Out of the Past: A Reed Ferguson Mystery (A Private Investigator Mystery Series - Crime Suspense Thriller Book 5)

by Renee Pawlish

  Cal had also included information on Delany. He was twenty-eight years old, the son of a prominent L.A. lawyer, third in his class at Yale. He worked as a software engineer at a big company located in the nearby Tech Center. No spouse, no kids, no arrests, just some speeding tickets that led to high insurance premiums. In a nutshell, the guy was clean. So why was he after Stephanie? Was his background a cover, and he was really a hired assassin? And why was he free to follow me on a Tuesday? Had he taken the day off? I shook my head as I put my phone away. I had pieces of the puzzle scattered about, but I couldn’t fit them together.

  After a bit, I tired of thinking about it, so I put it to my subconscious and kept my mind busy by playing a game: name lesser-known film noir movies with a classic femme fatale, the sexy woman who exploited the noir hero for her own purposes. Many film noir aficionados think of the obvious ones, such as Barbara Stanwyck or Lauren Bacall, but Jane Greer as Kathie Moffett in Out of the Past was a truly dark and cunning femme fatale. And man, was she hot! But then I thought of Jeff, the doomed noir hero in the movie, who couldn’t escape his past – oh, how I could relate. I shook my head and continued the game. Joan Bennett as Kitty Marsh in Scarlet Street. What a performance. And who could forget Lizabeth Scott as Dusty Chandler in Dead Reckoning. She had dark eyes and a husky voice that slew the noir hero. And of course she got my respect for being in a movie with my guy Bogie. And who was the best? I was debating this important issue when I saw a man walking down the street in front of Monaco Row. I didn’t think much of it until he paused in front of Delany’s building.

  I grabbed the binoculars and trained them on him. Even with his coat collar pulled up around his ears, the face – specifically the jutting chin – was easy to spot. It was Delany. But why was he walking?

  He punched a keypad, opened the door and went inside. A moment later, the dark windows of his unit turned yellow as light streamed through. Then a figure passed in front of the window and the shades closed.

  I didn’t get it. Where was the Toyota?

  I didn’t have long to wait for my answer. About fifteen minutes later, it drove slowly down the street and parked in front of Delany’s building. A tall man in a dark ski jacket and baseball cap got out and strolled to the door. A second later, Delany appeared and let him inside.

  What was going on? Color me confused. Not five minutes passed and both men came back out. Delany waved at the man in the baseball cap, then went to the Toyota and got in. Baseball Cap nodded, then started walking in the opposite direction.

  I ducked as the Toyota passed me and waited until it drove around the side of the building where the parking garage was. I threw the binoculars on the passenger seat, got out and followed Baseball Cap. He was unaware of me as he walked a couple of blocks to Belleview, then east to the light rail station. A train was coming as he approached the platform and I’d have to run if I wanted to catch it.

  I hopped on a couple of doors down from him, then discreetly made my way through the aisle toward him, enduring some annoyed looks from other standing passengers. Baseball Cap had a seat facing the other direction, across from a guy in a suit, and he had no clue I was stalking him. I stood with my back to him, and I could hear him talking. I glanced at his reflection in the window, a technique I’d used before, and studied him. Mid-twenties, a hawk nose, and curly blond hair underneath the cap, which had a Red Sox logo on it. He was speaking to the guy across from him.

  “I can’t believe you lost him,” the suit chided him.

  “I’m doing the best I can. Get off my back.”

  “What happened?” The suit ran his fingers over his goatee as he talked.

  “He went to Stephanie’s condo. He was in there for about fifteen minutes. Then he came out and I followed him, but he got onto I-25, dodged in and out of traffic and I lost him.”

  “Did he know he was being followed?”

  “No way, I was too careful.”

  Right, I thought. These guys were clueless.

  “What’d you do then?” the suit asked.

  “I watched outside his building for a while but he never came back. Then I had to take the car back to Jack.”

