Collision Course

by Matt Hilton

  As the woman withdrew her hand, she indicated her lieutenant. ‘Arlen will answer any further technical questions you have after I’m finished here. Know this: you will continue with the scheme dreamed up by Madison; do so and you’ll continue unmolested as if we never met. At the end of each week you will transfer fifty percent of your net takings to us. This figure is non-negotiable. In return you will be treated as an employee of our organization and afforded necessary protection and security. I need not repeat what will happen should you try to renege on your commitment to us. You are now in our debt, Mr Toner, to the tune of both yours and your daughter’s lives: it’d be unwise to default. We got wind of your decision to leave your former employer, in the same manner in which we cottoned on to Madison’s scheme … we have eyes and ears everywhere, and our reach is very long. You are permitted to leave Rockland, take up wherever it was you planned to in Bangor, any further than that – without permission – and we’ll be forced to call in your debt.’

  She allowed her terms to sink in. Toner could say nothing; his thought processes had all but closed down. The woman stood and left the room.

  Arlen grasped Toner’s shoulder. His automatic flinch served to bring his mind into focus. ‘Is she for real?’ he asked at what he hoped was a respectful whisper.

  ‘She’s deadly serious,’ said Arlen and tugged Toner up out of his seat. ‘Come on, I’ll have you driven back to your truck. You’re going in the back of the van. Get your piss on her van seats and Temperance will rub your nose in it. That’s if she doesn’t slit your throat.’

  TEN

  Stacey Mitchum appeared beaten down on their return to Cooper’s Bar. Her cheeks were flushed, her throat blotchy, her smile forced as she greeted diners at their tables. She took their orders, tapping away at her electronic menu, before trudging to the service hatch to fetch food and drinks. It wasn’t because she was under pressure of work – there were other servers on duty capable of handling the diminished afternoon crowd – she simply seemed crushed by some personal issue. When she spotted Tess and Po had returned with a friend, her eyes grew glassy and her first response was to feign no recognition, and attempt to scurry for cover without speaking with them. Tess felt a pang of guilt, suspecting why Stacey appeared upset. Jacob Doyle was conspicuous by his absence. She offered the girl a conciliatory smile and beckoned Stacey over. Stacey was undecided for a moment, until Tess left Po and Pinky standing and gestured the girl to join her in a more private location near the restrooms.

  ‘If you’re looking for Jacob again, he’s gone.’

  ‘By gone I’m guessing you don’t just mean his shift has ended?’

  Stacey bit her bottom lip, on the verge of tears. ‘Gone. Period. It wasn’t long after you left here earlier. He took me to one side, said “Sorry, I can’t do this anymore. We’re over, Stacey,” and that was it. No other explanation. He just took off his tabard, collected his jacket, told the boss he’d quit and left.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Tess, and she was. But only partly. Stacey might not thank her right then, but she’d possibly been saved from worse heartache if Jacob had kept on stringing her along.

  ‘What have you to be sorry about?’ Stacey asked, barely concealing a bitter undertone. ‘I’m not an idiot. I’m intelligent enough to figure out that Jacob was forced into making a fast decision after speaking with you earlier. But I don’t blame you. He was trying to keep a secret from me, even though I knew exactly what it was – no, who it is. This is about Hayley Cameron, right?’

  Tess’s silence was the acknowledgement Stacey needed.

  ‘I knew it. You’re looking for Hayley, aren’t you?’

  ‘I’m a private investigator hired by her mom to locate her.’

  ‘Jacob knows exactly where she’s hiding. He thinks he was so clever, keeping her a secret, but I had him figured out.’ Though the girl was adamant, Tess wasn’t as sure. She probably had a suspicion that her boyfriend wasn’t being totally loyal to her, but it had taken him abruptly dumping her to crystalize the thought in her mind. ‘All those secretive phone calls, those times he stood me up and spoiled our plans. I should’ve dumped his cheating ass and not given him the satisfaction of doing it to me.’

