All That Glitters (22 page)

Suddenly she heard footsteps outside!

She dove under the bed.

The door rattled.

Someone’s coming in!

Whoever it is must be alone—I don’t hear anyone talking. She had smoothed out the bed, but hadn’t had time to hide the dirty dishes. A trace of the aroma from the food still lingered in the air.

As she lay quietly, hardly daring to breathe, she saw the man’s feet, and recognized the boots that Gabe wore! Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he went back down the hall, walked over to the door of the shack, and left.

Cammie looked at her watch, and waited a full five minutes before crawling out from under the bed. She didn’t dare stay in the shack any longer. It was too dangerous.

She grabbed her sweater and cautiously opened the door.

She peeked out.

Not a sound, and no one in sight.

She stepped out of the shack, carefully closing the door behind her, and tiptoed across the clearing.

She had almost reached the road when, with no warning, Gabe jumped out from behind a tree and tried to grab her. She screamed and ran as fast as her feet would carry her.

Jeremy had been driving all night looking for her, and had just spied the shack from the road, when Cammie screamed. He jumped out of the car and rushed over to help her.

Gabe drew a gun.

He took aim and fired.

The bullet hit Jeremy’s shoulder. He staggered, but recovered enough to lunge at Gabe, who pointed the gun at him again.

Before Gabe could fire a second shot, Cammie emitted another scream and made a ballet leap, knocking the gun out of his hand. Gabe fell, hitting his head against a rock, and was rendered unconscious.

Cammie rushed over to Jeremy, who by now was bleeding quite profusely. She put her arm around him and helped him to the car, which was only a few yards away. She sat him in the passenger seat and jumped in behind the wheel. “Jeremy, do you have the key?” she asked him. She could see that he was making a valiant effort not to lose consciousness. “Jeremy! The key! Hurry!”

He nodded with his head in the direction of his jacket pocket. Cammie quickly retrieved it and inserted it in the ignition. She started the engine, shifted gears, and sped down the road. “Jeremy,” she asked as calmly as she could, “do you know where there’s a hospital?”

He shook his head just before he passed out.

“Oh, God, please get me to a hospital!” she prayed.

As she sped along, she kept an eye out for
someone who could help, when she spied a doctor’s sign
on one of the front lawns of the residential section.
She quickly pulled into the driveway and leaned on the
horn.

A woman came running out of the house, followed by the doctor.

“Hurry!” pleaded a frightened Cammie. “This man’s been shot!” The three of them managed to carry the unconscious Jeremy into the doctor’s office, where the doctor made a quick examination. He looked grim. “The bullet nicked an artery,” he said, “but we got him in time before he lost too much blood. I’ll do what I can, but we’ve got to get him to the hospital.”

The doctor’s wife picked up the phone and dialed for an ambulance, while the doctor tended to Jeremy. By the time the paramedics arrived, the doctor had managed to stop most of the bleeding.

Cammie followed the ambulance to the hospital in Jeremy’s rented car. Her legs felt like jelly, and she had to fight to keep her trembling hands on the wheel. Her eyes filled with tears. He had risked his life to save her. How could she ever repay him?

The hospital was only five minutes away, and they rushed Jeremy into the operating room.

Cammie wanted to go in with him, but was told to wait outside. She approached the desk. “Would it be possible to use the phone?” she asked. “I have to notify someone about a patient who was just brought in. This is the number I want to call.” She gave the nurse a piece of paper with the number on it.

The nurse smiled. “Oui, mais certainement,” she said, and handed the phone to Cammie.

But as Cammie took the phone, she had second thoughts. What if Lilli answers? She’ll recognize my voice. I’m not sure Mom and Dad are there. If Lilli finds out where I am, she’ll tell Francois.

She handed the phone back to the nurse and walked away, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes.

The nurse was surprised. “Don’t you want to make the call?” she asked her.

Cammie turned back. “No. Someone might answer that I don’t want to talk to.”

She turned and walked toward the waiting room.

* * *

As the nurse watched, her eyes fell on the headlines of the newspaper. Cammie’s picture was on the front page. “Countess Kidnapped,” it read. She looked at the telephone number Cammie had handed to her, then at the number given in the newspaper for the reader to call if anyone had news about the kidnapping. It was the same number! “It can’t be!” she exclaimed out loud.

