The Hunted Girl

by Lawrence J Epstein

  “The desperate plea of a desperate man.”

  After Flanagan got a few extra fortune cookies, we drove back to his office.

  “He’s in Room 3 down the hall. You might notice the two police officers outside the room and the fact that Mr. Benedict’s legs are chained to the desk and he’s wearing handcuffs. I suggested removing the handcuffs and giving him a .45 when he sees you but, unfortunately, the D.A. is a stickler for rules.”

  “Thanks, Flanagan. I owe you another ice cream cone.”

  I nodded to the two officers, who avoided my glance. Then I went into the room.

  Some people fall apart in a week or a month or longer. William Benedict was already there. I almost felt sorry for him.

  “Hello, Mr. Benedict.”

  “Danny.”

  “As we agreed, I am not here to talk about the case unless you want to do so. I came to help you. My father has many friends who have been in jail. They talked about it.”

  I tried to look sincere when I wasn’t.

  “What are you most worried about, Bill?”

  “The other prisoners. If they come after me trying to be friendly.”

  “I’m not going to lie to you, Bill. That’s a serious problem anywhere, in any prison, but especially where they are going to send you. You want some suggestions that work?”

  “Sure.”

  “All right. First, and this is important, you can’t look scared. Practice walking around with great confidence like you belong there. These predators look for victims the way muggers do. They can spot the weak and unfairly go right at them. Second, Bill, don’t accept any gifts from anyone, not a cell mate, not someone who seems nice, not a guard. Absolutely no one. This isn’t the real world. The gifts come with strings. Some predators pretend they want to be your friend or protector. They’re not your friend. You have no friends. You keep your eyes away from looking at others. Maybe there’s some staff member where you are who you see helping someone. You can talk to that person. Don’t use drugs or drink any supposed liquor. They prevent you from being alert and you’ll get in trouble if they catch you with them because they’re contraband. If an inmate asks you to do something and you don’t want to do it, be direct and clear. The worst thing you can do is not be clear. That’s a sign of weakness, and you don’t want to be seen as weak. Stay out of the dark areas. Try not to be isolated. Get involved in stuff where you can meet some decent people. Religious services. Educational activities. A therapy group. Stuff like that. Take the time to look back at what you did wrong. Don’t ever tell yourself you were tricked or you’re not guilty. You’ll never see a journey forward that way. If you need to, go to the psychologist. You’re going to be dealing with people who don’t work and play well with others, Bill. These are the people you don’t want to be with.”

  I thought he was shaking enough. If he hadn’t been, I would have described what inmates did for favors in painful detail, but Benedict would have fainted.

  “The real shame of it, Bill, is where you’ll go.”

  “You said that before, about the prison where I’ll be sent. Isn’t there any way to go to a decent prison?”

  “Normally I’d say medium security is possible. Maybe an Otisville in Orange County. But, you see, Bill, there were two murders involved. And you wanted to steal a lot of money from a lot of angry people.”

  It was time to put the bait on the hook and throw it into the water.

  “Of course, I have some connections.”

  “Please, Danny. I’ll do anything.”

  “You know I’m not a cop.”

  “Sure.”

  “And you know my father.”

  “Who doesn’t?”

  “So as we’re talking an idea came to me, Bill. I’ll tell it to you and if you’re not interested, I’ve said my piece and I’ll just leave.”

  “Okay. I’m listening.”

  “Good. I advise you not to talk to the D.A. or the cops. Nobody likes a stool pigeon. Of course if you were to speak, to provide valuable information, that might change the prison where you’ll be going.”

  I smiled. The fish had bitten, and it was time to reel it in.

  “If you were to tell me, and I appeared to be the one giving the information, no one would know it came from you. You’d be safe. And as I said I have excellent connections to help you.”

  “You mean through the Congressman?”

  “Sure. And through my father. And through my own connections in law enforcement. Hey, I got to see you, didn’t I? I know my way around the rules.”

  “What would I have to say to you? I don’t know so much.”

  “You want to give it a try?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Let’s do this, Bill. I’ll ask a question. If you don’t want to answer it, you don’t.”

  “All right.”

  “Good. Was the Mayor involved?”

  “Junior? Nah. Junior just wanted donations. He wouldn’t make a very good President, Danny.”

  “I’m aware. Did he know about the intended robbery?”

  “We teased him about how we were going to travel, but just with little bits of information.”

  “Did he buy a ticket to Micronesia?”

  “How do you know about that?”

  “You’d be surprised what I know, Bill. Did he buy a ticket?”

  “No. We decided to tell him we were all going on vacation to Tahiti.”

  “Big question, Bill. This is the question that could move you from a bad prison to a good one.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Who came up with the plan? Who organized it?”

  “If they find out they’ll kill me.”

  “That’s the beauty of my plan, Bill. You never said anything to anyone. You stayed quiet. I just figured it out. Maybe my father gave me some suggestions. Maybe someone else talked. But you never said a word.”

  “What if you say I was the one who talked?”

  “Why would I do that, Bill? If I did no one would ever trust me again. They would think I might turn on them.”

