Brainstorm

by Margaret Belle

He held both hands up defensively, “Don’t be upset,” he said. “Don’t be mad.”

  Harley said, “That’s what I need to talk to you about.”

  I couldn’t catch my breath. “What the hell are you two doing together?” I stared at Harley. “You’re with Ferdy? Oh my God – are you in on all of it Harley? With the three guys?” Behind me, waves pounded the shore, sounding cold and dark – a warning perhaps.

  “Yes,” she said.

  She reached for me, but I pulled away. “Don’t touch me.” I turned to Ferdy, “And you!” I screamed. “I thought I knew you, and I worried so much when I thought you’d been kidnapped!” I spun around again to Harley. “And all the time you knew nothing had happened to him! You saw how devastated I was, and how his brother” - I spun back around to Ferdy. “Do you even know or care how distraught Sean has been? Do you?”

  Harley took my arm, and this time I had no strength left to fight her off. “Let’s go inside,” she said. “We’ll tell you all about it.” Ferdy picked up my duffle and led the way. I followed them inside, all the while staring at the back of Ferdy’s head and the stupid driver’s cap he was still wearing. It was like being in a dream – a really bad dream. I looked back at the car, hoping I was still inside sleeping. But, no.

  The beach house was full of bamboo, glass, ceiling fans, potted palms, and casual furnishings, done in turquoise and white stripes. And Ferdy. “This just doesn’t play right,” I said. “Why would you two be living here together?”

  Ferdy took off the cap and poured himself a drink. He held the glass up in my direction. “Want one?”

  I ignored him, unable to stop the flock of questions that were flying through my brain, most of all the question of how I could have been so stupid. Would I never learn?

  Harley pointed to an overstuffed sofa. “Sit,” she said, and she folded herself onto the other end of it. “I was unhappy, and afraid of Carl; you know that. Ferdy was around a lot, and eventually a client of yours, and we just became close.”

  “I’m guessing you didn’t become a client because you’d heard how talented I was,” I said to him. “And,” I said, as it dawned on me, “you were the one who recommended Harley to me!”

  He nodded. “Audrey, you are talented. But you’re right. Carl had me contact you.”

  I envisioned a wounded animal, separated from the herd, with jackals closing in; a perfect analogy for what had happened to me. And here, in front of me, were two of the jackals.

  I looked at Ferdy, “Why would you want to kill Tony? How could you have done that?”

  Ferdy said, “I wasn’t trying to kill him. He’d made emergency landings before; I thought he’d do it again.”

  “His career is over!” I shouted. “And you almost did kill him! And when you disappeared the same day we all thought you’d been kidnapped – do you know what hell you’ve put all of us through?”

  “The consequences were devastating for a lot of people,” he said. “I regret that.”

  “Regret? Are you serious?” I stood up and looked at Harley. “I can’t stay here with him. I thought I was coming here to be with you. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because you wouldn’t have come, obviously,” she said.

  “You walked out on your job at Carrie’s after I helped you to get away from Carl, and when you left without a word, I thought he’d found you. But what – you were just running away with Ferdy?”

  “Yes,” she said, “he had to hide.”

  I began to cry, and knew that hysteria was only a gasp or two away. “I have to go.”

  “Go where?” asked Ferdy.

  “Anywhere. I have to get away from the two of you.”

  “You’re certainly not in any danger,” Harley said, “Please, just get some rest. Come on, I’ll show you to your room. You can get some sleep and we’ll talk later.”

  I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t even know where the hell I was. I followed her down a long hallway, into a room filled with more bamboo and wicker.

  “Audrey, please don’t pass judgment until you hear everything, okay? I know this is not what you expected to find when you came here, but I promise, you won’t be unhappy if you just wait until I get a chance to explain. I’ll send Ferdy out and we’ll talk alone, okay?”

  I did not respond, but sat down on the bed. One side of the sliding glass doors was open, and a warm breeze stirred the gauzy strips of cloth that made up the drapes. It was a stunning home but Hell on Earth to me; I wanted nothing more to do with it, and wondered how long it would be before I would be rescued.

