Finder's Fee (11 page)

“Aneurism on the descending aorta. It gave way. One minute Allen was alive; the next he was dead in his office. The doctors said, short of having him on the operating table at the time of the event, nothing could be done.”

Ida nodded in understanding. “Coronary. Ed went to bed one night and never woke up.”

Mist invaded Judith's eyes. She had told the truth about the pain never fully going away.

A few moments later, Ida spoke. “I don't know what to do, what to think, who to trust. I'm afraid to leave my home in case Abel returns.”

“And the police have no leads?” Luke asked.

“Police? I can't call the police. They warned me not to. I know what those people are like.”

“What people, Ida?” Judith waited. Ida's head lowered.

“I can't talk to you about it. I'm not supposed to discuss it with anyone. That was part of the deal.”

“Excuse me for being blunt, Mrs. Palek,” Luke said, inching to the edge of his seat. “It seems to me they broke the deal when they took Abel.”

“Do you think they will hurt him?” Judith asked.

“No. I don't think so. He's too important. Too expensive.”

“Expensive?”

She blanched. “I've said too much. If you don't know where he is, you shouldn't be here.”

“You had better tell her,” Luke said.

“Tell me what?”

Judith took a breath. “I don't know how to explain this, but this morning both Luke and I received a message saying that we should find Abel … and that he might be in danger.”

Judith thought Ida would melt into the pattern of the sofa. “I still don't understand. Why you? Who called? Do they know where Abel is?”

“I'm afraid I don't know. We were told not to go to the police; that doing so might end anger Abel's life. So we haven't. Later we received some computer files — Luke, let me have the printouts.”

“They're in the rental car. I'll have to go get them.” Luke rose and hustled out the front door.

“Is he your new husband?” Ida wondered.

Judith almost laughed. “No. We just met this morning.”

She looked puzzled. “Yet you've teamed up to find a boy you don't know?” The mask of puzzlement turned to suspicion.

“I know it's too much to believe. I hardly believe it myself.” Judith decided not to reveal the rest of the incentive — keeping a secret hidden she long believed was dead.

Luke felt a sense of relief as he stepped from the house and onto the porch. The house seemed oppressive, dark, and truth be told, he didn't know how to deal with weeping women. It wasn't that he had a heart of coal, he told himself, but that he was born a male and most men found tear-bearing women a frightening mystery.

Wasting no time, Luke descended the few steps that bridged the distance from walkway to porch deck, walked to the curb where he had parked the rental, popped the trunk, and removed his laptop bag, slipping the strap over his shoulder.

As he pushed the trunk of the sedan closed, a movement caught his eye. Ida Palek's home rested in a cozy, tree-lined neighborhood, a gentrified community manicured and maintained less and less by an aging population and more and more by young, double-income families trying to get a foothold in the housing market by buying older homes.

The curbs were clear of parked cars except one two houses down and across the street. Glare on the windshield masked the occupant, but Luke could see that someone sat behind the wheel. He wasn't sure what motion had grabbed his attention, but Luke knew it was some kind of movement, like a man quickly setting something down.

Luke looked at Ida's house then back to the car — a straight line of sight. While some men might deny their neuroses, Luke embraced his. A long train of possibilities rumbled through his mind. None of them good. Had he been listening to them? Following them? Was he waiting for back up?

Of course, he may be a part-time father picking up a child for his share of custody. Then again …

Luke decided to take a chance. Readjusting the strap of the computer bag, he stepped into the street and marched to the car, his eyes glued to the driver.

Every step seemed a mile's journey, but Luke pressed on against the tide of fear that urged him to flee. After five steps down the street he could better see the man: sandy, short-clipped hair, square jaw, weasel eyes. The last part was a
prejudged opinion of Luke's, who already knew he didn't like the guy in the car.

The driver's side window was open and Luke approached like he had no cares. The man shuffled things on the seat as Luke neared, clearly hiding something.