  He thought about that.

  “It was Otto Chance. He calls us into his office one day. That includes Meadows. Otto says he’s had this plan for a long time. He’s been waiting years to carry it out. He needed a Board with only people he knew from business school. He told us about the plan. It seemed easy. We were the ones in charge of the Bank. If we timed it right we could be long gone by the time anyone discovered it. Nobody was rushing into it, though. We thought. We asked questions.

  “And then the trouble started. Meadows said he didn’t want to do it. The next thing I knew Meadows was dead. You have to believe me, Danny. I had nothing to do with those deaths. I didn’t know they were going to happen.”

  “You can’t tell me the details of what happened in that house?”

  “Not one. I admit it. I’m a thief. But I’m no killer, Danny. I never hurt anyone.”

  “You know a guy named Whitey?”

  He shook his head.

  He had given me the next step, if I could be allowed to take it. But he hadn’t given me enough. Still, the guy would be destroyed in a penitentiary. I thought if Flanagan had left this guy with a .45, Benedict would have used it on himself.

  “Okay, Bill. You did a good job. As agreed, no one finds out that we spoke, and I do what I can for you.”

  He looked sad. He understood that his life as he knew it was over. It always struck me as odd how many criminals didn’t grasp the reality of punishment until they came to it face to face.

  I walked out.

  Otto Chance, here I come.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Otto had all the answers. But he was no Bill Benedict. He’d be hard. And how would I get to him anyway? I thought about it a long time and couldn’t come up with an answer.

  I tried Al Flanagan again. He said absolutely not. He was already in enough trouble because of me.

  I’m not like most people. I have a criminal con
sultant in the family.

  I drove out to Sag Harbor to see my father.

  Alden was cleaning the living room. She greeted me when I came inside.

  “Mr. Ryle, how nice of you to visit.”

  “It’s good to see you as well, Alden. How’s my father?”

  “Better. He’s walking around the block several times a day. He goes out with friends. He always feels better when he sees you.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “Reading. That man reads more than an English teacher. I never saw so many books.”

  “He’s making up for lost time, Alden.”

  “He’s working hard at it.”

  I went into the study. My father looked up.

  “How is Jennifer?” he asked.

  I told him what Hannah had told me about the aunt, who was evidently despicable. He just listened carefully.

  “What can I do for you, Danny?”

  “What makes you think I want you to do something?”

  “Because you have that look on your face.”

  “If I played poker, I’d have to wear sunglasses and a bandana around my face.”

  “Even better, don’t play poker.”

  Alden came in. “Would the Ryle family like something to drink?”

  “Lemonade for both of us, Alden.”

  “You do know you said ‘lemonade’ and not ‘beer,’ Dad?”

  “You don’t drink it and I don’t need it.”

  He stared at me.

  “What’s going on, Danny?”

  “It’s about the robbery in Waterbend. There’s someone involved I need to speak with. He was in charge. Therefore he knows about the killing of Mr. and Mrs. Meadows.”

  “That’s Otto Chance I take it.”

  “It is.”

  “And your friend Flanagan won’t let you see Mr. Chance.”

  “He won’t. That’s my question, Dad. How do I see him?”

  “Who’s Chance’s attorney?”

  “Murray Tenzler. He’s in Port Jeff, not far from the Congressional offices in fact.”

  “He’s the one with the office slightly up a hill?”

  “That’s right.”

  “You have his number?”

  “No.”

  “Don’t bother Alden. Go into the kitchen. There’s a telephone book on top of the refrigerator. Look up Tenzler’s number and bring it back to me.”

  “You know this guy?”

  My father stared at me.

  “Let’s just say I do and leave it at that.”

  My father would say stuff like that to me, very mysterious. I didn’t know how to interpret it.

  I got the number and brought it back.

  “Look, Dad, should I stay in the room?”

  “Of course. We have to arrange a time for the meeting.”

  He dialed the number.

  “Hello,” he said. “My name is Ryle. Mr. Tenzler will want to speak with me about a case he’s working on.”

  A few seconds later, “Hi, Murray. It’s been a while.”

  My father laughed at the response although of course I couldn’t hear it.

  “Murray, I need a favor. A big one. The kind of favor that wipes slates clean. The kind of favor that completely destroys my memory of any connection we might have had at some time.” A pause as he listened. “Good. I’m pleased you understand, Murray.”

  My father took a sip of lemonade.

  “My son is not associated with the police. This is personal. He needs to speak with Otto Chance. Yes, I’m aware. It’s not going to get out. He’s not going to the police. Just a little chat with Otto and the favor’s done.”

  My father looked up at me.

  “When do you want to speak with him?”

  “Tomorrow at ten a.m.”

  My father repeated this.

  “He’ll be in the D.A.’s office at ten. Flanagan will arrange a room.”

  My mouth opened.

  “Tell him thanks, Dad.”

  “My son says he appreciates it, Murray. As do I. Talk to you soon.”

  My father drank.

  “It’s good lemonade, isn’t it, Danny?”

