The Freeport Robbery Read online

  “Do you believe he can do that, or do I need to talk with him?”

  She put her hand on his leg. “Johnny, everything is going to be all right.”

  “Don’t call me Johnny.” He moved her hand away. “We’re almost there. It’s time to get paid. But if Robertson gets spooked, we’re all done. We can’t have any missteps.”

  “There won’t be any.”

  “That’s all I wanted to hear.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Just to be clear. When we leave here, it’s just you and me. Your boy is not coming with us. So if he’s still in love with you, you need to do whatever you got to do to keep him quiet.”

  “John—”

  “I’m not judging. We’ve all been there. I’m just saying you’ve got to take care of it.”

  Meanwhile, Nicole was at James Denison’s beach house in Cricket Bay, Florida. She and Denison were sitting side by side in matching chaise lounges on the deck of his oval swimming pool, drinking martinis and watching the waves roll up the beach. She was wearing a lime-green bikini and a broad-brimmed hat with a bright, multicolored band. She’d been staying here with Denison for over a month. It had been a little over two months since his wife had died of cancer in Nohamay City, and he’d been caught up in the theft of the Cellini casket. That’s where Nicole had met him, first as someone to manipulate, later as an ally. When Denison had asked her to visit, John had told her to go. Now she and Denison were…Was lovers too strong a word? Relationships were always so complicated.

  “She’s not going to like me.”

  Denison shifted his skinny, sun-browned body toward her. Without the expensive sunglasses on his bearded face and the wedding ring he still wore, he could have passed for a beach bum. “Bell? She’s going to love you.”

  “Jimmy, it’s only six weeks since Stacey’s funeral. She’s going to hate me just as much as she loves her mother.”

  “That’s a little harsh. There’s going to be a few bumps until she gets to know you, but trust me, by the time she goes back home, she’s going to love you as much as I do.”

  “Maybe I should leave before she gets here.”

  “If you want to leave, you can leave, but I want you to stay.”

  “You’ve got to think very carefully about how being with me might change your life.”

  “How’s that?”

  “You know what I do for a living. You going to tell your kids?”

  He sipped from his glass. “Okay. I get it. We’ve put off talking through the details.”

  “But now your daughter’s on her way, and reality intrudes.”

  “Can I ask you something personal?”

  “Ask away.”

  “Ron, your business partner…”

  “He goes by John, now.”

  “Okay, John. How close is your relationship?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you sleep with him?”

  She laughed. “You really do want to get personal. I always have. Why? Does that bother you?”

  “I don’t know. How does he feel about you being here?”

  “He told me I should come.”

  “So he doesn’t care that you’re sleeping with me?”

  She shook her head.

  “Do you love him?”

  “We have a long history together. I know I can count on him no matter what. This may sound kind of weird, but he makes me stronger. Not like I’m depending on him, but…”

  “I know exactly what you mean. Stacey made me stronger. And better.” Denison’s voice cracked. A broken smile crept across his face. “So if he’s your center, why are you here with me?”

  Nicole set her glass on the deck. “Are you having a good time? I’m having a good time. I checked my cares and worries at your front door, and I hope I’m helping you to do the same.” She rolled off her chaise lounge and onto Denison. His martini sloshed out of his glass. She kissed him hard. “Am I driving you crazy in a good way? ’Cause that’s my nefarious plan.”

  “I just want—”

  “Shush.” She put her finger on his lips. “No more talking. I care about you, James. I want to be with you. That’s why I’m here. But tomorrow your daughter comes, and I move to the guest bedroom. So let’s make the best of today.”

  Back in Springville, Molly stood at the tan Formica countertop that separated the kitchen from the living room in her one-bedroom apartment, a half lime on the cutting board in front of her and a vodka tonic in her hand. Her husband, Chad, sat in the living room on the gray rent-to-own sofa, drinking a beer from the bottle.

  “I’m not going to tell you about that,” she said.

