.”
“When we land, will you spend the night with me, at my hotel?”
“Uh, well, I can’t.” Knox’s smile faded, and Alice read his expression.
“Married? So what? All I need is information, and help. There’s money in it for you, lots of money. A thousand dollars.”
Knox scoffed. “I don’t believe you.”
Alice bent over, went into her bag, withdrew a bundle, and plopped it onto his lap. “Look, I have a bag full of dough.”
“Truly?” Knox’s eyes lit up and he held up money, looking at it this way and that. “Is this a thousand dollars?”
“Yes, and there’s more where that came from, but I need information. BSB is the largest bank in the Bahamas, right?”
“There are many banks in the Bahamas. There’s Scotiabank, First Ca rib be an, Royal—”
“But BSB is big?”
“Yes.”
“So that means lots of people work there.”
“BSB is a major employer in Nassau, yes.”
“I need to find somebody who works for them. Do you know anybody who does?”
Knox thought a minute. “No.”
“You sure?”
“No one.” Knox looked past her, to the curtain. “I should go forward. Willa might be wondering about me.”
“Okay.”
“I get to keep the money?”
“Sure, and hurry back.” Alice leaned over to give him a deep kiss and a final stroke, then withdrew her hand. “Can you get my clothes?”
“Sure.”
“Got a cigarette up there?”
“There’s no smoking on the flight.” Knox smiled crookedly. “You can bum one of mine.” He dressed quickly and left the cabin.
Alice poured herself another champagne, deep in thought. She’d be in the Bahamas in half an hour. The jet flew direct. A car would be waiting for her. She’d stay at a hotel near the bank, to be there when it opened. She had a great head start, and even if Bennie followed her, she’d never catch her.
Knox came back with her things, and she gave him a quick kiss, then went into the bathroom. The jet had a shower so she jumped in, shampooed her hair, dried off, and changed into the gray T-shirt and baggy shorts they’d bought her, with slip-on Keds.
She had already formulated her new plan. She’d set it in motion, as soon as they touched down.
Chapter One Hundred and Nine
Bennie shifted in her seat, her clothes still wet enough to raise eyebrows, especially in first class, where Alice had booked her ticket. She looked out of the window, and from the blackness came an image of Grady, his expression concerned as he handed her all his cash. Then she flashed on him making love to Alice, and felt a deep pang. Her emotions were coming back.
She got up from the seat, excused herself, and went forward, ducking inside the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, stuck her hand in her purse, and pulled out the Ziploc bag. She unzipped it, pleased to find the pills still dry. She popped one, bent over the tiny sink, and drank some water, then straightened up. Soon she wouldn’t feel the pain in her hands or feet, or anywhere else.
On the way out, she avoided the mirror.
Chapter One Hundred and Ten
Alice looked in the mirror, applying a perfect line of black eyeliner, then waiting for it to dry. She could get used to flying private, with its free supply of toiletries. She had hardly felt the jet land and she was stalling, as part of her plan. She sprayed herself with Chanel perfume when there was a knock at the door.
“Bennie?” Knox said. “It’s time to deplane.”
Alice opened th
e door, threw her arms around Knox’s neck, and gave him a long, deep kiss. “Sorry, I wanted to get all pretty for you.”
“Mmm.” Knox’s tongue flicked inside her mouth. “You smell sexy.”
“I am sexy.”
“I second that. So, are you good to go?”
“Just about.”
“Your car is ready and waiting. You’ll have to go through immigration, but it won’t take long. We have our own officer at the private airport. I’ll escort you.”
“Will you walk me to the car, too? I don’t know where the pickup area is. I’ve never been.”
“Certainly, I’m off for the night. Any other requests?”
“Just one.” Alice kissed him again. “Send the other flight attendant home.”
“She’s gone. They all went.”
“Even whoever cleans the plane? I don’t want anybody seeing us together. My husband—” Alice broke off her sentence, and Knox’s eyes widened slightly.
