Emily Kimelman - Sydney Rye 03 - Insatiable (8 page)

DUMPING A BODY IS NEVER EASY

There is something about the air that blows off the Caribbean. It is salty, but not like the ocean. It is fresh, but not like the breeze that flows over a lake or river. It’s like the little bear’s porridge; just right. And at night, when your whole life has just been flipped, it’s comforting in its consistency.

“What are we going to do?” Ana Maria asked me. I was sitting on the back of the boat with my feet dangling in the water. They looked incredibly white and slightly misshapen. Ana Maria was standing above me on the deck, holding onto the ladder to steady herself against the gentle rocking of the boat. Her brow was deeply furrowed and the blood that covered her was starting to dry and crack. I thought about telling her to go take a shower but then realized we needed to deal with Alejandro’s body before she bothered to clean up.

“Joy?” she said.

“My name is Sydney,” I answered, glancing over my shoulder at her.

“OK, Sydney. Will you…” She shook her head and her chin wobbled slightly. I thought she might start to cry but instead she cleared her throat and said, “Take me with you?”

I turned back to the sea. The sky above was filled with stars and a giant, bright white moon. It made the water into a high contrast black and white print. I looked back down at my legs and a thrill of fear ran through me as I imagined a giant silver barracuda coming to eat them. Pulling my calves out of the water, I hugged them to my chest.

“Please,” she said behind me, “I’ll help you, really I will.” Ana Maria started to cry. At first it was softly enough that I could pretend I didn’t hear it but soon it turned into deep sobs. When I finally looked over at her she was hugging the ladder, shaking. I stood up and faced her. She looked terrible. Red eyes and puffy lids, her nose was running and she wiped at it with the back of her hand which left a streak of blood there.

“They will come after us,” I told her. She nodded, a flicker of hope behind her eyes. “Ana, you’ve never had to run from anything. It’s not fun. It’s scary and dangerous and to be honest, we are unlikely to survive.” But in my mind I was already planning how we would. I could see ten steps ahead of where we sat anchored now. In my mind we were already safe. And I couldn’t do it without her. Someone had to drive the damn boat.

“I can handle it, anything you need,” Ana Maria said, her voice was strong and while the whites of her eyes were red there wasn’t a tear in sight.

“Fine,” I said, “lower a lifeboat.” Walking over to Blane, I said, “All right. This is where you get off.” I helped him to his feet. He didn’t struggle as I hauled him off the deck. Ana Maria lowered one of the two dinghies into the water.

Blane laughed when he saw it. “You’re putting me in there. And then what?” He turned to Ana Maria, “You two are going to head off into the sunset.” I pushed him toward the little boat. “Seriously, Sydney, this is insane. You can’t really be considering-” I cut him off by shoving him off the edge. Blane landed with a thud and a yelp at the bottom of his tiny ship. Blue let out a bark of excitement and paced the edge of the deck looking down at his prisoner.

“Bon voyage.”

“Sydney! Sydney!”

Ana Maria stood next to me looking down at him. Her fingers tapped against each other in nervous excitement.

“Pull up the anchor, let’s get back to the marina,” I said. Ana Maria did as she was told and we were under way. The yells of my former superior died out in the wind. I wasn’t quite sure, but I thought I heard him say something about ruing the day. I laughed out loud at the thought. Ana Maria looked over at me and I stopped. “Sorry,” I said.

She shook her head. “You have to laugh when life is at its worst.”

“Right.” I smiled at her.

“What about Alejandro?” she asked, looking over at his slumped form.

“I think we need to give him a burial at sea,” I said. I watched her closely, waiting for a protest or a look of horror. But she didn’t get upset, not even a flicker of anger crossed her face. Ana Maria walked over to her cousin’s corpse, kissed him gently on the forehead and then with a grunt of effort began to drag him to the edge. I watched her and so did Blue. Neither of us made a move. She positioned him parallel with the side of the deck and whispered softly, crossed herself and then with a push that was almost a shove, he fell. A short silence was followed by a loud splash and then nothing. Ana Maria sat crouched at the edge of the deck.

