Stealing Luca's Heart (5 page)

“Can people walk onto private land in New Zealand and start shooting? Surely there are permits that are required? Are the police involved?” She needed to speak with the doctors and the police. This just couldn’t be happening.

“The police are investigating as we speak, along with George’s people. Believe me, Ally, everything’s being done that can be done.”

“What was this guy hunting for? I didn’t think there was any real game around there.” She knew that her dad needed her, and this whole accident wasn’t adding up. “You’ll need to give me the particulars. I’ll go down there immediately. I’m scheduled to travel to Auckland in a few days for a conference anyway, so it’s just a matter of switching my flights.”

She leaned away from the counter, opening a drawer. Inside she pulled out a notepad and pen, quickly writing down what needed to be done. She would call the hospital and try to connect with the physician in charge. There were so many things to do: first of which was to call Tara.

She looked up at Saren. “My sister lives in New Zealand. She’ll be able to get to him faster than I can. I should call her right now.”

“We left a couple of messages but haven’t heard back yet,” Saren explained. “Maybe you should try too.”

Ally remembered what her sister had said. “Oh, that’s right. She’s traveling for a few days. I’m not sure how to reach her. I’ll leave messages until I do.” Now understanding that Tara couldn’t get to him any quicker than she could made her decision to leave tomorrow a sound one.

Saren reached down, clicked open her briefcase, and lifted out a large envelope. “We assumed you’d want to be with your dad as soon as you heard the news, so the governor’s office has taken the liberty of making arrangements on your behalf. Almost everything you’ll need should be in this envelope, along with the police statements and accident information.” She slid the envelope across the table.

Saren continued, “I’m to pass along that the entire Tetari family feels responsible. They have taken charge of Cal’s care. You don’t need to worry there. Trust me when I tell you he’s in good hands.”

She shook her head. How could she be expected not to worry? Especially, when the reports were so vague.

“You’ll see what I mean when you meet the Tetaris. Simone Tetari in particular; that’s George’s wife.”

“Do you know the family well?”

Saren chose her words carefully. “I’ve never spoken to them personally, but have done extensive research on the family on the governor’s behalf. He’s impressed with the farm model they’ve established and would like to emulate some of their ideas in Iowa. That’s one of the reasons for your dad’s visit.”

“I’m getting the feeling the Tetaris are practically legends in New Zealand,” she muttered. Well, this was her family, and once she was there, she would be able to step in and assist Dad’s recovery and get him back home. She took the stack of papers out of the envelope and began to sort through them.

Saren nodded. “Legends…maybe, some of them. You’ll see for yourself shortly. The family is fiercely loyal to those around them. From what I understand, they have known your father for a number of years. They care about him. If I were you, I’d be prepared to be treated like their long-lost daughter.”

“Fine.” She scanned the flight information. “I’m leaving tonight?”

Saren clicked her briefcase shut. “When I said you’d want to leave immediately, that’s what I meant. You’ll be leaving with me as soon as you can get your things together, and don’t forget to grab your passport. I’ll drop you off at the airport. There’s a charter jet waiting.”

Ally’s eyes flew open. “Charter?”

“The weather is an issue. We don’t have time to get you to Des Moines to catch a flight. This way you’ll be in the air before the worst of the weather hits.” Saren pointed to an envelope in the mess of papers. “That’s your connecting flight in LA and your arrival time, a mere eighteen hours from now, into Auckland’s International Airport.”

She looked over the paperwork. “This all looks fairly straightforward. Thank you for arranging all of this, Saren, but I don’t see any flight information about how I’m getting down to the South Island from Auckland. Isn’t the farm around Queenstown?”

“Those details are being handled by the Tetaris. I’ve been assured you’ll know where to go once you’ve landed.”

“Sounds cryptic and tells me nothing,” Ally argued as she started down the hallway to pack.

Saren shrugged her shoulders. “Look, Ally, I know your family has been through a lot. I’ve told you all I know about this situation.” Saren averted her eyes and walked into the hall to retrieve her coat.

