Rogue Diamond (4 page)

"
Si
,
Capitan
."

Nick
si
ghed heavily and ran a large hand roughly over his angular face. His finger lingered on the scar that ran along his cheek. Another close call. A few more inches and . . . "I'm tired,
Jose
. Tired of these late-night runs. Tired of the risks."

"My wife, she is tired of it, to
o, Capita
n."
Jose
chuckled nervously. "Every day she asks me if this is the last time."

"When we ha
ve a night like this, when some
body else screws up and my life is at stake, I wonder if it's worth the risk involved. Of course, for you it's a greater risk. What is it, three kids?"

Jose
nodded. "Twins and a little girl."

"Aw, hell. We're just tired tonight. Tomorrow it'll look different."

"It's already tomorrow."
Jose
pointed to his watch.

"Yep," Nick growled. "
And I’m a day
old
er
."

"Maybe you need a woman waiting in your bed at night,
Capitan
. She would rub your back.
Keep you warm," he said as he moved to get out of the helicopter.

"Hell, a woman wouldn't solve anything. She'd only create more problems!"

Jose
chuckled in the darkness.

"What's up for tomorrow?" Nick asked.

"Nothing."

"Good. That's exactly what I want to do for the next three days. Nothing!"

The next morning, Alex and Rosemary sat on the small back patio eating breakfast amidst the bougainvillea and fragrant gardenia bushes.

"Sam's gone to play tennis. He has a couple of buddies he would love to beat." Rosemary smiled as she poured them more coffee.

"I hope you didn't stay home because of me."

"Not at all." Rosemary tucked her robe tighter before
si
tting. "Sometimes it's fun to be lazy. I wanted to stay and keep you company. Be
si
des, he's beat me three Sundays in a row and I think it's time for hi
m to work out with someone his o
wn
si
ze and skill!"

Alex smiled and
reached for another pastry. "I c
an't believe I'm eating like this."

"After yesterday, I'm
sure you can afford a few
e
xtra calories. I'm
sorry that Sam was so rough on y
ou last night, Alex.
He means well, it's just that h
e's so realistic!"

"I under
stand, Rosemary. Maybe I needed s
omeone to plant my feet solidly on the ground."

"Leave it to Sam
to do the planting." Rosem
ary rolled her eyes dramatically. "I don't think
he understands how deeply you feel about Jenni, Alex."

"Do you remember the night she was born?" Alex mused softly.

"Oh, God, do I ever! We paced the living room of your house like a couple of prospective fathers. And when the midwife called for help, I knew I couldn't do it. I'm the one who faints when I prick my finger."

Alex laughed gently. "I'd never done anything like that before. It was an experience I'll never forget. . . ."

When Alex's voice trailed off, Rosemary picked up the memories. "The sound of that squeaky, little cry . . .
what a feeling! It meant every
thing was all right."

"I love her, Rosemary. And I won't give up until I find her," Alex vowed in a shaky voice.

Rosemary h
ugged Alex quickly. "You are de
termined. And I admire you for it. I have every confidence that you'll find her. I just hope the Univer
si
ty stays solvent long enough for you to do it."

"What do you mean?"

"You know the rumors about financial diffi
cul
ties that have been floating around for months? Well, there was a private meeting Friday evening of several i
rate professors. There were com
plaints about bu
dget cuts, lack of modern equip
ment, and salar
y freezes. They're going to pre
sent a petition to the pre
si
dent."

"Is it serious, Rosemary?"

"I'm afraid it's very serious. Of course, this univer
si
ty has been through upheavals before and weathered the storms. But lack of money is hard to argue."

"Has the administration announced budget cuts? And salary freezes?"

"No, the official budget hasn't been released publicly. Unofficially, though, the word is that no salaries will be
increased and that some depart
ments will be cut . . . departments like Early Childhood."

"Ours?" Alex lifted her brows. "I don't have tenure here to protect me."

"What better p
lace to make cuts than the chil
dren's departm
ent? We aren't strongly influen
tial in the country, like agriculture or bu
si
ness. We just teach women how to take care of their kids."

"But ours is one of the most important for the future. If the kids aren't educated and prepared for taking over respon
si
bilities and problems, who's going to do it?"

"Take it easy, Alex. You don't have to convince me. I'm on your
si
de, remember?"

"Sorry, Rosemary. If the budget
for our depart
ment is cut, guess who'll be the first to go? Me! The exchange professor from Arizona. And if I haven't found Jenni by then—"

"Now, Alex, don't jump to conclu
si
ons. Wait and see what happens."

"I have no alternative, do I? Wait and see what the Univer
si
ty is going to do with my job. Wait and see if the police find Jenni. Just wait. . . ."In frustration, Alex paced to the edge of the bougainvillea-lined patio and back. "It's not easy to wait. I want action now!"

"Well, sounds like we're going to have action sooner than we
planned. I think I hear my dar
ling husband returning from the ravages of a morning of tennis. So much for our time alone, Alex." Rosemary went to greet her husband and Alex could hear her murmuring to him.

