Immortal Unchained(46)

When he nodded, she continued. "Anyway, the minute the big beefy guy had me in the jeep, it took off and drove farther down the tarmac to where a helicopter was waiting. Big Beefy Guy loaded me and my luggage in, plopped himself down beside me, and we took off and flew to the island. I didn't go through customs or immigration or anything," she said and then shook her head. "Jeez, I knew crime and corruption were bad here, but seriously, skipping customs and immigration? Who does that?"

Domitian merely shook his head and didn't bother mentioning that immortals did that on a regular basis. It wasn't germane to the conversation. Besides, Dressler was not immortal, although he had several at his disposal. Immortals he'd kidnapped. Perhaps the man had coerced one of them to handle things at the airport, he thought. If not, it must have cost him a lot of money to ensure Sarita's arrival in Venezuela wasn't recorded. That didn't suggest that his plans for her included her leaving, he thought with concern. 

"Anyway, once we got to the island, Big Beefy Guy ordered two men to bring the luggage and then showed me up to my room. I thanked him and asked when I could see my grandmother and he said she wasn't on the island. She was in the hospital on the mainland. But would be home soon."

"I am surprised you didn't demand to go to the mainland to see her," Domitian commented.

"I did," Sarita said grimly. "But Big Beefy Guy said he couldn't authorize that-he said that I would have to wait for Dr. Dressler to return. He was the only one who could give permission for use of the helicopter or boat to take me to the mainland. In the meantime, I should just relax and enjoy my stay," Sarita finished with disgust.

"That must have been frustrating," Domitian murmured.

"Yeah, you could call it that," Sarita said dryly. "Actually, I was super P.O.'d. Especially when I found out that Big Beefy Guy had misled me. He made it sound like Dr. Dressler wasn't on the island and there was no way to contact him. Meantime, Dressler was there on the island all along, just down at his labs."

"How did you find that out?" Domitian asked.

"Aleta."

"The cook?" he asked, recognizing the name.

Sarita nodded and quickly told him about her early dinner in the kitchen and Aleta's having made El Doctor's nutrition drink. "That's when I snuck down to the labs and saw the immortal cut in half."

They were both silent for a minute, and then Sarita frowned and said, "You know, my grandmother started out as a cook and housekeeper for the Dresslers, but as she got older they brought in more help. She mentioned that someone was hired to cook, and then later someone to help with cleaning house, and I got the feeling that now she's more a companion to Mrs. Dressler."

"Si?" Domitian murmured, wondering where she was going with this.

"But none of the names matched up," Sarita said now. "I mean, I can't remember the name she mentioned-it was only the once-but I'm pretty sure the cook she named wasn't Aleta."

"Perhaps the first girl left and was replaced with this Aleta and your grandmother just didn't mention it," Domitian suggested.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too, but she also only mentioned one girl being brought in to help with housekeeping and there were at least three at the house," Sarita continued. "And before you say it, yes I know they might have hired more help over the years that Grandmother didn't mention, but on top of that, I didn't once encounter Mrs. Dressler or their son even once while I was there."

"Son?" Domitian asked with surprise. His uncle hadn't mentioned that Dressler had a son.

"Hmm . . ." Sarita nodded solemnly. "Grandmother mentioned him several times over the years. I got the feeling she thought he was the perfect son. His name is Thorondor."

"Thorondor?" Domitian asked, wincing over the unusual name. Life would be hell for a boy with a name like that. Children could be cruel.

Sarita shrugged. "I guess Mrs. Dressler was a Tolkien fan. They call him Thorne for short."

Domitian nodded, but suggested, "Perhaps this Thorne and his mother are staying in their apartment on the mainland so that Mrs. Dressler could visit your grandmother daily." He knew his uncle had sent men to check the apartment on the mainland and found it empty. But Mrs. Dressler and this Thorne fellow could have been at the hospital at the time, he supposed.




 

 

"I didn't know they had an apartment on the mainland," Sarita said slowly. "I did think maybe she was on the mainland, though, to visit Grandmother, but . . ."

"But?" he prompted.

She hesitated, and then admitted, "During the three days I was on the island, I wandered pretty much everywhere in that house. Every door was open except for Dr. Dressler's office door and I looked into every room I could." Shaking her head solemnly, she added, "There was no sign of Mrs. Dressler or Thorne. I didn't see either of them, and there were no pictures or personal items to suggest either they or my grandmother ever lived there. Every room, even what was obviously the master bedroom was . . ." Sarita frowned, searching for the words to explain what she'd found. "They all looked unlived in. They were like empty hotel rooms. Furnished and ready for occupancy, but unused at the moment."