For a moment, Ally wondered what else Saren knew and wasn’t saying. But the thought passed quickly as she hustled to her desk to find her passport.

* * * *

“Please fasten your seat belts as we begin our final descent into Auckland, the City of Sails. The local time is seven fifteen a.m., Sunday, the temperature is a lovely twenty-four degrees Celsius,” the flight attendant pleasantly announced in her New Zealand accent.

“Excuse me,” Ally said to her seat mates on her left, a nice older couple from Oregon who were visiting New Zealand for the first time. “Do you know what that temperature is in Fahrenheit?”

She watched as the gentleman thought about that. “I believe it’s seventy-five degrees.”

“Thank you.”

She couldn’t believe it had taken her over eighteen hours of travel from Iowa City to get this far. Even though she’d made this trip before, there was still no getting used to the long hours in the air. Losing a day going down and gaining it back on the return flight was always confusing. Plus, there was the time difference to factor in. Her mind knew it was early morning, but her body was confused.

She had tried to sleep but gave up after the giant plane’s tail waggling proved too distracting. She started to watch a couple of movies, but even they couldn’t distract from the stockpile of questions she had. She continued to pray that her dad was just wounded, but that didn’t stop the worry about the head injury. That could mean anything. Plus he’d been
shot
. During the two-hour layover in Los Angeles, she was able to reach a nurse on her dad’s floor, who informed her that he was in stable condition. Was that code for medicated? Why wouldn’t they tell her anything else?

There still was the lingering question about where she was supposed to go once the plane landed. Maybe the flight attendant would come by and tell her what airport gate she needed to go to for the connecting flight to the South Island. At least the New Zealand customs didn’t have long lines like back in the United States. The drug-sniffing beagles also weren’t as threatening as the U.S. German shepherds.

The moment a person entered New Zealand, there was a completely different vibe. New Zealand was more concerned about items people might bring in that could potentially harm their agricultural industry, like foreign insects, not weapons or drugs.

The flight attendants were busy cleaning up the cabin, so she decided to wait before bothering someone about a connecting flight. She turned toward the window to take in the view below. Lost in the expanse of the ocean, her thoughts trailed to the first time she visited New Zealand. Could it have really been fifteen years ago? Her dad had taken the whole family with him for his first business trip to New Zealand. They were excited to get their passports and read all the brochures, trying to decide what they wanted to see.

While visiting the upper reaches of the North Island, they stayed in a colonial lodge overlooking the beautiful Bay of Islands. At the time, it seemed like there were little islands scattered everywhere you looked. Now Ally knew there were 150 islands off the coast. It reminded her of the Caribbean.

Mom had taken them to see the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, a place where the British and over 500 Maori chiefs had signed a treaty that made New Zealand a British colony. She wished she could remember more of the history. She did remember Tara drawing ink designs on her entire face, like the pictures they had seen in the museum of the Maori warriors. Then Tara told Mom to take a picture while she was in a warrior pose. Mom took the picture and then wouldn’t let Tara wash it off all day “so we all can enjoy our warrior”. Tara didn’t think it was so great after about an hour. In the end, one day as a warrior taught her quite a lesson about drawing on her face.

Their days were filled with sailing, trekking, and swimming with the wild dolphins that came into the lodge’s cove every morning. Even though she was only twelve, she left knowing that New Zealand people, kiwis, lived the dream. People were friendly, the air pure, and beauty was all around.

The plane shuddered in its descent. Ally gave herself a quick once-over. It was nice to put on summer clothes again. She decided that her khaki shorts and yellow T-shirt weren’t too wrinkled and didn’t smell like the seat she’d been living in for twelve hours. She pulled her trusty University of Iowa baseball cap out of her backpack and slipped her ponytail through the back. Running a tongue over her teeth, she wondered if she had time to brush again, just as a flight attendant stopped next to her row and leaned in across her seat mates.

“Ms. Edwards?”

“Yes?” She looked to the woman expectantly.
Please tell me where I’m supposed to go.

“I’ve been told to bring you to the rear of the plane. If you could just collect your things and follow me please.”