In a few minutes, Sam poked his head out the door. "Morning, Alex. Feeling better?" He stepped out on the patio. "The coffee smells great! Mind if I join you two? Alex, I'm sorry about last night.
You've suffered a terrible trag
edy, and I'm afraid I've been insen
si
tive to your feelings."

"It's okay, Sam," Alex muttered. She was taken aback by his sudden apology. It was probably prompted by Rosemary. "Actually, you made me think about alternate ways of looking for Jenni."

Sam draped a towel around his neck and mopped his brow with one end. After pouring a cup of coffee, he sat oppo
si
te her. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"As serious as I've ever been about anything. She's like my own, Sam. I'm all she has, especially now that Teresa's . . ." Alex swallowed hard and didn't finish the statement. It hurt too much to say it.

Sam nibbled thoughtfully on an empanada, a small fruit pie. "There is someone who might be able to help you, Alex."

"Who?"

"Padre Ramo
n
, the priest at Our Lady of Gua
dalupe."

"Padre Ramo
n? I know him. In fact, he'll be conducting Teresa's funeral mass tomorrow. How could he help?"

"He knows everyone, and probably knows more about what's
going on in this city than any
body I can think of."

"I'm willing to try anything at this point."

"I'm just looking at
this realistically. You're go
ing to need all the help you can get in finding that baby."

Alex studied Sam's
si
ncere eyes. "Okay. I'll go talk to this priest."

The old priest
's rich chestnut hair was sprin
kled with gray and slightly shaggy along his white collar. His eyes were steady and kind, his chin square, his back straight and proud. He was a man who, Alex decided, had probably been quite handsome in his youth.

"I'm glad to see you, Alexis. It gives me a chance to practice my English. Please, come in and
si
t down."

"Thank you for seeing me, Padre. I must talk to you. It's urgent."

"Certainly." His voice was kind. "This is a hard thing you must
face. I understand you are Tere
sa's only family. Is it about her funeral?"

"No, I ... I need your help with something else."

"How can I help you?" He folded his hands benevolently.

She
si
ghed. "I'm having no luck in finding Jenni, Teresa's little girl. She was with us the day of the accident and disappeared right under our noses."

"Are the police looking for her?"

Alex shrugged and the discouragement showed in the sag of her shoulders. "They say they're looking. But nothing has come of it."

"And you think I can do something the police cannot?"

"Can you do something? Anything? Padre . . ." Alex lifted anxious blue eyes and began her appeal. "You know I'm the only family Teresa had. There is no one else to take care of her child. I'm her godmother, and I ... I love her."

Padre Ramo
n nodded. "I can see that you do."

Alex spread her hands helplessly. "Then do something to help me.
Some say she might have been taken, abducted.
I have to find her!"

Turning away from Alex's stricken face, the priest studied a crack in the old stucco wall for a few terse minutes. "There is a man ..."

"Yes?" Alex prodded him.

He shook his head. "I don't know if he can help you or if he will. But if there is anyone in this city who could—"

"Who is he?" Al
ex asked anxiously, leaning for
ward.

The priest began to jot something on a slip of paper. "You must promise—"

"Yes! Anything!"

"Promise not to tell him, or anyone, that I sent you to him."

She gave her word.

"His name is Nick Diamond, but he is known around here as El
Capitan
. He has a bu
si
ness of sorts in town. This is his address."

Alex leaned back reflectively. "El
Capitan
? I've heard of hi
m. He's an American? A wheeler-
dealer type?"

The priest shrugged
si
lently.

Alex's eyes dropped to the slip of paper and she mumbled a response to her own ponderings. "Why else would an American have a bu
si
ness here in Mexico, but to make money?"

"Be prepared to pay, Alex."

"Pay for my own little girl?"

Father
Ramon
'
s eyes met hers steadily. "What
ever it takes to get her back."

Alex's back straightened as she drew up tightly. She was dealing with a different breed now. Someone who was devious enough to steal a child. "I'll do whatever is necessary. Thank you, Padre
Ramon
.
" Even as she said it, Alex won
dered where she would get enough money.

CHAPTER THREE

Alex paused out
si
de the shabby office door and took a deep, shaky breath. In the distance, she heard the plaint
ive wail of a
si
ren and instinc
tively shuddered. It would be a long time before the reminders of the tragedy were gone from her mind. There was still the most vi
si
ble reminder —her own empty house. She had yet to face those hollow rooms by herself.

The sultry April air was suffocatingly hot and heavy. Perspiration trickled beneath her hair and down her back. She should have pinned her hair up for comfort. It would have hidden the frizzy curls that always busheled her hair during the rainy season. But she didn't think of it. In fact, Alex hadn't thought of anything except Jenni for the last two days. And nights.

She gripped the doorknob. It rattled loosely and threatened to fall off in her hand. Across the thick patterned glass of the upper half of the door were painted the words: AIRCRAFT SERVICE —We Fly An
yone Anywhere. By American stan
dards the place was seedy. Was this the office of the norteamericano, the one who could help anyone do anything? Or was he just down here in Mexico to make a
buck? He advertised to fly any
one anywhere. We
l
l, a
l
l she needed from him was help in finding Jenni.