Nothing Is Negotiable

by Mark Bentsen

  Rita was devastated. Embarrassed and humiliated, she left town and moved to Cardston to be with Sonny. She hated Dr. Owens and Kim for giving the information to the hospital and swore that someday she’d get even.

  Shortly after she moved to Cardston, Rita went to Austin, Texas to visit her grandparents. When she returned, she told Sonny an amazing story. After spending a couple of days at her grandparents’ house, she and a couple of cousins slipped away for some fun. Their foray took them to The Pecan Street Festival, an arts and craft fair in downtown Austin. They found themselves in a booth admiring some beautiful framed photographs of the Texas Hill Country.

  Looking up, Rita couldn’t believe who she saw: It looked like Dr. Owens standing in front of her. Right there in Austin, Texas. But the nametag revealed the woman’s identity to be Bonnie Wakefield, a photographer, and it was her booth they were browsing. The resemblance between Bonnie and Dr. Owens was unbelievable.

  She wanted to ask Bonnie if Dr. Owens was her twin sister, but there were too many customers and her impatient cousins pulled her away before she had the chance.

  When she got home she told Sonny about Bonnie. After an exhaustive research on the Internet, they found some amazing information about Bonnie Wakefield and Dr. Tammy Owens. Both women shared the same birthday—August 3, 1970.

  The deeper they delved, they found more interesting facts. Both women claimed to be only children. According to Bonnie’s website, her mother died of breast cancer shortly after she was born, and she was raised by her father. The information they found on Dr. Owens said her father was killed in Vietnam, and she was raised by her mother.

  Sonny compared the pictures of Bonnie and Dr. Owens they found on the Internet. In his mind, there was no doubt these two women were twins who were separated by their parents shortly after they were born. They theorized the parents had split up and each took one of the twins. For some reason, the parents came up with this strange story about the other parent being dead.

  Sonny and Rita weren’t sure why the parents would do this, but they found the information intriguing, and knew there was some way to use it to their advantage.

  They spent hours brainstorming, looking for just the right idea to use it for their own revenge—and financial gain. Finally, one night, after a bottle of tequila, they came up with the perfect plan.

  The first part of the plan required that they get Bonnie to Montana. That proved easy. Bonnie’s website said she was available for speaking engagements. Rita and Sonny were involved in the photography workshop that was being held at Glacier National Park in July. One way or another, they’d have to get Bonnie on the program. To do that, one of the speakers had to cancel or not be available for some reason. They knew neither fate nor luck was on their side so they took matters into their own hands. And, amazingly, a gas leak and a lit cigarette caused an explosion that killed one of the speakers. A few days later, Bonnie was asked to fill in for the dead speaker. Of course, she was excited to be asked, and more than willing to come.

  Sonny and Rita planned copiously until every detail was discussed and every option was outlined. The ransom they would demand would be huge by historical standards, but would be insignificant to a billionaire.

  “Sonny,” Rita called out from the open door of the Winnebago. The sound of his name brought him back to the present.

  “What?”

  “I got the computer running. Are you ready to contact Kim?”

  Chapter 41

  Bonnie felt much better after the hot shower, but the water couldn’t wash away the memory of two people being shot. She prayed they would both be okay.

  After she toweled herself dry she opened the door and found a shirt that Lauren had left for her hanging on the towel rack. She held it up and saw the logo for The Sportsman’s Outfitter above the right breast pocket. After she put it on she stepped over and saw Lauren was flipping through the channels on TV.

  “Has there been anything on about the shooting yet?

  Lauren looked over at Bonnie and said, “Just before a commercial they said, ‘Shooting at Kalispell Hospital. Details on the five o’clock news.’”

  Bonnie pulled a brush out of Lauren’s makeup case and started brushing her hair. She walked over and sat on the bed and thought about a comment Lauren had made earlier. “You said you felt guilty about some advice you gave Luke. What was it?”

  Lauren explained how she told Luke he could trust a photographer he met.

  “Are you serious? Who are you talking about?”

  “His name’s Sonny Diamond. He’s—”

  “An asshole. We met him in St. Mary. Does he have a store in Cardston too?”