  “I’ll see you later,” she said. “We all need to sleep. It’s only 5 a.m. – sleep till noon if you can. I didn’t answer, and she left. I went to lock the door and found that I couldn’t. Scrapes and scars from an old, larger door knob were visible on the wood around the new, smaller one they must have put on especially for me.

  I went into the bathroom where the door did have a lock, and sent a text to Jack: I’m in a house somewhere on a beach about eight hours from the airport. Harley had a car waiting at LAX. Ferdy is here!

  Almost immediately a text came back: What happened? No one saw you get off the plane. Thank God you’re okay. Do you feel safe for the time being?

  I texted back: I’m pissed but I don’t feel threatened. Harley had me change my appearance in the Philly airport so the police in LA wouldn’t recognize me.

  Take a pic of yourself, he wrote, and email it to me so I can forward it.

  I held up the camera and snapped the photo; the first two words of his quick response came back: Holy shit. Then he continued: We’ll find you. Just hang in. Be nice, understanding, whatever you have to do. Carl confessed, hoping for leniency. Before you moved into your office, he hid the money under the floorboards in one of the bedrooms. There’s a team in there now, pulling up the floors trying to find it. The plan was to put your largest clients out of business so you’d lose so much income you’d have to close and they could retrieve the 3 mil. Ferdy – wow! I love you.

  I looked in the mirror, then quickly stripped and got into the shower. I scrubbed my face clean and shampooed until I’d removed all of the product from my hair. As the water pounded down on me, I wondered how I would ever be able to sleep here, under the same roof as these people, who had hidden stolen money in my office and tried for years to figure out how to get at it. At least I’d screwed them up by moving in and running my agency for so long.

  Actually, I realized, my being there had worked to their advantage; no one would have thought to look inside my office building for the money. But eventually, tired of waiting me out, and wanting to get their mitts on their ill-gotten gains, they’d come up with a way to force me out. Poor Tony. Poor Miller. All because they did business with me. I soaped up and rinsed off, but remained under the spray, letting it wash away the tears that kept coming.

  Jack and Matt and I had wondered how everything tied together with me in the middle, and now it was all becoming clear. So many details, so many people, so much secrecy. I pictured the officers pulling up the floorboards and wondered what they’d find.

  Suddenly, I remembered that when I was folding up the cots, part of the carpet had come loose. A chill went through me. I got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around myself, and sent another text to Jack – Have them look in the front bedroom. The carpet was loose in the far right corner.

  Could the money already be gone? I put my dirty clothes in my duffle and hung up my towel. Now, feeling more than a chill, I dressed and got into bed, pulled up the covers, and hoped that Jack would get back to me before Harley and Ferdy woke up.

  Half an hour later another text came in: Money gone. Floorboards right where you said showed evidence of being removed and then replaced.

  So, who had it? And when had it been taken? Circumstances suggested that Ferdy had ended up with the money. It was probably where got the funds for that car. And this beach house. Harley had referred to him as the money guy, and certainly
, career-wise, that was true. Perhaps he was having the last laugh.

  Another text came in: Take a pic of the outside of the house. They’re working on finding it. How was I supposed to do that without being seen? At last the warm breeze got to me. Comfy on the plush bed, I felt myself slip away.

  I dreamed I was outside, on a beach so dark I couldn’t see where the sand met the ocean. But waves lapped at my feet, and soon the water had risen to my knees. Jack came running toward me with his hand extended, hoping to keep me on the shore, but a rip tide, that turned out to be Danny Stearns, dragged me out deeper and deeper, until the water swirled under my chin. Jack’s grasp grew weaker, until he was only holding onto my fingers. I turned to look at Danny, and saw that Ferdy and Harley had formed a human chain behind him, tugging, pulling all of us further and further into the black water. Lights flashed, as if someone was taking pictures of us for some gruesome photo album, and I shouted to the unseen photographer, “No! Take a picture of the house! That’s what I’m supposed to do!” But the cold, salty water filled my mouth so that only gurgles escaped. I could see the horrified expression on Jack’s face, as the ocean continued to cover mine.

