A Coral Kiss Part 32

Amy waited tensely, wondering what would happen if Renner refused to accept the deal. She and Jed couldn't stay in the cave indefinitely. The water was warm as ocean water went, but it wasn't body temperature. After a while it would begin to sap their internal heat.

There was only one option and Jed was going for it. He had to convince Renner to let them out of the cave; had to convince the other man that he needed Jed and Amy if he wanted the emeralds.

"All right, Glaze. The two of you can come on out of the water. We can work something out, I think."

Jed was silent for a moment, clearly turning the possibilities over in his mind. Then he said quietly to Amy, "This is as good as it's going to get. Let's try it. He's nervous, but he hasn't worked himself up to the point of pulling the trigger on that Beretta. At least not quite. Definitely an amateur. He's never done this kind of thing before. He hired Vaden and Guthrie to do the dirty stuff for him. It's one thing to employ someone to do it for you, but doing it yourself is something else. Go ahead. You'll be safe. Renner's not afraid of you. I'll bring Guthrie."

Amy glanced at Jed once more, trying to see his eyes in the shadows, but it was impossible. She handed Guthrie over to Jed and started forward into the outer pool. The rain was still falling lightly. She could feel it as she swam out into the open. There was a glare of light from one side of the pool and she knew Renner stood behind it, holding a gun.

He kept her in the spotlight for a few seconds, watching as she stripped off her fins and began to climb out of the rocky pool. Then he yanked the beam back to the entrance of the cave to cover Jed.

"Take it nice and slow, Glaze. Why don't you leave Guthrie in the water?"

"He's unconscious. He'll drown."

"So? You were going to finish him for me, weren't you?" Renner taunted.

"That's part of the deal," Jed agreed. "But if I do it now, I have one less bargaining chip. I think I'll keep Guthrie around for a while."

Amy looked back over her shoulder as she got to her feet. Jed was swimming slowly forward, keeping Guthrie's sagging body in front of him. She glanced speculatively at Renner and realized his attention was focused on Jed. Obviously he didn't consider Amy any kind of serious threat.

Now that she was only a few feet from Renner and the flashlight was pointed away from her, she could see the man more clearly. The rain had slicked his hair and thoroughly dampened his s.h.i.+rt. His face was rigid in the shadows and he held the pistol with a grip that appeared far too tight. Admittedly, she had only confronted one other person in this sort of situation, but it didn't take too much experience to recognize the fact that Renner was in the thrall of a dangerous anxiety. It would take very little to push him over the edge into outright panic. If he panicked, he would probably pull the trigger.

A small, m.u.f.fled sound from the foliage behind her captured Amy's attention. Automatically she looked around and saw a large man lying on the ground. He was tied and gagged.

"Hank!" She started toward him. Renner's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Leave him alone. He stays where he is. Stupid fool tried to follow us. Vaden and Guthrie got him."

Hank silently shook his head at Amy and she reluctantly turned back to watch Jed as he began his climb out of the pool. It wasn't easy because he was trying to handle Guthrie and all the equipment the other man was wearing at the same time. Even so, it seemed to Amy that Jed was making a great deal of work out of the project. He outweighed Guthrie by several pounds and Amy knew the strength of Jed's sinewy build.

"Hurry up," Renner snapped.

"If you want speed, try giving me a hand with Guthrie," Jed advised calmly. He was about halfway out of the pool.

"Wait a minute," Renner said suddenly. "Just hold it right there. Put Guthrie down on those rocks and don't come any farther. I've got to think."

Amy saw the new level of tension that was seizing him and a wave of fear went through her. Renner was slipping over some invisible edge. She could almost see it happening. As quietly as possible she continued to fumble free of her diving gear. She had the tank off now and was holding the heavy weight belt in one hand. Renner still wasn't paying much attention to her.

"What's there to think about, Renner? Except the emeralds, of course," Jed asked easily. He had stopped climbing out of the pool but he hadn't released Guthrie.

"Yeah, the emeralds. I've got to get a few more answers." Renner shot a sidelong glance at Amy. "You're pretty good at this cave diving business, aren't you? And you know where the emeralds are. It occurs to me I don't really need Glaze as long as I've got you. And you'd be a h.e.l.l of a lot easier to handle."

Amy froze as she heard the new direction of his thoughts. There was silence from the pool. Wildly she sought for a way to deflect Renner's logic. She started talking, writing the scene off the top of her head as if she were sketching out an idea to use in a book.

