Finder's Fee (7 page)

“Why not?”

“A professional could follow us and we'd never know it. This guy has resources. If he wanted us followed he'd use a team, not just one man or woman. They'd take turns keeping an eye on us.”

“It concerns me that you know this stuff.”

“I told you, I'm paranoid.”

“Any doubt of that is gone. You have paranoid down pat.”

His laugh was forced. “If you're not paranoid, Judith, then you haven't been paying attention. My biggest failing in life is that I haven't been paranoid enough.”

The sense of discomfort welling up in Judith made her wonder if mistrust was contagious. After all that had happened this morning, paranoia was no longer an irrational fear. In fact, it might be the most rational emotion she could have.

Luke directed the Volvo from the freeway and aimed for the Ontario International Airport.

W
here is she?” Marlin Find entered the room like a runaway ship enters port.

Terri jumped. “You scared me.”

“I asked you a question, woman.” Terri could see the red of Marlin's face creeping up his forehead. He was a hurricane in an expensive suit.

Terri stood. “I can only give you the same answer as before: I don't know. And the name is Terri, not woman.”

The last statement took Marlin by surprise. Normally passive in personality, Terri never spoke harshly to those higher up the food chain than she.

“What's my last name?” Marlin finally managed. The red of his face moved toward crimson.

“What?”

“My last name.”

Terri suspected a trick. “Find.”

A cold, threatening smirk crossed Marlin's face. “As in Find, Inc.?”

“Yes, Mr. Find, as in Find, Inc.”

“If you value your job you'll lose the attitude.”

Terri struggled to keep her mouth shut. Something was wrong and she knew it. Judith had left in a hurry, left her car at Hutch's which Terri had to pick up, and now had been out of touch for a couple of hours. Marlin's entrance and anger had thrown a new type of fear in the stew of emotions churning in her. The wise course would be to remain quiet and see what the oaf had to say. Instead …

“My boss is Judith. As it turns out, her last name is Find as well. Come to think of it, she's your boss too, isn't she?”

Marlin's jaw tightened. “Have you or have you not been in contact with my stepmother?”

“I had a call about two hours ago. Nothing since. I tried calling her but couldn't get through.”

“Do you know why you couldn't get through? Because our cell phone account is in the tank. My cell phone doesn't work and neither does anyone else's. That's a bit strange don't you think?”

Terri didn't answer. Of course it was strange. Worse, it wrung a large measure of fear from her. She retrieved her purse, snatched her company cell phone, and dialed her desk number. Instead of ringing she got a message that the call could not be completed. She closed the flip phone.

“Can you tell me what is going on?” Marlin crossed his arms.

“I don't deal with the cell phones.”

“I mean about Judith. Where is she? Why can't we reach her? Is there something going on I need to know about?”

Terri lowered her head and then shook it. “I don't know anything, but I'm getting worried. Very worried.”

“If you ask me, it's your boss who should be worried.”

Terri didn't have the stomach to argue. Anything she said might encourage the leech to stay. “If she calls, I'll tell her you're looking for her.”

“And you had better call me right away. I want to know the moment she makes contact.”

Terri made no commitment. “Is there anything else, Mr. Find?”

“Just remember your place in this firm. Better yet, remember my place. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go fix this cell phone problem. Before this is all over, I may have to have all the books audited. No telling what other bills have gone unpaid.”

Terri felt relief as Marlin marched from the office. She was sure he felt that he had put her in her place, but all he had done was increased her resentment of him.

Judith had been gone a short time by most measures. A couple of hours was nothing in a full work day, but Judith never went anywhere without letting Terri know her destination, and when she was gone, she checked in frequently.

Terri had no facts for this, but she knew, just knew, that her boss, her friend, was in deep trouble and there was nothing she could do about it. She began to pray.

