The Gray Ghost Read online

Sam turned, pulling out his cell phone, his attention on the screen as he strolled past, filming everything in front of him. He left that car, walked through the next two cars, then retraced his steps. When he reached Remi’s side, he held up his phone, saying, “Got so absorbed in the email, didn’t realize I was going the wrong direction.”

  Remi smiled and pointed toward the opposite door. “Food car is that way.”

  “Now you tell me.”

  He repeated the process on his way to get the coffee. As he waited for his order, he watched the video, then sent it to Remi.

  There were three men on that train watching them. The two from Pebble Beach, one in each car adjoining theirs, probably keeping their distance in case they were recognized, and the third man pretending to read the paper a few seats down.

  If nothing else, it was going to make their time at the car show a lot more interesting.

  8

  LONDON

  Sam warned Oliver about the men watching them on the train, telling him to keep an eye on his uncle. “Stay close,” he said, noting the number of security guards in front of the convention center. “I doubt they’ll approach either of you in such a public place, but it’s best not to take chances.”

  Remi took the program from the man who collected their tickets, opening it up to the map. “Looks like the Gray Ghost is all the way in the back.”

  “Let’s have a look,” Sam said, scanning the crowd. So far, he hadn’t seen their friends from the train, or anyone else who looked as though they were following them. Then again, in this venue, it wouldn’t be easy to spot a tail because of the numerous vendor booths preventing a clear line of sight. Still, he was glad to see the guards manning every entrance and exit, and a number of others roamed the floor.

  The four walked between rows of booths, the vendors selling everything from books about cars to the latest, greatest concoction ever formulated to restore paint luster. The scent of grilled meat drifted toward them from a stage where a cooking demonstration was taking place using a suitcase-sized barbecue meant to be transported in the trunk of a car.

  “Worried about flare-ups?” the demonstrator asked the audience, then used a spray bottle to mist the cooking surface on his left with some sort of oil. Flames shot through the grill, and the audience gasped, leaning back as though they could actually feel the heat. “As you see on this off-brand barbie, your meat ends up burnt. But on our no-char surface”—he sprayed the second grill with the same mixture, nothing happened—“no flames.”

  “That,” Remi said, nodding at the barbecue, “would have come in handy on a few of our jungle expeditions.”

  “If you have a car to haul it in.”

  “You’re not willing to carry it?”

  “Not even for you, Remi.” They continued past the cooking show, stopping behind a gathering centered at the back of the building. The crowd parted slightly, giving them their first view of the fabled Gray Ghost. “That, however, I’d consider hauling around.”

  “And I’d let you . . .”

  Sam, seeing that Oliver was guiding his uncle toward the car, nodded to Remi, who quickly moved to one side of the two men while Sam moved to the other, and they weaved their way through the onlookers, finally stopping at the velvet rope surrounding the Gray Ghost. The car sat on a circular platform, the overhead lights reflecting on its smooth gray paint. All the brightwork was nickel-plated, polished to a mirror finish. The blue leather interior looked smooth and supple, not a crack to be seen anywhere on its surface.

  Oliver’s brows went up. “Well done, don’t you think, Uncle Albert?”

  “I won’t let them have it.”

  “No one’s taking it anywhere.”

  “Eh,” the old man said, his expression turning to a scowl. “Bunch of cutthroats. Only reason they haven’t stolen it is because it doesn’t run.”

  “Of course it runs,” Oliver said. “Chad fixed it.”

  “Chad? I don’t know any Chad.”

  “The mechanic I found.” He turned toward Sam and Remi, saying, “He did a brilliant job. Even more impressive firsthand. Once they close for the day, we’ll take a proper look after everyone leaves.”

  “I bet—” Albert stopped as alarms blared, and lights over each exit flashed on and off. Everyone in the room started looking around as though trying to decide if the alarm was legitimate. In less than a minute, security guards and uniformed personnel began herding the crowd toward the doors, while ushers went down each row of stalls, announcing that the building needed to be cleared. A few vendors balked at being forced from their booths but reluctantly left when it was apparent the alarm wasn’t ending anytime soon.

  Speakers crackled above them as a voice cut in: “Please walk to the nearest exit. This is not a drill. Please walk to the nearest exit. Thank you.”

  “Wonder what it is?” Oliver asked, taking his uncle by the arm again.

  “Cooking demonstration gone bad?” Remi suggested, nodding that direction, where thick black smoke was streaming up.

  “Cross that grill off our list,” Sam said, drawing Remi, Oliver, and Albert toward the exit. Someone screamed when flames reached the top of the cubicle. The crowd surged forward, separating the four of them. “Uncle Albert!” Oliver turned about, trying to find his uncle.

  Sam scanned the faces, looking for Albert. “You don’t think he’s gone back to the Ghost, do you?”

  “Undoubtedly,” Oliver said. “I’ll check.”

  “We’ll take a look around the booths and meet you out front. It’s possible he was swept out with the crowd.”

  Sam and Remi split up, meeting near the entrance.

  “Nothing,” Remi said.

  “Check outside. If you find either of them, stay close to the doors in case our friends from the train are anywhere nearby. I’m going to make another pass.”

