Jessie’s smile faded. “I told you that wouldn’t happen again. Do you want me to apologize?”
“It’s a little late for that.” Kendra shrugged. “And as long as you promise not to do it again, I suppose I’ll have to trust you.”
Jessie made a face. “I probably did get a little overenthusiastic. I could see that finding Lynch meant a lot and you were worried. Forgive me?”
Kendra nodded wearily. “It was probably partly my fault anyway. You’re right, I am worried.” She smiled ruefully. “Who knows? If you’d let me know what you planned, I might have told you to go ahead anyway.”
“I doubt it,” Jessie said teasingly. “You’re much too on the straight and narrow to risk being thrown in the hoosegow.”
“There are some reasons I might be tempted,” Kendra said quietly. “I’ve seen what kind of damage Lynch’s enemies can do to him. He plays for the highest stakes, and they react accordingly. His body is a mass of wounds and scars. I remember the first time I saw him in the hospital right after I met him.” She shuddered and her lips tightened. “Now I keep wondering what new wounds he’ll have when we find him this time.”
“Maybe none,” Jessie said. “He’s tough, and he may be the one on the hunt.”
“I think he would have found a way to contact me.”
“He obviously tried. We’ll find him, Kendra.”
“You bet we will.” Kendra noticed they’d driven out of the parking lot and were on one of the roads bordering the airport. “Well, we’ve obviously escaped from the airport authorities. What comes next?”
“We sit back and relax until we get to the flat Fitz has found for us. You don’t think I’d leave anything to chance?”
“Heaven forbid,” Kendra said. “You can really be intimidating.”
“But you already knew that,” Jessie said. “You just didn’t know the scope of my talents.”
“No wonder Brice always insists on having you be his bodyguard when the studio hires security for him. I had no idea that you could pull cool smuggling tricks like Fitz here out of your hat.”
But Jessie was chuckling. “Not guilty. I wish I could take credit for it. It was Brice who introduced me to it the first time I traveled here with him.”
“What?” Kendra couldn’t believe it. “No way.”
Jessie was still grinning broadly. “Honest. Brice watched me trying to get him into the country without getting him mobbed or me tearing my hair out. Then he sat me down and told me a little story about why he wasn’t the least bit worried about it.”
“A story?” Kendra was intrigued. “What kind of story?”
“It was sort of a fairy-tale-slash-documentary, but it turned out to be very useful. I thought I knew Brice fairly well, but he constantly surprises me. Did you know that he’s a classic-movie fan?”
Kendra shook her head. “But then I don’t know much about him. I only met him that one time when you introduced us.” She paused. “I suppose since he’s such a famous movie star himself, that’s not unusual.”
Jessie shrugged. “Nothing is unusual for him. Every time I turn around, he’s involved in some other field he’s interested in studying. But he’s got a classic-film library that the TCMnetwork would envy.” She motioned dismissively. “Anyway, he also studies the lives and interviews of the famous actors and writers who were big stars during that period to see if he can learn anything from them. One of those actors was Cary Grant. Brice admired his style.”
“Who doesn’t?” Kendra said. “During the first few years after the operation that gave me my sight, I tried to see and feel everything I’d missed. I spent quite a few late nights in front of the TV with Cary Grant and company.”
“I guess I should have known,” Jessie said. “But what you might not have known is that Cary Grant was British and spent a good many trips flying back and forth to London. And on one of those trips he was flying on the same plane with another famous icon, Neil Simon, the Broadway playwright and screenwriter. They became good buddies on the trip. Neil was dreading the lines at customs, but Cary put his arm around him and swept him right through. No fuss, no muss.”
“Must have been nice to be Cary Grant.”
“Jake Brice always loved that story, and when he became wildly successful, he used his fame to make life easier for him and the people around him.”
“And his helpful connections included Fitz?”
Jessie nodded. “One of the best. However, once Brice gave me a lead, I managed to improve on the base product. It was just too good not to use at every opportunity.” She added, “And you can see it’s practically an heirloom that we’ve inherited from legends of the past.”
“You’re reaching, Jessie.”
“Maybe a little.” Her eyes were twinkling. “But the story is true. Brice could probably document it if you prefer.”
Kendra shook her head. “All I need is some Oscar-winning actor whom I’m sure could persuade anyone the sky is actually purple to make me believe that it’s true. I’ll pass.”
