by Sandra Ryan
************
It was Samuel who drove them home. He had insisted that he be the one to drive them after Holly nearly gave him a heart attack by the amount of speed she drove with while they came that morning. Once Holly settled down, she turned up the volume of the car radio and rolled down the window of the car, much to Samuel’s displeasure. He endured it. It was a compromise he was willing to make.
“I did not have my coffee this morning,” Holly grumbled.
“Well, that explains why you have been less than your chirpy self all day,” Samuel retorted.
“Wait, what do you mean? Are you saying I sound high most of the times, because that is what your statement is suggesting? You know what? Don’t even answer that. Why would I care what your answer is anyway?”
Samuel gave a chuckle and continued driving. He was actually enjoying the window being rolled down. Cool air blew into the car. He had not felt this carefree in a long while.
“What’s your deal with Penny anyway?” he asked.
“She is a friend. A dear friend. She’s been through a lot.”
“Yeah. I kinda got that. Underneath all the jokes and sharp retorts, it is easy to see that she is a survivor. Is there a story there? Are you willing to share?”
“There isn’t really a lot to share. She hired me to look into a case of fraud. It turned out that her husband then had been slowly milking them dry, and using the money to furnish houses for his mistresses. She was pretty torn up about it, but she survived.”
“Oh.” Samuel replied, at loss of what to say.
“And you, what is it? You’ve been awfully quiet since we left the airport.”
“I am fine,” Samuel said. Trying to sound convincing.
“You know it is futile lying to a person whose job is to ferret out lies? Add that to the fact that you are a really terrible liar also.”
Samuel gave a small laugh. “I just have a couple of things on my mind, that’s all.”
“Care to share with the rest of the class?” Holly asked, using her hands to point to herself as the ‘rest of the class’.
Samuel took a deep breath and said, “Something Penny said has been with me since we left. Remember how she said that one of the crew members may have information regarding the kidnap of the baby?”
Holly nodded.
“How about we get one of those crew members and then forced them to speak, I’m sure they would give us information beyond what we have already.”
“Samuel are you, an individual suspected of kidnap, suggesting that we commit an actual kidnap with the twisted hope that this might actually help clear you from the crime you are being accused of?”
He did not give her any response.
‘Are you out of your mind??” she exploded. ‘Did you even think this through? Wait, did you even think of this at all?” Her eyes were blazing. Samuel kept his head on the road.
“I was only trying to help. It just looks as though we are just clutching at straws. As though we are always playing catch up.”
Holly heaved a sigh, ‘I know you are trying to help, but we have to be smart about it. And the reason you hired me is so I could do the worrying for you.”
Samuel navigated a sharp bend. He did not say anything to her. He came to stop in front of Holly’s office. As she stepped down from the car she touched him briefly on the arm and said,
“Please promise me you would not do anything rash. Promise me, Samuel.”
What she got was an almost imperceptible nod. She sighed and walked into her office building.
********
“Did you not see my call?”
Kyle Burns winced at the clear reprimand in his boss’ tone. Even though they were in different states, separated by thousands of miles, Burns could almost see the scowl on the old man’s face. In any case, he always seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face at all times.
“I’m sorry sir, I just stepped into the office and the assistant informed me that you called. I sincerely apologize.”
The other man was silent for a minute, and Burns could tell that he did not believe him. They both knew Burns had been intentionally ignoring his calls.
“I assume that is also the reason why you did not pick my call the two other times I called, this mysterious business you had doing?” the question did not invite an answer.
“How is it going anyway? Any breakthrough? Any leads?”
“We are considering a few possibilities.” Burns replied.
“Which means you are actually not making any headway.” The man sighed. “How about that Samuel Clark guy? Weren’t you considering him a possible suspect?”
“We did. However, we do not have anything concrete at the moment. As soon as we do we would bring him in for questioning.”
When Special Agent Roderick spoke again his voice was grave, “Burns, I picked you personally for this particular task. There were folks who felt you were not ready for such a big task. I do not intend to be made a fool of. I need results, Burns. I do not care about your leads and questionings; I need you to bring me tangible results. These hounds in the press will not be satisfied until someone’s heel is cooling in a police cell, and/or that child is found. Is that clear?”
“Very clear, sir!” He responded.
“I’m going to be giving you a two more weeks. I do not expect you to fail me.” He did not wait for Burns’ response before he hung up.
“Them big guys giving you tough times?” Abby was leaning on the door jamb.
“Damn it, Abby, you almost gave me a heart attack. You really should stop sneaking up on people.”
“I was not sneaking up on anyone.,” she said, stepping into the office and plopping into one of the seats. “If your detective skills were not so rusty you would have heard me coming from a mile away. That’s it. You are getting old and rusty.”
“Could you please not add to the stress I am currently under right now? With the amount of things I have on my plate, being rusty with my detective skills is the least of my worries.” Burns said.
“So, they were giving you an earful then.”
“Yes. That was Special Agent Roderick, and why do you sound so pleased about that.”
