Bay of Deception (16 page)

“She might be onto something, Peidmont." McKenny stirred at this.  "If I remember right, this Jenel is known to have a really...twisted sense of humor.”

“What if,” Oliver suddenly felt very uneasy, “what if this whole thing was simply to get us both out of the way in order to be with Jenny?” 

“That’s McKenny’s wife, he said, turning to Alicia.  "McKen...Collin,” Oliver swallowed hard.  "Do you remember if Jenel was ever interested in Jenny?“

McKenny's eyes grew blank, then he shook his head.  “I...can’t remember. But I do know he was quite active with the ladies around the office.  Yeah!  He even had a personal suite at the main building.”

“A personal suite?”  Oliver’s breath caught in his throat.

“Oliver, Mr. McKenny!”  The doctor’s stern voice ended their speculation.  “You need to stay focused, especially you, Oliver. Racing to her right this minute would only hurt matters.”

“I thought that was what you were suggesting!”  He shot back angrily.

“Oliver, please.” Alicia’s voice softened.  “I am here to help, so try to hold your temper.” 

Oliver inhaled deeply, then nodded. “Okay, okay.  What do you suggest?”

“First things first, Oliver,” the doctor leaned forward and shot a piercing glance at McKenny.  “I have two questions for Mr. McKenny.  How much does he really want to change and, secondly, has he had any experience in the theater?”

“Hi, Chief!” 

Willy strode into Chief Williams' office and sat down across from his boss.  Williams looked up from the report before him and smiled, his beak-like gaze peered intently at him. Few people other than Peidmont walked into Williams' office uninvited without regretting it.

“Hello, Johnson,”  Williams pushed the report aside.  “Glad you could make it to work, dressed in your off duty clothes and all.” 

A siren drew close and seconds later, a familiar black Lincoln town car skidded to a halt in the small lot.  Benson and another man leaped out of their poorly parked vehicle and walked briskly toward the station entrance. 

“Feds,” Williams spoke the single word as he watched them through his office window. His tone however, made clear his opinion of such government representatives.

“Chief,” Willy pulled his gun out and placed it on his boss’s desk. “I need to be put in protective custody.  Those two yahoos are here for me.”

John Collinson walked past the open doorway, then stopped and looked in.

“Willy? Thought you were out with one of your kids today?” 

He looked at the detective, shook his head and said, “Long story, John.”

Williams picked up Willy’s gun and released the clip, catching it neatly in his free hand.  The sound of arguing erupted in the outer office, with Benson’s voice audible above the rest.

Williams grimaced and turned to Willy. “Did you do what they think you did?”

“Hell, no!” 

Williams nodded and settled back into his chair as the sound of approaching feet grew.  A moment later, Benson and his partner stormed past Collinson into Williams' office, both coming to stand behind Willy.

“Gentleman..."  Williams scowl grew more pronounced. "May I help you?”

“Yeah, Chief...er,”  Agent Benson quickly eyed the name plate on the desk.  “...Williams. We have the unfortunate duty of arresting Officer Johnson here.  It’s a federal matter and you’ll be given a full report in a few days.”  

“Let’s go, Johnson." Benson said looking down at Willy while placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” 

The distinctive sound of a gun clip being inserted, pulled the agent’s attention back to Williams and it was tough to call what was on the chief’s face a smile.  Both lips were now pressed into a single thin line with no noticeable upturn at either end and yet that was the impression Willy got as Williams sat holding the gun. 

“What’s your name, Agent?“ the Chief asked, seeming to play with the weapon while not looking at the two agents.

“Benson.”  The agent responded after a slight hesitated.

“No, Agent Benson, I meant your full name.”

“Agent Harry Benson.”  Benson said, removing his hand from Willy’s shoulder, his tone now icy.

“Where do you live, A
gent
Harry
Benson
?”  Williams began flicking the gun’s safety, first on, then off and back again.

“That is not relevant to this case, Chief Williams.”  Benson placed his hand once again on Willy's shoulder, this time without taking his eyes off Williams.

“You know Agent Harry Benson.” Williams' face suddenly lost all semblance of humor as he pointed the gun squarely at the man’s chest, still without looking at him. “I think it is
very
relevant.” 

Benson stiffened and very slowly, lifted his hand from Willy’s shoulder. 

