Glass Houses (33 page)

Aiden didn’t like the sensation he was getting. “If you don’t mind, I think it would be a good idea for us to look through the baggage that’s being held.”

“We’re not supposed to do that without—“ She colored and fell silent.

“Yes,” Aiden said. “Without the baggage receipt. Olivia has that. And she has identification—including her passport— so there’s no reason for her not to look, is there?”

The phone rang and the clerk picked it up.
“
Customer— oh, hi, Mark. Olivia FitzDurham, yes.” She said to Olivia, “What did you say your bag looked like?”

Olivia repeated the description she’d given earlier, and the clerk told her colleague.

“I was afraid of that.” She hung up. “Mark says a woman who said she was you picked up your bag right when he saw me coming to relieve him. Apparently she was—well, attractive, with a lot of blond hair.”

“Damn it,” Aiden said. “Had to be Kitty. She got it with no ID?”

“She gave her name, and he found it here.” She tapped her terminal. “She took out her wallet, then described the bag. He was distracted because
…
well, I guess he was distracted. She was really friendly. You know how guys are about that?”

Aiden and Olivia were too sick about what had happened to be nice.

The clerk looked embarrassed. “Evidently the woman said she always uses big pink luggage tags on her baggage.”

Twenty-two

A
iden paid off the cab and reached for Olivia’s hand. Boss hadn’t quit giving them the cold shoulder since they’d sprung him at the airport. He sat at a distance and looked straight ahead.

“Ungrateful hound,” Aiden muttered while the cab’s rear lights disappeared into the darkness along the winding road above Lake Washington. “We patched him up and probably saved his no-good life. Now he ignores us over something as little as a plane flight.”

“In the cold hold of an aeroplane,” Olivia said. “Come to Olivia, Boswell. I understand, old fellow.”

“You should love it here,” Aiden said, deliberately taking his time before leading her down the almost perpendicular driveway to Sonnie and Chris’s home on the lake. “It really smells cold, wet, and dead. And added to that, you need to be a cat to see where you’re going out here.”

“You’re in a nasty mood,” Olivia said.
“
It’s my bag that’s been run off with, but you’re the one taking it personally.”

“Taking it personally? What makes you think that? At every turn I meet another obstacle. So far I’ve lost my job, can’t go back to my home, I’ve been knocked unconscious,
confined in a motel room, involved in fights while I was handcuffed, chased across the country to get you away to safety only to discover the enemy got here first and made off with your bag—the bag with a set of photos in it. And those photos are what all this is about and could mean Ryan, Fats, and those goons will slip through my fingers altogether.

“Yeah, Olivia, I’m taking it personally.”

Olivia decided giggling was out. “This is a brilliant place, Aiden. It’s mystical. Do cheer up. We’re too tough, and we’ve been through too much to fall apart now.”

“Who said anything about falling apart?” he thundered. “I do not fall apart. I made a dumb mistake, and I can be hard on myself about things like that. As I should be. How could I stroll off that plane and arrive too late to get your bag—your bag and the woman who stole it? Probably Kitty Fish.”

“It had to be her,” Olivia said. “She was with the rest of them at O’Hare. We just forgot her.”

Aiden let go of her hand and put an arm around her instead. “Which makes me an even bigger idiot than I thought. Boss, quit sulking and fall in here, buster.”

They started downhill on a narrow asphalt driveway between huge, dripping fir trees. High above her head Olivia could see a fuzzy sliver of moon behind thin cloud layers. Ribbons of misty fog like old men’s beards threaded branches. The scent of fallen, wet needles was unfamiliar and wonderful.

“Do you have to be so damn cheerful?” Aiden said, and wished he could stop his runaway tongue from sounding aggressive.

“How do you know I’m cheerful?” Olivia said, but she put her arm around his waist and squeezed.

Aiden groaned. “See what I mean. Cheerful. You’re bubbling, I can feel it, and your feet are
springing
off the ground. You’re in pig heaven here. Let me remind you that the end of the world as we know it may be imminent. We are
wanted
people, Olivia.”

“
Moan, moan, moan. We’re innocent people who just have
to prove it. And when you don’t feel so tired and in pain, you’ll buck up again.”

“Buck up?” he said and made a scoffing noise he hadn’t known was in his repertoire. “That’s another problem with you. You’re so
British.”

