“Where are we?” Amanda asked. Hearing a distant buzz, she glanced behind her. The other boat with the Renaissance goons was still in pursuit. It appeared to be about a quarter mile back.
“Le Château de Chillon.” Carmen glanced down at the fuel gauge and shook her head. The needle was touching empty, meaning they could run out of gas at any moment. “Now, listen to me. When I land the boat, you’re going to need to get out quickly. Whatever you do, don’t look back. Just keep going until you get into the trees. Understand?”
Amanda nodded, her eyes already focused on the target.
As they neared the boulders, Amanda could see that they actually formed a cove, which Carmen deftly directed the boat into. Once inside the cove, she kept the craft moving straight toward the sandy beach.
“Hold on,” Carmen said, finally reducing speed and running the bow up onto the sand. “Now go!”
Amanda almost fell as she crawled over the console. She crossed the bow and jumped off onto the beach. As soon as her feet touched the sand, she heard gunfire. Following her instructions to the letter, she ran straight up the hill and entered the trees. Once there, she hid behind a trunk and looked back. The other boat was nearing the cove. Carmen fired a couple of rounds, but the driver kept moving the craft toward the shore, not in the least slowed down by the bullets.
Carmen turned and sprinted toward Amanda. When she arrived, she pointed toward an asphalt service road that ran toward the castle. “Go up to that road, turn right, and just keep running. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Where are we—”
“Just follow the road!”
Resisting the urge to look back, Amanda kept running. Despite being in good shape, the fear of the chase caused her heart to beat faster than it had in years. She was running on adrenaline and prayed that it would continue as long as she needed it.
Directly ahead, she could just make out the front of the medieval castle she had seen from the boat. There were throngs of tourists piling on and off buses in the parking lot.
Perfect, Amanda thought to herself. What a way to get lost.
A few seconds later, Carmen drew even with her. She wasn’t even breathing heavily. “Keep your pace,” the Italian said. “We’re almost there.”
When they entered the parking, lot they slowed to a jog and wound through the mass of people, cars, and buses.
“Please don’t tell me we’re going in there,” Amanda said, nodding toward the castle.
“Okay, I won’t tell you that.”
About two minutes later, they reached the other end of the parking lot, and Amanda followed Carmen across a covered bridge that led into the castle. Amanda couldn’t help but glance back. When she did, she shuddered. Two of their pursuers, including the bald man, were pushing through the crowd in their direction. She couldn’t see the third; either he had remained with the boat or was lagging behind. The fact that she couldn’t see him made her even more afraid.
“Let’s go.” Carmen took Amanda’s arm and guided her into the building. “Don’t worry about them.”
Once inside, Carmen proceeded directly to the ticket window. Unfortunately, there was an elderly couple in front who were having trouble sorting their money out. The husband was fussing at the wife, who stopped counting the bills and began to fuss back. Carmen let out an audible sigh and glared at them with impatience.
“Okay, this is nuts,” Amanda whispered.
“About as nuts as me leading us to the river to commandeer a boat?”
“Yes, but this is completely insane. They’re right on our heels and you’re buying tickets for a castle tour?”
“Aren’t you an archaeologist? You’re going to have fun.” Carmen glanced back toward the entrance and then said in a whisper, “It’s all a part of the plan. We’ll be fine. They may come in or they may just decide to wait us out.”
The elderly couple finally paid the cashier and ambled off, still arguing.
Carmen stepped up to the window. “Deux billets, s’il vous plaît.”
“Vingt-quatre francs.” The emotionless cashier extended her plump hand without even looking up.
Carmen pulled a clip of bills out of her pocket and paid for the tickets. After handing one to Amanda, she grabbed a brochure and led her past the gift shop and out into the courtyard. It was a mass of humanity from one end to the other.
Amanda, still nervous about their pursuers, stole a quick look back into the interior as they continued to walk. The two men had arrived inside. The bald one was at the ticket window, and the other one was letting his narrow eyes drift over the crowd. Amanda thought she saw him look in her direction when she felt a tug on her arm.
“I told you not to worry about them,” Carmen said as they crossed the courtyard. “They won’t dare shoot us in here. They’re simply trying to keep us in sight. My guess is, they’ll play the waiting game and hope we try to leave.”
“You said before they wouldn’t even come inside.”
“No, I didn’t. I said they might or they might not.”
Arriving at the other end of the courtyard, they entered one of the castle’s ornate halls.
“Well, what now?” Amanda asked, looking around as they continued slowly toward the other end.
“I’m not sure yet,” said Carmen, studying the brochure as though she were a tourist.
“I thought you had a plan?”
“I did. Sometimes you just have to follow your gut. Unfortunately my gut doesn’t always fill in all the details right away.”
Amanda let out a sigh. “Well, I hope your gut figures it out, because look who’s coming.”
She saw Carmen peek past the brochure, and knew by the look in her eyes that she too saw the telltale bald head on the other end.
“See, they’re taking their time,” Carmen said. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Easy for you to say — you have a gun.”
Carmen suddenly began to poke at the brochure with her index finger. “I’ve got it! Why didn’t I think of that before? I knew my instincts were right.”
“Think of what?”
“Something I just remembered from my trip here as a kid. Quick, follow me.” Carmen headed for a nearby door.
“Is there another exit?” Amanda asked.
“Sort of.”
As they were about to pass out of the hall, Amanda looked back. The two men were moving in their direction. Had they been spotted? She couldn’t tell. All she knew was that they’d be there in a minute or two.
When they passed through the doorway, they found themselves inside a stone stairwell. Tourists were moving up and down the steps in single file. Carmen nudged Amanda and whispered, “Listen, when we get to the first landing, we stop. Then I’m going to do something that may freak you out.”
“What?”
“As soon as I do, just start moving down the steps, no matter what happens.”
“What exactly are you going to do? I don’t like all these plans of yours. I always seem to be kept in the dark until the last minute.”
“You’ll know when it happens," Carmen said. "Remember, wait for the signal, and then start moving down the steps.”
Amanda was not happy at the vagueness of Carmen’s plan, but nodded that she understood. When they reached the first landing, Carmen stepped into a corner and pulled Amanda in front of her. She then slipped her the brochure and whispered, “Make it look like you’re reading this.”
“Got it.” Amanda took the brochure and held it in front of her face as though trying to decide which room to go to next. People continued to file by in both directions, many of them glaring at Amanda for clogging up the landing.