Benson’s twinkle died. “Amusing, Peidmont, really! Maybe that sense of humor will help when she’s serving a life sentence at Soledad. That prison’s what, only thirty minutes from here? You’ll be able to have weekly visits that last a whole half hour.”
Time for him to put up or shut up, Oliver thought savagely. “And you can help avoid that, Benson?’
“Possibly," Benson said, his tone suddenly warmer. "If Mrs. McKenny were to cooperate with us in our investigation of JenelCo and provide some key documents, we might be able to give her immunity as a state’s witness.”
Oliver stared impassively at Benson. “What’s so special about these documents?”
Benson was obviously preparing to spout the party line about secrecy when he thought better of it.
“Carol Montoya was an agent for the FBI, working undercover at JenelCo when she was killed. We recruited her at your local college as she earned her A.A. degree. Carol had in her possession, documents that could prove devastating to what we suspect is a special breed of crime syndicate.”
Oliver laughed. “Come on, Benson, you can do better than that. Organized crime is on the way out.”
“You’re right, Peidmont,” Benson’s face grew deadly serious. “It is on the way out. But crime, like many things, changes according to its environment. Sometimes it even evolves.”
“Now that’s a novel concept,” Oliver smirked. “An evolved criminal.”
Benson ignored him. “I spoke with Mrs. McKenny this morning, had a hell of a time getting in to see her.”
Good! thought Oliver.
“However, I feel that if someone...close to her explains the situation, a cop she trusts perhaps. She may be more open to helping us and perhaps, herself.” Benson stood and placed an austere looking business card on a stack of folders before him. “Call me at this number if she decides to cooperate.”
Oliver picked up the nondescript card, “And if I can’t convince her?”
“Then she’ll stand trial for a double homicide,” Benson pulled his car keys from his coat pocket. “Our hands will be tied.”
The Consortium phone arrived at Jeffers’ office around four and from its appearance, he wasn’t sure he liked it. About twice as large as a typical cell phone, it did seem normal enough. Not that different, really, from the newer, larger phones which had come out in the last year.
What he didn’t like was its weight. At about half a pound, he knew enough about recent technology to know that the device strapped to his belt could contain enough explosive to level a small building. Suddenly becoming President of JenelCo seemed less enticing.
Sitting at Jenel’s old desk around four-thirty and feeling very much the weight of his new leash, his heart nearly stopped when his new phone vibrated against him. After a moment to still his breath, he pulled the device from his belt and found himself staring at Ms. Thompson, alongside Caldwell in the small display. Both seemed to enjoy his obvious reaction.
“I’m glad you received our little toy, Mr. Jeffers.” Caldwell’s inch high image spoke through a miniaturized speaker. “This technology is completely secure and reliable wherever you find yourself and is just one of the benefits of our united venture.”
Jeffers understood now the reason for the device’s weight and tried to keep from showing just how impressed he was. He also recalled the many times Jenel had left a room before responding to a call.
“Quite a trick,” he replied offhandedly. “Real time cellular HD video. Perhaps you’ll show me how it works one day.”
Ms. Thompson’s smile, though small, still held a carnivorous element.
“All in good time, Mr. Jeffers, however, we first need to continue our research into what you’ve told us. So far, everything looks as it should.”
“Anything I can do to help, Ms. Thompson.”
“Call me Barbara,” she offered with a slight moistening of her lips. “We need check only a few more items before we get to know each other...in person.”
From the look she’d sent just before signing off, the cost of her vote would be at least a couple of steamy nights with her. Not an unpleasant prospect, he decided.
He picked up the phone and dialed, settling back in Jenel’s old chair. The courthouse operator came on.
“Paul Jeffers for District Attorney Sullivan.”
A moment later, Sullivan picked up the phone as he finished motivating an employee.
“...you got one last time to get it fucking right, Brenda!” he heard Sullivan yell, “or start looking for another job.”
Jeffers listened quietly as he heard the sounds of weeping fade from Sullivan’s office.
