§ § § -- November 9, 2003
Kane drove again; Roarke rode up front and Christian took the back seat, shaking his head as Kane pulled back out onto the Ring Road. "It is Grady's car," he said. "If I dare say it, Mr. Mattson, you're getting yourself in deeper by the minute."
"I didn't steal it, the other guys did," Kane protested.
"I think we had better suspend that discussion," Roarke suggested. "Why don't you stop at the police station—I think it best to notify them so that someone is there to back us up and properly arrest the kidnappers."
"They'll recognize me," Kane said, panicking.
Christian shrugged. "Whose fault is that?" he asked.
"Please," Roarke said a little forcefully, and Kane swallowed loudly; Christian murmured an apology and settled back.
In a few minutes Kane, Roarke and Christian were being trailed by a police car with two constables inside. They were still almost ten minutes from the plantation when they saw someone in the road waving his arms. "That's Joey," said Kane. "Should I stop?"
Before anyone could answer, though, Joey apparently caught sight of the patrol car behind the sedan and leaped away, tearing into the trees. Christian watched him vanish, saw the patrol car pull over and discharge the policemen, who gave chase, and said, "Well, I think we're on our own, Mr. Roarke. The officers decided to go after this Joey person."
Roarke chuckled softly and assured him, "I believe we can handle things well enough until they catch up with us, with or without Joey."
Shortly Kane turned down the plantation access road and bumped his way along till the new apartment buildings came into view. So far there were three buildings in various stages of completion; the one on the left was finished but had yet to begin renting, while the two buildings on the right were still under construction. "Which one is Leslie in?" Christian demanded, scanning all three.
"The second building there," said Kane, "second-floor apartment on the near end." He pulled the car to a stop in front of it.
"Christian, I suggest you try to crouch down and stay out of sight for the moment," said Roarke. "If at all possible, we must find some way to distract the other kidnapper."
"I can get Bert out here," Kane offered. "He'll probably jump at the chance to have some words with you, Mr. Roarke. Then I could signal Prince Christian somehow and he could go in and get Mrs. Enstad."
"How do you intend to signal me?" Christian asked, wincing as he tried to fit his long frame across the seat and stay below window level.
"Uh…" Kane thought this over and finally said, "Well, I could fake a sneeze."
Christian laughed. "Better that than nothing," he said. "All right, I'll wait."
Kane stopped the car and got out; Roarke followed, waiting beside the car, watching Kane disappear into the unfinished building. Christian could see him looking after his guest and raised his head just enough to be able to see the second floor of the building. The one on the end, Kane had said. He stared at it, wondering if Leslie was all right.
Inside the building Bert had grown quite bored and Leslie could hear him snoring, none too gently. Then she thought she heard the sound of car tires and an engine, and bit her lip, wishing she dared get up. Her stomach was so irritable that she didn't want to move for fear of setting off the dry heaves again. They better have something to calm this down, she thought disgustedly. I'm really fed up with this.
Then footsteps entered the building on the floor below them and she heard them climbing an unfinished flight of steps. Bert's snoring stopped and she heard the man making rumbling noises; then he cleared his throat and yelled, "Who's there?"
"Just me," she heard Kane Mattson reply. "Listen, Bert…I, uh…saw Mr. Roarke in town. He came back here with me…in case you feel like complaining to him about how you can't get your job back."
"You must be as big an imbecile as Joey," Bert said incredulously. "What'd you do that for? You really think I'm gonna get anywhere? Unless, of course, he brought the ransom with him."
"I don't know about that," said Kane. "He just insisted on coming with me. Do you want to talk to him or not?"
Bert snorted. "Oh, all right. Where is he?"
"Outside," Kane told him.
"You stick with me, pal," Bert said warningly. "I'm not havin' you turnin' traitor on me outta nowhere. And hey, princess!" he added, raising his voice.
"What?" Leslie said, as irritated as her stomach.
Bert stuck his head in the door. "Don't you stick a foot outta here, you got me?"
"Do I look like I'm going anywhere?" Leslie shot back. Her stomach rolled and she curled up nearly double on the air mattress, wincing.
