“He owns the Longneck. And it’s the nicest place he owns. He’s known for the shortness of his temper. I’m sure our friend Bud does not want to get Manachii mad at him.”
Dick laughed. “I’ll say. When he gets mad at someone, he doesn’t like to see them again. Of course, no one sees them anymore. They just vanish.”
“If you knew Manachii owned the place, why’d you ask Bud if he owned it?” Crystal asked.
“See what he’d say. Either way, I get him. If he said he owned it, I’d say Mr. Manachii would be interested to know that.”
“So, what’d you find out?”
“Exactly what I expected to find out—nothing. Oh, it would have been nice if you looked over and saw Al and Joe playing pool. But I’d have put five bucks down that we wouldn’t see them.” Tom watched a black car pass them. “I hate tinted glass. It ought to be illegal.” He refocused on the road. “There’s a good chance that our friend Bud has already called Joe and Al.”
“Do you have the Longneck’s phone tapped?” Crystal asked.
Dick chuckled. “Don’t I wish.”
“Don’t we all,” Tom said. “We don’t have enough to go to a judge and get authorization for a tap. It always works on TV. But I guess all those judges are in California. Sure aren’t in Dallas. Judges here usually won’t even listen to you.”
“Remember that time you caught Judge Roy Bean in the men’s room. You got the search warrant.” Dick let out a war whoop.
“Yes I did. But the other side of the story is, I ran into the Honorable Judge a few days later and he said if I ever again so much as spoke a single word to him when he had his pants down, I’d—I believe his exact words were— ‘cool my buns in jail for a week.’ He was not smiling, either.”
“Have you ever seen him smile?” Dick asked. “I’ll bet he frowns while he’s having an orgasm.” He glanced at Crystal. “Oops. Sorry, Crystal.” But he continued laughing.
“Is his name really Judge Roy Bean?” she asked.
“No. His legal name is Roy Pinto. So of course after he became a judge, we all started calling him Judge Roy Bean.”
“Not to his face,” said Dick. “Then again, Tom was speaking to His Honorable’s rear.” That started Dick off on another round of laughter.
“It’s appropriate. He’s got the same, kindly temperament of old Roy Bean. What a sour crab.”
#
Tom and Dick delivered Crystal back to her apartment. Brandi was working a late shift, so Tom had no chance to grill her about her visit to the Longneck. Lucky break for Brandi.
As soon as she kicked off her shoes, she called Mark. “Sorry it’s so late, but I just got in and your message said to call whatever the hour.”
She filled him in on JT’s encounter with Joe and Al and her narrow escape. “She's safe for the time being. Wouldn't hurt if you escorted her to the office tomorrow.”
Mark said nothing for several moments. "There’s no question she’s in danger now. A better plan might be for JT to go directly to her mother’s, not come to the office at all. Gives us a day or two to see if we can wrap this up. She said her mother has a different last name and lives somewhere near Fort Worth. So, unless they're more sophisticated than I think they are, they won’t trace her there. JT's confident they did not follow her to the hotel?"
“She said she was positive.”
"So, if she left from the hotel and went directly to her mother's, she ought to be safe. Call and insist that she do that. Tell her that’s her job for a couple of days."
"I'll call her now."
Crystal disconnected just as Brandi came in from work. “Lots of news, but I’ve got to make a quick call. Grab something to drink and I’ll fill you in.”
Crystal called JT. “I’ve just been talking with Mark. He and I have agreed that you should leave the hotel in the morning and go directly to your mother’s. Do not go by your house and don’t come to IRS.”
Crystal listened to JT saying she had to work. She had to help prepare for the Tuesday presentations.
“Mark said your job is to call IRS each morning and we’ll keep you posted.” JT started to protest again and Crystal interrupted. “JT, Mark said that if anything happened to you because you stayed around to come to work, he would feel responsible. He’d never forgive himself. Sally and I feel the same way. The most important thing you can do is stay safe. And the best way to do that is to go hide out at your mother’s. Please promise me that you will not go near your house or IRS. Promise.”
