Mick The Dick Ch 31

Chapter 31

I woke up at a little before 7:30. Carla was still in bed next to me, but Holly was up. I gently slid out of the bed and tip-toed… Okay, so I can't tip-toe, but I did walk quietly across the floor to the bathroom. I took care of the morning necessities and slipped into my black gym shorts and t-shirt. The house was quiet. I went into the kitchen and noticed the coffee was done. Holly was sitting out on the back deck reading the newspaper. I poured myself a cup of coffee and went onto the deck.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Mick. How'd you sleep?"

"Like a rock. How about you?"

"I could get used to that."

"What?"

"Sleeping in bed with you and Carla."

"Really? Why's that?"

"I don't know. It's just that I seem to sleep so soundly when we sleep together. Normally, I toss and turn all night. I am seldom this awake this early in the morning. I must have slept well."

"Where'd you get the paper?"

"Oh, I went to the convenience store down the street. Did you see the doughnuts on the counter?"

"No, I have to get one of them. What, did you use my truck?"

"No. I walked. Well, ran part way. I've been up since 6."

"That's almost 2 miles away."

"Yeah, I know. I usually do about 2 or 3 miles every morning. What's an extra mile?"

I walked inside and took one of the doughnuts from the box. I know, cops and doughnuts, right? Actually, I don't eat too many of them. I never did, even when I was on the department. I went back outside and sat at the table with Holly.

"You could have taken the truck."

"Yeah, I know. But I wanted to get my run out of the way. I skipped yesterday as it was."

"Anything good in the paper?"

"Nope. I guess my father is already old news. The only thing on him is back on about the third page."

"Well, that's good. At least it's off the front page."

"Yeah. At least until his next dumb move. By the way, what are we doing about my mother?"

"I was actually thinking about that. Does she have a spare set of keys for her car?"

"Yes. I think they're in with the other spare keys."

"Good. We'll go to the airport early. Hopefully she left the parking ticket in the car. We'll get her car and park it somewhere away from the airport. If Sergeant McNally can pull it off, we're going to try to pick her up directly from the plane."

"How do you do that?"

"You know what the jetway is, right? The walkway thing that connects the plane to the terminal?" Holly nodded. "There is a little service stairway that we can escort your mother down and get her out of there before the press even knows she's home."

"But won't we still have to get her through the terminal?"

"Not if we do it right. We should be able to have my truck right at the bottom of the stairs. If we can do that, we'll be gone before the rest of the people get to the baggage claim area."

"What about her luggage?"

"We can either get it later, or have the airline deliver it to the house. If need be, I'll come back down and get it after I get her home." That's when it dawned on me, "I've got it. Carla could pick it up. We'll just pass her your mother's ticket, that will have her claim ticket on it."

"That would be good. We could actually let Carla get my mother's car too."

"Carla would just love to get her hands on your mother's Benz."

"My mother wouldn't mind."

"Okay. You'll have to call her and find out where she parked it and tell her what the game plan is."

"I better do that now, with the time zone difference and all."

"Good idea."

Holly called Teresa and told her what we were planning. Mean time, I called McNally to find out if we could do it. It was affirmative. He arranged for me to have a pass from security so I could get into the service area of the airport. One of their police officers would escort me. It would all be done out of sight of the general public. The airport police liaison already coordinated the use of the jetway service stairway with the airline. "God, I love it when a plan comes together."

At a little after 9, I heard the pitter patter of little feet. Carla was awake. Okay, so her feet don't exactly make a pitter patter sound, you still got what I meant. She came to the door and gave a big stretch and matching yawn.

"Well, look who finally decided to crawl out from the grave."

Carla flipped me the bird, "Fuck you, Pheury."

"Not exactly a morning person is she?", Holly snickered.

"See how she treats me, after the way I just included her in our fun and games this afternoon?"

Without saying a word, Carla walked over to me and gave me a quick, little good morning kiss. Then she walked back inside, fixed herself a cup of coffee, and returned to the deck and sat down next to Holly. She leaned over and gave Holly a kiss. "Good morning," she mumbled, "you're right, I'm not a morning person."

"Would you like a doughnut? Holly picked them up on her run this morning."

Carla looked around, "Where are they?"