  I sat upright in bed, sweating, my lungs expanding and deflating as fast as my heart was beating. I fell back onto the pillow. Breathe…one…two…three…four…five…six. Eventually my breathing and my pulse returned to normal, but the traumatic dream had left me with a pounding headache. I went to the window and took in the spectacular view. The ocean, unlike in my dream, was a beautiful blue, and waves rolled gently onto the shore.

  I ran my fingers through my hair, smoothed my shorts and shirt, and made the bed, then went to listen for voices at the door. Hearing none, I headed toward the sliders, hoping to get at least one shot of the side of the house for Jack.

  I jumped at a knock on the bedroom door. “Audrey?” called Harley. “Can I come in?”

  “I don’t feel well,” I said. “I’m going to rest a little longer.” I shoved the phone into a pocket and hopped back into the just-made bed. I wasn’t ready to face her yet.

  “I want to talk to you. You don’t have to get out of bed.”

  “Please, Harley, later.”

  She opened the door a crack and stuck her head in. “Pretty please?”

  Before I could answer, she was in the room and had closed the door behind her. “I won’t bother you, I promise,” she said. “I’ll be quick and then you can rest. I just didn’t like the way we left things earlier.”

  “And I don’t like that you put me in a room without a door that locks, so you can walk in whenever you want.”

  “We didn’t do that, Audrey. Whoever lived here before must have. Honest. All the bedroom doors are like that. Maybe they were swingers,” she smiled. “Anyway, I feel bad about how you’re taking this. I know it’s not easy.”

  Anger built quickly inside of me. “Taking what? How you made a fool of me? Or that you got me down here without telling me that Ferdy was with you? No, you’re right. Not easy.”

  She sat on the edge of my bed, and in my mind I had a vision of police creeping up on the place with their guns drawn. How was I going to get rid of her? “I’ll tell you what,” I said. “Let me sleep now and you’ll have my full attention later. Can you please just leave me alone in here?”

  “I have the money,” she whispered.

  “What?” I sat up and stared at her, wondering if she’d actually said what I thought I’d just heard.

  She looked at my shirt. “You’re already dressed.”

  “I thought I’d feel better,” I said, thinking fast, “if I showered and dressed, but I didn’t, so I got back in bed. You have what money – from the robbery?”

  Excitement fairly exuded from her. “I overheard a phone call between Carl and Danny, and Carl told him where he’d hidden the money. I just waited them out, same as they were doing to you.”

  “So you did know.” Another lie. “And Ferdy?”

  She shook her head and gave me a wicked grin. “Nope. He took care of all this,” she said, as she waved her arm around at the house in general. “The guy is loaded. He thinks the 3 million is still hidden in the office.”

  “Where is it?”

  “The money? Right here, divided up in three of my suitcases.”

  “And Ferdy has no idea?”

  “He could care less about my luggage; how much I unpack and how much I don’t. We’re never in the same place long enough for me to unpack everything anyway.”

  “So that’s why you escaped by car. Airport security.”

  “I could eventually have found a way to move the money, but it would have taken me too long to figure out how. That’s not my strong suit. I don’t know about off-shore accounts and that stuff. Ferdy does, but he’d want a cut.”

  The minutes were ticking away in my head. How close were the police now? How soon before they broke into the house? “Where’s Ferdy?” I asked.

  “Sleeping it off on the lanai – that’s what they call a patio down here,” she said. “He didn’t realize how hard it would be to face you and he drank way too much, way too fast. I tried to tell him you’d be fine once you had some time. Anyway, Aud,” she continued, “I want you to come with me. Tomorrow I’ll send Ferdy out for something. He’ll put on one of his disguises – he does it all the time to buy food and stuff. Then the two of us can take the money and go! We can leave every damn thing here and just go.” She took my hand. “I’ve been waiting for you. I’m willing to share the money with you. What do you say?”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because you’re the one person in this world I’ve always been able to trust – even though I was deceiving you in the worst way – I could always depend on you.”

  If Bizzarro Land was an actual place, I’d swear that I was in it. “If you sent Ferdy out, how would we leave?”