"You don't need him to get the stones for you," Amy agreed. "But you better find out just who Glaze is before you kill him. You don't want to leave any loose ends, do you?"

"Who is he?" Renner demanded, swinging his attention back to Jed, who was waiting quietly in the shadows of the pool. "A friend of LePage's?"

"Not exactly a friend," Amy murmured with a coolness she was far from feeling. "But you're close.

LePage was the source of the information about the stones. Haven't you figured it all out yet, Dan?

Jed's an employee, like Guthrie or Vaden, but he's in a league neither of them will ever be in. Jed's first cla.s.s talent."

"Who hired him?" Renner's tone was shaky with nervous agitation. "Tell me, dammit. Who hired him to get those stones?"

"Now you're asking the right question," Amy said approvingly. Idly she swung the weight belt from her right hand. The movement was barely perceptible in the darkness. "The answer is that he's working for a gentleman who goes by the name of Cutter. Mr. Cutter, it seems, is a collector of fine stones, especially emeralds. Mr. Cutter has been collecting them for years. He's rich, powerful and quite untouchable. He has friends in high places, as the saying goes. Very high. He can afford talent like Jed. What's more he can afford to have you conveniently removed if he learns that you got between him and the emeralds. If Jed's offering to split the profits with you, then you can a.s.sume he's speaking on behalf of Mr. Cutter.

Cutter will trust Jed to make a deal and he'll probably honor it. But if he thinks he's been cut out completely, he's likely to be very angry. Cutter knows all about you."

Renner's eyes snapped back to her for an instant before returning to Jed. "How do you know all this?"

"Let's just say Jed talks in his sleep. The advantage of taking Jed up on his offer is that he can deliver.

He can cover up this whole mess for you. With Cutter's help, he can make sure your connection to the emeralds is never known. No one will find out, for example, that you're Michael Wyman's son."

"Sonofab.i.t.c.h. How did you know?"

"I didn't know. Not until Mr. Cutter found out and informed Jed. I told you, Cutter has friends. He also has access to all kinds of information. Who knows what Mr. Cutter would learn if he started really investigating you, Renner?"

"Shut up, d.a.m.n you!" Renner was distracted and frantic now. The Beretta was wavering in his hand, as if he couldn't decide who to point it at.

"Better take Jed up on his deal," Amy said. "Everything will turn out fine if you do."

"No!" Renner shouted. "Everything's not going to turn out just fine. Everything's going to h.e.l.l! I've got to get rid of all of you as soon as I've got the stones and the photos. That's the only way out of this. I've got to get rid of everyone who knows about this!"

"What about Cutter?" Amy asked softly.

"I'll make a deal with him, myself," Renner announced as if he'd just been struck by a revelation. "That's what I'll do. I'll make a deal with him, myself. I don't need Glaze." The Beretta steadied, the wicked snout pointed at Jed.

Amy knew her story hadn't worked. Renner was too frightened of Jed. He was going to kill him. She saw the way Renner steadied himself, clearly preparing to pull the trigger.

She lifted the heavy weight belt that had been swinging lightly from her hand into a quick, short arc that brought it cras.h.i.+ng down across Renner's hands.

There was an explosion and Renner yelled. Before he finished the scream, Amy whipped the lead-filled belt back up to strike the side of his head.

Renner screamed again and staggered to the side, raising his hands to his head. He reeled and then tumbled head first into the pool.

"No!" Amy shouted. "You can't die like that. Don't let it happen again!" It was like a repeat of the nightmare in October. Amy watched, stunned, as Renner sank into the water. Then she grabbed the flashlight that had fallen from his hand and raced to the edge of the pool. She started down the rocky slope.

"Amy, don't worry, he's all right." Jed had released Guthrie and was already heading back into the water to retrieve Renner. "He's alive, Amy. See? He's moving."

Jed was right. Renner was surfacing, albeit in a dazed manner. He got his head out of the water just as Jed reached him. Amy breathed a shaky sigh of relief. The thought of another drowning death in this pool, regardless of the circ.u.mstances, was more than she wanted to deal with after all she had been through.

Renner was sputtering and holding his head where the weight belt had struck him. "b.a.s.t.a.r.ds," he hissed.

"All of you. Those emeralds are mine. My father made the deal for them. They're mine, don't you understand?"

When she realized that Jed had a grip on Renner and was dragging him up the side of the pool, Amy abruptly remembered Hank. She whirled around, grabbed her diving knife and began freeing him.