“Jack, yeah, it’s Paul, I think it’s time we end this McKenny situation.”
Jenny was awake when he came in, drinking her dinner through a straw and not looking happy about it. He could see some color had returned to her cheeks and the blood cleaned from her hair as well, though her pretty face was still puffy and marked by bluish looking bruises. She gave him a weak smile as he came up alongside her, finishing what looked to be a protein drink of some kind.
“Doctor Grant says I’ll have to drink liquids for several weeks, maybe longer,” Jenny sighed, reading his mind.
“Sounds…yummy,” he said, picking up the drink.
“What in Sam hill do you think you’re doing?” A husky voice called out from behind him as he was about to take a sip.
He turned to find a nurse, African American and fairly large, standing with one hand holding the door wide, a deep scowl upon her face.
“Wanda!" Jenny instantly grew excited. "Come meet my hero!!”
'Wanda' stormed over to Oliver, pulling the drink from his hands.
"So...you’re the Lover Boy, eh?" she said, handing the small drink container back to Jenny without taking her eyes off Oliver.
"Well, you may be cute, and fancy at catching criminals, but you got a lot to learn about infections.” She waved at the drink Jenny was now dutifully sipping. “Unless you want to make my Jenny worse, you best go get a hamburger somewhere.”
Oliver held up both hands in surrender. “You win, Wanda, I won’t even kiss her if you say so.”
Wanda, somewhat appeased, placed both hands on her hips.
“Well, alright then,” she said, smoothing her uniform absently. “Just don’t be giving her any of those deep kisses just yet, you hear, boyfriend! You save those for later.” She turned to Jenny, lifting the drink off the tray she'd just set it down on. “Now, Jenny...you finish up that drink. We got to keep plenty of fluids going into you.”
Reluctantly, Jenny picked up the container and slowly sipped from it. Satisfied, Wanda shot Oliver a quick smile before bustling from the room.
“She’s the mother I always wanted,” Jenny released the straw from her mouth.
“I think she’s the mother every kid wants. In fact,” he turned toward the door, “do you think she’d adopt me if I asked real nice?” He was ready to go on but could see real laughter would be painful for her.
Resting her head on the pillow, Jenny reached toward a small plastic device latched to her bed. “An injured girl’s best friend,” she said, turning the dial on the box-shaped meter. “If the pain starts to really bother me, I just turn this dial and soon I’m feeling real good.” He pulled up a chair next to her and took her hand in his.
“Boyfriend, eh?" he said, grinning like a school boy. "I like the sound of that.“
“Best I could do, being a married woman and all.”
Her smile sent his heart skipping.
“I’ll settle for that, for the time being.” Regretfully, he pulled out his note pad and pen. “I know your strength won’t last long, Jenny, so I’ve got to ask you a few things about the last few days.”
A shadow passed over her, then cleared.
“Go ahead, the medication is taking effect, so I’m fine. Ask away.”
“Well,” he tapped the pen onto the note pad. “I understand you had a visitor this morning.�
�
Distaste flashed across Jenny’s face.
“Yeah, some man claiming to be with the FBI was in here. He said Carol had worked for the FBI and that he needed my help somehow. He was awfully pushy.”
“He’s an agent with the FBI alright," Oliver said, still holding her hand. "That much checked out. His name’s Benson and he’s after those documents Jenel was so hot for. says that if you cooperate with the FBI, you might be able to get immunity as a government witness.” He paused. “Do you know where those documents are?”
Jenny nodded. “Yes, I’m pretty sure.”
He cocked his head to the side. “So how come you allowed me to go on a wild goose chase?”
“Because I was afraid Jenel would kill us on the spot if I told him where they were.”
“What made you think he would do that? Holding those papers would have given me a huge bargaining tool.”
“Because what Jenel wanted was only a couple of hundred feet away at the time.”
Understanding came as his mind flashed back to Jenel’s Office.
“The papers have been at JenelCo this whole time?”
