I had to ask, “And the unofficial one?”
Llewellyn turned to me with a knowing little smirk.
“Nobody I know in the computer software business believes any of it.”
“Why’s that?”
Llewellyn leaned back in his chair. “Oh, the bones of the story are probably true, since the company existed for years before doing anything notable, but Sphere was a too good to be a true story. While Jeremy Tophanovich was a smart tech guy, Martin Delashay...was not. A number of people I know met him and came away believing he didn’t know a thing about software other than buzzwords. They were convinced he was a fraud. Then stories started circulating about Tophanovich and a man named Fyodor Denesova. The word going around was that Denesova was either the actual creator of the security program, or that he had stolen it from someone else. Later, the word was that Tophanovich and Denesova were one and the same, and once Tophanovich disappeared in Eastern Europe, so did Denesova. The story now is that all of it was a front, that it started as a money laundering scheme that, inadvertently, turned out to have some very good security features, or those were added later as a way to fend off any federal investigations into money laundering.”
“Laundering money for whom?” Like I didn’t know.
“I assume the usual, drugs, weapons, and sex trafficking.”
“And the reputation of Judith Delashay?”
I wanted to know; Llewellyn hesitated.
“Now this is what I’ve heard. I can’t say it’s true, but the story is that Mrs. Delashay was screwing around with Tophanovich and that it caused quite a rift within Sphere. I assume between Tophanovich and Delashay. Apparently, it produced a lot of gossip in the tech community as well. It was shortly after that that Tophanovich left for Europe. Evidently, Judith Delashay was quite a party girl. There were a number of rather salacious stories going around about her for some time. Like I said, I can’t personally say that they’re true. I don’t know her so I can only tell you what I’ve heard.” He moved a little in my direction, the curiosity compelling him. “You’ve met her?”
“Yes, I’ve met her. She’s a very interesting woman.”
Llewellyn seemed at a loss for words. “I heard she’s a very beautiful woman, that’s she’s active in the art’s scene now.”
“I heard that too,” straight from the woman herself.
Bernie, who hadn’t uttered a word, chimed in.
“Can I ask what you’re looking for informationally, Monk? Why the interest in this particular ménage a trois?”
I thought about it. “I don’t know at this point. I do think a lot of money may be involved, and it’s possible it has to do with Sphere and the Delashay’s. I don’t know what my part in it is other than trying to find Martin and Desiree. That’s why I’m trying to gather as much information as I can, so maybe it’ll become clear to me what’s going on.”
Bernie turned to Llewellyn. “What do you think?”
“Could be anything. Why don’t you let me take this tablet for a few days and I’ll see what I can do with it, and I’ll look into this group of yours, maybe see if I can dig a little deeper into the Sphere story. I know a person who’s more knowledgeable about that time.”
“Thanks. Llewellyn, we’ll be talking soon.” Bernie put his hand on Llewellyn’s shoulder.
“No problem.”
I said goodbye to Llewellyn as Bernie and I headed into the garage. Javier waved us over. He conferred with Bernie, who then turned to me. He was smiling like the Cheshire cat.
“The car is fine. Changed the oil, checked the brakes, didn’t find anything obviously wrong, but…” He let the “but” hang in the air. “It turns out you do have an uninvited guest behind your back fender.”
“Really?”
“And a far more sophisticated one on the inner frame.”
“So what should we do?”
“That, my friend, is up to you. I like to think it gives you a head’s up. You can remove them, but given the way one’s attached, it’ll alert whoever’s tracking you that you’re on to them, or you can leave it and use that knowledge for your own benefit.”
“What kind of devices are they?”
“One is a fairly simple locator; which means it’s tracked locally so whoever is watching you can’t let you too far out of sight. The other can be tracked by any number of mobile devices all the way up to a satellite. We didn’t find any listening devices, though, for what that’s worth.”
“I see…”
Bernie noted my agitation. “Why don’t we step into my office for a moment while Javier takes the car down from the lift.”
I dutifully followed him back through the garage to his front office. I looked at my watch. It was six-thirty. I sat down, as did Bernie.
“Life’s an interesting journey isn’t it, Monk?”
“It’s certainly going in that direction.” Too bad I didn’t know which direction.
“Care for a drink?”
I thought about Agnes. “Mind if I make a quick call first?”
“Not at all.”
I found my phone and pressed the magic numbers. I could hear her voice in my head. It didn’t match the one that answered.
“Yes?”
“Agnes?” My chest started to tighten.
“Yes…”
“Are you alright? I thought I might come over for a little while…”
“I don’t think so, Monk. I don’t feel very good. I think I’ll just go home and go to bed.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Tighter and tighter. “Get some rest and I’ll talk to you later, ok?”