“You see,” Williams said, rising from his chair and finally making eye contact.  “I live here, at this office more hours of the day than I do in my own home.  You might say that makes Officer Johnson here or Detective Collinson over there a part of my extended family.”  He stepped around his desk and sat on its edge.  “Have I ever come into your home or office, A
gent
Harry Benson
, and tried to cart away a member of
your
family, simply based on my
word
?” 

Williams rubbed his chin, absentmindedly.

“No, no, I’m pretty sure I
haven’t
.”  Williams fixed Benson with a stare so cold the hair on Willy’s neck rose. “So please, A
gent
Harry Benson
. Don’t
ever
think you can do such a thing in mine.”  

Several minutes later, Benson and his partner left in their black Lincoln, angry promises that this “Incident would be brought before their superiors
ASAP
!” could be heard through the Chief’s window as they left. 

Willy heard the chief encourage them to do so as he waved them toward their car, gun in hand and a moment later, their Lincoln town car sped away in a squeal of tires. 

When Williams returned, he called Willy back into his office and once the door was shut, steeled himself for the worst tongue lashing since his dad was alive.  Williams handed Willy his gun, came around his desk before sitting down with a sigh, then leaned his chair back against the wall. 

“Willy,” the Chief said, rubbing both temples.  “
Please
tell me Peidmont
isn’t
at the center of this.”

Three quarters of the way to the door, with sweat beginning to soak her top, it suddenly dawned on Jenny that she couldn’t leave the CEO’s corpse just lying around.  She released Jenel’s arm with a low thump onto the carpet and simply breathed for several seconds, enjoying the sensation as it cooled her burning lungs.  Her breath slowed and she looked about the room for a place to hide his body, but found only the small closet adjacent to the bed, which was clear across the room. 

The term ‘dead weight’ had taken on new meaning early on in her inch by inch progress toward the door.  With this realization, she almost wished Jenel had simply passed out from pain instead suffering an apparently fatal heart attack.  With little else to do, Jenny reached down and gripped the dead man's wrist, now slippery with her sweat and once again began pulling him toward the door.  Four minutes later, with Jenel’s head resting against the door, she positioned and then pressed his thumb against the small green plastic screen.  A soft click near the door handle signaled her success and carefully turning the knob, pulled the door open. 

From her stomach’s growling, Jenny guessed it must be near lunch time and hoped most employees were away in search of lunch.  She stepped out into the hall and glanced in both directions.  However, the temptation to simply head toward the nearest exit died when she failed to recognize where she was.  The clipped echo of high heels from the opposite direction sent her back into the suite, forcing her to shut the door.  Though she detected no pause as they continued down the hallway, Jenny knew there was no guarantee she hadn’t been seen. She noticed also that once the door was shut, it locked itself once again.  Which meant once she left, there was no going back inside. 

She sat on the bed and tried to think, doing her best to ignore the body lying on the floor across the room.  Her mouth grew dry and as she drank what remained of the water, she noticed for the first time the small black phone tucked away on the lamp stand.  Picking up the receiver, she listened for a dial tone, yet could hear nothing despite waiting several seconds. The phone in Collin’s office had seemed ordinary enough, yet this one seemed broken.  Tempted to dial an operator, Jenny decided against.  There was the possibility that someone might start asking questions, or worse.  She put down the seemingly defective phone in frustration and decided to make a run for it. 

The phone rang beside her, causing her heart to skip a beat and nearly sent her jumping off the bed as it rang a second time, and then again a few seconds later.  On the fourth shrill ring, she picked up the phone.

“Yes,” was all she could think to say.

“This is the company operator,” a smooth voice whispered in her ear.  “Do you wish to make a call?" 

Jenny’s mind raced, trying to decide how to respond.

“Uh, no, we knocked the receiver off...accidentally.” She hoped the woman got the idea and indeed, there was a brief silence before the operator spoke again.

“Sorry to bother you," the voice said.  "Just pick up the receiver if you wish to make a call.”

Jenny let out a relieved breath as she set the phone back its cradle.  The woman on the phone had seemed nice enough and yet she just didn’t know who was involved in all this and who were simply local workers.  One thing
was
for sure; some dangerous people were going to be
very
unhappy when they found their president dead. 

