Silver Linings

closed.”
    Mattie stared at him in shock. “Closed? It can't be closed.”
    “It is. I barely made it in myself. There are armed men on the road, and every plane that didn't get off the island as of forty minutes ago is probably in flames by now. Including mine, goddamn it. Charlotte's going to have to reimburse me for that Cherokee. It was a real sweet little crate.”
    “Dear heaven. Hugh, what's going on? What is this all about?”
    “With your usual fine sense of timing, you walked straight into the middle of what looks like a two-bit military coup here on Purgatory. At the moment I have no way of knowing who's winning. In the meantime the only way off the island is by boat. We're going to try for Cormier's cruiser.”
    “I don't believe this.”
    “Believe it. Come on, let's go.”
    “Go where?” she demanded.
    “First to the bathroom.” Hugh started down the hall.
    “For God's sake, Hugh, I assure you I don't have to use the bathroom. At least, not right at the moment. Hugh, wait. Please stop. I don't understand this.”
    He turned in the doorway, his eyes cold. “Mattie, I don't want to hear another word out of you. Come here. Now.”
    Deciding she was too stressed out to think clearly, Mattie trailed after him. She closed her eyes as she stepped around Cormier's body and found herself following Hugh down a white hallway into a luxurious bedroom suite done in silver and white.
    “Mr. Cormier certainly didn't like colors very much,” Mattie muttered.
    “Yeah. He used to say he'd worked in the shadows long enough. When he retired he wanted to live in the sun.” Hugh opened a door off the bedroom suite.
    “What did he mean by that?”
    “Never mind. It doesn't matter now. Here we go.” Hugh strode into the bathroom.
    Mattie followed uneasily. “Hugh, I really don't understand.” She frowned as she watched him step into the huge white tub and push at a section of wall behind the taps. “What in the world—?”
    “Cormier built a lot of ways out of this place. He was a born strategist.”
    “I see. He was expecting trouble, then?”
    “Not specifically. Not here on Purgatory.” Hugh watched as the wall panel slid aside to reveal a dark corridor. “But like I say, he was always prepared.”
    “Oh, my goodness.” Mattie shivered as she stared into the darkness. The old uneasiness she always felt in confined places stirred in the pit of her stomach. “Uh, Hugh, maybe I should warn you, I'm not very good in—”
    “Not now, Mattie.” His tone was impatient as he stepped into the black corridor and turned around to reach for her hand.
    “Do we have to go this way?” Mattie asked helplessly.
    “Stop whining, babe. I don't have time to listen to it.”
    Thoroughly humiliated now, Mattie found the strength to step into the corridor. Hugh pushed a button and the panel slid shut behind her. She held her breath but discovered she did not have to stand long in the darkness. Hugh switched on a flashlight he'd taken from one of the string bags.
    “Thank God you found a flashlight,” Mattie said.
    “No problem. Cormier kept a couple in every room of the house. I picked this one up in the kitchen, but there's probably one in here, too. Electricity is always a little erratic on an island like this. Come on, babe.”
    The hallway was narrow but mercifully short. With the assistance of the light and several deep breaths, Mattie was able to control her claustrophobia just as she did in elevators. Hugh was pushing another button and opening an exit in the side of the house before her own personal walls had begun to close in to any great extent.
    Mattie stepped outside with a sense of relief and found herself in the middle of a leafy green jungle bower that grew right up to the side of the mansion. She batted at a huge, broad leaf that was directly in front of her. “Well, that wasn't so bad, but I really don't see why we had to leave that way. It seems to me it would have been simpler to walk straight to the car.”
    Hugh was moving forward into what looked to Mattie like a wall of thick foliage. Once again he ignored her comment. “Stay close, Mattie. I don't want to lose you in the jungle.”
    “I'm not going into any jungle.”
    “Yes, you are. You and I are going to do the only smart thing we can do under these circumstances. We're going to stay out of sight until we can get hold of transportation.”
    “Hugh, this is crazy. I'm not traipsing off into that jungle. In fact, I'm not going