by Anna Burke
It all just felt so sick and evil. Evil had been an abstract, even somewhat archaic construct, for most of Jessica’s life. People in her life made mistakes, herself included. Family and friends suffered from neuroses and addictions, assorted psychological maladies that made them dysfunctional in so many ways, and with all that “baggage,” they sometimes injured one another. This felt different. What if wrongdoing in the world was, after all, a conscious and deliberate choice induced by lust, greed and envy, or another of the so-called deadly sins?
Jessica had been swept up in a whirlwind of malice, starting with the betrayal by her husband. That she could feel something akin to enmity from and toward the man she once loved was startling. Her sense of being face to face with evil was amplified several fold by the murder of Roger, and the blitz of attacks on herself and her friends. This was a vicious, bare knuckles brawl compared to the ritualized conflicts played out with legal briefs, writs and warrants, and all sorts of court ordered directives.
“Laura, let’s get some more coffee and then we’ll start over again.”
“Are you kidding, again? What good will it do? We’d have better luck at this point if they asked us to find life on Mars.”
“Come on, we can’t give up. Roger was a smart guy. If he didn’t give that SD card back to Margarit he must have had a damn good reason to hang on to it. He’d want you to find it and would have put it someplace you’d look. We just haven’t thought this through completely yet. Let’s get more caffeine and maybe Bernadette will feel sorry enough for us that she’ll fix us some lunch.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s go get more coffee.” Jessica scooped up the laundry basket of Roger’s items they had sifted through again. Roger’s laptop sat on the top of the stack. She lugged the basket to the kitchen where Bernadette was already drinking coffee or tea or something.
“Coffee, we need more coffee,” Jessica said as she set her stuff down on the table next to Bernadette.
“I think there’s plenty. I just made another pot since that big guy Peter March drinks a lot. He and his men need it to keep on the lookout now that they’re standing guard. What are you two up to?”
“We’ve been keeping our promise to Detective Hernandez by going through everything we brought back from Roger’s office.”
“So you could find that STD card you’re missing?”
“SD card Bernadette. Not STD card.”
“Whatever, I don’t know what it is anyway.”
“It’s a little card you can save information on. It fits into a pocket on your computer like this, see? You just push this button and it pops out.” With that, Laura pushed the button and gasped when a card appeared.
“Oh my God Jessica! Did you notice this was in here? I didn’t even think about it!”
“Yeah, I saw it. I took a quick look and it seemed like medical records and staff schedules, things like that. I presumed it was yours.”
“It can’t be mine. I keep mine in my own laptop, not Roger’s.”
Jessica set the coffee cup down she was filling, a little too hard, and coffee slopped on her hand. She wiped the coffee up and moved quickly to stand next to Laura as she pushed the card back into the port on Roger’s laptop. Laura moved quickly to the drive on which the SD card files could be displayed. Laura stopped abruptly, and looked up at Jessica.
“I don’t get it. These are my files, Jessica. This is my SD card. The one I always keep in my laptop...” she paused as the puzzled look on her face suddenly gave way to clarity. “Oh my God, Jessica, Roger must have switched them. If there is one in my laptop, it has to be the one we’re looking for.”
“Where is your computer, Laura?”
“It’s in my desk at work. I left it there on Friday. There was no reason to take it home for the weekend given the partying we had planned. I did have it home earlier in the week though. Roger would have had plenty of time to switch SD cards.”
“Let’s go get it.” Jessica was running toward her room to get her purse and keys. Laura was a half-step behind.
“You better call Detective Hernandez,” Bernadette hollered after them.
CHAPTER 34
Jessica and Laura climbed into the Porsche, since Jessica had not yet retrieved her BMW from the parking lot at the La Quinta Resort where she left it the day before. She had called the resort and made arrangements to pay for parking so they’d keep an eye on it for her. Laura had her employee identification card in her wallet. She had her keys, too, so they could get into her locked desk at her workstation in the hospital.
After they backed out of the garage they pulled up alongside a black SUV in which Peter March was sitting, rather than at his post in front of the house. He and Jessica had decided the security service would take shifts providing surveillance, by armed men around the clock, at the house for the next week or so. That allowed the police to recall the uniformed officer who had spent the previous night in front of their house. Jessica had initially suggested he and the other members of his crew sit inside where it was air conditioned, or take up a post on the back patio where they could at least have the benefit of the misters. Peter preferred the vantage point that a post out front gave them, but did ask to put a chair in a shady corner of the circular drive out front.
Bernadette suggested he take one from the patio, along with a little side table he could use for the coffee and tea she planned to bring him. Already under her spell, he did not hesitate and picked up the chair like it was made from balsa wood rather than powder-coated steel. Laying the little table on the seat cushion of the chair, he had hefted them both through the house to the front drive area. When he had set up his perch Jessica could see that while he had a pretty good view of the cul de sac on which they were located, he was shielded by a dwarf fan palm, as long as he remained seated anyway.
