Caged

by Shanna Ehrlich

  “So what happened then? She just kept turning you down for a year?”

  “At first, yes. She figured out her friend had a thing for me and didn’t want to cause problems, but I was persistent. I found out what dorm she was in and would go visit her everyday. Sometimes she wouldn’t be there and I’d park myself out in the hall for hours, studying while I waited. It was the best thing to ever happen to me when it came to my grades. Occasionally I’d have to leave without getting the chance to see her and I’d pick one of the dandelions out front and leave it at her doorstep. Sappy. I know.

  “It went on and on like this. She’d come home, see me waiting, tell me we couldn’t be together and go inside. But after about a month she started to break. She’d stop and talk for a little, not long, maybe just five minutes, but it was worth it to me. Then about two months in she’d come home and study with me, right out in front of her doorway. The looks people gave us were hilarious.” He glanced up smiling as he remembered. “It was three months on the dot after the frat party that she agreed to a date with me and that was it. We were inseparable. In terms of dating she was rather inexperienced so I took my time with her. A really long fucking time that bothered me back then, but was worth it for what I have now.”

  “Wow. I can honestly say I did not have the same experience with my ex. I mean, when it was good it was really fucking good, but it ended about as fast as it started. I’m still a little sore on the subject.”

  “Ah shit.” Keith felt like an ass for blabbing on about Annabel after Carter told him earlier about his wife. Or ex-wife that is. “I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have brought all that up.”

  “Nah, don’t worry about it,” he waved a hand. “It’s just still recent so I sort of want to stab all the happy people out there.” He laughed along with the statement, showing it was obviously not heart felt. “I don’t mind talking about it though. Honestly it gives me a little hope. And now I sound like the sappy one.”

  Carter finished off the last of his beer and the waiter walked over to retrieve the empty glass. They both ordered another round.

  “So how long have you two love birds been married now?”

  “Only about four years. She made me wait to marry her until she finished grad school.”

  “Did you both go to ASU?”

  “No, USC actually, that’s where I’m from, Los Angeles, but Annabel’s family is here so after she graduated we decided to move back. Her dad said he would get her a partnership with the courthouse as the psychologist on file and that was that. I quit my job in LA and started working for the firm I’m with now.”

  “Do I sense a little hostility about that?” Carter asked as the waiter set down their food, along with the two new beers.

  “No, not really. Just more family drama.” Keith cut off a piece of his steak and swallowed the bite before continuing. “My parents are weird too. My mother was disappointed I married Annabel to begin with. They never got along. She always told me Annabel wasn’t good for me and it pissed me off to no end. Then when she found out we were moving it was like the end of the world. Not only did I ruin my future by getting married, but I was quitting my seven figure job, that my parents so nicely paved the way for, to start out at the bottom for some unknown law firm. She told me I was being an idiot and I told her I was a grown man and could make my own choices and didn’t need her help every step of the way. Trying to prove her wrong has been a little exhausting,” Keith admitted.

  He left out that he hadn’t proved shit. Sure he had a job and a lot of cases, but nothing of the importance he would have had if he stayed in LA. Now with Jason’s case he finally had something to prove. It was pure luck he landed the job. One of the partners at the firm handles Christian Polls’ business legations and when his son was arrested it was only natural he look for a lawyer close to his stock, but as the evidence came to the surface, it was apparent to everyone this was going to be a hard case to win, and Keith secretly feared Christian would go to LA, hire a big shot attorney and be done with him. He couldn’t let that happen. It would crush him. He had something to prove and this was his shot. He wasn’t about to let Jason down or himself.

  “Enough about me though. I feel like I’ve been talking about myself this whole meeting. What about you? How’d you get into the private investigator business? I’m guessing that’s not something you go to school for.”

  “No, not really,” he answered through a bite of lobster. “I sort of just fell into it. I was a punk kid who ran away from home and landed myself in juvi one too many times. The last time I was arrested my parole officer gave me two choices: be tried as an adult and sent to prison or become an informant for the state. I’m not in prison so you can guess what I chose, and I happened to be very good as an informant. I didn’t just give them information, I found them information, and to my luck they liked what I brought them so much they started paying me for more. In a matter of a year I went from a convict living on the streets to an under the table government employee with a car and an apartment in the Foothills.”

  “Do you still do work for the government?”

  “No. I stopped working for them when my demand began to exceed what they could ever afford to pay. I’ll throw them a bone every now and then though. My own version of pro bono, but that’s all.”

  “What else have you worked on?”

  “A ton of stuff. Almost fifteen years’ worth. Hostile takeovers, employee verifications, political candidate investigations and occasionally infidelity cases, although I’m a little pricy for those now. My most recent position, with the company I mentioned earlier, was to investigate potential partners and make sure they didn’t have any skeletons in their closet, and if they did, which they always did, it was just a matter of bringing them to the surface or keeping them buried.”

  “Do you have any experience with cases like this?” Keith asked.

