Sweet Fortune (31 page)

“Don't you dare hurt Alex,” Susan wailed. “He was just trying to help me.”

“It's all right, Susan,” Alex said soothingly. “He won't hurt either of us.”

“Give me a break,” Landis said. “You're both dead meat. You think Bright can afford to let you live after what you found out, Susie, baby?”

“I told you I wouldn't tell anyone. Please, Landis. Let us go.”

“Shut the fuck up and move. Back to the house.”

Hatch glanced back at David, silently telling him to be ready as the other three started toward the pile of boulders. Landis was making his captives keep as close to the shoreline as possible, Hatch noted with relief. That route would bring them past the jumble of boulders where he and David were hiding.

With one last reassuring nod at David, Hatch faded back into the trees.
An ace in the hole
.

Hatch sensed David's nervousness as the younger man flattened himself against a boulder, but he also sensed the determination in him. David was going to do his part, come hell or high water. Jessie's cousin was no wimp.

David waited until Alex and Susan had gone past. Then Landis was below him, cursing as he pushed aside a swaying branch.

David did not hesitate. He came down off the boulder feetfirst.

The gun Landis had been holding went off. The shot roared through the woods, louder than thunder on the night air. It was followed by a heavy thudding sound and a stifled shout that faded out quickly.

Silence descended.

The hair on the back of Hatch's neck stirred. He glanced to his right and saw a lone figure slither out from a heavy veil of tree limbs. Moonlight glinted on the gun in his hand.

Hoffman.

The pilot was being cautious, waiting to assess the situation before he moved in.

“Hey, Hatch,” David called, his voice infused with the euphoria of the victorious male. “I got him. It's okay. Come on out.
I got him
.”

The figure Hatch was watching froze, the gun still aimed in the general direction of the activity. But it was obvious the second armed man now realized there was another presence in the woods. He started to turn, nervously searching the undergrowth.

Hatch knew it was the only chance he was going to get. Hoffman had started his scan from the wrong direction.

Hatch launched himself forward. He struck solid flesh and threw a short, savage punch. The gunman choked on a groan, dropped the gun, and reeled forward. Hatch went in low and hit him a second time. Hoffman collapsed on the damp ground.

“Hatch?” David burst forth from a small stand of trees. “You okay? What's going on here?” He halted abruptly when he saw the man on the ground.

“His name is Hoffman,” Hatch said. “He's buddy of the one you just took out. These two must have comprised Bright's security force.”

“What are we going to do with them?” David asked, glancing back over his shoulder.

“Leave them here. I don't want to drag them all the way back to the boat, that's for sure.” Hatch scooped up the gun Hoffman had dropped. “Everything go all right back there?”

“Yeah.” David's voice filled with excitement once again. “Landis is out cold. Shit. I never thought that karate stuff would really work.” He was obviously awed at his own success.

Hatch gave him a faint grin as they moved back through the trees. “Nice job. You can cover my back anytime.”

“Thanks.” David's grin spread from ear to ear. “All right. Hey, it's a deal. Anytime.”

“You guys okay?” Alex demanded as Hatch and David reached them. He had a protective arm wrapped around Susan's shoulders. Susan was whimpering softly.

“We're fine.” Hatch shoved Hoffman's gun into his belt and handed Landis' to Alex, who did the same. “Now we all get back to the boat. Fast.”

“You didn't tell me you had anyone else with you, Alex,” Susan murmured to Robin.

“There wasn't time to explain. That bastard with the gun appeared out of nowhere,” Alex said.

“I should have known you'd have it all planned out,” Susan said admiringly. “You're so brilliant, Alex.”

“Kind of a rough plan, but it was the best I could do on the spur of the moment,” Alex said modestly.

David slid Hatch a knowing look. “I told you the man's in love,” he muttered.

“You pegged it. Let's get moving here.” Hatch realized that the sense of urgency he was experiencing had not diminished. If anything, it had grown stronger in the past few minutes.

This was absolutely the last time he was going to let Jessie talk him into one of her crazy schemes, he vowed silently. The woman was a menace to herself and others. She needed to be kept on a tight leash, and from here on out, Hatch intended to do exactly that.

