Deception (22 page)

“Because you loved the American woman.” Raymond spit out the words as if they were distasteful to him. “That woman, Jamie. You were willing to betray us for her. I saw the look in your eyes when you heard there was a child.”

When Joseph spoke, his voice was tinged with panic. “Never. Never would I betray you, Rahmed. Yes, I wanted to quit, but never would I betray you or the movement. Had I known she was FBI, I would have killed her myself. I would never betray you, my brother.”

“I know nothing of the sort.”

“We don’t have time for this—”

Without warning, Raymond pushed Joseph to the floor. Raymond closed the door and turned back to Joseph. Raymond’s black eyes glittered with hatred.

“Rahmed, please, we are...” Joseph implored his brother.

Raymond walked towards him.

Joseph scooted on the floor trying to get away. “Rahmed, don’t do--”

Raymond lifted the gun and pulled the trigger.

Patti’s hand flew to her mouth to stifle her scream.

Maria’s nails dug into her palm.

Raymond stood watching his brother die. Stepping over Joseph, he spat out, “traitor.” He walked out of the room.

Patti and Maria stared at each other, but said nothing.

After a few minutes, Patti nodded at Maria and the two women bolted through the bathroom door.

Patti was intent on getting to the stairs and among the partygoers. Too afraid to go to the security guards or the captain, they both agreed they couldn’t trust anyone.

Not that she would feel safe until she was off the yacht and far away from Raymond.

Maria stopped Patti at the steps. “We can’t just go up there. We’re a mess. They’ll be sure to discover us. We’ve got to find somewhere to hide.”

Patti saw the truth in Maria’s words. “Sometimes the best place to hide is right out in the open.” She looked at Maria and repeated the words.

Maria nodded in agreement. “That’s it. I’ve got an idea.”

Maria led them down another hallway and pointed at a door.

Patti’s first impulse was to stay out of rooms where she could once again be trapped.

Maria grabbed her arm and pulled her through. The room was empty except for clothes.

“This is the female servers’ lounge. We can hide in here until the yacht docks. Raymond would never look for us here.”

The servers had changed into their costumes in the room. Clothing was everywhere. In addition to their street clothes, there were extra serving costumes, wigs, and other beauty aids.

“Sounds good.” Patti turned to Maria. “I don’t understand. Why does your husband want to kill you?”

“I figured out he was involved in something horrible.” Her dark brown eyes filled with tears and her lips trembled. “It sounds crazy, but I think he’s a terrorist.”

“He is.”

“Before I could call the cops, he stole my daughter,” Maria said through tears. “He told me if I didn’t do exactly what he wanted, I would never see her again.” She took a breath and continued. “He told me I could see Layla after the party, but it was a lie. He was going to kill me – just like he was going to kill you. Why was he calling you Patti? I thought your name was Jamie.”

Hearing Jamie’s name brought back the grief.

“Jamie is my twin sister. I came looking for her and ended up here.” She took out her cell phone then scrolled down to find Carter Caldwell’s number. “Hurry. Hurry,” Patti whispered as the phone rang and rang.
Please let him answer the phone. Please.
“Pick up. Pick up.”

“Hello.”

At the sound of his voice, Patti almost fell apart. “Carter. Carter, is that you? It’s me Patti,” she whispered into the phone. She longed for the safety of his arms around her.

More static.

“Patti, is that you? I can barely hear you. Are you Ok? Where are you?”

“I can’t hear. We’ve got a bad connection, just listen, Carter. We need help. I can’t explain all of it so listen. I’m on this yacht in San Francisco. You’ve got to get some police here to help me. He wants to kill—”

“Patti, I know...”

Patti couldn’t make out his words over the static. She hoped he could hear her. “You’ve got to get someone to the ship. I don’t know the name of it, but it’s the Children's Fund benefit. I know you’re in Palm Beach, but call Marcus. He’ll know what to do.”

Patti struggled to make out his words but the static was louder than his voice. “I can’t hear you, Carter. I can’t make out what you’re saying.”

Silence. The static stopped along with the connection.