He’d see someone coming long before they saw him. She hoped anyone coming to the house, with malicious intent, would see him. The sight of Peter March should dissuade any more attempts to invade the house or grounds. Of course, if they needed more persuading than that, he could handle that too. They had also added surveillance cameras in several spots around the house allowing him to monitor the entire perimeter on a laptop computer as he kept watch out front.
It was probably wildly optimistic to think this would all be over in a week or two. This couldn’t go on much longer, though, given the way that Margarit was breathing down her neck. The “or else” mixed in with the ultimatum that Margarit had issued the day before at the spa was pointed. Jessica gulped wondering what a full court press by Bedrossian might look like if this past week had been Bedrossian in constraint mode as Margarit indicated.
“Peter, we have to go to the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, to the main hospital there. Can you get somebody to come with us or meet us there? I don’t want to leave Bernadette alone in the house, but we’d feel better having an escort.”
“Is everybody okay? Nobody’s sick or hurt or anything?”
“Everybody’s fine for now. Laura works at the hospital and left something important in her desk at work. We need to go get it.”
“Hang on, I was going to take a lunch break. My backup is on his way to relieve me in a few minutes. Let me see where he is, okay?”
“No problem Peter. If you can put off lunch a little longer, we’ll buy it for you. We haven’t eaten yet either.”
“Oh my God, Jessica, you’re right. I completely forgot about lunch once we found what we were looking for or maybe found it, sort of...” Laura’s voice trailed off. They didn’t really know yet if they had found anything. Jessica had put off calling Detective Hernandez until they were quite sure that they had found “it.”
As Peter spoke on the phone Jessica wondered idly how much it would take to feed a guy like him. Like Brien, she imagined he could easily wolf down two or more of just about anything Carl’s Jr. or the other fast food joints could supersize. Her reverie was interrupted moments later by the sound of a car pulling up.
An almost identical SUV pulled into the driveway and a similarly clad, smaller and younger version of Peter March emerged. They gave each other a couple quick signs and the new guy took up his post in the little shady alcove not too far from the front door. As he sat down, Bernadette popped out of the house with a tray of sandwiches and iced tea. She did a double take at the man sitting in the patio chair, took in the scene and regained her composure in a flash. She set the tray down on the table, speaking to the young man and giving the rest of them a little wave good-bye.
“Okay you two,” said Peter. “You head out and I’ll follow. I know where you’re going. Keep me in your rearview mirror, and call if you need anything. We’ll go pick up this thing you need from your desk at the Medical Center, then you can take me to lunch at Native Foods. You know where that is in the Smoketree Village shopping center off of 111?” It took Jessica a moment to make sense of this last bit.
“Isn’t that a health food place with tofu and tempeh and that kind of stuff?” Jessica asked to make sure she understood. Her tone of voice must have betrayed the fact that she was not a fan. Healthy food, yes, but health food, no.
“That’s right. I’m a vegan.” He seemed to become more amused as she continued to be puzzled. “I may be a predator on the job, when I have to be, but I’m no carnivore.”
“It’ll be alright, Jessica. I’ve eaten there before and it’s actually good. They have a place in Newport Beach and one in Westwood too. You’ll like it, trust me.”
“No problem. Let’s roll.” With that Jessica pulled around Peter March’s SUV, out of the driveway, and onto the lane in front of her house. The SUV followed as they made their way through the Mission Hills development, passed the guard gate, and took a right turn onto Dinah Shore. They turned onto Bob Hope Drive soon after, and arrived at the Medical Center in minutes. They found visitor parking quickly, too, and the three of them were soon inside the hospital.
Laura spoke to a woman at an information desk in the lobby who gave her passes for Jessica and Peter. Laura motioned for the two of them to follow her to an elevator awaiting them at the end of a second hallway they traversed. After a short ride they were on the floor where Laura nurse’s station was located. Laura bumped into one person after another who asked her how she was doing. She was stoic, telling them she was doing okay “under the circumstances.” Jessica was grateful Laura had come along to guide them through the labyrinthine hospital, but sorry she had to face so many well-meaning coworkers.
Several had stopped by the day before to pay their respects to Roger but this was more real. Laura was going to have to go back to work at some point and return to a life that was radically different from the one she led a week ago. Her coworkers said all the right things. There was just such uneasiness about it all. Maybe things were awkward because no one expected her to be there, or because death, even in a hospital was a topic no one knew how to handle well. The fact that Laura’s husband had been murdered probably made it more difficult.
Of course some of the awkwardness might also have had something to do with their hulking companion. Peter did not greet anyone or respond to greetings. He never changed his expression, remaining deadpan behind his dark glasses, and on alert. Keenly attentive to their surroundings, it was a reminder that he was with them for a reason.
In any case, Jessica watched Laura’s tension mount as she ran the gauntlet of well-wishers. She picked up her pace, nearly dashing to her desk when they finally arrived at her workstation. In a split second she had the drawer open and plucked her laptop, still in its case, from the drawer.