  “I don’t, but it’s the same thing isn’t? You want to know what secrets this guy has, if he’s lying or telling the truth about what happened, and you need me to be discreet about what comes to light and what doesn’t.”

  That was exactly what he was looking for, but there was still something bothering him. “If you’ve worked on all these jobs, no offense, but why haven’t I heard of you. I looked you up. I couldn’t find anything.”

  “No, you wouldn’t. That’s not how I do business. Like I said before, I’m good at staying under the radar. I need that anonymity to be good at what I do.”

  “Which makes sense, but how do you book jobs if no one knows to hire you?”

  “Same way I got this one. Word of mouth. Christian must have got my card somewhere.”

  There was that arrogance again. Keith wanted to hire him, he seemed good, and his confidence in getting the job done only made Keith that much more confident in him, but he was worried about the price, not like the Polls couldn’t afford it, but the choice was resting on his shoulders. It was a big weight to bear. He decided to be honest with him. “I’m not sure you’ve got this one yet.”

  “Don’t I? I thought that’s what we were doing here.”

  “It is, but after meeting you, I’m not sure we can afford you.”

  Carter rolled his eyes. “I like you Keith, you seem like a good guy and you’re trying to do right by your client, but when it comes to business, I’m not stupid, and I don’t like to play games. If I thought Christian couldn’t afford me, I wouldn’t have wasted my time.”

  This guy did not beat around the bush and Keith decided not to either. “What’s your fee?”

  “Half a million. Two hundred and fifty up front and the rest when I hand over the file with everything you need to know.”

  Keith’s jaw about dropped to the floor. That was more than he charged. “I can’t agree to that amount without discussing it with my client.”

  “Sure you can. If you think this is what’s best for the case, then that’s what he’s going to do.”

  “I don’t know you well enoug
h to recommend you for that amount. It’s about five times higher than anyone I’ve ever used before.”

  “And I’m about five times better.” Carter wiped his mouth with the napkin and then set it on top of his plate. He was still so sure as to what the end outcome would be. “But let’s make a deal. I’ll cut my fee in half. Two hundred and fifty thousand total and I’ll give you an additional ten percent cut.”

  “Why would you do that?” It was quite the negotiation to receive from the requesting party, and Keith was a little skeptical. Christian Polls was a millionaire several times over, he could afford the initial amount, he wouldn’t be happy about it, but he’d pay. Keith knew that and so did Carter.

  “I want a partnership. I want you to use me as your PI for future clients. I’ll give them a deal and you a cut, just like I am now. It’s win win. You look good to your clients and we both reap the benefits.”

  “When do you need an answer?” He already knew the answer was yes, but he didn’t want to look too eager.

  “Now would be good.”

  Keith leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, breathing in deep, pretending to mull it over. “I want in on your investigations with Jason. I want to know everything first hand. I make the call on what we’re going to use. Everything else stays buried.”

  “Done.”

  “Good. When do we start?”

  “I’ll make some initial calls tomorrow, but we’ll start this weekend. We’re going to check out the party and work our way backwards.”

  “Backwards?”

  “Yes, this didn’t just come out of nowhere. You don’t go to a party and kill your girlfriend without cause; I don’t care how high you are. Something happened and my guess is, it was a long time coming.”

  The waiter dropped off the bill and Keith reached in his pocket for his company card. He handed it over without looking at the cost and when the waiter walked away, Carter set down a thick manila folder in front of him.

  “What’s this?” he asked as he opened the top cover.

  “Just a little something I give to all my first time clients. I find it helps them understand my worth.” He stood from the table and reached out a hand to shake. “I have to run, but have Christian wire the money and I’ll get started right away. I’ll email you the account information.”

  “Will do. Did you want me to have my secretary write up a partnership agreement?”

  “Absolutely not. I can’t have that shit on record. Anonymity remember. I trust you. You’ll be good for it.”

  Keith nodded his agreement and Carter stepped away, but then called back toward him.

  “Hey Keith, I want you to know I appreciate your honesty tonight. It was refreshing and the only reason I even considered making our deal.”

  Keith stared back at him, confused to why he was telling him this. How did he know he was being honest?

  “And I’m sorry about the elbow. You were a damn good pitcher.”

  Carter walked out without another word and Keith knew with his final statement what the file on the table held. He turned back in his chair and glared down at the one-inch thick pile of papers in front of him. It was his entire life. The pages included baby pictures, high school transcripts, research on past girlfriends, pitching stats, newspaper articles, his marriage certificate, the miscarriage and typed out transcripts from past calls to a couple of his fraternity brothers and even one to his old boss at the LA firm. What the fuck? It was everything. Carter probably knew him better than he knew himself. In the back there were even details on Annabel and recent photos of her trip to New York. One of the photos was of her and her two girlfriends, grouped together with a man he didn’t recognize. It wasn’t one of the pictures she came home with and he made a mental note to ask her about it.