“Excuse me, pal.” Luke stepped as close to the door as possible to prevent the man from opening it. He laid a hand over the slot that held the retracted window placing his hand on the door lock. He pressed the lock down. “I'm here visiting my Aunt Ida and I want to take her someplace special for dinner, but since this is my first time to Fresno, I don't know where the good places are. Can you recommend a spot?”

Luke looked past the man and saw a large, aluminum case on the passenger seat, the kind used to hold electronic or camera equipment. This guy wasn't waiting for his child.

“Sorry. I don't eat out much.” His voice was an octave higher than Luke expected. The man wore a tan sport coat over a black colorless shirt. Luke took note of the large bulge on the left side. The guy was packing.

“Really? Dining out is one of life's great pleasures. Sure you don't have a favorite restaurant?”

“Beat it, buddy. I told you I don't eat out.”

Luke took a step back and raised his hands as if surrendering. “Okay, okay. Take it easy. It's only a question.”

Turning, Luke walked away, his back to the man in the car. With every step, his spine tingled like spiders had taken up residence just under his skin. Luke waited for the burning sensation of being shot in the back. It never came. He trotted up the stairs and back into the house.

Closing the door, he raised a finger to his lips. A television rested on the far wall of the living room opposite the sofa. He turned it on and raised the volume.

“What are you doing?” Judith asked.

Again, Luke raised a finger to his lips. He crossed the room, placed his mouth by Judith's ear, and said, “We have to go — right now.”

I
da was confused and frightened. Judith couldn't blame her. A pair of strangers had come to her home and in less than twenty minutes insisted that she flee with them out the back door. At first, she insisted on getting dressed, but Luke insisted that any delay could be disastrous. Two minutes later, Ida had shown them the back door which they used.

Carrying a wad of Ida's clothing under one arm and a pair of size six shoes in her hand, Judith led the other two out the back door, through the rear yard, and to a gate that led to Ida's neighbors — people she said would be gone this time of day.

“I don't want to seem ungrateful, but why is there a gate to your neighbor's yard?” Luke brought up the rear.

“We're friends,” Ida said just above a whisper. “We used to barbecue together. They both work. No one is home.”

The conversation ended there. Judith opened the gate and stepped through, hoping the Joneses or whatever their names were didn't have a dog. They didn't. What they did have was a garden shed — more importantly, an unlocked shed. Luke pointed to it and the three slipped inside.

The shed smelled of fertilizer, the gas and oil of a lawn-mower and the stale air of a poorly ventilated space no larger than a walk-in closet in a midsized home.

“Okay, Ida, change as quickly as you can. Running around in a gown and robe might attract attention.”

“Um, Luke …” Judith said.

“Come on, come on. I think we're in trouble here.”

Ida didn't move.

“For being such a bright man, Luke, you can certainly be as dumb as a brick.”

Luke looked puzzled. “What?”

“I think Ida might like a little privacy.”

Judith watched Luke rub his face. “Okay, okay. But hurry. You stay with her.” Luke slipped outside.

“I don't want to leave.” Ida's voice reminded Judith of a frightened child. The poor woman had been through a meat grinder, no, was
still
in the meat grinder and now stood in a shed lit only by the light creeping in through the crack in the door.

“I know you don't, Ida, but something is terribly wrong. I trust Luke.” Judith began to sort through the clothing they had snatched before exiting the house. She hoped they had grabbed everything. In her hands were a pullover sweater, a pair of elastic band casual pants, white socks, and a pair of New Balance shoes.

Ida changed and Judith poked her head out the shed door. “Luke?”

“Yeah.” He appeared from the side yard. “You ready?”

“I guess so. Ida is reluctant to leave.”

“It doesn't matter. We have to go. It's unsafe for her to stay there. I'm an idiot. I should have thought of it earlier.”

Judith stepped out, Ida followed reluctantly. “Thought of what?”