  “Yes, Dad. It’s good lemonade. How did you do that?”

  “Oh, Murray and I are old friends.”

  “I caught that about your memory being erased. Did you do a job for him?”

  “Come on, Danny. You got your meeting. That is where we leave it. He and I are old friends, and he did a favor for me.”

  “All right. But I don’t believe that for a minute.”

  I drove home and began planning for the meeting with Otto Chance.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  I had a busy morning. I spoke with Al Flanagan about William Benedict. Al stared at me.

  “Since when does this office go around making the lives of criminals more comfortable?”

  “Come on, Flanagan. You make deals all the time. This time I saved you the trouble. He handed me the information I needed. And the truth is, the guy wouldn’t last ten minutes in a real prison. He’ll jump to his death or sit in the corner crying.”

  “Wait while I get a tissue for my tears.”

  “He helped. I mean it.”

  “All right. I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Medium security.”

  “What is he? Your cousin?”

  “A dead prisoner won’t do anyone any good.”

  “All right. You are way too soft, Ryle.”

  Flanagan took a sip of coffee and said, “Ryle, you should know. Junior is leaving the high office of Mayor this afternoon. He’s going to start a business. Investments I think. Or maybe it’s insurance.”

  “Or maybe it’s any business where he can call on his father’s contacts to give him money.”

  “The thought had occurred to me.”

  “It’s nice to see that you pushed your brain’s ‘on’ button this morning.”

  “I’m seeing Otto Chance.”

  “I heard. I don’t even want to know how you did that. We couldn’t get anything out of him or that lawyer.”

  “I’m very persuasive.”

  “Sure you are.”

  “Is he here yet?”

  “Yeah. They put him down in an office no less. At the end of the corridor, turn right. It’s the first door on the left.”

  “You have guards?”

  “No. We figure Otto has nothing to lose. He’s so honest we can just leave him alone. I mean maybe it’s the rainy season in Micronesia and he’ll decide to stay around.”

  “Sarcasm doesn’t suit you, Flanagan.”

  “Seriously, Ryle, I want to know how you arranged this.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you do.”

  I walked out and went down to the office where Otto was sitting at a desk. The officers outside frisked me.

  “I’ve already been searched,” I said.

  For some reason, this didn’t convince them to stop.

  I went inside.

  Otto looked defiant and angry. He’d do better in prison than Bill Benedict.

  “Thanks for getting me out of my cell, Ryle, although it won’t do you much good. I got nothing to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything, Otto. I know exactly what happened.”

  He stared at me. There was a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

  “I forgot, you’re the fixer. You know everything.”

  “No, not everything. But I know enough. I just spoke to Al Flanagan about a prison switch for Benedict. Depending on what happens I may do the same for you. Maybe you want to know why I would do this.”

  “Maybe.”

  “You know Murray Tenzler only agreed to let me speak with you because of my father.”

  “Yeah. I know that.”

  “Everyone knows my father is retired, Otto. Only he’s retired from killing others himself. Lots and lots of people call him for advice. Did you know that?”

  “I’m not surprised. Your old man never got caught. He’s already g
ot me beat.”

  “He never even got questioned. He never got arrested. There was that one time when he confessed to a crime, but that all got cleared up. And even when he’s not involved, he hears things. Things that might be of interest to you.”

  “Yeah? Like what?”

  “Like there’s already a hit out on you.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Ryle. I’m not a patsy like Benedict. I’m not going to tell you a thing.”

  “Fine. Sit there. I’ll tell you a story. What I want you to do is to correct any mistakes I make. You don’t have to add to it.”

  “And what do I get out of this?”

  “I’m not sure. But if you help me and I get the whole story right, what I do is make sure you don’t get killed. Let me tell you this straight out, Otto. I can’t stop the killer. But my father can. And my father listens to me.”

  Silence replaced his disbelief.

  “I’m still not talking.”

  “Then listen.”

  “Okay. Tell me your story.”

  “You’re a smart guy, Otto. You see how the bank works. One day you get an idea. It’s a brilliant idea. You fall in love with the idea. You gather your old friends and you pitch the idea to them. Millions and millions for everyone. No extradition and living in a Pacific paradise. It’s not a bad plan.”

  “It was a brilliant plan. Better than anything you ever came up with, Ryle.”

  “I’m handcuffed by my morals, Otto.”

  “Don’t tell me about morals. You’re too young to understand life, Ryle. It wears on you. And then you want out. You see an escape hatch. You’ll be tempted one day. You’ll see.”

  He paused.

  “How old are you, Ryle?”

  “Twenty-nine.”

  “Ha. A baby. Yeah. You’ll see.”

  I stared at him. I wondered if he was right.

  “Back to our story, Otto. Everyone agrees and then Meadows gets scared. He doesn’t want to do it. He’s going to ruin all your plans. He’s going to ruin the lives of his friends. You’ve got to stop him.”

  “Can I get some water?”

  “So your hands can be loose? That’s not going to happen.”

  Chance stared at me.

  I smiled and continued. “But if you kill him, you could be caught. So you have another brilliant plan.”