There was a slight pause. “I need to make arrangements for Eddie Ray’s funeral.”
“Isn’t there someone else? Some family member?”
“No. No one. I will do it.”
Crystal thought for a moment. “JT, we’ll make the arrangements. IRS will take care of everything.” She hoped she wasn’t overstepping her authority. “But you must agree to go to your mother’s house for a few days.”
“Okay. Luis and I will come for his funeral.”
#
Crystal had given Brandi all the day’s news which led to a thirty minute discussion. Now the two women pursued their own interests, Crystal looking over some IRS papers and Brandi watching the news on television.
“Boy, that would really burn my butt,” Brandi blurted.
“What would?”
Brandi muted the TV. “Weren’t you paying attention? This last story. Some woman stole another woman’s identity. Got all her vital information, date of birth, social security number, mother’s maiden name. All that stuff. And then, she used that to drain the woman’s bank account, run up huge bills on her credit cards, everything.”
Crystal made a sound of disbelief.
“That’s not the worst part. They told her, the original woman——the victim for God’s sake—they told her she should change her name. Re-establish her credit under a new name. Start over.”
“Did she? Did the woman change her name?” Crystal was sitting up straighter now.
“No. She said she would find the thief and if the police couldn’t do anything, she would.”
“Good for her.”
“Know what the police told her? Don’t do anything illegal. They told the victim that.” Brandi’s voice was an octave higher. “I think she ought to find the woman and cut her hands off. Can you believe that? They told the victim not to do anything illegal.”
Brandi clicked the sound on the TV back on and turned her attention to the next news item. Crystal tuned the news out. How horrible it would be to have someone steal your identity. Take away ... you. It would change your whole life. I’m with the woman, Crystal thought. I’d fight back. I’d go after the person. I wouldn’t let them do that to me.
#
Once again, Crystal slept fitfully. She tossed and turned, fell into strange places where she could see herself from afar. Her dreams were troubling, but she didn’t know why, couldn’t remember what they were, couldn’t quite tell if she were dreaming at all.
Then they became frightening. She observed herself, as if she were another person, standing to the side. At one point, her mouth was missing. Later, she watched as she reached up to rub her nose, but her nose was gone. She got dressed and started to put on earrings. But she had no ears. And then she had no eyes. No features at all. She was just a blob. No personality. No identity. She was running, looking back at her pursuer, but there was no one. In her mind, she knew no one was trying to harm her. Physically. But they were erasing her. She was disappearing. Someone had stolen her identity. And she realized she was no longer Crystal.
She woke with a start and instinctively reached up to touch her nose and ears and mouth. She blinked her eyes and looked around the room in the darkness. She could see outlines of things. She shivered and pulled the sheet around her, thinking about the Crystal she had watched in her dream, the Crystal with no features, no identity, not really Crystal at all. And she knew what she had to do.
Chapter 45
CRYSTAL arrived at Intelli
gent Retrieval Systems just before 8:30. Without even going by her office to drop her purse, she marched straight to Mark’s office. Three steps inside, she saw Phil Wilson.
“Oops. Sorry. Didn’t know you had somebody with you.” She turned to leave.
“Come on in. Phil and I are about finished.”
“I’ll come back later.”
“No, no. Have a seat. It will only be a minute.” He turned his attention back to Phil. “That’s exactly what I needed from you.”
Phil sat casually, legs crossed, hands resting comfortably on the arms of the leather chair. “Well, if everything in that one area really went to hell in a hand-basket, we could lose money. Not likely. But, by tightening that up just a little, add some of those phrases I jotted down, we can eliminate that possibility altogether.”
“You’re absolutely right. Thanks.” Mark looked at Crystal. “You’re on.”
