Stuart Woods - Heat

Carrie was asleep before the airplane left the ground, and as soon as the seatbelt sign went off, Jesse ordered a double bourbon. He needed it. He stroked the little head on a pillow in his lap and tried not to think of the future. For the next few days he must live entirely in the present and not be distracted by dreams of yet another new life.

Halfway home, Carrie woke up. She stared into her father’s eyes. “Where have you been?” she asked. “If you weren’t in heaven, why didn’t you come get me?”

“Rabbit, believe me, I came the first minute I could. When Uncle Kip and Aunt Arlene took you to Washington, they didn’t tell me, so I had to look for you for a real long time.”

“Oh,” she said.

“Were they nice to you?”

“Oh, yes; they gave me lots of toys and things, but I wouldn’t call Aunt Arlene mommy, and she didn’t like that.”

“You did the right thing, sweetheart,” he said. “Now I have some wonderful news for you.”

“Oh, tell me, tell me!”

“You remember I told you I had found you a sister?”

“Yes, where is she?”

“We’re going to a town called St. Clair, and she’s waiting for you there. It’ll be real late when we get home, and she’ll be asleep, but you’ll meet her in the morning.”

“Is her mommy in heaven, too?”

“No, her mommy is meeting us at the airport, and I think you’re going to love her a lot. She’s going to be your new mommy.”

Carrie’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know you could have two mommies.”

“When your first mommy goes to heaven, then your daddy can find you a new mommy.”

“And you found me a new one?”

“I sure did, and she’s wonderful.”

“What’s her name?”

“Her name is Jenny.”

“Do I have to call her mommy?”

“Not unless you want to. It would make her very happy if you did, though.”

“Did you and Jenny get married?”

“Yes, we did.”

“Well, I guess she’s my new mommy, then, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is.”

“And I won’t live with Aunt Arlene and Uncle Kip anymore?”

“No, you’ll live with your new family.”

“Will I ever see Aunt Arlene and Uncle Kip again?”

“Maybe, but not for a long, long time.”

“Will it make them sad?”

“Yes, they’ll miss you a lot, but they have the new baby to love.”

“That’s true,” Carrie said, nodding gravely. “They won’t be all by themselves.” Soon she was asleep again.

Jesse carried the little girl, still sleeping, off the airplane, and Jenny was at the gate to meet them.

“I’ll introduce you to your new daughter,” he said, “if she ever wakes up.”

“Plenty of time for that,” Jenny said. “What have you told her?”

“I’ve told her about you and Carey.”

“What are we going to do about the names? They sound just alike.”

“I haven’t a clue.”

When they had left the airport and were driving toward St. Clair Jesse asked, “What did you tell Carey about us?”

“I’ve told her that you had a daughter by your first marriage. She immediately asked if all your daughters weren’t killed in the car wreck, but I told her one of them wasn’t in the car with you, and she had been living with friends in another town until you were ready to bring her to St. Clair.”

“Do you think she’ll tell anyone at school?”

“I’ve told her it’s a big secret for the time being, and when she asked me why, I told her that was a secret, too. She seemed to accept that.”

“Do you think she’ll turn us in at school?”

“The school has warped some of Carey’s attitudes, and we’re going to have to work to help her get over that. But she and I have a bond that the school hasn’t been able to penetrate, and if she tells me she’ll keep the secret, then she will. You can depend on that.”

Jesse hoped she was right.

They arrived at home in St. Clair after two in the morning, and Jesse carried the luggage into the house first, making sure they were not being watched.

They tucked Carrie into bed, and then Jesse spent another two hours going over the whole house, looking for bugs. It was after four when he finally went to bed.

“Did you find anything?” Jenny asked.

“There were two: one in the living room and one in the kitchen. I’ve disabled the one in the kitchen, so be sure and keep Carrie out of the living room when I’m away from the house.”

Jenny snuggled up close. “She’s a beautiful child. I’m going to love her, I know it.”

“And she’s going to love you,” Jesse said.

Jesse arrived at the office the following morning to find a fax from Nashua Building Supply waiting, placing a large order for plywood. It was good cover, and he was grateful to Kip for that. He waited until everyone had left for lunch before calling Kip.

“How’s Carrie?” Kip asked immediately, and there was pain in his voice.

“She’s very well. She slept through most of the flight and all of the ride from the airport. She met her new mother and sister this morning, and she seemed very happy with them. But I don’t want to talk about Carrie again.”

Kip was suddenly all business. “All right. What’s up?”

“You remember how you got the Zippo camera to me?”

“Yes.”

“Can the same man deliver another package to me?”

“Sure; what do you want?”

“A list of things; got a pencil?”

“Shoot.”

“I want a pound of plastic explosive and half a dozen detonators and timers, and an explosives mat about four feet square.”

“What are you going to do with all that?”

“You’re just going to have to trust me, Kip.”

“All right, what else?”

“A couple of hand grenades; something incendiary. I also want a light machine gun and half a dozen clips of ammunition. And I want some night goggles, the lightest you can find.”

“When do you need it?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“I think I can do that. Where do you want it delivered?”

“On the road going east from St. Clair, just beyond the Wood Products plant, there’s a bridge over a creek. Have him use duct tape to fix the package in the supports under the bridge. Tell him to make sure it can’t be seen, except from underneath. Tell him after he makes the delivery to fix a twelve-inch strip of duct tape to the northwest end of the bridge, so that it can be easily seen from the road, as a signal that the goods are there.”

“I’ll get right on it. You sure you don’t want to tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m sure; do you have a date for your entry into St. Clair yet?”

“The army delivered a preliminary plan this morning, and we’re still going over it. My best guess would be that the earliest possible time would be seven days; the latest, ten days.”

“I’m going to try to make it easier for them,” Jesse said.

“I’ll tell them.”

“I’ll try to call you every day from now until you go in,” Jesse said. “It’s critically important that I know exactly what the plan is and when it begins. I can’t be of any help to you unless I know that.”

“I’ll see that you’re fully briefed. Do you think you could make a meet with somebody to go over the details?”

Jesse thought for a minute. “I doubt it; it could be too dangerous at this stage of the game. I’ll think about it, though, and let you know.”

“As you wish; I just want you to know everything we know.”

“Thanks, but we’ll probably have to do it on the phone.” He said goodbye and broke the connection, and not a moment too soon. An instant after he had concealed the phone in his lunchbox, Pat Casey appeared in the reception room, carrying a red zippered briefcase.