"Yes," Jenny grinned, her puffy face seeming lopsided a bit. "The best place to hide something is where no one thinks to look.”
He shook his head in amazement. “So where are they?”
“In Carol’s personal file box at JenelCo.”
“Hold on now,” he said, hearing the tiredness in Jenny's voice. “I watched Jeffers open Carol’s personal employee container and it was empty, thanks to your midnight visit.”
“Correct on every point, Oliver, except the box itself.” She apparently saw his confusion and backed up. “Carol had told me she’d put some very important papers in her employee box and had keyed its electronic lock to my birth date.”
Awareness began to dawn on him.
“Willy found some personal papers with Collin’s name in Carol’s house, along with some insurance forms under his name. He and I were amazed to find that JenelCo was the beneficiary, if something were to happen to Collin.”
“That makes sense and maybe explains what pushed Carol into action," she said, yawning. “I guessing she didn't want to keep all of Jenel's secret papers together in one place where they could be found. I think she decided to hide half in her box and half in Collin's. My only guess is that she put her name on Collin's box at the last minute to throw off Jenel and Jeffers if they came looking for them. So when Jeffers opened 'Carol's' box in front of you, he was really opening Collin's box, however I didn't know any of this the other night. I'd opened a box with her name on it, found the papers and simply ran."
Oliver's head was beginning to spin and Jenny must have noticed it.
"Stay with me now," she said, stifling a growing yawn. "You see, Collin, like a typical husband, must have keyed his personal container to my real birth date. Thing is....Carol didn’t know my real birth date."
“What do you mean, ‘My real birth date?’” He said, tapping his pen to note pad.
“Well, actually.." Jenny said, grinning sheepishly. "I have a confession. I’m a tad older than you think."
Jenny pressed the bed’s controls, raising herself up several inches. “Just before I tried out as a Bear’s cheerleader, an outgoing girl told me I’d have a better chance of making the squad if I told them I was nineteen years old, instead of twenty two. At the time, it seemed like a small thing, but after a while, it’s something I stuck to more out of habit than anything else and what girl doesn’t want to be younger?”
“So Carol didn’t know your true birth date,” he guessed. “Only Collin?”
Jenny nodded.
“That’s right and two days ago when I was hiding out at the motel, it suddenly hit me. In my rush to get in and out of JenelCo the night before, I’d used my true birth date and that meant it shouldn't have opened for me. After reading through all the papers, I realized that only half were there and the rest were still at JenelCo.
"So..." Jenny said, grinning. "I think Carol’s real employee box with the rest of missing papers is tucked away in the Records Department over at JenelCo. Probably labeled with a name nobody would look at twice.”
He paused for a minute, smiling. “Nice piece of deduction, Mrs. McKenny.”
There was a noise as the door parted carefully, Wanda's kind face peering in.
“Hey, young lovers, another ten minutes and I got to kick Romeo out, you hear?”
Oliver couldn’t help but smile at the nurse’s obvious affection for Jenny.
"Wanda,” he called as she began to back out, then reappeared. “What would you think of adopting Jenny? She hardly eats anything.”
Wanda mock scowled. “I thought you were a Detective, Lover Boy, can’t you tell I already done that. Now say your good-byes, because Juliet needs her beauty sleep.”
Her warm smile reappeared as she’d ducked back out into the hallway.
“What’s her last name, Jenny?”
“Johnson, I think,” Jenny’s eyes began to close.
He pulled on his chin, chuckling.
“I’m pretty sure that’s Willy’s aunt and she’s not kidding. You’ve made a friend for life, from what I’ve heard of Wanda Johnson. Willy told me about some rich old locals who finagle their way into the hospital a couple of times each year, just to get her special brand of warmth and care.”
“Like I said, the mother I never had.” Jenny shifted uncomfortably on the bed, then reached over and adjusted her pain medication.
Oliver squeezed her hand. “That’s about all I need to know for now, Jenny, I can come back tomorrow morning.”
