The Tender Shore: A Matt Ransom Mystery

by Bobby Underwood

  "Yes, she is. I am pleased you like her. I hoped you might. It is always good to have affection for those who work for you."

  "Mam?"

  "Jennie does not work for me as of this moment. She is your chauffeur now, at your disposal twenty-four hours a day. That is why she has her own quarters here. A small wing actually. The place is quite large, so I didn't think you'd mind, and might even enjoy the company."

  "Mind?" Stacy asked, confused.

  "This is your home, dear. Which is why it is functional but relatively empty. You may decorate it as you like, as time permits, because it is in your name. The beach is for the young," Edna added with a smile. She reached over to hold Doc's hand. "I am semi-retiring, and both Doc and I wish to remain in New Chicago." Stacy didn't know what to say. Edna quickly continued. "I know it was a liberty to take, but I thought it might please you to have a glimpse into the way Earth once was, the way it is no longer. Living here, you will have that chance. Doc and I…well, we are older, more set in our ways. We have grown accustomed to the darker skies over the rest of the world, I suppose. Chicago is our home."

  Stacy was stunned. She wasn't sure what she'd expected, but it certainly wasn't anything close to this. "I don't know what to say. Why me?"

  Edna smiled as though she had a secret. "Emily has her girls, and her job — rather her passion — at the San Francisco Museum. I am very fond of you, honey, and I would like to groom you to take over for me at Aerodyne."

  "But I don't know the first thing about…any of that!"

  "Of course you don't sweetie. But I'll teach you. And it isn't anything technical really, all you have to do is put good people around you and encourage them to flourish. Once you do that, it pretty much runs itself. You'll see."

  Stacy's head was spinning at the overwhelming responsibility, but she felt an excitement that surprised her. It was a purpose. Stacy hadn't realized until that moment that she had been drifting, not looking forward but outward. It had been that way for a very long time, probably since Paris. Paris made her think of Danny, and a second realization hit her.

  "Danny is dead, isn't he?"

  "Yes, dear. I'm sorry. I gave him a job working for me after you two broke up. I believe that he came across proprietary information which I believed to have been destroyed and stole it. Whether it led to his demise is uncertain. I wished to make sure you were okay first, before I told Matt. In case you had an emotional need to see him before Matt does whatever Matt does."

  "Why would that matter? I mean it's sad, but the part about Matt not seeing him before me. I don't think they ever met."

  Doc spoke before Edna could answer.

  "Matt is very good at what he does, but he is rather pro-active in such matters. Edna was on the speaker when talking to Matt earlier, so I heard everything. I know what those numbers mean as well as Matt does. They are storage lockers requiring a retinal scan."

  "Oh geez. You mean Matt…"

  "Matt is a decent man, first and foremost," said Edna, "but he is also driven when it comes to finding out the truth, and protecting those he loves. Both he and LeAnn love you, which means he will do things quite unpleasant in order to achieve those goals."

  Before anything else could be said, the telecom beeped.

  Chapter Nineteen

  For only by tracing evil to its origins can man finally understand that it is a darkness present in his heart since he took his first breath

  Every fiber in my being wanted to rush to that locker, but there were problems with the idea. First, if these guys were as determined as I thought they were, they would have someone watching the bus terminal. Second, rolling up in Annette's car, which meant I could be overtaken by a snail out for a leisurely stroll, made the Ferrari an essential. I'd need back-up, and Magnum's ride. I had the back-up, though Ray would not be overly enthused about it. But I didn't have the ride. Edna answered her telecom.

  "What have you done?"

  "What makes you think I've done anything at all, Edna? Maybe I just buzzed for tips on how to make a good mint julep."

  "You are not Southern enough to drink mint juleps, dear boy, and you do not like liquor." Edna prided herself on her roots in Georgia, even if it no longer existed.

  "Yeah, you're right." I gave her the rundown on what happened, extolling to her my plan, such as it was. Ray looked heavenward and his head swirled around like it was on a pivot when I explained he would be Robin to my Batman.

  "Alright. Stacy will make some calls and clear up the situation. You may leave. You will not be questioned as you are acting as my…as her agent."