  “Yeah. They aren’t his stores. They belong to an old friend and Sonny runs them for him.”

  “How did Luke figure out he was involved?”

  “I don’t know, but his girlfriend Rita is the nurse at the clinic.”

  “She is the one who contacted me to be a speaker at the photography workshop,” Bonnie said, her voice trailing off as she thought. She stood up and started to pace. “I gave my talk from twelve to one, and when I finished there was a line of people who wanted to order my book. By the time I finished, lunch was over and the food was gone. But Rita had saved a plate for me. It was some kind of a chicken dish and it was probably tainted with something because a few hours later I was puking my guts up.”

  “Being a nurse, I’m sure she knew just what to do.”

  “And isn’t it a coincidence,” Bonnie said, slapping her forehead. “She told me she worked at the only clinic in the area and gave me her business card, just in case I needed anything. Of course, I did get sick. I went to the clinic the next morning and when I was about to leave she said the doctor wanted to talk to me... again. She took me back to his office and told me to wait for him there. I sat down and she pulled out a needle and said she was supposed to give me a tetanus shot, which she did. A minute later, I remember starting to feel lightheaded, like I was going to faint. Next thing I knew I woke up, locked in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with no memory of how I got there.”

  “It all makes sense.”

  “So what are we going to do?”

  “I’ve got an idea, but it’s going to put us in a dangerous situation.”

  “Okay, but we’ll need some way to protect ourselves,” Bonnie said.

  “You mean like a gun?”

  “I wish I had taken that one at the hospital, but it’s too late now. Can we go buy one?”

  “I don’t see how. It’s against the law for Canadians to walk into a gun shop in Montana and buy a gun. And even if you were crazy enough to show your face in public, you wouldn’t be able to buy one because you need a driver’s license, and the only one you have is Dr. Owens’.”

  Bonnie sighed, “You’re right.”

  Lauren’s eyes lit up. “I might have a way to get one. I just remembered. I have a friend who lives here. Give me my cell phone.”

  Bonnie pulled the phone out of her jeans and handed it to her. As Lauren scrolled down its internal phone book, she said, “He’s a fishing guide on Flathead Lake just south of town.”

  “What are you going to tell him? You have a friend who just kidnapped Kim Townsend’s daughter from the hospital and turned her over to some kidnappers who are holding her husband hostage. And now we’re going to have a shootout with them to get him and the kid back?”

  Lauren wrinkled her nose and gave a quick shake of her head. “No, that’s not believable... I’ll just tell him I’m guiding a group in the mountains up by the Canadian border, and I just found out that a grizzly bear has been causing some problems and I hate to go up there without some kind of protection, so I need to borrow a gun.”

  “Do you do that? I mean, carry a gun with you?”

  “Sometimes if we go too far back in the woods I’ll take a pistol with me, but I’ve never had to use it.”

  “So, you can handle a gun?”

  “You bet I can,” Lauren said while d
ialing. “I’ve been shooting since I was a kid. My dad’s a cattle rancher and we had our share of problems with bears and coyotes getting after the calves. And Daddy and I have killed our share of elk and mule deer over the years, too. How about you?”

  “I’ve shot my share of guns since I married Luke, but I’m not a very good shot. And I don’t hunt. I tried it but it just wasn’t for me.”

  Lauren looked away from Bonnie and said, “Hey Roger, this is Lauren Gray from Cardston. How are you?” She listened and then said, “I’m fine. Is Beau in?”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Married? I didn’t even know he was dating anyone.”

  After listening a minute she said, “I’m guiding a group up on Lake Koocanusa tomorrow and they’ve had a problem with grizzlies and I wanted to borrow a pistol. I don’t like to bring mine across the border.”

  As she listened a frown crossed her face. “Well, heck. Do you have one I could borrow?”

  A few seconds later, she said, “That’s okay, I’m sure everything will be okay. Thanks anyway.” When she ended the call she turned to Bonnie, a look of surprise on her face. “Now that’s a weird one. He married a lawyer. He always hated lawyers. But, anyway, they’re backpacking in the Sequoias for the next week and all of his guns are locked up in a gun safe. Roger, a guy who works for him, said he didn’t even take a cell phone with him, so he’s out of touch for a week. And Roger doesn’t own any guns.”

