Rex Dalton Thriller series Boxset 2

by J C Ryan

  The clerk turned out to be sympathetic and promised he’d personally deliver the food to Digger. Rex told the man what to say to Digger when he fed him and how to avoid losing his fingers—Rex crossed his own while giving the man the instructions.

  A few minutes later, the man came back smiling. “Your dog said thank you,” he quipped. Rex could imagine it. A starving Digger, hearing the command “mind your manners” sitting down politely as the clerk gingerly held a sandwich between his fingers and poked it through the cage wires, and the man snatching his hand back when Digger’s large mouth opened to take the treat.

  He’d taught Digger the command after nearly losing his own fingers a few times. He’d never tried it when Digger was this hungry, though. It was with relief that he offered the volunteer a tip for his bravery and humor. However, the man refused the tip curtly.

  “It was my pleasure, sir.”

  Rex recognized he’d offended the man. He apologized.

  “He has water?” Rex asked.

  “Yes, sir. Orders came down to give all the animals some water. We also opened the baggage compartment doors to give them some air. It’s warm, but the air is circulating. They are not in distress. However, I am curious. You speak with no guówài accent. How is this possible?”

  Rex gave his usual shrug. “It’s just something I can do,” he said. “I don’t know why.”

  Rex was glad Digger had the good luck to be cared for by an employee who apparently liked dogs. He stopped worrying about that but was still concerned whether he’d be able to get Digger off the plane if Rehka came up with a different flight.

  As he thought about it, he also wondered what the heck was taking her so long. As if by telepathy, his sat phone chirped ten seconds later.

  “Hello, and good morning, Rehka.” He smiled as he said it, knowing the smile would change the pronunciation of the words and signal that he was more cheerful.

  She answered in kind. “We’re a little happier now, are we?”

  He grinned even broader. “Yes. Food in our bellies, and I’m no longer worried about Digger. He’s in good hands. And please accept my sincere apology for my inexcusable manners earlier.”

  “No problem, Ruan. Apology accepted. I know you’re in great stress over there.”

  “You can say that again. Since I woke up this morning, nothing has gone my way. What’s the good news?”

  “There isn’t any, I’m afraid. The last alternative flight to Ho Chi Minh City left about ten minutes before you called me. There isn’t another for three hours. I didn’t book it, since you said your delay would be two hours, but I can if you want. There were plenty of seats available.”

  “No, I guess this one will have to do. At least they gave us a time frame. If that changes, I’ll call you back. At this rate, though, the yacht’s going to be there before I can arrive.”

  “I’ll cross my fingers, Ruan.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be in touch.”

  Half an hour later, the overhead speakers announced that boarding for his flight would begin in ten minutes. He thanked the employees who’d helped Digger and hustled back to the boarding area.

  Even after boarding and the doors were closed, the plane didn’t take off immediately. The captain explained over the intercom that they were waiting for a runway, as their flight was unscheduled for this time. The interior had grown hot and the passengers were starting to complain when the plane began moving. At last, they were backing away from the jet port and taking their place in a long line of aircraft waiting to take off.

  By the time they were in the air, Rex calculated that he’d be at least two hours late to get to the dock after the estimated arrival time of the Java Princess. Mid-flight, his fears were relieved, though, when Rehka informed him by text message that he’d better hurry straight to the dock, giving him the number. She’d heard the captain making berthing arrangements and telling the port authorities that his ETA was another two hours. With luck, Rex would be there just in time to see Margot debark.

  Chapter 35

  Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

  THE STRING OF bad luck had ended during the flight. When they landed in Ho Chi Minh City, Rex went as quickly as he could to the baggage area. Fortunately, he had only his carry-on, so collecting Digger was his only errand there. He found two smiling Vietnamese women flirting with Digger. He was relaxed and giving one of the women an adoring dog smile, probably trying to coax them into giving him some of the candy they were chewing on. Rex couldn’t help but grin at Digger’s antics. Rex thanked them for their kindness to his dog, and then he took possession of his goofy buddy and rushed to find a taxi.

  He had the taxi stop a few hundred yards away from the dock where he wanted to be. He wanted to make sure Margot, if she was still there, wouldn’t observe his arrival. Keenly aware he’d tracked down a woman who, for whatever reasons she had, wanted to remain hidden, he wanted to confront her, if he had to, on his own terms. He’d try to observe and understand what was happening, and then decide if he’d let her know of his presence.

  However, if he was too late—if she was already off the yacht and on her way somewhere else—he might have lost her again, which meant he’d have to go to Da Nang to try and find her there. At least Rehka had captured her cellphone number when she spoke to her brother. It would be possible to pinpoint her location when she switched it on. He just hoped she wouldn’t be so security conscious as to get another phone or simcard.

  The taxi stopped, and he paid the driver. He commanded Digger to follow him at a distance, and the dog immediately obeyed and dropped back.

  Rex turned and headed for the correct dock at a jog, slowing only when he was close enough to see the Java Princess, docked where Rehka said it would be. He slowed to a casual stroll, put his dark glasses on, pulled the baseball cap low over his face, and altered his gait slightly in case Margot happened to notice him from a distance. There wasn’t a lot he could do about hiding Digger. He looked back to see where the dog was, and it took him almost a minute before he spotted him about hundred yards back, moving almost stealthily between the people and vehicles.

