CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

Taylor was in the secluded garden at the hotel when the call came through on her cell phone. It was Ricardo. He spoke quickly and kept his voice low. Although he didn’t say it, she sensed he had little time to talk.

“We’re on our way from Puerto Vallarta. Brand is chartering a Learjet for the flight. We’ll be in Oaxaca City sometime tomorrow. New Year’s Day.”

“You did it,” Taylor said excitedly. “Good work, Ricardo.”

“Thanks. He’s a scary guy. Came right out and told me he’d kill me if I tried to rip him off.”

“That must have been a bit unsettling.”

“What was unsettling is that I believe him. I think he’d do it.”

“Don’t give him a chance,” Taylor said. “I take it there was no sign of Alan.”

“None, thank God. But until we’re out of Puerto Vallarta it could still happen. That’s weighing on me as well. I’ve got to go. I’ll call you again when we get to Oaxaca City. Just stay out of sight after tonight. Brand will recognize you from a block away just by seeing your hair. Not a lot of redheads in Mexico.”

“Okay.” She hung up.

One potential disaster was out of the way. Had Alan been present for the meeting, things would have gone very wrong, very quickly. Taylor could only imagine the scene—Ricardo feigning shock at seeing Alan, asking what he was doing there. Alan telling Brand that he knew Ricardo—and worse yet, that Ricardo knew Taylor. Brand taking the most obvious course of action. Breaking off the meeting and sending someone to take care of Ricardo. She put the thought out of her mind—it hadn’t happened. Not yet at least.

The fact that Edward Brand was chartering a Lear wasn’t the best news. Not unexpected, but worrisome. She knew the reason. On a domestic flight there was no chance of bringing a gun. On a Lear there was every chance of bringing one. Brand wanted to be armed. She didn’t blame him. He had no idea what he was walking into. He probably would have balked if they had insisted the money transfer be in cash. And that worked well for them. They didn’t want cash. The half million was nothing. It was the next transfer out of Brand’s account that counted. She wondered how much he was sitting on. She was pretty sure it was substantial. Very substantial. Certainly worth all the work.

Taylor paid her bill for the tea and salad, and left the quiet garden. Noise from the street percolated in as she neared the front of the hotel. New Year’s Eve revelers off to an early start. It wasn’t even nine o’clock, and the city was starting to come to life. A sense of loneliness overwhelmed her as she walked down the short hallway to her room. It had been many years since she had celebrated the birth of a new year by herself. In fact, she couldn’t remember any time in her life when she hadn’t been with friends or family as the calendar switched over. She unlocked the door and let herself into the empty room.

Taylor drew a bath and settled into the hot water. It was soothing to both her body and mind. She wasn’t a woman to feel stress, but right now the tension was rising, and she was beginning to wonder whether they could pull this off. Edward Brand was no fool. He was intelligent and would be suspicious of everything until he was off that mountain with the treasure. That, of course, would never happen. Alan posed a distinct threat. Kelly and Ricardo were right, they should probably back off until Alan was out of the picture. But that meant letting Brand go. All the planning. All for naught.

No way.

She ducked her head under the water, her long hair swaying gently with the ripples. She slicked it back and squeezed until most of the excess water was gone, then climbed out of the tub and towel dried. There was a full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door, and she looked at her reflection. Nowhere to hide the extra pounds or the stretch marks when the clothes were off. She had neither. Her body was taut and lean, her long legs the reason many men glanced back when they passed her on the street. She slipped on the terry housecoat the hotel provided and padded back into the bedroom.

She placed a quick call to Adolfo’s room. He answered immediately. “Adolfo, it’s Taylor. I need you to pick up something for me.”

“Yes. What?”

“Do you know what walkie-talkies are?”

“Yes, I know this. For two people to talk. Push the button, then let it go.”

“Exactly. Could you find a pair and purchase them. I’ll pay you whatever they cost. Make sure they have new batteries.”

“Sí, I will do.”

“Thanks.”

“De nada.”

Taylor replaced the phone in the cradle. They needed a way to communicate while at Monte Alban. If Adolfo taped down his talk button, she could hear the conversation and know exactly when to light the fire and distract the guards. It was crude, but it didn’t have to be sophisticated to work. That’s all that mattered—whether it worked or not. She switched her thoughts to Kelly Kramer. His story about the CIA being involved in Monte Alban must have made the grade. She checked the time and dialed his number. He was still at the office and picked up on the third ring.

“Hi,” she said. “How are things in Washington?”

“Cold. It’s miserable here. I think it’s about eight degrees outside right now. There’s snow everywhere. I can’t remember a nastier winter.”

“Well, it’s nice down here. Sixty-five and holding.”

“No kidding. It’s Mexico. Is everything okay?”

“Perfect. Couldn’t be better, in fact. Adolfo and I got the treasure in place. No problems that we couldn’t handle. He’s good, Kelly. He thinks quick on his feet. If anyone can sell Edward Brand that he’s a corrupt government employee, it’s Adolfo. It appears that Brent Hawkins swallowed your story about the CIA operative and then sold Brand on it.”

“Good. Did Ricardo meet with them yet?”

“This afternoon. They’re flying into Oaxaca City tomorrow.” She paused, then added, “I think we should try to be ready to go on the second.”

“Twenty-four to thirty hours after they arrive. That’s fast, Taylor. Maybe too fast.”

“I’m worried about Alan. If he shows up, he’ll blow Ricardo’s cover. Then it’s over. Ricardo’s dead. Brand made no bones about it—Ricardo tries to rip him off and he’s a dead man. I didn’t get him involved in this to get him killed.”

“Of course not. I’m ready from this end. I’ve got what I need to intercept the satellite call, and I’ve even isolated a decoding program in case he’s encrypted his account number. The chances of that are minimal, but I’m just being careful. I don’t want to be scrambling around trying to find a computer program when I’ve only got seconds to spare.”

“You’ll do fine,” Taylor said. She lay on the bed, her wet hair on the pillow. “There’s nothing else to do. I think that the longer we wait, the more we’re inviting problems. Brand will be here tomorrow. We give him a day to settle in, then run the con the next night. That’s January second. I think that’s our timetable.”

“Okay, Taylor, you’re the one with your finger on the pulse. I’ll be wired on caffeine and wide awake by ten at night on the second. Any time after that is fine.” There was a break, then he said, “Hey, Happy New Year.”

“Yeah, you too.” Taylor took a deep breath. “We’re going to do this, Kelly.”

“Absolutely.”