  Stacey made an over-the-shoulder check of the restaurant. Her other workmates were beavering away. She squeezed out a grimace. ‘I really should get back to work …’

  There were few customers now. The downpours had put paid to passing custom as the sidewalks were deserted. It looked as if the rain would continue for the foreseeable future, and those who’d held out against leaving had decided that there was nothing else for it. Even as Tess watched a young couple left the premises, bent over, trying to shield under one umbrella as they rushed for their parked car. Po and Pinky had been seated at a table: Po gave her a knowing smile.

  ‘I promise I won’t take up much more of your time,’ said Tess. ‘You said that Jacob knows exactly where Hayley’s hiding. He didn’t give you any idea where that is, did he?’

  ‘No, but I can guess. Do you know Hayley? Personally, I mean.’

  ‘We’ve never met.’

  Stacey cleared her throat. She wanted to say something harsher. ‘She’s one of those self-righteous, privileged girls. She thinks the world should revolve around her and isn’t happy when it doesn’t … I don’t know what Jacob sees in the selfish bitch.’ Self-consciously she stood a little taller, pulled in her stomach and tucked a stray lock of greasy hair behind her ear. Tess had seen plenty photographs of Hayley and she was undeniably beautiful – she could tell why a smitten guy would moon over her, and why a plain, homely girl like Stacey might be envious. Stacey went on: ‘You know how like attracts like, yeah? Well, sure as hell, Hayley won’t be making do. She expects the best and will get it, and she won’t care how.’

  Without explaining why, Tess asked, ‘Do the initials INS mean anything to you?’

  Stacey thought about it for a few seconds, but she shook her head. ‘Why do you ask?’

  ‘It’s unimportant. Just something I’m following up on.’

  ‘Involving Jacob?’

  ‘It came up in my inquiries.’ She wasn’t about to admit to the method she’d used to reach those initials. ‘Probably unrelated, though.’

  ‘You should look at Hayley’s friends for where she is now.’

  ‘I have already.’

  ‘I don’t mean those here in Portland. She has a clique of other friends from when she went to college in Bangor.’

  Tess was already aware that Hayley had completed a two years undergraduate program at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor, but during her discussions with Jessie Cameron it’d never occurred to ask if she’d kept in touch with her fellow students after her return to Portland. It was an error; to an alleged girl like Hayley, friends made at college would probably trump those left behind from high school.

  She’d barely given Tess two minutes of her time, but already Stacey was conscious she was shirking her duties. She adjusted her tabard and took out her electronic ordering pad as a signal she must return to work. Tess wouldn’t keep her any longer than necessary. She asked, ‘You wouldn’t happen to know any names of her college friends?’

  ‘Jacob mentioned one a couple of times when Hayley’s name came up. Maddie something-or-other … I don’t remember.’ Her jawline tightened. ‘You see, I wasn’t really interested in hearing about my boyfriend’s ex or any of her bitchy friends.’

  Stacey scuttled away, heading for the serving hatch. Tess joined Po and Pinky at the table they’d sat at. Po said, ‘We done here?’

  ‘How do you feel about driving up to Bangor in this weather?’

  ‘Sounds like I need to get my coffee to go again,’ he said, and beckoned to a different server.

  ELEVEN

  Taking the I-95, it was approximately one hundred and thirty miles, and a two-hour drive from Portland to Bangor. Po shaved fifteen minutes off that time, driving with an economy of motion that saw him make progress
where other road users were dictated to by the pace of the traffic flow. At times the rain grew so heavy visibility was poor, and some drivers took it carefully, slowing Po’s forward momentum but he still made good time. They reached the exit onto Hammond Street, and drove east towards central Bangor. Tess was no stranger to Bangor; she’d graduated from Husson University so knew the town well. They could have continued further northeast along the I-95 if their destination was the community college, but it wasn’t. Tess had been busy on the drive up, speaking with Jessie Cameron on her cellphone and identifying who Maddie was. She’d learned that Hayley’s college friend was named Madison Toner, and her last known address was a converted loft on Broad Street, near where the tributary Kenduskeag Stream spilled into the Penobscot River.

