by Ali Vali
“I’ll call you from a burner phone when I hear anything. Boris knows the price of failure this time, so I can’t imagine him disappointing me.” He held her by the shoulders and kissed her forehead. “And I in turn will never disappoint you, so show a little faith.”
“Faith in you has never been my problem.” She kissed his cheek and led him to the door. “You above all others have been the one constant in my life that I trust as much as the sun rising in the morning.”
Yury nodded and walked quickly to the elevator, not wanting to linger and be noticed. His phone finally buzzed in the lobby, so he found a secluded spot and answered. “Why the hell did it take you so long to call me?”
“I was confirming a few things, boss, since they’re not going to parade a line of body bags through the lobby,” Boris said.
“So you’re done?” Relief flooded through him so quickly he fell against the marble wall. It was a miracle his problems were finally buried.
“There were body bags, but not the ones we expected.” Boris spoke in a rush, as if he wouldn’t understand. “The guys I sent up are dead, and when I sent two more up, the room was empty. Either the lady caught a clue and was ready for us, or she picked a protector.”
“Where the fuck is she now?” Had the wall been made of anything else he would’ve punched it, but a broken hand wouldn’t be smart. All he got was silence, and his niece popped into his mind. Boris might’ve bragged to Linda to get on her nerves, but there was no bragging now. “You don’t know, do you?”
“The place is crawling with cops, but I took a chance and left three guys at the doors in the lobby. Up to now we haven’t seen her.”
“If you need me to explain this to you, I will.”
“This isn’t my fault, but you know I won’t let you down,” Boris said, but he’d lost his usual bravado.
“Get it done or start running, because when I catch you, I won’t be interested in any explanations or excuses.”
He hung up and wanted more than anything to walk across to the Plaza and finish this himself.
Chapter Six
Finley placed her hand on her weapon when the truck stopped and the engine cut off. She was glad all three children had decided to ride with Abigail, since it freed her up in case she had to make a move because of any nasty surprises.
“You sure about this?” the truck driver asked when he slid the back door open. Judging from Abigail’s expression, she agreed with him. The address she’d given the guy was a mini-storage facility.
“This is the place,” she said as she helped Abigail and the kids out. When she’d rented a unit she’d purposely picked the largest of its kind in the area. Eventually someone could work through the list of renters, but it’d take them months to trace it back to her from the dummy corporation she’d set up. It wasn’t impossible, but whoever tried it had to be good.
“If you say so,” the driver said, not looking at what she’d pressed into his hand. “You were serious about the parking tickets?”
“I’ll take care of you. Let me see your driver’s license.” She took a picture of his license and the truck’s plates. “You can take off. We’ll be fine from here.”
She punched in the fence code and walked them through the yard to the back corner that wasn’t visible from the street. There she punched in another code and walked another block to another massive storage building. The one she’d rented wasn’t visible from the street either, for a reason. The truck driver had been helpful, but she didn’t trust what the next guy offered him. A big payout was often enough to make people lose perspective.
“Can you give me a hint as to where we’re going and what we’re doing?” Abigail asked.
The three kids were being especially quiet, and when Finley finished punching in the security code to let them into the large facility next door, they seemed still shocked from the morning’s craziness. “Give me a minute.” She unlocked the large area and flipped on the lights. The space was pricey, but today made the investment totally worth it. She ushered them all inside and closed the door. “We need to finish our talk so we can figure out what’s happened and why.”
Abigail turned in a circle, taking in what Finley liked to think of as her secret space that let her decompress when she needed to. “You’re a cop?” Abigail asked, gazing at her with an expression of what she guessed was suspicion. “It must pay more here than back home.”
“I’ll give you my life history as soon as we get through my questions, but I want to help you, and you’ll be safe with me.”
“I believe you, but I’m reaching my limit of strange things happening to me. If you’re not who you say you are, I’m going to lose it and take you out with my nail file.” Abigail started laughing and didn’t stop until she was crying, which caused all three kids to join her.
“Okay,” she said, shocking them into silence, “sit.”
The large room held two vehicles as well as an ample couch, and a few computers in one corner. It had everything she needed to either work or run if she had to. Her gut told her it was time to run with this woman, if she and her family were going to survive.
“What are you doing in the city besides eating pizza and going to cool toy stores?” she asked, figuring an easy start was best.
“We come once a year so the kids can visit their grandparents,” Abigail said and told her the story of Nicola and Frederick’s deaths after Finley had gotten the kids interested in a computer game. “They want their grandkids to know the place where their children grew up.”
“But you live in Louisiana?”
Abigail nodded. “Nicola was there working for her family, like Frederick was in Miami. David, their father, didn’t trust the expansion of their business to anyone but family, and from what I understood it was going well before their plane went down.”
“What’s their family business?” she asked as she took notes. She’d never heard of David Eaton.
“International shipping. New Orleans, Miami, and New York are ideal locations because of the ports.”