Knowing when to allow another person to wallow in his misery was important. Aiden could just wallow, but Olivia didn’t intend to wallow with him. She whistled and felt grateful when they turned a bend in the steep, slick drive and lighted windows appeared before them. Chris and Sonnie’s stucco house was on three levels—the one where people entered, one above that, and one below. The building clung to a bank, and she could see lights on the water beyond.

A bridge over a shallow drop-off led to the front door, which stood open.
Music spilled out, piano music. “I like that,” Olivia said. “Popsicle Toes. I love jazz.”

“It’s Chris,” Aiden said. “He plays a lot. Sonnie and Anna like it, and so does he.”

“So do I,” she said and urged him to hurry to the door. She was a strong woman, but she was running out of steam. “Hello,” she called, and tapped lightly on stained-glass panels beside the door.

The music stopped, and Chris appeared with a small, slim woman—slim except for a very pregnant tummy—beside him.

“Hey,” Chris said. “We were about to come looking for you. Come on in and get warm. Sorry about your bag, Olivia. Sonnie’s rounded up some things for you. Come on in, Boss, old fella. You look awful.”

“Hello, Sonnie,” Olivia said. “Thank you for helping me. I feel as if I’ve turned into the freeloader of the century. I’ve been using borrowed things ever since I got to the States.”

Sonnie smiled and offered a thin hand. “I’m pleased to meet Aiden’s friend. I’ve waited a long time for this.” She looked from Olivia to Aiden and back again. “A long time for Aiden to bring someone special home to us. Come on in. Anna’s in bed, and
I
hope she stays there. This was a very late night
for her—with the shower, and then waiting up for her daddy. And I think she’s cutting her two-year molars and having a really hard time with them. If she knew there was a big, beautiful dog here, she’d be down the stairs in a flash.” She glanced up a broad staircase that rose from the center of a slate-tiled entry scattered with beautiful Asian carpets.

Aiden hadn’t said a word, and Olivia was afraid to look at him after what Sonnie had said. Chris dropped back to walk with Aiden, and Olivia followed Sonnie. The woman’s very pronounced limp surprised Olivia. Aiden hadn’t mentioned that. Olivia had also noted that Sonnie had scars on her neck but seemed oblivious to them. She was ethereal and charming, and very pretty.

“I’ve made discreet enquiries,” Chris said. “I don’t know what happened to Fats in Chicago, but Fish and Moody were taken into custody, then released when it was determined that the gun—I didn’t tell you Moody had a gun in his pocket when he tried to get through security—wasn’t his, but they don’t know who it does belong to. Speculation was that someone dropped it into his pocket.”

“Like Fats,” Aiden said thoughtfully. “Question is, why would Fats want Fish and Moody stopped from boarding that plane? And why didn’t he get on himself? Did Fish and Moody catch the next plane?”

“
No record of them doing so. According to O’ Hare security, the two men opted to leave the airport.”

“How about Kitty Fish?” Aiden asked. “Did you get confirmation she was aboard?”

Chris struck his forehead with the heel of a hand. “It made sense that she was, and that she had taken the bag. Then I didn’t give her another thought. I’ll check her out to make sure. I did wonder if it was planned for her to be the only one who made the flight.”

“This is great.” Oli
via, half-listening to two conversations, walked backward and said to Chris and Aiden, “So we don’t have any idea where Fish and Moody are now. We think Kitty’s the one who took off with my bag, but we don’t have proof,
and we certainly don’t know what she’s likely to do next. And it doesn’t help that we can’t even report the theft of my grip.”

One long stride and Aiden spun her to face forward again. “We don’t need you to fall and injure yourself,” he said. “You’re right, though.
They’ve got me backed into a corn
er they must be loving. Vanni should have called by now. He knows how to find out when a plane’s landed. I’m giving him a few more minutes, then I’m making contact myself.”

“That’s not a great idea,” Chris said. “I’ll do it.”

“I’m not calling Vanni. I’ve got an old friend in New York who will give me the scoop—and tell Vanni to get on it.”

“I’m sure Vanni is on it,” Olivia said. “Pops has been in the hospital, and it doesn’t look good.”

“You didn’t tell me that,” Aiden said. “When—”

“We haven’t had a great deal of time,” Olivia told him, feeling irritable at his instant attack. “I can’t tell you anything more. Maybe your old friend will have more information.”

Chris and Aiden looked at each other. Chris shook his head slightly and held Aiden back while the women walked on.

