Baker's Luck

by D D Loomis

  “Al called a minute ago. Said Crosby was found dead this morning in her hospital room, no signs of violence.”

  A large weight I didn’t know I’d been bearing lifted off my shoulders. “Yeah, I’d be checking on us too, if I was in your shoes. But we made a promise. Sounds as if our only worry now is finding Willie.”

  “The two shadows Al had keeping an eye on you said the same thing about your location. And before you ask, we haven’t heard from the DEA or anyone else about Mister Franks. In fact, we haven’t heard anything about him for a couple weeks.”

  I stood, giving a stretch. “Well, hopefully something breaks on that front soon. In the meantime, you got any gossip about Al? He doesn’t seem to just be the administrative aide he says he is. Doesn’t act like someone who’s waiting for retirement to me.”

  “Ha! That’s a good one. Agent Browder is ‘bout my rank. You’d have to ask him for any more details. For some reason, he seems to think highly of you folks at T&M. Says you’re the best he’s worked with. Quite the praise from him.”

  While he was talking, I opened a file on my computer labeled “Crosby,” typed “Deceased” in capital letters, and forwarded it to everyone in the office. Felt good to retire the file on her. “On a different subject. I called Lenora a few hours ago, and she didn’t sound too chipper. You know if there’s something that might be depressing her?”

  “She told you anything about her job status with us?”

  “Not a thing. And she’s been pretty close-mouthed about how she’s doing physically, too.”

  There was a moment’s hesitation. “Well, first of all, the Bureau is planning on medically retiring her. She was just informed of that yesterday. Secondly, the doctors are talking about maybe having to do another operation, this time a more extensive one. So far, they’ve been reluctant to do it. Lot more serious than the last one, they say.”

  I sat, the energy draining from me. “Oh, hell. No wonder she didn’t want to talk very much. I asked her if she was looking forward to going back to work instead of laying around. Not a very good thing to bring up right now.”

  “I did close to the same,” he said. “Called her before I’d gotten word about her being retired.”

  “Yeah, well, I’d better call and try to cheer her up.”

  Mike chuckled. “Have fun with that. By the way, she really treasures your calls. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was your girlfriend.”

  I felt my eyebrows rising. Girlfriend? Hell, I hadn’t even touched her, except when she’d hugged me for saving her life.

  “Anyway, like you say, y’should give her another call. She probably needs to be cheered up.”

  Once finished with the call, I headed outside. Have to clear my head and do some thinking about this. My girlfriend? Did she really like me that much? And more importantly, what could I say that would cheer her up.

  An hour passed before I got back to the office. The walk had felt good, both physically and mentally. Shook out some of the cobwebs. I entered our building and heard the excited chatter from downstairs. Must’ve read my email. Good news travels fast. I plastered a smile on and trotted down the stairs.

  * * *

  By next morning I’d gotten up the nerve to call. She picked up on the second ring.

  “Hey, Lenora. Hope you don’t mind my calling you again so soon, but I got hold of an FBI rumor that I had some questions about.”

  “Sure, no problem,” she said. “Always good to start the day with bad news.”

  “Who says it’s bad news? No, actually I wanted some clarification about what I’d heard, and thought you’d be the best source to go to. It’s about Alfred Browder.”

  “Of course. What d’you need to know?” Her voice definitely sounded a little more chipper than yesterday.

  “The first time I saw him, he looked like an old man in an ill-fitting outfit. Recently, he showed up in a killer business suit, and seemed more like a boss-man than the lowest on the totem pole he told us he was.”

  She chuckled. “Yes, he’s good at that. Seems to exude one type of personality one minute, another the next. Made him a good choice to work on undercover projects. Actually, he put in thirty years with King County there in Washington, then retired and went to work for the FBI. I had him as my handler down in the San Francisco area for a couple years. When he hit sixty he went to the Seattle office.”

  “Is that when you went to Charlotte?”

