by Alton Gansky
No one moved.
Terri stepped to the front of the long table and looked Marlin in the eye. Fury boiled in him; fury that grew in intensity when she said, “I believe you’re in the wrong seat, Mr. Find. There are some empty chairs at the other end of the table.”
Thirty minutes had passed since Terri walked into the conference room. The time was spent discussing the problem of the missing Judith. Ideas were tossed on the table in rapid fashion. Only Marlin remained mute. When all had been said and done, the board agreed that a high-end private detective agency should be brought in to aid in the search if for no other reason than to show that the execs and board took a proactive approach. They also agreed that a complete sweep for electronic devices should be made of the building.
Terri called on the head of communications to prepare several news releases covering different possibilities and have them ready to go ASAP.
As soon as Judith had been gone forty-eight hours, she could be officially declared a missing person. Terri would work with the police on that angle.
Removing Judith as CEO and president had become moot when she divested herself of position and investment. No one challenged the documents drawn by Gaines but Terri knew that Marlin would have several high-powered attorneys go over every word seeking a loophole. Judith could not sign the documents so they had relied on Gaines’s power of attorney — a right she had transferred to him a year ago when Marlin began making noise about taking on the president’s roll. It granted him the right to act on her behalf should she be disabled by disease, accident, or in case of her absence. Gaines had told Terri that at the time, he thought it was overkill; now he thought differently.
Terri had yet to move from the head of the table. The others left ten minutes before, but Terri couldn’t muster the strength to stand. She had never seen herself in the aggressor’s role, not even in business. The last few hours — those spent with Gaines in his office and those long minutes in the boardroom — had wrung the last of her strength from her.
“You done good, kid.” Gaines spoke softly. “Who knew you had that kind of talent.”
“An act. Nothing but an act.”
“You deserve an award. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had been doing this for years.”
“I feel sick.” She laid her head on the table and tried to quiet her stomach.
“Understandable. Can I get you anything?”
“A condo in Hawaii. I promise to return in a couple of years.”
Gaines laughed. “That would be nice.” He cleared his throat. “Thanks for not asking.”
Terri raised her head. “About what?”
“Everwood.”
“Oh. Judith … I mean, Ms. Find — ”
“Until Marlin gets Judith’s decision overturned, you’re CEO. You can call Judith whatever you want.”
“She said to remind you of Everwood, but not to ask about it. I guess it’s none of my business.”
“It’s not, but I think you have a right to know. Everwood is a drug rehabilitation clinic in Colorado. It’s part of a private hospital outside of Denver. I spent … some time there.”
That made Terri sit up. “I had no idea.”
“I can thank Judith for that. Cocaine. I started in law school. It cost me my family and what little fortune I had. It began to impact my work here. It reached a point where she was going to have to fire me. That would have pretty much put an end to everything for me.”
“But she didn’t?”
“She came down to see me. Marched into my office and unloaded on me with both barrels. That woman could burn down a forest with her words. She knows how to put a mad on.”
Laughter rolled from Terri. “That’s one way to put it. I always thought of it as the power to peel paint with words. I’m glad I’ve never been on the receiving end of that.”
“Anyway, when she finished ripping me apart she gave me an ultimatum: I would go to a rehab center and do everything I was told, or I could pack my desk in a cardboard box. When I told her I couldn’t afford a decent clinic, she promised to pay for it. The next day, I took an extended vacation.” He scratched quotation marks in the air when he said vacation. “Those were the longest, darkest, most difficult days of my life. But here I am. I still have a great job, doing legal work which I love, and take one day at a time. I even got my family back.”
“She’s a remarkable woman.”
“I tell you all this so you know about me, and so that you’ll know that I will walk on hot coals for that woman.”
“Thank you for your honesty. I’m going to need all the support I can get. I’m not cut out for this kind of stuff.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re smarter and stronger than you think. Besides, you have your faith.”
Terri looked at Gaines. She couldn’t recall ever speaking of spiritual things with him.
He smiled. “Yes, I know all about that. Judith’s mentioned it. She admires your commitment.”
“Really? I thought it might be a problem for her.”
“Your faith makes you what you are, Terri. I don’t know much about Christianity — you know that old joke about there not being any lawyers in heaven — but I know it suits you well. When we get through all of this, I hope you’ll tell me more about it.”
“Thank you,” Terri said. “I will.”
Karen Rose looked at the lined legal pad and skimmed the hieroglyphics of her handwriting that few could read. In a week, she might have trouble deciphering her pen scratching. She brought her eyes back to the computer screen then back to her notes. Her eyes burned from lack of sleep, her stomach soured from vending machine food and bad coffee, and her spine felt like it was twisting into a corkscrew.
Still, she stayed at her desk as the afternoon sun charted a course for the western horizon.
“You should go home,” Dwayne said. “You look like — ”
“Don’t finish that,” Karen said. “I know what I look like.”
“What time did you go home last night?”
“Ten, maybe ten-thirty.”
“Not too bad. At least you got some sleep.” He leaned against the divider that marked off her cubicle.