“Ok.” That was that. The tightness migrated to my stomach. I put the phone away.
“I’ll take that drink now.”
“Matters of the heart?”
“Yeah.”
Bernie poured two drinks and we sat in silence nursing our bourbon. The last of the evening light was barely visible through the front door. Ethereal was a good word to describe its effect on the room, too bad it wasn’t working for me. Normally, I found such sights soothing and relaxing. Instead I was worried and tense. Something was wrong with Agnes and I was being followed. I guess it makes it easy to jump a guy if you know where he is all the time. The room was growing dark. Only the desk lamp shone. It occurred to me that Bernie might have a life outside of this garage. Javier came in with the keys and I thanked him.
“I think it’s time for me to work my way back home. Thanks for the help on such short notice, Bernie. What do I owe you?”
“Three should do it.” I reached in my pocket for the bills. “Monk…”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve learned over the years that sometimes where you’re going isn’t where you end up.”
“Is this about the job?”
“No, as far as the job goes, please watch your ass, it’s about matters of the heart.”
“Thanks.”
I handed him the money and was on my way to my safe little bungalow. Traffic was no better going than coming.
Once home, I parked the car in my usual spot. It was along the street just beyond the entrance to our group of bungalows. There was very little activity in the neighborhood. No kids running around. No dogs pursuing their freedom at the end of a leash. I had to wonder if I was such a dog. Someone was watching me, tethered to me. And the leashes were many, keeping me contained like an invisible fence. There was that sense of travel and time, but no real movement.
I had nothing to do.
Foolishly, I thought I’d be with Agnes tonight. Not so fast, cowboy. M
aybe her feet were getting cold now that she had time to think about it. She wouldn’t be the first woman I’d known to get them. That’s life. All this unexpected sex was going to my head. I was almost ready to tell myself I had a good thing going. But I was just running in circles, chasing this noise and that, never really having any idea where I was going.
The phone was ringing. I thought about throwing it out the window.
“Buttman?”
“That’s me.”
It was Jones. I’d almost forgotten about him. I got out of the car.
“What’s going on? Did you talk to Dahlia?”
“Yeah, I talked to her. Turned out she was concerned about me after she gave the goons my address. In other news, she implied that Desiree was worried about what I know about her killing Boyer and whether I know what she and Martin Delashay are up to. She did tell me more about Desiree’s kinky fan club, but beyond that it was fairly pointless. She left in a huff after I told her I appreciated her deep, deep interest in my welfare. I’m sure she’s involved one way or another.”
“What good does that do us?” I got the impression Mr. Jones was getting bored with our little enterprise.
“It means we need to keep looking for Desiree. I did talk to Delashay’s wife and she believes they might be at a place out along the beach somewhere. I think that’s the next step, finding this place.”
I took the gun out of the trunk and was walking towards the bungalows.
“And how do you think we should do that?” He was definitely bored.
As we were talking I noticed the front of the complex. It was amazing how much better the place looked. “I know a guy who is good with the Internet. He’s looking for info on this rider group. I think Delashay’s a part of it, so maybe there’s something there…”
The landscapers had laid a thick layer of compost under the plants. It was well groomed except for a spot by two tall bushes where there were footprints. At the bottom of the bush was a shoe. I reached into my pocket for the sap.
“…That we can…” I saw the shoe start to move.
They were back.
24
The first one threw a haymaker, but I ducked before he hit me. I swung the sap and smacked him in the back of the neck, sending him to the ground. The other guy rushed in, knocking the phone out of my hand as I struck the first guy. With balletic cat-like agility I tripped over the first guy with the second falling on me, right on my left side. I’m pretty sure I screamed. I wildly swung the sap at the second guy hitting him in the chin. It was his turn to cry out. As he reached for his jaw, I hit him in the balls. He screeched as he rolled over into the fetal position. I got up and kicked the two of them in the stomach, one after the other. I was in a blind rage, kicking and screaming. Both were moaning in agony, flopping around. The first on rolled onto his back. I got down on top of him with my knee on his throat.
“Who the fuck are you?”
He just stared at me with uncomprehending eyes. Stupid bastard! I got the impression this wasn’t their normal line of work, yet here he was stuck under my knee. I pressed down harder on his neck. I thought how easy it would be to kill him right now.
“Who sent you, motherfucker, who?” I continued to press down on his neck.
In a pinched little voice he said, “Derek, it was Derek.”
I got up and stomped on his gut. He started puking, just as the idiot next to him had. I kicked him again. He flopped over on his side. I could see the outline of the wallets in their back pockets. I pulled them out and looked at their licenses. Gordon and Arthur. Gordy was from Pasadena, Artie from Manhattan Beach.
I heard sirens. The cops were coming.
I put the wallets back, then kicked them both in the ass.
