Cast An Evil Eye (22 page)

It took less than five minutes for all of them to board the plane. As soon as they were all buckled in, Zack gunned the throttle. The plane glided gracefully and smoothly across the firmly packed snow, and they were airborne, headed back to Paris to try and save Courtney.

CHAPTER XXXII
 

T
wo hours after Zack and Renee found their friends in the lodge, Zack landed the rented plane on the runway in Paris with his grateful passengers on board. He took the parkas and boots inside to the man who rented the plane to him. “Thanks,” he said. “These sure came in handy.”

“Did everything turn out all right?” the man asked him.

“I found what I was looking for,” Zack replied. “I’m sorry to rush off, but the matter isn’t finished yet. Someone’s life is in danger.”

“Is there anything I can do?” the man asked. “Call the gendarmes? I don’t know where you’ll be—”

“I appreciate the offer,” Zack interrupted, “but—no. We have a gendarme with us.” He hesitated, then turned back. “You can call a limousine. There are seven of us. We shouldn’t be separated right now. It could be dangerous.”

“There’s a limousine company just down the road,” he told Zack. He picked up the phone. “Send a limousine here tout suite, si’l vous plait.” He turned to Zack. “The limousine will be here in five minutes.”

“Merci!” Zack rushed back to the others.

The limousine arrived on time and they were on their way back to Zack’s and Renee’s place.

Once they were in the apartment, Zack rose and began to pace nervously.

“What now?” Jeremy asked. “What’s our next move?”

Zack was frustrated. “I don’t know.”

“How about you, Renee?” Cammie turned to her, woman to woman.

Renee’s eyes had a guarded look, then lit up as a thought suddenly hit her.

“What?” Cammie persisted. “Something has come to you! Tell us!”

Renee looked at her for a long moment. “This may sound crazy,” she said, “but I think we should go for a walk in the park.”

Cammie’s mouth fell open in surprise. “You’re right,” she told her. “It does sound crazy.”

But Zack felt if this had come to Renee, then he trusted it. “Let’s go!” he said to the others. “I’ve seen Renee at work before and I’ve learned to listen to her.”

One by one they followed Renee down the stairs and out to her patrol car. It was big enough to hold them all. In five minutes they had arrived at the park which backed up to the apartment where Manny was holding Courtney.

A band was playing over in a corner, and children were dancing to the music. The tune was one of the beautiful songs from “Déjà Vu”—“All Is Right Again.”

Cammie looked questioningly at Renee. “What now?” she asked.

“Cammie—I want you to go to the bandstand and sing that song into the microphone.”

Zack gazed at Renee with great admiration. “Right on!” he exclaimed. “Do as Renee asks,” he told Cammie.

Cammie hesitated.

Zack knew how urgent this was. “Do it now!” he ordered.

Cammie walked over to the bandstand and spoke to the band leader. “I’m Cameron Stuart Dubonnet,” she told him. “Do you mind if I sing that song? My family is right over there, and the song is from ‘Déjà Vu,’ the musical that my daughter, Courtney, wrote. I’d very much like to sing it.”

The conductor was noticeably impressed. Cameron Stuart—the famous singer and actress from years ago! He turned and spoke to one of the musicians.

As the band struck up the tune, Cammie looked at Renee, who nodded approval.

Cammie’s beautiful voice filled the park. People came running to the bandstand and gathered around to hear her.

The music floated through the windows of the apartment at 221 Rue de la Parc.

Manny, Greg, and Lilli were all in the kitchen talking in low voices.

Courtney was in the living room. As she listened to the music, the vacant stare disappeared, and a frightened expression replaced it. She looked around frantically and saw that she was alone.

She tiptoed to the door and looked back.

No one was watching her.

The music drowned out any noise she made as she walked out the door and sneaked down the stairway.

As soon as she reached the ground floor she rushed over to the back exit and out to the park.

As Cammie sang, Courtney suddenly appeared in front of the bandstand and joined her mother with the singing.