“I didn’t say I rested. I just said I went home. I have a computer and Internet access there too.”
“Are you telling me you’ve been up all night and all of today?”
“Sleep is for the weak.” Karen powered down her computer.
“And for the sane.” Dwayne frowned. “You’re no good to the station in this condition.”
“Grab your coat, boss. We’re going on a trip.”
Dwayne cocked his head to the side. “Usually I’m the one to make assignments.”
“Trust me on this.” She picked up the phone and dialed.
“And just where am I going?”
Karen ignored the question. “See if you can find Cindy. Tell her to bring her gear.”
“I hate playing twenty questions. Who are you calling?”
She stilled him with an upraised hand and spoke into the phone. “This is Karen Rose of KTOT television calling for Detective Ben Wilson. Please tell him this is an emergency.”
Dwayne’s expression changed from annoyance to puzzlement. He said nothing. Karen watched him jog toward his office.
thirty-nine
Although Terri had told Jim Gaines she didn’t need an escort, he insisted. She stepped into the room that had been her office for the last several years and sat in her chair. She felt empty, cored out by mystery and fear.
“I wondered which chair you’d choose.”
It took Terri a moment to catch Gaines’s drift. “That’s still Judith’s office. I’m just holding her place.” She swiveled her chair and looked through the open door between the two offices. The cleaning crew had done a fine job scrubbing up after the field forensics team, who had blighted the walls, jambs, and other surfaces with fingerprint powder. “This office suits me well, I plan on staying here — ”
&n
bsp; The phone on her desk chimed. She picked up.
“Ms. Penn, there are some people here to see you.” The voice belonged to Darla Allison, first-floor receptionist and keeper of the executive elevator.
“Who?”
“Call me if you need me,” Gaines said and started to leave.
“A Ms. Karen Rose and Mr. Dwayne Hastings of KTOT. There’s a camerawoman with them. Also — ”
“No interviews today, Darla. I just can’t fit them in.”
“Detective Ben Wilson is with them. He says it’s urgent.”
Terri blinked hard.
“Ms. Penn?”
“Hang on.” Terri lowered the phone. “Mr. Gaines — Jim — you had better stay.” She raised the handpiece back up to her ear. “Send them up — everyone but the cameraman.”
“Camerawoman.”
“Whatever. No cameras. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am.
Even though she had ensconced herself in the meeting area of Judith’s office, Terri could clearly hear the elevator doors open. She forced herself to breathe in measured breaths, taking long slow inhalations and releasing them a moment later. She didn’t know why the odd mix of people wanted to see her, but she felt sure her brain would need all the oxygen it could get.
Waiting in the seating area of Judith’s office was Gaines’s idea. The room had been swept and pronounced clean of listening devices. At the moment, it was the only room in the building that could properly make such a boast. Gaines waited by the elevator. His voice carried through Terri’s office and into Judith’s.
“I’m Jim Gaines, senior legal counsel to Find, Inc. I understand that you’ve all already met the company’s senior vice president, Mr. Marlin Find.”
Pleasantries were exchanged and then they appeared, led by Marlin as if he were conducting a military march. Since Terri assumed the detective had news about Judith, she thought it right to include Marlin. She also hoped keeping him informed would take a few barbs off the ragged edge that had been created between them. She doubted it would, but at least he couldn’t complain about being kept out of the loop on matters concerning his mother’s welfare.
All the faces were familiar, but one. Just behind and to the right of Karen came a tall man with gray hair, a mustache, and a tiny patch of hair below his lower lip. He introduced himself as Dwayne Hastings, news director at KTOT television. Terri shook their hands, trying to offer a dry and firm palm.
“Please, sit down,” Terri said.
They did. Terri took the leather seat Judith used when conducting meetings here. She felt like she trespassed on private ground.
Gaines spoke first. “Just so there’s no confusion, Ms. Penn is acting CEO until Ms. Find returns.”
“Really?” Karen said. She glanced at Marlin then back to Terri. “I hadn’t expected that.”
“It’s complicated and temporary. Things will return to normal soon.” Terri pushed a smile.
“And if they don’t?” Dwayne asked.
“Then the board and senior execs will make a decision about permanent leadership of Find, Inc.” She let the smile fade. “Did you come here to ask about who’s piloting the ship? I’m guessing you didn’t.”
“No, ma’am,” Karen answered. She hesitated and looked around. “I’ve brought my laptop; is there a way to connect it to the flat screen television? I brought an S-video cable. It should just plug in.”
Terri nodded, stood, and made room for Karen to hook up. Within minutes, the connection was made and people had repositioned themselves to get a clear view of the screen.
“Now can you tell me what all this is about?” Terri said. Gaines and Detective Wilson moved Terri’s chair to the best spot for viewing.
“Okay, first my confession.” Karen spoke as she booted her computer. “A good reporter has a personality fault — she can’t let go of things until she feels she has all the answers, and if presented with a mystery … well, things just get worse. I knew you weren’t being forthcoming with me, Ms. Penn.”
“I didn’t know I was obliged to be.”
