A Bid for Love

by Rachel Ann Nunes

  “So once in New York we’ll take the Buddha to your boss, right?”

  He nodded. “I’ll call once we land and see if she’s home. But first I have something at my apartment I want to show you. It’s on the way, and it’ll only take a minute.”

  “What is it?”

  He smiled enigmatically. “You’ll see.”

  Cassi tried to stifle her curiosity. What could be so important that he would want to go home before getting rid of the Buddha? “They’re probably watching your apartment,” she said. “Your gallery and your boss’s place, too.”

  “Maybe. We’ll figure out something.” He looked at the time on his phone. “I’d better go. I should be back in less than two hours.”

  “And if you’re not?” Cassi hated the words but couldn’t help saying them. One look at Jared’s bruised face showed only too clearly that the people searching for the Buddha meant business.

  His hand reached out and stroked her cheek. A strange expression passed over his face, one that Cassi had seen before at the school yard when she had expected him to kiss her. Since that was obviously not what it meant, she looked away.

  “I’ll be back,” he said, his voice rough with . . . emotion? Cassi was unsure. “One way or another, I’ll be back.”

  His words were more bravado than anything else, and she had to hide a smile. Sometimes men weren’t very rational.

  With a little wave, Jared left, leaving Cassi to wonder at how much the separation pained her and how much she wished he had kissed her good-bye. She sighed again loudly. She couldn’t throw herself at the man, could she?

  There was, however, something she could do. Cassi hurried to the phone book to look up an address. Jared wouldn’t approve of her leaving the motel with the Buddha by herself, but she had her own agenda. Minutes later, she was out the door, lugging both statues in one duffel bag and clutching Jared’s money in her hand.

  Luckily, her destination was nearby. Even so, Cassi was out of breath when she arrived. While the overall height of the Buddha and his base was only four inches taller than her Mother and Baby, the statue was much wider and heavier, and Cassi was not used to carrying so much weight.

  She looked up at the store name to be sure she had the right place, and then plunged inside a completely different world. Wigs, costumes, and various makeup supplies filled artistic displays. This wasn’t just a Halloween store, but one that specialized in disguises all year round.

  “May I help you?”

  Cassi turned to see a hovering clerk. The woman was about Cassi’s age, though the amount of makeup she wore made it difficult to tell for sure. “Uh, yeah. A friend and I want to dress up. Like old people, maybe.”

  “Man or woman?”

  “What?”

  “Is your friend a man or a woman?”

  “A man.”

  The clerk nodded and took Cassi around the store, showing her the different products. Cassi settled on a subtle paint for their hair, glasses, and skin makeup that made realistic wrinkles without actually affecting the real skin underneath.

  “It’s more expensive than the other,” the woman said about the wrinkle makeup. “But at least you won’t be damaging your own skin.” Cassi nodded and paid for her items. It cost half of the money Jared had given her, so she wouldn’t have to dip into Renae’s stash.

  Next, she went to a second-hand store and bought old clothing and a bit of stuffing to pad their waists. She smiled in satisfaction as she spied an old cane to use with Jared’s costume.

  Back at the motel, Cassi wet her hair and pulled it into a knot in the back, securing it with pins she had bought at the store. With a bemused smile on her face she changed quickly into the old lady dress, padding her waist and chest to make her figure seem more realistic. Underneath, she wore the thick hose she had found at the second-hand shop, the odd pattern making her legs appear aged. Last of all, she sprayed her hair with the gray tint and applied the wrinkle makeup to her face and hands.

  “Why, I look just like my grandmother.” Cassi said, blinking at the mirror. She could hardly believe the transformation. At least the steel-colored hairdo was an improvement over her own frizzy curls.

  She left the bathroom and set about packing her few belongings into her duffel bag with her statue. Then she went into Jared’s room and did the same with his belongings. She hesitated when she saw the T-shirt they had bought for him at the beach. She held it near her face, careful not to let it touch the drying makeup, and breathed in Jared’s smell. She walked back to her room, still cradling the shirt to her now matronly bosom.