  “Yes. Been working for Mike the past year. I got in with the Franks crowd about four months ago, as their middle-aged bookkeeper. About the time that fell apart, I was saved by my Prince Charming.”

  Now it was my turn to laugh. “Prince Charming? Jeez, what a moniker to live down.”

  She yawned. “Mm. Time for my nap.”

  I smiled in spite of myself. “Damn, didn’t realize how boring I was. Okay, you take it easy, now.”

  “You too, Francis. Hope to see you soon.”

  I hung up, thinking back on our conversation. Yeah, that’d been the right chord to strike with her. She’d sounded a lot more relaxed than the last time we’d talked.

  “Was that your girlfriend on the phone?” Alice’s voice made me jump.

  I turned around. Alice was in front of my desk, a smile on her face. I shrugged. “Well, yeah. I guess you could say so.”

  “Good. ‘Bout time you sparked on another girl. Been awhile.” She slapped a note on my desk. “In the meantime, Mister Popular, get back on the phone and call a guy named John. John Morrelli.”

  “Thanks, Alice.” I reached for my phone. Good, he’d gotten my earlier message. I punched buttons. Within seconds he was on the line.

  “Hey, Francis. Things going okay since our adventure at Wildacres?”

  “We’ve had an adventure or two since then. I’ll have to fill you in one of these days. Right now, I had something come up that might interest you,” I said. “I know you’re a writer, and do some editing, from what you said when you were our instructor at Wildacres. I’m forming a publishing company and need some advice. Even a hand at editing, if you’re available.”

  “I’d love to. Just finished my last project, and have some time on my hands. What you got in mind?”

  I pulled out a couple of files from my desk drawer. “I’ve got a first draft novel that’ll be ready for editing in a couple weeks. What would you charge?”

  “Usually by the page. What genre is it?”

  By the time we wound down, we’d struck a deal on the novel. “By the way, you wouldn’t know anyone who might be interested in running a publishing house, would you? Such as yourself?”

  The sound of choking coughs echoed down the line. “Damn, man, you sure know how to get a person’s attention.” He harrumphed, clearing his throat. “Um–what you got in mind?”

  “I’d like to send you a brief that explains my business philosophy and plan for the company I want to start. Haven’t even come up with a good name, yet.”

  “Well-you know, don’t you, it takes more than a couple good books to finance something like this.”

  “Would seven million be enough?”

  Several seconds of silence followed my question. “Um-Dang it, you’ve got me interested. Send that business summary, if you would. If I like what I see, we’d need to meet face-to-face.”

  “I agree,” I said. “And any suggestions about the information I send would be welcome, too. My knowledge of the publishing racket is almost zero.”

  “How’s the search for what’s his name going? Y’know, the Willie character.”

  I shrugged. “Slow. We just heard his boss died, and I happen to think that might bring him back into the game. But so far, not a word about his whereabouts, except hints.”

  “Y’mind if I have some of my folks look around, see what we can scare up?”

  “Not a bit. More t
he merrier. Might help stir the pot enough to at least get a couple new rumors for us to follow.”

  Several minutes later he made his goodbyes. I hung up, deep in thought. Yes, I’d definitely detected a solid interest in helping start up a publishing house. If not John, he probably knew someone who’d help. I took a deep breath, and let it out. Hope he was interested enough to come and talk. Be nice to see him again.

  At lunchtime, Dave and I headed a couple blocks away to a diner. I’d been waiting for him to have a talk with me. From the serious look on his face, this was the time. Once settled in with coffee, he opened up. “It’s time to head home, I think.” He looked down at his coffee. “My sister called again last night. Our family’s getting together next week for a reunion. Thought I’d head back and see how things go.”

  I nodded. “Been expecting it. You know, of course, you’re always welcome here. In fact, it’d be good to have you close by if the publishing business picks up. Could use your expertise. But family comes first.”

