Finder's Fee (24 page)

“That's exactly what you're doing.”

“I don't need the likes of you to lecture me, woman. I'm calling out of courtesy. By the way, I've had the phones replaced in your office and in Judith's. They're ringing off the hook. Someone should come in and field those calls.”

“I'm hanging up now.” Terri closed the phone and tossed it on the table. Raising her hands to her face she covered her eyes and fought back the tears. She no longer knew what to do or what to think. Confusion soaked her mind and soul. Judith was a strong woman, a determined woman, impossible to intimidate, but she was not capable of murder … was she?

Despite her best efforts, the pressure inside needed, demanded release. A silent sob slipped from her lips, then another.

A hand touched her shoulder.

A moment later, she wept in her mother's arms like she had as a child too many decades before.

The coffee shop was on the first floor of a two-story building that helped make up the U-shaped set of buildings filled with shops and stores all designed to attract the eye of tourists. Judith kept a lookout, watching carefully every shopper and patron that passed by. Luke had pulled in a parking stall that fronted the walkway at the front of the shop. He opened his computer and rested it on the steering wheel. He found what he was looking for: an open Internet portal.

“So the coffee shop has free wireless Internet access?”

“Nope,” Luke said. “But the real estate office two doors down does.”

“Someone should talk to them about security.” Judith could see into the shop through the open door. Ida had taken
Abel to the back to use the bathroom. Now she bought coffee for herself, Judith, and Luke. She did so at Luke's request. Not because he thought they needed coffee but because he didn't want the employees remembering Ida as the woman who just used the bathroom but didn't buy anything.

Judith thought it a wise precaution especially since the coffee shop had few customers. One of those customers looked like a high school student who had decided to take the day off. He sat at one of the outside tables smoking, a white iPod resting on the metal bistro table and earbuds crammed into his ears. He bobbed his head to music only he could hear.

“I've got an idea.” Judith reached for her purse and removed a small wallet. “I'll be right back.”

“You should stay in the car,” Luke said, his eyes still glued to the computer monitor. “Less chance you'll be noticed.”

“Yeah. I know.” She exited anyway and walked to the boy. He wore jeans that looked ready for their first wash in months and a black shirt with a stylized skull on it and the name of some band Judith didn't bother to read. His coal black hair, which Judith assumed was a dye job, hung in clumps. As she approached she could see that the teenager wore makeup that made his lips look dark and his skin pale.

She took the empty seat on the opposite side of the table. “Hey, kid. You want to make twenty bucks?”

He looked up at her but didn't respond. Judith's nerves had worn her patience paper-thin. She reached across the table, took hold of the wire leading from the iPod to the earphones, and gave a good yank. They popped out and fell to the table.

“Hey, watch it, you crazy — ”

“I asked you if you wanted to make twenty bucks.”

He studied her for a second then gave a leering grin. “What ya got in mind?”

“Wipe the smile off your face, Goth boy, or I'll do it for you. Do you have a cell phone?”

He sobered. “What if I do?”

“I'll give you twenty to let me make one call.”

“No way. You'll call China or something.”

“No, I won't. You have my word.”

“Yeah, like that means something to me.”

Judith clenched her jaw. “Should you be in school right now?”

“What are you, a truant officer? They don't want me in that place anyway. I'm too bad for their sensitive eyes.”

“Are you going to let me use your phone or do I go to the cop car I saw down by the McDonald's and tell them you've been causing trouble? I'm betting they've met you before.”

“Maybe once or twice, but I ain't done nothing but buy a double latte. And yes, I paid for it.”

“Who do you think they're going to believe: you or me? Twenty bucks, one phone call, and I stay right here at the table.”

“Twenty ain't much money these days, lady.”

“Forty then, and that's it.”

“I don't know. I mean forty is pretty good — ”

“We're back to twenty.”

“Okay, okay.” He pulled a small phone from his pocket. It looked as dirty as his jeans. The thought of pressing it to her ear made Judith sick. “Let's see the cash.”