“It was such a bad connection I couldn’t tell if he understood what I was saying or not. I guess we better plan on taking care of ourselves.”

Maria looked around the room. “We could hide in here, but if they find us then we’ve got no way to escape. I say we should make ourselves presentable and try to mingle with the others. Just be sure we stay together and away from Raymond.”

Patti’s gaze wandered around the room filled with servers’ costumes and leis. An idea formed in her mind.

It might just work.

33

The police speedboat was racing towards the yacht when the call from Patti came.

Carter tried to reconnect but the line went dead.

Marcus sat watching him. “What did she say?”

“It was a bad connection, but I did hear her say something about the Children's Fund benefit. She’s got to be on that ship, why else would she talk about it? I tried to tell her we would be boarding the ship in a few minutes, but I don’t think she could hear me. Too much static. She sounded terrified, but she’s still alive. Thank God.”

Marcus flipped open his phone. “Hanks here.” A pause. “When? Marcus’s face paled. “How?” Marcus closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. “Has it been confirmed?” Marcus listened, no expression on his face, with eyes still closed.

The grief on the man’s face was evident.

Marcus took a deep breath. “I see. That makes sense to me, as well. We’re on our way to the yacht now. The situation should be contained soon.” He flipped the phone shut.

Carter waited.

After a moment Marcus looked over at him. “They found Jamie.”

“Alive or dead?”

“Dead. Some tourists found her body in the Glades.”

Patti would be devastated. And the thought of cute little Sabrina growing up without her mother was the worst part of it.

“Of course, that’s where every murderer in Florida takes the body. A positive identification was made?”

“Not yet. Can’t get fingerprints or use dental records, but she fits Jamie’s general description. Right height, weight, and hair color.”

“Maybe they’re wrong. Maybe it’s someone else.”

“Yeah, what are the chances of that?” Marcus lifted his gaze from the cell phone he still held.

“Not much of a chance, but—”

“They were going to take a DNA sample from Sabrina but decided it would be less intrusive to get the sample from Patti, since they are twins. They’re going to wait for a final ID until she gets back to Florida.”

“I’m sorry, Marcus. I know she was a friend—”

Marcus held up a hand and shook his head. “Not now. Let’s stay focused on keeping Patti alive.”

****

The police boat sprayed up water as it came to a halt next to the yacht.

Carter and Marcus boarded, along with two other FBI agents.

The partygoers stopped what they were doing to stare at the group who’d made such a dramatic entrance on to the ship.

Carter searched for Patti.

The captain and another man dressed in a white linen suit and a fedora walked towards them. Neither looked happy about their intrusion.

Mr. Fedora stepped forward. “I’m Harold Hart. I own this ship. What is the meaning of this? We’re on our way back as asked. We were told the matter would be handled discreetly. You can’t simply come aboard and ruin the party. These people have—”

Carter stepped close to the man. “You’ve got big trouble. I suggest you cooperate or we might think you’re part of the terrorist ring we’ll be arresting soon.”

Harold Hart flinched and backed away from Carter. He looked at Marcus. “What is he talking about?”

“We don’t have time to explain,” Carter answered. “We need to find Joseph Hamed, Jamie Jakowski, and anyone else who knows the two of them. What’s the best way to do that?”

“Look, you will take the time to tell me what’s going on, or you can get off my yacht.”

”You are in American waters.” Carter said. “Do you want to be responsible for someone’s death? Because right now, you can be arrested for obstruction of justice.”

Marcus stepped between the two men and spoke softly. “Let’s calm down and go somewhere with more privacy.”

“You go talk. I’m going to look for Patti.” Carter said.

“Carter. We’ve got to do this in an organized way. Otherwise, we’re wasting our time.

Looking for Patti would have to wait a few more minutes.

Carter hoped it wouldn’t be too late.

****

Patti and Maria were dressed in identical brightly colored Hawaiian shirts, white shorts and long, black wigs, making them indistinguishable from the other servers. Heavy makeup hid even more.

Maria’s blue sandals with long straps that crisscrossed to her mid-calf were noticeable, however. Patti’s simple white sandals blended in with the server’s outfit she wore.