  “There’s another car out back,” she said. “I can leave him a note saying we went for a drive to talk. We can ditch it somewhere, then take a bus wherever we want and get another car. By the time Ferdy figures out something’s up, we’ll be gone!”

  I pictured the two of us on a bus, carrying that amount of money. It was almost comical. “Harley,” I said, “you can’t run forever. Don’t you watch TV? People always get caught. Always!”

  “I won’t! Listen, I put up with these guys for all these years, listened to them, cooked for them, got beat up by one of them – but then, after all that, I stole their stinking money right out from under their noses! Audrey, we can do this!”

  I got up and went to my purse. “I need a pill,” I said. I rooted around, removed items from my bag and then put them all back. Rubbing my forehead, I turned to Harley. “I left one of my medications at home. What am I going to do?”

  “What kind? Maybe I have something.”

  I shook my head. “It’s a prescription. For stress. I need it Harley. There’s an over-the-counter product I could substitute to take the edge off, but hell, I’m sure you’re not going to drive me to a pharmacy.”

  “I can’t send Ferdy in the shape he’s in, but I’ll go for you.” She pulled a sheet of paper and a pen from a drawer and handed them to me. “You write down the name. I’ll go and be back in a jiff. Are you okay till I get back? I didn’t mean to cause you so much stress, Aud. Everything will be fine. I swear.”

  “What if someone recognizes you?”

  “No one is looking for me – they’re looking for Ferdy. Besides, you’re the only one who’s seen my hair like this,” she said.

  I wrote St. John’s Wort on the paper. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll run away while you’re gone?” I asked, wanting desperately to change the subject.

  “There’s nothing around here for miles, Kiddo. Nowhere to go. I’ve got the keys to both cars, your cell, and there’s no land line in the house, so…”

  “Okay, I get it; I’m going back to bed. But Harley, we’re not done talking about this.”

  “And I’m not done tr
ying to convince you to run away with me.” She winked. “Now go ahead and lay down. I’ll be right back.” She closed the door behind her just as my phone vibrated.

  It was a text from Jack: Local police think they have your location narrowed down. Do you know if F. or H. has access to a weapon?

  I typed back: Don’t know. How long ‘til they come?

  It seemed like a lifetime before he answered: A couple of hours. Where are you now?

  Me: In a bedroom. Harley just went out to the store. She should be back before then.

  Jack: Stay in the room. The police have your new photo. You’ll be okay. I love you.

  Me: I love you too, Jack. I’ll do my best.

  When Harley got back, I would look at the receipt, which would give me the name and location of the pharmacy. I could pass that information along to Jack; maybe it would help the police find me faster. I went back to my bag, took out my bottle of happy pills, and swallowed one.

  So, Harley was not concerned that I’d run while she was gone. What she didn’t understand, was that I couldn’t have anyway; I was working with police to locate her. And now Ferdy. The police needed me to stay with them, here, or anywhere else they went, until they were caught. I felt like one of those double agents I’d seen on TV, and hoped I was up to the task.

  Chapter 31

  As I waited for Harley, I wondered how much Danny Stearns knew; how much contact he’d had with the others over the years. It might not have been safe for him to be in touch. But among thieves, would it ever be smart not to be touch? It seemed that thieves did trust each other, at least initially, maybe during the planning and execution stages of a crime. But once that was over, how many times had I seen on TV, where one crook shot the other to eliminate having to divvy up the spoils? And here was Harley, who was planning on dumping the last man standing. That wouldn’t have boded well for me if I had decided to run with her.

  Harley returned, thankfully before I’d heard Ferdy moving around. “Here you go,” she said, as she tossed the bag onto the bed.

  “Thank you! How much? I’m happy to pay you for it,” I said, as I headed for the bathroom. I took out the medicine but there was no receipt in the bag. Harley had gotten rid of it. Shit. I had to give her credit for that move. I opened the box and dropped it into the wicker trash basket, opened the bottle, and turned on the water at the sink. After a few seconds, I turned off the water and popped the top back on the bottle, in case she was listening at the door.