Wanna Bet?

by Chula Stone

  He handed Tobin the set of pictures, then guided Jenny to a chair. Sitting her down, he placed his hands on her shoulders and spoke to her gently. “Where did you get that? Were you snooping on Mr. Tobin’s desk?”

  “These are new,” Tobin cut in. He tossed them onto Jeep’s desk, then scrubbed at his face with his hands.

  Jeep studied the photos for a moment in silence. “What now?”

  “We go on with the plan. Question the new subjects like we did the old.”

  “I’m a subject. Why wasn’t I questioned?” Color was returning to Jenny’ cheeks, but her tone was still flat.

  “You were questioned. Jeep can be subtle when he wants to,” Tobin explained.

  “What about the second set of pictures? Was I in them, too?”

  “How did you know…?” Jeep struggled to keep control of his anger. Anger at the snake taking the photos. Anger at the snake charmer playing the tune.

  “He told me. The courier told me. He said he wasn’t the one to deliver them, but I think he was lying. He just doesn’t want to admit he’s a full-time courier at his age.”

  “Age? He? You mean you saw the courier?” Tobin asked the questions this time. Jenny figured it was because if Jeep had opened his mouth, all that would have come out would have been steam…to match the steam coming out of his ears.

  “Of course I saw the courier.” She looked at their faces and realized something was wrong. “Nobody has seen the courier before now, have they?”

  Tobin shook his head. “Can you describe him so Mrs. Abernathy can make a drawing?”

  Jeep’s jaw was working, but other than that, the steam seemed to be taking up all his energy.

  “She’s your in-house artist, too? Is there anything she can’t do?” Jenny asked, regaining some of her composure now that there seemed to be something productive she could actually do.

  Tobin shrugged off the tension and led the way back to his office to call Mrs. Abernathy. “Not that I’ve found.”

  “Let me see the other pictures,” Jenny requested. “Why didn’t I see them earlier?”

  “We’re trying to keep this as quiet as possible. No one was supposed to know.”

  “Well, I know now. The courier came in the back door and I just happened to be back there.”

  “What were you doing back there, anyway?” Tobin wanted to know.

  “Uh…I was just, uh…cooling off. The big ice maker is back there from when the building used to be a hotel.”

  “It doesn’t make the area appreciably cooler that I’ve noticed,” Tobin noted, “unless you actually touch it, but it’s so low to the ground, I don’t see how it would cool anyone off unless they sat on it.” There was a short silence, then he added, “Oh.”

  “Yes, as you have previously observed: ‘oh.’”

  Jeep came in at that moment, followed by Mrs. Abernathy. The sketch was made and other points discussed, bringing Mrs. Abernathy up to speed at the same time.

  “These pictures,” Jenny mused. “We’ve been taking them to be threats, but could they be something totally different?”

  “What else could they be? Part of some psycho’s scrap book?” Jeep asked.

  “Well, what they really seem to be is a record of any woman who has come into Sentry’s offices. There aren’t really that many, come to think of it.”

  “But you were in the first batch. That was before you were a Sentry employee,” Tobin observed.

  “Yes, but I was here for one day before you took me out on a date. I was a temp, remember? And all these other women? You think of them as people you see socially, but all of them are clients, as well, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, that is true,” Tobin agreed.

  “So that at least gives us a different angle to work on,” Mrs. Abernathy stated. “Let me review the records and note all the women who have ever been through those doors.”

  “It’s a place to start. Jeep, you enquire discreetly all over again. And show the sketch. See if it conjures any memories. We will get to the bottom of this.”

  The consultation was called for later that afternoon. Jeep didn’t like it when Tobin called the Sniper in along with Le Beau and McKennna, but Tobin was the boss, so Jeep kept his own counsel.

  Le Beau was talking when Jenny came in the room. Jeep could see Frenchy eye her appreciatively, but he didn’t miss a beat when he pulled out a chair for her by his own. Jeep’s train signal arm reached out and snagged Jenny before she got anywhere near that chair and pulled her into the seat he had just vacated. He preferred to stand when in hostile territory.