  I was right on one thing: the guy had waited for me to return home. But I was wrong on another: it wasn’t Jack who’d been following me. Gawd, as Stephanie would say. Who in the hell were these guys? I grimaced. I was using italics again.

  “So now what?” the suit asked.

  “Jack needs his car tomorrow, so I’ll borrow someone else’s and tail Ferguson tomorrow.”

  “Where will he be?”

  “Dude, he’s got to go home sometime, right? Tomorrow morning I’ll wait outside his condo and follow him when he leaves.”

  “All right, just be careful. If he figures out where you live, he’ll know where I live.”

  “Man, give me some credit,” Baseball Cap said, incensed. “He’s not going to figure out we live together.”

  Uh, wrong, I thought.

  The overhead speakers announced we’d come to the Southmoor station and the guys stood up. I headed in the other direction but watched as they got off the train. I hopped off one door down and tailed them, keeping people between us. They walked through a pedestrian tunnel lit in neon blue to a park-n-ride lot. There were enough people headed in the same direction that I had no trouble being inconspicuous. They crossed the lot and got into a silver Mercedes, the suit behind the wheel, and drove in my direction. I stepped between two cars and turned the other way until they passed, and I memorized the license plate number. It shouldn’t be this easy…

  Snow started falling as I walked back to the light rail station. I rode back to the Belleview station and by the time I returned to my car, I was cold and it was covered with a fine layer of light flakes. I brushed off the windshield, got in and cranked the heat. Then I headed back downtown to Denver Health Medical Center.

  Tyrone was standing outside Stephanie’s door and he shook his head when he saw me. “Can’t let you in, buddy.”

  I held up my hands, palms up. “I have no nefarious intent. I just want to see how she’s doing.”

  “Nefarious?”

  I smiled. “I like the word.”

  He glanced up and down the hall, as if verifying that no one would observe his breaking the rules, then jerked his head toward the room. “Make it quick.”

  I went into the room. Stephanie was propped up on pillows, her left arm still in a sling. Her face was still pale, although not as pale as when I’d last seen her.

  “It’s the great bodyguard,” she said.

  “Sarcasm, very funny.” I stood by the bed. “How are you doing?”

  “My shoulder’s killing me.”

  “At least you’re alive.”

  “No thanks to you.”

  “Actually, it is thanks to me,” I said. “If I hadn’t been there, the guy could’ve come back and made sure he killed you.”

  Her face colored white as the bed sheets. “Do you have to be so blunt?”

  “Let’s just say I’m getting tired of the runaround and insults from you and your father.”

  She started to sit up, then groaned. “Oh, that hurt.” She shifted tentatively. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Keep playing it that way, but I’m starting to put things together.”

  “You are?”

  I nodded. “I expect that by the time they’re ready to release you, I’ll have this guy. But it’d be easier if you’d tell me what you know.”

  She put her head back on the pillow. “I’m tired now, do you mind leaving?”

  “Suit yourself,” I said, then left.

  “She’s something else,” Tyrone said quietly as I stepped out of the room.

  I headed down the hall, then paused and turned around. “What are they hiding?”

  He pursed his lips, then shrugged. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

  “See you around,” I said as I walked away.

  I though
t about everything as I headed home. What was she hiding? And why? And what about Baseball Cap and his buddy? If they graduated from spy school, it was the Fisher-Price variety. Who would hire them to go after Stephanie?

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  I parked the 4-Runner in the garage and plodded up the stairs to my place. Once inside, I shook off the snow, grabbed a beer, sank onto the couch and called Cal.

  “I need you to look up another license plate number for me,” I said when he answered.

  He let out a heavy sigh. “Maybe it’s time I showed you how to get this information yourself.”

  “I’m a private investigator, not a hacker,” I said.

  “I prefer ‘Clandestine Information Specialist’.”

  I laughed, then got serious. “Do you have time to look it up?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thanks. You wouldn’t believe what happened.”

  “With what’s happened so far, I would.”