"I'll get them for you." I stood up and went inside to the counter and brought the box back out and sat it down on the table.

Carla pulled one of the chocolate covered rings from the box. "So, what's this fun and games you have planned for me?"

"Well, how does this sound? We go to the airport around 4 and wait for Teresa's flight at 5:30. McNally got us a pass for the service area. One of the airport cops is going to escort us, I guess so I don't try to drag race a 747 or something. As soon as we meet Teresa on the jetway, we'll get her car keys and baggage claim. You just file out with the rest of the passengers, get her luggage, and get her car."

"I should have known I'd be doing all the work, as usual."

"What the hell does that mean? I thought you wanted to get more involved in the operational side of the business?"

"I do. I didn't know carrying the bags was part of it."

"The idea is that, without any of the press folks knowing, we get Mrs. Armacost back home without them knowing she was gone. If we do it right, they will think their information about her coming back by plane was wrong."

"Do we even know if THEY know where she has been or that she is coming back today?"

"No! But that's part of the fun. If they don't, oh well. But if they do, and we pull this off, it will really piss them off."

"Okay, but with my luck, she is the type that took 3 suitcases with her." Carla looked at Holly for a response.

Holly shook her head, "My mother usually travels light. She probably took one suitcase, and I think it is one that has wheels, and probably one carry-on. It's a tapestry suitcase. She said she would tie a bright green ribbon around the handle so we could see it."

"What kind of car and where is it parked?"

I smiled as I told her, "A silver, year old, Mercedes 600 convertible."

"Ooo! That must be the fun part you've been talking about. The 600? Isn't that the one with…"

"That's right, 12 cylinders."

"Oh, boy. I'll carry her bags for that."

"I figured you would."

"Can I put the top down?"

"As long as it isn't raining, snowing, or that you don't go through a car wash."

"Where did you say it's parked?"

I deferred to Holly, "She told me in lot A2 in the long term parking. Right under the light post with that sign on it. She said the ticket is on the console."

"That should be easy enough to find. How much gas does it have?"

"There should be a credit card in the left side of the console. You can use it for paying for the parking and if it needs gas."

"Good. That way I can drive it to Florida for a few days and not worry about gas." Carla laughed.

"I don't think Teresa would like that.", I said with a slight snicker.

"She probably wouldn't mind, as long as she knew what happened.", Holly replied.

"I was just kidding.", Carla said.

The three of us pigged out on the doughnuts. I think I ate 4 of them myself. After all, there were four different types and I thought I should try one of each. I hate making a judgment on which one was best without trying the rest.

We each took turns in the shower. I let the girls go first while I rinsed off the truck. I vacuumed it out too. After all, I didn't want to pick up a client in a dirty truck.

After I showered and shaved, I slipped into my dark gray suit. Not being too formal, I wore my black high collar T-shirt. We drove up to the Armacost's house to get the extra set of keys for Teresa's car. Just to be on the safe side, I drove past the driveway. I wanted to see if any of the friendly snoops from the press were hanging around to see who shows up at the house. I didn't notice anyone, especially my friends with the white van or car. Somehow, I think they had probably gotten the message by now, but you know how some people can be so stupid.

Holly and Carla went inside to get the key while I kept watch outside. I saw David Schmidt cleaning up around the outside of his house. He looked over and saw me by the truck. He waved as he walked towards me. I walked in his direction as well.

"Hi Mick. What brings you around here?"

"I just ran Holly by to pick up something."

"Oh, that's right, I almost forgot, Teresa comes home today, doesn't she?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I remember one of the news stations saying something about it yesterday or the day before."

"Oh? Yes. She should be coming back home today. I'm not sure when exactly."

"Well, that will be good. Then the news crews will stop hanging around."

"News crews?"

"Oh, yeah! Even after their attorney asked them not to, there have been a couple of them trying to catch her or Holly."

"They aren't real good with hints, are they?"

"Nope. I hope their attorney, who is that, Schaffer, right? sues the shit out of them."

"I'd like to see that too, but it would never happen. I'd just like to see them give up and leave them alone."

"That won't happen either."

"By the way, how's Stacy?"

"I don't know. I haven't talked to her since the other night."

