The Golden Gates

by C. R. Kliewer

  39

  The Final Play

  * * *

  The lights in the room blazed, and Anna spun around to see O’Connell standing only a few feet away with a cocked revolver in hand aimed directly at her chest.

  “You?” The look of astonishment on his face quickly turned to a wiry smile. He was evidently pleased to see her and did not bother to hide the amusement he found in her predicament. “I knew we had a rat aboard, but I didn’t expect it to be you. For once Daniels was right. I thought it was Smith the way Hess, the ‘undercover agent’ was dogging him.” He kept the gun pointed firmly in her direction, though he was clearly relaxed. “I see you’ve found Eva.”

  Keenly aware of the gun, her body tensed, but her eyes boldly locked on his face. “It was you? Why?” It was not an expression of horror, more like curiosity. What could his reason possibly be for offing the famous starlet?

  He shrugged. “She ignored the rules and grew a conscience. Apparently drew the line at treason. When she realized where the plans were headed, she had the crazy notion she could steal them back. And was in the middle of figuring out how when Finn came aboard threatening her intentions, or at least that’s what she thought. She had been working on Daniels, knowing that he was involved in transporting them. She thought she could seduce, I mean, induce him to help her. Little did she know that in running to Daniels, she was running straight to the Raven.”

  “Daniels is the Raven?”

  “In a way. That was Eva’s mistake. She thought she had found a pawn of Raven’s she could easily manipulate. Had no idea that she was dealing with a king.”

  “Foolish mistake.” She smiled sardonically.

  “Yes it was. She made her play at the park, asking him to help the damsel in distress. He told her they would discuss it further portside after dinner. As soon as he came back from the park, Daniels told me of her proposal. Of course, it was obvious something had to be done. But it wasn’t until you and I were about to play a set, that Daniels told me her suspicions of Finn. Later, I discovered the bulk of the plans were missing from my cabin. Since Finn had come on his own to see me there, it seemed like Eva’s suspicions were valid. Who else but him could have taken them? But I see that Finn was not the one to blame.” He eyed her provocatively. “Pity they found those bloody rags in his room. Poor chap. I really did like him.”

  “He made a mean Bloody Mary.”

  “Yes, he did.” he laughed. “Too bad it wasn’t Hess they shot in the alley.”

  “So Daniels kept his after dinner date with Eva?”

  “Yes. He had to inform her that Raven wanted to meet to discuss her recent disloyalties. He also made it quite clear, with relish I might add, that if she did not keep silent or come when expected, that it would be her husband who would suffer the consequences. That was her weakness, rather he was her weakness. It’s pathetic really. He doesn’t know half the shit she’s dug him out of. Threw out their secretary in Monterey. Apparently he wasn’t too good at keeping books. Didn’t keep record of the money he stole. But that’s beside the point. The fact is, it wasn’t until then, when she was forced to choose between her husband’s welfare and her own, that she came to realize Daniels was the last person she could hope to receive any sympathy from.”

  “She knew then that he was the Raven.”

  “Quick learner college girl, but like I said, that’s only partially true. Now what I said about Daniels being the king was correct, at least as far as chess is concerned. Without him the game is up. But his power is limited. He moves to get out of the way, not to attack. He’s the face, if Raven has a face. Think of him more as a figurehead if that helps. I need him because without him, I can’t win the game, but that’s where his power stops.” His voice lowered as he took a step toward her. “You see, he can’t control the board like I can.”

  Anna took a step back. She was very aware of how close she was coming to the hole in the floor but didn’t dare take her eyes off his.

  “I should have guessed. You are the rook. With your love of the game, the name makes sense now.” Her eyes grew deep, her voice suddenly low and accusing. “I suppose I am nothing more than a game piece to you as well. Did you ever care about me Shamus, or am I just a pawn like the others? A minor piece for you to play around with until you grew tired of me, before you decide to offer me up to the other side, trading me in for something better.”

  “No. You were never even part of the game. You see, I hadn’t planned on you. Beltran was supposed to get some stuffy temp in stiff tweed from the agency. But they sent you. True, when I first saw you, I thought you were a pretty face, well, that and a pretty pair of legs,” he glanced appreciatively at her ankles, “but I never suspected that any real danger would come from you. But for once Daniels was right. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he didn’t trust you. I should have listened.” He took another step forward. She held her ground, knowing she couldn’t afford another step back.

  “So what are you going to do with me now?”

  “That depends on you. I know behind that sweet innocent façade of yours, you’re just as much a devil as I am, and I love you for that. But something has to be done. I can’t let you off Scot free.”

  He took another step towards her. No more than a foot now separated them, and the gun, only inches away, had not veered from its target. Anna’s eyes dropped to the gun, causing her foot to shift involuntarily backwards. Her heel dropped over the edge of the chasm compromising her balance. He reached forward and caught her by the waist with his free arm, drawing her body close to his. Her eyes flickered, looked up into his, and softened. Feeling her body relax in his grip, he knew he had won. He leaned in again to enjoy the spoils that were rightly his, to take the kiss that was so cruelly robbed him on deck by Inspector Horace. Tightening his hold, squeezing the very breath from her lungs, he pressed his lips firmly into hers, smiling as she kissed back.