She got off the bed and was halfway back to Jenel’s body when the phone rang once again.  She froze, then turned back.  She decided on a tact she’d learned as a NFL cheerleader when guys managed to get her number at hotels the cheerleading squad stayed at.

“What?” she forced her voice lower, hoping to sound irritated and impatient.

The caller, obviously not expecting such a response, hesitated before answering. 

“Yes, this is Vice President Jeffers.  Put Mr. Jenel on.”

“Call back in an hour, when we’re done!” Jenny slammed the phone down before Jeffers could respond. 

Though she didn’t know much about Jeffers, what she’d heard from Carol about her former boss had not been good.  His reputation had been one of cold, even cruel indifference.  Hopefully her ruse would stall him for at least a half hour and though tempted to call the police, Jenel’s comment about an informer convinced her otherwise. 

For several minutes she went over the building’s layout, mentally recalling the few times she’d visited Collin or more often, Carol.  A vague memory of her husband leaving her at the top of a restricted stairwell came back to her.  Collin had gone in to speak with Jenel and returned with an ear to ear grin.  If that stairwell led to this suite, all she had to do was head in the right direction, go up those same stairs to the main hallway and take the elevator to the front reception area. 

Encouraged, she slipped her sandals on and headed toward the door, almost missing the slight click as it unlocked and swung open wide.  

As if stepping into a child’s play house, the man who entered the room seemed an older, more mature version of Collin.  Easily as tall, he was however dressed in an Armani suit that seemed to diminish his towering height.  Jenel’s body caught the man’s attention as he was halfway through the door, halting his progress briefly before he continued into the suite and shut the door. 

“Well, Mrs. McKenny!”  Jeffers smiled wickedly.  “I thought that was you on the phone.”  Turning his eye toward the body at his feet, Jeffers kneeled with one leg and checked for a pulse, giving up after a few seconds and then stood to his feet.  “What happened?” 

“He...tried to rape me, so I kicked him in the balls,” Jenny faltered.  “Next thing I knew, he was dead.”

In a single motion, he swept toward her.  A moment later, Jenny found herself sprawled against the wingback chair, her right cheek growing numb while her left shoulder throbbed with increasing pain.

“Don’t lie to me, Mrs. McKenny!  No kick to the groin is going to take out a man like Jenel.  Now tell me what
really
happened.”

She pulled herself upright and began to shake her head, but quickly stopped as pain lanced through her neck and shoulder. 

“What is it with all you big guys?  Are all of you paranoid?” 

He moved toward her.  “Perhaps I wasn’t clear...!”

Regretting her flippant tone, Jenny scrambled painfully away from the approaching behemoth.  “Look, I told you the truth!  Check his body for injuries if you don’t believe me.”

This briefly halted his onslaught as Jeffers turned, looked back at Jenel's body before facing Jenny once more.

“That you killed my boss is of little sorrow to me, Mrs. McKenny.  However, since the police are already on the way, I do need to know how you killed him.  So I will ask you one more time, how did you kill Jenel?” 

It was clear nothing short of a morbid confession would satisfy the man. Forcing herself to her feet, Jenny braced herself to run.

“All right, Mrs. McKenny.”  Jeffers stepped back to where Jenel’s body lay near the door. “If you won’t tell me how he died, I’ll come up with a story myself.  After all,” he said, pulling out a small gun and pointed at his former boss. “You can’t be charged with causing a heart attack, no matter how good a screw you were.”

“That’s not a good idea,” an unfamiliar voice called through the open sliver of door.

“Detective Hana,” Jeffers said, turning to face the  newcomer as he pushed the door open wide.  "Glad you could make it so soon.” 

Dressed in jeans, tennis shoes and a beach style shirt, the man who stepped into the suite wore long blond hair which easily matched Jenny's in length. 

“You made it pretty clear to get her fast.  I happened to be close by when you called.”  He continued walking till he stood over Jenel’s form.

“Yes, well,” Jeffers stood back slightly as the detective kneeled down beside the body.  “With Jenel dead, a unique opportunity has been provided us; one that will afford great maneuverability within JenelCo,
if
we act promptly.” 

Hana smirked, clearly amused.

“If you want to make this look like a murder, that’s fine.  But you’ve to do it so ballistics see what you want them to.  Putting a bullet in his chest like you were about to do,” his tone grew sarcastic, “will only raise more questions than it answers.”  