  Sam worked his way around a second time, no sign of either Oliver or his uncle. The place nearly emptied, he returned to the entrance, hearing the faint sirens of the responding fire trucks. He stepped out, finding Remi waiting nearby. “Nothing.”

  “There’s Oliver!” Remi pointed down the left side of the building.

  He and Remi hurried toward Oliver as he tried to get into the building through one of the side doors.

  A security guard stopped him. “Sorry, sir, no one can go back inside.”

  “My uncle! I can’t find him anywhere.”

  “Fire’s already out. Just a lot of smoke. You have to move away from the door.”

  “Let’s wait up front,” Sam said, drawing Oliver toward a row of benches near the entrance. “Remi and I will keep searching. You wait here in case he comes out.”

  “Thank you,” Oliver said, surveying the faces of the people milling about. “I don’t think he’ll go far. He’s obsessed with the Ghost.”

  The sirens grew louder, and within a few minutes several fire trucks sped into the drive, one parking in front, the two others driving on either side of the building.

  Thirty minutes later, they still hadn’t found Albert.

  Unfortunately, security wouldn’t let them back in the building. Oliver, pacing near the entrance, stopped and pointed to a man speaking with one of the firefighters who’d just left the building. “The event manager. He should be able to help us.”

  The three approached, and the man turned toward them, a neutral smile on his face. “I daresay, quite the bit of excitement, that.”

  “We need to get back in the building. I think my uncle’s still in there. Probably worried about his car.”

  “Nothing to worry about. The fire’s out and all the cars are safe.”

  “Can we go in?” Oliver asked.

  “They’ll be letting everyone in in just a few minutes. We’ve shut the cooking demonstration down. Can’t imagine what anyone was thinking, bringing that sort of thing here. N
ot even sure how they got in the door.”

  As promised, security opened up the entrance, allowing those who still waited back into the building. Sam, Remi, and Oliver filed in behind the dozens of other car enthusiasts who refused to let a little smoke stop their visit. The three wasted no time, walking straight to the back, murmuring from the crowd growing in intensity.

  Oliver stopped in his tracks, looking at the empty stage. “The Gray Ghost! It’s gone!”

  9

  Not only was the car gone but so was Oliver’s uncle.

  The officer taking the missing person’s report seemed very interested that Albert had disappeared just prior to the theft. “Any chance he might have taken it? Driven off, as it were?”

  Oliver’s face paled. “I’d say no, but he did drive off in my car a few weeks ago, wrecking it. At the time, he’d told me he was looking for the Gray Ghost. We’d just sent it to the garage for repairs.”

  “Would he have been able to start it?” the officer asked.

  “I don’t really know,” Oliver replied.

  “How?” Remi said. “The car was on a platform. At least a foot off the ground. Even if he could start it, how would he get it off?”

  “Ramps?” the officer suggested.

  Remi checked the platform, didn’t see any. “Where would he have gotten them from?”

  “There is one other possibility,” Sam said, taking out his phone. “These three men were following us. Two of them,” he said, showing the video he’d taken on the train, “were tailing us in California. The third, I’ve never seen before.”

  “Well done,” the officer said. “We’ll need a copy of that for the investigation.” The officer gave him an email address, then looked at Oliver, asking, “You might ring up your insurance company. Let them know.”

  “The car’s the least of my worries.”

  “I’m sure we’ll find your uncle. If he did take it, he’s bound to attract attention.” He handed Oliver his card. “Give a ring if you think of anything else. Or if your uncle shows. Try not to worry. We have a crack team of investigators on it.” The officer closed his notebook and tucked his pen in his pocket. “In the meantime, we’ll have a look at the video surveillance. Perhaps we’ll get answers there.”

  Remi and Sam moved off a few feet, as Oliver and the officer spoke. “You don’t think he really drove off in that car?” she asked Sam.

  “Unless he dragged those ramps over himself, drove the car off and hid the ramps right after, no. Hate to say it, but either Albert Payton wandered off or someone kidnapped him.”

  “Which makes you wonder how they got it and him out of here,” Remi said.

  “Smoke and mirrors?”

  Oliver returned, staring at the officer’s card. “I should never have agreed to let him bring that car here. He’s right. It’s cursed. I’m almost afraid to ring the insurance company. This has to look dodgy to them. What if they accuse us of setting up the theft for insurance fraud?”

  “Why would they think that?” Sam asked.

  “Because of the fraud my uncle’s already being accused of. Every one of our accounts has been depleted.”

  Remi gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  “Let’s hope so,” he said, still searching the faces around him again. “I can’t imagine where he’s gone off to.”

  Nor could Remi, not that she was about to say it. “It’s possible that he’s just wandering around somewhere, unable to remember where he is.”

  “Absolutely,” Sam said. “Why don’t you wait here in case he returns. Remi and I will take a walk around, see if we can’t find him.”

  Oliver nodded, looking eminently relieved.

  Remi glanced back, making sure they were out of earshot. “What’re the chances he wandered off?”

  “After everything that’s happened? Pretty slim. Unless that car was spirited away on a fire truck or tucked in with the barbecues, it had to have gotten out of here somehow. There’s no way he drove off in it. Someone would’ve seen him.”