“Not now. I'll explain later. Let's just get out of here.”

“But the car is in front of Ida's house. How are we going to get it?”

“We're not. That's what they're expecting.” Luke started back for the side yard.

“So help me, Luke, if all this is the result of your uncontrolled paranoia, I'm going to sic the FBI, CIA, and NAS on you.”

“NSA not NAS, and they already know about me.”

The side yard led to the front of the house. Luke went through first, then motioned for the others to follow. The sidewalk was too narrow to allow them to walk three abreast. Judith chose to stay by Ida's side letting Luke follow a few paces behind, something he said allowed him to keep a better lookout.

Without turning around, Judith asked, “So what's the plan now?”

Luke's reply came quickly. “I think we should get back to the airport. We'll be much safer there. We can regroup and plan a better strategy. We passed a strip mall on the way in. It's only a few blocks. We can walk there and phone a cab, but we need to hurry.”

“Are you sure you're not just overreacting?”

“Let's see: A man sits in a car a few doors down — a rental car I might add — has a kit of electronic or photo equipment on the front seat and carries a gun in a shoulder holster, and he happens to be there the hour we arrive in Fresno. I'd call that suspicious.”

“How do you know all that?”

“I went over and talked to him. People who do surveillance never do that.”

Judith looked over her shoulder and caught him smiling with self-satisfaction. It irritated her.

“You walked up and spoke to him? Just crossed the street and said, ‘Howdy'?”

“It was the only way I could confirm my suspicion.”

“Did you see the photo equipment or the electronic gadgets?”

“No, they were in an aluminum case.” Luke's words had a sandpaper feel to them.

“How about the gun? Did you
actually
see the gun?”

“No. He had it hidden under his coat.”

Judith felt uncomfortable and angry. All of this could be Luke's overactive paranoia. She stopped and faced him.

“Keep moving,” he said.

“No. I think you just scared ten years off my life and for no good reason. Everything you've described can be explained in other ways. A man sits in a rental car. Well, you didn't see him until you went to
our
rental car to retrieve those printouts. He has an aluminum case on the front seat. So what? For all you know he has loan documents in there.”

“It wasn't that kind of case.” The smile had vanished.

“The point is you didn't confirm anything.”

Judith saw anger flare in Luke's eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but the words never came.

She felt it before the sound of it registered. The ground lurched and vibrated. A millisecond later the roar of an explosion assaulted her ears. She jumped then covered her head.

It ended as fast as it had come.

Silence inundated the area, broken only by the sound of birds leaving the branches of the trees as fast as they could.

“What was that?” Judith's ears were ringing. She turned in the direction of the sound. Black smoke and dust rose in the air.

“My house!”

Judith had expected a scream, but instead it came as a whimper.

Ida started back toward her home but Luke intercepted her, placed his arm on her shoulder, and said in soft but firm words, “You can't go back. It's not safe. We must keep moving.”

“My pictures, my papers, my …” Her voice thinned to nothing.

Judith started toward her, to comfort her, to take her in her arms and give the poor woman a chance to weep.

“Not here,” Luke said. “We're being watched.” He nodded across the street. A mother holding an infant stepped from the house and gazed to the column of smoke rising a short distance away. Another mother holding the hand of a screaming toddler stepped to her porch.

“Let's just continue walking. Calmly. Normally.”

“Her house just blew up, Luke, there's nothing normal about that.” Judith's heart rattled in her chest.

“I didn't say it was but the less attention we draw to ourselves the better.”

With his arm around Ida, Luke led the way. Judith followed a few paces behind and wondered how much worse things could get.

I
'm telling you, Dwayne, something is up at Find, Inc., and I don't mean draperies.” Karen Rose leaned forward in the
leather guest chair as if being closer to her boss's desk made her words more believable.

“You were told that Find wasn't in the office yet you connived your way past the receptionist and on to the executive floor. Is that right?”