  “Why not?” Chad stood up. He was over six feet, with a crooked nose and muddy-brown hair cropped short around the sides. He was dressed in khaki pants, moccasins, and a red golf shirt. He looked like a happy-go-lucky fraternity brother.

  “We’ve been over this.”

  “Because John will find out? How’s that going to happen?”

  “You’ll start nosing around, and he’ll see you.”

  “Please.”

  “He saw us together at the Caffeination.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “Old boyfriend who was just in town for a few weeks.”

  “Good. That gives me a little room to work.”

  “You’re not working.”

  “Whatever you got going must have something to do with that lawyer you work for. We could squeeze him tomorrow and be on our way.”

  “That’s a no-money play compared to what John and I have been building. We’ve never seen a score this big.”

  “But there’s no guarantee that it’s going to happen.”

  “Be patient and stay out of the way. John knows what he’s doing.”

  “We don’t have that much time.”

  “I’m not the one who got those detectives after us. I’ve been here working for almost a month, okay? Stay out of sight and give me a few more days.”

  Chad walked over to the countertop. “You seem a little confused about your loyalties. It’s me and you against the world.”

  “I know.”

  “You think John won’t try to cheat you out of your end when the time is right? I’m the guy who’s watching your back.”

  She grasped his free hand and leaned over the counter to bring her face close to his. “Chad, I’m your girl. I’m leaving here with you. Just give me a little more time to finish this up.”

  “Okay, then.”

  “Okay.” She closed her eyes and kissed him. “Lighten up. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  The next day Nicole stood on the deck of the swimming pool behind Denison’s beach house. She was wearing a translucent, hip-length beach cover-up over her bikini. The sun was hot. From where she stood, she had an excellent view of the surf rolling up the beach. She heard the car door slam. James was back from the airport with his daughter, Bell, a thirty-year-old art history professor. Nicole took a deep breath. She had to play this just right. She’d chosen this particular bikini because it cut across her hips in a way that made her flesh sag ever so slightly, and even though she usually passed for late thirties, she’d applied her makeup to make herself look closer to her actual age of forty-five. There was even a touch of gray in her shoulder-length, auburn hair. James wouldn’t notice, of course, but Bell would focus on every detail. She was expecting a young beauty with her claws into her vulnerable, infatuated old dad. What Nicole wanted her to begin to see was a middle-aged woman who could be good company for him. From her very first words, she needed to capture just the right level of intimacy: the friend of the father, but not the replacement mother; the familiar guest, not the mistress of the house.

  Bell and James came through the swimming pool gate together. He’d put on a blue blazer over his golf clothes for the trip to the airport. Bell was a tall woman of about five ten, with long, wavy, red hair. She wore a white linen pantsuit with a floral-pattern shirt. Nicole thought she looked much like her mother—p
retty in a practical way. Bell smiled a plastic smile and stuck out her hand. “So you’re Nicki?”

  “Nicole.” They exchanged a job interview handshake. “How was your flight?”

  “Uneventful.” She glanced at the drinks tray sitting on the circular white table in the shade of the red-striped umbrella. She turned to her father. “Dad, are we sitting out here by the pool?”

  “I thought we might.”

  “I’d rather stay out of the sun. Is that okay with you, Nicole?”

  “Sure.”

  “How about in the den by the windows?”

  Denison nodded. Bell slipped her arm through his and steered him toward the patio door. “I’d forgotten how much I missed this place, Dad.”

  “It’s great to have you here, honey.”

  “Next time maybe Bobby will be able to come.”

  “It’s a shame he couldn’t get away.”

  Nicole watched them enter the house and then picked up the drinks tray and followed them. Bell hadn’t wasted any time elbowing out her place in the pecking order. So far, so good.