  When he did draw away again, looking down into those seductive green eyes that had first captivated him, she returned his gaze from under lowered lashes. Her chin still raised and lips still dangerously close to his, he heard her utter softly:

  “Checkmate.”.

  40

  Lights Out

  * * *

  O’Connell barely had time to grasp the significance of the word before he felt the sharp sting of a blunt instrument on the back of his skull. His fierce hold on Anna released, and he slumped to ground revealing Forster standing directly behind, the butt of his pistol still raised.

  “What took you so long?” reproached Anna wiping her mouth with the back of her forearm, still trying to catch her breath from O’Connell squeezing her so hard.

  “What can I say? I’m a sucker for romance. And you my little rat, you are quite the actress. That scene put moving pictures to shame. Maybe you should listen to Beltran’s advice. You’d have quite the public following.”

  She glared at him. “Shame on you Mr. Forster. Shame on you for putting me through that. You could have struck him before he kissed me.”

  “I wanted to see to how the story ended,” he grinned, “besides, I had some trouble not believing your little performance myself. You were very convincing.” You were kissing him back. What the hell was I supposed to think? “That is until you had the last word. I say, you don’t seem very surprised to see me.”

  “I’m not surprised to see you. I am surprised that you don’t know me better than that. You really couldn’t tell? You know for a G-man you’re not very good at reading people.”

  Forster’s smile immediately vanished.

  “Yes, I know.” Her eyes had that clairvoyant look again.

  He looked at her and a sudden flashbulb went off inside his head. Everything was illuminated, but not long enough for him understand what it was that he was seeing. As quickly as it came, it left. He was back in the dark. What was it? There was something here. Something he should have known. The rest of the world could have missed it, but he should have known. Should k
now it now. The trouble was he didn’t! What does she know? And how the hell does she know it? And in the depths of his mind a new question emerged; only now he realized that it had been plaguing him ever since he first bumped into her on the Allura. Why is she here?

  She continued to look at him as if waiting for him to catch up.

  His mind tried to piece together snippets of the last several days: The train. Mr. Brown. The yacht. Beltran. The office. The hidden recess. The plans. O’Connell. He still wasn’t getting it.

  She huffed, finally losing patience. “I’ll explain later.” She made to pass him.

  He grabbed her elbow and spun her around. “You’ll explain now.”

  “We don’t have time.” She pulled the last page of the Macon plans from her satchel and handed it to Forster.

  Surprise and relief intermixed in the lines of his brow. He looked at her again through dark eyes. “It was you who put the plans in the office recess for me to find. You looked so innocent typing away on those keys, dirty little rat.” His smile returned. “How did you manage to get them?”

  “I found them in O’Connell’s cabin. You know, you keep calling me that. I don’t like it.”

  “Am I injuring that tender ego of yours again?” The familiar laugh lines reemerged.

  “Shut up.”

  More serious, “You should have told me.”

  “You should have known.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Won’t be the last time you’ll be saying that, Forster.” The two whizzed around to see Inspector Horace filling the doorway with his frame and moustache. “Look at you two, so engrossed in each other you’re liable to let the prisoner get away.”

  O’Connell. She had almost forgotten. Her eyes swiveled back to where the heavy form of Shamus lay.

  “He’s not dead is he?” An unintended tenderness crept into her voice.

  Forster looked at her, a shadow passing before his eyes. “No, but he will have quite a headache when he wakes up,” he said lightly, masking what he truly felt.

  She sighed. Her frame drooped. He suddenly noticed the strain she was holding in those tense shoulders. Exhausted, her body was now showing signs of giving way beneath her. For all her pluck she wasn’t impervious. Forster acted quickly. He wrapped his arm around her and eased her to the floor, resting her back against the steel wall.

  Horace pulled a flask from his coat pocket and handed it to Forster. “Here, this may help.”

  Forster unscrewed the cap and held it up to her lips, but as soon as the scent of strong bourbon filled her nose, her face twisted and she pushed it away. “I’m quite alright now. No need to poison me.” She leaned her head back against the cold steel and closed her eyes.

  Lieutenant Pike came through the galley door followed closely by Officers Grist and Harrison. The officers began trussing the unconscious body of O’Connell so that when he did wake up, he would be ready to move to a more secure location. Anna rolled her head to look at the officers doing their work and then rolled it back to look at Forster.

  “Forster?”

  He looked down at her in cold compassion. “Yes?”

  “I’d like to go now.”

  Forster looked to Horace. Horace looked at him. “Why don’t you take her back to the station and get her some coffee. I’ll join you as soon as I can wrap this up.” He looked down at Anna. “There are still a few things I would like to know.”

  You and me both, Forster thought looking back down at her as well. Reaching out a hand, he grasped hers, lifting her up. It was immediately evident she would need support to walk the short distance to the Harbor Police Station, so he pulled one of her arms across his shoulders while wrapping one of his own around her waist.