"Guess not," said Bert, chuckling. "All right, buddy-boy, get Roarke in here."
Leslie listened while footsteps clumped seemingly all over the building, and after a moment or two she could hear voices on the lower floor. Her stomach spasmed, and she let out a groan of agony, struggling to her feet and staggering to the front window in case she started heaving again. What she saw there nearly made her forget her illness: the back door of the sedan was open and a very familiar figure was slowly emerging, crouched in what had to be an incredibly uncomfortable position. "Christian," she breathed.
She watched avidly as Christian settled himself onto the ground behind the car door and slowly poked his head around it as if looking for something. Then he stood up and began to cross the unplanted yard, looking up as he did and instantly spying Leslie in the window. She waved at him and he lit up, jogging the rest of the way and calling softly, "How do you feel, my Rose? Are you all right?"
"Still sick, but I'm okay otherwise," she assured him. "How are you going to get me out of here? I think Father's downstairs with Bert and Mr. Mattson, but I don't know exactly where."
Christian grinned. "Just come down," he told her. "If I know Mr. Roarke, he's somehow managed to maneuver your friend into another unit so that you have a chance to come out of this one. But hurry."
"As fast as my stomach will let me," Leslie promised, and he laughed softly. She pulled back from the window, removed her shoes to keep Bert from overhearing her escape, and made her way out of the room, down the unfinished hallway and into another room from which she could make out a central hall and a flight of steps. Roarke's and Bert's voices were clearer from here, and she slipped out and started down the stairs. Halfway down she caught a glimpse of her father's white suit and hesitated just for an instant before realizing he had somehow managed to position himself so that Bert's back was to her. She padded quietly the rest of the way down and outside, hastily putting her shoes back on and emerging into the sun just in time for Christian to reach her and hug her hard.
"My darling," he murmured, clinging. "You're certain you're all right? They never hit you or anything at all?"
"Not a thing, my love," she said, nestling against him. "You have no idea how wonderful it is to see you here." She pulled back enough to look into his anxious face. "What happened to the other guy? They had a skinny native kid with them."
"That must have been the one we saw standing in the road on our way down here," said Christian, urging her along to the car with an arm firmly around her. "We stopped in town to notify the police, and they sent a patrol car along with us. When that boy saw it, he fled into the jungle, and they stopped to go after him. I rather wish they hadn't bothered. I saw the other man, and I think he's more of a threat." He gestured at the car. "Go ahead and get inside, my Rose. I brought you something to help settle your stomach." She crawled in, and he straightened up and glanced back over his shoulder, then began to turn away.
"No, Christian, don't," Leslie pleaded. "Stay here."
He looked back at her in surprise, then seemed to hear something and trained his gaze somewhere off behind the car. Leslie twisted in the seat in time to see the patrol car pulling up in a cloud of dust. There were clearly three figures inside, and she grinned with satisfaction. Christian plainly saw this as well, for he chuckled and got into the car beside her, pulling the door closed. "Seems they caught one. I have little doubt that between the two policemen and your father, the big one doesn't have a chance."
Leslie chuckled softly and twisted the top off the soda bottle. "This will be a relief," she said. "I must have been unconscious all night after they first abducted me, and they didn't have anything, not even any water. I'm dying of thirst and I've had dry heaves three times this morning." She took a careful sip and closed her eyes as she swallowed.
"All right, my darling?" he asked, sliding closer to her and wrapping his arm around her once more.
"Much better," she said and smiled at him. "I can hardly wait to find out how you and Father knew to come down here." Something occurred to her then and she looked around at the vehicle's interior, then back at Christian with wide eyes. "My God, they went and stole Grady and Maureen's car!"
"Unfortunately, yes, they did," said Christian with a wry smile. "They don't seem to have damaged it in any way. Oh, look, here they come." Sure enough, the policemen were emerging from the building with Bert in their grip; behind them came Roarke and Kane Mattson, the latter still looking nervous. Roarke spoke briefly with the policemen, then said something to Kane, who looked a little dismayed but nodded. He got back behind the wheel and Roarke took the passenger seat again, turning in it to face Leslie.