  Tess directed Po in and within minutes they had parked on a riverside lot adjacent to Maddie’s apartment. Without getting out of the Mustang, all eyes turned to regard the uppermost floor of a three-story building, converted from a metal fabricators’ workshop if the faded signs on the brickwork were to go by. The windows were shuttered, and due to the unusual dimness of the day, internal lights had been illuminated. Shadows moved behind the blinds, indicating somebody was home. Whether or not it was Madison remained to be seen.

  Tess shifted, an indication of her intent. ‘Maybe I should go up myself,’ she suggested. Presented by three strangers, two of them guys, Maddie might not be too keen on opening her door to them.

  ‘Your call,’ Po said, although he wasn’t comfortable with the arrangement. There was no need to fear reprisals from Maddie Toner, or from Hayley, if they were home, but after what had gone down during their visit to the Doyle house earlier, Po was cautious.

  Pinky reached to open his door, in order for Tess to slip out once he’d vacated his seat, but Po beat him to it. ‘I wanna smoke,’ Po said.

  Tess recognized his words as a concession to staying behind. At least if he were out of the car, he could respond faster should she call for help. There was a brief lull in the rain, though the atmosphere was pregnant with moisture. The breeze caught up tiny droplets and threw them at her as Tess climbed out of the car. Po moved aside, seeking shelter under the hanging branches of a tree at the edge of the parking lot. Heavy droplets audibly impacted on the shoulders of his jacket before he was under cover. He lit up a Marlboro, nodded at Tess. I’ve got your back, his gesture said.

  Tess studied the building, searching for a way inside. A railway track ran parallel to Broad Street, close enough that passing trains must rattle Maddie’s bed at night. To access the building there was a designated crossing. At the front the first floor sported two steel roller shutters. When the building was remodeled part of the workshop had been transformed to accommodate off-street parking. Tess assumed one of the shuttered garages belonged to whoever lived on the second floor, the other to Maddie. It hadn’t passed her notice that a realtor’s sign was fixed to the far end of the building at the second story, advertising a vacancy, meaning Maddie was the single current tenant. Tess moved to go left, where it was most likely that a side entrance gave access to the upper-floor apartment. She’d barely taken three paces when she came to a halt. A truck approached along Broad Street, giving her pause. Her mind was thrown back a couple of hours to the incident with a similar truck, and she wondered if Jeffrey Lorton had ignored her warning to leave the search for his daughter to her. Her concern was passing, because it was instantly apparent that it was a different truck, with a single driver aboard. However, her pause in step was long enough to allow the truck to slow, and its flashing blinkers announced the truck was about to turn. Tess waited.

  The truck cut across the tracks and nosed in towards Maddie’s building, and a few seconds later a rumble announced the opening of the furthest left shutter. The truck rolled into the garage and stopped. From her place alongside Po’s Mustang, Tess watched a man get out of the cab. She’d no idea who he was but his demeanor gave her a sudden hike of adrenalin. As he closed the door, he leaned into it with his cheek pressed against the window, and his knees almost gave out. He struggled to maintain his balance, one arm clutching across his chest, and for a second Tess feared he was in cardiac arrest. She glanced once at Po, and then started forward.

  She halted again after a rushed few paces.

  The man had turned towards her footsteps, and he stared at her blankly, his mouth open in question. She knew his unvoiced question wasn’t aimed at her but inward. His mouth was swollen and bloody, and being on the verge of collapse was to do with his battered state. Spotting her, anger, then something else – fear? – flashed across his features and he stumbled forward and hit a button next to the open shutter. It began to unfurl, concealing him from view.

  ‘Maybe I should accompany you, after all.’

  As the shutter clunked shut Po had moved alongside Tess.

  ‘What did you make of him?’ she asked.