  The mention of lawyers pricked a memory for Bonnie. “Hey, I just remembered something, while we were staying at the Red Eagle Lodge in St. Mary, there was a guy and his girlfriend in the room next to us. He said he’s a lawyer from Kalispell. He tried to sell Luke a gun he’d gotten from a guy who couldn’t pay his bill.”

  “If we could find him, we could tell him Luke changed his mind? Do you remember his name?”

  Bonnie tapped her finger on the tip of her nose and said, “I remember his name was Jack, and his girlfriend’s name was Christina... but I never heard a last name.”

  Lauren grabbed the phone book and started flipping through the pages. “This town’s not that big. Let me see how many lawyers are named Jack.”

  “One thing I remember about him was his car. It was a yellow Hummer with a personalized license plate that reads ISUE4U.”

  Lauren rolled her eyes. “That ought to make it easy to track him down.” She ran her finger down one page, then flipped to the next one and repeated the process. “I see two lawyers named Jack, a few more initial J. and more named John. And some firms that don’t even list the names of the lawyers.”

  “In a town this small, I don’t think he’ll be that hard to find,” Bonnie said.

  “Especially one who drives a yellow Hummer,” Lauren said. She picked up the phone on the night stand and dialed a number for one of the lawyers named Jack. After two rings someone answered. “Hi. Yesterday afternoon I backed into a yellow Hummer in a parking lot. I left a note under the windshield wiper with my name and cell phone number on it, but I never got a call from anyone. I think the owner is probably a lawyer because the license plate was one of the personalized ones that said—ISUE4U. Would there be someone who works in your office that drives a car like that?” Lauren put her hand over the receiver and said, “She’s checking.”

  Bonnie smiled. “You’re good.”

  “Most fishing guides are good at making up stories,” Lauren said. She smiled then returned to the phone. “Great, thank you.” She put the phone down and picked up the yellow pages again. “One of the lawyers in her office knows the Hummer—it’s owned by Jack Rosenthal, with Rosenthal and Associates. Want to call him?”

  Bonnie thought about it for a few seconds, and then took the phone from Lauren. She dialed, and after a short conversation, hung up. “He’s been in a meeting for two hours, but she thinks he’ll be out in twenty or thirty minutes. The lady who answered the phone said he may have a few minutes before his next appointment.”

  “That’s also good, because if he’s been tied up for the two hours, he won’t know anything about the kidnapping at the hospital. I think our best chance is to be there waiting for him when he gets out of his meeting.”

  Chapter 42

  The Southside Professional Building was a three-story brown brick complex about a mile south of downtown. The sign out front listed a dozen different tenants including the law firm of Rosenthal and Associates. Lauren parked and as they walked toward the front door they saw a yellow Hummer with the vanity plate: ISUE4U. The space was reserved for Jack Rosenthal.

  “That’s it,” Bonnie said as they walked past it.

  Next to it sat a shiny new Mercedes CLS600, still sporting the dealer’s tags. It was in a space reserved for Elizabeth Rosenthal.

  They exchanged glances. “Didn’t you say he had a girlfriend named Christina?” Lauren asked.

  “I did, and I surely didn’t know they were married. And she was a lot younger than him. I mean a lot younger,” Bonnie emphasized.

  They found the suite for Rosenthal and Associates. A petite blonde in a short skirt stood behind the receptionist’s desk at a copy machine with her back to them. The nameplate on the desk identified her as Christina Crier. Bonnie and Lauren exchanged suspicious glances.

  After the copy machine pumped out a dozen more pieces of paper, the blonde grabbed them, turned around to her desk. She began separating the copies into three different piles. Still unnoticed, Bonnie cleared her throat. The blonde glanced up briefly and smiled, then went back to her task at hand. Still looking down, she said, “May I help you?”

  Bonnie cocked her head to the side and stepped closer. “Christina?”

  The blonde’s head popped up and without a hint of recognition, smiled at Bonnie. “Yes?”

  “I’m Bonnie Wakefield, from Texas. We met last weekend in St. Mary.”