Back in the apartment, Manny’s sharp ears picked up Courtney’s distinctive, beautiful voice. There was no mistaking it, and he suddenly realized she was gone. After alerting Lilli and Greg he rushed out of the apartment. He pushed his way through the crowd and tried to pull Courtney away, but she refused. There were too many people around for him to force her.

Glen saw what Manny was trying to do. He quickly approached the stand and spoke to her gently.

“Courtney.”

Courtney whirled around and looked at him with a full recognition of who he was. Her eyes filled with tears. “Glen!” she cried. She threw her arms around him. “I thought I’d lost you!” Manny tried once more to grab Courtney’s arm and pull her away from Glen, when he spied Renee standing behind him. He turned and tried to run, but Zack, Jay, and Jeremy surrounded him. There was no escape.

Renee pulled his hands behind his back and snapped the handcuffs on him.

Greg and Lilli had followed Manny to try and recapture Courtney. When they saw who was there and what was going down they tried to get lost in the crowd, but it was no use. The men stopped him and Lilli.

Jeremy stepped up to Greg and pulled the signed document out of his pocket. He looked Greg straight in the eye and tore up the piece of paper. “Thought you could get away with it, did you? Well, think again!”

Renee and Zack ushered all three of them into the patrol car. The others followed them to the street. “We’ll see you at the hotel,” Jay told them, “after you finish booking them.”

Renee and Zack drove off with their three prisoners.

Courtney turned to Jeremy. “What happened? I had a terrible dream. A nightmare. I dreamed you weren’t my Daddy. A man named Gregory Wilcox was, and a woman who was a Countess was my grand-mother. I think her name was Lilli. It’s all so vague. I’m so glad it’s not true. What made me dream such a thing?” She turned to Hildy. “Oh, Grandy Hildy! I missed you. And Sir Jaybird—you’re all here.” As she looked around she saw some signs written in French. “What am I doing in Paris? How did I get here?”

Glen took her in his arms right there in the street and kissed her as she nestled contentedly in his arms.

“Thank God for Renee’s intuition!” Hildy exclaimed. “She’s just like Zack! What a great pair they make!”

“This calls for a celebration!” Glen declared. “Let’s go back to the hotel and wait for Zack and Renee. Then we’ll go to that restaurant you told me about—the one on the River Seine.”

Jay pulled his cellular phone from his pocket. “I’ll call the limousine service again. We need a car that will take all of us.”

On the ride to La Grande Veue Hotel, Courtney snuggled up to Glen. “You know what I want?” she asked him.

“Anything. What is it, sweetheart?”

“We almost lost each other. Let’s get married right away. Tonight. Here in Paris.”

Glen’s eyes twinkled. “I thought you’d never ask!” he teased. He turned to Jay. “How do we work this out?”

“Zack and Renee should know,” Jay spoke up.

“We’ll ask them the minute they get here!” Jeremy promised.

As soon as the limousine pulled up to the hotel, they went up to Hildy’s and Jay’s room to wait for Zack and Renee.

Jay picked up the phone and asked for Room Service. “Two bottles of your best champagne,” he told them. “Please send them up to Room #1010 right away.”

By the time the champagne arrived, Zack and Renee had rejoined them.

Zack had a triumphant grin on his face. “Greg, Lilli, and Manny have all been booked and are in jail again—”

“—this time for a lot longer.” Renee finished his sentence. “This calls for a toast!” Jay exclaimed. He popped the cork and poured the champagne into the eight flutes that were resting on the table. “To Courtney and Glen! And to Renee and Zack. May they all have a long and happy life together!”

Jeremy called the restaurant overlooking the Seine, which had such happy memories for them all. “This is Count Francois II,” he said. “I’d like to make a reservation for eight people. We need a private room and a wedding dinner for two couples. Can you have it ready in an hour? Great!” He hung up and turned to Zack and Renee. “I bet you never had a wedding dinner.”

Zack put his arm around Renee. “No, we never got around to it. We were too busy trying to find out what happened to Courtney, but that’s all solved now. Thanks, Jeremy.”

