Silver Linings, стр. 87

They reached Purgatory an hour later. Mattie was once again marched across an active runway and thrust into a waiting vehicle. No one said a word. She was surrounded by three armed men now, Goody, the pilot, and the driver of the car. All wore military-style clothing and all were surprisingly young. Mattie estimated their ages at between nineteen and twenty-three or twenty-four at the most.

Her stress level, already sky high, went up another couple of notches when she recognized their destination. Paul Cormier's white island mansion looked as beautiful this time as it had when she had first seen it.

Mattie got out of the car at the point of a gun and walked up the steps to the wide veranda. The door was opened by a young man who looked as if he ordered his clothes from Soldier of Fortune magazine. He had a gun strapped to his thigh.

“This way, Miss Sharpe.”

The first thing she noticed was that someone had cleaned Paul Cormier's blood off the white marble. For some reason that made her angry. It was as though some part of her felt the evidence of murder should not be erased until justice was done.

The anger gave her strength. She walked swiftly down the white marble hall to the wide white room that fronted the house. The view of the sapphire-blue ocean through the bank of open French windows was dazzling. She concentrated on it rather than on the man who was rising from a white leather couch to greet her.

“Miss Sharpe. Allow me to introduce myself. I am known now as Colonel McCormick, but I believe you are no doubt aware by now of my previous name, Jack Rainbird.”

Mattie turned slowly to look at him, as if she found him a nuisance when all she really wanted to do was admire the view. She let her glance slide critically over him from head to foot.

Jack Rainbird was an astonishingly handsome man by any standards. He appeared to be in his early forties, as Hugh had said, but he had the strong, bird-of-prey features that would not even begin to soften for many years. His eyes were a clear, light, honest blue. His blond hair, graying at the temples, had been precision cut with a razor to lie close to his head. His body was trim and there was a crisp military set to his head and shoulders. He was wearing perfectly pressed khakis. His belt buckle shone and his boots had been polished to a high gloss.

All in all, Mattie thought, Rainbird had the classic heroic look historically associated with a leader of men. That was, of course, undoubtedly one of the many things that made him so dangerous. The other thing was his undeniable sexual charm. Hugh had been right. The man had it in spades. He exuded it like an aura.

Mattie felt the first uneasy twinge of a throat-closing claustrophobia.

“This is Paul Cormier's house,” she said boldly, more to counteract her own tension than anything else. “You have no business here.”

A smile flickered briefly around Rainbird's finely crafted mouth. “What can I say? Best accommodations on the island, and I like having the best. Besides, our friend Mr. Cormier no longer has any need of his lovely island home.”

“You killed him.”

“Do you always jump to conclusions, Miss Sharpe? That is generally considered a dangerous thing to do.”

“You killed him. Or had him killed.”

“Obviously your mind is already made up. I imagine I owe that to Abbott. He, naturally, would have a somewhat biased view of events.”

“Why?”

Rainbird gave her a look that was half amused, half surprised. “Why, because he hates my guts, of course.” He walked across the beautiful room to a white liquor cabinet. “May I offer you a drink, Miss Sharpe?”

“No, thank you.”

“I was afraid you might be difficult about all this.” Rainbird splashed whiskey into a crystal glass. “You've been hanging around with Abbott for too long. The man has poisoned your mind against me.”

Mattie took a deep breath and asked aloud the question that was screaming in her mind. “Just where is Hugh and his friend Silk?”

Rainbird smiled at her over the rim of his glass. “Now, that, Miss Sharpe, is what I am hoping you will tell me.”

She stared at him, open-mouthed. “You mean you don't know, either?”

“I'm afraid not. And the whole thing is getting to be something of a problem. I never did like having Abbott running around loose. The man's too damn unpredictable. Always does things his way instead of the military way. That was one of the reasons I had to…” Rainbird smiled again. “Never mind. That's ancient history.”

“Well, you've gone to a lot of trouble for nothing, Colonel Rainbird. Because I have no idea where Hugh is. And I wouldn't tell you if I did.”

“Then we shall just have to put out the word that you are here with me and wait for him to come and collect you, won't we?” Rainbird's blue eyes glinted. “Howard will show you to your room now. You may change for dinner.”

Mattie's chin lifted. “I should warn you I don't eat meat.”

“Excellent,” Rainbird said with a smile. “Neither do I. Gave it up some time ago along with cigarettes. Do you know, I believe we are going to discover a great many things in common, Miss Sharpe. It has been a long while since I have had the pleasure of entertaining an intelligent, attractive woman. And knowing you are Hugh Abbott's will make it all the more interesting.”