Amanda's Blue Marine (10 page)

“Oh, of course. Rick who now lives in Florida, whom your parents never see but who feels free to drain them dry for each one of his new business schemes, all of which are doomed to failure. Rick, their almost 40 year old biological offspring who has been pissing their money away for years, leaving you in the position of the good child who has to make up for him? What is he doing these days? Importing wine from Chile? Starting an online brokerage house? Ramping up a direct mail stationery business? Breeding sharpeis with dogs supplied by a Hong Kong puppy mill?”

“The boating equipment business he had in Florida failed and he had invested in the marina here with loans against that business.”

“You are not indebted to your parents for adopting you. Your mother couldn’t have more children after Rick and your parents wanted a little girl. They had the money and the resources and the connections to get exactly what they wanted, and they adopted you for themselves, not you. They wanted to make themselves happy. And it is not your job to bail your brother out of bondage AGAIN. Your parents have made a career out of doing that and it hasn’t made a bit of difference in Rick’s life one way or another. Your father took a chance he shouldn’t have taken to try to set his son up for the future before he retired. That was your father’s choice and you can’t sacrifice your happiness to save his bacon.”

“It sounds so reasonable when you say it,” Mandy replied. “And I didn’t think I was sacrificing anything when I got involved with Tom, it just seemed natural and right to go with the person my parents approved of and liked.”

Mandy opened her eyes. “I’ve never felt this strong an attraction to anyone. It’s not just sex, although I find him irresistible in that department. Even his flaws are attractive, they make him distinctive rather than odd. His eye teeth are uneven and I like that, he has a scar on his chin and I like that, he has wavy hair with all these cowlicks and curlicues and I like that too. I want to be with him all the time and I think everything he says is interesting and funny and intelligent. And I know that’s ridiculous because he really doesn’t even say that much. He makes me feel secure and not lonely, wrapped up in his care and…happy. I can’t describe it better than that.”

Mandy stood abruptly. “My advice to you is break up with Tom, tell your parents you’re sorry it screws up their business deal and then run off to a remote island with this guy. I can’t wait to meet him.” She looked toward the kitchen and added, “Damn. I forgot the tea. We could walk on it by now.”

“That’s okay, I’m too tired to care. Do you think I can crash on your couch?” Mandy yawned expansively. “I could call a cab but then I’d have to walk downstairs to get in the taxi.”

“Don’t bother. I’ll get an extra blanket and pillow for you.” She stopped as she turned toward the bedroom. “Don’t you think the gang at your office will find it curious if you show up for work in that outfit?” She indicated the cocktail dress, complete with décolletage, that Mandy was wearing.

“I’ve been there so little in recent weeks they probably won’t even recognize me. I rarely go to the office these days, I do the research at home. The office is regarded as dangerous territory since my pen pal sends his notes there.”

“I see.” Karen hesitated and then said, “You know, I’m jealous. Many people never have the feelings you just described and I’m afraid I’ll be one of them.” She shrugged.

* * * * *

When Mandy got to Kelly’s office on Monday afternoon they both acted as if the dance at the fundraiser hadn’t happened. Neither mentioned it so they didn’t discuss it, and it was therefore easy for them to ignore it. But every once in a while Mandy would catch Kelly looking at her with a new expression in his eyes. Was it longing? Or regret at a missed opportunity? She didn’t know but it made her aware that he remembered their dance together as well as she did, even if he was trying to pretend otherwise for the sake of their working relationship.

The waste paper from the takeout lunch sat in the trash can in Kelly's office by the time Frank Wancek appeared at two o’clock. He held a new pile of 8 by 10 glossies and a stack of manila folders.

"Sorry it took so long. Today I printed everything from the lists we had excluded earlier," he said to Kelly, handing him the pile. "I came up with several new possibilities. If this doesn’t help you, I’m out of ideas. We’ll have to try different search criteria next time.”

"Look at this new collection of zipheads," he said musingly to Mandy. "Losers Incorporated, Part – what day is it of this records search? Part Eight. Let's see what's behind door number one."

They discussed and discarded several other photos in rapid succession. Kelly picked up the fifth picture. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and read a little of what Frank had given him, then put the folder aside.

"No?" Mandy asked.

"No. That creep is a child molester. They're afraid of other adults, especially of attractive ladies who might expect them to perform. They abuse kids because kids are defenseless. That's not our guy."