  “I appreciate it, man,” he said. “Once I come back, I’ll do just that.”

  It was another three days before Dave left, sent off with a night out on the town, and the next morning marked by Alice’s tears when he exited. I really hoped he found what he was looking for.

  The day after, my boredom meter bottomed out. Going from super active to nothing going on hit me the hardest, since everyone else was busy. No training needs at the moment. I headed out early for lunch, going to a nearby mall to pick up flowers for Alice. She always loved a little color on her desk. A stroll around the mall was a must, especially through the bookstore. Visiting the mysteries section was called for. My eye was drawn by the colorful artwork on some of the covers. I took out a small notebook. Needed to find a couple good artists that would do covers for books. I browsed through several of the hardbounds, looking for more ideas.

  On my way out of the store, I felt the extra weight in my pocket. Whups. Sure enough, I withdrew two billfolds that weren’t mine. A quick backtrack to the customer service desk was in order. Damn, hadn’t even noticed lifting those. It had been over a year since I’d boosted a wallet without knowing it. Thought I was over that little problem. Apparently not.

  Alice glared at me when I came straggling in. “Where’re the flowers? I’ll bet you got busy watching girls, and forgot the flowers!”

  I turned around and trudged up the stairs. No wonder I didn’t remember stealing those wallets. Couldn’t even remember what I went after. Shit.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “I don’t know why it’s been so hard to crack this particular code,” Wilbur said, shaking his head in disgust. He’d been busily working on the information I’d gotten from Phil about where the counterfeit money was hidden, but no joy yet.

  “That’s okay. If you aren’t able to break it, no one can. Not worth getting overly frustrated.”

  He gave me a smile. “Hey, I’m not frustrated. Just the opposite. I love a challenge like this!”

  “Oh. All right, then keep on keeping on, my man.” I patted his shoulder and moved off with a shrug. He might act weird sometimes, but Wilbur definitely didn’t give up on a problem.

  My cell phone rang. “This is Francis.”

  “Hi, Francis. This is John.”

  I headed for my office, excitement building. “Thanks for getting back. This about the business brief I sent you?”

  “It definitely is, and I’m definitely interested. How about I fly up there in about three days time. That fit your schedule?”

  I snagged a pen and pad as I sat at my desk. “Email your information soon as you can. I’ll get with the airlines and reserve a ticket. That okay?”

  “Sure. And by the way, I just emailed you a list of Willie’s past acquaintances that are still in the biz up there. Let me know if there’s anything else you might want on these folks.”

  Alright, John. See you soon.”

  Once off the phone, I checked my email. Yep, a message from him. I’d been studying the information John had sent for almost an hour before I came up for air. Wow, this was good stuff. Six names, a detailed bio on each, and what they’d been suspected of doing with Willie. Plus all of them lived in Washington. I dug back in, a hint of excitement building.

  “Francis, you want to go to dinner with us?” Nate stood in the doorway, a smile on his face. “Man, when you get focused you’re one hard dude to wake up.”

  I gave a stretch and looked at the clock on my desk. Six o’clock already. “Yeah, guess I do. And dinner sounds great. Let me shut down here and I’ll be right out.”

  Three days flashed by. Time to meet John at the airport. Once we got together at Sea-Tac Airport, it was a quick trip to the office in Auburn. Shoot, hadn’t realized how close we were to it, compared to our old location. Another plus for our choice to move.

  When we pulled into the garage and proceeded through the tunnel into the basement, his eyes lit up. “I like the entryway. Must’ve cost a pretty penny to put this in, though.”

  I chuckled as we came into the basement. “Not a thing. This used to be an FBI safehouse. They were decommissioning it, so we made them an offer for it they couldn’t refuse.” I nodded towards Alice. “This is our office manager, Alice Jackson. Alice, John Morrelli. She makes sure we act in a civilized manner, at least in her presence.”

  She stood, offering her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Mister Morrelli. And don’t listen to that bag of wind you’re standing next to. He’ll get you in trouble.”