“Ana,” I said. She didn’t turn. “Ana, it’s time for you to take a shower.” Silently she stood up, passed me without a glance and disappeared below deck. I looked at the trail of blood that Alejandro left in his wake. A large pool marked where he died, a thick line as wide as his body showed the path his corpse took overboard, and a smaller but deeper river slithered toward the helm.

I pulled my phone out of my bag and place a call. “Sydney Rye account 0054624,” I told the operator. The two short rings of European phones rang in my ear. “Darcy Milligan, Private Jet Charters, consider it done,” was how Darcy always answered the phone. “Ms. Rye, how can I help you today?” Here was a woman who could solve at least one of my problems. Darcy set up my account when I first moved to London and had been my loyal Private Jet rep since then. Mulberry actually gave me her info, but I thought I could trust her. Part of Darcy’s job was discretion.

“I need a flight as soon as possible, Darcy. I’m in a bit of a rush.”

“Of course, Ms. Rye. Where are you?”

“I’m in Playa del Carmen, at the marina attached to the Paradise hotel.”

I heard her nails clicking on her keyboard. “Of course, Ms. Rye, I’m happy to set that up for you. What is the closest airport?”

“I’m not sure.”

“OK, how many people are traveling with you today?”

“Just me and one other person and Blue.”

“Where would you like to go?”

“The Caymans.”

“Certainly, would you like me to set up your usual apartments there?”

“No, Darcy, I don’t want anyone to know I’m there.”

“Yes?”

“I want the flight to continue after dropping me off in the Caymans and I don’t want anyone to know I got off.” Darcy didn’t answer for a moment but I heard the tapping of her keyboard.

“Ms. Rye, I have a plane that can be ready in 60 minutes. You’re booked for a trip to Jamaica with a layover in the Caymans to refuel.”

“Darcy, I love you.”

“Thank you, Ms. Rye. A car will meet you at the marina in 20 minutes.”

“Perfect, Darcy.”

I hung up with Darcy and looked down at my phone. I wanted to call Mulberry, but I didn’t fully trust him. Either he knew about this set up or was complacent in it. I needed to get rid of my phone before Blane reached land. After one more moment of contemplation, I dropped it over the side and watched the phone disappear beneath the water with barely a sound.

I went below deck for the first time. It was luxury. There was a full kitchen with stainless steel appliances just a little smaller than normal. The counters were shining black granite and the cabinets a light wood. The kitchen was open to a salon with an L-shaped couch in navy blue that surrounded a table large enough for eight to eat comfortably.

I heard the shower turn off and hurried down the hall toward the state rooms. Opening the first door on my right, I found neatly made bunk beds. The door across the hall opened onto a small state room with a single bed. An open leather duffel bag was on the floor. I picked it up and quickly established that it belonged to Ana Maria judging by the clothing. I rifled through it looking for her phone. It wasn’t there. Casting my eyes around the room I searched for a purse but didn’t see one.

Ana Maria walked in wearing a towel wrapped around her body and one over her hair. “What are you doing?” she asked, anger flaring in her eyes.

“Looking for your phone,” I said, cocking my head. “Is that a problem?”

“Why?”

“To get rid of it. I don’t want them using our mobiles to track us.”

“Oh, right,” she said, smiling. “That makes sense.” Opening one of the drawers in a built-in bureau she handed me an iPhone. I clicked the button and a lock screen glowed. It was a picture of Alejandro and Ana Maria on the boat, their arms around each other, grinning while wind whipped through their hair. Ana Maria turned away from the image toward her bag.

“Thanks,” I said.

“We should be docking soon. I’ll need your help,” Ana Maria said.

“I’ll jump in the shower, then,” I said.

She nodded. “It’s right down the hall.”