“What exactly do they ship?”
“Nicola never got into that since she said I’d be bored out of my mind, but from her explanations it sounded like they were shooting to be the next FedEx of the seas.” Abigail combed her hair back with the hand on her uninjured side and blew out a stream of air.
“Yesterday you were going to meet your in-laws?”
“We were headed to Sarabeth’s to meet them, but the shooting sent us running in the opposite direction.”
She nodded again, and the earlier conversation with Sadie popped into her head about her grandmother calling her. Shouldn’t the woman have called Abigail to check on their well-being? “Are you from New Orleans?”
“Born and raised,” Abigail said, staring at her as if trying to read her mind. “My family’s there as well, and I’m anxious to get back to them and the routine of my life.”
“I want that too, and my job is to make sure none of this follows you home. Right now, though, I can’t leave you exposed and let someone take another shot at you.” She wrote down a few more things and gazed back up at Abigail. “Did you tell anyone aside from the cab driver where you were headed?”
“No. Sadie loves that place, and I’d promised we’d go after brunch.”
“So this was part of your routine while you’re in the city?”
“My partner passed away, Detective, but it’s my opinion that the things she enjoyed sharing with the children shouldn’t die with her.”
Abigail obviously wasn’t the kind of person who liked to answer one question straight out, but it was time to lose the attitude. “So it was part of your routine while you were in the city?”
“Yes, but I sincerely doubt someone has been trailing me for the last couple of years because I stole a cab from them or something that trivial. I’m the most boring person in the world. Just tell me exactly what you want so I can get us all back to our lives.” Abigail had leaned forward and was whis
pering, but Finley could tell she was truly pissed.
“If you want,” she whispered as she swiveled around so her back was to the children, “I can put you on a plane right now, but I’ll have someone meet you there. Think about everything that’s happened to you and then think about your children.”
“All I think about is my children, so don’t preach to me. As for the rest, considering all the trouble you’ve gone to, it won’t be that simple to ditch you.”
“Witnessing one shooting could be bad luck or a bizarre situation you usually see only in an action movie, but the toy store blows coincidence out of the water. What that means is, I can send you home to what you say is a boring life, and I doubt you’ll live out the week.” She placed her hand on Abigail’s knee to keep her in her seat. “You wanted blunt and honest, so that’s what I’m giving you. Someone for some weird reason wants you dead, but I want to help you. Your children deserve to grow up with at least one parent.”
“I’m sorry, you’re right.” Abigail gazed at her children as she spoke, and her bottom lip trembled. “What do you need?”
“Like my boss says, the bread crumbs that’ll lead us to the truth.”
*
Valerie glanced up from her paperwork when her assistant Catherine returned from the errand she’d sent her on. So far she’d called Sadie and Abigail over five times, but the calls went immediately to voice mail. None of her messages had been returned, even though she’d stated how worried she was.
“Are you going to make me beg?” she said as she went back to her paperwork.
“Their room at the first place was empty, and so far there’s no information from the airlines that they went back. It’s like they disappeared from the city, so my guess is she had help.”
She closed her eyes and mentally slowly counted to five to dull the anger that being in the dark always caused in her. This time her grandchildren were at stake, so being clueless was unacceptable. “So they’re no longer at the Plaza? That’s where Sadie said they were.”
“The entire building is under security lockdown since this morning, so I have no information yet. My best guess is they’re still in the building but have gone silent for some reason.” Catherine stayed on her feet and peered down at her with a hopeful expression. No one on their staff enjoyed being on their version of the hot seat.
“You do realize how much I like any type of guessing, right?”
“Yes, ma’am, but we’ve got all the exits covered, and as of five minutes ago none of them have been spotted. She’s got to still be in there.”
“My suggestion is to go back and don’t return until you know something.”
Catherine left with only a nod. Valerie liked that she wasn’t one to fill the air with useless chatter, but even that wasn’t relaxing the tension in her shoulders. Abigail’s sudden change in the routine she followed religiously was only half the equation, so she looked over at her phone to see if there was any communication from another aggravation. David had left early and hadn’t answered his phone since.
Their relationship wasn’t like any in the Eatons’ history, and she wasn’t about to go back to the norm of the trophy wife that was seen but never heard. David probably wouldn’t mind her acting more like his mother, but not even his mother had done as much as she had for David to assure his success and position. Even if her husband was willing to forget, she wasn’t in a forgetful mood.
She stared at her phone, willing it to ring, and it finally did. “Did you fall down a manhole?”
“I’ve been busy all day so don’t start, okay?” David sounded exhausted and breathy.
“You should’ve had only one thing on your to-do list.” She glanced down at her nails and made a mental note to get an appointment for a manicure. “We’re in the dark right now, and darkness is where nightmares are born.”
“Thank you for the lecture,” he said, his words like darts hitting a board. “I would’ve never figured that out on my own.”