She studied the picture again. Yes—it is! I’ll bet the young man who was shot has something to do with the kidnapping! she figured. I’d better call this number. The young Count Francois is offering a reward.

The phone in the Chateau in Amboise rang only once. Lilli answered.

“Who is this speaking?” the nurse asked.

“This is Countess Lilli Dubonnet, Count Dubonnet’s wife.”

The nurse breathed a sigh of relief, sure that she could trust the Countess. “I’m calling from the hospital in Chaumont,” she told her. “There’s a young woman here who I’m positive is the Countess who married your son, Francois. I understand she was kidnapped. She came here a few minutes ago with a Jeremy Douglass who was shot. I think he might be the kidnapper. She’s in the waiting room. Your son must be frantic, and will want to come here and be reunited with his wife.” She paused. “I believe there’s a reward?”

“Yes, there is a reward,” Lilli was quick to tell her. “Jeremy Douglass is the one who kidnapped her. Where is this hospital?”

* * *

As she took down the directions the nurse gave her, Zack had just returned from a walk with Fran and the others, and was passing by the door of the library. When he heard Lilli mention Jeremy’s name, he stood quietly and listened.

“Memorial Hospital in Chaumont?” he heard her say. “Merci!” She hung up with a smug smile on her face.

Zack watched as she wrote on a piece of paper. She hid it inside her dress and rushed toward her private quarters in the Chateau.

She’s going to call Francois! I have to stop him from going to that hospital!

As soon as Lilli was out of sight, he ran up the stairs two at a time, and tapped lightly on the door of Hildy’s and Jay’s room.

Jay answered. “What is it, Zack?”

Zack put his finger on his lips. “I just overheard Lilli on the phone,” he whispered. “Jeremy and Cammie are in the hospital in Chaumont. One of them has been shot, but I don’t know which one. Lilli is calling Francois right now. We’d better hurry and get there before he does!”

Hildy started to run downstairs.

Zack stopped her. “Play it cool!” he warned her. “Don’t let Lilli suspect anything.”

After asking Jenny and Peter to cover for them again, they crept down the stairs. They got quickly into the limousine and drove off to the hospital in Chaumont.

CHAPTER XXXII
 

When Gabe regained consciousness, he returned to the Chateau de Boulanger. A long gash on his head was still bleeding where it hit the rock.

Francois met him at the door. “Where’s Cammie?” he demanded. Gabe’s bleeding head made no impression on him.

“Sir,” Gabe replied, “I found her, but Jeremy Douglass interfered. I shot him, but he came at me anyway. I tried to shoot him again, but Mademoiselle Stuart knocked the gun out of my hand. My head hit a rock. When I came to they were gone.”

Francois glared at him. “You botched it up again! How could you be such an ass?”

A ring on the phone interrupted him, and he
went inside to answer it.

Gabe followed, holding his sore, aching head.

The call was from Lilli. “Gabe shot Jeremy,” she told Francois. “He’s in the hospital in Chaumont in surgery. Cammie is in the waiting room. Get over there fast and bring her back to the Chateau before Jeremy comes to and says too much! You’ll have to get rid of him and finish the job that Gabe started. He’s too much of a threat to our plans.”

“Merci, mon mere!” he
said. “I’m glad someone is alert enough to know what
to do.” He hung up and glared at Gabe. “Mademoiselle
Stuart is at the hospital in Chaumont. I’ll go and
get her myself. I can’t depend on you. Get down
to the plane. Check the fuel and warm up the
engines. Be quick about it. I’m taking Cammie to Biarritz
as soon as I get her back here.”

He went down to the garage, leaving Gabe bleeding and unattended. His mind raced as he sped along in his Rolls Royce. All he could think of was finding Cammie and stopping her. I won’t let her ruin our plans, he muttered under his breath. We’re too close to getting what we’ve worked so hard for. It can’t slip through our fingers now!

He cursed under his breath. It’s not enough that Cammie has escaped, and Gabe botched things up, but now I have another problem. How do I do away with Jeremy? I have to find a way. We can’t have him blabbing his mouth off to the gendarmes.

* * *

At the hospital, Cammie sat by Jeremy’s bedside, holding his hand. In about ten minutes, he opened his eyes.