“Let’s check it out in the car, okay?” she asked in a whisper. Without waiting for a reply she strode at a fast clip back in the direction they had come, already a few feet out ahead of Jessica and Peter. She carried the laptop case clutched to her body rather than using the strap to sling it over her shoulder.
Jessica tried to match her pace even though she still experienced some discomfort if she stepped too carelessly on her sore foot. Peter noticed. She wasn’t sure how he knew or how she knew he knew. But he did. Fortunately they covered the distance to the elevator quickly. Once inside, away from the gaze of sympathetic, but curious, hospital staff, they all breathed a sigh of relief. They rode down in silence, passed through the lobby and hustled back to the visitor parking where they had left their cars.
“Give us another minute then we’ll take you to lunch, Peter,” Jessica said as she and Laura climbed into the Porsche. Jessica turned on the engine, cranking up the air conditioning as Laura pulled the laptop out of its case and flipped the lid open. As the computer booted up, she hit the little button on the slot that accommodated SD cards. A card popped out. She pushed it back into place and typed in her password. With a couple more key strokes she began scanning a list of files. She randomly selected one of the files, opened it and a spreadsheet appeared containing account information of some kind.
“This has to be it, Jessica. I don’t recognize the names of any of these files.” Jessica felt elated and terrified at the same time. From the look on Laura’s face, she was feeling the same way.
“You go girl!” Jessica said, clapping her hands together. Peter, who had been standing near the driver side window bent down and peered inside.
“Find what you were looking for?” he asked. Jessica could barely make out his words. She rolled the window down as Laura opened another file and the screen filled with an odd-looking array of characters.
“What’s this?” Laura asked turning the screen more toward Jessica.
“I’d say that’s an encrypted file,” Peter said looking at the screen. “We advise our clients on cyber security at times, too, and routinely suggest they encrypt important files to make it harder to steal what’s in them.”
“So now what do we do? Can we figure out what’s been encrypted?” Jessica asked a little breathlessly.
“Well, that can be done. Encryption slows down theft but doesn’t stop it. You’re going to need some technical help from professionals. I can get that but it’ll cost you. Can we go eat first?”
“It’s a deal. Let’s go.” Jessica gunned the engine on the Porsche. As soon as Peter got into his car and started it up, she backed out of the parking space and took off. “I presume he can catch up.”
She made a right turn out of the hospital complex onto Country Club Drive, hit the gas pedal and got to the light on Bob Hope in a split second. The Boxter wanted to run and so did she. By the time the light changed, Peter had pulled up behind her in the SUV. Making a left onto Bob Hope, she ignored the desire to turn the little car loose, settling in closer to the 50 mph speed limit as she made her way to Highway 111. She felt as spirited and gutsy as that little silver Porsche. They had found the needle in a haystack!
Now what? She’d get a copy to Peter and his security firm. Laura could send the files as email attachments at lunch while they were eating their earth bowls or whatever Peter said he liked so much at the health food place. Then what? Margarit wanted the card back and Jessica was perfectly willing to comply. How to do that safely seemed to be the major dilemma. She didn’t trust Margarit.
She should call Detective Hernandez. Maybe he’d have some idea about how to handle Margarit. Of course, he would probably advise her against having any further contact with the woman at all. That was, no doubt, good advice. She might even take it. Surely she and Laura and Bernadette and the rest of the “cat pack” had done more than their share already. She made up her mind. When they got to Native Foods she was going to call Detective Hernandez and turn the SD card over to him. Of course, by she would have send a copy of everything to Peter’s firm. That just seemed like common sense to back up the original. Curiosity motivated her to have his firm take a crack at decoding the encrypted files and reveal what had Bedrossian in such a state of panic. She checked her rearview mirror and saw that Peter was still with her as they sped toward the restaurant, grateful for so little traffic and that this whole ordeal was c
oming to an end.
CHAPTER 35
Jessica savored the lavender lemonade she bought for lunch at the restaurant. She was getting a nice buzz from the organic sugar used to sweeten the drink. The food was terrific despite her initial skepticism. They had bought nachos to share, and even with fake taco meat they were delicious. Jessica had decided to forego the earth bowl for a salad. It had tempeh in it, but no tofu. She had only taken a couple bites but it was good too. Laura ordered Baja blackened tacos that looked remarkably similar to fish tacos, even though the tortillas were stuffed with tempeh, instead of fish. Sitting in front of Peter while he polished off the last of the nachos was a plate loaded with what looked like a burger, a bacon cheeseburger to be more precise. There wasn’t a bit of meat or dairy on the plate, according to Peter. His sandwich was accompanied by a mound of sweet potato fries that he slathered in ketchup.
While they were eating their nachos, they had explained more about what was on the SD card and Peter gave them an email address where they could send copies of the files. Laura backed up the files onto the hard drive of her laptop, then emailed copies to Peter’s security firm. As soon as they were done eating Jessica called Detective Hernandez. He wasn’t at his desk so she left him a message about their latest discovery. As they walked back to their cars, Laura’s cell phone rang. She looked at the phone as she picked it up.