  Jeep pretended not to notice Frenchy’s grimace or Sniper’s nod, but he did have to give Sniper points for disapproving of Frenchy’s flirtatious style. God’s gift to women didn’t impress men, or many women, either, if Mrs. Abernathy’s expression was any indication. Jeep relaxed and leaned on a file cabinet.

  “So we do need to look into it,” Le Beau finished.

  “Sorry I’m late,” Jenny apologized. “Look into what?”

  “It’s nothing,” Jeep interjected.

  “The weakness in our accounting system,” Le Beau corrected. “We have some of our work done by a contract agency rather than in-house accountants. I’ve found some discrepancies…”

  “Of method, not of numbers or totals,” Jeep jeered. “Bean counters!”

  “As they say: ‘follow the money,’” Le Beau quoted.

  “Who said that?” Jenny asked, distracted by his comment.

  “Nobody knows,” Jeep answered with irritation. “It’s from the Watergate era and about as relevant in this case. Chalk and Van Dyke aren’t interested in the money. It wouldn’t make them any money to do half the things they’ve done. Fire-bombing Jenny’s apartment. Trying to kidnap her.”

  “The other attacks,” the Sniper added in a low voice.

  Jeep turned on him. Angry. On edge. “I can make my own points.”

  “What other attacks?” Jenny asked. Her voice sounded like it was starting in curiosity but would soon end up in anger as well.

  Tobin sighed, scrubbing his face in his hands. “Need to know, my dear. Have you ever heard of that principle?”

  “Yeah, right up there with ‘follow the money.’ It doesn’t apply here. What attacks?”

  Yes, definitely on the way to mad. Jeep could hear it, and her emotion put his in perspective. Unreasonable. Unproductive. His thermometer lost a degree or two. “Mr. Tobin is the boss, Jenny. He says what applies and what doesn’t.”

  “Exactly.” Tobin gave Jeep a significant look, then went on. “Both apply. Le Beau, hire what you need to close the gap. I can’t have weakness anywhere. Follow every thread no matter where it leads. Jeep, look at the files again. We’re missing something.”

  Both men nodded but neither moved to leave. Jeep knew there was one more topic, which was why Jenny had been invited. He waited to hear how Tobin would put it.

  “Jenny, you were asked here to consult about the wedding. We will need to take a few more security precautions or postpone. With this—”

  “Not postpone!” Jeep interrupted.

  Tobin went on over Jeep’s objection. “…new batch of pictures, and now that the courier knows you have seen him, you could become a target again.”

  “I don’t think it should come to that,” Jenny answered. “Now that the courier has been seen, surely we’ll be able to track him down.”

  Tobin smiled and Jeep had to join him. Her naiveté amazed him. She had such faith in their abilities, but they weren’t superheroes.

  Tobin answered for them both. “It’s a big city, Jenny, dear.”

  “Not that big. She’s right,” Sniper commented.

  “We don’t have to search the whole city. He’s got to be operating within a block or two of here. Otherwise, he couldn’t keep track of every woman coming in the building.”

  “She’s right,” Sniper added. “He’s got to have eyes on this building. Or a video camera.”

  “What
a wonderful, insightful woman you are,” Le Beau declared. “But the camera, no. That technology is too new. Too expensive and big. Not practical.”

  Jeep could tell that Tobin felt as sandbagged as he did. Assuming they were dealing with Chalk or Van Dyke, they had forgotten about the local angle. “This is why I brought her into Sentry,” Tobin stated. “Fresh ideas. A new way of looking at things from a different perspective.”

  “So y’all will have this thing wrapped up before the wedding. Please, you’ve got to! It’s already embarrassing enough, having this huge wedding, but extra security? Armed guards roaming the halls of the church? Metal detectors like at an airport? Salk and Pepper patting down the guests? Sniper up in the balcony with his rifle at the ready?”

  “Where else would I be?” Sniper asked.

  Jeep could tell Jenny had thought she was exaggerating. When no one called her on it, or even smiled, she slumped in her seat. “I was kidding.”

  “I’m not.” Sniper again.