Her grin appeared to grow wider,
“I may have found a solution for your troubles, Cowboy!”
“Are you serious? Please tell me we have a credible lead.” He said.
“As a matter of fact, we do. One of the officers I posted to the Benson residence reported that the Bensons had some visitors early this morning.”
“Really?” Burns replied, his voice taking on some of Abby’s excitement. She nodded.
“And get this: the meeting was timed so that it would coincide with the time when Mr. Benson would not be at home. It was as though the whole thing was arranged between Mrs. Benson and the individuals who visited her. It was all clandestine, more like.”
“How clandestine could it be? I mean, the meeting was held at their residence after all.”
“Whatever. But you do agree that there is something to be checked out here. And eventually, there may even be something tangible that you could take to the bosses.”
He nodded. She was right. When she had suggested that they post some policemen to stand guard at the Benson residence, he had not quite bought into the idea. In the first place, the police chief was already grumbling at the amount of men he had had to spare for the operation, and also because he had not believed that posting policemen outside of the Benson residence would accomplish anything.
Abby had informed him that the kidnappers may try to contact the family in order to ask them to pay some ransom, and since they did not have the authority to tap into the family’s phone lines or emails – Mr. Benson had refused to grant them access, citing security measures as the reason – the only other alternative was to post people who would be physically present to intercept any communications from both parties. It did seem as though her plans had paid off.
“I guess you ar
e here to ask for permission to haul their asses in for questioning?” Burns asked.
“That’s right.”
“Granted. You have my permission. Take Mark with you.”
“Already dispatched a couple of guys to stand guard in the event that he tries to bolt.”
“You are definitely not letting this one slip by you,” Burns said with a smile. ‘In any case,” he continued, “Do you know the identity of the visitors?”
“Sure. Samuel Clark and a private investigator known as Holly Hackett.”
“Samuel Clark? I thought you said that he most likely was innocent.”
“Well, this could turn out to be one of the few times when I am ever wrong.” She got up from her seat and made for the door.
***********
It was on the second freeway that Samuel began to feel cravings for chocolate pancakes. It was not unusual, whenever he was angry or felt any strong emotion, the response was usually a craving for food. He did not know why, but it was obvious his body associated anger with hunger. And he was angry. His anger stemmed from Holly’s anger at him. When he had suggested that they kidnap a crew member, he was sure it was a long shot, but he had been convinced it was one worth trying. To have Holly shut him down the way she did was frustrating.
In all honesty though, he realized that she was most probably right; it was stupid getting into trouble with the police at such a crucial time in their case. The police would jump at any excuse to throw him into a jail, and if he kidnapped a crew member, he would definitely be handing them that excuse. He pulled into the parking lot of the first restaurant he found. They went by something as incongruous as the Food Place. He contemplated for a moment if anyone would recognize him, but then brushed the feeling aside when he remembered that for weeks the media had doubled down on the rate at which they put up his pictures. It was as though everyone was slowly losing interest in the case.
He stepped into the cool shade of the room. The brunette who was at the counter looked tired. She had bags under her eyes and her skin looked pale, as though she had not been getting enough sleep. However, her eyes lit up when she saw Samuel. She walked towards him with a purposeful stride and offered him a seat. In no time she had taken his orders and a steaming plate of pancakes was sitting in front of him.
“You do look familiar,” she said as she was about to leave.
Samuel’s heart sank. He managed to croak, “I get that a lot from people.” He gave a wan smile, hoping she would leave him alone.
“No, I don’t mean that kind of familiar. I mean celebrity familiar. TV familiar. Are you an actor or something?”
“Not really,” he replied.
“But you’ve been on TV yes?”
“I have been. I was the focus of a new feature a while back. I’m sure that’s where you must have seen my face.”
“Yeah. I thought as much. The job here does not afford one the opportunity to do much, or even to socialize. My children would freak out when I tell them that I met a celebrity today.” She seemed genuinely elated. “What is your name?”
“Samuel.”
“No last name? You are one of those celebrities who do not have a last name? Like Rihanna or Beyonce?”
“Not quite,” he replied but she was already moving on to the next table.
Samuel focused on his food. Putting all of his attention into making sure that he savored every bite from the meal. The meal tasted really spicy, his taste buds exploding with the juiciness of the flavor. Gradually, he felt his anger dissipate. He considered whether he should call Holly to apologize for sounding like an idiot that morning. Or whether he should drive by the office to tender the apology in person, or to even not bring up the issue at all; Holly did not seem like the kind of person who could keep a grudge.
It was perhaps because he was in such a relaxed state that he noticed the man seated opposite him. Actually, it was the man’s shoes that he noticed: they were combat shoes, the kind that military men usually wore on duty. Due to force of habit, even when no longer in the military, some of them still bought shoes in that category because they had gotten used to it. Once Samuel noticed the shoes, he trailed his eyes to the rest of the man, he noticed that he paired the shoes with a pair of denim and a t-shirt. The man was trying as much as he could to blend into the crowd, he had even ordered a cup of coffee, but anyone who took a good look at him would notice how taut he sat, and how his eyes followed everyone who came into the restaurant. Even from the place he was seated, Samuel could tell that the man was conveniently keeping an eye on him as well as watching the door.
