“So what’s your one last thing?”
“I need to know I’m free. I want to propose to my girlfriend tomorrow. So the last thing is you do it tonight.”
Betsy cleared her throat as if to ask if I was crazy.
The truth was I felt sorry for Cromwell. The jewels would get back safely. I certainly could use him for two additional years. He helped me much more than I ever told him. And the reformer in me wanted to give him a hand to walk in the path of the law once again.
“If it’s just as you say, all right. But if I go there and there’s an armed guard or a couple of vicious dogs I walk away. You understand?”
“Sure. I’m not asking you to get yourself in danger.”
“The voices inside me are screaming, Cromwell, but I’ll do it.”
“Great, Danny. Thanks.”
He reached into the briefcase he had been carrying and took out a bag and a piece of paper. The paper had the lock combination. The bag had a lot of expensive-looking jewels.
“I’ll go at one a.m.,” I said.
“Great, Danny. I really appreciate this.”
I just nodded.
Cromwell left.
Betsy said, “This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen you do, Danny.”
“You agree, Ari?”
“I think she’s being kind to you.”
“Maybe you’re both right. Sometimes you just have to believe in people.”
We went out for some food.
After that, we read.
I set out at half past midnight and drove around the corner from the jewelry store. I walked across the street. There was usually a lot of traffic but not that night. I casually strolled past the store.
No guards. No dogs. Just quiet.
At one minute after midnight, I put in the combination. The lock opened. I waited a minute. No sirens.
I put on a mask over my head to hide from the camera.
Then I went inside.
The idea was in fact very simple. I was wearing latex gloves. I lifted the bag of jewels, walked quickly across the floor to the area with the cash register. I put the bag next to the register and turned.
“Don’t move.”
Several voices were screaming at me.
I squinted as I faced a lot of flashlights.
There had to be ten police officers there. I imagine if any one of them knew who I was I would be a doomed thief.
“I’m not moving,” I said. “I’m unarmed. This is all a mistake.”
It must have been a good line.
Two of the cops laughed.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I was sitting in the cramped office of a homicide detective named Jumbo Meredith. I didn’t know what his real first name was since everyone called him Jumbo. He deserved the nickname. He sat across from me. I think he went ten minutes before taking out a sandwich. I had to decipher his words as he spoke through his food.
“So you’re the killer’s kid.”
“I’m working my way toward thirty, Detective. I’m not a kid.”
A sneer with accompanying food. It was a very unpleasant sight.
“To the cops in Suffolk County you will be the kid as long as he’s alive. Maybe you should join us in wishing him dead.”
“I’d rather stick with ‘kid.’”
There was ten seconds of silence as Jumbo reached into a desk drawer. His hand emerged grasping a chocolate bar. It looked good. I was hungry.
“You ever been in prison?” he asked.
He knew the answer, but he was about to make a point and wanted my inexperience with life in jail to be right in front of us as we spoke.
“I’ve never been arrested.”
“Before now,” he said.
I nodded, with great unhappiness.
“But you know about how the law works. Your friend from the D.A.’s office is coming over.”
“Flanagan? When will he be here?”
Jumbo shrugged. “Soon, I guess. But no one can save you. Except me.”
He was doing a good job of getting my attention.
“You want a deal? I’m not talking about my father.”
“It’s not about your father.”
“Then keep talking.”
“There’s a bunch of rumors floating around. According to these rumors you can bring in the missing girl.”
“You should know enough not to believe rumors.”
“Too bad because this rumor would really help you.”
I gave silence as a response. It was meant to indicate that I was listening. Jumbo understood.
“There’s a lot of pressure to find the girl. It’s coming from the public. All over the country. You created quite a mess by taking that girl.”
“I don’t believe I ever claimed to have taken Jennifer.”
“Sure. So there’s a deal I’m supposed to float. I ain’t so happy about it, Ryle. But I got a job.”
“What’s your deal?”
I thought about calling a lawyer. But they had their own ways. They would speak for me. And, naïve and stupid as I was, I wanted to speak for myself. I’d never tell anyone to do that, but I was ready to hear Jumbo out.
“It’s real simple, Ryle. Perfect for you. You bring in the girl, and all charges are dropped.”
I might be young. I might be the son of a former professional killer. But my mother never bounced my head on the floor when I was a baby.
There was something very fishy.
“That’s an interesting offer, Jumbo.”
“That’s Detective Meredith.”
“But we’re friends now.”
“So what’s your answer?”
“It sounds like a good deal. I just need to think about it. You think I should call a lawyer? I got a good friend who’s a criminal lawyer. You’d hate him.”
“I know I would. I already hate every criminal lawyer. Take my advice. Forget a lawyer and take the deal. It’s the best you’ll get and it’s a gift if you ask me.”
I checked my watch when Jumbo turned.
“I don’t want to say yes to you, Jumbo. I’ll tell my answer to Al Flanagan.”
