Emily Kimelman - Sydney Rye 05 - The Devil's Breath (17 page)

“We’re taking my car,” I said to Dan as we headed back toward the parking lot.

“Where we going?”

“I’m not sure.”

#

I
pulled out of the parking lot at a speed that made my tires screech, but the wheel stayed steady in my hand and the car safely on the road. Dan didn’t say anything as I found the entrance to the highway and entered, headed south. “You okay?” he asked as we swerved between cars. I took the turns tight, the spaces between the lanes frustrating since I couldn’t fit through them. It made me miss my motorcycle.

“I’m fine,” I said breaking hard, dipping in behind a truck, then swerving across two lanes of traffic to exit onto 8th Street. Dan braced himself against the doorframe and the arm rest, Blue stayed low, stretched across the back seat, his tail up in the air helping him stay balanced. “Sorry,” I said as I slowed to a red light. “I just need-” I didn’t finish my sentence as the light turned green and I shot us forward, zooming west toward the Everglades. Only ten minutes of McDonalds and big box stores before I hit the casino and then disappear past it into the forever landscape of the Everglades. I felt that there was something there. Somewhere in the depths of that swamp was information that I needed. I just had no idea what it was.

“Okay,” Dan said. He sat back against the seat.

I saw the sign for the casino up ahead, the last building that rose taller than the apple trees. We zoomed past it, hitting the green light and continued into the swamp. I looked in my rearview mirror at the city behind us, glimmering in the dying sunlight of the day. It felt good to be free of it. Free of its cruel plastic surface, its deeply dark inner workings. The Everglades felt safe to me compared to that environment. I pulled over into the gas station and Dan looked over at me. “This is where Hugh stopped?”

I nodded. “Do you have a picture of the professor?”

“I can bring one up on my phone.”

“Perfect. What about his blonde assistant?”

Dan shrugged. “Maybe. Any idea what her name was?”

I shook my head.

“No worries, I can probably track her through Aja if he’s got a Facebook profile.”

I climbed out of the car as Dan began to search and opened the back door for Blue, who leapt onto the cracked pavement, took a shake and then a deep stretch before wandering to where short cropped grass pushed up through the gas station parking lot. I looked past him to the far side of the canal. Grasses swayed in the breeze, golden and purple and pink depending on which way they bent. But never the same bright green as the grass that Blue was now peeing on. Well, that grass was gonna be bronze soon.

Dan got out of the car and held up his phone. “Ready.”

We went into the shop, our entrance announced by an electric tone. Sanjit was behind the counter. “Hi,” I said. He brightened when he recognized me.

“How are you? I hope your case is becoming successful.”

“Thanks. I was wondering if you had ever seen this guy?”

Dan held the phone out to him and Sanjit took it in his hands. “Yes, I think so.” He tilted his head back and forth in that oh-so-familiar Indian gesture.

“Do you know his name?”

Sanjit shook his head. “He is not very friendly.”

I laughed. “My thoughts exactly.”

Dan held his hand out for the phone and Sanjit returned it. Dan messed with it for a moment and then handed it back to Sanjit. “What about these two?” he asked, handing the phone over again. I caught a glimpse of Aja and the woman sitting together at what looked like some kind of gala, he in a suit, she in a simple black dress.

Sanjit nodded. “She comes quite often and him, too.” His head shook side to side again. “They are not very friendly either but at least they say hello.” He looked at the photo for a moment longer. “Her schedule is very diligent,” he said, handing back the phone.

“What do you mean?”

“She is here every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at noon, buys a bottle of water and a Cliff bar, always the peanut butter flavor. Then she returns at 8 and gets another water and chocolate chip Cliff Bar.”

“Do you know where they work?”

Sanjit shrugged. “No, they all work together?”

“Yes,” I answered. “At the research facility down the road.”

Sanjit frown. “The university? I didn’t think that ever opened. There is no sign.”

Back in the car I pushed past 80 as we raced west into the Everglades. The sky lit up like a neon peach pie as the sun dropped lower. It touched the horizon, which seemed somehow not that far away, just over there on the other side of those grasses. I felt that if I just stayed on that road, flat and steady, I’d get there.