“Raymond won’t even think to look at the serving staff. He’s too arrogant. As far as he’s concerned, they aren’t even people, just robots put there to serve him.”

“I guess we should both find a tray to carry and then make our way to the exit ramp.”

“Hold on a minute.” Maria looked around the room. She walked over to the sink area and found a piece of paper. She wrote something down and brought it back to Patti. “Here’s the address where I think my daughter is. If...if something happens to me, find her. Don’t let that monster near her. Promise me.”

“I promise.” She touched Maria’s arm. “I need a moment to pray.”

Maria nodded. “Go ahead. We need all the help we can get.”

Patti extended a hand to Maria. “Pray with me.”

She backed away. “It’s been so long since I’ve prayed. God doesn’t care what I want.”

Thinking back to what Carter had told her, Patti gave her a gentle smile and grabbed hold of her hand. “Not true. God’s mercies are new each day. He’ll hear us and He’ll help us.”

They knelt down. When they were finished, both women wiped away their tears, ready to face their future. If they had one on this earth.

****

Patti held a tray of drinks as she roved through the crowd, but her eyes never left Maria who passed out appetizers a few feet from her.

Maria whispered to Patti. “I heard some people talking. They said a group of men boarded the boat. H.H. argued with them and the group disappeared. Who do you think it was?”

Patti’s heart lurched with hope.“Must be the police or FBI. Carter must have been able to get hold of Marcus. We’ve got to find them. They’re probably looking for me. Did those people say where they were?”

Maria shook her head and looked towards shore. “It won’t be long until we’ll be back to the pier. People are saying H. H. was asked to come back. No one knows why. You go search for them, but as soon as the yacht docks, I’m leaving. I can’t risk letting Raymond get to Layla before I do. If that happens, I will never see her again.”

Raymond had, no doubt, already made a phone call to the people holding Maria’s daughter, but there was no point in telling Maria. If she lost hope, she might fall completely apart and that wouldn’t be good.

“We’ll tell the police and they can dispatch a car to her right away. It will be quicker than us going alone.”

“Good. You do that, but I’m still getting off the ship to go find Layla. I gue...”Maria stopped speaking midsentence. The blood drained from her face, replaced by a look of terror.

Patti turned to see Raymond. He was searching the crowd.

Patti grabbed Maria and both turned their backs.

****

Carter stared down at the body of Joseph Hamed in the Ronald Reagan State Room.

The Special Agent-In-Charge was barking orders into his cell phone a few feet away.

Kathryn sobbed as her husband helped her to a chair. “I can’t believe this. Who would do something like this?”

Marcus looked at Mason Fredricks, the head of the security force, who’d been hired for the event. “So, no one reported hearing gunshots?”

He shook his head.

Carter looked at the amount of duct tape scattered around the room. It was obvious it had been used to subdue someone, probably Patti. But, maybe not just Patti. Too much tape for just one person.

Carter’s mind raced through scenarios.

Kathryn interrupted Carter’s thoughts. “I don’t understand. Joseph Hamed was a terrorist? I can’t believe it. We’ve known him for years.”

“Impossible. Impossible,” muttered H.H. but he looked as if he might faint. He sat down beside his wife and looked up at Carter. “What do you want us to do?”

The agent slammed his phone shut and walked over to the group. He looked at H.H. and then at Mason Fredricks. “Call your security force together. Have them move everyone into a ballroom, and then lock down each of the ballrooms. Don’t let anyone leave a room once it’s been locked down. Do you have enough men to guard the doors and get the others in the rooms?”

Mason nodded. “Not a problem.”

“Are those the only places where the parties are being held? In the ballrooms and on deck?” Marcus asked Kathryn Hart.

She nodded. “Yes, but we didn’t actually shut off the other areas. We locked the private rooms so people couldn’t snoop around them, but they’re free to walk around.”

“Good. Then it shouldn’t be too hard to contain them.” Marcus nodded, and then looked at Carter and the other agent. “While the security force is securing the areas, we’ll make a search of the rest of the yacht.”

****