Jumbo’s face reddened. It was quite a sight.
So we sat there. It was about ten minutes before Flanagan arrived. He stared at me and used his finger to indicate that I should go with him. We went to what I took to be an interrogation room. He went over and flipped off some switches.
When we were seated opposite each other, he said, “I can’t figure out why your father didn’t kill you as long as he was getting rid of pests.”
“My father loves me.”
“He always did have bad judgment.”
“Thanks for coming over, Flanagan.”
“Oh, sure. I’ve got nothing else to do. The D.A.’s office decided to take the day off.”
“You know about the so-called deal they want to offer me?”
“Sure.”
“It’s a lot of fog and lies.”
“You can’t talk that way about a detective.”
“Some people say the police are willing to lie to get what they want.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“And off the record?”
“Of course they lie. It’s legal and it’s useful.”
“You want to tell me the truth or you want to continue this charade?”
“You going to call an attorney?”
“Not if you tell me the truth.”
Flanagan nodded.
“You won’t like it.”
“No kidding. I’m loving it so far.”
“It was a set-up. We had some charges against Cromwell and his girlfriend. Can you imagine some girl who finds him attractive? Anyway, somebody comes to him. He won’t tell us who. According to Cromwell, this person, who you understand may not exist in the world outside Cromwell’s imagination, tells him the plan. Rob the store. Get you to take the jewels back. And, before you ask, this gentleman tells Cromwell the exact physical price of not agreeing. As
you may know, Ryle, Cromwell would be crowned king at a cowards’ convention. He folded immediately. He follows what he’s supposed to do. He robs the store, gets stupid you to return the jewels, and then calls the cops about your being in the store. We’re there watching the Great Danny Ryle caught in the act.”
“How did you catch him?”
“Cromwell is good at what he does. He is not exactly a criminal genius. He didn’t spot the fact that the store had a camera outside. He practically stood in front of it when he put his mask on. He’ll get a special page in the publication Stupidest Criminals of 1983. And don’t laugh. You’ll have a page in there too.”
“What’s this with Jennifer?”
“The store owner isn’t going to press charges. Between us, I think there was some insurance question about the jewels. I don’t know and I don’t want to know what it was. So you’re off the hook. The cops figure maybe they can trick you into bringing in the little girl.”
“Her name is Jennifer.”
“I don’t care if it’s Little Mary Sunshine. You should bring her in.”
“This is between us?”
A sigh. “Go ahead.”
“I have less than two weeks to find out who killed her parents.”
“I told you, Ryle, they killed each other.”
“Then I’ll find that out. Anyway, I’ll bring her in if I can’t find the killer.”
“All right. You won’t find anything. Go ahead and look. You want to talk to Cromwell? He’s next door.”
“Can I bring along a weapon?”
“Give me a minute to think about that.”
I got up and followed Flanagan.
Cromwell was sitting at a desk just like the one Flanagan and I had been at.
“Could you please flip the switches, Flanagan,” I said. “I wouldn’t want anyone hearing what I have to say to Cromwell.”
Flanagan almost smiled as he did as I asked and walked out of the room.
“I had to Danny. They were going to do terrible things and not just to me.”
“Who wanted you to trap me, Cromwell?”
“You think they walked up and introduced themselves? It was like a tv show. Some guys in hoods grab me and throw me in the back of a car. They drove and I thought I was dead. Then they stopped in this deserted place and told me what I had to do and what would happen if I didn’t do it. I’m sorry, Danny. I really am.”
“I also know people who do terrible things, Cromwell.”
“Yeah, I know. But you’re a good person. These guys weren’t. Can’t we make a deal? I’ve been helpful to you, haven’t I?”
“You know, Cromwell, right now I’d walk out and make some calls. You wouldn’t be dead, but you’d have trouble standing and walking for a month.”
“You wouldn’t do that, Danny.”
“I don’t know. Right now I have enough anger inside me to consider it. Only one thing stops me.”
“What’s that, Danny?”
“You helped me when I most needed it. You helped me find someone I really cared about.”
“And I can still help.”
“Here it is, Cromwell. Nothing happens to you. We forget this. But when I call you, you do what I ask. Immediately.”
“Some stuff costs money.”
“Understood. We have the same arrangement as before. I’ll pay for what I need.”
“Done. How long does this last for?”
“You pay it off like before. I’ll decide when you’ve done enough to call the deal over.”
“All right. That’s fair.”
He had really been worried.
“The first step is I call you tomorrow. You know the big bank in Waterbend?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll give you names. You get all you can on them.”
“Sure, Danny. I’m glad to do it.”
“Cromwell?”
“Yeah?”
“You pull anything like this again, and there will be no deals to be made. And I will get revenge.”
“But you’re a good guy.”
“Good guys treat others like they’re treated. You try to mess with me, that’s how this good guy is going to treat you. And that’s a promise.”