“Jeremy,” Cammie whispered, “how do you feel?”

He was quite groggy as he looked at her. “Where am I? What happened?”

“Shh,” Cammie soothed him. “You were shot. I got you to a hospital. They got the bullet out and stopped the bleeding. You’re going to be fine.”

“That man!” Jeremy exclaimed. “The one who shot me! Francois sent him to find you?”

“Yes! He’s Francois’ caretaker, Gabe. Thanks to you he didn’t succeed.”

Jeremy reached out and took her hand. “Well, thanks to you he didn’t get a chance to shoot me again.”

Suddenly Cammie spied Francois talking to the nurse at the desk. “Jeremy!” she gasped. “Francois is outside looking for me! I can’t let him see me!”

“Hide in the bathroom!” he ordered. “Lock the door! Hurry!”

Cammie no sooner disappeared when Francois entered Jeremy’s room with two policemen.

“There he is!” Francois said, pointing a finger at Jeremy. “He kidnapped my wife! Arrest him!”

If Jeremy hadn’t been so stunned by the false accusation, he would have laughed in his face.

“You thought you could get away with it, huh?” Francois yelled. “The nurse caught you red-handed! Thank God she was alert enough to call the authorities! Where is Cammie? I want my wife back!”

As Francois continued with his tirade, Jeremy felt a strange mixture of repulsion and amusement toward him. He couldn’t decide which emotion was strongest, but the amusement finally won out.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, trying to keep a straight face. “I didn’t kidnap her.”

“That’s a lie!” Francois shouted.

His outburst brought the doctor to Jeremy’s room. “Sir!” he warned Francois. “There are sick people here trying to get some rest, and this man has just had a bullet removed. Please be quiet!”

Francois straightened up to his full height and faced the doctor. “Do you know who I am? I am Count Francois Dubonnet II,” he sputtered, “and I won’t be spoken to that way!”

This didn’t deter the doctor one iota as he stared him down. “I don’t care if you’re the King, I won’t have my hospital invaded like this. Now be quiet, or I’ll have you thrown out!”

“I could have you fired from this hospital and your license revoked!” Francois threatened.

“I want you to leave!” the doctor told him. “Now! The health of the patients is far more important than any position of authority. Please go!”

Francois left in a huff, still threatening to report him.

As soon as the doctor left, Cammie came out of the bathroom. She was shaking. “Jeremy, I’ve got to get out of here! They’ll never believe me if I tell them that Francois kidnapped me and intends to kill me! They’ll make me go with him!”

Jeremy pointed to the dresser across the room. “Look in the drawer,” he told her. “My wallet should be in there. There are five hundred dollars worth of francs in it. Take it!” he ordered when she started to protest. “Take the keys to the car and get out of here! You can contact me later when you’re some place where you’ll be safe.”

Cammie was hesitant. “Will you be okay?” she asked anxiously.

“I’ll be fine!” he replied. “I’ll be even better when I know you’re safe! There’s no time to waste! Now get out of here!”

“What will you do for money?” she asked.

“I have my credit cards and travelers checks. Just go—please—before Francois finds out you’re still here.”

“I’ll try and get to Mom’s and Dad’s Castle in Scotland,” she told him. “I’ll contact you as soon as I get there.” She walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek.

* * *

As she left the room, Francois spied her. Startled, she turned and ran toward the nearest stairway exit. Francois followed her into the stairwell, but Cammie, with all of her ballet training, leaped over the banister and raced down the stairs. She jumped in behind the steering wheel of Jeremy’s rented car, and was off like a shot before Francois could catch her.

The last she saw of him, he was running to his Rolls Royce in an attempt to follow her.

She drove off just before Zack drove the limousine into the hospital grounds.

She was headed in the opposite direction, intent on escaping. Zack was equally intent on getting to Cammie before Francois kidnapped her again, and they missed each other.

* * *

Zack, Hildy, and Jay entered the reception room of the hospital. “Where are Cameron Stuart and Jeremy Douglass?” Zack asked the nurse. “Which one was shot?”

“Monsieur Douglass was shot. He’s out of the operating room and is recovering,” she replied. “I called the gendarmes and they’ve set up a twenty-four hour watch. He won’t get a chance to kidnap the Countess again.”