Last Night (20 page)

Dana emerged, her purse slung over one shoulder. "I
'
m ready.
"
She opened her shoulder bag and brought out a small canister. "This is really what I came back to get.
"

"Hair spray?
"
he asked. At a time like this? Women.

She flashed him a sly grin. "The label says it
'
s Stay Put Hair Spray, but it's really pepper spray.
"

"Jesus! One blast of that will drop a charging rhino.
"

"With the Panama Jack
'
s rapist running around, you can't be too careful.
"
She jammed the can back into her bag.
"
If anyone tries to stop us tonight I
'
ll zap them.
"

Rob didn't want to take the time to discuss what he
'
d discovered in the suite, but he needed Dana on his side. Vanessa was so hostile toward men that she might not listen to him. She would listen to her sister.

"
Big Daddy is going to go ballistic when he finds Vanessa and Jason gone,
"
he said. "He
'
s going to come right to your house looking for them. We need to hide them somewhere.
"

"
Good idea, but where?
"

"
I
'
m going to call Garth. He
'
s already agreed to take the case. I
'
m certain he
'
ll let Vanessa and Jason stay at his place until after I meet with Coltrane.
"

"
Why are you going to meet with him?
"

"
I helped myself to a few of his tapes. They
'
re hidden out by the helipad. When he sees I can prove he
'
s worse than a Peeping Tom, I think he
'
ll be willing
to listen to reason.
"

"
You stole his tapes?
"
She let out a long, audible breath. "I suppose you had to do that to get proof.
"

"
Damn right. Otherwise your sister can plan on joint custody or mayb
e even losing Jason if the Col
tranes muster enough power.
"

"Big Daddy will make good on his blackmail
threat if we d
on't have leverage against him,
"
Dana agreed.

"
We have to pressure Coltrane, but I don't think he sent you the knife.
"

"
If he didn
'
t, who did?
"

"This is a strange one. I'll be damned if I know who
'
s out to get you.
"

T
he shrill ring of the telephone woke Garth; it was followed by the fluttering of Puni's wings as he woke too. Garth shook his head, trying to get his bearings. He was out on the lanai with Puni on his shoulder. Obviously he
'
d fallen asleep while gazing at the sea.

What time was it? Almost three-thirty. Anyone calling at this hour had to be in real trouble, Garth decided. They
'
d probably heard the Miranda and howled for a lawyer. He wheeled himself inside, a spurt of excitement sharpening his sleep-dulled brain. Maybe this would be an interesting case. He needed something to get himself out of this funk.

"Hello?
"
he said, answering the telephone and flipping on the light at the same time.

That was a mistake. The light hit Puni and he came to life. Stomping on Garth's shoulder, he chanted,
"
Sue the bastards! Sue the bastards! Sue their asses.
"

"
Garth? Is that you?
"
It was Rob Tagett
'
s unmistakable voice.

Garth cradled the receiver against his shoulder and put his hand over Puni
'
s head to shut him up.
"It
'
s me. Where are you? What
'
s that noise? It sounds like you're in a wind tunnel.
"

"
Close,
"
Rob yelled.
"
I
'
m in a helicopter heading for Hickum Field. I need a huge favor—two of them actually.
"

"
Shoot,
"
Garth said, ignoring Puni nipping at his fingers.

"
Can you pick us up? We land in about twenty minutes.
"

"I
'
ll come get you, but you
'
ll land before I can get there.
"
Hickum Field was the military airport on the other side of the city, where the heliport was located. "What else do you need?
"

"Would you mind letting Vanessa Coltrane and her son spend the night with you? We had to get out of there in a hell of a hurry. I
'
m expecting Big Daddy to come looking for them tomorrow. I don
'
t want him to find them.
"

Garth hesitated. Vanessa Coltrane. The sensuous voice on the telephone. Dark, silky hair and long, tapered fingernails. He had no business getting anywhere near this woman.

"
Sure. There
'
s plenty of room here,
"
Garth heard himself say.

He was still questioning his decision when he pulled up to the terminal in his customized van with Puni on his shoulder. The bird wasn
'
t quite asleep or awake. When they were in a dark area he
'
d nod off, but if they pulled up under a streetlight Puni would threaten to sue. Garth stopped the van in front of the dark terminal and saw Rob waiting. He
told himself that he didn
'
t care what Vanessa Col
trane thought. He
'
d deliberately not changed his wrinkled clothes and had brought Puni along.

"Thanks for coming,
"
Rob said after he
'
d opened the side door of the van.

"No problem,
"
Garth said, watching as Rob helped Dana into the backseat and tossed in a few bags. Then he opened the door to the front seat beside Garth.