She had prepared what she would say to Mark, but she hadn’t counted on Phil being there. She looked in his direction. He exuded his usual air of confidence and maturity. Older than Crystal by at least twenty years, she had always respected him. At least until last week. What did she say now? She shifted in the chair, not certain where to begin. “The, ah, meeting begins at nine.”
Mark raised his eyebrows. “So?”
“Well, this could wait until after the meeting, I guess.”
“Come on, Crystal. You came striding in here with a definite purpose. Clearly, you had something on your mind. Let’s hear the topic, at least, and decide how much we can cover before nine.”
She glanced at Phil. He was watching her, as relaxed as a cat on a sun-drenched porch. Her upper lip began to twitch and she faked a cough and put her hand up to cover her mouth. Both men were staring at her. She had to say something. Her throat seemed to constrict, some part of her not wanting to say anything. She forced herself to speak. “Remember last week? You mentioned a new approach to medical auditing.”
“Yes. Phil suggested it. An excellent idea.”
“Well.” Her voice cracked, like a teenage boy whose voice was changing. She stole a quick look at Phil. He had uncrossed his legs and now his hands were gripping the chair. His discomfort gave Crystal enough strength to continue. “Well, Phil and I had discussed that possibility about two weeks ago.”
Phil cleared his throat. “Yes, we did. I believe I mentioned that to you, Mark, when I told you about it.”
“I don’t recall that, but you might have,” Mark said. His voice was perfectly neutral and he looked at Crystal as if to ask where she was going with this.
But Crystal hesitated. Does this make any difference? I’m not really a confrontational type person. Is it worth a fight, alienating a coworker?
In her mind, she saw her featureless face from last night’s dream. It does matter! I’m not a rug, to be walked on. She twisted in her chair and stared at Phil for several seconds. His eyes now focused on his knees and he did not look up.
She turned back to face Mark, and spoke before she could change her mind. “Did he tell you that it was my idea? Yes, we discussed it, but it was my idea.” She was shaking and she pressed her elbows tightly against her sides. “I believe Phil will tell you that he brought nothing to the discussion.” She inhaled deeply and slowly let the air out, trying to relax. “Isn’t that right, Phil?”
Phil didn’t look up. “We discussed a number of aspects for such a project.”
Crystal’s anxiety began giving way to anger. He’s not giving up. Well, neither am I. When she spoke this time, her voice was low and edged with impatience. “But did you add anything to my ideas?”
“We talked about, ah, many things. Ah, I’m sure—”
“Can you name one idea that you offered? One, single idea?” Her face felt hot, but the shaking had stopped and her lip no longer twitched. Her eyes remained focused on Phil and did not waver.
“Well, ah, I don’t remember ... ah, probably ... .”
She sat straight, head held high. In her mind, she saw the figure of last night, and the features had returned to her face. Her voice relaxed a little and she said very calmly but very firmly, “Phil, would you tell Mark it was my idea and mine alone? I told you about it and we discussed it, but it was my idea and not yours.”
Phil crossed his hands in his lap. He swallowed, then straightened his back. He raised his head and looked directly at Mark. “It appears I gave you the wrong impression. And I apologize to Crystal and to you. It was her idea entirely. I was so enthusiastic about it, I guess I got carried away. I was sorry when you told the group it was my idea, but I didn’t have the courage to speak up.” He looked back down at his hands.
Crystal debated with herself. He tried to steal her idea and yet he was making it sound like a misunderstanding. But, I’m getting credit for it, she reminded herself. That’s what counts. Do I want to alienate Phil for life? Do I want him fired? Her mind flashed back to Tuesday. There was a moment when I wanted Mark to fire JT and that would have been a mistake. But this is intellectual piracy.
Mark broke the silence. “Crystal, I’m sorry I credited your idea to Phil. You can be sure I will set the record straight for the entire group. It’s possible I read too much into what Phil told me. Certainly, he was enthusiastic about it. Thank you for clearing up the mistake.” He glanced at his watch, then looked back at Crystal. “We’ve got only five minutes before the general meeting. Phil and I need to finish up. After the meeting, you and I will talk some more.”