  The file felt on the verge of intrusive. No, fuck that, it was intrusive. It’s not like he had anything to hide, but what if he did? He didn’t want Carter looking into his life. Some things were just meant to be private. Yet along with his anger, he was also impressed. His secretary had set this meeting only two days prior. If he could find out all of this in two days, what would he find out about Jason in two months? It was now clear he made the right decision. No matter the outcome, he’d have no second guesses over hiring him. The file had acted as Carter’s closing argument.

  Seventeen

  The sky lit up with bolts of light as the rain poured down in sheets, blanketing the entire city. When Annie left the house the skies were clear and blue, the possibility of rain never crossing her mind, and somehow between backing out of the driveway to pulling into the parking lot of her office, a fifteen-minute drive at most, everything changed.

  She found a space as close as possible to the front doors, but was still separated by fifty feet of walkway. She usually loved that walkway, it was pretty, with green grass, trees and benches, but now she was glaring at it like the worst piece of decor her office building could display. She didn’t have an umbrella, was going to have to make a run for it, which usually wouldn’t be a big deal, except this was the first time in a week she bothered to get dressed. She was proud of herself, and now annoyed her effort would be for nothing.

  Turning off the car she checked one more time in her backseat to make sure an umbrella hadn’t mysteriously made an appearance, but came up empty handed, just like the last two times. If this were any other day she would sit in her car and wait it out, desert monsoons don’t usually last longer than twenty minutes, but she was late for a meeting. He was going to be there soon. With one last sigh she turned off the car engine and opened the door. The rain assaulted her before she had a chance to step out and she quickly closed the door and ran, going as fast as her heels would allow.

  Annie stepped into her third-floor office drenched from head to toe. She looked like a soaked cat. Her wet hair hung in her face and droplets trickled down her spine as she closed the heavy door. Breezing through the large open space, her shoes clicked and slipped on the wooden floor beneath her while she made her way back to the private bathroom. She could at least try and rectify some of the problem.

  Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she squeezed the wet ends of her hair into the sink and ran her fingers through the strands. Black smudges of mascara graced her cheeks and beneath her eyes. She wiped at them, first with the side of her hand and then with a wet paper towel, but the dark remnants were stained to her face. Bracing two hands on the white marble basin she took a deep breath and tried to steady herself against the overwhelming urge to cry. This was all his fault. Why did she let him get to her like that? So what he took her phone. It shouldn’t have taken her days to get to that conclusion, but it did. She’d spent the last week terrified of him, jumping at every creak she heard, but she wouldn’t let it happen anymore.

  “Get your shit together,” she looked up and said to herself in the mirror, exhaling long and hard. “He’s not here, he’s not here,” she repeated.

  Annie had come to the conclusion that if he were physically there, he wouldn’t have been able to sneak into her home, see her with Keith, and not take some sort of action. He was just trying to scare her, to make her think he was close. It’s what he did. His usual behavior when she pissed him off. It happened when she dropped the marriage bomb, when she tried to leave him the first time, and after the night at the police station. She wouldn’t let him get to her this time. But the peculiar thing about all her feelings was how nonsensical they were. A part of her was freaking out while another part still missed him and wanted him back; the way they used to be in New York without a care in the world, living in their own delusional dimension.

  She eventually confirmed the phone exchange was on Brax’s behalf when she looked through her contacts and found his name listed even though she had deleted it when she landed back in Arizona. Another thing to strike her was the number listed under his name. It was new, not the one he originally gave her. This new number had a 480 area code, the same as her phone, a Phoenix area
code. It was just another part of his plot to scare her; to make her believe he was nearby. She wanted to call him, tell him her feelings and ask to be left alone. She debated for over a week. Would let her finger hover over the call button and occasionally press down, letting it go through only to hang up right away. She should just delete it again, be rid of him in her effort of bravery, but she couldn’t. He was like a bad habit she wanted to quit. She did quit. He wasn’t good for her, could end up hurting her, but she still wanted him close. Like a pack of cigarettes you hide under the toilet tank lid. You’re never going to smoke them, not unless you absolutely need them, but at least you know they’re there.

  Taking out her stash of makeup from the cabinet beneath the sink, she began to touch up her face, using the remover to wipe away the black stains beneath her eyes and a brush to reapply the powder. With each stroke she felt better and better, like she was becoming herself again instead of the whiny baby persona she had taken on in the past few weeks. Her hair still looked like shit, but after tying it back she was able to pull off some semblance of attractiveness.

  As she was finishing up the final touches, a soft knock sounded from the entry door. That must be Jason. He was right on time. Walking back to the door she straightened her skirt and donned her best empathetic smile before answering. A young man stood in the hallway dressed in plaid shorts and a blue polo. Keith said he was twenty, but he barely looked a day over eighteen. His short, brown hair was spiked and gelled in place and despite the bags under his eyes, he looked well put together. The rain outside must have settled down already.

  “Hi. You must be Jason. I’m Annie. Come on in.” She opened the door a bit more and stood to the side, encouraging him to enter.