by Matt Hilton
Sampson held no pity for Kelly’s similar plight. She was an evil bitch who’d happily usurp her husband’s power, the same way that Dom would gladly step on Sampson at first opportunity.
Dom waited outside in the hall.
‘Hi, Kelly. You wanted to see me?’ Sampson asked as he entered her temporary office. It commanded a view south over Lermond Cove and on a clear day she could watch the Rockland ferry service come and go to Vinalhaven Island. As a second storm front had pushed in over West Penobscot Bay the service had been suspended.
Kelly stood with her back to him, apparently staring out the window at the deluge washing over Rockland Harbor, but Sampson wasn’t fooled. She was watching for his reflection in the glass. Briefly his gaze struck and held hers, and he suffered the same uncanny sensation he had in the bathroom: Kelly’s mirror form was hazy, laced by runnels and beaded with raindrops, and infinitely evil. She turned and graced him with a smile that held no warmth.
‘Blake called. His flight out of Chicago O’Hare was delayed so he has rescheduled for tomorrow morning. He asks that you see me home and you wait with me until his return. Temperance can collect him from the airport in the morning.’
Sampson scowled.
‘You don’t look happy with Blake’s instructions.’ Kelly moved towards him and placed two fingernails against his chest. The sharp tips pricked despite his several layers of clothing. It wasn’t only Blake’s order he was averse to, more what Blake’s wife saw as her opportunity.
‘I had plans for this evening,’ he said.
‘Plans can be changed,’ she said, allowing her fingers to walk up his chest and onto the bare skin of his neck. ‘Oh, you mean personal plans? Do these plans include Caroline?’
Sampson’s lips grew dry. He resisted licking them because it would show she’d pricked him worse at mention of his wife’s name than with her manicured claws. ‘Just some stuff I have to do,’ he said, his voice hoarse.
‘Just some stuff.’ Kelly sniffed in disdain and turned from him. Her raincoat was folded over the back of a chair. She picked it up, readying to leave. ‘Caroline is unaware of the nature of our arrangement … need she learn the finer details?’
‘Let’s not start up with that again, huh? Can’t Dom take you home? I’m sure he’ll be happy to.’
‘I’m sure he would. But Blake has given Dom and Temperance a different task.’ Kelly held out her coat to him, the command unvoiced but apparent. He arranged it so that she could work her arms into the sleeves. Again, facing away, she observed his reflection in the window. This time he didn’t meet her reflected gaze. She turned, and began buttoning the coat, emphasizing the swell of her breasts as she did so. Sampson stared at the floor. ‘There was a time,’ she sneered, ‘when you jumped at the chance to take me home.’
Yeah, Sampson thought. Back then I was young and naïve … and I didn’t know you were a fucking cruel bitch. Back then I wasn’t married to a woman I love and who’s a thousand times the woman you are.
‘It’s growing complicated, Kelly. There are only so many excuses I can come up with without Caroline suspecting.’
‘There’ll be no need for suspicion if I decide to tell her everything.’
Sampson wasn’t too concerned about Kelly telling Caroline the details of their long-term adultery, not when it’d mean Blake learning about it too. Caroline would be hurt, likely furious, at their infidelity, but Blake would have them both skinned alive. It wasn’t in Kelly’s favor for their secret to come out. Their affair was not what Kelly meant though, the reason she’d stressed telling everything. She had the power to destroy Sampson with the dropping of another woman’s name: Mary Rhodes. Should Caroline learn about Mary, both of their lives would spiral into wreck and ruin. Worse than that, if it became known about Sampson’s involvement with Mary Rhodes, it would threaten Blake and Kelly Ambrose’s liberty, so Kelly would ensure that once Caroline learned the truth, both she and her husband would be silenced. Refusing Kelly was akin to a death sentence for both he and Caroline.
Sampson held up his left palm. ‘Just let me think for a minute; I need to come up with a believable excuse.’
‘Do what you must, Arlen. I’ll see you at the car in two minutes. I’ll speak with Temperance on my way past about collecting Blake tomorrow.’
‘You said Dom and Tempe have another task tonight? I’m supposed to be in charge of them, I should check they know what they’re doing.’
