Saving Faith by David Baldacci
lifted gracefully into the air. The plane headed out toward the water, made a turn and quickly disappeared into the horizon.
Lee went back inside and tried to watch some TV, while at the same time listening for Faith. After roaming through about a thousand channels, he concluded there was absolutely nothing worth watching, and he played a game of solitaire. He enjoyed losing so much, he played another dozen games, with the same result. He wandered downstairs and shot some pool in the game room. When lunchtime came around, he fixed a tuna sandwich and some beef barley soup and ate out on the deck overlooking the pool. He watched the same plane land once more around one o'clock. It shed its passengers and soared once more. He thought about knocking on Faith's door to see if she was hungry and then decided against it. He went for a swim in the pool and then lay on the cool concrete and caught some rays from the intense sun. He felt guilty every minute for enjoying it. The hours passed, and when it started to grow dark, he began contemplating cooking dinner. He would go and get Faith this time, and make her eat. He was just about to head up the stairs when her door opened and she came out.
The first thing that caught his eye was what she was wearing: a white cotton dress, knee-length and clingy, paired with a light blue cotton sweater. Her legs were bare, and she wore simple sandals that managed to look very classy. Her hair was nicely styled; a touch of makeup highlighted her features and pale red lipstick completed the look. She held a small clutch purse. The sweater covered the bruises on her wrists. Probably why she had picked it, he thought. He was thankful that her limp seemed to be gone.
"Going out?" Lee asked.
"Dinner. I'm starving."
"I was going to make something."
"I'd rather eat out. I'm getting cabin fever."
"So where are you going?"
"Well, actually I thought we might go."
Lee looked down at his faded khakis, deck shoes and short-sleeved Polo shirt. "I look sort of ragged next to you."
"You look fine." She glanced at the holstered gun. "I'd leave the six-shooter behind, though."
He looked at her dress. "Faith, I'm not sure how comfortable you'll be on the Honda in that."
"The country club's only a half mile up the road. It has a public restaurant. I thought we could walk. Looks to be a beautiful evening."
Lee finally nodded, understanding that getting out made perfect sense, for a lot of reasons. "Sounds good. Give me a sec." He ran upstairs, slipped off his gun and put it in a drawer in his room. He splashed water on his face, wet down his hair a little, grabbed his jacket and joined Faith at the front door, where she was activating the alarm.
They left the house and crossed the service road. Reaching the sidewalk, which ran parallel to the main road, they strolled along under a sky that had changed from blue to pink as the sun sank.
Landscape lighting had come on in the common areas and so had the underground sprinklers. The sound of the pressurized water was soothing to Lee. The lighting lent a nice mood to the walk, he thought. The whole place seemed to possess almost an ethereal glow, as though they were in a perfectly lit scene from a movie.
Lee looked up in time to see a twin-prop airplane coming in for a landing. He shook his head.
"Scared the hell out of me the first time I saw that thing this morning."
"It would have scared me too, except the first time I came here I was flying on it. That's the last flight for the evening. It's getting too dark now."
They reached the restaurant, which was decorated with a distinctly nautical theme: a big ship's wheel at the front entrance, diving helmets hung on the wall, fish netting suspended from the ceiling, knotty pine walls, rope banisters and hand rails and an enormous aquarium filled with castles, plant life and an odd assortment of fish peeking out here and there. The servers were young, energetic and attired in cruise line uniforms. The one attending Faith and Lee's table was particularly bubbly. She took their drink orders. Lee opted for iced tea. Faith ordered a wine spritzer. That done, the waitress proceeded to sing the specials for the day in a pleasant if wavering alto. After she left, Faith and Lee looked at each other and had to laugh.
While they waited for their drinks, Faith looked around the room.
Lee shot her a glance. "See anybody you recognize?"
"No.1 never really went out when I came down here. I was afraid I'd run into someone I knew."
"Stay cool. You look very different from Faith Lockhart." He looked her over. "And I should have said this before, but you look really .
well, you really look pretty tonight. I mean really fine." He suddenly looked embarrassed. "Not that you don't look good all the time. I meant .. ." Thoroughly tongue-tied, Lee lapsed into silence, sat back and perused his menu.
Faith looked over at him, feeling just as awkward as he did, she was sure, but a smile still eased across her lips. "Thank you."