  “One good thing about that car,” Remi said. “It’s certainly going to stand out. Lead the way, Fargo.”

  While Oliver waited for his uncle at the entrance, Sam led Remi around the building. “It’d be nice to know which of these bay doors was used to get the Gray Ghost and the other cars in and out.” The first set they passed seemed too close to the front, which would’ve drawn too much attention. They continued on, stopping in front of a roll-up metal door that could easily allow the cars to be moved for the show.

  The wind gusted, and Remi brushed her hair from her face as she took a look around. “It seems to be out of view of the main entrance.”

  “Has to be the one,” Sam said. “It’d be nice to get in there. If we can figure out how they got the Ghost out, we’ll have a better chance of finding Albert.”

  “Hey! What’re you two doing back here?”

  They turned to see a gray-haired security guard, probably late fifties, walking quickly toward them. When the guy lifted his radio as though to call for backup, Sam gave Remi a nudge with his elbow. “Time for a little charm.”

  10

  This area’s off-limits to the public,” the security guard said to Sam and Remi. “You both have to leave.”

  Sam stepped back, letting Remi take the lead. She smiled sweetly, waiting until the security guard was nearly on them. “Our cousin’s uncle is missing and we’re trying to find him. I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything?”

  “Sorry, ma’am. You’ll have to check with the police. I’m just event security.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. We’re not from here. I saw the uniform and thought—”

  “Americans?”

  She nodded. “My husband and I just flew in to visit my husband’s cousin. And now this. We’re not even sure where to turn.”

  “My cousin,” Sam said, following Remi’s clueless American lead, “made a missing person’s report. We were hoping to have a quick look around. In case he wandered away.”

  “Alzheimer’s,” Remi added. “When the fire alarm went off, we got separated. The last we saw of him, he ran toward the Gray Ghost.”

  The guard eyed Sam. “Your cousin owns that car?”

  “His uncle, actually. The one who’s lost. We think he was worried the car would be damaged in the fire.”

  “We were hoping,” Remi said, nodding toward the door, “that he’s somewhere inside the building. He gets so turned around.”

  The guard stared at the two of them a moment, before saying, “Don’t mean any offense by it, but I heard one of the police officers asking if the old man could’ve driven off in the car.”

  “Wouldn’t someone have seen him?” Sam asked.

  “Good question,” he replied. “You’d hope a bloke driving an antique car like that would be noticed.”

  “You’d think,” Sam said, though he seriously doubted Albert was involved. With his diminished mental capacity, no way could he have orchestrated such a feat, never mind be an active participant.

  “Could the car still be inside?” Remi asked.

  “No,” the guard said, shaking his head. “Not a chance.”

  “More important,” Sam said, “could my uncle still be in there?”

  “Far more chance of that,” the guard said. “Plenty of places a bloke could hide.”

  Remi, her eyes pleading, reached out, touched his arm. “I know you’re busy, but is there any way we could have a peek inside the building? What if he’s in there and needs our help?”

  The guard seemed to think about it, then pulled out his keys. “Couldn’t hurt to take a pop in, have a quick look. Hate to think something happened on my watch.”

  He unlocked the side door, peering inside first before opening it wider. “Shall we?”

  They followed him in, Sam asking,
“How do you think they got it out? Without anyone seeing, that is.”

  “Hard to say,” the guard said. “Bit of a dodgy neighborhood, ’round these parts.”

  Remi gave the motorized overhead door a pointed look. “How do you think they got it past here without anyone seeing?”

  “Had to have been a truck parked outside this very door,” the guard said. “All the confusion with those fire trucks up front, maybe no one noticed. Not that I saw a truck. Then again, I got called in for the fire, so if a truck managed to make it back here before the fire trucks—”

  “Aren’t there cameras?” Sam asked, having seen them mounted high above, encompassing both directions of the road that circled the building.

  “I expect the police are on top of that.”

  Remi looked around, wide-eyed. “How on earth did they get the car from the auditorium to here and out the door?”

  “Portable walls,” the guard said, nodding toward the gray wall separating the back bay and storage area from the central part of the convention floor. “They slide open. Whoever was behind that theft had to have a crew ready to open up these walls, move the car from the floor to here, close the walls, then get the car out through the bay door and up onto the back of a truck.” He opened a few doors that led to smaller storage rooms and what looked like a receiving office, with clipboards on the wall and stacks of paperwork on the desk. Albert Payton was not in any of them.

  “How long would that take?” Sam asked.

  “If they knew what they were doing, less than five minutes. Who’d notice in all that confusion?”

  Good point. “Working here, you must have your suspicions . . . ?”

  The guard gave a noncommittal shrug. “Wasn’t back here, I was out front.”

  “No trucks drove out?”

  “Didn’t see even one. Not sure how they’d drive past the fire engines out front.”

  “So who’s good for it?” Sam asked.

  He looked over at Sam, his expression saying that the answer was obvious. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but everyone was talking about it when we learned the Gray Ghost was entered into the car show. Car like that’d be worth millions. The first thing we all said when it ended up missing, well . . .”