“Tell someone who cares.”
“I’m just mentioning it because I want you to know I’m not going very far.”
“Whatever it is you think you know, you’re way off base, Nick.”
“I doubt it, Flygirl.”
At the door, he picked up his duffel. “Next time you pull a gun, make sure it’s loaded. And be ready to use it.”
“If I ever have you lined up in my sights again, I won’t hesitate.”
IT WAS PAST MIDNIGHT when Kelly placed the last crate of bronze castings on the scale. She listed the weight and contents on the manifest, then used a marker to number the top.
At several points during the past hour, she’d caught herself worrying about the reason for Nick’s visit.
Obviously he suspected she was involved in some type of smuggling. Not the Ocularcet, she reasoned. The FDA would be more interested than Customs in the unapproved drug she carried in the side pocket of her bag. For Customs to get involved it would have to be something with a financial payoff. If she took their previous history into account, the answers would be guns.
Which meant she had nothing to fear. He wasn’t going to find anything incriminating. There were no guns stashed beneath the lounge sink or in the luggage compartments of the King Air.
If Nick wanted to waste his time investigating her, that was his problem and not hers. She’d just keep to business as usual. And as far as the Ocularcet, come morning, she’d deliver it as planned. If she got caught at Customs going in, so be it. The cause was a worthy one and, with any luck, she wouldn’t get jail time. The way she saw it, with a child involved, she didn’t have any choice. At least, none that she could live with.
“Hey, there.”
Kelly jumped at Ben’s greeting. Her earlier irritation rose again. “I thought you were coming back to load the plane.”
“And here I am,” Ben Tittle stated simply. He was fast pushing sixty. Most would call him scrawny, but that was just an illusion. In the past year, he’d gone native, taken to wearing shorts and T-shirts and often looked as if he’d slept on the beach. Despite his appearance, he was still the best aviation mechanic on the islands. And, after her aunt, the closest thing Kelly had to family.
The stink of stale Scotch and cigarette smoke reached her. She noticed the grin on his face remained uncontrolled, loose, and his eyelids drooped over his watery blue eyes.
Confronting him now about his drinking would be a waste of time. Morning would be more productive. Maybe, after some sleep, she might actually feel up to it.
Kelly secured the luggage compartment on the King Air. “I loaded the foundry’s shipment.” When Kelly crossed to the desk, Ben followed and stood just behind her as she checked over the flight plan.
“Why take the King?”
“It’ll handle the weight well enough, and I have a passenger to pick up. World’s most obnoxious passenger, Superjerk, is making another round trip. He’s scheduled to go back on Sunday. Bringing a friend with him this time. I can’t wait to see if it’s male or female. Care to make a small wager?”
She almost wanted to chuckle at the sour expression the news brought to Ben’s features. She didn’t like Jeff Myers any more than Ben did. Occasionally, when she was out over the Atlantic and the attorney started in on just how rough the ride was, how the beer nuts were stale, how the fare was out of line, she fantasized about opening the door and booting him out.
She flipped through the manifest, thoughts of the lawyer fading. “Nick Cavanaugh dropped by tonight.”
She looked up to catch Ben’s expression. Though he seemed to be surprised, was he?
“Why would he do that?” Ben asked.
“I thought perhaps you might be able to tell me?”
His eyes narrowed in what appeared to be confusion. “What do you mean?”
“He said you told him where to find me.”
“Then he lied.”
She nodded. “Which doesn’t come as a complete surprise, does it?”
Ben looked relieved at her easy acceptance. He glanced down at his flip-flops. “Did he say what he wanted?”
“No. He didn’t come straight out and ask if I was smuggling, but he sure as heck was doing some serious trolling.”
“Did you tell him he was wasting his time?”
“Yes. Not that it will stop him.” She scanned the top of the desk, felt as if she were leaving something important undone. When nothing reached up and grabbed her, she dismissed the feeling. She was just too tired to think. Too exhausted to even care about Cavanaugh. “The plane needs to be washed and the cabin vacuumed before morning. It might be a good idea if you bunked down here tonight so you can take care of both those things.”
Staying at the hangar would also keep him out of ditches, but Ben looked anything but pleased by her request.
He jerked a thumb toward the back room. “I can’t get a decent night’s sleep on that damn cot.”
She sighed. “No matter where you spend the next five hours, it’s not going to qualify as a good night’s sleep,” she pointed out. “But at least you would be here to do your job.” And she wouldn’t have to worry about his hurting himself or someone else on the road.
She turned away, as annoyed with herself as she was with Ben. She wasn’t being completely fair here. He’d stood by her through the very dark days following her father’s death. Without him, she could never have even made a go at the airline. The first year, he’d taken only a small wage and, without the funds he’d recently put in, Bird of Paradise would already be out of business.
She faced him. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m just tired. And I’m worried.”
“About Cavanaugh?”
“No. About you. About your drinking.” As soon as she said it, the look in his eyes went from concern for her to wariness. There was no going back, though. “What’s going on, Ben?”
“Nothing. I’m just having a good time.”
“No, you’re not,” she said quietly and picked up her satchel. She stopped at the door and turned back. “This can’t continue. It’s not good for your health.”
“I know,” he said. “I’ll handle it.”
“I’m here for you,” she said. “Just as you’ve always been there for me.”
“I’ve never doubted it,” he said and smiled before he, too, turned away.
AFTER LEAVING KELLY, Nick hiked toward the marina. He’d made arrangements earlier to be taken over to Elbow Cay by boat. Marsh Harbor was the most densely populated area of the Abacos, but at this time of night the streets