  Instantly, the blonde’s smile vanished and her mouth fell open, but no words came out. Automatically, her head spun to the side, where a door stood open. Then, just as quick, she turned back to Bonnie with an alarmed look. She spoke just above a whisper. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to see Jack.” Lowering her voice she said, “I didn’t know you two worked together. Who is Elizabeth Rosenthal?”

  Christina shot another quick look toward the open door. “What do you want?”

  Before Bonnie could speak, a short, plump woman with collar-length, salt-and-pepper hair stepped out of the open door and looked at them. She had reading glasses propped on the tip of her broad nose and held a manila folder. She stopped when all eyes turned on her.

  Bonnie and Lauren looked back at Christina who had become noticeably nervous. She stood, walked around the desk and with high heels clicking across the parquet floor, held out the copies she had just made. “Mrs. Rosenthal, would you mind taking these to Mr. Rosenthal? He’s waiting for them. I need to take care of these guests.”

  The woman shot Christina a look of disdain, and narrowed her eyes.

  “Never mind. I’ll do it,” Christina said and immediately marched across the room in the other direction, then stopped when the woman spoke to Bonnie and Lauren.

  “I’m Elizabeth Rosenthal. May I help you?”

  “I’m Bonnie Wakefield, and we’re here to see Jack Rosenthal.”

  “Do you have an appointment?” she asked, politely.

  “No, but it’s very important we see him.”

  “I’m sorry, but Jack’s in a meeting right now,” she said, looking at a closed door where Christina stood. “Perhaps there’s something I could do for you?”

  “Are you Jack’s wife?”

  “Yes, I am,” she said, with a forced smile.

  “I didn’t realize Jack was married,” Bonnie said, catching Christina fidgeting with the stack of copies out of the corner of her eye.

  “Oh, yes. For twenty-eight blissful years,” Elizabeth replied without irony. “So, are you a friend of Jack’s?”

  Christina blurted out, “Mr. Rosenthal is almost finished with
his meeting and I’m sure we can work them in.”

  Mrs. Rosenthal shot Christina a look that said she really didn’t appreciate being interrupted. She continued, “Do you mind if I ask the nature of your business?”

  “She said it’s private, Mrs. Rosenthal,” Christina said. She looked back at Bonnie, but tried to maintain her composed smile.

  Bonnie smiled and agreed. “Yes, it is a rather personal matter.”

  “He doesn’t have another appointment for half an hour,” Christina said, looking from Mrs. Rosenthal to Bonnie. She then knocked softly on the tall oak door then opened it and walked in.

  Inside Bonnie could see a group of men in dark suits seated around a long table. She recognized Jack at the end of the table with several file folders open in front of him. Christina handed him the copies she’d made, turned and walked briskly back to her desk.

  Mrs. Rosenthal turned to Bonnie and asked, “So, did I hear you say you know Christina?”

  “That’s right,” Bonnie said. “We met last week.”

  “Mr. Rosenthal and I were at lunch at the Buffalo Café in Whitefish last week, and Mrs. Wakefield and her friend were there.”

  “The Buffalo Café?” Elizabeth asked, stunned. “Jack didn’t mention that to me.”

  “Yes, ma’am. While you were at that conference in Washington D. C., Mr. Rosenthal and I went there for lunch one day,” she said looking at Bonnie for confirmation.

  Bonnie smiled. “That’s right, and she said she highly recommended Jack.”

  Elizabeth watched Christina suspiciously. “Yes, Jack is very good. We all think he’s one of the best, don’t we, Christina?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I said he’s very good when he’s hard,” Christina said, then caught herself. “I mean he’s good and works very hard.”

  The door to the conference room opened and three men stepped out, followed by Jack. Bonnie and Lauren watched as he ushered the men to the front door. They shook hands all around and the men left.

  When Jack turned around, he saw Bonnie and Lauren.

  “Mr. Rosenthal, this is Bonnie, from Texas,” Christina said quickly. “You met her last week at The Buffalo Café that day we went to lunch while Mrs. Rosenthal was in Washington, D. C. I think she was staying over in St. Mary? She needs to talk to you—in private.”