We talked for a few minutes more and then he went back over to his house. As Carla and Holly came out I heard Carla say, "That is really a nice house. I'd love a house like this."

"Sorry ladies, I can't afford something like this. Mine will have to do for a while." All three of us laughed.

Holly looked at me, "You'd better watch yourself, Mick. Somebody might think you have intentions on making something more permanent."

"Maybe I am." I thought that would get them thinking. Ha Ha!

I took the girls to lunch. We still had a little time to kill before we wanted to be at the airport. It was only around 3:30 when I got to the airport, so I drove past the long term parking just to see if we could pinpoint where Teresa's car was. Sure enough, there it was, right under the sign.

What we hadn't considered was that Carla had to take a shuttle from the terminal to the parking lot. All of the long term parking is about a mile or so away from the terminal itself. That's no big deal, but I hate missing something.

I drove around the entrances to the terminal building. Guess who was waiting? A white van with a dish on top and a dark blue van marked with one of the other stations identification. So much for them leaving Teresa alone. Funny how familiar the white one was.

I ended up going around the driveway twice, just to make sure I got the feel of what all was going on. Then I went to the security checkpoint for access to the service area. One of the airport police stationed there saw me coming. As I pulled up to the gate, he looked at the tag on my truck. I showed him my identification.

"Sure thing, Mr. Pheury. We were told to expect you. Pull through the gate and pull off to the left. We'll have one of our cars escort you to the gate your party is expected to arrive at." He slid a pass onto my dashboard.

"Thank you very much."

He handed me a clipboard that had a list of people being allowed access. There weren't many, mostly deliveries. "Can you verify your information and sign in the box to the right, please."

I looked over the information, which was correct. I signed it and handed the clipboard back to him. "Thanks again."

The gate opened just enough for me to drive through. I pulled to the left side. A few minutes later, a marked police car pulled up to the gate and was allowed through. It pulled up in front of me and the officer got out. He just about unfolded out of the car. I mean he was huge. Maybe only 6 foot 2 in height, but his shoulders looked like they were 6 foot 2 across. His skin color nearly blended in with his black uniform. His shaved head reflected the bright afternoon sun. He walked back to me.

Carla's mouth fell open as she leaned back towards Holly, "Get a load of this!" From that point, it was obvious Carla and Holly had stripped him of every stitch of clothing.

"You must be Mick Pheury. I'm Sergeant Morris. Please call me John."

I reached out and shook hands with him. His hands were huge too, and strong. "Glad to meet you, John. This is my assistant, Carla, and in the back is Holly, our client's daughter."

John looked over at Carla, nodded, and then back at Holly and nodded to her. Then he looked back at Carla and smiled, his thin mustache curling to the contour of his upper lip.

"Nice to meet you.", he said.

"Oh, it's very nice to meet you." Carla said with all types of implicative tones.

Sergeant McNally filled me in. Sounds like you have your hands full. Just FYI, there are a couple of news crews hanging around. They can't get out to the gates, but it looks like they're camped out around the main lobby and baggage pick-up area. I don't think they know what flight 'cause they've been here all day."

"That could be good. They are probably getting tired by now. Have they been watching any flights in particular?"

"Yes, well sort of. They seem to think she went to Florida. But, they've really been watching all of the arriving flights. The baggage area is a pretty good spot. It's kind of centrally located and just about all of the passengers from arriving flights can be seen from there."

I looked at Carla. "See, I told you you'll have fun." I noticed her examining John's build.

"How about if we tell them that I'm her?", Carla suggested.

"I'd rather them think she hasn't been anywhere."

"Oh, yeah. That's right. Good idea."

I looked back at John, "Carla is going to get her luggage and then pick up the car."

John kept looking at Carla and smiled that smile only another man would pick up on. "Where is the car parked?"

"Out on the long term parking."

"If you want, I could meet Carla outside the baggage area and drive her over there."

"Well, if it's not a problem, that would be a big help."

"No, no problem at all. Anything to help. After all, once we get rid of them, we can get back to normal around here." John leaned in a little closer and whispered, "Is she the one that strips at that biker bar on the south side of the city?" He motioned towards Holly.

"Holly? Oh, yeah. She's one of those professional dancers."