She was confused. “But we’re landing right now?”

“Yes, but if you could collect your things and come with me now, please.” This time the lady reached in and put her hand on Ally’s shoulder, emphasizing her point. “You need to take a seat in the rear of the plane where you’ll be disembarking.”

This lady looked ready to yank her out of the seat if she didn’t comply. Her seatmates watched her collect her things with worried expressions. “Enjoy your stay,” she said to them, stepping into the aisle and following the flight attendant through the plane. There were five hundred people on board, and at that moment, Ally felt like all eyes were on her.

When they reached the back of the plane, the flight attendant offered her the seat she needed to take and placed her backpack in an overhead bin. They both sat down and buckled in. Looking across at her suspiciously, the flight attendant said, “We had instructions from the tower, so unless you know what’s going on, we’ll both find out together once we land.”

“I really have no idea what’s going on. Do you do this for passengers very often?”

The lady shook her head. “We never allow passengers back here. There are rules against that.” Smiling at her, she asked, “Are you a celebrity?” The flight attendant looked at her like she could be sitting next to someone important.

“Just a teacher.”

The flight attendant considered her answer. “You must have important friends, then?”

She shrugged her shoulders. She had no idea what the attendant was talking about.

Chapter 5

The plane made a smooth landing and taxied into the gate. There was a tapping on the galley door and the attendant unlocked it, pushing it open. An official-looking man in a business suit was standing at the top of a mobile staircase. He quickly stepped onto the plane, pointing at Ally.

“Ally Edwards?” he yelled over the plane’s engines. He was wearing noise-canceling headphones, held a radio in his left hand, and looked very official. She nodded to him, and he motioned for her to follow him back down the stairs. She quickly retrieved her bag and went.

She’d know where to go once they landed, she got that now, but what in the world was going on? Why was she slipping out the back of the plane? What was up with this family? Didn’t they know how to text? She just needed to know what flight she was supposed to get on.

She stepped out onto the stairs and instantly felt the warmth of the sun and humid air. There were palm trees and other tropical-looking plants bordering the runway. What was that Jimmy Buffet song? Something about changes in latitude, changes in attitude? She swore she could feel her hair springing back into its natural waves.

The guy with the radio was waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase. Next to him stood a uniformed guard who was restraining a beagle. “Do you have your passport and declaration forms?”

She handed them over, watching him examine the papers and passport. The beagle eagerly sniffed her backpack. It dawned on her that she had her own private immigration officer. Now that was impressive. Perhaps she did have important friends, or her dad did.

“Are you bringing in any fruit or perishables?”

“No.”

“How long do you plan on being in the country?”

Now that was a good question. “A couple of weeks.” Ally hoped that would be enough time for her dad to be healthy enough for the long trip back home.

“Have you been walking on any farmyards prior to your flight?”

“What?” Ally thought he was must be joking.

The guy didn’t smile. “You know…any agricultural material on your shoes?”

Now she got it. Did she have shit on her shoes? She knew she didn’t but did a quick check anyway and shook her head.

The man continued on. “We can’t have any contaminated soil coming into the country that could potentially threaten our farms. So, to maintain our bio-security standards, we must prevent the entry of pests and diseases into our country. We cannot risk endangering New Zealand’s agriculture and horticulture industries. If you have any animal or plant items with you, or packed in your luggage, you must declare it on your passenger arrival card.”

They really don’t mess around here
. “No, I have nothing to declare.” As if she doubted herself, she performed another quick check of the bottom of her sneakers just in case and hoped to God that she didn’t have an apple in her backpack. No, she was positive she ate it.

He stamped her passport. “Good, welcome to New Zealand, Ms. Edwards. Please follow me.” The engines were on a manageable hum now as they walked around to the nose of the enormous plane and stopped. Standing next to a 747 was nothing short of amazing. There was a hive of activity from all the people swarming in to turn the plane over for its next flight. The baggage workers were busy unloading massive piles of luggage from their carts and placing them on a conveyer belt to make their way into the terminal.