Pat Marshall hires PI Harry Hamilton to locate her brother missing in the Grand Canyon. They embark on an emotional Nantucket sleigh ride, dragged along by spies and government agents.
Excerpt
Pat was startled out of a sound sleep by a nerve-jangling ring of the telephone. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was and why. She picked up, and was greeted by a now familiar voice.
“Okay, Pat, the game’s afoot. See you downstairs in fifteen minutes.”
The telephone was dead before she had a chance to respond. She shook the cobwebs out of her head and organized her thoughts. There’s no time for a shower, only enough time to sponge down, add deodorant, brush my hair, fix the make-up, and visit the toilet. She jumped back into the dark-gray skirt, aqua collared blouse and neck scarf she had taken off only a couple of hours ago. She shook her head and slipped on her black, low-heeled shoes. “What have I gotten myself into?” She took one last look in the mirror for a final checkup and left the room for the elevator. She could not believe she was dressed in the outfit she had put on almost eighteen hours ago. It was so out of character.
When she entered the lobby, it was nearly empty except for the desk clerk, a couple of men, and Harry, who sat in a chair behind one of the pillars. When he looked up, he motioned to her to join him, rose from the chair, and picked up his luggage. She started and opened her mouth to express surprise at the luggage, but before she uttered a word, he put a finger to his lips.
When she reached him, he whispered, “Let’s go.” They left the hotel, he flagged down a cruising taxicab, and they hopped in. He gave the driver an address she judged to be at least a block from their target. She looked at him, ready to question whether he’d made an error, but the instant she opened her mouth, he waved her off.
He leaned back in the seat, stretched and yawned. “Well, Honey, it was a long, tiring meeting. I’m bushed. Thanks for waiting up for me. It’ll be good to get home and hop into bed.” He pointed to the cabbie and winked.
She got the message and smiled. “I know, you must be pooped, Darling. I am too. We can rest up on the weekend. Maybe we can take in a movie.” They kept up this charade until the cabbie pulled up to the curb at the address Harry had given.
The cabbie turned around. “Okay, you two lovebirds, your love nest awaits you. You want me to wait until you’re safely inside?”
Harry looked at Pat and grinned. “No, that isn’t necessary. We know our neighborhood. It’s safe here at this hour. What’s the tab?” He paid the cabbie, putting his hand on her purse when she instinctively reached for the money. “Okay, Honey, we’re home.”
They left the cab and watched it depart. After he checked out the streets and adjoining buildings in the area, he motioned for her to remain quiet and headed to Jimmy’s building with her in tow.
She was unable to bear the stealthy routine any longer. She grabbed him by the arm and whispered, “I’m scared. How are we to get into the apartment without alerting the neighbors? What if a patrol car comes by? What if someone’s walking a dog? Maybe we’re making a big mistake.”
He gave her a frosty stare. “Calm down. We’re not making any moves if there’s risk of exposure. I wouldn’t have entertained this break-in if I didn’t think the odds of success were good. I’m not risking my license and my lifestyle to get into an apartment where we may learn absolutely nothing.”
He took her arm and escorted her the rest of the way to Jimmy’s place. She felt submissive, and it frightened her. When they reached the building, he scanned the surrounding apartments and the street. “Okay, there’s no sign of activity. It appears the coast is clear.” He escorted her down the alley between Jimmy’s building and its neighbor that overlooked Jimmy’s apartment and stopped below one of its windows. He opened his luggage and withdrew several items, put them in his pocket, and propped the luggage on end against the building.
He turned to her and said, “The luggage gives me the height I need to reach the window. Your job is to brace the luggage so it’s steady and will support me. Don’t worry, the luggage case is reinforced. I’ve used it before.”
Before they had a chance to execute the maneuver, lights flooded the street in front of the building.
He pulled her down to the alley pavement and crouched in the shadows. “Damn it!”
She began to shake, her face overspread with fear.
He gently squeezed her arm, put his hand over her mouth, and put a finger to his lips.
A patrol car cruised slowly by.
A cat scampered across the street and captured the officers’ attention. Their muffled comments and laughter drifted into the alleyway where Harry and Pat hoped they were concealed.
The patrol car passed without stopping.
He expelled a heavy breath.”Whew, close!”
Read more about The Canyon Caper and D K Elliott HERE.
Copyright 2010 D K Elliott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
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