He kept that glowing promise before him like a talisman as he followed the others through the trees back to the little cove where Jessie and the boat were waiting.

Less than five minutes later, just as they were moving out of the trees and onto the rocky beach, a familiar voice split the night air.

“Don't come any closer,” Jessie yelled. “He's got a gun.”

But it was too late. Alex, Susan, and David had already moved out into the open. Hatch alone was still shielded by the thick foliage as he took in the scene on the shore.

Jessie was standing helplessly in the gently bobbing boat. Edwin Bright had one arm around her throat. In his other hand he held a gun to her head.

“By all means, let's have your friends come a little closer, my dear,” Edwin Bright said loudly.

W
hat happened to Landis and Hoffman?” Bright called from the boat.

“We left them back there in the woods,” David answered with astonishing calm.

“Who are you?” Bright demanded impatiently.

“A friend of Jessie's.”

“The one they call Hatchard?”

David was silent.

“Answer me,” Bright roared, “or I'll put a bullet through her head.”

“No,” David finally said, offering no further explanation.

“Dammit, where's Hatchard?” Bright yelled. “I know he's the one behind all this, the one who screwed this thing up. Where the hell is he?”

“Dead,” David said, improvising with laudable speed. “Landis got him. Didn't you hear the gunshot?”

“
Dead
?” Jessie's shriek pierced the air. “
No
, he can't be dead. I'd know if he were dead.” She jerked backward and forward in a frantic, violent motion that, added to the swaying action of the boat, was more than enough to take both her and Bright off-balance.

“Watch it, you bitch, we're going over,” Bright shouted, scrambling to retain his balance. It was too late. He released Jessie in an effort to save himself from toppling over the edge of the bobbing boat.

But Jessie's momentum was too strong. She lost her footing and fell backward, flailing wildly. Bright tried to dodge her arm and could not. It caught him across the throat and she carried him with her as she went into the water.

Jessie screamed again just as she hit the cold water. Bright plunged in beside her, swearing furiously.

Hatch raced out of the trees and ran past the others, who were staring at the scene in stunned amazement. He dashed along the rocky jetty, leapt into the boat, and peered over the side.

“
Jessie
.”

Jessie was bobbing in the water, her dark hair plastered to her scalp. She pushed wet tendrils out of her eyes and looked up at him with a glowing smile. “I knew you were alive.”

Hatch ignored Bright, who was sputtering and gasping next to her. He leaned down, caught Jessie's raised hands, and hauled her straight up out of the black water and into the boat.

“That water's damn cold,” Alex said as he stepped into the boat. “It'll kill a person in less than thirty minutes. Better get her into one of the blankets.”

“He's right.” David jumped into the boat and opened a locker. He dragged out a blanket. “Jessie, get your clothes off and get into this. You'll be okay. You were in the water only a couple of minutes.”

Jessie nodded, already beginning to shiver violently. “My God, I'm cold.” She grabbed the blanket, pulled it around her, and started to strip off her jeans underneath it.

“Hey, goddammit, help me,” Bright shouted from the water. When no one responded, he struck out for shore.

The splashing caught Hatch's attention. “David, untie the boat. Keep it between Bright and the shore. I want to talk to him.”

David's brows rose but he said nothing. He and Alex quickly untied the boat and let it drift gently between Bright and the shoreline, blocking escape from the bone-chilling water.

“Goddammit, you can't do this,” Bright yelled, floundering desperately. “Get me out of here. I'll freeze.”

Hatch planted both hands on the hull and looked down at Bright. “Actually, that's not a bad idea.”

“Are you crazy? You'll be killing me. People die of hypothermia out here all the time,” Bright screamed.

“He's right,” Jessie observed. “It's amazing how fast hypothermia sets in. A few minutes in this water followed by a few minutes standing around in the cold air and it's all over. He's been in that water several minutes already.”

Hatch glanced at Alex. “Think he could make it safely back to the house on his own?”

Alex frowned consideringly. “Doubt it. Ambient temperature is in the forties now, and it's a good twenty-, twentyfive-minute hike. He's been in that water long enough to start the hypothermic process. Yeah, I'd say getting back to the house on his own is starting to look real iffy.”

“You can't do this,” Bright wailed in panic and despair.