“I suppose you think you’re the expert on how to deal with women,” Aiden murmured into his old buddy’s ear. “Well, you never met another woman like this one.”

“And you’re in love with her, and she’s in love with you.”

Aiden took in a breath and let it out through pursed lips. “Drop it,” was all he could think of to say.

“Fine,” Chris said. “For now. Has it struck you there’s something we’re missing? Something or someone big?”

“Hell, yes,” Aiden said. “I’ve been kicking it around the whole time, but I’m not coming up with any ideas. Things happened from when Olivia and I left New York. I don’t want to waste time on all the details, but Fish and Moody were heard complaining that they hadn’t been given the right instructions. That was when they thought they’d been sent to the wrong motel that first night. They assumed we’d never been there. We had. We just got lucky and avoided them. But how would they know exactly where we were a
nyway? How would anyone know?”

Chris stuck his hands in his pockets. “I think we’re on the same wavelength then. They’ve been getting information on you, and it can’t all have come through Ryan. At least, I don’t think so.”

“It couldn’t
.
Maybe it isn’t such a good idea for Olivia and me to be here. If we’re magnets for trouble, I don’t want you and Sonnie—and little Anna—to suffer.”

Chris slapped a hand on Aiden’s shoulder. “You’ve always been quick enough to make my problems your problems. Who was the guy who showed up in Key West when being around me wasn’t such a good idea? You, buddy. Come on, Sonnie’s going to feed you. All we can do about the big mystery is keep on watching our backs.”

A large room overlooking the black lake was warmly lighted by amber-shaded lamps and a snapping wood fire in a huge stone fireplace. Sitting room, dining room, and a kitchen where red tile and stainless steel dominated, were incorporated into the one space. The living-room and dining-room furniture was simple, oak and a mellow brown leather. A scatter of toys reminded Olivia that a small child was in residence.

“We’re renovating the lower floor,” Sonnie said when Chris and Aiden caught up. “Three extra bedrooms. They’re more or less finished, but there’s a lot to be done on the rest of the space. The bathrooms are working, though, so you two should be comfortable down there.”

Olivia looked curiously from Chris to Aiden and wondered what had kept them talking in the hallway for so long. She didn’t say anything. And she’d rather not consider spending the night with Aiden in the Talons’ basement. Or maybe the problem was the reverse; she got a thrill at the thought, and that was hardly appropriate.

“Sit down,” Sonnie said and walked behind a kitchen island topped with red tile. “I’ve got some quiche warming. How about hot chocolate?”

“How about booze?” Chris said.

Olivia and Sonnie smiled at each other.

“Scotch,” Aiden said.

“Maybe you should make that two,” Sonnie said.

Chris laughed. “I’m already planning on it.”

“The second one is for Olivia,” Sonnie said and pointed to the oven.

Without a word, Chris went to bend down and take out a quiche. He put it on top of the shiny red stove and smiled at his wife.

Olivia wondered what it would be like to communicate without words. “I’ll pass on the scotch,” she said, “but water would be wonderful.”

“We’ve got to get to those photos,” Aiden said.

“First you have to eat,” Sonnie said, rubbing Chris’s arm. “I know some of what you’ve been through. Off with those boots, Aiden. We need to see what’s going on with your ankles.”

Olivia narrowed her eyes at Aiden’s obstinate expression. “Off with the boots,” she repeated. “Chris, you hold him down and I’ll take ’em off.”

“We’re going to eat,” Aiden protested.

Sonnie found a dishpan and began filling it with warm water. “I’ll put Epsom salts in this. You can soak and eat at the same time.”

Chris muttered something about soaking heads and dodged a poke from Aiden.

Amid muffled moans and pleas from Aiden for the torture to stop, his boots were removed, the legs of his leather pants rolled up, and his feet and injured ankles plunked into the dishpan beneath the round table. Boss took himself off to a corner and arranged himself as if he were settling in to hibernate.

They ate in
a glass-enclosed dining room c
antilevered from the rest of the house. Quiche and salad, followed by warm apple pie, had never tasted so good to Olivia. From Aiden’s quiet concentration, he thought so, too.

Twice Chris got up and left the room. The second time he returned and carried a coffee pot to the table.
“
Kitty Fish was on the plane. Nothing on her from any hotels or motels near
the airport,” he said to Aiden. “We’re working on downtown hotels, but nothing so far.”

“No,” Aiden said, holding up a mug for coffee. “But we aren’t surprised, are we? She wouldn’t use her own name.”