  A banging at her outer door startled her. She shoved Jared’s T-shirt into her bag and went to the door. “Who is it?” she asked in a craggy voice.

  “It’s Jared.”

  Cassi opened the door. Before she could say anything, Jared pushed his way in and walked around the room. “Where’s Cassi?” he said, turning on her.

  “Right here. It’s me,” Cassi said in her normal voice. Jared peered at her in disbelief.

  “Cassi? What happened?” He started laughing.

  “I fooled you! It really works.” Then she sobered. “Why are you back so early?”

  Jared grimaced. “I called Larry from a pay phone, and he said some men claiming to work for the FBI had come by. They’re going to have men all over the funeral watching for me. Larry also said he noticed a lot of people sitting around in cars outside the church and in front of his house. The men Larry talked to told him the men weren’t theirs. I didn’t get any more information because I was afraid of a wiretap or something.” Jared crossed to Cassi’s bed and sat down. “I won’t be able to get close enough to my friend’s funeral to even say good-bye.”

  Jared’s voice was expressionless, but Cassi could feel the sadness behind his words. She sat next to him on the bed. “I’m sorry. She must have meant a lot to you.”

  “She was like a second mother.” He stared down at his hands. “All these years since I moved, we kept in touch. She was always interested in what I was doing.”

  “Had she been sick for very long?”

  “For the last year or so.” Jared looked up at Cassi. “Logically, I know she’ll understand, but I feel I’m betraying her by not being there.”

  His blue eyes filled with unshed tears, and Cassi reached out to lay a hand on his. “That makes sense,” she said. “They say funerals are for the living, not for the dead. But you were with her at the hospital when it really mattered, and from what you’ve told me about her, I think she might be more interested in what we’re going to do with the Buddha than who’s at her funeral.”

  Jared stared at her for a long moment before replying. Cassi held her breath, but to her relief, Jared started laughing. “You’re crazy, you know that? But you’re also right. I think Trudy would’ve loved you.”

  “Good, then let’s get you ready, old man.” Cassi pointed to the bag of clothing and makeup on the dresser. Jared groaned.

  As soon as he was dressed, Cassi began applying his makeup. “I figure if someone’s waiting for us at the airport, this might prevent us from being recognized.”

  Jared laughed. “You could walk past your own mother and not be noticed.”

  “Actually, I look just like my grandma. Now don’t move. How will I ever get your face uniformly wrinkled? It’s hard enough hiding your cuts and bruises.”

  “I can’t help it. You make me laugh. Has anyone ever told you that you’re funny?”

  “And impulsive, crazy, and unpredictable. That’s why I’m not married, you know. The men I know can’t handle such spontaneity.” Cassi purposely made her voice light, hoping he wouldn’t guess that though she’d many male friends over the years, not one had ever been romantically serious about her—at least not that she was aware of. Cassi sighed and turned from Jared to mask her emotions. “Come see how you look in the mirror,” she ordered gruffly.

  Jared didn’t move but sat studying her. “Cassi, look at me.”

  She tu
rned toward him hesitantly. “What?”

  “It was their loss.”

  A warm feeling spread through Cassi. “Thanks,” she said. “Maybe it was.”

  * * * * *

  The elderly couple moved slowly down the large corridor in the airport, searching for their gate number. They looked no different from the other old people in the crowd around them, except that their step was perhaps a bit more spry than it should be at their apparent age.

  “Don’t look now, but they’re double checking IDs at the boarding gate,” Cassi whispered to her distinguished-looking older companion, who bent slightly over his cane. The gun-wielding men at the departure gate wore bored expressions, but she knew that would change if they had any clue that she and Jared were heading their way.

  Jared glanced up at the men and down again quickly. “We’d better hope our new drivers licenses hold up under scrutiny.”

