“Why don’t you sit down, Leonard?” Lila said, taking command and gesturing to one of the fourteen high-back chairs surrounding the long, oval table. He chose a chair opposite me and looked at all three of us expectantly.
Richard threw a clipped stack of papers down and said, “Len, we always thought it had to be one of just five people. Two we eliminated early on, as they just don’t have the steady access to your encodings like the others do. The next two not only have access, they have had telephone communications with Silo Junction’s main office.”
“You’re kidding,” Leonard said with a surprised look on his face.
Richard continued, “We weren’t sure if they were just looking for a job or something else pretty benign. Come to find out, they each had a friend working there and were trying to do some headhunting for you. You pay five thousand dollars to whomever brings in a hiree, don’t you, no matter where you get them from?”
Leonard shrugged but said nothing. Proving once again we are right to keep Richard under lock and key, he went on hotly, “Well, you know you do, and I’d appreciate it if you’d stop trying to take my staff away from me, Len. I had to give a ten thousand dollar bonus to Phil Makiato to keep him from leaving me for you.”
Leonard opened his mouth for a rebuttal, but Lila quickly took charge of the conversation with the command of a four-star general, thank God. “Gentlemen, I think we should continue with the reason we are here,” she said, glaring at Richard, who folded his arms and glared back at her, loose cannon style. She turned to Leonard smiling, “Those two were never our leading contenders, anyway. The one that stood out to us from the beginning was Robby Weinblatt. He had means —”
“No! No way,” Leonard exclaimed, shaking his head. “He would never do anything like that. You’re wrong.”
“And opportunity,” Lila continued, as if she hadn’t been interrupted. “Liana has brought all the proof you’ll need. Richard has the rest of the research done on your employees. I’d like to draw your attention to Mr. Weinblatt’s phone calls,” she said, gesturing to a printout of names, dates, times, and phone numbers. “You can see he’s made about three in the last month to a Jeffrey White at his private number.”
“Jeff White owns Silo Junction,” Leonard said, barely audibly.
“We know,” I said. “That combined with this memo should be all you need.” I slid the memo across the desk to him without saying another word.
He read it quietly several times, as he pulled at the neck of his T-shirt with trembling fingers. “Why that mother fucker,” he spat out.
Lila blanched but did not call him on his language. I guess that’s reserved just for me. She said, “I know this is a shock, Leonard, but let us try to remain calm.”
“That son of a bitch and I grew up together,” he said, not hearing her. “He owes me everything. I gave him his first job out of high school with no college degree. That miserable mother fu—”
“Leonard!” Lila stood up, interrupting him, “Control yourself. Try to concentrate on what you should do about this. There’s no point in name calling.”
He ignored her and turned to Richard and me saying, “You know that asshole is downstairs right now waiting for me in my car?”
“What?” all three of us exploded in unison.
Our voices crossed over one another’s, saying, “What did you bring him here for? Does he know about us? You said nobody knew.”
“He needed a ride home,” said Leonard. “I told him I had to make a stop on the way. I didn’t tell him why I was stopping here, but I didn’t think it was him. I didn’t think it was him,” he repeated.
“Well, what’s done is done,” Lila said, sitting down and leaning back in her chair. “Let’s try to remain calm.”
“You are such a dork, Len,” Richard stated, obviously still pissed about the headhunting thing.
Leonard ignored him, saying, “Jeff White’s tried to buy me out twice, but I wouldn’t sell, so I guess he went through Robby. Robby, who I trusted. Shit.” He pulled at the neck of his T-shirt again, stretching an already out of shape garment even more so. “What do I do now?” he wailed.
“Well…” began Lila, becoming more controlled and business-like the more emotional Leonard became. “There are several options open to you, and we can discuss them, but first, why don’t we take a brief break? This will give you a few moments to compose yourself and calmly reflect on what you want to do next.” Wow! Three emphasized words in one sentence. A lot, even for Mom.
