The Bishop's Pawn (Cotton Malone #13)(77)

“What about all those debts?”

“I paid them off with the money Jansen gave me.”

“Your wife never knew any of this?”

“Nothing. We married the year after Martin died. Coleen came along the year after that. My wife knew little of what I did before I met her.”

“Coleen thought she might have known.”

He shook his head. “I’ve kept this to myself for a long time, and I intended on taking it to my grave. All of this happening now is like a nightmare. Please tell me that you can keep this contained.”

I had to maintain the lie.

“That’s the plan.”

We kept watch below, me to the left, Foster to the right. The two breezeways that led up from the turnstiles on the other side of the train station were the only paths into the Magic Kingdom. Our spot offered the perfect vantage point to see both, without being seen from below. Disney’s famed Main Street stretched out before us, lit to the gloomy evening, Cinderella Castle in the distance, maybe a quarter mile away. A flood of people came and went in the light rain, most sheathed in plastic ponchos, their faces filled with excitement. I was hoping the weather might work to our advantage.

Below, to my left, I saw Oliver and Jansen enter the grounds. A quick turn of my head to the right and there were Valdez and Nate.

But no Coleen.

“Where is she?” Foster asked.

I gently pushed him back from the railing, so we’d be out of sight from below. We were not alone on the covered porch, as others had fled here to avoid the rain. We took refuge behind one of the wooden columns that supported the ornate roof.

Oliver and Jansen rounded the town square, staying on the left side of Main Street. Valdez and Nate followed on the right. Shops lined both sides all the way to Cinderella Castle. I’d told Valdez to meet me at the statue that stood at the far end of the street. I knew about it from visiting here once a long time ago as a kid. My one and only venture to the land of Disney.

“Stay here,” I told Foster. “They’ve kept Coleen back as insurance to make sure this goes right. That’s okay. I’m keeping you and those envelopes back as our hole card.”

He nodded in understanding.

“Just stay put until I come back for you.”

He grabbed my arm. “Get her and Nate back. Unharmed. Please.”

“I will.”

Many times, I’ve been wrong in my life.

But never more so than at that moment.





Chapter Forty-seven


I descended to ground level and hustled across the town square, crossing the wet pavement and entering the first of the many stores lining Main Street. I remembered from my previous visit as a kid that the shops drained into one another so it wasn’t necessary to go out of one, then back into the next. A clever marketing tool to keep people inside buying, it now provided me with a way to stalk my targets without being seen.

I zigzagged around display racks and merchandise counters, aiming my gaze to the right and out the doorways and glass storefronts. I was keeping pace with Oliver and Jansen on the sidewalk. There was no way for them to see me unless they stopped and entered one of the stores.

I chose the rendezvous point with a purpose. The bronze statue of a waving Walt Disney holding hands with his creation, Mickey Mouse, sat in the center of the park, just before the castle, at a busy crossroads. There should be plenty of people, though the rain might have thinned the crowd.

Occasionally, I caught site of Nate and Valdez on the far side of Main Street, staying parallel to Oliver and Jansen. They were all being cautious, which I expected. Looking back, I’m ashamed at my arrogance. I’d been a field agent for all of two days and I was making life-and-death decisions like I was a pro. Even worse, I was doing it with a cavalier attitude of a lawyer thinking that the worst that could happen was I lost the case. Sure, my client might stay in custody, or be taken off to prison, but I still get to go home.

Not here.

Losing came with the direst of consequences.

I kept moving.

Oliver and Jansen came to the end of Main Street and I entered the last shop, creeping over to the open doorway and watching as the four men regrouped and walked straight toward the Disney statue. I caught the waft of popcorn and cookies, which seemed oddly out of place with what I was facing. The rain remained a steady drizzle. People here had ditched umbrellas, nearly all of them draped in plastic ponchos with Mickey Mouse logos. My four targets had utilized neither, opting to just get wet. They stopped at the statue, which stood on a low dais surrounded by flowers. I exited the shop and stepped into the rain. Darkness had arrived with the suddenness of a drawn curtain.

Valdez saw me coming.

“No files or Foster?” he called out.

I came close and stopped. “No Coleen?”

The Cuban shrugged. “What can I say? I’m not trustworthy.”

“You okay?” I asked Nate.

He nodded. “I’m fine. Coleen’s okay, too.”

“Where are the files?” Oliver asked.

“Safe from the rain.”

“Odd choice of a place to meet,” Valdez said.

“Not really. I like Mickey Mouse. And all these tourists should keep us all under control. The last thing we want is attention, right?”

It had to be a little odd, though. Five grown men, standing in the rain, no umbrellas, chatting with one another. Discouraging was the fact that I hadn’t seen a single security guard or policeman in the past several minutes.