by Brad Cooper
“I mean it. I’m sick of this. What kind of life is this? I’m not going to let something happen to you either. I want these guys to get what’s coming to them but that’s secondary now.” He pushed himself away from the railing and walked to the other side of the deck. “Look at what they did to Lisa. They don’t care. Adam can take care of himself and I know you can, too, but…”
Kara walked to him and said, “I know. I’m tired of living this way, too. But I’ll kick your ass if you do something stupid. Don’t forget it.”
“I won’t forget it. Hopefully we won’t have to play this game much longer.”
CHAPTER
28
Adam felt the adrenaline rush through his body as he walked through the automatic sliding doors and into the hospital lobby. His last trip there had been under entirely different circumstances, almost polar opposites, in fact. Last time he was transported into the emergency room by an ambulance, not driven in by a friend. Last time it was just after midnight rather than mid-morning. Last time, the first woman to make him feel like he was truly in love was unconscious beside him, her condition unknown and her future uncertain.
His head was in a hurry but his body moved slowly. The pain from the crash had weakened but that was not the reason for his lack of speed. Maybe it was something in his subconscious, maybe it was something else, but some unknown force kept him from running down the hallway. Kara’s natural stride pulled her several steps ahead of him but she slowed momentarily to let him catch up and walk beside her.
Lisa’s room was bright with the sunlight coming through the open blinds but that literal light did not concern Adam Walton. He smiled when he looked to the bed to see the figurative light beaming from Lisa’s open eyes. Monitors of several sorts beeped nearby and an IV slowly dripped pain medication. Her blonde hair was flattened in the back and mussed into full-blown bedhead condition from three days of lying down. The medication left her light brown eyes only half open, but for Adam she retained the image of perfection.
He walked into the room and pulled a chair to the side of her bed. She turned her head toward him and smiled as he took her hand. “Hey,” Lisa managed to say, her voice gruff and tired.
Adam started to say something else, then paused and said, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. It was just an accident.” Then she looked beside him and said, “Hey, Kara.”
“Have your parents been by?” she asked.
Lisa’s smile faded as she said, “Nope, nowhere to be seen. They’re still running around Europe somewhere. I haven’t talked to them in a couple of weeks so they’re clueless about all of this.”
“How do they have the money to run around Europe all the time?” Adam asked. “God, why would they want to?”
“That’s all they do and they do it because they can. They think it makes them cultured or exotic or something. I just picture my trust fund disappearing every time they order a first-class plane ticket.”
Adam had never heard her mention such a thing. “Trust fund?”
Lisa smiled again and said, “Looks like there’re still a few things you don’t know about me.”
After propping his feet on a nearby table and folding his hands in his lap, Adam looked at his watch and said, “I’ve got a few minutes. Fill me in.”
Lisa looked at Kara for reassurance and Kara replied with a shrug and a nod. “My dad is Dallas Taylor.”
The name made no impact. “And that is?” Adam asked, void of any emotion.
“You’ve heard of Tayco Pharmaceuticals right? Commercials are on TV all the time.”
“Yeah, I guess I have. Which one do they make? The hair pill or the erection pill?”
Lisa laughed as much as her condition would allow and Kara snickered, used to Adam’s blunt questions and comments. “Neither one. It’s heart meds and stuff like that.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“Tayco… Taylor… Get it?” Lisa said, hoping he would take the hint.
“So you’re saying…”
“Yeah, that’s my dad’s company. He built it from the ground up right after college.”
Adam looked at Kara to get her reaction which turned out to be nil. “Did you know about this?” he asked.
“She told me a while back. Girls talk, you know,” said Kara. “We had to talk about something while you and Ryan were playing chess.”
“I knew you had some money but…” His sentence trailed off and ended short. Adam looked around aimlessly trying to gather his thoughts but largely failing to do so. “So your parents are running around Europe blowing more money than I’ll see in my life and your dad is a billionaire or something…”
“That just about covers it.”
“And you’re living here? You could live anywhere and you’re in Spring Creek, West Virginia?”
“I love it here,” Lisa said.
“So do I but that doesn’t mean I’d live here over any other place in the world if I had a virtually unlimited budget. Why here?”
Kara spoke up and said, “Yeah, you never told me that part of it either.”
“Every little rich girl that’s on TV or in a magazine talks about wanting to live like everybody else and wanting to date a normal guy…”
“Liars,” Adam said.
“But in my case it’s true. I wanted to get away from big cities and everything that goes on in those places and I really wanted a normal guy and not some stuck up rich boy that looks in the mirror more than I do.”
“And wears sweater vests and plays polo,” Kara interjected, drawing a chuckle from Lisa.
“I wanted away from all that so I came here. I can be me and not worry about anything. It’s nice.” She still spoke softly. Her voice was slightly breaking due to the strain of not speaking for nearly seventy-two hours but the positive emotion shone from her eyes, leaving no doubt of her improving condition and morale.