I found the bathroom and pulling off my bloodied clothing, climbed into the shower. I stood under the spray and closed my eyes. Using a washcloth I scrubbed at my body, leaving it feeling raw but clean. I turned off the tap and finding a towel, wrapped myself in it. I tried avoiding the mirror but the bathroom wasn’t that big. It was definitely me looking out of the glass. Melanie Franks was gone. I pulled my hair back and tied it in a loose bun, put on a robe that was hanging on the back of the door, then headed out to find some clean clothing.

Ana Maria was smaller than me and her clothing was never going to fit so I checked Alejandro’s closets. His state room was twice the size of the others. A large bed took up most of it. Small windows ran right next to the ceiling. As we bobbed along the view shifted from sky to sea. Alejandro’s closest was big for a boat and filled with clean, pressed clothing.

I found a pair of khaki pants that were too short and too big, but in conjunction with a belt, fit enough. A white cotton shirt, just a little too broad, completed my look. I felt better in his clothes than Melanie’s. They might be the clothing of a dead man, but I preferred that to the duds of a fictional character. I grabbed an extra pair of pants, two pairs of boxers and two t-shirts. I rummaged around a bit more hoping to find a backpack. Melanie’s huge purse, which was already very full, was now bursting with the addition of the clothing.

“Sydney!” Ana Maria called down to me. I dropped what I was doing and hurried above. The marina was very close. “You’ll need to jump,” Ana Maria said, standing behind the wheel. “I’ll throw you the ropes.”

“Great,” I said.

“Have you ever done this before?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No, but I think I can handle it.”

Ana Maria laughed. “I’m sure.”

She was an expert captain and brought the large vessel right next to the dock making it easy for me to jump off. She hurried from behind the wheel and threw me the stern line. I tied it off on a nearby cleat the best I could. Using the bow thruster she brought the nose of the ship against the dock and threw me the second line. I wrapped it around another cleat and then Ana Maria was by my side. Looking down at my work she kneeled and quickly retied the line.

“I’ve just got to put the springers on,” she said, climbing back aboard.

“OK, I’ll grab our stuff.”

I hurried back below decks and picked up my over-stuffed purse and Ana Maria’s duffel bag which she’d left closed and ready to go on the table in the galley. I stopped for a moment before joining Ana Maria. I pulled her phone out of my bag and looked down at the picture on its lock screen again. I wished that I could break into the phone. There was so much I didn’t know about this girl. Unfortunately, I had no idea what she’d use as her password.

I climbed back onto deck and saw Ana Maria tying more lines on the dock. Taking her phone to the edge I lit up the screen one more time before dropping it off the side.

Throwing Ana Maria’s duffel onto the dock, I followed with Blue on my heels. “A car is meeting us,” I told her.

“Won’t someone wonder about the blood?” she asked, looking back at the stained deck.

“We’ll be gone by then. Come on,” I pulled on her arm. Ana followed, picking up her duffel.

The car was waiting as promised. We climbed into the back and I leaned my head against the seat. It felt good to be out on my own. I’d spent the last three years training and learning and working methodically towards specific goals designed for me. Now I was the one in charge. In charge while on the run was not quite as empowering as in charge while not hiding from homicidal maniacs, the law, and one Bobby Maxim but it would have to do.

I wondered where Bobby fit into all of this. He sent me down to find his friend’s daughter. Or did he send me down here to set me up for another assassination? Why not use the same patsy twice? If that was the case, I really needed to kill that guy.

“Do you think my father hired Blane to kill Alejandro?” Ana Maria asked, breaking into my thoughts.

I hoped her father hired Blane, that it was a private deal and not through the agency, that Bobby and Mulberry weren’t tied up in this mess. I prayed that when I’d left the room, when I’d been looking at the posters on Ana Maria’s walls and listening to her mother’s plea for help, Pedro had been plotting Alejandro’s murder. That way Mulberry was still on my side. “I don’t know,” I said.

She turned away, looking out the window. “I think he did,” she said.

RICH AND EASY

The stewardess, whose name tag read Nicole, handed me a Bloody Mary without even asking. Darcy left nothing to chance. “I need to make a phone call,” I said.

Nicole nodded and gestured toward a handset at the front of the plane.