“Oh, I see.” He glanced at her left hand. “What, no wedding band?”
“Not out of town.” Alice smiled, and so did Knox.
“No worries. The service crew doesn’t come until tomorrow morning.”
“Good. I’ll be right out.”
“See you then.” Knox closed the bathroom door, and Alice threw the latch to lock it, then she went into action.
She took one of the sweat socks, wet it, and wedged it around the smoke detector in the ceiling. She tore paper towels from the dispenser in fistfuls and shoved them into the wastebasket. She took the toilet paper out of the dispenser, stuffed that in with the paper towels, and put the wastebasket under the window with its plaid curtains.
She opened the matchbook, struck a match, then lit the curtains, which made a funny smell. She slid her new gun from her messenger bag and shoved it in her waistband in back. She tossed the matchbook into the flaming wastebasket, then grabbed the messenger bag, slipped out of the bathroom, and hurried to the front of the jet, where Knox stood by the open door.
“You had a cigarette, eh?” he asked, and she took his arm and pressed him toward the door.
“You can smell it, huh? Someday I’ll quit.”
“You and me both.” Knox helped her down the stairway, and Alice looked around the airfield. It was dark, but lit enough to see a row of jets lined up next to their jet, near a silvery cylindrical fuel truck that read AVITA. The tarmac was quiet, no one was around, and not a baggage cart moving.
“Where is everybody?” Alice smiled.
“Gone to bed. Welcome to Nassau.” Knox took her arm and led her toward a small modern terminal. Palm trees rustled along the concrete walk that lead to a glass double door, and the terminal’s large windows showed only a single uniformed person inside.
“Only one person?”
“We’re the only flight. He’s waiting on us.”
“Before we go through immigration, wanna stop at the bathroom?”
“Didn’t you just do that?”
“Not for my benefit, for yours.” Alice faked a sexy giggle. “There’s one thing we didn’t do, and I bet I do it better than your wife.”
“Ha!” Knox laughed. “Come with me, woman.”
They passed through an automatic door, which let them into a waiting room with a large screen TV in front of a leather sofa and chairs. A man in a light blue shirt was on the phone and didn’t look up. Knox led the way down a hallway and went through a door that read MEN’S.
Alice followed him inside.
Chapter One Hundred and Eleven
Bennie was the first one off the plane when it landed in Miami, and she hurried down the jetway and through the door to the terminal, which was crowded with vacationers in funny hats, big families, honeymooning couples, and world-weary business travelers, all filling the air with different languages. Moms cuddled toddlers in chairs in the gate area, and students slept on the floor, their flights delayed in bad weather. Her connection to Nassau had also been delayed, and on the flight they had announced the gate number, which was only three down the hall.
She made her way through the crowd, reached the Nassau gate, and got in line at the counter to get her boarding pass. It was five people deep and manned by a single beleaguered airlines employee, so she looked around for a supervisor, but there wasn’t one, so she waited. The air-conditioning had been turned off, and it smelled like body odor and patisserie hot dogs. People thronged to the gate, waiting for the boarding announcement, and by the time she reached the desk, the flight to Nassau was already boarding.
“Can I help you?” asked the airline employee, a faint sheen of sweat covering his top lip.
“My name is Bennie Rosato, I’m booked on this flight, and I need a boarding pass.”
“Certainly. Your ID, please?”
“I don’t have it. My wallet was stolen, and the FBI contacted you about me. They called down from Philadelphia.”
The airline employee blinked a few times. “If this is a joke, I’m kind of busy.”
“The FBI was supposed to call you, or someone at the airline. I just got off the flight from Philly, and they let me on without ID because I’m working with the FBI.”
“If you’re with the FBI, you should have identification.”
“No, I’m a private citizen but I’m working with the FBI.” Bennie dug in her purse and slid Special Agent Wingate’s business card across the desk. “This is the agent in charge of the case. If you call him, he’ll vouch for me.”