‘They know exactly what’s expected of them. As do you now, I’m happy to see.’ She smiled in victory. It was the same cheery smile that lit up her eyes and dimpled her cheeks that she’d graced Mike Toner with after he’d been forced into acquiescing to her demands.
FOURTEEN
‘At least the rain’s dying down,’ Tess observed.
Po powered down his window. The rain had slanted against the Mustang, whirling on billows above the Presumpscot River and across the parking lot, forcing him to keep the windows shut till now. Fresh air invaded the confines of the car, forced inside on a guttering breeze. Tess was relieved. The glass was fogged with condensation; Tess’s clothing felt damp, and the air had grown stale and unpleasant. The fish and chips lunch she’d fancied earlier had never transpired, and she had grown hungry. Pinky had volunteered to brave the rain and head out on foot in search of sustenance for them. He’d returned twenty minutes later, soaked through to the skin, with the best he could find: a soggy box of Dunkin’ Donuts and take-out coffee. He’d grinned at Tess’s disappointment. ‘Hey, I thought you’d feel nostalgic, you. Isn’t this what you ate on stakeout when you were a cop?’
The donuts were stodgy and the coffee bitter, but she’d surprised herself by downing three donuts, her coffee and the half a cup that Po was about to pour away. Now she needed desperately to pee, but kept her discomfort private. It was her who’d suggested they wait and see if Hayley responded to Maddie’s call before they left Bangor, and had suggested they stay put to add urgency to Maddie, who’d want nothing more than them gone. Twice already she’d spotted someone standing close to a shuttered window on the top floor, peeping out through the slats to check if they were still there. Perhaps they’d been checked on more than Tess was aware of, because her view of the building was limited from the back seat.
‘I’d love a poke around inside that apartment,’ Po said, surprising Tess as it sounded as if he’d spoken a thought out loud.
‘We aren’t here because of what the Toners are up to,’ Tess cautioned. ‘Our job’s to locate Hayley.’
‘Yeah,’ he intoned. ‘I hear ya.’
But of course she was as intrigued as he was. Whatever they’d stumbled into was a far more interesting prospect than simply reuniting a recalcitrant girl with her adoptive mom. Some clues to the desperate nature of the Toners’ situation had been dropped during the brief discourse at the top of the stairs. It went without saying that the father had taken a beating, and it was to ensure not only his but also his daughter’s cooperation. People generally didn’t get beaten up to ensure something lawful and above board happened. Reading between the lines, Toner had been roughed up, but it was a warning to Maddie to toe the line. Maddie, being hotheaded over her father’s treatment, had made it clear she’d no intention of complying with any demands made by a ‘bitch boss.’
Tess owed Maddie nothing. In fact, if the young woman was involved in some kind of criminal activity, then she’d invited the trouble she was now in and the blame for her father’s beating should rest heavily on her conscience. Tess shouldn’t feel any concern for them. Toner had barreled out of that apartment intent on having a showdown with Tess, and who knew to what extent he might have gone if Po hadn’t intervened? She hadn’t been kidding when claiming Toner could have taken them both over the railing in his mad rush. In the seconds following, Maddie had launched at Po, and would have scratched the flesh from his face if Tess hadn’t grabbed her: the girl had jostled and fought too, and if she could have hurt Tess she would’ve. No, she shoul
dn’t feel any concern for them whatsoever.
But therein lay the rub.
She was concerned.
Although Maddie had been fired up, it was through fear that her injured father was about to be set upon again. Attacking Po, and fighting to free herself from Tess, was due to trying to defend her dad. Tess, for one, didn’t hold that against her; she would fight tooth and nail for her loved ones too. When first he’d arrived home and parked his truck in the garage, almost collapsing after he got out, he’d spotted Tess approaching the building and concluded wrongly who she was. Toner was frightened and confused, and tried only to defend his daughter; she’d already forgiven him his behavior.
Before Maddie or her father there was Hayley Cameron’s welfare to consider.
‘Those cigarette butts you spoke about,’ she ventured with Po, ‘how’d you know they belonged to Jacob?’
‘I didn’t, it was just a wild guess. He took a Marlboro from me, but his favorite brand is Lucky Strike. They matched the butts at the scene.’ Po shrugged. ‘From the little I could see through her open door, Maddie keeps a clean house, and probably doesn’t welcome smokers.’