“The cops are almost here you stupid pieces of shit! Are you ready for that?”
Whatever strength they had got them up and moving. For good measure, I gave them both another boot to help them on their way. I put the sap back in my pocket. I’d forgotten I had the gun. They needed to go. I quickly hid the gun and sap behind a planter by my door then went back to where the fight happened. It was a good thing I’d forgotten about the gun. I would have shot the both of them. Then what? My face was wet, more blood. Another jacket, shirt, and pants to clean, but this time I made out ok. I wondered where the phone was. I was looking for it when the cops arrived. I sat down and put my hands up. I figured they were in no mood for antics and I had no interest in being shot. It was then that I realized how badly my hands were shaking.
The neighbors came out to bear witness to my time of duress. That, or gawk at me and the fuzz. I gave the cops my statement, which, minus mention of the sap, followed the grisly details of the fight as best I could remember. I described the two. The first guy was older, maybe fifty, heavier too, wearing jeans, a tee shirt, and a dark jacket. The other guy was younger, maybe forty, thinner, wearing nearly the same outfit as the older one. I said I didn’t know them, but believed they were the two who had jumped me the week before. I lied about not knowing their names. The aid car was called because of the blood, and everyone had on latex gloves. Surprisingly, both Mallory and Jones showed up at almost the same time. I persuaded the medics that I was ok and didn’t need a return engagement at the ER. The nosebleed was staunched, and after all was said and done the cops and the medics departed, leaving me sitting on the curb with my erstwhile partner and the suspicious detective.
“I’m touched that you both came to help at this most precipitous moment,” I said this with the delightful nasal buzz that goes with having absorbent stuffed up your nose.
“Every time I see you, Buttman, you look better and better,” Jones snorted.
“Nice. Good to see you too. What brings you around, detective? You must have better things to do than follow up on local assaults?”
“You’d think, but no. I was in the neighborhood, and when I heard the address over the radio I thought of you. Apparently, I thought right. Same guys?”
“Same guys. Fortunately, this time I saw them first.” I tried to stand, but couldn’t get up. What energy I had left was swiftly leaving me, “Maybe we should take this inside.”
“Yeah, you don’t look so good.”
They helped me inside. I sat in the chair as Jones moved to the couch. Mallory continued to stand.
“Any idea why they came back for more?”
“Because I hadn’t gotten the message: stay away from Desiree Marshan. I got it, I just wasn’t listening.”
Jones chimed in, “You think that Dahlia woman sent them?”
“Could be, the two times I was to meet her, or did, the goons show up. Can’t be a simple coincidence, can it?”
“Who’s this Dahlia woman?” Mallory asked, but I think he already knew.
“A woman who used to be one of Desiree’s film partners, used to be a man. She told us she and Desiree were on the outs, that she didn’t care what Desiree was up to, that she was a conniving bitch and so on. Now she works at an LGBT clinic in West Hollywood. Someone roughed her up the last time I was. Well, before this.”
My head was aching. Maybe I didn’t do as well as I thought with Artie and Gordy.
“You don’t believe what she told you?”
“No, I think it’s a scam.”
“It must be important to them, why else would they target you again?” Jones added his two cents.
“Must be.” Mallory looked at his watch. He wanted to go. “Whatever it is, you two need to be careful. And remember, unlawful acts or actions require a call to the proper authorities, that’s me! I don’t recommend you play cops and bad guys. It’s a good way to get killed. You have my number. Goodnight gentlemen.
”
Jones and I eyed the detective as he left. I turned to Jones.
“How’s the promotion business going?”
He wasn’t expecting that. “It’s going. As a matter of fact, I was calling from a show when all this went down. I should get back; make sure we get paid. Speaking of which, I have to spend the next couple of days with my security people, we have some important clients ramping up their details, setting schedules, all of that. I don’t know how much time I’ll have to waste on this for the next week or so… ”
I couldn’t tell if he was trying to bag out or not. Didn’t matter, it was time for a break anyway, time for other problems, personal problems.
“Actually, I think that’ll work in our favor. I’m planning on heading up north for a week or so. It’ll give Marshan and her group of goons the idea that we’re giving up. Plus, it’ll give Llewellyn time to find out where our lovebirds are hiding.”
“Who’s Llewellyn?”
“He’s the computer guy. He’s looking for the members of Desiree’s fan club. Since it started out as a file-sharing group, more than likely it’s still out there in one form or another. My guess is they still use it to communicate, if so, maybe we can find out where she is.”
Jones, too, was ready to go. “Alright, give me a call when you get back.”
It was then that I remembered my phone got lost in the fight.
“I need to find my phone, it’s outside somewhere.”
Jones shook his head. “I know a trick. Let’s go.”
Where Fools Dare to Tread Page 19