Fatal Tide - Iris Johansen [37]
Lyons gave a low whistle as Kelby came into the living room. “You look like you're a tad annoyed. Anything to do with Melis and the birdcage?”
“Everything to do with them.” He'd really handled the situation with kid gloves, Kelby thought in disgust. Just yell at the woman, vent all your frustration, and then walk away. “And that son of a bitch Archer. He's trying to drive her to a breakdown. Sweet. Really sweet.”
“Can he do it?”
“No, she's tough. But he can make her life hell, and she's going to let him do it. She thinks she can lure him into a trap.”
“Not a bad idea.”
“It stinks. The whole thing stinks.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I'm going to find Marinth. Make myself a legend. And sail away into the sunset.” He pulled out his phone. “But first I have to have a ship. I'm calling the Trina and having the crew sail it to Las Palmas.”
“Is that where Marinth is?”
“How the hell do I know? She says it's in that area. Of course, she could be lying. She doesn't trust me worth a damn. Who could blame her? I have a hunch she's not been able to trust many men.”
“Are you still going to need me?”
“You're damn right. First, I'm going to call the Trina, then I'm going to call Wilson and find out what we know about Archer.” He dialed the Trina. “I'm going to clear the decks before I make my exit. And Archer is going to be the first one overboard.”
The sun was bright, the water was silky smooth against her body as she moved through the waves. Pete and Susie were ahead of her as usual, but they came back every little bit to make sure she was all right. She'd always wondered if they thought she was slightly handicapped. It must seem odd to them that she was so slow when their sleek bodies were so wonderfully equipped to tear through the water.
Time to go back. She could see Kelby standing on the edge of the lanai, watching them. He was wearing khakis, deck shoes, and a white pullover shirt, and he looked lean and powerful and vitally alert. It was the first time she'd seen him since last night, and she experienced a ripple of uneasiness. She hadn't expected to feel this . . . connection with him. It was as if that moment of intimacy last night had woven a bond between them.
Crazy. That feeling was probably only on her side. Kelby appeared cool and even a little distant.
“You're wearing a swimsuit.” He leaned over to take her hand and pull her onto the lanai. “What a disappointment. Cal said you frequently swim in the buff.”
“Not with guests around.” She took the towel he handed her and started to dry off. “And I seem to have more than my share these days.”
“I believe I had an invitation. Though you did have an ulterior motive.” He sat down in the lounge chair. “Have you talked to Archer?”
“No, I promised you I wouldn't. I turned off the phone. I'll turn it on again when I go in to dress.”
“I talked to Wilson last night and got a profile on Archer. Do you want to know what kind of monster you're dealing with?”
“Monsters are monsters. But I suppose I should find out everything I can about him.”
“No, Archer's in a class by himself. He grew up in the slums of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was running drugs by the time he was nine and was picked up for suspected murder of a fellow student at his high school when he was thirteen. It was a particularly gory murder. He took a long, long time torturing the kid before he killed him.
“The state couldn't make a case and he walked. Archer disappeared the next day and presumably went to Mexico. His rap sheet reads like an encyclopedia after that. He went from drugs to arms, and that became his specialty. At twenty-two he formed his own group and went international. He's done very well in the past twenty years or so. He has investments in Switzerland and owns a ship, Jolie Fille, that he uses for business. It's usually docked in Marseilles, but he uses it to transport weapons cargoes to the Middle East. The bastard loves money, power, and has never lost that streak of sadism. Some of the stories regarding what he did to rival gang leaders and victims are damn chilling.