  The den was situated at the end of the house, its east wall filled by a row of large, double-hung windows. Bell sat down next to her father on the sofa facing the windows. Nicole set the drinks tray on the glass-topped coffee table and sat in a chair diagonal to them, so they shared the same view of the ocean. She sat back in the chair, her arms beside her, as if she were the clueless guest waiting for someone else to take charge, not the woman who had been running the house for the last month.

  Denison scooted forward. “I’m so glad you two are getting the chance to meet. Would you like a drink, Bell?”

  “Day drinking, Dad? Are you okay?”

  Denison smiled awkwardly and glanced toward Nicole, but she didn’t say a word. “Just celebrating your arrival, honey.”

  “Well, if it’s a celebration, let’s have champagne.”

  Denison stood up. “That’s a great idea. I think there’s a bottle in the fridge. Nicole, could you help me with the glasses?”

  “Where are they?”

  He pointed to a built-in cabinet on the wall to their right. “I think they’re somewhere in there.” He turned to Bell. “Do you remember where?”

  Bell shrugged.

  Nicole made a show of searching through the cabinet while Denison retrieved the bottle. “Did you find them?” he asked.

  “Finally,” she said. She brought three champagne flutes back to the coffee table.

  Denison worked the cork out of the bottle with a satisfying pop, poured, and passed around the glasses. “What shall we toast?”

  Bell held her glass up. “To Mom. May she always be in our hearts.”

  Nicole politely raised her glass. She had to admire Bell’s strategy. She couldn’t compete with the dead wife and mother. This was going to be a tough couple of weeks.

  Denison paused for a moment, then raised his glass. “To your mom.”

  Later that afternoon, the tide receding down the shore and the sun far to the west, Denison and Bell were walking barefoot along the beach in the damp zone between the rushing waves and the dry sand. Bell had changed into a long, loose sundress, and Denison wore a T-shirt and old cargo shorts. “Dad, I know you’re lonely, that you miss Mom, that Nicole and her partner—whatever that means—helped you out at Nohamay City. I still don’t really understand what happened there.”

  “Long story short, you remember how your mother loved Cellini’s work? I was trying to buy a jewelry casket for her. Beautiful little box. Turned out it was stolen. Nicole and John kept me from getting into trouble.”

  “John? That’s her partner?”

  Denison nodded.

  “What’s he like?”

  “He’s one of those hard-nosed business types. Easy to get along with if you’re on the same side. But not the kind of guy you’d want to cross.”

  “And what’s their business?”

  “Nicole would have to explain that to you.”

  Bell looked at him over the top of her sunglasses. “Why? Why can’t you just tell me?”

  “Because you have to ask her.”

  “This is exactly the kind of thing that has me and Skip worried, Dad. You’ve only known her a few months, and you’re thick as thieves. Don’t you think it’s too soon to get involved in a serious relationship?”

  Denison picked up a flat stone and sailed it into the surf. “It’s not serious.”

  “Not serious? You emailed me and Skip that she was moving in.”

  Denison smiled and shook his head. “I know you and your brother are just concerned that it’s only been a couple of months since your mom passed, and that’s why I’m not mad. Reread the email. I said she was visiting.”

  “She’s been living here for a month.”

  “I asked her to come out; she doesn’t have anywhere to stay; of course she’s going to stay at the house. She has her own room.”

  “Since I got here.”

  He shrugged. “Fair enough. But I’m still your dad. I don’t have to explain myself to you. You’re just going to have to trust me. I’m going slow. I haven’t given her anything and she hasn’t asked for anything, if that’s what you’re worried about. It’s just that right now I just need someone who’s only for me.”

  “Only for you? There’s nobody like that, Dad.”

  “Give her a chance. A real chance. I think you’ll like her.”

  “Dad, what do you really know about her? I mean real, verifiable fact. What do you know?”

  That evening, Nicole, Denison, and Bell sat at a candlelit table in Jerry’s Surf House, a seafood restaurant located in the old village by the docks. It was decorated in a pirate motif. Fishing nets, fake swords, treasure maps, and black skull and crossbones flags hung from the walls. The restaurant was Sunday-evening empty, the vacationing families having come and gone earlier, and the weekend visitors already on the road headed for home. Nicole, Denison, and Bell were lingering after their meal, sipping coffee and enjoying the quiet.