Judith opened her billfold and extracted two twenties and exchanged them for the phone.

She dialed. Terri picked up on the third ring. “Terri?”

“Judith! I didn't recognize the caller ID. Oh, I've been so worried. Marlin just called. Everything is falling apart. I don't know what to do.”

“He called you on this number?”

“Yes. I don't know how he got it.”

“Maybe through my computer. Maybe he got my call list from the cell phone provider. Who knows? There's probably a dozen ways.”

“They're saying … I mean the news … Marlin …”

“Terri, listen. I don't have much time. I'm using a borrowed phone. First know that what you're hearing is wrong. Second, I want you to return to work. I may need you there.”

“Marlin's planning a takeover. I'm sure of it. Can he do it? Can he really do it?”

“Maybe. It's happened to others. I'm certainly not immune.”

“But if I go to the office, the police will certainly come and question me.”

“That's all right, Terri. Tell them what you know. Tell them the truth. Also tell them that I will be in touch with them as soon as I can. I want you to do several things. First of all, you need to get the phones in our two offices replaced — ”

“Marlin has already done that.”

“Well, score one for him. I want you to go see Jim Gaines and tell him everything you know. Tell him I want him to be present if the — ” She looked at the Goth kid. “If
they
come by to ask questions. If he needs to bring in … help, tell him to do so.”

“Why do I need the company lawyer?”

“It's a precaution, Terri. I also want you to do something else. You have to promise you will listen and not interrupt.”

There was a pause. “Okay, I promise.”

“When you talk to Jim, tell him that I'm installing you on the board. He is to draw up the necessary papers right away. Also, I want him to draw up docs that will transfer all my stock to you. Understood?”

“Judith, this is crazy.”

“Yeah, it is, but it's all I can do.”

“Won't you have to sign something?”

Judith sighed. “Probably. See what he says. Find a way around it. I can't come in and sign right now. I'll figure something out.”

“Um, Judith. What if he doesn't believe me? I mean, transferring stock; he's going to think I'm trying to rip you off.”

Judith hadn't thought of that.

“Come on, lady. You're wasting my battery.” The kid reached for the phone. Judith pulled away.

“One more minute.” Judith's mind sprinted between possibilities, then settled. “If he does, say to him, ‘Judith asked me to bring up Everwood.' Got that?”

“What's Everwood?”

“You don't need to know and if he asks, assure him I told you nothing other than the name. I gotta go. I'm sorry to put all this on you. Whatever you hear, Terri, remember, I didn't do it.”

She hung up and set the phone on the table, then walked away.

P
ennington, normally a man of cultivated discipline, felt a strange disquiet deep inside. The children, each one
with shocking lavender eyes, stared at him as if they could not only see through his clothing but count every bone, trace every vein, and outline each nerve. Worse, he felt they could read his soul like a comic book.

His years of experience, honed first as a field agent for the CIA and then, after the bureaucrats summarily fired him, as security expert for the largest firms and business interests in the world, had prepared him for anything. He learned to work for any company that could afford him. Their politics mattered nothing to him as long as they paid his exorbitant fees and didn't ask too many questions. He had a mental closet full of skeletons he never allowed to haunt him. Such a haunting required a conscience and that had been burned from his mind long ago.

Still … their eyes … their quiet nature … their unblinking focus on him.

“What's wrong with them?” Pennington looked to Ernie. The children ranged in age from six to eight. Their hair color varied but was similar enough to indicate common stock.

“Beats me. We've been here a week waiting for each kid to arrive and this is as excited as they get. Sometimes they wander in the field, but most of the time they just sit in groups and stare. Sometimes they whisper to each other. To be honest, Mr. Pennington, it freaks me out.”

“Abel was the same way. We gave him video games to play and he never touched them.”

“Abel? Is that the last kid? The one you were supposed to bring?”

“Yeah. We encountered a little problem.”

Ernie let his eyes drift to the blue knot on Pennington's head.

“Don't ask. Who else knows they're here?”