  Mrs. Abernathy jumped right in, to Jeep’s great relief. “Of course, they’re kidding. It won’t be that bad. Nothing to be embarrassed about. It will all look beautiful. It’s your wedding. You’ll be lovely.” She patted Jenny’s shoulder and walked with her companionably out of the room. “You’ve got desk duty in five minutes, so go on and get a cold drink before you report. I’ll see you in a minute.”

  Shutting the door behind Jenny, Mrs. Abernathy turned back to the staring men and informed them in no uncertain tone, “The guards will be at the street doors only. The metal detectors will be covered with flowers to look like wedding arches and Salk will not be allowed to pat down any of the guests. Really!”

  “What about the wire?” At Jeep’s questioning look, Tobin went on, “in case they snatch her, we’ll be able to hear what they’re saying.”

  “Tracking device?” Sniper asked.

  “Too big. Maybe in a few years, they’ll have them pared down to a size we could use, but nothing like that available on the market yet. The wire will be hard enough to hide. Mrs. Abernathy?”

  “I’ll build it into her hairpiece,” Mrs. Abernathy said. “Leave it to me.”

  “This whole thing is getting out of hand,” Jeep declared. “I don’t think we should go through with it.”

  “We could postpone,” Tobin suggested.

  “No!” Jeep almost shouted. “Why not just cancel? And let me elope with her again and move back in.”

  “Or catch Van Dyke’s courier before the wedding?” Tobin challenged. “Wedding or no, he has to be caught.”

  “I won’t use my wife and our wedding as bait!”

  “You won’t have to. It’ll all be over by then,” Sniper asserted.

  “But you’ll still be in the balcony,” Jeep stated. “Rifle ready?”

  “Where else would I be?”

  Jeep had to be satisfied with that.

  “Should we really be doing this on company time?” Jenny asked again.

  “It’s Mr. Tobin’s fault that you had to get twelve bridesmaids. It’s only right that you should work on their gifts here at work. And the groomsmen’s stuff, too,” Mrs. Abernathy commented, a little acid in her tone. Jenny assumed it was directed at Mr. Tobin. “A dozen attendants! Really!”

  “Thank goodness I have a great singles group at church and some wonderful friends I made while I was working at the school. Some of them are a little surprised that I would ask them to be bridesmaids, since we don’t know each other that well, but I just blamed it on Jeep wanting twelve groomsmen. His groomsmen didn’t complain since they’re almost all Sentry employees. But still, I wouldn’t want to take advantage of Mr. Tobin’s generosity.”

  “I’m sure it’s fine,” Mrs. Abernathy assured her. “In fact, after you left yesterday, he told me to do all this prep stuff here at the office, just to make sure you weren’t staying up too late at night getting it done.”

  “But sorting gifts and mementos? It’s not in your job description, surely. Or arranging professional fireworks displays. Or making bridal headpieces. Or labeling table diagrams. Or—”

  “You’d be surprised what my job description includes,” Mrs. Abernathy laughed. “Here, try this on one more time.” She placed the white headpiece on Jenny’s hair, making her look completely comical in her denim skirt and comfy sweatshirt. She anchored it with a long, stiff wire that she concealed in a ponytail hanging down Jenny’s back.

  “Now, practice saying your vows.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because, when a person gets nervous, she tends to shake. The tiara part could wobble. The way I’ll have it anchored to your hair-do, that would be a disaster. So, we’ve got to lessen those nerves. The more you practice, the less nervous you’ll feel.”

  “I don’t think practicing from now ‘till next St. Swithen’s Day is going to make me less nervous. Just thinking about it gives me the jitters.”

  “Then let’s go outside and get some air.”

  “Mrs. Abernathy!” Jenny complained, but she went. She had precious little choice as the older woman was pulling her down the hall and toward the door. “At least let’s go out back.”

  “That door’s blocked by the old ice maker and the industrial dryer.”

  “No, it’s not. I’ve been going down there since I first started working at Sentry. Believe me, there’s room.”

  “Okay,” Mrs. Abernathy said. Jenny didn’t understand why she sounded so concerned. Mr. Tobin knew about her back door excursions. Hadn’t he told Mrs. Abernathy?