  "Stacy?" I wasn't following her at all.

  "She will explain when Jennie drops her off. She may stay with you or come back to her home as she pleases. Ray must stay there to verify the account Stacy will relay to the appropriate authorities." There was a pause. "Be very careful. Matt," she admonished with concern.

  "Gee, Edna, I usually just take my Flash Gordon decoder ring and my Tom Mix six-shooter with me."

  "I am quite serious, Matt. I suspect your first instincts in Mexico were correct. I have it on good authority that the man you killed on the beach in Los Cabos was not from Earth. He worked for the government on Mars."

  "That probably means these guys do as well." I didn't know what that meant. And I didn't like it that I didn't know what that meant.

  "I would be more surprised were they not than if they turn out to be."

  "Anything else you know that you'd like to share?"

  "Do not be peevish. You would have known had you not jumped ahead of schedule."

  "Good thing for Ray though."

  "Yes, your instincts usually serve you well. It is one of your many saving graces." I could almost see her smiling on the other end. I could have in fact if I'd had the monitor turned to the 'on' position.

  "Alright. I'll wait for LeAnn and Annette to get back."

  "Annette?"

  "I'll have Stacy explain when she sees you," I smiled. I heard a 'humph' and the call ended. Few people ever got the last word with Edna, whom I loved, so I was feeling pretty good.

  If this did go all the way to Mars, where everyone was human, this was as big as Paris, maybe bigger. I made arrangements to pick Ray up at 6:00 when his shift ended and stepped over the bodies on my way out. I heard the sound of sirens above me as I drove away. It was a sound that hadn't changed in hundreds of years, and had always meant bad news. Some things never changed.

  Chapter Twenty

  For when he is adrift in an ocean of darkness, her love is a lighthouse guiding him back to the safety of her warm velvet sea

  LeAnn and Annette returned about forty minutes after I did. I'd already showered and changed, hoping to wash off the smell of death and the invisible aura killing always left on a man's soul, or in my case, a bio-organic's soul. I had no frame of reference, I only knew that it always stayed with me somehow, like a footprint to where I'd been, and therefore who I was. I had only ever killed when it was necessary, but never hesitated to do so. Hesitation got you killed. But I could never help feeling that it left a stain somewhere on my soul that could not be washed away. Maybe only God could cleanse me of those stains. I hoped so, but I was in no hurry to find out. I wanted to stay here with LeAnn a lot longer.

  She and Annette blew in with laughter and packages from some place called Chica Sexy but LeAnn took one look at me and knew. She'd missed it that time in Paris, after Maria had been killed, and since then, she had always been able to tell. Fortunately, since Paris, those occasions had been few and far between. Her recognition was brief, however, and Annette would never have guessed anything was amiss with the enthusiasm LeAnn displayed as they sorted items from the shiny bags and elegant boxes all bearing the Chica Sexy moniker. I saw flashes of chiffon and lace, shiny satins and smooth silks, and attractive outerwear that I knew was only a teaser for the heaven it covered. I caught a glimpse of something sexy and deep purple and hoped it was meant for LeAnn's body. Not that there was anythi
ng wrong with Annette's. Her tiny frame was wonderfully sexy, and I imagined her boyfriend couldn't get off her once she let him on, but she wasn't mine, and I didn't love and adore her with every fiber of my being. I did LeAnn.

  They shuffled things around between the bags and boxes, probably because they had placed them all together when paying, and now had to separate them accordingly. I tried to see whose bag the purple thing went in but it was like watching a carnival vendor from centuries ago play the pea under the shell game. The girlish laughter finally waned and LeAnn whispered something in Annette's ear. She nodded and smiled, immediately announcing that she was on her way to get the best Pizza in Miami. I checked my watch. I asked if she could be back by five o’clock so I'd have time to eat a few slices before I took care of some business.

  "Oh, yeah," she laughed conspiratorially, looking at LeAnn rather than me. "It'll take that long for sure."

  I gave LeAnn a quick nod of my head and she tossed Annette the Ferrari keys. "Don't let her get stripped," I said.