  John took her hand and kissed it, raising a pleased smile on her face. “It’s good to see our mutual friend has such a positive influence as yourself to pattern himself after. Now if he would only do so.”

  I pointed towards the corner. “The gentleman you see surrounded by all the electronic gear is our resident computer genius, Wilbur Carlyle.”

  Once he’d exchanged pleasantries with Wilbur and I’d loaded us up on coffee, tea in his case, we strolled to my cubicle. “I’m glad you’re interested enough in my offer to show up. And even more so with the names you sent me. Gives us new leads to chase down in our hunt.”

  “Glad to, Francis.” He took two folders from his briefcase as we sat. “I’m tickled you thought of me when looking for someone to run your publishing company. Here’s a copy of what you sent me that outlined the business. I’ve got a few comments, and some questions.” For over an hour we went over the documents.

  I saved and printed out two copies of the new document we’d come up with. “Thanks for going over this with me. There’s a lot more to this publishing than I thought.”

  He bobbed his head in thanks when I handed him a copy. “No problem. If I hadn’t been involved with its different aspects over the years, I’d probably not be much help. But I think we have something here that’ll work out nicely.”

  I nodded. “Then the only other thing we need to discuss is what you’d be willing to work for.”

  A large smile spread across his face. “How about starting at sixty grand, and within five years getting ten percent of the business instead of a wage?”

  I looked at him bemusedly. “How long do you think we’d need to start operating in the black?”

  “Two years.” He paused, draining his cup of tea. “That’s with the present folks we’d be able to have sign up with us now, and the sales force I have available. In this case, I know six folks willing to work on commission who already sell books for other publishers. They’d jump at the chance to work with us, too.”

  “Forty percent,” I said.

  “Er-How much?”

  I handed him my copy of what we’d been talking over the past hour. “Sixty thousand a year right now, switching to forty percent of the business soon as my original investment is paid back. Whether that’s five months or five years.”

  He fingered the papers, a thoughtful look on his face. “You kno
w what you’re offering me?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. The chance to go broke or get really rich if you’re good at what you do.”

  He stuck out his hand. “Done. And I think you’ll be surprised at how soon we reach that goal.”

  “I hope I am. But in the meantime, I’d like to go over the information you sent me about Willie’s past acquaintances. I’ve set up a little visitation to the home of the first on my list. Thought I might see if he’s still involved with Willie.”

  “How’re you going to do that without-er…”

  I gave a sour smile. “Without using torture? No, I’m trying to break that habit. Does bad things to your psyche. Wilbur’s given me some gadgets to attach to any computer systems they might have. And if for some strange reason they’re not into that kind of stuff yet, I’ll just steal the information from their paper files. Usually ends up being a mix of both, I’ve found.”

  He sat up straighter. “When’re you going to do that?”

  “Tonight. If I can find someone to be my lookout. Everyone else in the office is tied up.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll do it, long as I don’t have to break in to the place.”

  I stood, slapping him on the back. “Great! Let’s go get ready, and I’ll brief you up. We’ll head out at nine-thirty tonight.”

  John turned out to be a top-notch driver when going to pull a job. No rules broken, speed limit at all times—boring. “So how many of these kind of jobs you do a year?” he asked as we exited the freeway into the town of Kirkland.

  “I used to do one a month on the average when I was in the biz. This is only my third this year. Not as much fun when you don’t steal very much. Nowadays, I do it for information.” Usually, I thought.

  He stopped at a light. “How’d your team decide this place was the first choice to break into?”

  “Good question. Usually the first one we’d go with would be the easiest to do. But this case was different. We weren’t able to get all the data we needed right away on the other two we’re planning on, so went with this one instead.” I glanced around as the light turned green. “Also, we got word they would be gone for the next couple nights to a meeting in Oregon. Got to strike while the iron’s hot, as they say.”