The taste of the pancakes went cold in Samuel’s mouth. He looked around to see if anyone else noticed what he saw. But it was mid-afternoon, and the only other occupant of the room was a nursing mother and her child. Most people were either at work on at their places of business. The teenagers would be coming in later after school. He noticed that there was another man standing outside, leaning on a sleek blue range rover. It was the sort of car plain clothes policemen used. It afforded them anonymity as well as making sure that they had the speed that they required.
He considered his options and decided to leave the restaurant. If they had not made a move to grab him yet, that could mean that they were waiting for someone else or maybe they were just tailing him. If they were tailing him, he could try to lose them, and if they were waiting for someone else, he could perhaps get to Holly’s office before they apprehended him. In any case, he was not waiting around to find out. He was about to get up when a figure materialized in front of him. It was a woman. She had a stocky build and an air about her that suggested the military.
“Mr. Clark, I am Abigail Philips with the FBI.” She got out her badge and showed it to him. “I am going to be asking you to come with us to our office for some questions.” Her voice was steely, the voice of someone who was used to being obeyed.
“I do not have anything to say to you.”
“Well, why don’t you let me be the judge of that.” She had a smile on her face.
“I want to see a warrant. I am not following you anywhere till I see a warrant.”
“This isn’t a formal arrest. We just have a few questions to ask you, that is all.”
“And what if I refuse to go with you?”
“I do not think it would be in your best interest for you to take that route. It would be better for everyone if you came with us.”
“It doesn’t seem like I have a choice in the matter, do I?”
“I’m afraid not,” she said.
Samuel looked around. The brunette was looking scared, as though she would burst into tears at any minute, and the other woman had grabbed her bay and was heading for the door.
“Fine,” he replied with a sigh. “Please lead the way.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
THIS IS WHAT FEAR TASTES LIKE
Holly watched as Samuel’s car pulled away. She immediately felt hot; the air conditioner in the car had prevented her from realizing how hot the weather was. She was a little worried for Samuel. Perhaps she had not realized the depth of fear he was feeling, but his suggestion had told her that beneath his calm exterior, he was just a scared man smiling his way through the pain. She should not have been so cross with him, she though. Who in his position would not be scared? And fear makes people do crazy things. For all she knew, Samuel was holding up more than most people she knew, at least he had not completely unraveled yet. She resolved to call him at the end of the day to apologize and maybe find a way to take his mind off of the particular circumstances.
She decided to walk to Gilbert’s to grab a cup of coffee, she had skipped her daily routine because Samuel had shown up at her house right at 6 am., and she had not had time for anything else except putting on her clothes. She had not even put on her makeup appropriately. As she got close to Gilbert’s stand she noticed that there were just a few people queuing up to buy anything. That was highly unusual: being in the commercial district, there usually was an influx
of workers on their way to work in the mornings, and the rate usually gradually decreases in the afternoon, but ultimately, there was never a time when the number of people on the queue reduced to a trickle as was the case now.
“Gilbert?” she called when it got to her turn to be served.
“Hello, Holly. How are you?” it was Clarissa, Gilbert’s wife who poked out her head to greet Holly.
“I am very well. Thank you. How are you?”
“I am doing just great. You want the usual, No?”
“Definitely.”
“Coming through!” she had a smile on her face, but the edges were lined with sadness. Holly thought to ask what the problem was but thought better of it. She did not know the woman enough to be able to pry into her private business. She stood patiently while Clarissa bustled around, getting the coffee ready for her.
“Here,” she said when she was done. Holly accepted the steaming mug of coffee and smiled her thanks.
“Where is Gilbert? I never thought the day would come when I would not find him here. I think I’ve begun thinking of him as part of the landscape here.” Holly gave a nervous laugh. Clarissa merely looked on, managing to squeeze out a wan smile herself.
“Gilbert isn’t feeling really great,” Clarissa answered.
“Oh,” Holly said, feeling instantly foolish. “I hope he is getting better? What is wrong with him?” she asked, trying hard to mask her concern.
“Pancreatic cancer. The doctor said it is a good thing we caught it on time. He has been confined to bed rest now. Surgery should be in a little bit.. He is at New General.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. Shouldn’t you be at the hospital with him?”
“I want to. But someone has to be here. Our insurance policy is only able to cover the surgery. We still have to pay for the medication ourselves. My daughter, Caren, is with him right now. I will be heading there later this evening.”
“Everything would just be alright, Clarissa,” Holly said. She handed her one of her cards. “Do not hesitate to call me if there is any problem whatsoever. Regarding the issue with your insurance company, I would find a way around it. Just give me a few days.” The woman nodded.