“Swim to shore,” Hatch told Bright. “I'll meet you there with a blanket. You tell me a few things I want to know and I'll let you have the blanket. Refuse to talk and I'll take my blanket and go home.”

The threat was a virtual death sentence and everyone knew it, including Bright. He struck out for shore.

Hatch took one of the blankets and vaulted out of the boat onto the rocks. “Wait here,” he said to the others.

He did not hurry to the rescue. When he reached the shoreline, Bright was already out of the water, hugging himself as shudder after shudder went through him. He had lost his glasses in the fall overboard and he peered at Hatch with slitted eyes.

“Give me that blanket,” Bright hissed.

Hatch stopped a few feet away. “First you tell me a little bit about the operation.”

Bright's eyes widened slightly. “What are you, some kind of pro? What happened to Hoffman and Landis, anyway?”

“They're both out of the picture. Talk, Bright. You'll never make it back to the mansion alive without this blanket.”

“Fuck off.”

“Suit yourself.” Hatch turned and started back toward the boat.

“Wait, you bastard,” Bright said through chattering teeth. “You can't leave me like this.”

Hatch glanced back over his shoulder. “I don't see why not.”

“Shit. I could die out here.”

“That's not my problem, is it?”

Bright stared at him. “Dammit, what's going on? I know you're a pro. You must be. The girl's mother hire you?”

“I'm just a businessman, Bright.”

“Businessman, hell. Who are you, goddammit? Who hired you?”

“You know that woman you were holding the gun on a few minutes ago?”

“What about her?” Bright snarled.

“You might say I did it for her. She's the lady I'm going to marry.”

“Shit.”

“Now you probably have a clearer understanding of why I don't have any real ethical problem with the idea of you freezing to death out here.” Hatch turned and started once more toward the boat.

“Stop, goddammit, I'm coming with you.” Bright staggered forward. “You've got to take me with you. I don't think I can make it back to the house. I'm freezing.”

Hatch paused, thoughtful. Then he shook his head. “No, I don't think it's worth taking you with us. If I thought you might talk to the authorities, I'd say yes, but something tells me you won't say a word.”

“I said wait, you bastard. I'll talk.” Bright was clearly desperate now.

Hatch dangled the blanket in front of him. “Prove it. Tell me something real interesting.”

“Like what?”

“Like which offshore bank you're using. Tell me where the money goes. Explain how you divert it. Little things like that. Convince me. And then show me something that looks like proof.”

Edwin Bright glowered sullenly at him in the moonlight. And then another racking shudder went through him. Without a word he reached into his pocket and pulled out a dripping wallet. He held it out to Hatch.

“There's a list of accounts in there,” Bright muttered through chattering lips. “And a key to a safe at the mansion.”

“That sounds promising.” Hatch handed over the blanket while he started going through Edwin Bright's wallet.

Bright clutched at the blanket and started to strip off his clothes. “I was right, wasn't I? You are a pro. Government or private?”

“Private. Very private.” Hatch found several interesting items in Edwin Bright's wallet, including the list and the key. “Tell me something else now. Was that one of your people who broke into Valentine Consultations?”

Bright stepped out of his pants. “Yeah. We knew Attwood's mother had just hired that damned fortune-teller to find her daughter. We needed to know how much Valentine knew.”

“How about after we took our scenic tour of the facilities? Was that one of your people who tried to break into my car?”

“We couldn't figure out how you were involved. We were trying to get a fix on you. The idea was to search the car. Look, this was just a good scam. Nobody was supposed to get hurt.”

“Is that right?”

“Hell, yes. I didn't want trouble. But I've got a major investment in this operation. I've run it twice already back East and made a fortune. The idea is to get in and get out. Find a place to set up shop, recruit a few kids from the local college campus to man the phones and computers and put on the show. Then we make the pitch and wait for the money to roll in. I don't hang around. Two or three months is plenty of time to get set up and rake the cream off the top.”

“Why try it here?”

“Hell, everybody knows the Northwest is hot for the environment. Everyone around here wants to save it. Besides, an old lady back East who had already forked over a hundred grand died and left the foundation this island. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. But I figured to sell the place in a few weeks, dump the kids, and head for the next location.”