Alternating Current: A Tesla Novel (20 page)

They stared at
each other across the kitchen table, listening, not saying a word. The sound of
footsteps had faded a few minutes earlier, but that’s not what they were
listening for. What’s taking so long? The Escalade’s doors should have opened
and been forcefully latched shut by then. They should have heard the electronic
ignition and the smooth roar of the engine. If nothing else, they should have
heard Agent Lawson. He’d gone too long without speaking. Something vulgar,
something sarcastic, but something.

Carrie had shown
considerable restraint. The Vegas odds-makers surely had her jumping from her
seat by then. She just sat there and stared, her eyes shifting left to right
between Phillip and Turbo. Perhaps really seeing them for the first time, noticing
them for the first time. Phillip’s face was smooth; all but the Michigan shaped
bruise that still encompassed much of the right side. Turbo’s face was rough. Dotted
with age marks and grooved with wrinkles around his eyes and along his chin. Rugged,
yet reassuring. Although, noticeably sad.

Carrie thought how
unlikely it was they met. Connected for years by paper in potato chip cans. And
why had fate brought her into the equation only to send her back to her normal
life? Maybe she didn’t want to go back. Maybe she’d take Mika’s advice and
become an agent. All she had to do was kill somebody. Maybe she could. Maybe
she’d kill Mika. Regardless, she decided not to go back to her normal life
anytime soon. She jumped up from the table and went over to the window.

“The Escalade’s
still there, but I don’t see Lawson or Arnold.”

“We need to get
that Lincoln out of here.” Phillip said. “I hope Buddy left the key in the
switch.”

“It’s blocked by
the Escalade.” Carrie came back over to the table.

“The Lincoln can
wait?” Turbo leaned into the center of the table. “I have something to tell
you, something important.”

They leaned
closer.

“Armaly gave me a
name of someone who might help us.”

“Oh my God, when?”
Carrie crawled up on her seat to get even closer.

“We were on the
couch, when Mika shot Alex.”

“So who is he?” Phillip
asked.

“I don’t want to
say now, not with the Escalade still out there. We need to go back to our
normal routine for a few days until things calm down. Let’s meet somewhere in a
few days.”

“That’s why you
agreed with Rudy so easily.” Phillip smiled. “You sly fox.”

“Should we come by
the store?”

“No, you heard
what Rudy said about the bugs.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Let’s meet at
Tony O’s, it’s noisy enough.”

They all agreed. But
the thought of meeting at Tony O’s brought back memories of their last meeting
there. Rudy bolted out the back door then, too. Carrie’s eyes welled up. How
could Rudy abandon them again? He said he would explain everything. She had to
be strong, secret agents don’t cry.

***

Lawson and Arnold
came back inside without knocking first. “Hey guys, whose Lincoln is that in
the driveway.” Lawson held up a set of keys.

“That’s my car,”
Phillip said. “I mean, it was my Grandmother’s and now it’s mine.”

“Oh, that’s good,
then you won’t mind if we open the trunk.”

Phillip hesitated.
“Why do you want to open the---

“Quit playing
games, Lawson.” Carrie reached for the keys, but he pulled them away. “You have
the keys. If you wanted to open the trunk, you would have already.”

“That’s not true,
Carrie.” Agent Arnold, the voice of reason explained. “We need your permission
to open the trunk. Otherwise, we’ll have to get a search warrant.”

“Yeah, and that
could take hours,” Lawson went over to the door. “I’m just guessing, but I
think whoever we heard moaning inside will probably be dead by then. So what do
you say, Phillip?” He didn’t wait for an answer.

Lawson turned the
key, lifted the deck lid and yelled, “Jackpot!”

Arnold ordered
everyone outside to the car.

“Hey Partner, we
hit the daily double.” Lawson cheered. “Two bodies in here.”

Agent Arnold
called for police backup, an ambulance, and the coroner. “Well, I’ll be, if it
isn’t the world famous Alex Gaye.” Agent Arnold helped him out of the trunk.

“And I’d be
willing to bet the dead guy is Dr. Armaly.” Lawson smiled. “Hallelujah,
everyone’s going to jail.” He opened the back door of the Escalade. “Okay, hop
in.”

“But we can
explain.” Carrie resisted. “We didn’t kill him, Mika did.”

“Save it till we
get downtown, Carrie. We’ll do lunch.” He helped her up into the vehicle and
shut the door.

Lawson complained
about having to go all the way downtown to Reade Street. “Why don’t we head
over to the 125 Precinct? We can use one of their interrogation rooms.”

“That’s not a bad
idea.” Arnold said. “We can use their holding cell, too.”