“Don’t you think it’s strange that the Research Center wouldn’t have a sign?” Dan said. “The Univeristy was full of students.”

“Yes, it’s very weird,” I said.

“Where are we going?” Dan asked.

“I’m just driving,” I admitted. “No destination in mind.”

“Want to get a bite?” he asked. I looked over at Dan, the pink of the sunset making him glow. “Look, there.”

I followed his finger down the road and saw a long shack coming up on our right. I slowed down as we approached the structure.  It didn’t have a parking lot, just a bit of gravel spread out in the grass. It was a big dip down to reach the open air dining hall and I enjoyed navigating the sports car at the sharp angle.

Big-bulbed, multi-colored Christmas lights draped across the restaurant’s roof. The
open
sign was red neon and hung at a slight angle. A woman in her early 50s leaned against one of the posts, her strawberry blonde hair piled on her head. She wore a pair of shorts, pleated in the front, and a worn sweatshirt. The woman smiled at us as we climbed out of the car. “Picked a pretty time to show up,” she said.

And she was right, it was as if the whole landscape was shrouded in some kind of pink shimmering gauze; there were no hard edges, deep shadows, or bright spots. Everything was muted except the western sky. At the horizon, where the sun grazed the distant grasses it was bright orange and hot pink. Where we stood, as well as along the dock that lined the  restaurant, the light seemed safe and mellow.

We ordered gator bites, burgers with fries, and beers. Sandy, who introduced herself as the “owner operator” of Everglades Eatery, brought our drinks and then settled in at the bar to watch the news on mute. Dan and I sat on the same side of the table, watching the final moments of the day fade away. The brilliance at the horizon vanished in an instant, leaving twilight covering the land.

We’d finished our beers before the darkness really started to sink in. It came from within the grass, starting between the blades. It gathered in the apple tree hammocks, and crept between their trunks, into the water, and across the sky. The clouds that made the sunset so spectacular now blocked the stars.

We paid the bill and got back to my car. As we headed back toward the city, its lights reflected off the low cloud cover filling the eastern horizon with an eerie red glow. Lightning flashed in the clouds but it was too far for the sound of thunder to reach us.

When I dropped Dan off at his car he asked where I was going. “I need to see Bobby,” I answered.

Dan nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, and leaned in for a hug. I reached around his shoulders and his arms wrapped around my waist. I pushed up on my tip toes and he bent down so that we fit together, our necks intertwined. A quick kiss on my shoulder and Dan released me.

I
went back to the security desk. The guard from earlier was replaced with a guy who shared none of the same facial features but still managed to wear the exact same expression of disinterest and disgust. “Please let Bobby Maxim know Sydney Rye is here to see him.”

“He is expecting you.” The man stood up and motioned for me to step through the turnstile. Blue and I followed him around the corner and to a single elevator door. He pressed the call button and the doors opened. Pulling out a key, he walked into the elevator and turned a lock where buttons would normally be. He motioned for me to step aboard, removed his key, and left. The door closed silently between us and the box began to rise. There was no way of knowing how many floors we passed. This was an express.

The elevator glided to a stop and the doors slid open. Blue and I walked out into a windowless foyer paneled with dark and caramel-hued wood. At the center of the parquet floor was a marble topped table with a white orchid on it. Beyond the table a door opened. A woman with gray hair swept into an updo nodded at me. She smiled and her blue eyes lit up with friendliness. “Mr. Maxim will see you now. Please come in.”

Blue and I walked around the table, his nails clicking musically on the fine wood, and through the door. It appeared to be the secretary’s office. To one side was a desk, behind it floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the bay, Miami Beach, and the ocean beyond. A nearly full moon shone between two clouds and lit the ocean up in tiger stripes of dazzling light. To our right was a waiting area with thick carpeting and sleek furniture, the walls the same deep brown wood as the foyer.

Robert’s assistant walked past me and toward another door, this one padded and upholstered in leather and decorated with brass studs. She pulled the door wide and motioned for me to step through.