“Save the macho bravado for the weaklings it works on. I’m ready for results on this deal.”
“Do you suddenly think I’m incompetent?” David said, his voice rising.
“We want the same things, so please be more civil. I’m as upset about all this as you are, but I’m not screaming at you. The thing is, I’m here doing something about it.” She ran her finger over the picture closest to her—of their wedding thirty-one years before. Those idealistic young people captured in the shot were long gone. “Since you don’t want to say where you were, all I can imagine is that you’re starting to find something or someone new to take your mind off things.”
“Stop, Valerie, before you make a fool of yourself trying to think beyond your capability.”
She was mad enough to have hit him had he been in the room, so she gave herself the satisfaction of hanging up on him. “You’re playing with fire, David,” she said, staring at the picture, “and I’m just the woman to burn you.”
Chapter Seven
Abigail watched Finley load the older Toyota Sequoia with some black duffel bags, but she didn’t move from her spot on the couch. The fatigue that had started right after the two men broke through the door was like a dumbbell on her soul, and she had no desire to move.
Instead, she let her mind wander back to her life with Nicola. In the beginning she’d loved how much fun they’d had and how much they’d talked. She’d shared all her dreams with Nicola and had found the support she’d needed to accomplish most of them. By the time she’d finished her residency, they’d already had Sadie and she was pregnant with Victoria, so she’d made the decision to stay home.
For someone who believed so much in family, Nicola had been totally shocked when she’d told her what she’d decided. Her desire to actually raise her children had made something in her partner snap, and the outcome had fractured them as a couple.
As much as she’d loved Nicola, she resented her that much when she started to spend more time away from them on the pretense of work. It hadn’t made sense to her then and even less now. If there was truly an afterlife, would Nicola have changed her mind now that she’d had no choice but to go back to work, leaving the children without a parent at home? Her family helped with the kids, and for the most part she was happy. She allowed herself to acknowledge the loneliness at the very end of the day when she went to bed by herself, but she never wanted to do anything about it. The kids and her family were enough.
“Does the baby need some kind of baby seat? And what about the other two?” Finley asked her, and she stopped stroking Liam’s hair. “What?”
“The other two?” she said softly and laughed. “They have names, Detective.”
“I think you enjoy giving me a hard time, Ms. Eaton.” Finley’s smile transformed her face. “And you didn’t answer my question about Sadie and Victoria.”
“Liam, yes. Victoria’s in a booster, and Sadie would never speak to you again for even thinking that.” She resumed running her fingers though Liam’s hair as she glanced at her sleeping girls. “Are we going somewhere?”
“You wanted to go home, so we’ll start that way, but we’re going to take a more circuitous route.” Finley sat in the chair by the computers and rolled it closer. “Once we get there you can’t exactly go home, but we’ll work something out.”
“Can I see my parents?”
“You aren’t under arrest, so don’t think I’m going to lock you away somewhere. My only concern is you making an easy target, and we won’t be as lucky as we were this morning.”
“May I ask you something now?”
“Sure, since I’d probably have to gag you to stop you,” Finley said, with that same great smile.
“How does a cop afford a 1957 Corvette hardtop?” She pointed to the shiny black car sitting next to the SUV. “I’m guessing at least a hundred grand. Is robbing banks a hobby of yours?”
“May I ask you a question if I promise to answer yours?”
“Sure, if you’re not using the
time to conjure up a good answer you don’t have now.”
“How does a pediatrician know enough about Corvettes to guess the year right off, much less the sticker price?”
She laughed, which surprised her, since she’d thought for a while she’d forgotten how to. “My dad’s a mechanic, and cars like that one are his specialty. If you need a tune-up I could get you an appointment, since he’s usually booked for over a year at a time. So, Detective, it’s your turn to tat.”
“Tat?” Finley asked as she shrugged.
“Tit for tat. I gave up mine, so let’s hear it.” She could feel the warmth in her ears as she spoke and blamed it on being punchy.
Finley laughed, but that was all the teasing she dished out. “You probably won’t believe me, but it was a graduation present. I make slightly more than a pile of peanuts, so I’d have to save for years for a car like this unless I gave up eating and took to sleeping on the streets.”
“Your parents gave you that?” Her tone probably made Finley think she didn’t believe her.
“Not my parents, my paternal grandparents. It belonged to my grandfather, and he loves that car. When Gram told him he couldn’t drive anymore, he went out and bought a big red bow and took his last drive in it before he gave it to me. No matter how much I’m offered, nothing would make me sell it.”
“Do you drive it or let it sit in here so you can rub it with a diaper?” she asked, and laughed again. Some of her dad’s clients had that particular hobby, and she’d always thought it strange. It was equivalent to having a woman in your bed, but instead of touching her, you spent all your time braiding her hair.
“Gosh, no,” Finley said, and reached for something. She held up a pink baby blanket made of fleece. “This works much better.”