Carrie turned to
Phillip and Turbo, and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “Can you believe
these Bozos are wasting their time with us while Rudy, I mean, Marco and Mika
are getting away with the formula?”

Phillip and Turbo
didn’t respond, but that didn’t stop Carrie. “They’re probably already on a
plane somewhere---

“Carrie, stop it.”
Arnold turned to look at her. “Don’t say anything else.”

“Oh, c’mon
partner, let her talk. I was getting into it.”

“No, she hasn’t
been read her Miranda Rights.”

“Like that really
matters.” Phillip said. “Kind of like that search warrant.”

The duty sergeant
over at the 125 Precinct escorted them to the interrogation room. There were
only four chairs in the room. “I’ll get another chair.” The sergeant said.

“No, don’t
bother.” Lawson jumped into the chair closest to the door. “Carrie can sit on
my lap.”

“Bring us a chair,
please, Sergeant.” Arnold moved a chair to the other side of the table and had
everyone take a seat. The sergeant returned with the extra chair. Okay, let’s
try to remain calm. Carrie, since you love to talk, tell us what happened.”

“You still haven’t
read her her rights.” Phillip said.

“She knows her
fucking rights, asshole.” Lawson lunged across the table at Phillip. “Shut the
fuck up and let her talk.”

“Is all this
necessary.” Turbo finally spoke.

“You’ll get your
turn, Turbo. Go ahead, Carrie”

“We were all over
at Turbo’s shop when I got a phone call from Dr. Armaly. I thought it was you
disguising your voice at first, but then Dr. Armaly told me that Rudy gave him
my number, that was when I thought Rudy was still dead. Anyway, we decided to
meet at Barnes and Noble and he told us to bring the formula, so we brought the
trunk with us, but then Alex and Mika showed up and ruined everything. Phillip
didn’t have the key to the trunk so Mika shot the lock, but then she got
really---

“Hey, take a
breath, sweet lips.” Lawson had a hard time keeping up.

“She was just
getting started.” Phillip nudged Turbo. “Right, Turbo?”

“Huh, oh, sorry, I
wasn’t paying attention.” Turbo’s mind was elsewhere, more concerned with Dr.
Ganz. The scientist Dr. Armaly told him to see.

Carrie continued. “Well,
when she saw the trunk was filled with newspaper, she popped a cork, she
threatened to kill all of us, but when Alex stuck up for us, she shot him. I
mean she was just bragging about fucking him every night and then she shot him
in the shoulder. It was crazy---

“Okay, stop there.”
Arnold was trying to take notes. “Did you say the trunk was filled with
newspaper?”

“Yes, that’s why
she popped a cork.”

“Then how did she
get the formula, you said earlier that she had the formula?”

“Well, you didn’t
let me finish. You see, Mika was about to shoot Phillip. She said she was going
to kill Phillip first because he started this whole mess by cleaning his
Grandmother’s attic. Anyway, she was about to shoot Phillip when Alex stopped
her and told her he had the formula in his boot, it wasn’t the whole formula,
but it was a page that he found in the Tesla Museum in Belgrade. Doctor Armaly
looked at it and smiled and that fucking bitch killed him, right then and there,
she killed him. We all witnessed it.”

“Well that changes
everything, doesn’t it, partner?” Arnold opened the door and called for the
duty Sergeant.

“Sure does.” Lawson
pulled out his cell phone. “Hey Sally, I need you to put out an A.P.B. on Mika
Kosanavic and Marco Fagan. No, he’s not dead; last seen in Brooklyn, and traveling
with an unknown accomplice---

“His name is Buddy;
the guy’s name is Buddy.” Phillip was happy to help.

“Hold on, Sally. Buddy’s
not a name. What’s his real name?”

Phillip looked at
Carrie. “Tell them his real name.”

She hesitated.

“Carrie, this is
important.” Turbo gave her a serious look. “Tell them.”

“Okay, his name is
Beauregard. Beauregard Dudley.”

“Well, you can’t
blame him for going by Buddy.” Turbo smiled.

“Yeah, but Buddy
Dudley!” Phillip chuckled. “Would you two shut up? Sally, Marco’s accomplice is
Beauregard Dudley, yes you heard right. Put it out. Also, Mika Kosonavic last
seen early this morning leaving Barnes and Noble on 7
^th
avenue in
Brooklyn. She’s is armed and extremely dangerous. Oh, and do me a favor, find
out which precinct handled the crime scene this morning. Send Madden and
Ritchie over to get the security camera footage. Thanks Sally.” Lawson hung up
the phone. “Should make for a great show.”

“You guys finished
already?” The desk sergeant asked.

“Yes, but we need
a favor.” Arnold asked.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Can you have a
uniform drive them home.”

Carrie let out a
yelp. “So, we’re not under arrest.”

