Stuart Woods - Shoot Him If He Runs

Ten minutes later they were back at the inn. They parked in front of the cottage and went inside. He held a finger to his lips as he entered. Dino and Genevieve were watching TV. “Anybody like a drink?” Stone asked, as if he had been there all along.

“Sure, I’ll have a Scotch,” Dino said.

“Me too,” echoed Genevieve.

“I’ll have one of your bourbons,” Holly said. She went into the bedroom and came back with the satphone, then took her drink and went out back.

“Yes?” Lance said. He didn’t sound sleepy.

“It’s Holly.”

“What have you learned?”

“The house is empty, lights on, dinner had been cooking on the stove, but the stove had been turned off. We think the house may have been bugged, because as soon as we left, we saw a police car coming from Markstown with its flashers on, and it turned into Pepper’s driveway. We had our lights off, so they didn’t spot us.”

“Anything amiss in the house? Had it been searched?”

“Not that we could see. Mrs. Pepper keeps a neat house, and if it was searched, it was done by experts.”

Lance was quiet for a moment. “All right, there’s nothing more you can do tonight; get some sleep.”

“Lance, if the place is bugged and that’s why the police came, then the police must have them.”

“And that would mean Colonel Croft,” Lance said. “Not a pretty situation.”

“What are you going to do?”

“There’s not much I can do tonight. I have to contrive some plausible story so that I can get the embassy on it.”

“How about Bill’s sister asked me to look in on him, and when I did, I found what I found. I could call the embassy and talk to the duty officer.”

“You do that, and I’ll call our man in the embassy, too. Tell the duty officer you want him to call the local police and report them missing, and he should ask them if they have any knowledge of the Peppers’ whereabouts. Call from your room, so the listeners will know what you’re doing. Let’s see what kind of reaction you get. Call me back in the morning, as usual.”

“Right,” Holly said. She punched off the phone, went inside and picked up the phone. “I think something’s wrong,” she said loudly. “I’m calling the embassy.” She started dialing.

The phone rang half a dozen times before someone picked up. “United States Embassy,” a sleepy male voice said.

“May I speak to the duty officer, please?” Holly replied.

“I’m the duty officer; my name is James Tiptree. May I have your name?”

“My name is Virginia Heller; I want to report an American citizen missing on St. Marks.”

“Have you called the police?”

“I’d rather not become involved with the police. I would much prefer it if you would speak to them.”

“What is the citizen’s name?”

“Two people: Mr. and Mrs. William Pepper. He works for one of the offshore Internet casinos on the island; I don’t know which one.”

“I know the Peppers,” Tiptree said. “The American community on the island is fairly small. Why do you think Bill and Annie are missing?”

“Bill’s sister is a friend of mine, and I promised to call him while I’m here. When I couldn’t get Bill on the phone, my friend and I went to his home. Lights were on, and food had been cooking on the stove, but the stove had been turned off. Nothing else in the house seemed amiss, but as soon as we left we saw a police car coming from the direction of Markstown, and it turned into the Peppers’ driveway.”

“Did you have any interaction with the police?”

“No, and I don’t think they noticed us.”

“What is your business on the island?”

“I’m a tourist, staying at the English Harbour Inn, with three friends.”

“I know it well.”

Holly heard a phone ring on the other end of the line.

“Please hold on; I have to answer another call.” He put her on hold for a good five minutes, then came back on the line.

“That was another acquaintance of mine in the States with the same news,” Tiptree said. “I understand your position now; I’ll contact the Markstown police and report the Peppers missing, and then I’ll call Colonel Croft at home and get him out of bed, if I have to.”

“That’s great news,” Holly said.

“I’ll call you at the inn when I know more.”

“Thank you very much,” Holly said, then hung up and turned to the others. “Why don’t we take our drinks out onto the patio?” she said. “It’s a lovely evening.”

They all got up, trooped outside and sat down. “That was a guy named James Tiptree; Lance called him while he was on the phone with me, so the wheels are turning. Tiptree said he’d get Colonel Croft out of bed, if necessary.”

Bill Pepper sat on a hard, straight-backed chair in a room furnished only with a desk and two chairs at the Markstown police station. He had been taken from a cell and placed there nearly an hour before, then left alone. He resisted the temptation to go through the drawers of the desk. The chair was extremely uncomfortable, and he frequently stood up and stretched, but he always sat down again. He had been trained to assume that when being detained anywhere in the world, he would be watched and listened in on.

The door opened and a man in a business suit, but no necktie, walked into the room and sat down. He placed a file folder on the desk, opened it and read from it for several minutes before he spoke. “I am Colonel Croft, of the home secretary’s office,” he said, finally, in his slightly French accent.

“Of course, Colonel,” Pepper said pleasantly. “Everyone knows who you are. How do you do?”

“I do very well, thank you, which is more than I can say for you, Mr. Pepper. You have committed very serious crimes against the people of St. Marks.”

“If you’re referring to the several speeding tickets I’ve been given over the past year, I assure you they have all been paid, and I have adjusted my driving habits so that I am always within the speed limits.”

“You know very well what I am referring to,” Croft said.

“I’m afraid I don’t, Colonel. Where is my wife? May I see her?”

“I haven’t decided,” Croft said.

“I assure you my wife is entirely a law-abiding resident of St. Marks.”

“Does your wife have computer skills, too, Mr. Pepper?”

“She can just barely handle e-mail, I’m afraid.”

“But you-you are an absolute whiz with computers, aren’t you?”

“I’m the chief technology officer for the casino,” Pepper replied. “Computers are an important part of my job.”

“Describe your duties, please.”

“As chief technology officer, I write or supervise the writing of computer software which allows people all over the world to participate in online gaming, thus injecting many millions in tax dollars into the economy of St. Marks. May I call my boss, the chief executive officer of my company, please?”

“No, you may not,” Croft replied. “What is your interest in Mr. Pemberton and Mr. Weatherby and Mr. Robertson?”

“I’m sorry, I’m not acquainted with anyone of those names.”

“Then why were you attempting to obtain information about them from the computers at the Department of the Interior?”

“Colonel, it is a legitimate part of my work to obtain information about clients and prospective clients, but the only reason I would have to obtain any information at all about anyone would be a perfectly normal check of employment and credit records, before establishing a line of credit for a new customer. In the event that the applicant was a St. Marks citizen or resident, one of my staff would seek confirmation of the contents of the credit application. I expect that must be what you are referring to.”