“No one. Just Jose, me, and you. I followed your instructions to the letter. Your operatives would bring their target, er,
child to a park at the foot of the mountain. I'd check to make certain the kid was unharmed, pay the agent, and bring the child here.”

“What about your drunken brother?”

“No, sir. Absolutely not. He was supposed to pick you up and drive you here, turn around, and leave. Then and only then would he get paid, and he sure ain't getting paid now.”

“Jose was supposed to drive the bus.”

“No problem, sir. I'm checked out on big rigs. Driving that bus won't be much of a problem.”

Pennington gazed back at the lavender-eyed gazers. They hadn't moved other than to turn their heads to face him. The creep factor climbed a notch. He looked at his watch. “We leave in an hour.”

“Yes, sir. What about the missing boy?”

“Not your concern. Be ready to go when I say.”

“Understood.”

Pennington began to turn when a motion caught his eye. A girl, hair the color of licorice, slipped from her spot on one of the benches. Her frame was frail, her eyes large, her lips full, and her skin pale. She walked with the tiny strides of a child two years younger. For some reason, Pennington's feet were welded to the floor.

Pennington didn't like children and had been uncertain around them all his life. He fought the urge to step back as if recoiled by her presence.

She stopped a foot away and looked up to his face that was three feet above her. “Mister?”

“Yes?” Pennington's word came out softer than he intended.

“You got evil on you. Lots of evil.”

If Judith's heart had been made of steel instead of flesh, it would have melted under the heat of fear that came upon her when her cell phone rang. The familiar chiming alarmed her so much that she screamed.

“I thought that thing was out of commission!” Anger born of the unexpected sound fueled Luke's words.

“It was. Just like yours.” Judith's heart stuttered.

It chimed again. She pulled it from her purse and looked at the caller ID.
Unknown Call.

As the phone sounded the third time, Judith snapped it open. She heard a voice and everything within her began to dissolve.

“You have the boy.” It was the same automated voice she had heard in her office. “He is not safe. You must do as I say. If you understand say, ‘Yes.' ”

“Yes.” Judith said.

Luke snapped his head around so fast Judith thought she heard vertebrae snap. He pulled the car to the side of the road. “It's him, isn't it?”

Judith nodded and leaned toward Luke. He placed his ear by the phone as Judith pressed a button on the side to increase the volume. She could feel his hair touch hers.

“Ontario Mills Mall. Jake and Jill's Toy Store. Bring the boy. Just the two of you. Lead him to the toy train display. If you understand say, ‘Yes.' ”

“Yes.” Judith had to force the word out. It slipped from her lips with a tremble.

“A woman will take him. He will be safe and well cared for. Do not follow. Do not speak to the woman. If you understand say, ‘Yes.' ”

“Yes.”

“February 27. You know the date. You know what you did. If you understand say, ‘Yes.' ”

“Yes.”

“Arrive no later than one-thirty. This is for the boy's own good. “If you understand say, ‘Yes.' ”

“Yes.”

The line went dead.

“What?” Ida asked. “What's wrong?”

“The Puppeteer.” Judith set the phone down and drew in a lungful of air. “He wants Abel.”

“He can't have him.” Ida's voice grew in volume and rose in pitch. “Do you hear me? I am not turning my son over to some stranger. I lost him once, I'm not losing him again.”

“Ida — ” Luke began.

“It's not your right.” Ida was close to screaming. “Just because you found him doesn't mean you own him.”

“Ida — ”

“We're leaving. I'm not going to let you do this.”

Luke hit the automatic door lock. Ida began to fumble with the handle then the lock.

“Ida, stop.”

“No. I'll scream. I'll draw attention to you.”

“SHUT UP!” Luke's voice echoed so loudly in the car that it hurt Judith's ear. “Just shut up for a minute.” He worked his hands on the steering wheel, squeezing until his knuckles whitened. A moment later, he leaned forward and placed his head on the wheel. “I can't do this, Judith. I can't turn Abel over to the Puppeteer. I thought I could. Every hour I tell myself I can, I must. I can't.”