by Donald Wells
To date, in New York, thirty-nine women have gone missing without a clue as to what happened to them, all of them blondes. Because of his help, Bill now acted as a peripheral member of the PLATINUM strike force and was the team’s Pennsylvania liaison.
“Do you think the thief knows the car is special?” Bill asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t see how, you and Tori are the only ones that even knew I was building it, besides, I don’t know if it works yet, and it could be dangerous. I mean, it truly is an experiment. It could get a hundred miles to the gallon or it could catch fire and burn.”
“Well, if it burned you would have found it last night.”
“I guess, so what should I do now?”
“You’re already doing it. You called the cops, me. Now I’ll put it on the hot sheet and hopefully you’ll get it back.”
I winced. “Hopefully?”
Bill gave me one of those looks he used to give me when I was a kid, and I braced myself for a lecture.
“John, you say the car might be a quantum leap in fuel efficiency and yet you kept it in an unlocked garage. What’s wrong with you?”
“I usually lock the door, but I got distracted when Janey dropped by. But you’re right, it’s just that I’ve failed so many times that I’ve learned not to get my hopes up, so I tried not to think of it as special.”
He squinted at me. “But it is special, isn’t it?”
I grinned. “Bill I think this time I’ve done it. I’ve run the numbers on the computer and unless my inputs are wrong, she’ll run a hundred miles to the gallon in her sleep.”
“Good God, think of the possibilities. You would revolutionize every phase of travel worldwide, if such an engine could be mass produced there would no longer be an energy crisis, and pollution would be a fraction of what it is now.”
I let loose a loud sigh. “I’ve got to get that car back.”
* * *
I still couldn’t sleep, so Tori talked me into going to a Sixers game to get my mind off the car, and Bill was tagging along.
We were just leaving town when we saw the police lights flashing. It was the Mustang. It was already loaded onto a flatbed tow truck and the “borrower” was cuffed in the back of a patrol car. He was black, in his late teens, six feet tall, with short hair.
Bill asked the cop what happened.
“Well, I didn’t have to chase him; he was pushing the thing back towards town.”
Bill said. “Pushing it?”
“Yeah, it’s out of gas.”
The kid shouted from the back of the police car.
“I was bringing it back! I was bringing it back even if I had to push it the whole way.”
Visually, the car looked fine, but I had to know. How far had he run it?
I climbed up onto the bed of the tow truck, and after checking the gas cap, I stuck my head in the car to read the odometer.
My eyes widened, as my soul leapt cartwheels.
I jumped off the back of the truck and rushed to the police car, to shout at the kid through the window.
“How did she run? Was it smooth or choppy?”
He stared at me for a moment, but then answered.
“She’s smooth as silk man. I even got her up pass ninety once, but I promise I didn’t hurt her and I swear I was bringing her back.”
“Where’d you go to?”
“Newark New Jersey, I… I had to get there fast, sorry.”
I nodded at him and then the cop got in the squad car and drove off, with the tow truck following. I wanted to leap for joy, but I kept it contained until the cop and the tow truck vanished around a curb.
Tori walked over and kissed me. “John, you’ve done it!”
I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I picked her up and spun her around, while laughing like a lunatic.
Bill walked over to us with a quizzical look on his face.
“I don’t get it. Newark’s a fair distance, but most cars could get there and back on a tank of gas. What’s so special?”
I was flying high and dancing a silly dance. “Tell him Tori.”
Tori went to Bill and took both of his hands.
“Whenever John creates one of his engines, he does what he calls ‘finishing touches’ before he tests them out. He rolls back the odometer to zero and then he pours a gallon of gas into the empty tank, just a gallon, and then he welds the gas cap shut.”
Bill’s mouth hung open. “You mean that kid went to Newark and back on only a gallon of gas?”
I grinned. “Well, he didn’t quite make it back, but he got close.”
Tori smiled at me. “The odometer, what did it read?”
I raised my arms in the air and shouted. “One ninety seven point four!”
Bill said. “Good God. John, do you know what you’ve done?”
I walked over and held Tori around the waist. “I not only know what I’ve done, but I know how to do it again.”
26
Bill opened the jail cell, and I sat on the cot, beside the kid who took the car.
He straightened up a bit, looking worried, not knowing what to expect from me.
His name was Bobby Owens. He was nineteen and he lived with his girlfriend Wanda in Castle Ridge. I knew the girl; I had dated her older sister in high school.
“So why’d you take the car?”
“My mother was dying; I had to get to her.”
“You know they rent cars these days.”
“I didn’t have time for that, or money, hey man, I don’t even care what happens now, at least I got there in time to say goodbye.”
“He’s not lying.” Bill said. “We checked it out, his mother passed away in Newark last night.”
Bobby looked at Bill as if he were crazy.
“Who would lie about that?”
Bill made a sad face. “You’d be surprised kid.”
“Bobby, I talked to Tina, Wanda’s sister, she tells me that you’re a mechanic.”
“Yeah, I do a lot of work on cars, so what?”
“I should have known, that was some nice hot-wiring you did on the Mustang.”