Hank groaned as she pulled the gag off his face. He shook his head and sat up. "Jesus, Amy, I'm sorry about this. I really screwed up, didn't I?"

"We're the ones who should be apologizing," Amy declared stoutly as she finished untying him. "We had no business getting you involved."

"She's right," Jed remarked as he secured Renner. "I'm the one who screwed up. I didn't think keeping an eye on Renner and Guthrie was going to be so hazardous to your health."

Hank rubbed his wrists and chuckled. "Well, to tell you the truth, I got myself into trouble because I decided to do a little more than just keep an eye on them. When Guthrie and Renner left the inn this evening, I phoned Kelso to see how long he was going to keep Vaden under wraps. The fool told me he let Vaden go yesterday because he couldn't think of a good reason to keep him in jail any longer. He'd ordered Vaden off the island, but apparently Vaden snuck back here last night or this morning. I tried to call you, but there was no answer."

"We were probably already on our way here," Jed remarked.

Hank nodded. "I remembered what you said about thinking Vaden might have been working with Guthrie. I decided to follow Renner and Guthrie. I managed to find them because a couple of fishermen had seen them down by the docks." Hank groaned and got to his feet. "Probably shouldn't have tried to play hero. I'm not as young as I used to be. Was a time I could have taken a pair like Guthrie and Vaden, but not any more. They realized I had followed them and set up a neat little trap in a storage shed. I fell right into it. Next thing I know, we're on our way here. The only reason I'm alive is because Renner had some bright idea I might be useful to him."

Jed picked up the flashlight and asked quietly, "How did they know where 'here' was, Hank?"

"Apparently when Vaden got out of jail he headed out here to keep a watch on the house. I heard him tell Renner he'd seen you two go into the caves yesterday afternoon. I gather something went wrong?"

"There was a slide. Clouded up the water." Jed began collecting gear. "We couldn't go back in until tonight."

"I think Renner had some notion of sitting around and waiting until you and Amy came out of the caves with the emeralds, but by the time we got here Guthrie and Vaden had convinced him they could handle it better their way. I got the feeling Vaden wanted to settle a private grudge with you, Jed. He'd didn't like the way you took him the other night. He told Guthrie to watch the entrance while he followed you inside. He thought you were unarmed. Guess you surprised him, huh?"

"He's still nursing his surprise," Jed said.

Hank arched his heavy brows. "That right? He's been down in those caves a heck of a long time."

"He's sitting down there on a ledge that's above water, waiting for someone to get him out. He might have sat down there a long, long time if Amy hadn't given us such an enthralling sample of her creative powers.

I always did say she had one h.e.l.l of an imagination." Jed smiled at her in the shadows.

"She's got a pretty fair right hand, too," Hank added admiringly. "Where did you learn that trick with the weight belt, Amy?"

"I write fiction for a living, Hank. It's very educational."

"The thing about that story you gave Renner," Hank went on thoughtfully, "is that it sounded d.a.m.n plausible."

"Good fiction often sounds plausible," Amy said smoothly.

"No offense, Glaze," Hank said bluntly, "but I'd like to know just where you fit in."

"Believe it or not," Jed said calmly, "I'm just an innocent bystander who got dragged into this." There was a short, meaningful pause. "Where do you fit in, Hank?"

Hank sighed. "I'm the one who sank Michael Wyman's boat twenty-five years ago." He glanced at Amy's shocked expression. "Somebody had to do it, Amy. Your Dad needed a little help, you see. And me and your dad had been friends for years even then. h.e.l.l, we used to dive together in the old days. You wouldn't remember. He gave it up before you were born. Your dad never really liked diving. It was your mother who loved it."

Amy was so stunned she couldn't think of anything to say. She just stood and stared speechlessly at Hank. It was Jed who took control of the situation, as usual.

"Let's get back to the house and figure out just how we're going to clean up this mess. I have a feeling we might need a little more of Amy's creative imagination. And maybe a drink."

"What about Vaden?" Amy asked anxiously. "You can't just leave him down there."

"No, I suppose we can't. I guess I'd better get some air in a couple of these tanks and go fetch him," Jed said in resignation.

A long while later Amy stepped out of the shower, pulled on a vividly colored muumuu and went downstairs to find Jed and Hank waiting for her. They were each holding a gla.s.s of Scotch. As she approached, Jed handed her a gla.s.s of white wine. He had changed into a pair of khaki slacks and a s.h.i.+rt. He searched her face intently. "Are you okay, Amy?"