‘You’re a regular Sherlock Holmes, you,’ said Pinky.
‘Maddie didn’t exactly confirm it,’ Po replied, ‘but neither did she say I was wrong.’
‘Would you say some of those butts looked freshly smoked?’ Tess asked.
‘Couldn’t say. It’s too wet out. If you’re askin’ if I think Jacob’s been here since we spoke to him this morning, again I couldn’t say.’
‘I’m only wondering if he came up here after he quit his job, and if he’s with Hayley now.’ She could kick herself for not asking for a contact number from him. She’d interrogated his social media platforms, and even gotten into his contacts list but without logging his cell number … stupid mistake. If she had a way of calling him she would, and ask outright to speak with Hayley. It’d save waiting around here any longer than they had to.
Tess took out her cell and opened the web browser. She looked up Cooper’s Bar and hit the contact hyperlink and chose the telephone icon: down in Portland a landline began ringing.
‘Cooper’s,’ answered an older male voice. ‘How can I be of assistance?’
‘Could I please speak with Stacey Mitchum?’ Tess asked.
‘Who’s asking?’
‘My name’s Tess Grey, Stacey was my server earlier today.’
Immediately the voice grew guarded. ‘If you’d like to make a complaint, I’d rather you spoke with me. I’m Ben Wishaw, I’m the duty manager.’
‘Oh, it’s nothing like that,’ Tess reassured him, ‘it’s more a private matter.’
‘Then, sorry, I don’t allow my staff to take personal calls. You’ll have to get her at home after she’s gone off shift.’
‘Look, maybe you can dispense with company protocol this one time? It’s important that I speak with her, and I don’t have another contact number.’
‘Hey, wait a minute!’ Suddenly the voice dropped any pretense at professional manners. ‘Are you the same woman who kept Stacey away from her tables earlier on? You’re some kind of private eye, right? Well … I don’t know what you said to her, but you upset Stacey, and it’s affected her work all afternoon. Seems I’ve also got you to blame for one of my other servers walking out. Nah, I’m not going to dispense with protocol, in fact I’d prefer if you didn’t call again, or show your face in my bar. Goodbye.’ He hung up.
‘Wow! Just wow.’ Tess glared at the ‘call ended’ message on her phone.
‘That didn’t go too well, pretty Tess,’ said Pinky, as he poised an iced donut before his lips.
‘I’m beginning to feel like the least popular kid in school,’ she said. Not that she took Ben Wishaw’s words personally. You had to have a thick skin if you hoped to make it as a private investigator: ruffling feathers and reaping the comebacks was all part of the job. She only felt that Wishaw’s ire was misguided … if he should be pissed at anyone it should be at Jacob Doyle. No, that wasn’t entirely true, not when Hayley was manipulating the lovesick fool. Suddenly Tess experienced a prickle of disliking for the girl, and again had to caution against forming an injudicious opinion: judge as you find, Tess.
‘It’ll be dark soon,’ Po pointed out.
‘Let’s give it another hour, if Hayley hasn’t made contact by then we’ll head on back to Portland, yeah?’
‘Let’s not wait till dark, I’ve a better idea.’ Po drove off the lot, taking Broad Street towards the underpass of the nearby river bridge. He wasn’t leaving the area, just repositioning. After swinging around he tucked in at curbside beneath the bridge, the Mustang hidden in shadow. Their presence at the parking lot hadn’t galvanized a response from Hayley, maybe their absence would.
FIFTEEN
Hayley Cameron showed up at Maddie Toner’s place within twenty minutes of Po pulling the disappearing act. It surprised nobody when she arrived at the converted building escorted by Jacob Doyle. The young man drove a twelve-year-old Chrysler with a faded paint job, scratched fenders and mismatched wheel trims; to listen to other people’s opinions of her, Tess expected the girl to demand no less than a carriage worth multiples of tens of thousands of dollars, not the old junker that Jacob owned.