  “It wasn’t the right guy,” I said, then launched into a recap of my evening. “So now I need to figure out who these characters are.”

  “The Mercedes belongs to one Bennett Gilbright. He lives in Westminster.”

  “That was quick.”

  “It really is easy to get this information, once you know what you’re doing.”

  “That’s scary,” I said.

  It was Cal’s turn to laugh. “And I’ve just pulled up a picture of the house on Google Maps. It’s a big place. Looks like an expensive neighborhood.”

  “I suppose I need to go up there early and check it out, and maybe tail them. But they know my car,” I said. “Maybe I can I borrow Willie’s car.”

  “May I make a suggestion?”

  “What?”

  “Instead of following them around, why not bug the house and listen to what they’re saying? It might get you what you want, without the hassle of traipsing all over town.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Except I don’t know anything about bugs, other than what I found in my own condo on my first case. And I’d have to get it into his home.”

  “I know how to do it.”

  “You do?”

  “Uh-huh. I was doing some research on bugging devices a while back, and I bought some equipment and I’ve even tested it.”

  “So you know where to install a bug and how to use the equipment to listen in on people?”

  “Yes,” he said proudly.

  “Aren’t you the guy who doesn’t like helping me?”

  “I don’t mind helping from afar.”

  “You can’t help from afar on this one. You’ve got to go with me.”

  “I can tell you what to do,” he said, a whine creeping into his voice.

  “You have to show me,” I insisted.

  Cal cursed. “I already helped you on this case.”

  “And you’ll love doing it again.”

  “Fine. When do you want to do this?”

  “Tomorrow. These guys are going to try following me again,” I said. “Let me work on a plan to divert them, and then you and I can plant the bug while they’re gone.”

  “Fine,” he repeated and hung up.

  What a guy, hoping to be an armchair detective. I finished my beer as I formulated a plan.

  ***

  “You want us to do what?” Willie said to me. She was sitting on the couch in my living room, her legs tucked underneath her.

  “I need you guys to help me so I can plant a bug in Bennett Gilbright’s house. Tomorrow morning, I’m sure his buddy in the baseball cap is going to be parked outside waiting to follow me.”

  Once I figured out my plan, I’d called Cal again and arranged some things with him. Then I called Willie and Ace, and now they were both sitting on the couch, listening as I outlined my idea. “Ace, you’ll spend the night here. In the morning, Willie is going to scout the street and find the guy in the baseball cap. When she figures out what car he’s in, you’ll make sure he sees you, pretending to be me, leave my condo.”

  “Why will this guy think I’m you?” Ace asked.

  “Good question. You’ll wear my clothes, a hat, and my sunglasses. If you hurry down the stairs, he’ll think you’re me.”

  “Okay,” Ace said.

  “Get the 4-Runner from the garage and drive around to the front and pick up Willie. That way you’re a team. This guy isn’t going to do anything if he thinks I’ve got my girlfriend with me.”

  “But your girlfriend will be with me,” Ace said slowly.

  “Right.” I suppressed a smile.

  Willie patted Ace’s arm. “What he means is that this guy will think you’re Reed, and since I’m Reed’s girlfriend, he won’t want to hurt me.”

  “Oh, okay.” Ace nodded, but I could tell he still wasn’t quite sure.

  “Anyway,” I continued. “This guy should follow you. I’ll have you drive south, keeping him occupied for a good long time. And once he goes after you, Cal is going to pick me up and we’ll head up to Westminster and bug his house.”

  “You really think this will work?” Willie asked.

  I laughed wryly. “Trust me, these guys are not pros.”

  Willie tucked her hair behind her ears. “And so the first thing I do is find out what car this guy is driving?”

  “Yes. He borrowed the black Toyota to follow me the last few days, and I overheard him saying he’s going to get another car. I can describe him pretty well, and he seems to like his Red Sox baseball cap, so if you walk the neighborhood, you should be able to spot him. Are you up for it?”

  Willie scrunched up her lips, thinking. “How dangerous is this guy?”