“No, Carrie, you’re
free to go. Thanks for all your help.” Arnold shook her hand.

“C’mon Arnold,
let’s go.” Lawson smiled at Turbo as they left.

Turbo screamed
down the hall. “You son-of-a-bitch, you did it again.”

“Did what again?” Carrie
asked.

The neon sign was
off. Turbo didn’t say a word. He didn’t care if Cosmo ever pulled that damn
string again. He flopped down in his chair and stared at the darkened
television.

“You have to get
up to turn it on.” Cosmo rummaged through a box of spare parts behind the
counter. “Remember, you smashed the remote.”

Turbo didn’t
speak, the television screen captivated him; he looked deep into the screen,
beyond the darkened glass. He thought about Maria, and Nic and Angie. How were
they getting along? How did they like Florida? He missed them. He stared at the
screen awhile longer before he finally spoke. “Hey, Cosmo, you got that guy
Jansen’s card?”

Cosmo dropped the
box of parts on the floor. “What, uh, yeah, I think his card is here
somewhere.” He moved things around on the counter pretending to look for the
business card. Then retrieved the card from his wallet. “Oh, here it is, you
gonna call him?”

“No, but you can. Tell
him I’m ready to talk. But first I need to borrow your car.”

“Oh no, I just got
the hood fixed.”

Turbo put out his
hand. “C’mon, gimme the key thingy.”

Cosmo handed him
the fob. “Where the hell are you going?”

“Bellevue.”

***

The receptionist thumbed
through a magazine and didn’t look up. “May I help you?”

“Yes, I am looking
for Dr. Ganz.”

“Dr. Who?” The
receptionist still didn’t look up.

“Dr. Ganz---Dr.
Emmett Ganz.”

She looked up, a
puzzled look on her face. “You’re here to see Emmett Ganz?”

“Yes. Why do you
ask?”

“Oh, nothing, no
reason. Follow this corridor until you see a sign for the West-Wing. When you
get to the West-Wing, follow the signs to the Mental Ward.” She went back to
her magazine.

The corridor’s
walls were aged; the color faded and diluted, washed away years ago. The
linoleum was thin, compressed and worn, fluorescent light reflected along the
shiny edges near the walls, but not radiated in the dull center. Although, the
floor was clean. The disinfectant smell made Turbo nauseous; or was it because
he hadn’t called Carrie and Phillip?

The Mental Ward was
as old and dilapidated as the rest of the West-Wing, other than the fancy
magnetic card reader locks on the doors. The receptionist looked right at him. “Hi,
there, may I help you?” Her energy and smile caught him off guard.

“Oh, yes, please. I’m
looking for Dr. Ganz---Dr. Emmett Ganz.”

Her smile
immediately went dim. “Are you family?”

“No, but it’s very
important I see him.”

The receptionist
excused herself. “I’ll be right back.”

Perplexed, Turbo
had second thoughts about coming alone. The receptionist returned with a
doctor. “You’re here to see Dr. Ganz? Are you certain?”

“Why does everyone
ask that? He works here, doesn’t he?”

They didn’t answer.

The doctor pointed
to the glass door and swiped his card to let Turbo in. “Hello, I’m Dr. Haley. We
can talk in my office, Mister---I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

Turbo shook the
doctor’s hand. “William---William Trbojevic.” He felt like a sell-out, just the
other day he cursed his wife for calling him William.

“Nice to meet you
Mr. Trbojev---I hope you don’t mind if I call you William.” He offered Turbo a
seat. “And I hope you don’t mind me asking why you want to see Dr. Ganz.”

“It’s a personal
matter, an important one. Is he here or not?”

“Yes, he’s here,
but he doesn’t work here.”

Turbo felt
nauseous, again. “Then what’s he doing here?”

The doctor
hesitated. “He lives here, he’s a trustee. He’s been here for years.”

“But he’s a
scientist?”

“He was a
scientist, but that was a long time ago. Now he’s a nice old man with mild
delusions of grandeur.”

“I still need to
see him.”

“I’m not sure
that’s a good idea. Tell me why?”

Turbo thought for
a moment. He couldn’t tell the truth. They’d probably put him in a padded cell,
too. He needed a story, a good one. What would Rudy do? No, he’d probably just
run out the back door. What would Lawson do? That’s what he wanted to know. Hell,
Lawson made him believe he was under arrest twice. “Listen, Doc, I can
appreciate you want to protect your patient, but I just need to talk to him for
five minutes. You can watch through the glass, if he gets upset, I’ll leave.”

“I might agree to
five minutes, but you have to at least tell me the subject matter.”