  They went outside and walked around a bit in the courtyard formed by the backs of the buildings, taking in the old brick of their own building and the variety of other architectural styles and materials of the neighboring structures. “So, try saying your vows now,” Mrs. Abernathy instructed her again.

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t even know them. I haven’t got them memorized or anything.”

  Mrs. Abernathy led her over to the farthest corner to show her what she found to be particularly boring bit of decorative plaster-work and said, “But you ought to study them and be familiar. Now, try those vows for me. Just any bit you know.”

  “I thought the preacher was going to read them and I would just repeat them,” Jenny answered, getting worried.

  Mrs. Abernathy seemed surprisingly satisfied when she replied, “Oh, you’re right. Never mind. Good enough. Let’s go back in.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Mrs. Abernathy closed the door behind herself in Tobin’s office. “Everything okay, boss? Transmission loud and clear? Even outside? I got her as far away as I could without raising questions.”

  “Everything was fine until that last question. The feedback nearly broke my eardrum.” Tobin let that comment sink in.

  “Feedback.” Mrs. Abernathy sounded stunned.

  “Yes, feedback.”

  “As in, receiver and transmitter getting too close to each other feedback?”

  “That’s what’s usually meant by the term.”

  “So I take Perry from the tech department and do a sweep of the back courtyard?”

  “Not now. Come back at two. Or stay here and sleep in one of the dorm rooms until then. We need anybody who might be out there to be at his least alert state of mind. Two in the morning is when most people’s brains are most sluggish. I’ll meet you here and we’ll get to the bottom of this. I don’t want anyone getting wind of our plans.”

  “I think we should tell Jeep, too, don’t you?”

  “And the Sniper. Just in case. It’s not just the receiver that caused the feedback that I want to find. I think we may be able to nab the courier.”

  “It would make things a lot easier. This wire in her hair thing. Will she really fall for that? I’d rather not have to…”

  “No matter who we get tonight or what we find, that wire goes in. It won’t hurt to be cautious. And Salk and Pepper are making book as to whether Jeep waits ‘till they get to the hotel before he—”

  “I don’t want
to hear this!”

  “There’s only one way to find that out for sure.”

  “Men! Really!”

  Chapter Eight

  Where else could they plan the bachelor party but at the Sports and Spuds? It was inevitable, though Jeep did try to avoid it. He told Tobin he just couldn’t imagine what would happen if Jenny found out there was a girl jumping out of a cake at him the night before they could get back together after weeks of being apart. Actually, Tobin couldn’t imagine that any day would be better than any other for such a thing.

  As they walked into the bar, Tobin smiled to himself again, but didn’t relax his vigilance. As hard as it was to detect, he noticed the Sniper peel off from the group and head for the freezer area of the bar’s kitchen. Tobin also knew there was catwalk access to the whole bar from a ladder near the freezer.

  “Sniper? Is that really necessary?” He indicated the small briefcase in which Sniper carried the tools of his profession. “We got the courier. Jenny identified him. You were there.”

  “I was there. It was too easy. We didn’t ‘get’ the courier. He was given to us on a plate.”

  “You saying he was a red herring?”

  Sniper nodded. “A capture puts us off our guard. Half the staff is right here in a dark bar. If you were Van Dyke, would you pass up a target like this?”

  “Not the wedding at all. This party. Holy…” Tobin scrubbed his face with his hands.

  “You go party. Draw him out.”

  “And you’ll be up in the catwalks, rifle at the ready.”

  “Where else would I be?”

  Tobin walked away, less satisfied, more vigilant. He took his seat next to Jeep and started in on the ample party fare.

  Jeep leaned over to him. “Tob, please, it’s not too late. The whole dancer thing…It’s a small company. It will get back to Jenny.”

  “Trust me,” Tobin returned.

  Jeep stared at his empty glass and motioned for a refill.

  Tobin watched Jeep’s face as the music changed from rock and roll to something vampy. He watched as Jeep lowered his head and covered his eyes with his hand. As the cheering started, Jeep groaned low, but Tobin heard him. Tobin could not remember enjoying a moment in time more than the moment he spent watching Jeep’s face as the laughter started.