T
he aircraft rested on the tarmac just outside the private rental hanger. The sleek, white-and-blue paint scheme never failed to impress Judith. She flew in the Cessna Citation Sovereign about three times a month. Other Find, Inc., execs used it as frequently to woo major distributors, wine and dine key clients, reward designers and suppliers. Nothing made an executive feel more important than being given a ride in a multimillion-dollar aircraft.

Luke parked in a small lot adjacent to the hangar, repacked his computer in its case, locked the car, and stared at it for a moment. Judith now knew enough of the man to know that he was worried that someone would tamper with his car. There was no way to keep an eye on the vehicle while flying at several hundred miles per hour. She thought she saw him sigh as he approached her and the two pilots who waited at the steps that led to the jet.

“Saying good-bye to your baby?” Judith asked.

“You know what I was doing.” He studied the aircraft then the two pilots.

“This is Captain Tim Nelson our pilot and Larry Takita his first officer.”

The pilot stood tall and trim. The gray tint in his hair spoke of a man of advancing years. Still he held himself with a military bearing. Larry Takita looked to be in his late twenties. He bore the attractive, smooth features of Japanese men.
Both men nodded at Luke. Both wore white shirts and blue pants, uniforms of the modern pilot.

“It's a pleasure to have you aboard with us today, Mr. Becker.” The captain extended his hand and Luke took it and gave it a brief shake.

Luke looked at Judith and she answered before he could ask. “Many times. There are two crews for this flight. This crew is assigned to me, the CFO, CIO, and senior VPs.

“Is there a problem?” Nelson asked, eyeing Luke.

Judith gave her best smile. “No, Captain. Mr. Becker is a nervous flier.”

“I understand.” Nelson could have been a diplomat, Judith decided. “We expect no problems on the flight. The bird is fresh from a full ser vice and the weather is clear. We'll have you up and back on the ground safely before you know it.”

“Did you know that most airline disasters occur after routine maintenance? Some mechanic forgets a screw for this or a bolt for that and the next thing you know the impellers break loose of the engine cowling and come ripping into the cabin.” Luke didn't wait for the answer. He fast-stepped up the stairs.

The captain turned to Judith and raised an eyebrow. Judith just shrugged.

Fifteen minutes later they were in the air and banking in a wide arc to the north. Judith watched the ground recede. Below she could see the I-10 and I-15 freeways, the San Gabriel Mountains green with spring rains. Large buildings shrunk to tiny boxes. Wisps of clouds decorated the air.

The cabin could seat eight passengers in two groups of four. The seats were soft, with white and brown leather. A green, custom weave carpet covered the deck, and unlike the plain white interior of most aircraft, the bulkheads were covered
in a blue and white vinyl decorative covering. Judith's design tastes were not limited to homes and commercial buildings.

They remained silent as the craft climbed through the air. Some air turbulence over the mountains made the small jet bounce, but the rough ride ended a minute or two later.

Luke broke the silence. “Ever been to Fresno?”

Judith said, “No. I've flown over it a few times but have never had a reason to go there.”

“Me either.” He seemed distracted.

“What's on your mind?”

Luke fidgeted and looked out the window.

“I was only joking when I called you a nervous flier,” Judith confessed.

“A joke to you; a fact for me. I hate flying.”

Judith gave a reassuring smile. “I'm starting to sense that. Bad experience?”

He nodded. “A commuter flight out of Asheville to Atlanta. We hit cruising speed and altitude. The pilot switched off the seat belt sign. I unfastened my belt. Ten minutes later we hit a pocket of bad air. The plane dropped a thousand feet before leveling off. The sudden drop sent me flying from my seat. I smacked my head on the overhead luggage rack. I gave up flying.”

“Yet here you are.”

“Not by choice.” He frowned. “I don't suppose this thing has a printer in it.”

“It does.” Judith reached down and to her right and pulled a thin mahogany table with a thick bar-top finish from a recess in the bulkhead. The table pivoted into place and a metal knee bracket locked it into place.

“Clever.” Luke reached for his computer.