"I'm a what?!?", Holly yelled as she smacked me in the back of the head. "I am not a professional dancer!"

"Okay, so she's not a professional.", I said as I laughed, grabbing the back of my head to protect it from another blow.

"Amateur?", John asked.

"I'm not a dancer. I wasn't even there."

"The one reporter said they followed you to the bar where you were supposed to strip for a biker's birthday party."

I jumped in before she could hit me again, "Actually, they didn't follow her, they followed me."

"YOU were stripping for a birthday party at a biker bar?". John asked as he laughed.

"Never mind. Isn't it about time to get into place?"

"Yeah, you're probably right. Follow me. I'll pull you up right under the jetway they will be using."

John walked back to his car, "You could leave him some clothes on."

Carla continued to stare at John as he walked away from us. "Mmm mmm mmmmmm! Now that's a man. What do you think, Holly?"

"Yeah, for a black guy, he's cute. And what a bod!"

"Did you see the way he looked at me?", Carla asked.

"How the hell could you tell, with those mirrored sunglasses?", I inquired. Was my jealousy showing again?

"He must have his shirts custom made, did you see how huge his arms are?", Carla commented.

Holly snickered, "How proportional do you think he is?"

Carla gave a big smile as she pondered the thought, "Hmmm, I wonder."

"Steroids don't usually affect that part of the body." I couldn't help it.

"Who said anything about steroids?", Carla asked defensively.

"Okay, neither does weight lifting."

"Yeah, but it makes you wonder what would be possible if it did. Mmm mmm mmmmm!"

"It doesn't make me wonder. I couldn't care less how big his johnson is."

I was starting to feel ganged up on as Holly said, "That doesn't mean we're not."

"Ladies, and I use that term loosely, we have work to do. Save your fantasies for after we get Teresa home safely."

John led us around the back of the terminal. We were right up against the building so nobody inside could see us. He pulled up right under one of the jetways and motioned for me to stop. I stepped out of my truck as John unfolded out of his car once again and walked back to me.

"I just checked, your flight is about ten minutes ahead of schedule."

"Very good."

"Unless they are watching the arrival board, they may not know. You might be long gone before they find out. I have an idea, let me check on something." John walked away and towards the building. He came back a minute later with one of the baggage handlers.

"Mick, this is John, another John. He's the baggage supervisor. When they start unloading onto the carts, he's going to help Carla and me look for the bag. He'll tell the guys unloading the plane what we're looking for. That way we can leave from back here. I'll take Carla right over for the car and we'll be done."

Carla looked at me and smiled. I knew what she was thinking.

"That's great. We really appreciate that."

"Ten-four.", John said into his radio. "Her plane just touched down. It will be here in a minute or so."

"Okay."

"We'll have to wait here until they finish docking the jetway, then we can go up to the door."

"Gotcha! I really do appreciate the assist with this, John."

We all got out of the truck and waited. John handed us each a pair of ear plugs. "You might need these. These suckers are really loud."

I opened mine and pushed them into my ears. Even with them in, the noise around us was loud.

"Here she comes.", John said as he pointed at the 767 taxiing towards us.

It only took a minute for the ground crew to get it into position. It was really interesting to see all of the action at ground level. With all of the flying I have done, you never see how choreographed pulling a plane up to a terminal is. The jetway was slid into place and Holly and I went up the stairs. The first few people filed off the plane and then Teresa walked off. Naturally, sitting in first class has its advantage with being able to be one of the first one's off.

Teresa hugged Holly and then patted me on the shoulder. "Thanks for doing this for me, Mick."

"Don't mention it. We better be going." I took her carry on bag as I held the door open. We walked out of the jetway and down the stairs, trying to draw as little attention from the other passengers as possible. I opened the rear door of my truck and helped Teresa in.

"Damn, I feel so important.", she said.

"You are.", I said with a smile.

I started the truck up and stood just outside the driver's door watching Carla, John, and the baggage crew watching for Teresa's suitcase. I saw Carla walk over to one of the handlers. She held up the bag.

"That's it," Teresa said, "that's my bag."

I yelled over to Carla that she had the bag. Holly walked over and took the bag from Carla and brought it back to the truck. Holly said something to Carla and they both laughed.