  “I told you this was still the best restaurant in town,” Denison said.

  “And still the kitschiest,” Bell replied. “Remember when they had the skeleton hanging up between the doors to the restrooms?”

  Denison chuckled. “Your brother wouldn’t go to the bathroom by himself.”

  “How long have you been coming here?” Nicole asked.

  Bell shrugged. “We’ve always come here.”

  “We bought the beach house back before all the development,” Denison said. “The businesses on the highway, the access road, the chain restaurants—all that came later. This was a sleepy village. And this restaurant was one of its best-kept secrets. The kids grew up coming here—what? Two or three times a year?”

  Bell nodded. “Mom loved this place. She liked the beach here better than the beach in California.”

  He nodded. “Of course, Bell and Skip come out here whenever they want now.”

  “Really?” Nicole said. “That must be nice.”

  “I hardly have the time,” Bell said. “And then when I do go on vacation, I want to try something new. I haven’t been here in two years.”

  “Well, at least you got a chance to come down before school starts,” Denison said. “The season will be over in a few more weeks and things will quiet down around here.”

  “What are you teaching this fall?” Nicole asked.

  “Three classes,” Bell replied. “Two I taught last fall, but I’m having to revamp my Intro to Western European, so it’s going to be a lot of work getting all the new images prepared.” She turned to her father. “So how much longer are you planning to stay out here, Dad?”

  Denison looked down at his coffee cup. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve been avoiding the Palo Alto house. Not sure if I’m ready for all the memories of your mom. But Jody called from the Institute. I should be there making sure the fall kickoff starts strong.”

  “The homeless women’s program?” Nicole asked.
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  “Yeah,” Denison said. “A lot of the women are moms, so we have a big fund-raiser that coincides with the start of school.”

  “It will do you good to do some work,” Bell said.

  “You’re probably right.”

  “And Angela can help you with Mom’s stuff, unless you want to wait for Thanksgiving break.”

  “Angela shouldn’t have to do it.”

  “Then I’ll fly out in November.”

  “Maybe I should just sell the Palo Alto place, move into San Francisco for a change.”

  “You don’t have to decide now. You could rent something in town. Then you’d be able to start on the fund-raiser without thinking about the house, and you could make up your mind later.”

  “True enough.”

  Bell turned to Nicole. “And how about you? Have you got any plans for the fall?”

  Nicole shook her head. “Not yet. I haven’t heard anything from my partner, and as long as he doesn’t need me…”

  “And what is it you do for work?”

  “It’s difficult to explain.”

  “Try me.”

  “We rob criminals.”

  “You’re joking.” She turned to her father. “That’s what she told you?”

  He nodded.

  Nicole continued. “That’s what he’s seen us do. We crossed paths in the process of recovering a stolen object. The Cellini casket. Maybe you heard the news report about its return. James fell into the middle of it. We helped him out.”

  “How?”

  “Proved to him it was stolen. Helped him avoid a charge of receiving stolen property.”

  Denison squeezed Nicole’s hand. “If you’re not busy, you should just come out to California with me. There’s plenty for us to do.”

  “Dad,” Bell said, “she can’t put her life on hold forever to keep you company.”

  Nicole smiled. “It’s sweet of you to be concerned about me, but there’s nothing I’d rather do than be with your father.”

  Bell let out an exasperated sigh, and then caught herself. “Sorry. I just…”

  “Let’s change the subject and get the check,” Denison said.

  Outside, a warm salt wind was blowing off the ocean, and a few clouds skittered across the night sky. Nicole was walking across the well-lit parking lot in front of Jerry’s Surf House with Denison and Bell. They were halfway to their Ford Explorer when a voice called out.