Good Deed Bad Deed, Marcia Morgan [summer beach reads TXT] 📗

the charges would be minor—at worst, attempted robbery and trespassing. They were going for the major felony that attempting to steal such a treasure would impart.

Linus stood beside the open cargo door, its lowered ramp a direct invitation for the men to enter and help themselves. Interpol had made arrangements to place the crates containing gold at the front, the decoys just behind. After one more scan of the hangar all four men climbed into the cargo hold. The agents couldn’t see clearly what was going on inside the plane, but soon two crates appeared, each being carried by two of the men. One crate was put on the ground, the other set inside the truck. Both were stamped with the name of the museum in Madrid. Linus reached inside and pulled out a crowbar, his avarice taking control of his judgment. He had to see the gold. He motioned the two drivers to get back up into the hold and bring the other two crates down. Once the gang of thieves touched the valuable contents, Agent Azikiwe would motion his men forward and hopefully apprehend all of them without shots fired.

Fergus hovered over the crate as Linus began to pry open the lid. The wood easily snapped loose and they pulled it off, tossing it aside. Raffia packing material had been used, and both men began to dig through it, scattering it on the floor. Linus was the first to touch something solid. Using both hands he slowly lifted the treasure from its resting place then held it aloft, turning it, obviously unsure of what the carved gold box would be used for. Just as he started to open it the agents appeared from their hiding places and advanced on the perpetrators.

* * *

Lyle Brett pulled his rental car onto the shoulder of Heathrow’s southern perimeter road. He stopped where there was no hedge growth, giving him a decent view of the cargo hangars, then settled in to wait. At the instant he could see his trucks pull out and away he would make haste to the preset location where once he was there to supervise, the valuable cargo could be fully unpacked and evaluated. So far everything in London had gone as planned, but he was disconcerted by the fact that Lenny hadn’t checked in. He knew better. Lenny was supposed to be glued to his phone, to be ready when it was time to eliminate the women.

Considering it was Lyle’s first crime, he was in deep and he knew it—was even proud to be taking what he believed was a minor risk. He congratulated himself, deciding he had a real talent for this sort of thing. In all areas of his life he had always preferred to keep things simple when it came to cleaning up loose ends. Loose ends had to be tied up, and Londoners disappearing on a trip to Spain was perfect. He couldn’t have planned it better himself. How nice of them to take that vacation. No way to trace anything to him. His uneasiness grew as he peered through binoculars at the entrance where the trucks had backed in. He saw no activity and the moments dragged. If he stayed parked on the shoulder much longer someone was bound to stop and ask if he needed help. Worst case, it would be airport security police.

* * *

Linus and his cohorts had temporarily lost sight of their need to make a quick getaway. They were engrossed with the ancient box, its rich gold color gleaming brightly as it caught the light from a flickering fluorescent tube overhead. The men passed it around, seemingly spellbound by its beauty, their gaze so single-minded that they failed to hear the agents approaching. With guns drawn, the agents moved to surround the four men, who startled and turned away from the crate. Fergus had been taking his turn holding the box and quickly tossed it back into the crate before beseeching Linus with his eyes. It was a what-do-we-do-now expression, for which he received no reply. Linus was paralyzed on the spot with his jaw dropped open and eyes expressing terror.

Agent Azikiwe ordered the four to lie face down and put arms behind them. They complied and were handcuffed. When asked who was in charge, Linus was mute; however, Fergus was quick to offer assistance. Linus was dragged to his feet, all the while denying that he was the group’s leader. Regardless of his declaration agent Azikiwe took him aside, out of earshot of the others, and said the window for a reduced charge would close very quickly and was dependent upon what he could offer as means to apprehend his boss. After only a few minutes of questioning, he sang loud and long, naming Lyle Brett as the brains behind the caper. He gave up the location where they were to bring the gold, and suggested that Lyle could be watching from somewhere close to the cargo building. One agent was left with the four handcuffed suspects, who had been secured to the heavy mobile staircase still resting against the plane.

* * *

The waiting had been interminable and the anxiety had caused Lyle Brett to break out in a drenching sweat. He was afraid to get out of his car for a better view of the building, and if he did, he would have to put on the car’s emergency blinkers. That would draw attention. His meticulous brain could not accept that something might have gone wrong. He paused to check the map on his tablet screen and wondered if they had been forced to leave by an exit he hadn’t considered. He could continue on that road and get a view of the rest of the building, maybe see if they had been forced to exit from the tarmac. But that didn’t make sense. Lyle checked his watch again before letting out a string of profanities regarding Lenny’s failure to contact him from Spain as