“How did you even know the town was on the map? There are maybe three thousand people around here, half of which are in the middle of nowhere and off the grid. Some people can’t find it if they have directions!” Adam said. The wealth of information he was being flooded with produced a range of feelings.
“My dad’s grandma lived here a long time ago and sometimes he’d drive us out there to look at the old place and everything. I really liked it here so when I decided I wanted to be on my own and away from everything, this is where I came. It’s nice and unassuming.”
“That still doesn’t explain why they haven’t so much as called you in two weeks. All this has happened and they don’t even know,” Kara said with concern.
“It’s okay. I’m used to it. I learned to take care of myself a long time ago.” Then to Adam: “I’m surprised you didn’t start wondering about me sooner.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t really work. I do whatever I want most of the time and I’ve got a lot of things that are pretty pricey. Most normal women around here can’t say that.”
Adam squeezed her hand, smiled, and said, “I’m glad you came here.”
Lisa smiled, tears filling her eyes, and said, “I’m glad you found me.”
The three of them chatted for several minutes longer. Lisa was bothered but not surprised by the fact that Adam had discovered who was behind the accident, or wreck, or whatever it should have been called. Nothing more was said about the incident. Instead, the talk centered on her immediate prognosis, which was far better than Adam or Kara had expected. With any luck she would be released within a week.
There was a soft double-knock on the door and before it was slowly pushed open. Darrell Sparks looked around the corner and walked into the room.
He removed his hat and said, “Sorry to interrupt, y’all.”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” Adam asked angrily.
Sparks chose to respond as if no one in the room had any knowledge of the events of the last several weeks. “I was, uh, informed of what happened and wan
ted to stop in and see how things were going.” Then to Lisa: “How are you feeling, young lady?”
“Get out,” Adam said but didn’t get a response.
“Pretty sore but they said I’ll be out of here in a few days. I don’t understand why you’re here though,” Lisa said.
“Young lady, when something happens in my town, I look into it as best I can.”
“I bet,” Adam murmured.
“You say ‘something happened’ as if this was something more than an accident,” said Kara. “Did you find something that would lead you to believe that?”
Sparks was caught off-guard, unable to respond right away. “Uh, no, we haven’t. It was just a figure of speech, I supposed. The main thing is that you’re getting better. If you remember anything about what went on or if you need anything, you just let us know.” He replaced his hat on his head and started to leave but stopped when Adam spoke.
Adam stared straight ahead and said, “How’s that investigation coming with the cop that got shot?”
“You didn’t hear? We got the guy who did it: the older homeless guy that hangs around town. We don’t know a motive or nothing yet but we will.”
“Good,” Adam said flatly. “Let’s be careful out there.”
Sparks nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Adam walked to the door and looked down the hallway, making sure he was indeed leaving.
“That was odd,” Lisa said.
“It was odd because we were here,” Adam said. “If you’d have been here alone there’s no telling what could have happened.”
“Come on, Adam. It’s a hospital. There’s only so much they could do here,” Kara said.
“Why? Because they have limits? Morals? What would stop them from doing anything? She’s safer here than back in town right now but that’s not saying much. These guys don’t care. They want to cover their own asses and they’ll clear out anyone in their way.”
“You’re telling me I’m not safe anywhere?” Lisa asked without wanting to know the answer.
Looking to reassure her, Adam said, “No, I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that these guys aren’t going to stop. I don’t think any of us are safe right now and that’s why we’ve got to make sure they’re stopped and caught by whoever it is that we can finally go to.”
“Who exactly would that be?” Kara asked. “What do you propose we tell them? You have to admit the whole thing sounds a little outlandish.”
“I don’t know. The feds? The state police, if we can get it to one of the high up people and not the guy that’s working with them. We’ll figure it out.” A long sigh, then, “We pretty much have to.”
CHAPTER
29
Kevin Robbins’ relatively short time on the Spring Creek police force had not prepared him for what he was about to do. Writing tickets for speeding, responding to various calls about misdemeanors, and helping old ladies cross the street like an overgrown Boy Scout were all within his realm of expertise. Reconnaissance was not. Instead of eating and lying on the couch, maybe working out or performing necessary maintenance and upgrades on selected areas of his home, his day off was about to be spent mimicking the lead role from a spy novel. This was especially difficult for Kevin, who didn’t read spy novels or books of any other sort. Instead, he relied solely on a combination of his own instincts and tactics learned from the James Bond movies of the 1960s. He was starting to play the surf guitar Bond theme music in his head as he decided what to do.
The sun was just starting to set, meaning he had another hour of daylight to work. Kevin sat on the back porch of Lisa’s house, across the creek where he could see most of the police station’s parking lot without attracting much, if any, attention. Ryan had been quite accommodating. The day before, Kevin contacted him using his instant messaging program, needing a solution to a potential surveillance problem. He had no safe vantage point. Clark then made a special trip to the hospital to retrieve a spare key from Lisa and left the key in his mailbox for Robbins to pick up in as stealth of a manner as possible.