Jeffers’ body grew rigid as he stared down at the smirking cop.

“Mr. Hana, have you already forgotten that I will be the new president of JenelCo?  Don’t get on my bad side before I even take the job.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” The cop looked up at Jenny  the smirk now gone.  “What happened?  How’d he die?”

She leaned forward in the chair but quickly regretted it, wincing at the pain in her shoulder.

“Like I told the sadist here, Jenel tried to rape me, so when I got the chance I kicked him where it hurt most.  Next thing I knew, he was dead.” 
No use telling these creeps Jenel had succeeded,
she thought.

Hana nodded, then began poking and prodding at Jenel's body for a minute before he lifted an eyelid for a few seconds.  Hana rose to his feet and gestured toward the body at his feet. 

“From the excess saliva and the burst blood vessels in his pupils, I’d say she was telling the truth.  My guess is a heart attack.  Do you know if he had a heart condition?” 

“Not that I’m aware of,” Jeffers pondered silently, eyeing Jenny, then glanced at her legs, almost admiringly. “That must have been quite some kick.”  

Hana rose once again to his feet and walked back to where Jenny sat and Jeffers stood looking on. 

“Yeah, well,"  he said.  "It doesn’t matter now.  A bullet will hide most signs of a heart attack.”  He walked over to Jeffers and held out his hand. “Give me the gun, then bring the body to the bed.” 

Jeffers' face grew red before angrily tossing the gun toward the cop.  Jenny stared open mouthed as Jeffers picked up his old boss with one arm, then easily strode across the room and tossed him facedown onto the bed.

“Turn him over," Hana said.  "Then strip him to his underwear.”

Fire flashed in Jeffers’ eyes.

“You
forget
who is in charge here, Hana. If there’s to be stripping of a dead body,
you
will be the one to do it,
not I
.”

The detective shrugged, placed the gun beside the corpse and began pulling Jenel's shoes and socks off. 

“I just thought that if we were in such a fucking hurry, somebody your size could do this a lot quicker.”  Jeffers responded only by walking over to the small make shift desk on the other side of the bed.             

Jenny forced herself, despite the pain to stand to her feet.  From past experience, she knew her shoulder was probably dislocated, perhaps even broken.  The right side of her face was blue with bruises. 

Unsteady on her feet, she reached for the edge of the chair.

“So you’re the guy Jenel bragged about.” 

“The big dick talked about me, huh?” Hana said, sounding pleased as he unbuttoned the slacks, then tugged them past the buttocks until they were off.  “And what kind words did he have for me?”

“Just that he’d bought you.  Had you in his back pocket, no doubt for situations like this.”  Walking slowly to the bed’s other side, Jenny inched closer to the gun each time Hana looked away.

Hana began wrestling Jenel’s shirt off.

“I prefer to think they’ve bought my services and because of that, we’ve developed a relationship of give and take,” he replied with an almost bored tone, rolling the body onto its stomach.  The shirt, now freed from the arms was tossed onto the floor and with another grunt, Hana returned the near naked figure of Jenel to its original facedown position.

Jenny was only a foot or so from the gun when Hana reached over and gripped her injured shoulder, causing her cry out. 

“Back away from the gun or next time I won’t be so gentle.” 

Holding her arm in the other like a makeshift sling, she watched as Hana picked up the gun and began screwing a silencer onto its end.  

Tightening the silencer, Hana waved Jeffers toward the body.

“I need him leaning against the headboard, as if he was sitting up after screwing.”  If Jeffers had a comment at this, he kept it to himself and moved the body upright with little trouble. 

With the aid of several pillows, the former CEO soon looked as if he was catnapping and the smile from both men sent a chill through Jenny.

“Very good, Hana.  Now what?”

Without replying, Hana stood directly in front of the bed and squatted down to roughly Jenny’s height.  Silence began to build within the room as he aimed at the bare chest, laid out like a human bull's-eye until Jenny thought she couldn’t take it any longer.  She looked from the body to the gun, saw it jump slightly and heard the short ricochet-like sound which emanated from the silencer-enabled weapon.  Her attention returned to the body and she found a surprisingly small wound just to the right of Jenel's chest, along with a trail of blood seeping downward.