"I'm fine." She glanced around the room. "Where are the others?"

Hank spoke up, lounging back in his chair. "Jed and I figured we'd leave Renner, Vaden and Guthrie together in your mother's pantry for the time being."

"While we sort out the story we're going to give Kelso," Jed added by way of explanation. "Sit down, honey, this is going to take a while."

Amy sat and took a fortifying sip of her wine. Her eyes were on Hank. 'Tell me what happened all those years ago, Hank. I have to know. I've got too many bits and pieces of the puzzle. If I don't find out the truth, I'll go crazy."

"That's the problem with her kind of imagination," Jed put in as an aside.

Hank nodded understandingly. "I don't see why I can't tell you the whole thing. It's true, the government slapped a top secret clearance on the Orleana Project as they called it, but that was twenty-five years ago, and what are a few government secrets between friends? The main reason the subject's never been discussed much is because your dad didn't want it talked about. It was his wishes I respected, not the government's. But since you already seem to know a lot, you'd better know it all."

"Tell me about my father and Michael Wyman."

"They were friends and partners, Amy," Hank said gently, "until they started getting successful. Wyman couldn't handle the fact that it was your father's business sense that was making them rich. He couldn't stand to share the glory. He wanted, no, he needed to be the star attraction. He was like an artist who demanded full credit for the completed painting, if you know what I mean. He started drinking. Started spending pretty wildly. Took more chances in the sports he favored."

"What did my father do?"

Hank shrugged. "Tried to weather the storm, I guess. But I don't think he ever realized just how wild and dangerous Wyman really was. Or how much Wyman came to hate your father. Then one day the government agents showed up on your father's doorstep. They told him they suspected Wyman was in the process of making a deal with the Russians. There was money involved. A lot of it, they told Doug.

It seems they had an agent working for them on the inside. He told them Wyman was to be paid in emeralds and that the plans for the new aircraft wing design were to be exchanged for the stones in Hawaii. The government wanted your father's cooperation in case they screwed up the bust. They wanted Doug to make sure the wing design plans were altered, just in case. Doug agreed to do that much, but he wanted no part of trapping Wyman."

"Did he believe Michael Wyman was really setting up the deal?" Jed asked.

Hank shook his head. "No, I don't think so. He didn't want to believe it. But I guess the government men showed him photographs of Wyman having secret meetings with a man the agents identified as a Russian spy. Doug flew to Hawaii about the time the transaction was supposed to take place. I think he wanted to see for himself if Wyman really showed up to go through with the deal. But the government men fouled up the arrest. They moved in too late. Oh, they managed to get the Russian at the airport, but they missed Wyman. To tell you the truth, I think Doug was secretly glad Wyman escaped. After the bust fell through, Doug decided that as long as he was as far as Hawaii, he'd go on to Orleana to check up on the house."

"He got here and found Wyman waiting for him, right?" Jed asked.

Hank nodded. "Right." He looked steadily at Amy. "Wyman was desperate, Amy. He knew the agents were hot on his trail. He had the emeralds but they weren't any good to him until he could get them sold.

But he was afraid to emerge from hiding long enough to risk trying to sell them. He needed help and he turned to his old friend."

"My father."

"Doug said he couldn't help him, that he'd be better off surrendering. Wyman turned nasty. He threatened to blackmail your Dad. I'm not sure what he used and I never asked. But it must have been something pretty foul. Your Dad drew the line at that. He'd put up with a lot from his old partner but he wouldn't let Wyman blackmail him. There was a struggle out there by the caves. Wyman had brought a gun along. It went off during the fight and Wyman died. I never understood why Wyman and Doug were at the caves when the fight occurred. Your dad said Wyman had dragged him out there but the struggle took place and Wyman got killed before Doug found out why Wyman took him there. We always a.s.sumed he'd been planning to kill Doug if he didn't cooperate. Maybe Wyman thought he could make the death look like a diving accident." Hank broke off to glance at the metal box on a nearby table. "Now I can guess why Wyman headed for the caves with Doug. He'd already hidden the box and probably intended to show Slater just what sort of blackmail material he had."

"But things never got that far," Jed concluded. "Wyman died before he told anyone about the box in the caves."

"He must have told someone," Amy pointed out. "Because Renner knew about it."

"True." Jed was thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe the girlfriend. What was her name? Vivien?"

"Vivien," Hank mused. "I remember her, I think. s.e.xy little blonde Wyman brought to the island once.