  "No way! Thanks. I'll be back at five.”

  LeAnn took me by the hand and led me from the bed to a chair of dark wood and soft red velvet with no arms. She stood me in front and turned me around to face her. She kissed me long and soft while one hand reached down to adore what was hers, and what would always be hers. She had returned home wearing a different outfit. It was either soft black or such a deep brown it passed for black under a certain light. There was one long sleeve of lace and a plunging neckline which swept gracefully under the other arm, leaving it and her shoulder bare. The bottom was short in front, showcasing her legs, then gliding around her hips at a downward angle, like a sensual wave rushing from her sea and tapering off just behind her knees. It looked sexy on her. Her lips were soft and wet, her tongue entwining itself lovingly around mine. She slid sensitive fingertips gently down my front toward the part of me aching for her, changing direction at the last possible instant to draw light circles above my waist.

  She was driving me crazy and she knew it. She took my clothes off in an excited flurry and pushed me onto the oversized chair. She lifted up her dress, grabbed the chair frame where it extended above the red fabric, and covered me with the softest part of her. I disappeared far out into waters more beautiful and filled with wonder than any man had ever sailed upon. With the enthusiasm of a little girl with a new toy she moved in ways joyous and pleasurable to both of us. She gripped the chair like a vice, her movements vertical and horizontal, twisting and sinuous, circular and serpentine, each motion filling the room with sounds of sweet agony as she came closer to heaven.

  My hands were filled with the fluid curve of her gorgeous white rear, spreading its beauty wide so I could sail father out into her now storm-filled sea. My vessel pounded her waves until the sun broke through the clouds suddenly, violently, a scream of ecstasy and relief filling the room as her sea began to calm. She laid her head on my shoulder limply, spent. I felt clean again, the stain on my soul removed by this wonderful girl who was my wife. A soft whisper in my ear, tiny, and from somewhere deep within her, where it was warm and filled with my love said, "Am I the sexiest girl in Miami?"

  I kissed her cheek tenderly, running my fingers through her silky dark hair. "And New Chicago, and Paris, and Mexico, and any place else you decide to go, love of mine." I covered her ear with wet kisses as I whispered words of love. "No girl's as wonderful as you. I love you."

  "I love my man too," she said hoarsely, lifting up and sliding to the floor to show me just how much. I disappeared once again, and once more I found myself where it was warm and wet and exciting. I stroked her hair and she reached up with one hand, touching her fingertips to mine. She squeezed harder as her fervor grew. And then it was over, and there was even more of me that belonged to her, love she had taken from me by sweet force. Her lips were still wet as I lifted her up to wonderful laughter and deposited her magnificent rear on the edge of the mattress. "Don't hurt yourself, Daddy," she laughed.

  Soon I was kissing pretty white legs I adored. I was working my way up to her delicious garden of delights when there was a knock at the door. We froze. I looked at my watch. It wasn't close to five o’clock yet. Then I remembered. "I think it's Stacy. Edna said she was coming by but didn't say when. Your crazy hot body makes me forgetful."

  "I'm glad it does, sweetie," she said, sliding off the bed like a little girl and kissing my lips like a big girl, before fixing her dress. "Go into the bathroom and put your clothes on, honey," she urged. "I'll get the door. Do I look okay?"

  "You look like the most beautiful creature on heaven or earth, but I may be biased."

  "I'm happy you are," she said, giving me another kiss before letting in Stacy.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  For evil is a puzzle with many pieces, and only when each piece is put into its proper place can man see the true scope of the darkness which surrounds him

  I poured a soda and listened while Stacy explained to LeAnn all that had transpired. It was a lot to mull over. Apparently, Edna had already begun the process of transferring to Stacy not only her company, but her clout as well. Stacy now possessed a rather thick leather-bound book with names of important people either close to Edna or with whom she had a great deal of influence. Edna had informed her that every single person in the book had been apprised that Stacy now spoke for her, and any request was to be treated as though it came from Edna directly. This told me that it really had been in the works for quite some time, as that wasn't the kind of thing you could do overnight. I had always known she was fond of Stacy, but had no idea it ran that deep. I could not picture Stacy being anything like Edna, but maybe Edna did not want a carbon copy of herself running things. It made sense. If someone were molded in Edna's image, they could never live up to the comparisons with her. But if it were an entirely different personality, someone those she employed and dealt with were forced to make adjustments to, then in time it truly would be Stacy running the empire, not Edna's ghost, or to reference a film almost two-hundred-years old, her Mini-Me. Edna was one sharp cookie.