From there, a scant amount work was required on his part. Sitting in a plastic chair on Lisa’s porch required virtually zero effort and the same could be said for his repeated use of binoculars to get a closer look at the evening’s festivities. The helicopter was expected to show up within minutes and Kevin was not going to miss it.
He sat on the porch, leaning forward in his chair and waiting for any sign of action. Kevin didn’t know what to expect. He’d heard Ryan’s tale, corroborated by both Adam and Kara, and believed every word. Hearing the details and seeing the evidence on his friend’s bandaged and stitched arm made working with the culprits on a semi-daily basis extremely difficult. The sight of Sparks, Amick and Lilly instantly brought the image of Ryan’s arm, the details of Lisa’s condition, and the anger of having this brought to light by ordinary people involuntarily thrust into an extraordinary situation, back to mind. The fact that the ordinary people in question were his friends further augmented the anger.
To reduce the risk of having his Blazer spotted at Lisa’s house, he and Ryan had gone to extreme measures to cover his entry and exit. After parking his own vehicle at a gas station just outside of town, he waited for Ryan to pick him up and transport him back to the edge of Main Street before returning home. Kevin walked the half-mile from there to Lisa’s house where he could make an entirely clandestine entrance. His car was several miles away, every door and window was closed, and every watchdog that the department had was going to be at the station and not worrying about the actions of others. Everything was executed to perfection with no detail overlooked.
Kevin walked into the house and poured himself a glass of ice water and heard the rumble of the approaching aircraft as he opened the door. He rushed back to his seat, set the glass on a nearby table and picked up the binoculars. Ryan’s digital camera was nearby in case something, or someone, of interest appeared that needed to be recorded for posterity, or for evidence.
As the helicopter landed, Robbins looked on as his three coworkers exited the building and walked in its direction. The blades slowed and the inhabitants stepped out. A large Japanese man was the first one out and Robbins zeroed in on him. He stood perfectly straight, his chest out, with black sunglasses covering his eyes, leaving Robbins under the assumption that he was glaring straight ahead. The second and last man out was almost a direct contrast, except for his nationality.
Yoshiro Sato, likewise unknown to Kevin, stepped down and straightened his suit and tie before doing anything else. His appearance seemed to be his top priority. With daylight dwindling, Kevin had trouble seeing anything with much detail but had a clear view of the small man who drew the attention and respect of everyone in the immediate area. The cops remained silent, as did the larger man that accompanied Sato.
Without looking at the dial, Kevin powered on the digital camera.
The larger man, Sato’s bodyguard Akira, reached into the cab of the chopper and took out two solid black duffle bags, both of which were larger than those from any previous shipment. Standing upright, he held one in each hand with relative ease, a testament to either the light weight of the cargo or his considerable strength.
Kevin zoomed in as far as possible, careful not to allow the flash to fire, and snapped several pictures of whatever it was that was happening. He checked the display on the camera to see the pictures only seconds after they had been captured. The quality was marginal but could be enhanced with a photo editing program and some patience. He placed the camera back on the table and picked up the binoculars. His eyes quickly adjusted to the close-up view but he lost sight of the people in question during the transition.
The group of six had moved closer to the building, nearly out of Kevin’s sight. Sparks, Amick, and Lilly stood with their back to him, obscuring his view of Sato but Akira was still entirely visible. To Akira’s right stood someone that hadn’t been there when he snapped the pictures moments before.
Hotaka Tochigi was in a deep discussion with the smaller man who was now hidden from view. His words could not be heard but Hotaka appeared serious, if not somber.
Akira listened intently to his boss’ instructions but did not reply. He nodded and walked away from the group with Hotaka just behind him. He carried both duffle bags with him.
Kevin lost sight of them for a second time when they disappeared behind the building. He grabbed the digital camera from the table and darted into the back door of the house as quickly and quietly as possible. In the dark, he slowly pulled open the front door and stepped outside. With the lowlight conditions, visibility was greatly reduced. He squinted, trying to sharpen his vision. Easing one foot in front of the other, Kevin slowly moved to the end of the small bridge that crossed the creek and ran behind the police station and onto Main Street. He crept closer but stopped when he saw two figures emerge from the side of the building. The figures were those he’d been pursuing, after a fashion: Hotaka and Akira.
The two men crossed the main thoroughfare of the town and stepped onto the sidewalk. Hotaka momentarily fumbled for his keys, then retrieved them and opened the door to the delivery entrance of his building, tucked away just steps into the alley that separated his block of buildings from the next. He held the door open for Akira to walk through with the all-important cargo in his hands. Upon entering, Hotaka took a quick but cautious look around before locking the door behind him.
The interior of the building was entirely dark. Kevin waited for them to reveal their location until a single fluorescent light was turned on toward the back of the building, which he knew to be the kitchen of the Tochigi’s restaurant. He checked again, making sure that his presence had not been detected, before jogging in a shallow crouch across the bridge. Loose gravel crushed against the concrete beneath his feet causing him to slow down. He had to restrict the noise as much as possible within reason. Crossing Main Street, he angled forward and to his left to be kept hidden by the angle of the others’ vantage point.