After the toast they went down to the lobby and called for a limousine. It didn’t take long to arrive at the City Hall.

The Justice Of The Peace was there, and half an hour later Courtney and Glen were Mr. and Mrs. Glen Macdonald.

When they arrived at the restaurant overlooking the Seine the wedding dinner was all ready. They were ushered into a private room where the whole family could be alone.

“I want to keep performing in ‘Déjà Vu’,” Courtney announced. “Can we fly back tomorrow? I miss the theatre.” She laughed. “Funny—I never thought I’d say that, but I really do.” She looked up at Glen and sighed with contentment. “I have everything I could possibly want,” she said. “How did I get so lucky?”

No, the others thought. We’re the lucky ones! Courtney has been rescued and she’s back to herself, safely married to Glen; Gregory, Lilli, and Manny are all in jail again where they belong; Nate and Julia are fine; Renee and Zack have found each other and are happily married. What could possibly make it better? Like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Everything had begun to fit together. Only one piece was missing. What about Gus?

As they sat there enjoying each other and their delicious dinner, Zack’s cellular phone rang. His face lit up when he heard the voice on the other end of the line. “Gus! How are you doing?”

Gus was frantic. “Zack—I remembered! Manny is helping Gregory Wilcox get back his title of Count. He’s going to kill Courtney! You’ve got to stop him!”

“Calm down,” Zack admonished him. “Manny and Gregory and Lilli are back in jail. Courtney is here with us, safe and sound. She just got married.” He had a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Gus—prepare yourself for a big surprise! Are you sitting down? I met a female officer who helped me solve this whole thing. Her name is Renee Aumont Davis. We fell in love and got married.” He looked at Renee.

She knew instinctively what he was asking, and she nodded.

“Gus—” Zack turned back to the phone—“I’m bringing Renee back to the States with me. I’ll fill you in when we get there,” he said as he hung up.

“Gus has his memory back?” Jay asked. “That’s great!”

The jigsaw puzzle was complete. A great sense of peace settled over the group.

“I think you should take a few days off for a honeymoon,” Cammie suggested. “All four of you.”

“Yes!” Hildy joined in. “I know just the place for it! Courtney Castle in Scotland! There are forty rooms. You’ll have plenty of privacy.”

Courtney rose from her chair and went over to her beloved grandmother. “Oh, Grandy Hildy,” she cried, “I’d love it!” She looked at Glen, stars in her eyes. “You’ll love it, too. You’ll have a chance to see the family Castle! I can wait till next week to go back to the theater.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m so glad to be back with all of you,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion. “I began to wonder if it would ever happen.”

“Well—thanks to Renee you’re back with us safe and sound,” Hildy declared. “And this is a small way we can thank you, Renee.” Renee walked over to Hildy and hugged her. “Merci! Merci! What a wonderful idea!” There were tears in her eyes—happy tears. “Thank you for including me.”

Hildy smiled warmly. “Welcome to the Stuart family!”

The wedding dinner and happy celebration were over all too soon, and they returned for the night to La Grande Veue Hotel. All except for Zack and Renee, who returned to their apartment.

As soon as they got back to the hotel, Glen registered himself and Courtney as Mr. and Mrs. Glen Macdonald. He and Courtney couldn’t wait to be in each other’s arms as husband and wife.

Courtney emerged from her shower and donned a beautiful night-gown with a matching negligee that Cammie had bought for her—a delicate lilac color. Her long blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders as she walked over to Glen. She looked like an angel.

He couldn’t wait a moment longer. He swept her up in his arms and carried her to the canopied double bed.

The stars and moon had come out and shone through the window, as the magic of Paris settled over La Grande Veue Hotel.

Courtney reached up and pulled Glen close. Her whole body tingled with love for him as she rested in his arms and they became one.

An accordion was playing in the street below. The beautiful music from “Déjà Vu” floated in through the window—perfect music for their wedding night—“All Is Right Again.”