They were there for two pleasant stolen hours, discussing innocuous subjects, telling stories of times past and learning more about each other. Since it was the off-season and a weekday, there were few other patrons. They finished their meal, then had coffee and shared a thick slice of coconut cream pie. They paid in cash and left a very generous tip, which would probably make their waitress sing all the way home.
Faith and Lee walked slowly back, enjoying the crisp night air and digesting their meals. Instead of going to the house, though, Faith led Lee down to the beach after dropping her purse off by the back door of the beach house. She slipped off her sandals and they continued their stroll on the sand. It was completely dark now, the wind light and refreshing, and they had the beach entirely to themselves.
Lee looked over at her. "Going out was a good idea. I really enjoyed myself."
"You can be very charming when you want to be."
He looked annoyed for a moment until he realized she was kidding him.
"I guess going out together made for a fresh start of sorts too."
"That did cross my mind." She stopped and sat down on the beach, sinking her feet into the sand. Lee remained standing, looking out to the ocean.
"So what do we do now, Lee?"
He sat next to her, slipped off his shoes and curled his toes under the sand. "It would be great if we could stay here, but I don't think we can."
"Then where? I'm fresh out of houses."
"I've been thinking about that. I've got some good buddies in San Diego. Private investigators like me. They know everybody. If I ask, I'm sure they'll help us slip across the border into Mexico."
Faith didn't look very enthusiastic about that idea. "Mexico? And from there?"
Lee shrugged. "I don't know. We can maybe get some fake documents and use them to get to South America."
"South America? And you work the cocaine fields while I labor in a brothel?"
"Look, I've been there. It's not just drugs and prostitutes. We'll have lots of options."
"Two fugitives from justice with God knows who else after them?" Faith looked down at the sand and shook her head doubtfully.
"If you have a better idea, I'm listening," said Lee.
"I've got money. A lot of it in a numbered account in Switzerland."
He looked skeptical. "They really have those things?"
"Oh, yes. And all those global conspiracies you've probably heard about? Secret organizations ruling the planet? Well, they're all true." She smiled and tossed sand on him.
"Well, if the Feds search your home or office, will they find records for it? If they know the account numbers, they can put a tag on it.
Trace the money."
"The whole purpose of a Swiss numbered account is to ensure absolute confidentiality. If Swiss bankers ran around giving out that information to anyone who asked for it, their whole system sort of topples."
"The FBI isn't just anyone."
"Not to worry, I didn't keep any records. I have the access information with me."
Lee looked unconvinced. "So do you have to go to Switzerland to get the mon
"I went there to open the account. The bank appointed a fiduciary, a bank employee, with a power of attorney to handle the transaction in person. It's pretty elaborate. You have to show your access numbers, give positive ID, then provide your signature, which they compare with the one they have on file."
"So from then on you call the fiduciary and he does all that for you?"
"Right. I've done small transactions in the past, just to make sure it works. It's the same guy. He knows me and my voice. I give him the numbers and where I want the money to go. And it happens."
"You know you can't deposit it in Faith Lockhart's checking account."
"No, but I have a bank account down here under the name of SLC
Corporation."
"And you're a signatory as an officer?"
"Yes, as Suzanne Blake."
"The problem is, the Feds know that name. Remember, from the airport."
"Do you know how many Suzanne Blakes there are in this country?" Lee shrugged. "That's true"
"So at least we'll have money to live off. It won't last us forever, but it's something."
"Something is good."
They fell silent for a bit. Faith alternated between nervously looking at him and then out toward the ocean.
He glanced at her, having noticed her scrutiny. "What is it? Do I have coconut pie on my chin?"
"Lee, when the money comes, you can take half and leave. You don't have to come with me."
"Faith, we've already been through this."
"No, we haven't. I practically ordered you to come with me. I know it would be difficult to go back without me, but at least you'll have the money to go somewhere. Look, I can even call the FBI. I'll tell them you had no involvement. You were just blindly helping me. And that I gave you the slip. Then you can go back home."
"Thanks, Faith, but let's take it one step at a time. And I can't leave until I know you're safe."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm really sure. I won't go unless you tell me to. And then even if you do, I'll still stalk you, to make sure you're okay."
She reached out and took his arm. "Lee, I can never thank you enough for all you've done for me."
"Just consider me the big brother you never had."
The look they shared, though, held more than sibling affection. He looked down at the sand, trying to get his head straight. Faith looked back out at the water. When Lee looked over at her a minute later, Faith was moving her head from side to side and smiling.