Robin Cook - Seizure

“Let’s go back to the hotel first. It’s time to give Father Maloney a call. By now, he should be back in New York, and maybe he has some information about our luggage. What clothes we buy will depend on whether we’re going to get it or not.”

“Good point!” Daniel said. He changed his turn signals and looked over his shoulder as he drove back into the line of traffic heading east.

A few minutes later, Daniel drove the car past the hotel’s parking area and directly up to the front of the hotel. Liveried doormen came to both sides of the car and opened the doors simultaneously.

“You’re not going to park it in the lot?” Stephanie questioned.

“Let’s leave the car here with the doormen,” Daniel said. “We’ll give Father Maloney a try, but whether or not we get him, I want to go back and get us bathing suits.”

“Fine by me,” Stephanie said, as she slid out of the car. After the stress of the morning, a little shopping plus a relaxing visit to the beach sounded glorious.

As if he’d had a shot of speed, Gaetano felt his pulse quicken and the hairs rise up on the back of his neck. Finally, after lots of false alarms, the two people coming in through the front doors of the hotel looked like the pair he was searching for. He quickly withdrew the photo he had in the pocket of his flower-print shirt. While the couple was still in view, he compared their faces with those in the photograph. “Bingo,” he said under his breath. He replaced the photo and glanced at his watch. It was a quarter to three. He shrugged. If the professor cooperated by either going for a long walk or, better yet, heading back into town, where the two of them must have been, Gaetano might make the evening flight to Boston after all.

The couple disappeared from view to Gaetano’s right, apparently walking through the lobby, past the registration desks. Without causing a scene by hurrying, Gaetano replaced the magazine he’d been perusing, picked up his jacket, which he’d draped over the back of the sofa, smiled at the bartender, who’d been nice enough to engage him in chitchat, which had kept the hotel security from becoming suspicious, and headed after the couple. By the time he got outside, they were out of sight.

Gaetano headed along the serpentine walkway that wended its way among flowering trees and high bushes. He wasn’t concerned that he couldn’t see the couple, since he assumed they were headed to their room, and he knew exactly where room 108 was located. As he walked, he regretted his instructions not to confront the professor in the hotel. It would have been so much easier than having to wait for the man to leave the premises.

Gaetano caught sight of his quarry just as they were entering their building. He walked around to the ocean side, and found a strategically situated hammock stretched between two palm trees. After draping his jacket over one of the ropes, he gingerly climbed aboard. From that convenient vantage point, he would see them if they went to the beach, the pool, or any other of the hotel attractions. There wasn’t much more he could do but wait and watch and hope their plans took them away from the hotel.

As the minutes passed, Gaetano’s heart rate settled back to normal, although he was still titillated by the anticipation of imminent physical action. He was about as comfortable as he could imagine, with his head propped up on a little canvas pillow attached to the hammock and one foot out on the ground to gently sway himself. Only a smattering of sunlight sifted through the palm fronds overhead, which was a godsend. If he’d been in the direct sun, he would have broiled.

A woman in a skimpy bikini and a see-through cover-up walked by and smiled. Gaetano gave a wave in return, which nearly upended him. As far as he knew, he’d never been in a hammock before, and since it was stretched rather tightly between the trees, it wasn’t as steady as he imagined. He felt better gripping both sides.

Gaetano was about to risk checking his watch when he saw the couple. Instead of going to the beach, they were on the walkway, heading back to the lobby. More important, they were dressed as they had been earlier. Gaetano didn’t want to jinx himself, but attired as they were, they weren’t going to the pool for damn sure, and just maybe they might be heading back out of the hotel.

In an attempt to get out of the hammock quickly, Gaetano caused it to flip completely over, resulting in his being ignominiously dumped face-first on the ground. He scrambled to his feet and was further embarrassed when he discovered that two toddlers and their mother had witnessed his fall.

He brushed off blades of grass adhering to the front of his slacks and picked up his sunglasses. It irritated him that both kids had smirks on their faces at his expense, and for a second, he thought about teaching them a lesson about respect. Luckily, the family moved on, although one of the brats looked back over his shoulder, with a mocking smile still plastered to his face. Gaetano gave him the finger. He then grabbed his jacket and took off after the couple.

This time, Gaetano ran, since it was now important to keep them in sight. He caught up with them before they reached the central building, and he slowed to a walk. He was breathing heavily. When they entered the lobby, Gaetano was right behind them. He was close enough to hear them talk. He was also close enough to appreciate that Stephanie was even more comely than her photograph suggested.

“Why don’t you have them pull the car up,” Stephanie was saying. “I’ll be out in a second. I want to check with the concierge whether we need a reservation for dinner tonight in the courtyard.”

“Fine,” Daniel said agreeably.

Suppressing a smile to hide his delight, Gaetano reversed course and exited the lobby area through the door he’d just come in. Walking quickly, he beat it out to the parking lot and jumped into the Cherokee. After getting it started, he drove back toward the front of the hotel, positioning the car so he could see the roundabout and the porte cochere. Directly in front of the hotel entrance was a blue Mercury Marquis with its engine idling. Stephanie appeared from within and climbed into the front passenger seat.

“Score!” Gaetano happily said out loud. He looked at his watch. It was a quarter past three. Suddenly, things seemed to be falling into place.

The Mercury Marquis started forward and passed directly in front of Gaetano. Gaetano fell in behind, close enough at first to commit the license plate to memory. He then dropped back.

“What did you think about my conversation with Father Maloney?” Stephanie asked.

“I’m just as confused about him as I was the day we left Turin.”

“Me too,” Stephanie agreed. “I was hoping he’d be a bit more forthcoming than he was back in Italy about divine intervention and his merely being the Good Lord’s servant. But, hey, at least he’s supposedly arranged for us to get our luggage. With us being fugitives and with what I know about lost luggage, that’s got to be evidence of divine intervention.”

“Maybe so, but without having any idea when it might arrive, it’s not much help in the short run.”

“Well, I’m going to think positively about it being soon, so my shopping is going to be restricted to a bathing suit and a few basics.”

Daniel pulled into the strip mall’s parking area and drove along the storefronts, pausing in front of a woman’s clothing store immediately adjacent to a men’s shop. Both window displays were tastefully done. The clothes looked European.

“Isn’t this convenient,” Daniel commented as he parked the car. He looked at his watch. “Let’s meet back here at the car in half an hour.”

“Sounds good to me,” Stephanie said, as she stepped out of the vehicle.