  "Do you think once you have bigwigs courting your favor, you'll remember all us little people?" I asked, handing she and LeAnn a soda. Both of them smiled.

  "It's actually pretty overwhelming," Stacy said, looking down at the book a moment. "But it's exciting at the same time." I knew she meant it, but she was holding back, her excitement held in check.

  "And you feel guilty when you feel excited, because of John."

  She looked up at me from the bed where she and LeAnn sat, relief on her face.

  "Oh yes. How can I just go on…like…he didn't matter?” I could hear the anguish in her voice and so could LeAnn, who ran her hand through Stacy's hair, the way girls do with other girls sometimes.

  "He loved you, Stacy," I said. "I only met him once and I could see it. He is with God now, and he can look out for him far better than you or anyone else ever could. He will be taken care of, and he would want you to be happy. Grieve for him a moment, then honor him for the rest of your life by enjoying it. It's what he would want, Stacy, for you to be crazy happy."

  They were almost the same words Edna had said to me in an alley in Paris, where Maria had lain dead because I'd been a little slow getting there. The words hadn't come out corny when I'd used them on Stacy. Maybe because I had found them to be true. LeAnn was looking up at me with what I knew was pride. A tear rolled down Stacy's cheek and she whispered, "Thank you" and then slipped away to the bathroom.

  "That was wonderful," LeAnn said quietly. "Sometimes you're not a big dufus."

  I was trying to think of a witty comeback when a knock on the door interrupted me. Annette came in carrying an armload of pizzas. I gobbled down a few pieces while the girls sat on the bed chatting and eating. It was like a slumber party for crazy hot girls. I tried to focus on the pizza, but every time LeAnn caught my eye, I couldn't help thinking of the dessert on the bed, dessert I hadn't finished.

  Annette had bee
n right, though. I'd had good pizza in New Chicago but this was a cut above anything I'd ever eaten. I wolfed down more than propriety probably allowed, then made sure I had extra rounds for both the Howzer and the Nakra. I came around the bed and kissed LeAnn before heading out. Her eyes told me to be careful. We had been together long enough that I knew how to decipher her gaze, even without my Flash Gordon decoder ring. I fired up the Ferrari for the first time. I could feel the power of all those horses neighing in perfect rhythm. I drove through Miami looking and feeling cool. Well, feeling cool at least.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  For truth is a river carrying us on perilous currents over a precipice and into the darkness, until there is only light

  There was something surreal about being in Miami so shortly after vacationing in Mexico. How long had it been since I awoke to a sky of browns and grays? I had traveled from one pocket of the world spared the consequences of atmospheric decay to another. But it was something more than that. Both Mexico and Florida had kept their personalities, for better or worse. Driving through Miami as day gave way to dusk and the Miami nightlife began to blossom, I could easily have been in the late twentieth century were it not for the glider craft that streaked gracefully through the skies. Miami still looked as it always had, and its culture and nightlife remained stuck in some time loop, to be replayed over and over each decade and rebooted each century.

  Still I missed New Chicago. I missed the chilly winds coming off the lake. I missed the Chi-Town ocean. It now reached New Chicago after some underwater weapons testing went disastrously awry, opening deep fissures and causing a large portion of Old Chicago to drop into the sea. I had many pleasant memories of Shell Beach in Chicago, all of them involving LeAnn. I even missed the gray-brown sky and the slightly acidic translucent blue-gray rain. New Chicago was our home. Memories of what was us began there and were intertwined with its pulse. LeAnn's Summer Dream had given her even deeper ties to its community. A sudden wave of despair at why we were here in Miami washed over me as I pulled up to let Ray in the car.