Lisa Scottoline - Think Twice

Knox chuckled. “I’m only human.”

“Relax.” Alice kept her fingers moving. “How long have you lived in Nassau?”

“All my life.”

“When we land, will you spend the night with me, at my hotel?”

“Uh, well, I can’t.” Knox’s smile faded, and Alice read his expression.

“Married? So what? All I need is information, and help. There’s money in it for you, lots of money. A thousand dollars.”

Knox scoffed. “I don’t believe you.”

Alice bent over, went into her bag, withdrew a bundle, and plopped it onto his lap. “Look, I have a bag full of dough.”

“Truly?” Knox’s eyes lit up and he held up money, looking at it this way and that. “Is this a thousand dollars?”

“Yes, and there’s more where that came from, but I need information. BSB is the largest bank in the Bahamas, right?”

“There are many banks in the Bahamas. There’s Scotiabank, First Ca rib be an, Royal-”

“But BSB is big?”

“Yes.”

“So that means lots of people work there.”

“BSB is a major employer in Nassau, yes.”

“I need to find somebody who works for them. Do you know anybody who does?”

Knox thought a minute. “No.”

“You sure?”

“No one.” Knox looked past her, to the curtain. “I should go forward. Willa might be wondering about me.”

“Okay.”

“I get to keep the money?”

“Sure, and hurry back.” Alice leaned over to give him a deep kiss and a final stroke, then withdrew her hand. “Can you get my clothes?”

“Sure.”

“Got a cigarette up there?”

“There’s no smoking on the flight.” Knox smiled crookedly. “You can bum one of mine.” He dressed quickly and left the cabin.

Alice poured herself another champagne, deep in thought. She’d be in the Bahamas in half an hour. The jet flew direct. A car would be waiting for her. She’d stay at a hotel near the bank, to be there when it opened. She had a great head start, and even if Bennie followed her, she’d never catch her.

Knox came back with her things, and she gave him a quick kiss, then went into the bathroom. The jet had a shower so she jumped in, shampooed her hair, dried off, and changed into the gray T-shirt and baggy shorts they’d bought her, with slip-on Keds.

She had already formulated her new plan. She’d set it in motion, as soon as they touched down.

Bennie shifted in her seat, her clothes still wet enough to raise eyebrows, especially in first class, where Alice had booked her ticket. She looked out of the window, and from the blackness came an image of Grady, his expression concerned as he handed her all his cash. Then she flashed on him making love to Alice, and felt a deep pang. Her emotions were coming back.

She got up from the seat, excused herself, and went forward, ducking inside the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, stuck her hand in her purse, and pulled out the Ziploc bag. She unzipped it, pleased to find the pills still dry. She popped one, bent over the tiny sink, and drank some water, then straightened up. Soon she wouldn’t feel the pain in her hands or feet, or anywhere else.

On the way out, she avoided the mirror.

Alice looked in the mirror, applying a perfect line of black eyeliner, then waiting for it to dry. She could get used to flying private, with its free supply of toiletries. She had hardly felt the jet land and she was stalling, as part of her plan. She sprayed herself with Chanel perfume when there was a knock at the door.

“Bennie?” Knox said. “It’s time to deplane.”

Alice opened the door, threw her arms around Knox’s neck, and gave him a long, deep kiss. “Sorry, I wanted to get all pretty for you.”

“Mmm.” Knox’s tongue flicked inside her mouth. “You smell sexy.”

“I am sexy.”

“I second that. So, are you good to go?”

“Just about.”

“Your car is ready and waiting. You’ll have to go through immigration, but it won’t take long. We have our own officer at the private airport. I’ll escort you.”

“Will you walk me to the car, too? I don’t know where the pickup area is. I’ve never been.”

“Certainly, I’m off for the night. Any other requests?”

“Just one.” Alice kissed him again. “Send the other flight attendant home.”

“She’s gone. They all went.”

“Even whoever cleans the plane? I don’t want anybody seeing us together. My husband-” Alice broke off her sentence, and Knox’s eyes widened slightly.

“Oh, I see.” He glanced at her left hand. “What, no wedding band?”

“Not out of town.” Alice smiled, and so did Knox.

“No worries. The service crew doesn’t come until tomorrow morning.”

“Good. I’ll be right out.”

“See you then.” Knox closed the bathroom door, and Alice threw the latch to lock it, then she went into action.

She took one of the sweat socks, wet it, and wedged it around the smoke detector in the ceiling. She tore paper towels from the dispenser in fistfuls and shoved them into the wastebasket. She took the toilet paper out of the dispenser, stuffed that in with the paper towels, and put the wastebasket under the window with its plaid curtains.

She opened the matchbook, struck a match, then lit the curtains, which made a funny smell. She slid her new gun from her messenger bag and shoved it in her waistband in back. She tossed the matchbook into the flaming wastebasket, then grabbed the messenger bag, slipped out of the bathroom, and hurried to the front of the jet, where Knox stood by the open door.

“You had a cigarette, eh?” he asked, and she took his arm and pressed him toward the door.

“You can smell it, huh? Someday I’ll quit.”

“You and me both.” Knox helped her down the stairway, and Alice looked around the airfield. It was dark, but lit enough to see a row of jets lined up next to their jet, near a silvery cylindrical fuel truck that read AVITA. The tarmac was quiet, no one was around, and not a baggage cart moving.

“Where is everybody?” Alice smiled.

“Gone to bed. Welcome to Nassau.” Knox took her arm and led her toward a small modern terminal. Palm trees rustled along the concrete walk that lead to a glass double door, and the terminal’s large windows showed only a single uniformed person inside.

“Only one person?”

“We’re the only flight. He’s waiting on us.”

“Before we go through immigration, wanna stop at the bathroom?”

“Didn’t you just do that?”

“Not for my benefit, for yours.” Alice faked a sexy giggle. “There’s one thing we didn’t do, and I bet I do it better than your wife.”

“Ha!” Knox laughed. “Come with me, woman.”

They passed through an automatic door, which let them into a waiting room with a large screen TV in front of a leather sofa and chairs. A man in a light blue shirt was on the phone and didn’t look up. Knox led the way down a hallway and went through a door that read MEN’S.

Alice followed him inside.

Bennie was the first one off the plane when it landed in Miami, and she hurried down the jetway and through the door to the terminal, which was crowded with vacationers in funny hats, big families, honeymooning couples, and world-weary business travelers, all filling the air with different languages. Moms cuddled toddlers in chairs in the gate area, and students slept on the floor, their flights delayed in bad weather. Her connection to Nassau had also been delayed, and on the flight they had announced the gate number, which was only three down the hall.