  After two hours with the ID man Carl had recommended, they had gone from Cassi Mason and Jared Landine, to Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey Johnson, retirees from Florida. They’d also canceled the reservations Jared had made for them under his own name, though they had no choice but to buy new tickets on the same flight since there wasn’t another plane to New York until much later.

  “We should be fine,” Jared added as they joined the line to board the plane. “We got through ticketing and the security gate.”

  “I’m thinking maybe we should take a bus.” Cassi nervously adjusted the glasses that were a part of her costume. “Or come back tomorrow.”

  “I don’t know.” Jared made a gesture as if checking for his own gun, the one he wasn’t carrying. Not wanting to risk checking it in for the flight, in case they were being watched, they had stopped at the post office and mailed the weapon to his apartment in New York.

  “Have you ever taken drama?” Cassi asked. “We’ll just have to bluff our way through.”

  Jared shook his head. “Let’s just go back the way we came. Your bus idea is looking better and better. We can go as far as Nevada and take a plane from there.” Jared started to turn. “Oh, no,” he muttered.

  “What?”

  “The men from the beach are a couple yards behind us. They’ll catch up in about thirty seconds.”

  Cassi’s heart begin knocking in her chest. “How’d they get through security?”

  “Must have bought tickets. At least they probably don’t have guns.”

  Probably didn’t sound so sure, and Cassi didn’t think the men would need guns to take the Buddha from them anyway. And if they stole the Buddha, she would never learn its secrets or how Linden was involved.

  Though they hadn’t yet been recognized, they were boxed in. The men from the beach were professionals, and surely they were trained to look for disguises. It might only be a matter of time before they discovered Cassi and Jared. There was only one thing to do. She shoved her duffel bag at Jared. “Get on the plane if you can, and wait for me.”

  She took three quick steps away from the back of the line, tossed her purse under a chair, and started screaming in what she hoped was an old lady’s voice. “Thief, thief! Those men stole my purse!” Cassi pointed vaguely at the men who had attacked Jared. As people flocked to her, the two men looked confused and stopped walking.

  “Thieves!” Cassi yelled. “Stop them! Make them give it back! Oh, what am I going to do?”

  The two men checking ID at the door raised their heads at the commotion, and Cassi beckoned to them. Silently she referred to them as FBI men, though she didn’t know exactly who they were. One left the door and came to stand with Cassi.

  “What seems to be the problem, Ma’am?”

  “Those men took my purse! I was just going to get on that plane there when they came up behind me and—”

  “We didn’t take her purse,” protested the man with the hooked nose. His companion nodded vigorously.

  “You did too!” Cassi didn’t feel any qualms for either of them. These were the men who had beaten Jared and chased her on the beach.

  “Hey, don’t I know you?” The FBI agent’s eyes narrowed at the men.

  The thugs backed away a few steps under his stare. “Don’t move,” he ordered, motioning for his companion to join him. His hand hovered near the gun at his waist.

  The agent at the door hurriedly waved several more passengers through, including Jared, before telling the stewardess to close the door so no one else could board. Cassi saw Jared gazing back at her worriedly as the door shut between them.

  She felt satisfaction that at least he’d made it inside, that his fake ID hadn’t been uncovered.

  “Don’t you know these guys?” The FBI agent said to his friend as he joined the small crowd around Cassi.

  “Yeah, if I’m not mistaken, they work for Big Tommy.”

  The thugs nodded. “So what if we do? We ain’t done nothing wrong, and you can’t take us in. This old lady’s crazy.”

  “Ain’t done nothing wrong, you say?” mocked the first agent. “What a joke! Part of the biggest organized smuggling ring in the country, and you say you ain’t done nothing wrong?” He stopped talking, noticing the intent expressions on the faces of the passengers around him. Their irritation at being delayed vanished as they sensed something interesting happening, something that didn’t concern them but reeked of juicy scandal. Several took out their cameras.