Jacob actually drove past where they waited at curbside in the bridge’s underpass. He hadn’t seen Po’s Mustang that morning, and Maddie mustn’t have described it when she summoned Hayley to her apartment after they seemingly gave up and left. Neither did he recognize Po behind the wheel when he glanced at the parked car, but that was probably due to Pinky mostly concealing him. Pinky gave Jacob the rheumy eye. Jacob glimpsed at the large black man, and quickly averted his gaze, in case his interest was misconstrued and he attracted trouble. Sometimes racial stereotyping could work in their favor. In the back seat of the Mustang, Tess was hidden from view, but she strained to see past Po’s shoulder as the Chrysler rolled by and into the shallow bend after the bridge. She recognized Jacob and saw enough of Hayley’s profile to identify the girl. She tapped the back of Po’s seat in her urgency.
Po started the engine, and pulled out from under the bridge. Rain assaulted them, having returned after the recent quiet spell. Po’s wipers struggled to fight the deluge. As he drove around the bend, the Chrysler was already across the railway track and moving towards the roller shutter. Jacob parked on the hard base in front of the garage, possibly already informed that Maddie’s dad’s truck was inside. Jacob got out and danced past the hood of the car gibbon-like, arms flung overhead against the downpour until he reached the passenger side. He opened the door for Hayley as if he was her personal chauffeur. She got out, small in stature, but with curves bordering on plump. She was dressed in a silver bomber jacket, jeans turned up to expose her bare ankles and sneakers. To a casual observer they might take her to be a high-school kid, but Tess knew she was twenty-one years old. The girl clutched a large purse to her abdomen, but passed off another satchel-type bag to Jacob. Preparing to go around the building to the side door, Hayley held her bag aloft so it acted as a shield, protecting her short dyed purple hair against the rain. Tess didn’t want Hayley sequestered inside the apartment. ‘Cut them off,’ she told Po.
He was already on it. He hit the gas and the Mustang lurched forward. Seconds later he braked in controlled compressions of the pedal, decelerating safely and avoiding skidding on the slick road. He swung the car in off the street, bumped over the railway track and pulled in so that the Mustang’s front fender was an inch from the Chrysler’s rear. Hayley and Jacob were blocked from making a run for it to the side entrance. They could scarper away along the length of the building, and back onto the street towards the underpass, but they didn’t. Both were caught in shock, Jacob slightly behind Hayley: nearest them was Pinky. Tess wondered if Jacob thought Pinky had chased them here after Jacob had the nerve to glance at him while passing under the bridge. Or if the fear on his face was due to a different perceived threat. How
ever, having been warned they were in the area, it soon dawned on Hayley who they were. Her blanched features bloomed in color, eyes widening, nostrils pinching. She lowered the bag, forgetful of the rain pattering down.
Po stepped out of the car, allowing Tess to clamber out. Hayley was already heading around the car, her stride determined. She tried to swerve past Tess, with a curt, ‘Leave me the hell alone.’
Tess got in front of her, backpedaling as Hayley continued towards the side of the building.
‘Get out of my goddamn way,’ Hayley snarled.
Tess didn’t. She set her heels and held out both palms. Hayley again tried swerving past, but Tess adjusted her footing, blocking her again. ‘Hayley, just let me explain, will you?’
Hayley swore at her.
Maybe opinions of the girl’s nature were true after all.
Tess grasped Hayley’s elbow, and she dragged the girl to a halt. ‘If you just listen to me for one minute, I’ll have done my job and can leave you be. It’s up to you, Hayley.’
‘I told you what to do. Fuck off. And get your hands off me or I’ll sue you for assault.’
‘Really?’ Tess demanded. ‘You want to involve the police? Fine. Here, I’ll call them for you if you like?’
Hayley’s face was livid. The last thing she wanted was police involvement, confirming that Maddie and her dad were up to something illegal, something which Hayley and Jacob had become part of.
‘I didn’t think so,’ said Tess.
Behind them, Po was in a similar vociferous discussion with Jacob Doyle, although the youth wasn’t as outwardly hostile … maybe by now he’d learned of what went down at his family home when his brothers had tried to get heavy with Tess and Po. Tess gave them no heed; getting Hayley to listen was her priority. She didn’t release her grasp, if anything she tightened it. ‘Hear me out. I’m assuming Maddie called you and let you know why I’m looking for you. All I need do is check you’re OK, give you a message from your mom, and then it’s completely up to you with what happens next.’