“What I want to do next is kill the mother fucker,” Leonard shouted, writhing in his chair. Apparently, I’m the only one who pays attention to Lila’s emphases.
“You’re the one who’s going to be killed if you don’t start watching your language,” I said, noticing Lila’s red complexion and pinched mouth. “Just a friendly warning,” I added, patting him on the arm.
“Len, my man,” Richard interjected, with a forgive and let live attitude, “go have a cup of coffee and pull yourself together. When you come back, we’ll go over some of the legal options you have. You’ll straighten this out, buddy.” And with that, Richard clipped him on the shoulder with his fist. I love it when techies get macho.
Listen,” I said rising, “I accidentally left my cellphone in the car. While you guys take a break, I’ll run down and get it. Where did you park, Leonard? I want to make sure I don’t run into Weinblatt.”
“In the parking lot off Emerson,” he replied. “I couldn’t get anything closer than a block away.
“That should be all right, then. I’m downstairs at the side door.” Lowering my voice, I said to Lila, “We need to talk about that other matter. There have been some updates.” Lila raised one eyebrow but said nothing. I felt Richard’s eyes on me and turned to him. “And you. I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” I whispered to him.
“Can’t wait,” Richard whispered back and rolled his eyes.
I turned my attention back to Leonard, who sat hunched over, looking deflated and unbelievably young. “Leonard,” I said, “a piece of advice. Listen to Richard and keep it legal. Don’t do something that’s going to come back and bite you on your backside.”
He leapt up, suddenly very much the gentleman. He took my hand and shook it earnestly. “Thank you so very much, Lee, for all you’ve done. I know it can’t have been easy doing the job you did.”
“It pretty much sucked, Leonard, but don’t worry, it will be reflected in the bill,” I said laughing. “I‘ll be right back.”
I clomped down the stairs and was pushing the side door open when who should I see darting by along the sidewalk but good old Señor Robby. Backing up, I closed the glass door between us and stood in the shadows, watching him cut across the street in front of oncoming traffic. I don’t think he saw me, but I knew he saw something that terrified him. It was written all over his face. He kept looking back over his shoulder like he was being chased by the hound from hell. How he managed to do that without falling down or running into something, I will never know.
I surmised he must have got tired of waiting and started tracking Leonard by walking in the same direction. Once on our block, he saw our inconspicuous but readable sign over the doorway. Knowing Leonard had once worked at D.I., and combined with the recent troubles, Weinblatt must have put two and two together, freaked out and took off.
Watching him disappear into the dusk, I opened the car door while humming a snatch of one of Blondie’s songs, “One way or another, we’re gonna find ya. We’re gonna gitcha, gitcha, gitcha, gitcha.”
I reached in for my cellphone and saw what I thought was a flyer on the windshield. Another damned advertisement from a carwash, I thought. Annoyed, I seized the offending paper, crumpling it into a ball. About to toss it, I noticed child-like scribbling on one side. I smoothed it open on the hood of the car and read. If you don’t want to wind up like the Mexican in the garage, you’d better mind your own business.
With a pounding heart, I spun around in
every direction, seeing nothing but people and cars going about their business. I got into the Chevy, slammed the door closed and locked it. Shivering, my eyes were glued to the wrinkled note I clutched in my hand. It occurred to me my fingerprints were all over it, and the way I’d initially handled it, I’d probably smeared anyone else’s.
Nonetheless, I dropped it on the passenger seat. I did what I should have done when I’d found the diamond. Opening the glove compartment, I took out a clear plastic bag and a pair of thin rubber gloves. With shaking hands, I put the gloves on and folded the note in such a way that when it was placed inside the bag, the contents could be read, which is what I again did. I wanted to make sure I had read it right the first time.
I’d read it right. Someone knew about me, my association with Carlos and wanted me to know that they knew. They wanted to scare me off. Well, they scared me but not off. But one out of two ain’t bad.