The most incredibly beautiful woman Garth had ever seen slid into his van. She wasn
'
t a brunette like Dana. Vanessa Coltrane was a classy blonde with eyes as blue as the island sky. Cradled in her arms was a sleeping boy. One of her hands was on his bottom, supporting his weight, and the other was across the back of his neck.

He couldn
'
t take his eyes off the hand on the boy's neck. A loving hand, gently stroking the child. A hand crowned by long oval nails painted a dusky mauve.

"Thank you so much for coming for us,
"
Vanessa said. "I—
"

"Sue the bastards,
"
screeched Puni, who
'
d been awakened by the van
'
s interior light. "Sue the bastards! Sue their asses.
"

Garth clamped his hand over Puni
'
s head, but it was too late. The boy was already awake.

"Mommie, where are we?
"
He squinted at Garth.

Vanessa kissed the top of her son
'
s head. "We
'
re visiting Aunt Dana, remember?
"

Jason
'
s eyes were o
pen wide now and he was star
ing at Puni, fascinated.
"
What's his name?
"

"
You ask him,
"
Garth said gently. Jason had his mother
'
s arresting blue eyes and blonde hair, but his jaw was the Coltranes
'
, right down to the dimple on his chin that would become a deep cleft as he grew older.

"
What
'
s your name?
"
Jason asked.

"
Puni.
"
The bird stomped on Garth
'
s shoulder.
"
Puni. Puni.
"

"
That means
little,"
Vanessa told her son, and Garth didn
'
t bother to correct her.

"
I
'
m Jason.
"
He pointed to himself.
"
Say
Jason."

"
Jaa-son. Jaa-son.
"

Jason clapped his little hands and laughed.
"
Puni.
"

"
Jaa-son. Jaa-son." Puni ruffled his feathers, flashing brilliant crimson.

"
Will he sit on my shoulder?
"
Jason asked Garth.

Garth shook his head. Puni was a difficult parrot, who didn
'
t like many people. He especially hated the cleaning lady and would spit birdseed over the freshly mopped floor just to annoy her.
"
He's shy.
"

Jason leaned closer. "Puni, don
'
t be afraid. I
'
m your friend.
"

Garth stole a glance at Vanessa and found she was enthralled with her son, smiling as he tried to make friends with Puni. Despite her smile, her eyes looked sad, troubled.

"
Thanks for coming out in the middle of the night,
"
Dana said.

Garth glanced over his shoulder, momentarily having forgotten the other passengers, who were now settled in the backseat.

"Can I try to hold him?
"
Jason asked.
"
Puh-
leeze?
"

"
Okay,
"
Garth said, realizing no one could refuse this kid
.
"
Put out your hand and see if he will walk up your arm to your shoulder."

Jason offered the parrot his hand, but Puni didn
'
t budge. "Come on, Puni. I
'
m your friend. Come, Puni, come.
"

The parrot cocked his head, looked at Garth as if asking permission, then hopped onto Jason
'
s hand and moonwalked
up to his small shoulder. "Jaa-
son. Jaa-son.
"

"Well, I'll be.
"
Garth's eyes met Vanessa
'
s, and he was greeted by a genuine smile of astonishing warmth. His heart backfired, but he kept his expression neutral, a trick he
'
d learned from years of court appearances.

"We
'
re outta here,
"
Rob reminded him from the backseat as he slid the door shut and the interior became dark.

Garth used the hand controls that did the work his feet could no longer do and pulled away from the curb.

"Puni,
"
said Jason. "What else can you say?
"

"He doesn
'
t talk when it
'
s dark,
"
Garth answered, still astonished the bird had gone to Jason. "He thinks that
'
s time to sleep."

"Oh. We
'
ll talk tomorrow.
"
Jason ran his hand
over Puni's feathers, sounding more than a little sleepy himself.

They drove in silence through paradise's deserted streets. Garth braved a glance in Vanessa
'
s direction as he came up to a corner and pretended to check for oncoming traffic. Jason had fallen asleep, his towhead pillowed against the fullness of his mother's bosom. Puni was asleep too, perched on the boy
'
s shoulder, resting his head against Jason
'
s cheek like the leaning tower of Pisa.

Garth lifted his eyes and saw that Vanessa was staring at him. He quickly looked away, paying careful attention to his driving. What did she see? A cripple with wrinkled clothes who smelled like a gym sock. Only a nut case would ride around with a parrot on his shoulder. Under the best conditions he was hardly the image of a powerhouse attorney, but now he felt especially foolish.