  Clever boy.

  One big black dog looked much like another from a hundred yards away, so unless she saw the two of them together, Margot probably wouldn’t notice.

  While he was careful to escape her notice, Rex was on the lookout for Margot leaving the yacht. He could see, once he got a bit closer, that a gangplank had been extended.

  Not good, that means she could have left already.

  Keeping his eye on it, he took up a seat under a large umbrella outside a small dock-side restaurant making sure he had an unrestricted view of the yacht and ordered a fruit juice from the waitress.

  Digger joined him silently after a couple of minutes.

  “Good boy. Hide,” Rex commanded. Digger moved in under the table and dropped down on his belly. Rex kept his eyes on the yacht, noting the name Java Princess in ornate lettering on the bow. Finally, after all the days of searching, listening, and today’s delays, he was just a few yards from the yacht that had whisked Margot away, leaving a mystery in her wake.

  He’d been watching no more than five minutes when a distinguished-looking older gentleman preceded a woman down the gangplank, holding out his hand for her to steady herself as she followed. It was Margot, and he presumed the captain of the yacht. She’d done nothing to disguise herself, though Rex thought she’d acquired a much deeper tan since he’d last seen her, about two weeks ago. He supposed two weeks on an ocean-going yacht would account for that.

  She was more beautiful even than he’d remembered. Was he imagining a glow to her skin, or was the cliché about pregnant women glowing fooling his eyes? Apart from that, she didn’t look pregnant. She was as slim as ever, and she moved with the same lithe grace as always. Margot exhibited a confidence that indicated to Rex she was here definitely of her own accord.

  Which left the core question—why hide this way?

  Digger must ha
ve sensed the change in Rex’s chemistry because without Rex noticing, he had crawled out from under the table, gave one look at the yacht, must have spotted and recognized Margot, and started whining softly.

  “Digger, quiet,” Rex whispered. “She has no idea that we’re here.”

  Digger gave him a tilted-head glance, then turned his attention and focus back on Margot. Rex muttered, “We’re only going to scout, boy. We’ll contact her later, and only if it’s necessary, otherwise you and I are going back to Rehka, and from there we’ll decide where we’re heading next.”

  He didn’t have a clue how much Digger would understand of his explanation, but the dog’s ear twitched at the word ‘scout’. Even so, Digger must have recognized that it wasn’t a command, not yet anyway. He sat, quivering, his tail wagging incessantly from excitement and intently focused on Margot and her companion, who had made it some yards down the dock area toward town.

  Rex tossed more than enough cash onto the table to pay for his order and commanded Digger to heel as he stood to follow the receding couple.

  I’ll just follow her for a while and not let her know I’m here.

  Nothing in her demeanor as she left the yacht, nor in her body language now, as she was walking side by side with the older man and talking to him, indicated she was under duress of any kind. Watching from a distance for a while wouldn’t harm anything. If he decided she was okay, then that would be the end of it. He’d leave without contacting her, allowing her the privacy she’d worked so hard to ensure.

  If she wanted to be anonymous, and she was safe, he would be happy. He fully understood what it was like to live a life of anonymity, and he was not going to barge into that if that was her wish, though he thought she could have done it in a way that wouldn’t have excited international alarm and the presumption she’d died. But he didn’t have a leg to stand on in that thought, and he knew it. Hadn’t he done the same thing, although under different circumstances? He had his legitimate reasons, and maybe so did she. He couldn’t know without asking her, and he’d probably never get the opportunity to do so.

  He was still perplexed as to why she didn’t want to make her pregnancy public, but that was her prerogative. She didn’t owe him an explanation, and he wouldn’t demand one.

  He’d followed at a discreet distance until he saw his targets get into a taxi. He immediately dived into another, with Digger landing unceremoniously in his lap, and uttered the age-old cliché, “Follow that cab!”

  When the taxi didn’t move, Rex understood his mistake. He’d spoken English. He switched to French and rapidly explained he wanted to follow the taxi that had just left. The driver smiled, started the meter, and shot out of the parking space like a rocket.

  Rex amended his request. “Not too closely. I don’t want those people to know I’m following them.”

  This time the driver grinned broadly and winked. He slowed down and moved over a lane, exhibiting some knowledge of street craft, as he dodged between vehicles while keeping Margot’s taxi in sight.

  Rex assumed he had the wrong idea about why they were following, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was he not lose Margot before he determined whether to contact her or not.

  Chapter 36

  Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

  BY THE END of the day, Rex paid off a very happy taxi driver, who’d driven him all over town, waiting while either the captain of the yacht or Margot stepped out of their vehicle for a shopping errand and then got back in.

  Digger had been restless until Margot and her companion stopped in front of a restaurant and dismissed their taxi. Rex figured he had enough time to let Digger out for a walk, but he didn’t want to risk losing them. He rigged Digger up with his harness, camera, and comms unit, and opened his iPad to keep an eye on Digger while he waited at a table at a restaurant across the street.