Bobby looked to Bill. “How much trouble am I in?”
Bill opened the cell door wide. “None, John’s not pressing charges,”
Bobby stared at me. “For real?”
“For real, but tell me something, if you’re such a good mechanic how come you don’t have a car of your own?”
“I had a sweet one, a ‘69’ Cougar convertible. I sold it. I needed the money to help pay my mom’s medical bills.”
“You got a job?”
“No, I fix cars on the side while I look for work, but all the dealerships want you to be certified, and I don’t know that computer shit, you know, so I mostly work on the older cars for people in town.”
“You and Wanda, is it serious?”
He glared at me. “You ask a lot of questions man.”
“I’ve known Wanda since she was ten and I like her, so answer me.”
“Wanda’s my girl, end of story, know what I mean?”
I moaned. “Sometimes that story has a sad ending.”
“What?”
I stood up. “Nothing, how’d you like a job with me?”
“In that little garage of yours? We’d get in each other’s way.”
“I think I’ll soon be moving on to bigger and better, you’d be working mostly by yourself.”
“This for real?”
“Yeah, come by Monday and we’ll talk.”
He grabbed his jacket from off the cot and stood, and then he offered me his hand and we shook.
“You know, when you came in here I thought you were gonna kick my ass; I heard you were the local tough guy.”
I put my hand on Bobby’s shoulder. “The last tough guy in this town was Dominic Delgado.”
“What happened to him?”
“He was killed by a girl.”
* * *
Weeks later, Tori and I were in Detroit, sitti
ng in the massive boardroom of Universal Motors. Seated across from us, at a table that could hold a hundred, was a tall man with a mane of luxuriant white hair who sat surrounded by a team of corporate lawyers. He was Michael Hale, Universal’s President of Research and Development.
I had spent the last few weeks testing the new engine extensively, and was convinced it was a complete success. We had been in Detroit for days now, awaiting word from Hale about their reaction to our proposal.
After moving to Castle Ridge, Tori had begun doing less criminal defense work and took up contract law. The change gave her more freedom to work from home and she found that she was naturally gifted at it.
Three weeks ago, she gave notice at Jameson & Jameson.
She now had only one client—me.
Before contacting anyone about the engine, she had drafted a series of contracts that, when stacked atop each other, were seven inches thick and weighed twelve pounds.
They were also airtight and ‘Eyes Only’ for the most senior of Universal’s management.
Universal Motors wanted the Faron Engine so that they could have their engineers look it over. The procedure to accomplish this was the most complicated deal I had ever been involved in. But, we were basically handing over the engine to them, and Tori said that we had better make damn sure that we could not only prove that they had it, but be able to get it back from them if we failed to come to an agreement.
I found the numbers involved staggering. In the short term, we were talking tens of billions, in the long run, possibly trillions.
My grandfather had taught me one simple rule for money and I lived by it. He told me to always spend less than I made.
It worked. Now I had people telling me that I could someday be worth billions. It shouldn’t be too hard for me to follow grandpa’s rule then.
My creation was spherical shaped. The engine resembled a large globe and was essentially a failed perpetual motion machine.
While the Faron Engine did use exothermic combustion to create power, its efficiency quotient was near ninety percent, much higher than that of standard engines. The weight was comparable to that of an average engine, as was its power, noise level and response time, add to this the fact that its exhaust was a fifth of current engines, and the Faron Engine was worth its weight in diamonds.
“Your engine’s a worthless piece of junk.” Hale spat.
Tori had instructed me to expect this reaction and so I remained calm and said nothing. She would do all the talking.
Tori smiled at Hale. “The engine is worth trillions.”
Hale rolled his eyes. “The thing is a mishmash of parts from five different automotive manufacturers and some homemade components that, while I grant you, are ingenious, are useless on their own. We would have to walk through a nightmare maze of patent battles with the other car manufacturers in order to even approach duplicating it on a mass scale.”
“You’re discussing petty details, while we’re talking about changing the world. The initial costs are immense, true, but the eventual earnings would dwarf them within a decade. This engine is the engine of the future and if you don’t profit from it, than someone else will. We have a nine o’clock meeting scheduled in New York tomorrow morning with Katota Motors.”
Hale’s color lightened a shade. “Katota?”
Tori nodded. “Maybe we should have contacted them first.”
Hale referred to a page in the contract. “You’re asking a lot here, a hell of a lot. You want us to finance the founding of your own company. That’s unprecedented.”
“We want to keep control.” Tori said. “We like control.”
Hale looked directly at me for the first time since the meeting began.
“Your lawyer is doing you a disservice here. You should retain new counsel.”
“I’d trust this woman with my life. I’d damn sure trust her with my money. Now, what’s it going to be, do we have a deal or not?”
A phone on the desk beeped and Hale answered it. The whole time he was talking, I noticed that he looked at a modern sculpture on the wall. I figured that must be where the camera was hidden and now the person who was the real power behind the throne would relay Hale his or her decision.
Was it thumbs up, or thumbs down?
“Yes Sir, thank you Sir,” Hale said.