"Are you all right, child?" he asked.
"Just fine, Father," she said. "I don't seem to be any less sick, but nobody inflicted any additional damage on me. I'm so glad you brought Christian." She turned to her husband and planted a kiss on his lips, returning his broad smile. "So what happens now?"
"That depends on you," Roarke said.
Leslie stared at him. "I don't understand."
"My fate's up to you, Mrs. Enstad," said Kane miserably, eyeing her in the rearview mirror. "Mr. Roarke said whatever you decide, he'll abide by it."
"Oh," said Leslie and considered it a moment, taking another sip from the soda bottle. It was tempting to have the guy arrested, but he looked rather pale and scared, and in spite of herself she felt a little sorry for him. "Tell you what," she offered, "why don't you get us back to the main house, and tell me exactly what happened on the way there. And when we're back, I'll tell you what my decision is."
"Fair enough," Kane said and heaved a sigh. "Okay, then." He started the car, made another wide circle in the lane and followed along in the wake of the patrol car and its new dust cloud. Once they got back onto the Ring Road he started talking, and Leslie listened in silence, sipping from the bottle and occasionally patting Christian's thigh whenever he gave her a gentle squeeze around the shoulders.
At the main house Kane parked beside the fountain and slumped in his seat, having talked himself out. Christian and Leslie looked at each other, and Roarke glanced around at the three of them. "Why don't we go inside," he suggested.
Once in the study, Kane shoved his hands into his pockets and regarded Leslie with a sort of resigned look. "I couldn't blame you if you wanted me arrested along with Bert and Joey," he told her. "I really messed up."
"Yeah, you did," Leslie agreed, "and unless I miss my guess, you've probably got an enemy for life in my husband now." She tossed Christian a teasing look, and he shrugged unapologetically, making her laugh a little. "But listen…you were instrumental in my getting rescued, and in the end you did the right thing. If Father's agreeable, I'd settle for you just going on home tomorrow morning like normal, and forgetting about the idea of being like your little brother and raising a load of hell. Crime really doesn't pay, unless you happen to be a crooked politician."
Kane grinned sheepishly. "Believe me, I've learned the hard way. Or maybe not so hard. After all, if I'd tried to do this in real life, I wouldn't've got off nearly this easy. I know it sounds absurd, but thanks for the chance, Mr. Roarke. If you'll let me come back, I'll bring my wife and kids next time for a vacation, and you have my solemn promise that I'll observe the absolute letter of every law on this island."
"Good, Mr. Mattson, good," Roarke said warmly, "and in that case you and your family will be welcome to visit."
"Oh, one other thing," said Leslie. "That car we were using was stolen from friends of ours. I think you owe them a tank of gas."
Kane burst out laughing, broke out his wallet and handed Leslie a twenty-dollar bill. "I hope that covers it," he said and shook hands with her and then Roarke. "Thanks again, both of you. Think I'll just take a breather at my bungalow and stick to watching reruns of Adam-12 and Dragnet." They all laughed, and Kane departed the house.
Christian, still chuckling, pulled Leslie in for another kiss. "You, my wayward Rose, are still coming home with me," he told her. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid you'll have to try to control your illness a little longer, because one of us will have to drive Grady and Maureen's car back to them. Do you think you can do that?"
"But I'm feeling better now," Leslie protested. "Since you gave me this, my stomach's settled down a lot."
"No more arguments, Leslie Enstad!" Christian said firmly, laying a finger over her lips. "Just once, please, listen to me. I have no doubt Mr. Roarke is in complete agreement with me on this. We are going home and you're going to stay by the bathroom, and in the meantime I'm calling Dr. Lambert and insisting that she see you tomorrow. You've been more ill than I was when I had the same stomach problem, and I don't want this going on any longer than it has to. Do you hear me?"
Leslie gave him a wry look through her bangs and replied, "Yes, Your Highness." He rolled his eyes, and both she and Roarke broke into laughter.