Looking through the opening past the beckoning woman, all I could see of the room beyond was part of an Oriental rug and bookshelves. I tilted my chin up and walked through, Blue’s warmth at my hip. “Sydney, glad you could make it,” Bobby said. He was sitting behind a large wooden desk to my left. He stood. “Please, have a seat,” he motioned toward one of the two leather chairs that faced his desk. I crossed the room, noticing the height of the bookshelves and the massiveness of the space.

I sat down and crossed my legs. Blue sat by my side. “You want to talk about having visitors?” He sat across from me, unbuttoning his jacket as he did. Bobby was wearing a blue shirt, no tie, and a fitted jacket. With the silver hair at his temples and understated watch, it came off as powerful and sleek.

“I just want to have an understanding of what’s going on right now.”

Bobby steepled his fingers. “So like a woman to want to define our relationship,” he said with a smile. “Do you ever play chess?”

“No.”

“Ah, you should learn. It would be quite good for you. And I have a feeling you’d be good at it.”

“Are you?”

He smiled. “The best.” He leaned back. “Let me ask you this, Sydney. What do you see as your role? Lord knows it’s not as my employee. Are you my client perhaps?” He held up a hand. “No, that would be Hugh. So,” he tapped an elegant finger against his chin.

“I’m helping with the investigation.”

“Ah, yes, I’ll agree to that, but in what capacity? How do I fit you into the books?”

“Why do you need a record?”

“That’s the whole thing. Let’s say I let you come up here, into FGI headquarters, with a guest, who then does something to our computer system. How do I explain what happened?”

“You think I’m going to sabotage you?”

Bobby smiled. “Now, let’s say, for example, you worked here. Had your own division, could pick your own team. Why then I’d know we were on the same side. I’ll know that I’ve been forgiven.”

“Forgiven? For which trespass?”

“All of them.”

“I want to be able to bring who I need into this investigation. Unless that is, of course, you’re trying to hide something. That maybe you’re behind this whole fucking shit show.”

“Be careful, Sydney. I’m trying to help you.”

“I’m not sure that I want that.”

Bobby leaned back and looked at me for a moment. “Have you been to the training center yet?”

I didn’t answer because I didn’t know there was a training center. Nor did I care.

“It’s the best in the world, Sydney. The best.” When I just stared at him he continued. “Combat classes for you. Dog training for Blue.” He gestured with his hand first at me, then over to Blue. “You know who teaches for us? Hmm?” I shook my head. “Merl.”

“Merl?” My trainer. We’d only worked together for a couple months but he’d taught me how to fight, and how to survive. Without Merl I’d be dead.

“It’s interesting you don’t keep better track of the people you care about, Sydney,” Bobby said. I didn’t answer him. “Would you like to see him?”

“It’s always good to catch up with old acquaintances,” I answered, smiling, tilting my head toward him.

“Acquaintances?” Bobby said, raising his eyebrows. “Is that what you call the people who save your life?”

I didn’t answer, just maintained eye contact, trying to burrow past his walls and see what was really in there. He stared back, not flinching. Then his eyes crinkled into a hint of a smile before he bore back at me and I felt his gaze penetrate. I turned away quickly, jerking my eyes from his, unable to stop myself.

“How about tomorrow, 10 am?” He rose, buttoning his suit jacket without waiting for my answer. “Merl will meet you in the dojo. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to finish up some work.” He extended his hand as if to help me from my chair. I stood on my own, Blue staying close. Robert stepped aside, waving his hand for me to pass. I caught his eyes for a moment, filling mine with defiance, filling them with every ounce of power I had. He smiled. “I love it when you look like that,” he said.

#

I
laid awake in bed wondering and churning and turning thoughts around in my head until I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to know if Bobby was behind this entire thing. Because if he was then we were making a fatal mistake by letting him know anything about our investigation. I sat up in bed, startling Blue who looked at me expectantly. “Stay here boy, I want to check on something.”

I hurried down the hall and paused outside Mulberry’s room. Then I knocked quickly, rap, rap. He opened the door without a shirt on. I recognized the zig zag scar across his abdomen, the slash that puckered on his bicep, the dark hair that covered his defined pecs and abdomen. I didn’t speak for a long moment as I remembered his strong arms around me, his rough kisses, the scratch of his stubble against my skin. When I finally got my eyes to his face, Mulberry was grinning. “Shut up,” I said.