“Well, I guess I
can tell you. Dr. Ganz knew my father. They went to school together. Anyway, my
father was murdered when I was a baby.” Turbo turned away and squinted hard
several times, when he turned back a tear rolled down his face. “My mother
thought it was the Mafia, but nobody was ever charged. She died a few years
later.” He took a deep breath and shuddered as he exhaled. “Dr. Ganz is the
only person left who can tell me what my Dad was like. Please, just five
minutes.”

The doctor placed
his thumb and forefinger to the corner of his eyes to hold back the tears. “Okay,
William, I don’t think it could hurt anything, but I have to warn you, Dr. Ganz
may not remember your father.”

“I understand,
Doc, but I have to try.”

The doctor called
the nurses desk. “Hi, Sue, would you bring Emmett to the private visitor’s
room. He has a visitor.” The doctor paused and from the look on his face, Sue had
given him an earful. “Yes, I am aware of that, but I am the doctor here.” He
hung up the phone.

“It’ll only be a
few moments.” The doctor fumbled with the papers on his desk.

“Hard to find good
help, huh.”

The doctor just
stared.

“I have an
assistant like that, he thinks he knows everything better than me, second
guesses everything I do.”

“Oh, you mean Sue?
She doesn’t mean anything by it. She has a soft spot for Emmett, since he’s
been here so long.” The doctor put the stack of papers in the desk drawer. “She’s
a little overprotective. We get a conspiracy-nut government agent every now and
then that’ll grill the doctor about some stupid concept he worked on umpteen
years ago. When they show up it isn’t good. Only time Emmett gets violent and
we have to sedate him. That’s why she gave me a hard time.”

***

Turbo expected a wheelchair
bound patient, frail and lethargic. Doctor Ganz walked in on his own accord and
shook Turbo’s hand. In remarkably good shape for his age, he had a firm grip
and a pleasant smile. To look at him, you’d never suspect he was
ninety-years-old and you’d never suspect delusions of grandeur or mental
instability of any kind. Until he opened his mouth to speak. “Son, I’m so glad
to see you, what took you so long? Did you bring the key?”

Turbo didn’t
speak. He didn’t know what to say.

“What’s the
matter, Joey? Cat got your tongue. Give Daddy the key.” He stuck out his hand.

Turbo thought
fast. “Sure thing, Pop.” He reached into his pocket and removed an old
tarnished key from his keychain. He had forgotten what it unlocked years ago,
but he kept it just in case he ever needed it. Turns out, he needed it then. He
handed the key to the doctor.

“Thank you, Son. I’m
glad you found it, now I’ll show them.”

Turbo clenched his
jaw and bit his tongue. He only had five minutes and he couldn’t waste time
with the doctor’s delusion. He needed to change the subject. “Hey, Dad, do you
remember a doctor named Mike Armaly?”

“Of course I do,
he was your mother’s gynecologist.”

“No, Dad, this guy
is a scientist, he worked at N.A.S.A.”

“N.A.S.A. ---was
he a Spaceman?”

“No, Dad. He’s an
Astrophysicist.”

“Oh yeah, I love
Astro. He’s George Jetson’s dog.”

Turbo took a deep
breath. “Dad, do you remember when you worked at N.A.S.A.?”

Dr. Ganz didn’t
answer. He stared at Turbo. “When did you shave your mustache?”

“What? Oh, last
week, well, do you remember working at N.A.S.A.?”

Before the doctor
could answer, the nurse popped her head in. “We need to get you back to your
room soon, Emmett.”

“Hey, Sue, c’mon
in, you remember Joey.”

Turbo held his
breath.

The nurse looked
right at him. “Oh, yeah, hey Joey. I need to get your dad back to his room
soon.”

Turbo exhaled. “Of
course, we’ll be done in a minute.”

Turbo rose from
his seat.

Emmett waited
until the door closed then told him to sit down. “Listen, Joey, I don’t know
who you are or what you want, but you opened a big can of worms here.”

Turbo listened,
unsure if he should take anything seriously.

“How dare you ask
if I know Mike Armaly? Anyway, you’re in over your head now. So, here’s what
you’re gonna do.”

Turbo leaned
closer.

“On your way out,
tell Dr. Haley that I think you’re my son and that I’m demanding you come back
to see me tomorrow. Come back about this time and make sure you bring something,
anything---a vase, the rearview mirror from your car, I don’t care. As long as
it’s obscure. Don’t show up with a book or a box of candy, nothing you would
normally bring a patient.”

“If I show up with
an empty vase they’ll think I’m crazy.”

“No, they won’t, I’m
a collector, and they all know it. You should see all the shit in my room. They’ll
think I asked for it, same way I asked for the key.”

“Okay, if you say
so.”

“Good, now get
outta here before that crazy bitch comes back. I’ll see you tomorrow.”