Mandy listened, wondering if she studied that "attractive ladies" remark long enough it might turn out to be a compliment.

"I should have told Frank that the sexual angle was hetero adult," Kelly muttered, studying another picture. "This clown is a sadist, a gay hooker, probably a latent, who beats up other gays." He held up the picture for her to see.

Mandy nodded. "I remember him. He would tie up his marks and burn them with cigarettes."

"Let's hope he gets reunited with some of them in prison," Kelly said acidly. "They'll remember him too."

Mandy was quiet, watching his intent expression as he pored over the files. He's very good at this, she thought again. She had been impressed with his ability to sort through details and cut to the chase ever since they started working together. She could see why he had been promoted so fast.

Kelly turned over a picture and studied the next candidate. "James Cameron," he announced to Mandy, displaying the photo.

She nodded. The picture was of a white male in his thirties, not bad looking, but with a sneering smile that gave her a chill as she recalled him.

"Ring a bell?" Kelly asked.

Mandy cleared her throat. "Yes. He was... sinister. He used to spend all his time at the defense table scribbling notes on a yellow legal pad. I wasn’t around him that much. But when I came into court the last time he leaned back in his chair and looked me over from head to toe, grinning ostentatiously, as if he were trying to get me to react to him. When he was convicted he spit on the floor as he passed me. The bailiff held him back or I think he would have jumped over the bench."

Kelly considered her reaction. "You seem to recall him pretty well."

"He was memorable." She looked down at her hands. "I don't know why I didn't think of him until I saw that picture. He should have come to mind right away."

"It's understandable that you would want to forget him," Kelly said. He went back to reading the file and then said, "Wait a minute. Did you ever see this?"

"What is it?"

He got up to hand her an old Xerox that Frank had uncovered in his search. It was a copy of a note on a scrap of lined paper torn raggedly from a pad.

"....hair the color of dried blood," it began, obviously in the middle of a paragraph. The writing was small, neat block printing done in ball point. "I'd like to strangle her with it and shut those staring eyes forever."

"Jamila Shah. She's been gone a while. She moved to Berkeley, California when she got married and she went into international law."

He made a note in the little book he carried. "I'll try to find her there and call her. I want to ask her about this." He was looking grim. "It's a threat, and Shah should have known that. I don't know why anybody in the DA's office would cover this up, Sam Rhinegold would be all over it in a minute."

"Sam wasn't the DA then. Joe Monte was."

Kelly's face changed. "Oh. Monte. That explains it. He would have buried this if it helped to get him a quick conviction. He probably just wanted to shove this Cameron into the joint without any hitches so he could retire to Punta Cana, where he is at this very moment, the piker. He figured he was getting Cameron off the street anyway so what was the difference?"

"But Cameron's out on parole now," Mandy said softly. "And he's coming after me."

"No, he's not," Kelly said, standing. "I have enough to pick him up right now on terroristic threats, both from the notes he's writing today as well as this old one. They constitute a threat and he has a history of hostility toward you. I'll find the current address on him and get a warrant. He'll be in lockup by tonight."

"Are you sure that's enough to hold him?" Mandy asked anxiously. "These guys skate back outside all the time if the judges don't think there's enough evidence. I’ve seen it happen a lot."

"Don't be such a lawyer," Kelly said. "I'm telling you this is more than I need. Just go back to your office and I'll call you. I've got to move on this right away before he does something else."

* * * * *

Kelly didn't call. Mandy finished the day at work, having little to do except cleanup since most of her cases had been shifted to other lawyers, and when she got back to her apartment the silence was a rebuke. She checked her cell phone every ten minutes but there were no messages.

Finally at 8PM her doorbell rang, and when she ran to answer it she found Kelly in the hall. He was still wearing his detective mufti from the precinct. His expression indicated that he did not have good news.

"You couldn't hold him," Amanda said. “You picked him up but you couldn’t hold him.”

"It's worse than that. I couldn't find him."

Amanda stood aside to let him enter the hall and then, stunned, she followed Kelly into her living room. He stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the floor, saying nothing.

Amanda took a minute to absorb the import of what he'd told her and then she whispered, "You assured me you'd get a warrant."

"I trusted you and you lied to me!" Amanda burst out, unable to disguise the betrayal that she felt. She was alone and frightened and she had believed that he would protect her. If Kelly couldn't do it, who could?