  ‘Dude looks as if he’s just fought ten rounds with a junkyard dog. Also looks to me as if he’s got business at the same apartment you have. When he gets home I’m bettin’ emotions are gonna be high. I’m comin’ up with you, Tess. No argument.’

  She shrugged. ‘You’ll get no argument from me.’

  Po flicked aside his partly smoked cigarette.

  Pinky hailed them in an exaggerated stage whisper. ‘You want me to come up, you?’

  ‘We’ll be fine,’ Tess assured him, even as some silent instructions danced back and forth between the men folk. If things turned dicey upstairs Pinky would be seconds behind them. For now he was contented to remain in the dry comfort of the car. In fairness, Tess wasn’t as happy about going up to the apartment as she’d made out. As Po had said, emotions would be high when the man’s beaten state was discovered, and it’d probably take precedence over anything Tess wanted to talk to Maddie about. She said to Po, ‘Unless we leave things for now and come back later?’

  ‘We’re here, we may as well get it over with.’ He wouldn’t admit it but Po was as intrigued as she at what they’d stumbled across. When the man got out of his pickup truck he had been wearing dungarees, a thick woolen pullover and gumboots. He looked as if he’d just returned from sea, and Tess wondered if his bloody mouth was down to some accident out on the water, perhaps due to the boat being caught up in the sudden squalls. Though she thought Po was closer to the truth; he looked as if he’d been on the losing end of a fistfight. Seeing her had alarmed him: maybe he thought he was in trouble because of the fight. All speculation, she cautioned, and unhelpful to discovering Hayley’s whereabouts.

  ‘You’re right. Let’s do this.’

  There was an entrance at the left side as Tess had expected. There the building had been beautified with a fresh lick of paint and hanging plants decorated the window ledges. A small garden had been formed adjacent to the entrance, but it hadn’t been cared for lately, and was almost bare with only a few straggly plants sitting among the weeds around a single tree. An accumulation of discarded cigarette butts and packets formed a drift against the stones edging the garden. Someone, it appeared, regularly used the tree for shelter having been chased outside Maddie’s no-smoking apartment. Tess had a flashback image of Jacob Doyle, hunkered down on one of the edging stones, holding aloft his cigarette and asking: ‘Does this bother you?’

  Alongside the door there was a keypad, and also an intercom button, so the residents of either of the upper apartments could be hailed. However, due probably to Maddie being the current sole occupant, she’d allowed the security measures to slip, the same way she had maintaining the small garden. The door was propped open, allowing access to an interior stairwell. There were two doors either side of the stairs, and it took no figuring out that they gave access to the first-floor garages. If they’d crossed over the road a little sooner, they’d have probably met the beaten man as he exited the garage, or at least heard him trudging up the stairs. As it were, he had already made the climb. By unspoken agreement, Po led the way up, Tess only two steps behind him.
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  Voices sang out from overhead, one high-pitched and female, the other desultory and male. That wasn’t to say there were only two people inside Maddie’s apartment, others could be there but respectfully staying out of the drama. As they progressed upward, the female’s voice grew more questioning, and it sounded concerned. Then the man’s voice rose in response to make his point: unfortunately their actual words couldn’t be made out. Tess exchanged a glance with her partner; Po had predicted high emotions and he was right. They hit the first landing and passed the door of the vacant apartment, the voices still rang out from above.

  At the top of the stairs Po halted and waited for Tess to arrive. They were on a landing that stretched the width of the building, and were faced by a door to Maddie’s rooms. At the back corner, another more utilitarian door offered access up to the roof. That door looked as if it hadn’t been opened in years. Po strode over and checked the bolt was snug in its bracket. Not that an ambush was expected, but it paid to cover all bases. Tess waited until he’d returned before reaching for the doorbell. Po’s hand intercepted hers.

  ‘Can you make out what they’re arguin’ about?’ he asked.

  Tess couldn’t. The couple had moved towards the far end of the apartment, their voices muffled by distance and intervening walls. She pressed the bell. The corresponding chime made a musical tinkle that was at odds with the abrasive atmosphere inside. Both voices fell silent.