Chapter Eight
Just Memo Me
On the way up the stairs to the office, I listened to my voice mail. Mira had called, anxious to know about my meeting with Carlos. She also let it drop that she, Tex and my mother had been burning the wires most of the day, so I guessed Lila had a few things to tell me.
Clutching the plastic bag, I decided to give the note to Frank, once I’d shown the family. Maybe there was a print or two left on the flyer, besides mine. One could only hope. I hadn’t decided about whether or not to give him the diamond. I’d see what Lila had come up with.
When I returned, I found her writing in her journal, while Richard leaned over his laptop. I noticed an absence of Leonard.
“Where’s Mr. Bingo Bango?” I asked.
Richard pointed with his thumb saying, “He’s lying down in the Quiet Room with a headache.” That was an area with a cot, pillow and blanket for ailing staff or those twenty-four/seven days.
“I gave him a cold compress for his head,” Lila said, “and an Advil. He should be there for a while.”
“Good,” I said, dropping down in one of the leather chairs. “Because there’s no need for him to hurry himself on account of his fellow passenger. Señor Robby se fue.”
“He’s gone?” Richard stopped typing and looked up at me. “You’re sure?”
I nodded. “Just saw him careening down the street like a man with a rocket in his drawers. I think he’s on to us.”
“Well,” Lila said, “we might have expected something like this, once we knew he was waiting in Leonard’s car.”
“At least Len doesn’t have to face him when he goes back downstairs. That’s something,” said Richard. Lila and I stared at him. “I like to look on the positive side of things,” he said defensively.
“Try looking on the positive side of what I found on my windshield,” I said, with more bravado than I was feeling. “I’ve got a pen pal.” I extended my arm and dangled the plastic bag in front of Lila’s face.
“What’s that?” Lila said. She looked up and read it, pursing her lips.
Richard pushed his chair back, rose and stood behind Lila, saying, “I hope that’s a parking ticket.” He bent over, giving it a closer look. “It’s not.”
“I don’t like this, Liana,” Lila said, taking the plastic bag from my hand and studying the message.
“You’re going to have to stand in line on that one,” I retorted.
“Do you have any idea who it’s from?” Richard asked.
“Not a clue. I’ll give it to Frank tomorrow,” I said, pulling it from my mother’s hand. Lila said nothing. Feeling it was best to distract her from obsessing over the threatening missive, I changed the subject. “Did you find anything on the diamond? Police reports or ads in the paper?”
“Nothing, Liana. Of course, it’s early yet and maybe whoever dropped it hasn’t discovered its loss yet. We should wait a few more days unless you want to give it to Frank along with the note.”
“I don’t. The note we know for sure is part of this mess. The crushed earring is still a maybe. By the way, I got a voice message from Mira and she says you, she, and Tex have been conferring much of the day and it involves me.”
She looked up at me with her clear, blue eyes and said, “Yes, we have and it does.”
“I’d like to know more, so if this is a good time,” I continued, “let me call Mira, and let’s do a conference call.” I stashed the flyer in my handbag and pulled out my cellphone. Richard returned to his laptop, and Lila put the cap back on her fountain pen. I could see all of us changing mindsets, going from one problem to another, as we so often have to do.
“Why don’t you use the conference phone?” Mom said, gesturing to the beige phone on the end of the table.
I shrugged. “This is easier. The number is on my speed dial, and I’ll put it on speaker.”
After speed dialing the house, I set the phone in the center of the table, crossed over to the side table and picked up the water carafe. Pouring some into a paper cup, I drank and wondered how many people still used a fountain pen besides Mom. While our home phone rang, my thoughts flitted from my mom to Carlos’ mom. “How is Tex doing, by the way?” I asked, in between sips.
A look of assessment crossed Lila’s lovely face, and she said, “Virginia was, of course, shocked and deeply distressed. She wanted to fly here immediately to be with the children, feeling Mira needed her just as much as Carlos. I managed to persuade her to stay, once she found out you and I would be there sometime tomorrow.”
“Excuse me?” I choked out, spitting water all over myself.