Cromwell stared at me for a few seconds.
I wanted him to stare. I wanted him to see my father reflected in my eyes.
He started to shake.
I got up and walked out of the office.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I called Betsy and Ari and told them what had happened. Then I got some hot food, drank several cups of coffee, took some notes on my pad, and went home. Betsy had left a note. She was at the library looking up information about the Bank of Waterbend.
I still felt dizzy, excited, and angry, but I knew it had to be done so I did it. I called Cromwell. The Bank was all I had, and so he was going to go back to working on the directors. I threw in the Mayor.
I knew I needed sleep, but when I lay down on the couch, my eyes refused to close. My body couldn’t move, but my mind couldn’t stop moving.
There was a knock at the door. I wanted to throw a cover over my head and pretend that reality applied to someone else. Whoever was knocking was persistent.
I got up eventually and dragged myself to the door.
I was surprised when I opened it.
“I couldn’t leave.” She was staring at me with steely eyes and a chin set with the determination of a linebacker.
“Miss Drake, I wish I could help you. I’ve given you all the information...”
“Everyone says you are the only one who could know. There are a lot of people around here who are not fond of you or your father. I’m not leaving until I see her, Mr. Ryle. I want to know with my own eyes that she is all right. Don’t give me some runaround. I traveled a long way and I don’t want some con man sending me away.”
“I am not a con man, Miss Drake. I am just like you. We have a hunted girl, and I want to protect her.”
“And I’m getting in the way?”
“I didn’t say that, Miss Drake. But, if you’ll excuse me, you have all the best intentions in the world and none of the necessary experience to help Jennifer. There is more going on here than I can explain. Let me be honest. There is more here than I can understand. I can’t try to help you and at the same time help Jennifer.”
“What’s the ratio between people who meet you and people who don’t like you?”
“It’s a very high ratio. I can be nice or I can do my job.”
“I feel like stamping my foot. You’ve driven me back to childish behavior.”
“I’m sorry for that, Miss Drake. If you leave a number, I will call you when Jennifer is safe. May I offer a piece of advice?”
“I know. I should go home and take up quilting and petting my three cats. Which I would have to adopt since I don’t currently own any cats.”
“You should consult a lawyer. The lawyer will tell you that you will not be able to adopt Jennifer. You may not like the law. You may get furious with the lawyer and with me for sending you to her. But you will at last hear the truth from a professional. Maybe you’ll be able to accept it. Maybe you won’t. We’ll both know that you have accepted it when you go back home.”
“Why can’t I help you find her?”
“I have people who are doing that. People with training. People who can handle any danger involved.”
“Danger? Is Jennifer in trouble?”
“Yes, she is.”
Hannah Drake shook.
“I’ll make a deal with you, Mr. Ryle.”
“You’re in no position to make a deal. You can’t offer any help to me. And I can’t afford the time or energy to babysit you.”
I thought she was going to cry. My humanity decided to return to me.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I was arrested and went through a trying few hours. It had nothing to do with you or Jennifer. I haven’t recovered my balance, and I’m afraid I haven’t treated you decently. I’m ver
y sorry. I’m far better than my reputation. Really.”
Hannah nodded.
“Thank you for saying that.”
I nodded back.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“I would. Very much.”
I made the coffee. She looked calmer when I returned, served the coffee and some cake, and sat down opposite her.
“What was your deal?” I asked.
She smiled. It was a nice smile from a nice young woman from far away, someone lost in the rough and tumble of the Wild, Wild East, as some people in politics called Suffolk County.
“Let me help you as you help Jennifer. For a week. If I get in your way, if I’m more of a hindrance than a help, then you tell me and I’ll leave.”
I hesitated and looked again at her face. It was too filled with trust and hope and caring.
“We have a deal,” I said.
The smile grew wider.
“I’ll tell people you’re nice.”
“Please don’t do that. You’ll ruin my reputation.”
“Tell me about yourself, especially any skills that we can put to use to help Jennifer.”
“I’m a reporter for a small town newspaper. It actually covers several towns. It doesn’t pay much. I’m more than a bit embarrassed to say I live with my parents, but that’s common where I come from. My father takes care of lawns. My mother works in a factory. This must strike you as an amazingly exciting life.”
“It has its attractions.”
Hannah looked skeptical.
“We have dances. We have a nice library where I often visit. We have water sports.”
“And a lot of bars.”
Hannah laughed. “You are as smart as some people accused you of being. Yes, we have a lot of bars. How did you know?”
“Because men without education and hope need an escape. And men with education and hope need a place to get together with other men like them.”
“You’re an interesting man, Mr. Ryle.”
“I think we’re up to Danny.”
“I guess we are. And I guess we’re also up to Hannah.”
“Do you know much about Suffolk County, Hannah?”
The Hunted Girl Page 6