Crystal nodded and stood up. Her head was high as she walked out of the office, not with a swagger, but with an air of confidence she had lacked for a long time.
Mark began the meeting by stating that he had made a mistake the other day and it was actually Crystal’s idea for a new approach to the monitoring of medical costs. He had mistakenly attributed it to Phil.
Next, they reviewed Phil’s program for Tuesday. Even though his project was in its initial stages and there was nothing to demonstrate, Crystal had to admit it was a good presentation. Mostly, she was amazed that, in spite of the blow he had received just five minutes earlier, Phil’s presence was confident and commanding, showing no signs of the embarrassment in Mark’s office.
Sally beamed as she described her plans and showed a small portion of the demo. When she finished, there was general approval, but Mark was silent.
“Any comments from the president?” asked Sally.
“It’s a clear demonstration of what the system can do. But I’m thinking that, while you have shown its capabilities, the demo is a little ... .” He cocked his head to one side and stuck his chin forward an inch or two. “Well, the data is a little dull.”
The smile faded from Sally’s face.
Mark continued. “Last night, no, night before last, I went over JT’s notes on her ‘extra-curricular’ work. Despite the Pandora’s box she opened, JT has done some amazing work. Sally, I think you ought to use that to illustrate, not only the folklore project, but the topological project as well. Show how they were tied together. How a seemingly impossible task was made possible using our systems. In fact, not only possible, but done in an astonishingly short amount of time.” Mark looked at the group. “It will show off how good these systems are, how they can be tied together, how they can be used in ways we haven’t thought about yet. And, it will be fun and interesting. How many times have the venture capitalists seen a search for a ton of gold?”
“Too bad we can’t show them the gold,” Crystal quipped.
“Right. If we had the ton of gold, we wouldn’t care about those guys at all. What do you think of that approach, Sally?”
“I like it. If that doesn’t get them interested, nothing will.”
Finally, Mark pointed to Crystal.
She hesitated for a moment. “I can, and will, show you what we have planned. Of course, with all the distractions, we’re way behind, but we’ll be working over the weekend and we’ll be ready. But, taking a cue from Mark, maybe we can dovetail with
Sally’s presentation. What do you think of ... .” She paused and then continued with a flourish in her voice, “The Case of the Puce Truck.” Laughter filled the room. “We can show just how that ID went. What do you think?”
“I like it,” said Mark. “Of course, we had the additional help of Pam recognizing the address. But, I still think you ought to include it. How’s that sound to you, Phil?”
Phil looked startled. His usual confidence appeared to have deserted him. “Ah, well, yes. I think that would make it seem more real. An actual case, regardless of Pam’s help, will make for a more solid showing, I would think.”
“Okay. We’ll include it,” Crystal said without looking at Phil. She proceeded to show the rest of their presentation.
When she finished, Mark took over. “For my part, I intend to provide an introduction and a wrap-up. The opening will discuss our accomplishments, much of which the Rooney people will be familiar with. But I want to remind them, nonetheless. At the end, I will outline, briefly, some new projects we have waiting in the wings, including Crystal’s medical auditing idea, and the Bowen project. Phil and I have hammered out the contract and it will go to the lawyers this afternoon.”
He looked around at the group. “Okay. We know what to do. Monday morning, say ten o’clock, let’s have a dress rehearsal. We’ll try to go through the whole program. Some of you can play the parts of Rooney people and ask questions. I think we’ll video it, in pieces, so each of you can review your own part and see what needs to be fine-tuned. Any questions?”
Sally looked around the room and when no one raised a question, she spoke. “I’d like to remind everyone that Eddie Ray Dollar’s funeral is at 2:00 tomorrow at Worthholder Funeral Home. I know most of you didn’t know Eddie Ray, but it will mean a lot to JT if you come. She’s had a tough time and deserves our support. Try to make it if you can.”
A Ton of Gold (Crystal Moore Suspense Book 1) Page 22