  It was with mixed emotions that he performed this duty. He was relieved that the plans were now in the proper hands and grateful for her part in getting them back, but he wanted wring her neck for sticking it out in the first place. And despite all that she had done, he was still suspicious of her role in the whole affair. And of her feelings for O’Connell.

  She on the other hand, weary as she was, was not thinking about very much at all, except how much nicer it was to have his arm wrapped around her waist instead of O’Connell’s.

  41

  Death and Taxes

  * * *

  “Poor ol’ Scarface was shocked to see me riding in the car with him. Thought he was seeing a friendly face at first. Thought I might be useful in getting him out of the jam he was in. Didn’t realize his trusted shaker was one of the G-men who helped indict him. His last words to me were not the most cordial.”

  “I’m guessing it was something to the effect that you better watch your back,” grunted Horace.

  The three were now gathered in Horace’s office for a quick Q and A session. Now fortified by strong, but gritty coffee, Anna sat in a swivel chair; her eyes gaining back some of their brightness while her limbs were starting to respond to the caffeine. Horace was leaning back in his chair behind the desk. A curl of smoke rose from a Van Camp propped underneath his moustache. He felt he deserved the luxury tonight. Forster, his own unlit snipe dangling from his lips, was half sitting half leaning against the front of Horace’s desk.

  “Something like that. Said something about wanting to buy me a new pair of shoes.” The twisted grin appeared on Forster’s face. “Of course as soon as J. Edgar found out about it, he flipped. Thought I needed to lay low for a while but knew he would need a more legitimate reason to get me to leave. That’s when this came up.”

  “Your life is not legitimate enough for you?” asked Anna.

  “Funny you should put it like that.” He looked at her, but did not go further.

  “Don’t mind him, Miss Kelly. He’s always had a chip on his shoulder about life and death situations.”

  “Well, you’re the one who put it there Horace. I got the scar to prove it,” he laughed.

  Anna looked to Horace for an explanation.

  Horace looked at Forster with distaste. “I’m the one who saved your bony little German ass too, remember that.”

  “Should have left me to rot in that field. You know that.”

  “You were a kid.”

  “Old enough to wear the uniform.”

  “Old enough to lie your way into it. There was no way I was going to leave you out there and I don’t regret it. Anyway, you turned out to be a good man, if not a misguided, self-absorbed, bastard of a one at times. Hoover’s damn lucky to have you, and he knows it. Otherwise you’d be gone by now.”

  Forster laughed bitterly. “Sometimes I think he’s trying to ditch me anyway. Got me transferred this far didn’t he?”

  Anna, trying to keep up with the nuances and innuendos, was beginning to get frustrated. “Will someone please fill me in?”

  “Not my story to tell miss. Anyway, don’t think I even know all the facts yet. I only met J. during the second act, when I shot and just about killed him during the war. He’ll have to tell you, when he’s ready. That is, if you’re still around by that time. Stick around if you can manage to. He could use a good woman to straighten him out. Someone to clear the demons in his head. You’re a good woman from what I can tell. She’d make an honest man out of you Forster.”

  “It’s a little late for that.”

  “Better late than never.” Horace smiled warmly at Anna.

  A hint of color burned Anna’s cheeks.

  “Shut up Horace. You’re making a fool of yourself,” warned Forster.

  “I’m just saying,” with a twinkle in his eye and a smirk behind his moustache.

  “You sound like Moreau.”

  “Moreau? What did Moreau say?” Anna looked at Forster. “Is Moreau part of all this?”

  “Not exactly. I met him on a mission several years ago, and he was a convenient in here, but he will always be first and foremost a chef. I don’t think he even knows who I work for.”

  “How did the feds find out about the missing plans in the
first place?” Horace asked.

  “The Navy was notified when their disappearance was discovered. They called us.”

  “And what led you to the Allura?”

  “Schmidt.”

  “Smith?” Anna asked. “How?”

  “He defected from Germany several months ago. Some brownshirts attacked him on his way home from the university. Messed him up pretty bad. They thought he was a communist. Turns out he was just Catholic, which apparently is still deserving of their punishment, even if it’s not as big a sin in their bible as being red. He had to leave his family behind and asked us to help get them out. In return, he volunteered to go to Los Angeles where he might be able to help us gather some information on a communist cell there. He was able to work his way into the highest circles. How he and Beltran became friends is still a mystery to me, but knowing him opened a lot of doors for the professor. And it turns out he did his job too well. Knowing Schmidt’s connections to the film society, the Secret Service contacted Hess asking him to keep an eye on Schmidt as a suspected communist inciter. I think they regretted their choice pretty quickly. Hess took his job very seriously, and seeing Beltran and Schmidt at a party together, he convinced Beltran to bring him along on the Allura. Even bought a new camera for the trip. Turns out, having Schmidt on the boat was a lucky break for us. While aboard, he was able to get his hands on a communique Stu had written to his superiors in the rearmament program. When the Allura stopped off in Monterey, he went ashore and gave us a call. It wasn’t until Eva believed I was working with the Friends of Germany and tried to hit me up for more money that we had any idea it had anything to do with the Raven. If we had, we would have let you in on it.” He directed the last statement to Horace.