“Hello?” answered Tío before I could go further into Lila’s response.
“Tío, it’s me, Liana,” I said, wiping at my chin with my hand. “Is Mira there?”
“Oh, si,” he replied. “She is right here.”
“Let me talk to her, Tío, please,” I said, still thinking about my mother’s last remark. “In fact, why don’t you use the speaker phone button? I’m using mine.”
I heard a jiggling sound and took the opportunity to say, “Mom, what did you just say right before Tío answered the phone? I must have heard you wrong.”
“Hi, Lee,” Mira said. Her voice filled the room and sounded more energetic than it had in days.
“Mira Louise, it’s Lila,” Mom said, taking charge. “I was just informing Liana that you, Virginia, and I discussed a trip to Mexico because we think there’s a connection between where the statue was found and the murdered man.”
“Yes, we do,” said Mira.
“As I was telling Liana, she and I going to the rancho is how I persuaded Virginia to stay home. I convinced her that in order for us to do any investigation that didn’t look too suspicious, she should be there acting as our hostess.”
“Yes, but—” I said.
“I’m sure it will take only a few days,” Lila went on, as if I hadn’t spoken, “knowing how quickly Liana can get to the heart of a matter.”
“Yes, but—” I said again.
“Then, if need be, Virginia can join Carlos and you here in the Bay Area upon our return,” she finished.
“Yes, but when you say ‘us,’” I managed to get in, nervously squeezing the paper cup into a ball. “Do you mean you and me, Mom?”
“Well, you didn’t think you were going there alone,” Richard called out, banging away on the keyboard.
“Como no, you go together with your mother, mi sobrina,” said Tío, adding his voice to the mix. “I would go, as well, but—”
“Listen here—” I interrupted my uncle.
“It’s not necessary, Mateo,” Mom said, overriding our two voices. “We’re just going to look around for a couple of days to see what’s going on down there. You’re of better service here taking care of Mira Louise and Liana’s cat until we return. Also, you have your commitments at the SPCA, don’t you?”
“Si, si,” he agreed, letting out a small sigh. “We all must do what we do best.”
“Exactly!” I said, taking the opportunity to repeat Tío’s words, “�
�We all must do what we do best.’ A man was killed and this could be dangerous. I’m the one that should go—and by myself—as I am the one who is a trained professional.”
“Well, la di da,” Richard sang out. I threw the balled up paper cup at him but missed.
“So am I, dear, so am I,” Mom said, looking me directly in the eye again.
I sat for a moment, filled with reflection. God help me, it was true. Lila does have to go through the same training as everybody else does in California in order to hold a PI license. The State requires you to have 6000 hours or about three years of compensatory investigative experience just to qualify to take the state examination. And if you carry a firearm, the qualification card expires every two years from the date of issuance. An applicant must requalify four times during the life of each two-year permit, so every six months or so, it’s back to the classroom for written and range exams, no matter how many times you renewed your license.
Surprisingly, Lila Hamilton Alvarez is a better shot than most and can hit a popcorn kernel at twenty feet with her Beretta semi-automatic pistol. She’s also been taking karate lessons recently from my instructor. I keep forgetting all of that. Or maybe, like Carlos, I’m good at blocking things out. It’s hard enough dealing with Lila being the CEO of D.I. and my mother, thank you very much. But she and I as Charlie’s Angels Minus One was enough to make my toes curl.
“Besides, the man was killed here, Liana, not there. Remember, we’re ostensibly going to go down to help Virginia get through this.”
“That’s the story, and we’re sticking to it?”
“Yes. That is the official story.”
“Si,” Tío said into the speaker, his voice reverberating in the room. “I will take care of Mira and el gatito until your return.”
“Peter will take care of anything that can’t wait until my return, as he has done from time to time in the past,” said Lila. Pete was an ex-cop from Boston who started working with D.I. after getting a Masters at MIT and moving to the Bay Area. He’s one smart cookie.
Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries Boxed Set: Books 1-3 (The Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries) Page 32