  “You just stay out of our way or we’ll take you in,” the second FBI man growled at the thugs, turning back to the door leading to the plane. “Come on now, folks, just get on the plane. No, don’t show me your ID unless I ask for it,” he added. “Let’s hurry this along. I know what I’m looking for.”

  The rest of the passengers consisted mostly of a tourist group from Japan and several American women. There was a tall American man, too, and he was the only one the FBI man asked for identification. They were also matching names against the passenger manifest.

  “Please, young man, could you help me to my plane?” Cassi said to the first FBI agent, who still stood beside her.

  “Sure, which one is it?”

  She pulled her ticket from the pocket in her dress and showed it to him.

  “Oh, that’s the one we’re checking ID for.”

  “But I told you, they stole my purse.”

  “Well you can’t go to New York without ID. We need to call the police. They might be able to recover your purse.”

  “There is it.” Cassi pointed under the chair. “That man must have stuffed it there. Darn purse-snatchers, always targeting old ladies. What is this world coming to?” A woman standing nearby grabbed the purse and handed it to her. Cassi gave her a smile and dug through it. “Here, young man. Here’s my license. Now hurry and help me to the plane. My legs are getting wobbly. All this excitement, you know.” Cassi’s weakness wasn’t feigned as she clutched his arm.

  The man scarcely glanced at her ID. “Go on in, Ma’am,” he said, guiding her to the gate and passing her off to a flight attendant. “And next time, hold on to your purse.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Jared sighed with relief when Cassi boarded the plane. Her face was wrinkled and white from the concealing makeup, but her eyes danced with excitement behind the spectacles. She had obviously enjoyed her performance.

  “Well?” he asked as she slipped into the seat beside him. He shook his head back and forth in an exaggerated motion as she told him what had happened, keeping her voice to a whisper so the other passengers wouldn’t hear.

  “I bet since you canceled your reservations, it really must have been a routine check,” she finished. “Or we’d never have gotten away with it. They weren’t even checking everyone.”

  “They were before you made the commotion. I was watching them.” He paused. “That was a dangerous thing you did.”

  “I don’t think so. They were probably FBI at the door, don’t you think? If they’d discovered me, then at least you would have been free to choose another route. I didn’t have the Buddha, and for al
l they know we aren’t even together. Right?”

  Jared thought for a minute. “Maybe. But what if they weren’t FBI?”

  “Who else could they be?”

  “Then maybe we should just give it to them. They’re supposed to be the good guys, right?”

  “That’s the way it should be. But it seems awfully suspicious that they swooped in only after the auction. Like they were waiting for you to buy it.”

  Jared blinked and moved even closer. “You think someone’s setting me up?”

  Cassi shrugged. “I don’t know, but I wish we could find out why everyone wants it. It’s a fake, after all.” Her voice became so soft Jared had to struggle to hear. “I want to know why Linden is involved. I’ve been thinking that maybe he’s not responsible for any of this. Maybe he’s in some kind of trouble.”

  “There’s no way to know,” Jared said, wishing he could offer her something more. “But I’m going to get some answers from Laranda before I hand this thing over.” He grinned at her and felt the rubbery makeup on his face stretching to accommodate the movement.

  “Oh, no,” Cassi said suddenly.

  “What is it?” He looked up sharply, half-expecting to see the thugs they’d eluded coming down the aisle.

  “I’ve got an itch on my cheek.” She wiggled her cheek furiously under the makeup and Jared laughed. But now that she mentioned it, he felt an itch begin on the backs of his wrinkled hands.

  “Me too,” he said.

  * * * * *

  The plane ride passed uneventfully, though both were uncomfortable under their disguises. They were nervous when changing planes in St. Louis but saw nothing out of the ordinary. As they circled John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Jared marveled that the long hours had passed so quickly with Cassi. They had talked the entire flight about their lives and plans for the future. One particular thing had impressed Jared.