Bonus
NARRATOR
Kane was waiting for Thor beside the Hummer, the engine running, when the jet landed.
“He arrived a few hours ago with the woman,” the head of security informed him once Thor sat in the passenger seat. “I left one of ours watching the house.”
He nodded, his expression impassive behind his dark glasses.
“Good. Let’s go.”
The vehicle roared to life.
Thor rested his head against the seatback and closed his eyes.
Dark circles around his eyes betrayed his sleepless state, as did the grown-out beard.
Although he had gone three days without sleep, offsetting physical exhaustion with quick naps of a few minutes between going and coming back, he didn’t truly feel tired.
Worn down, certainly. In truth, he had been operating on autopilot since leaving the mansion a few hours after walking out of Antonella’s room.
The call he had been waiting for came, and it quickly set him in motion while his mind simmered, doubts that had once seemed insignificant gaining a terrifying weight, with different and dreadful connotations for his mind, his heart.
His instinct screaming, beyond the strong suspicion that had fallen like lead over his head since he had returned to the resort days ago.
If he had missed something, this time, it would not slip past him.
It was all or nothing.
He had started a fine-tooth comb search days earlier.
Thor wasn’t sure what he would find or how the possible new discoveries would fall over his life, so he pushed the thought away and saved it to wither over later. He wasn’t ready to evaluate the situation yet.
The trip that would normally take fifteen hours on a commercial flight had been made in eleven on a private jet.
A turn-and-burn with no pause for rest. He was focused on his business when the jet landed in Thailand, and he went with the guide directly to the address given by his contact.
Every instinct he had leaped to life when the mother, supposedly dying on her deathbed, opened the door for him, looking healthier than an infant.
Thor had been ready to introduce himself when Anna appeared behind her mother. He had seen the fear and hesitation in the woman’s eyes the second she realized he was there. Going pale.
“Mr. Castellammare?” she had said as if she were standing before a ghost.
His jaw clenched, and his index fingers massaged his aching temples.
“Just five more minutes, sir,” Kane informed him.
Thor nodded and cleared his mind of any thought that might push his feelings to the edge, though silent rage crawled over his skin.
Kane parked in front of the house, and Thor spotted his man’s car lying in wait on the other side of the street. Kane’s phone rang, and he answered, speaking quickly. Then the man turned to him.
“He’s still there.”
Thor watched the other car pull away and gave a subtle nod.
“Wait for me here,” he instructed.
Outside the car, he headed to the house door and rang the bell.
“Hello… Mr. Heithor Castellammare, right?”
Thor gave her a practiced smile.
“Yes. You’re Miss Alyssa Franco.”
“That’s right! You have a good memory.”
He shifted his shoulders.
“It’s part of the job.”
“Of course. Detective.”
“Forgive me for bothering you again, but you didn’t call. I thought you might have lost my number. I was passing through, so I thought I’d stop by.”
“Oh, no! You’re not bothering me. I was about to call, actually. My parents arrived today, and I was just telling him about you.”
“May I speak with him now?”
“Of course, where’s my head?” She stepped back beside the door. “Come in, please. My parents are out back. You can wait in the living room.”
Thor removed his sunglasses and sat on the sofa.
Minutes later, a short man entered the living room, accompanied by a woman Thor assumed was his wife. She was brunette and a little shorter than the man beside her, and their daughter followed close behind.
Thor got to his feet.
“Mr. Thomas Franco?”
He extended his hand to the man, who accepted it in a firm, confident shake.
“That’s me. This beside me is my wife, Melanie Franco. And the other one is my daughter Alyssa, but you already know her.”
Thor gave the smiling woman, who was looking at him with curiosity, a short nod.
“I’m Heithor Castellammare. Private investigator.”
“Aly was just telling me. What do you want to talk about?” Franco asked without apprehension, only curiosity. “But sit first, please.”
Thor hesitated, looked at the women, and turned his gaze back to Franco.
“I’d like to speak with you in private.” He moved a kind look to the women and gave a slight smile. “If the ladies don’t mind.”
“Of course not,” the matriarch said cheerfully, letting go of her husband. “I’ll make coffee for you and bring some cookies too.”
“Thank you, ma’am. But don’t trouble yourself on my account…”
The other man gave him a look of masculine complicity.
Thor smiled at the woman.
“…However, coffee would be nice.”