“You’re not, but reporters like me live in a world where we think we are entitled to whatever information we want. We’re not, but we act like we are. It’s the only way to do our job. Once you put me off, I began to think that something was going on behind these walls. I interviewed Mr. Find and learned a few things, but the mystery continued to grow.”
Terri looked at Marlin, who shrugged. “Go on.”
“Dwayne and I spoke to one of our counterparts in Fresno. He tipped us off that Ms. Find had been seen at a house that exploded and burned. Well, that’s not everyday activity for a wealthy business leader. Then came word about her possible involvement in a murder in San Diego. Murder! Conspiracies, bombings, murder: it’s a gold mine for someone like me. But things weren’t adding up.”
“Like what?” Detective Wilson asked.
“I’ll bet this week’s salary that you’ve been wondering the same things.” Karen worked the keyboard and mouse and the image of her computer’s desktop appeared on the flat screen television.
“Bodies?” Wilson suggested.
“Yeah, bodies. That’s a good place to start. In Fresno, a woman’s house blows up and burns to the ground. Arson investigators discover enough evidence to know that someone planted an incendiary bomb of some sort. I imagine they’re looking the scene over real hard. It’s easy to get distracted by something as remarkable as a bomb. We ask, ‘Who put it there?’ Important question, but just as important is, where are the bodies? No one died in the attack. That’s good. But where is the owner? Why hasn’t he or she come forward?”
Karen took a breath. “Finding the owner’s name was easy. I got it through public tax records then verified it with Fresno police: Ida Palek. I used LexisNexis and other tools to search newspaper articles mentioning her. I only found one, an obituary for her husband. He died less than two weeks ago.”
“Her husband dies then someone blows up her home.” The thought unsettled Terri.
“Ed Palek, coronary, died in his sleep.” She returned her attention to the computer. The obit said he was survived by his wife Ida and their son, Abel, age eight. Where there is a child there is a school record. I contacted the elementary schools in the area and got lucky. He attended Grant Elementary School — for less than one year.”
“What?” Dwayne leaned forward. “If he’s eight he should be in second or third grade. Right?”
“Something like that,” Karen replied. “At first, I thought maybe his parents put him in a private school. Lots of parents do that. I asked who taught his class and then made contact with the teacher. She remembered him. She told me that he was exceptionally bright but a little quirky. He didn’t fit in and the other kids were merciless. You know how kids can be.”
“So Ida Palek pulled him from the school?” Wilson asked.
“Exactly. But she didn’t put him in a private school; she decided to homeschool the boy. That’s also big these days.”
“What do you mean he was quirky?” Dwayne asked the question.
“First, he showed unusual memory skills. Second, he seemed far more … spiritual than a child his age should be; third — ”
“What does that mean?” Marlin interrupted.
“It means that he seemed sensitive to spiritual things. I can’t explain it. I’m not a very spiritual person. The teacher did tell me that Abel would often point at people and say things like, ‘He has a lot of truth on him,’ and ‘He’s got lots of evil on him.’ She never figured out what that meant and thought he was pretending to have superpowers like kids that age do.”
“Some superpower,” Marlin said.
Terri wanted to get back on track. “You were going to list a third quirky thing about the boy.”
“You know how schools have photography companies come in to take pictures of the kids? The parents buy packets of photos and teachers inevitably get copies from the students as gifts. She had one of Abel, scanned
it, and emailed it to me.” Karen punched a key on her computer. “This is Abel.”
A photo of a dark-haired boy appeared on the screen.
“Look at those eyes.” The sight stunned Terri.
“Yeah,” Karen said. “No wonder the kids at school gave him a bad time. Anyone who looks different gets picked on. At least that’s the way it happened in my school days.”
“No wonder his mom decided to homeschool,” Dwayne said. “Placing him in another environment would make no difference. Kids would tease him there too.”
Marlin shifted in his seat, making no effort to hide his impatience. “What does this have to do with my stepmother? I don’t see the point.”
“You will, Mr. Find. You will.” Karen turned to her news director. “Dwayne, what is it you keep driving home to the young reporters?”
“Dig deeper, then dig some more.”
“That’s what I did. The police in San Diego want to question Ms. Find about a murder in La Jolla. Now, why would she leave Ontario, fly to Fresno, then to San Diego to kill a man or aid in his killing? Detective, did you do a wants and warrants on Judith Find?”
“I did.”
“And you found no criminal record, did you?”
“None. Clean as a whistle.”
“I know that anyone can slip a cog and kill someone, but Judith Find seems the least likely person to do so. She has the kind of money to pay someone else to do her dirty business. If she is involved in the man’s murder it must be self-defense or her mind snapped.”
“I wouldn’t dismiss the last option too quickly,” Marlin quipped.
“Shut up, Marlin,” Terri said.
Karen seized on it. “Has she been acting strange lately, Mr. Find?”
He shook his head no. “I question her judgment all the time, but I can’t say she’s crazy.”
Karen turned to Terri. “What about you, Ms. Penn? Did you see anything in her words or behavior to indicate that something might be psychologically wrong?”
“Not a thing. She seemed as normal as ever.”