Gray and threatening, the dark cloud he saw earlier reappeared and this time settled on Jenny's face.
“Oliver...I...need to tell you something.” She pulled her hand free of his. “While you were gone,” Jenny paused as tears trailed down her cheeks. “Jenel...threatened to kill you when you came back...if, if I didn’t have sex with him.”
He was speechless for a moment, then a spark of rage threatened to engulf him. “That bastard raped you?” He began to swear under his breath as she nodded, but stopped as her sobs grew.
“He taped us," she half whispered, her breath rapid now, almost hyperventilating. “I didn’t know he recorded it. Oh God, Oliver!”
He stood and leaned over the bed, holding her while fighting back his own angry tears.
"Jenny, oh Jenny. I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry I left you with that bastard!” He kissed her forehead and cheeks, cradling her as she sobbed quietly.
“I just didn’t know what to do, Oliver,” she cried into his shoulder. “But you were coming back...and I couldn’t let him...”
“Jenny," He pulled back and gently took her head in both hands. "You had no choice in the matter and you did the only thing you could have!”
He held her then, for how long he wasn’t sure, until a hand lightly touched his shoulder and found Wanda beside him.
“Detective,” she said in a near whisper. “There’s an emergency phone call from your brother.”
Oliver slowly straightened up, “My brother?” Wanda nodded.
"What’s the matter, Oliver?” Jenny wiped her eyes with the bed sheet. “
"Well," he said, rubbing his chin, quizzically. “For starters, I don’t have a brother.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Chief Williams knew he was experiencing only a small taste of hell and had to admit, it was of his own making. The source of his discomfort sat across the dinner table in the form of Monterey Police Chief, Henry Dawson, their respective wives beside them. Slightly intoxicated, the older man had droned on for two hours about the good old days of police work. Williams hid a long repressed yawn with his napkin while eyeing his watch and was dismayed to see more suffering was in store.
Several hours earlier he had brought Dawson, along with their respective wives to this trendy Italian restaurant, supposedly to make up for some nasty things he’d said the day before. Since then, Rut
h Dawson and Williams' wife, Shelly, had chatted by themselves about anything other than police work. This had left him at Dawson’s mercy and Williams had heard more than he ever wanted to know of Dawson’s rise to power. His main problem, other than staying awake was how to end the man’s lecture at the appointed time. This, according to his watch, was not for another twenty minutes.
It was, of course, Oliver Peidmont who'd talked him into this. After sixteen years of police work, he knew the idea should have been thrown out the first time it was suggested. But he hadn’t and now here he sat, slowly dying of boredom at the hands of his counterpart.
They’d met the older couple at the Monterey department and right away the whole setup had nearly fallen apart when Dawson had volunteered to drive. Only when Shelly claimed to suffer panic attacks if her husband didn’t drive her had Dawson relented, mumbling under his breath about “Therapy,” as he followed.
Williams eyed his watch as Dawson sipped his wine, then groaned inwardly when he saw only three minutes had passed. He stifled another yawn and marveled at Shelly’s air of interest, especially listening to Ruth Dawson’s lecture about the social club she’d joined twenty-five years ago. He would owe Shelly a month of favors for this night. But Peidmont! Peidmont would owe him much, much more for these last two hours of hell.
“I don’t suppose mentioning the legality of this would affect your decision.” His partner, John Collinson whispered to Oliver in the gray darkness of the underground garage.
Hours before, the two men had come to JenelCo, parked in the farthest space available within the underground garaged and waited for the workaholic employees to finish their fourteen hour workday. Lying across their respective seats in his cruiser which sat in a dimly lit corner, he and Collinson had observed a steady stream of weary professionals plodding from the lone elevator to their expensive imports. For the last fifteen minutes, however, the elevator had failed to release anyone else and Oliver sensed it might be time.
Lying prone, his legs pointing off toward gas and brake pedals, Oliver shifted to avoid an impending cramp.
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