  “Go on, boy. Do your business, and then come back. I have to stay here.”

  Digger gazed at Rex, head tilted.

  Rex said, “I know, we haven’t done this in a while, boy. Go on, bathroom.” Digger woofed softly and trotted off.

  Rex hoped Digger would pick a spot where the results wouldn’t be too much of a health hazard for the populace of the city, since he wouldn’t be there to pick it up. Although, looking around him at the dirty streets and run-down buildings, he wasn’t too worried that anyone would take much notice if Digger were not discreet about the place he picked as a toilet. But there was little choice. It was either send Digger off like he had or risk losing Margot if she came out of the restaurant while he was gone. Sometimes, especially when trying to go around without being seen among people, as was the case now, having a canine partner was a little inconvenient. But there were ways around it, and Digger’s extraordinary senses and skills more than made up for the few times it was inconvenient.

  Rex divided his attention between the restaurant door and his iPad, switching his gaze back and forth every minute or so. Digger was making his way into an alley but then started nosing about some garbage. “You must remember, dogs are scroungers. They’ll eat anything that looks or smells like food,” Trevor used to tell Rex.

  “Leave it,” Rex said. Digger’s ears twitched, and he shied away from the pile of garbage. Rex stole a glance at the restaurant door, waited as a group of people left to be sure Margot wasn’t among them, and then turned his attention back to the iPad.

  Digger seemed to be in a garden, as there were what looked like fronds of some tropical plant all around him. He must have found a residence or park. He nosed around the stems of the plant. The video feed went still indicating to Rex he’d probably found his place and was doing his thing. A minute or so later, Rex experienced a dizzy spell as Digger had apparently turned quickly. The video feed went blurry as Digger must have been trotting or running somewhere now, probably exploring the area where he was. Rex was getting anxious that Digger wouldn’t return before Margot left the restaurant. He couldn’t get into a taxi and leave, or Digger wouldn’t be able to find him. If Margot left before Digger was back, he’d have to let her go and risk losing track of her for now.

  But it was only a minute or two before the video feed showed Digger was moving again, and some of what it showed looked familiar. Digger was on his way back. “Hurry, boy.”

  He kept his eyes glued to the restaurant door, now that he was confident Digger would be back soon. And soon enough, Digger was at his side. It was none too soon. Rex signaled a passing taxi, and as soon as he and Digger were inside, he explained to the driver that he was to follow another taxi but had to wait until he pointed out which one. The driver seemed a bit befuddled but didn’t complain, the meter was already running. Margot and the captain came out carrying boxes by strings tied around them and hailed a taxi. They got in and sped away from the curb.

  Rex said, “There, follow that one.” But, just as his driver sped up, Rex exclaimed, “Wait!” He was thrown forward as the taxi came to a quick stop. Rex had caught sight of another taxi speeding past his and then abruptly slowing to stay behind Margot’s.

  What’s this?

  “Go ahead, but slowly. Follow the taxi that just passed us, not the first one.”

  The driver broke out in rapid French, apparently speaking to himself but obviously meaning Rex to hear his complaint.

  “Follow this taxi, no, follow that taxi. Make up your mind.”

  Rex grinned. The driver had a point, but if there was someone else following Margot, it put a twist on the already bewildering turn of events.

  Who is it, and why?

  As the strange procession kept going, Rex recognized that Margot’s taxi was headed in the direction of the port, and he was now one hundred percent sure the other taxi, with two men in the back, was following Margot’s. The other taxi followed closely, letting him know that either the driver or the followers were not particularly street-craft conscious. They made no attempt to evade discovery, which made it easier for Rex and his driver to do so. Since the unknown foll
owers were between Margot and him, he only had to evade the notice of her followers. And by the looks of it they were focused on Margot, giving no indication that they were looking out for anyone who might be following them.

  In due time, Margot’s taxi entered the port district, and at that time, Rex decided it would be best to ditch his ride and head for his former observation spot on foot. The other taxi appeared to follow Margot’s, so he assumed they’d eventually get close enough for him to determine who they were, with Digger’s help.

  He set off at a jog, keeping to the darker spots and shadows thrown from the moonlight or occasional streetlamps. Digger followed closely without being told. Because he had on his harness and comms unit, the dog knew he was working now, and was alert to Rex’s commands, body language, and emotional state.

  When they arrived at the dockside restaurant, it was closed, but the tables and umbrellas were still out, chained to each other. Rex chose a table near the building that was deep in the shadows and sat down to watch the yacht. He assumed Margot and the captain had already boarded it, as he could see only one taxi, which had its engine running.

  Although Rex could hear the engine, it was parked far enough from the yacht that Rex assumed the sound wouldn’t alarm the yacht’s occupants in any way. He waited to see if it would leave or just remain there.

  As he waited, he felt the vibration of his satphone in its holster on his hip. He retrieved it and answered in a hushed voice.

  Rehka asked how the weather was, and he answered it was dark, which caused her to laugh.

  “Why are you whispering?”

  “Odd development, here. Someone else is following Margot. They’re about thirty yards away, in a running taxi. Worst fieldcraft I’ve ever seen. I’m just waiting to see what they do next, and if I can discover who they are.”