He then hung up the phone and walked around the table, to stand before me with his hand extended.
I stood and shook his hand. “We have a deal?”
He smiled wide. “Goddamn it yes, it’s not the deal I’d want, but the bottom line is that we’re all going to get incredibly wealthy with this and do some good too. Congratulations Mr. Faron, you’re about to become America’s newest billionaire.”
27
Janey’s wedding was held outdoors, at her parents’ home, and the large yard was beautifully decorated in flowers of diverse variety and color.
I spotted Bill standing by the open bar and went over to talk.
“I’m glad you came. You need to get out more, in fact, Tori wants you to come over for dinner tomorrow.”
“I’d be happy to. That house is starting to feel like a tomb.”
“Why don’t you sell it and get an apartment?”
“I will. It’s just hard to let go, lots of good memories there.”
I opened my mouth to respond and froze.
I felt her.
I felt Felicia in my soul, before I ever saw her in my sight.
A feeling of jubilation crept upon me like dawn across the desert. My head turned in her direction, I did not turn it, it turned, and my eyes beheld hers. Adam himself could not have felt such delight when first gazing upon Eve.
Somehow, she had gotten more beautiful.
The teen-aged face I remembered had blossomed, and I now glimpsed a new Felicia.
She was dressed in a pastel green dress of lace that looked expensive and perfectly matched her shoes and handbag.
She smiled at me, and I felt my knees weaken and my heart beat faster.
“Easy boy,” Bill whispered to me.
“She’s… she’s just so beautiful.” I said.
Bill squinted in her direction. “And married, she’s wearing a wedding band.”
He was right; on her left hand was an evil glint of gold.
The wedding ceremony began before I could make my way over to Felicia. She took a seat three rows in front of me and then turned and gave me a smile. My heart nearly burst open from joy. As I smiled back, Tori settled beside me and took my hand.
Felicia looked at Tori and I together and something changed in her face. Eyes that only a moment ago were looking at me with love, now transformed into beacons of rage. Twice during the ceremony, she turned and gave me a look of disgust.
After man and woman became man and wife, I excused myself to Tori and made my way over to Felicia.
“You married him?”
“What?”
I glared down at her ring. “I’m sorry; it’s just that I didn’t know you were married.”
She fiddled with her band. “A short time ago, in Paris,”
I smirked. “How romantic,”
“What would you know about romance? I mean, you’re dating her? She’s the lawyer we went to see in Philadelphia. That was over a year before we broke up.”
I looked around. We seemed to be turning into the center of attention. In a small town everyone knows your past. I took Felicia’s hand and guided her into the house via the glass patio doors. We were in the dining room, and the table was stacked with wedding gifts, but thankfully, no one else was around.
“Listen, Tori and I never—”
“You were sleeping with her, weren’t you? A year before we broke up, you were sleeping with her. Oh God, I was such a fool!”
“No! I never slept with Tori while we were together. In fact, I didn’t sleep with her until your eighteenth birthday.”
“My eighteenth… why?”
“I was the fool, that’s
why. I was the damn fool who believed you when you told me that you loved me. I kept telling myself, ‘She loves me, if she loves me, she’ll come back to me.’ I waited Felicia. Like the damnedest of fools I believed that when you said you loved me, you meant it, and I waited, waited the whole God forsaken day away waiting for you to come back to me, but you didn’t, and Tori did.”
Her eyes softened and she placed a hand on my cheek.
“Oh Johnny, I’m so sorry, so sorry I hurt you so much.”
I was still angry. I had years of anger in me and I was letting it out. I shoved her hand aside.
“Save it! Your ‘I love you’s.’ don’t mean a goddamn thing. You know, you’re more like your father than you realize.”
She hit me. A solid slap that doubtless was not only heard outside, but also witnessed. Glass doors offer little privacy.
I stared at her. “I rest my case.”
I walked outside into dead silence and all eyes were on me as I stormed away from the house, all but two. I caught a glimpse of Tori as she rounded a corner, headed for her car.
I walked over to Janey. “I’m sorry for the scene.”
“That’s okay; it was a long time coming.”
“Congratulations, but I have to get going.”
Janey pointed toward the street. “If you hurry, you might catch Tori.”
“I think I’d better hurry then.” And I did, but to no use. As I made it to the car, Tori screeched away from the curb.
It was a two mile run, and by the time I got home she was putting her suitcases and laptop into the car, a red crossfire.
I ran up to her, breathing hard. “Where… are… you going?”
“To my apartment, I seem to have need of it.”
“You’re leaving me? I have an argument with an old girlfriend and you leave me?”
She laughed bitterly, as she got into the car.
“That wasn’t an argument; that was foreplay, a lovers’ quarrel, and oh look, here comes your lover now, I guess it’s time for make-up sex.”
Felicia arrived in a blue BMW, she walked over with an apologetic smile on her face.
“Johnny, can I talk to you? It’ll only take a minute.”
Tori glared at Felicia. “He’s all yours, but then, he always has been, hasn’t he? Goodbye John, I’ll come back for the rest of my things when you’re not here.” And with those words, she peeled away.