Page 40 of The Duke's Surprise Heir

Chapter 14

Ricky stepped off of the plane and looked around. He noticed the time and the outside temperature on a nearby sign and grumbled, “Freaking metric system!” as he carried his overnight bag over his shoulder. “Celsius! Why can’t they just tell me what the temp is outside in normal language?”

Ricky ignored the rolled eyes of the person next to him. Obviously they had overheard his comments. Other than the United States, the entire world used the metric system, which meant Heathrow Airport displayed the outside temperature in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. “Freaking waste!” he grumbled.

Standing off to the side, Ricky pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “Yeah, I just landed,” he said, watching with envy as a sleek jet pulled up to one of the other gates. “Is the woman still out in the country?” He listened, then turned around, searching the overhead signs for directions to the airport’s exit. “Fine. I need to pick up a rental car, then it’s going to take me a while to get out there.” He glanced at his watch. “I should be on a flight back to Philadelphia in about five hours. So, if the client needs more work done, I will be out of reach for a while.”

He listened for another moment, but wasn’t really listening to the person on the other end of the line. He’d been on a plane for the last six hours and needed to use the bathroom in the worst way. Looking around, he searched for the signs indicating a restroom and, finding one, headed towards it. He had to dodge around a group of obnoxious kids that were running around. And that caused him to bump into two other people.

Irritated, he had to smother his temper. No way could he pull out the weapon hidden in his bag and start shooting. Besides, they were just little kids. Ricky figured that they’d eventually grow up to be obnoxious adults and he might have an opportunity to kill them off then.

It took him fifteen minutes to find his way through the busy airport. But finally, he ducked into the back of a cab. “I need a rental car,” he told the cab driver.

The man looked in his rear view mirror, hesitated, then shrugged. Five minutes later, the taxi driver pulled up to the rental car area of Heathrow airport. Ricky didn’t care about the obnoxiously short cab ride that probably had a shuttle bus that would have been free. It wasn’t his money. He swiped his credit card through the machine, added a big tip for the driver, then got out and headed into the nearest car rental counter.

An hour later, he sped out of the parking lot in a non-descript car, following the directions that he’d received from the guy who had hired him. Henry. He was a putz and too nervous, but whatever. The guy wanted a woman dead, Ricky would make her dead. As long as the nervous nelly paid, Ricky didn’t care who transferred the money into his account.

London traffic was just as bad as what he’d endured in Philadelphia and he tapped his finger against the steering wheel. His patience was strained, but he managed to make it out of the city. Once the traffic eased on the more rural roads, Ricky relaxed a bit. It was a two hour drive from London to Bristol.

“What do we know?” Edward asked, sitting around the conference room table with Antonio and Sean.

Sean handed a file folder to each of them. “It’s Henry,” he announced. “And the agents investigating the shipments think that Gilly Cultain has been killed by someone named Ricky Palmero. There are several doorbell videos of him strolling up to Cultain’s house and leaving with a large bag several hours later.

Edward flipped through the pictures. “This isn’t good.”

Antonio leaned over his shoulder, peering at the pictures as well. When he saw the short guy in the picture, something triggered in his mind. “I know this man!” he growled.

Edward and Sean looked at him. “How do you know him? Where would you have seen him?”

Antonio closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the memories. “I want to say it was recent. But…” Suddenly, his eyes popped open and he stared at Edward. “It was at the airport,” he announced, his voice grim. “He knocked into me at Heathrow. I was heading towards the exit and he was making a beeline for the bathrooms. He didn’t even apologize after nearly knocking me over.”

Sean stood up and looked over at Edward. “I don’t like this,” he muttered, his voice filled with worry.

Edward stared at his two friends and something deep down inside of him snapped. “Macie!” he roared, then rushed out of the conference room, sprinting to the elevator.

Macie lifted Kyle into her arms, battling the sadness that threatened to overwhelm her. “Your daddy is gone, but he’s going to come back soon. I promise!”

Kyle’s hands batted at her hair, his tiny fingers tangling in the tresses.

“Why don’t ye take him out to see the horses, Miss?” Ms. Kealy suggested.

Macie blinked back the tears as she turned to face the kind-hearted woman. She looked out the window, noting the watery sunshine. “I think that’s a good idea,” she replied, then looked down at Kyle. “Would you like to go visit your friends?”

Kyle bounced with excitement. Macie picked him up and snuggled him. “I know. You love the big, scary horses. You’re the only man who can tame them! They are such ferocious animals and you are there to save them!” She laughed at her silly story as she wrapped Kyle into the new winter clothes that Ms. Kealy had brought this morning. “But it’s chilly outside. So, you’re going to have to bundle up, okay?”

Wrestling Kyle’s squirmy limbs into the jacket was a challenge, but Macie didn’t mind. She’d been away from the little guy a lot over the past few days. “You had some good bonding time with your daddy, didn’t you?”

She scooped Kyle into her arms instead of wrapping him up in the baby carrier, needing to be a more active holder today.

“Let’s go get some sunshine,” she announced and walked into the kitchen. “Ms. Kealy, are there any carrots or apples that Kyle could give to the horses?”

Ms. Kealy immediately stopped her dinner preparations, wiping her hands on the apron tied around her waist. “Absolutely!” the kind housekeeper replied. “How about one for each of the horses?”

“That would be fun!”

“I’ll get a bag so that it’s easier to carry them.” A moment later, she came back with a fabric bag filled with apples and carrots. “Here you go. Have fun!” And she tweaked Kyle’s flannel covered foot playfully.

Macie left the kitchen through the back door, heading to the pasture area where she could see the horses grazing. The whole time, she talked to Kyle, letting him listen to her voice as she discussed the sunshine and the horses, the clouds, and whatever else caught her attention. In the distance, she heard the vague rumbling of a helicopter, but the sound didn’t register on her conscious mind.

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