“Excellent! I’ll bring it right away. Come help me, Aly.”
They left, leaving the two men alone.
Franco exhaled in relief and shook his head in approval. Thor settled onto the sofa, and the other man sat in the armchair to his left.
“Melanie loves fussing over guests and gets very upset when they don’t accept anything,” Franco said, amused. “You don’t know the trouble you just spared yourself.”
“She’s a very kind woman.”
“Yes. My Melanie is.” He fell in love with the words, then turned serious and crossed his legs, his speculative gaze on his visitor.
“So, Mr. Castellammare. Why have you been looking for me? Aly said you were here a few days ago. And since I haven’t killed the neighbor’s rooster yet, despite the fact that it annoys me every day, I’m genuinely curious to know what a detective wants with me. ”
“I was at the resort where you work months ago looking for you, but I found Mr. Malone and mistakenly believed he was the same person. The resort showed me the flight list, but it didn’t have the name I was looking for, and given the circumstances at the time, I assumed he was you.”
“Malone covers my days off and leaves when I take them.”
“Correct. However, I didn’t know that until a few days ago when I returned to the resort and spoke with Mr. Malone again.”
“I see.”
“Did you take vacation in December?”
“I wish. But no, I only took a day off and then a few days’ leave for health problems. My vacation, I took almost a month ago,” he explained.
“Was it in December you first came looking for me? Well, Mr. Castellammare, I don’t know why a detective is looking for me, but I’ll be happy to help if I can, of course. ”
“I need you to look at a photo and tell me if you recognize the woman in it.”
“Of course! Despite my age, I still have a good memory…”
Franco cut himself off when his wife entered with the coffee, and when she left, he got straight to the point, sensing the anxiety his visitor could not hide.
“Give me the photo, Mr. Castellammare.”
Thor took the photo from his shirt pocket and handed it to the man.
“Let me see.” The pilot put on his reading glasses.
Thor leaned forward, his arms braced on his thighs and his eyes fixed on the man before him, searching. Then he froze, his body gradually hardening as recognition came into the pilot’s eyes.
He swallowed the knot in his throat, and his jaw ticked.
“Do you recognize this woman?”
“Yes. I remember this young lady… She was staying at the resort where I work, but you already know that. Did she do something illegal?”
“That’s what you’re going to tell me. Did you fly with her?”
“I had just finished my last flight that day when she called me. She wanted me to take her to Malibu. A quick there and back. At first, I didn’t accept because I was going off duty and wanted to get home as soon as possible.
Melanie wanted to go to a construction store for the renovation we were doing out back.
I told her the other pilot, Malone, would be starting in an hour.
Truthfully, I shouldn’t have gone because I had already clocked out, but she seemed so distressed, said something like a friend was doing very badly and she needed to go there to make sure she was being well cared for. So I went.”
Heithor pulled back his temper and focused.
“Are air taxis common?”
“Certainly. It’s an extra service the resort offers clients.”
“How long did it take?”
“It didn’t take very long, actually. I’d say an hour and a half, no more than that. I waited for her at the helipad, and as soon as she came back, we flew back, and then I came home.”
Enough time to… Son of a bitch!
“Is it common for them to forget to put a client’s name on the flight list?”
“It’s rare, I’d say. Maybe, as I explained to you, I shouldn’t have gone because my shift was over, so there may have been some confusion.
That day was a little chaotic. Many new guests, one of those famous Hollywood actors was coming to stay, so you can imagine how it was.
” He paused and continued. “The list is made at reception. Everything goes through there. I remember telling them about the extra flight before I came home. If it wasn’t there, I believe they forgot. I don’t know, an apprentice’s mistake.”
It wasn’t any mistake, and Thor knew it. Damn it.
He got to his feet, and the pilot followed.
“Thank you, Mr. Franco.”
“Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Not really. I have what I need.”
“I’m glad, then.” The man smiled, but Thor didn’t return it. “But sit and finish your coffee. These cookies are very good.”
“Thank you. I need to go. Have a good day.”
He was in morbid shock when he left the house. Anguish, fury, outrage, and despair were there, together and ready to emerge at any moment, but reality, so ironic and cruel, blocked his emotions.
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t already known they had lied, that the whore had deceived him and fucked him over.
Anna had already spilled everything.
“You lied to me?” Thor had growled low against her face.
Anna shrank back, trembling, her eyes flooded with fear and terror.