“I don’t have time to do that, and I can’t board you without ID, no matter who says so. I don’t make the rules.”
“But I’m booked on this flight. You can find my name, and you know I just got off another flight, because I couldn’t have gotten through security without ID, right?” Bennie sensed it was a losing cause, but she couldn’t give up or Alice would be gone forever. “Just let me on. I have to get to Nassau tonight.”
“I can’t do that, I’m sorry.” The airline employee looked at the line, worriedly. “Now, as you can see, there are so many people waiting—”
“Then give me a phone and let me call.” Bennie walked around the side of the counter, but the airline employee recoiled, putting his hands up, protectively.
“Stop! You’re not allowed back here.”
“I just want to use your phone. I can clear this up in two minutes. I have to get on this flight.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t let you do that. I don’t have an outside line here. The most I can do is call my supervisor, and you can take it up with her.”
“Call her, then.” Bennie checked behind her, and the flight was boarding quickly. “Right away.”
“I couldn’t reach her right away, Miss. She’s on break.” The airline employee wet his lips, nervously. “Why don’t we put you up tonight, at the hotel near the airport, and give you a voucher for a flight anywhere in the continental United States, usable for up to one year.”
Bennie turned to the next man in line. “Sir, may I borrow your cell phone, please?”
“¿Que?” he said, frowning, but the airline employee was already motioning him forward, speaking to him in rapid Spanish.
“Does anybody else have a cell phone I can borrow?” Bennie called to the others in line.
“Get outta the way!” an older man answered, annoyed. “We’re gonna miss the flight, lady!”
“Excuse me,” said a voice, and Bennie turned. Behind her stood a heavyset man with glasses and a gray-flecked beard. He had on a Hawaiian shirt and carried a Marlboro duffel bag. “Did I hear you say you need to get to Nassau?”
“Yes.”
“I know somebody who can get you there.”
“Tonight?”
“I can find out,” the man answered.
Chapter One Hundred and Twelve
Alice tugged Knox into a bathroom stall and closed the wooden door behind them. She pressed him against the tiles, kissed him, then moved to undo his pants. “I bet I know what you want,” she whispered.
<
br /> “I know that you do.”
Alice kissed him as she slid his zipper down. Outside she could hear shouting, so somebody had discovered the fire in the jet. Quickly she dug her fingers into Knox’s crotch, got a good grip, and squeezed so hard his eyes flew open.
“Ow!” Knox yelped, bewildered.
“Do I have your attention? Our jet is on fire, and if I get lucky, it’ll blow up.”
Ka-boom! Suddenly, something detonated outside. Percussion shook the building. A siren went off.
“I need you to get me to my car,” Alice said, holding on. “Do what I say or I’ll tell your boss you set the fire. They’re your cigarettes that started it, and your matches. I’ll say you set it, after you raped me. I’ll tell the cops, I’ll tell your wife, too. Everything.”
“No!” Knox shook his head. “I have a record. Please. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Smart move.” Alice released him. “First, get me out of here.”
KA-BOOM! There was a deafening explosion, then more shouting. Another jet must have gone up, the one parked next to theirs.
“Move! Hurry!” Alice grabbed his arm, flung open the stall door, and yanked him out. “Get me to my car.”
“How about another grand?”
“Done.”
“This way, then!” Knox hurried from the stall with Alice, just as another explosion rocked the building. They stumbled but kept their footing, and ran from the bathroom into the waiting room.
The glass windows had blown out in the terminal, scattering shards everywhere. Smoke filled the room. On the runway raged an enormous conflagration, shooting flames into the night sky. It must have been the fuel truck that blew up. An emergency vehicle zoomed toward the blaze. A uniformed employee ran past, shouting into a radio.
Alice used Knox for interference, bolting past doors that read BOND ROOM, then MISSION CONTROL, and out the front door. The blaze superheated the air. Smoke choked her nostrils and stung her eyes.
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