  “Well,” I held up a hand. “You know my line of work, and what’s happened so far, so anything’s possible. If he recognizes you, it would only be from the other day.” She looked at me with a blank expression, so similar to how Ace and Deuce did, it was scary. “Remember Saturday morning? When I talked to you when Stephanie was here?” She started nodding. “And you thought I would choose her over you?”

  “I remember, smart-ass,” she said, smiling.

  “But tomorrow you’ll be innocently taking a walk, which you do a lot anyway, so there’s nothing unusual in that. And you’ll have your cell phone, so you can call me if anything goes wrong, and Cal will be here, too. But if you stay in public places, you should be fine.”

  She looked at Ace. He shrugged his shoulders. “I think it sounds kinda fun,” he said. “And nothing happened when that guy followed me on Saturday.”

  Willie sighed. “I guess helping you beats worrying about you.”

  “Great.” I grinned.

  “So if this guy follows me, what’re you going to do?” Ace asked.

  “This guy’s got a cohort, and Cal and I are going to bug his house.”

  Now it was Ace’s turn to give me a blank stare.

  “I’m going to listen to his friend’s conversations,” I said.

  “Oh.” Ace nodded slowly, but again, he didn’t get what I said. Thank goodness Willie was going to be with him tomorrow…she was definitely the brains for that part of my plan.

  “You want us to call and update you?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No, let me call you once we’re out of the house.”

  “And why do you want to bug Gilbright’s house?” Now she was curious.

  “Because he lives with the guy in the baseball cap, and by bugging their house, I might figure out what they want and why they’re after Stephanie.”

  “And Cal’s helping you bug their house,” Willie said.

  I nodded. “Yeah, can you believe he researched bugs? He secretly loves helping me.” Willie laughed. “Anyway, let me grab a few things and then we’ll leave,” I said.

  Willie and Ace chatted while I went into the bedroom and packed an overnight bag. Then I went into the office, reloaded the Glock, and returned to the living room.

  “Here are spare keys to the condo and 4-Runner.” I handed Ace a set of keys. “Make yourself comfortabl
e. There are clean sheets on the bed, and fresh towels in the bathroom.” I showed him how to operate the TV remote and then Willie and I left.

  “You know what the best part of this plan is?” Willie asked as we went down the stairs and across the street to her place.

  “What?”

  “I finally get to spend some time with you.”

  “I’ll second that,” I said.

  It was the first night I’d spend at her place, but I didn’t notice much as we spent most of the time in her bedroom. And for a few hours I didn’t think about Forrest McMahon, or Stephanie, or the case. And Willie was right: it was the best part of my plan.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  At exactly ten o’clock the next morning, Cal and I were sitting in his Honda Civic in a neighborhood off of 104th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard in Westminster. So far, my plan had gone off without a hitch. Willie had spotted Baseball Cap parked in a gold Lexus near my building, where he could see both the stairs to my unit and the garage around back. Ace had done his job perfectly, fooling Baseball Cap into thinking he was me. He’d taken the 4-Runner, driven it around front, and picked up Willie, and the Lexus had followed them. A minute later, Cal and I had headed up north, he in his Honda, I following him in Willie’s Mazda CX-5. When we arrived in Gilbright’s neighborhood, I left the Mazda around the corner and joined Cal. I figured we had at least a few hours before Baseball Cap figured out he’d been fooled.

  “What do I say if someone answers the door?” Cal asked as we watched Bennett Gilbright’s house.

  “Say you made a mistake,” I said. “Then hightail it back to the car. They’re not going to do anything about someone who rang their bell by accident. If no one answers, signal me and I’ll join you. Then I’ll keep an eye out while you pick the lock.”

  “And what if they have an alarm?”

  “If it goes off, we run like hell,” I said.

  “Great,” Cal muttered. He got out and walked down the street, then headed up the walk to Bennett Gilbright’s house. He rang the bell and waited, then rang it again. Then he turned around and looked down the street toward me. I got out and hurried after him.