“One doesn't spend millions for an aircraft like this without getting the kind of necessities business execs need. There's a USB cable to your left. Pull it from its holder and plug it into your computer.”

“All the luxury a corporate warrior could want.” The sarcasm was clear.

“A company jet is not just luxury, Luke. When you pay an exec mid to high six figures, you don't want him cooling his heels in some airport lobby waiting on the mercy of the airlines to get him back and forth to meetings. More than that — and you of all people should appreciate this — is the security issue. The jet allows us to keep execs safe and the material they carry safe. It's an ugly world out there.”

“You're preaching to the choir about the ugliness of the world.” He set his computer on the table. “I don't see the printer.”

“It's up by the galley. It would just be in the way in the cabin. It's a color ink-jet. Will that work for you?”

“Perfect. This will take a moment.”

“We've got less than an hour before we arrive in Fresno. I wonder …”

“What?” Luke leaned back as he waited for the computer to boot up.

“Our cell phones have been cut off but — ” She nodded to a green telephone handset that sat snug in a cradle in the bulkhead.

Luke pursed his lips. “It might. Is it on the same cell carrier as your phone?”

“No. I'm going to try.”

“I wouldn't. Even if our — employer — has thought of that or couldn't cut it off, he would certainly have your company
phone tapped, or have bugs placed in your office and that of your assistant.”

“If I don't call in, my assistant will slowly go nuts. Sooner or later, she's going to call the police assuming I'm hurt or have been abducted.”

“I think he wants us cut off from everyone.”

“Frankly, I don't much care what he wants. He's not our friend, Luke; he's our problem. I'll do what I have to do to protect myself. I've gone this far because I have yet to figure a way out of this, but I will not be his puppet.”

“We are already his puppets. That began when we answered the phone.”

“So you plan to just go along like a sheep following some sadistic shepherd?”

“Don't start with me. This morning I was a happy recluse sitting at my computer reading blogs and juggling investments. Now I'm a refugee fleeing my past and on a mission to save a boy who might not even exist. For now we move with caution.”

“We do? You calling the shots now?”

“What?”

Judith knew from his expression that he understood her. “What is it with men? Do you think this is some movie where a man and woman are teamed up and the man makes all the hard decisions because the woman is just too frail or stupid to make the right choices?”

“I said nothing like that. Sheesh, get over yourself, woman. It's your life, your jet, your phone, do what you want. Do you want me to step outside while you call?”

Judith started to snap back but the image of Luke stepping outside a jet traveling four hundred miles an hour and thirty thousand feet above the earth tickled her. She swallowed the
laugh but couldn't hide the smile. She grabbed the phone before Luke could comment and dialed her office number.

Seconds ticked by at glacial speed. Judith was about to hang up when the crackly ringing gave way to a familiar voice.

“Find, Inc., Judith Find's office, this is Terri, how may I help you?”

“Terri. It's Judith.”

“Ms. Find? I've been worried.”

Ms. Find? She only called Judith that in the presence of others. Someone must be in the front office with her. “Terri. I had to make a sudden trip and won't be in the office this afternoon — ”

A loud pop stabbed Judith's ear and she almost dropped the phone. The pain faded in the thundering pounding of her heart as she heard Terri scream.

The line died.

W
e have to turn around!” Judith released her seat belt and shot to her feet, then thought about what she was doing. She could contact the captain through the handpiece she held a moment ago. That was one of the reasons it was there. She reseated herself and reached for the phone.

A hand stopped her.

“Wait,” Luke said. “Tell me what happened.”

“I have to tell the pilot to turn us around.”

“In a second; first tell me what happened.”

Judith felt fury rise in her. She didn't like explaining herself under normal conditions; stress made her all the more obstinate. She jerked her hand away. “I'm telling you something's wrong.”

“I'm not arguing with you. I'm trying to understand.”

She clenched her jaw then let it relax. Reason pushed and shoved against the fear that clouded her judgment. “I heard something. A loud pop, then Terri screamed.”