The Final Shortcut (26 page)

“Hang on, there are ways of getting things done, you just sit tight.” Jenkins grabbed another phone while holding the other with his shoulder. “Give me that girl’s number and stay on the line Ray.”

Anxious minutes passed and Ray thought he would go mad waiting. Then after what seemed like an eternity Jenkins came back to the phone.

“Ok pal. The cavalry is on the way. A guy I know at the CIA talked to the girl and they are coming as we speak, you should see some action soon. But stay out of the way. We can’t let anybody know we had anything to do with it. The Senator is bound to be suspicious as it is.” Jenkins rubbed his eyes and rolled his head around trying to loosen up. “Now just keep me posted on your real case and don’t interfere with the CIA, I’m serious!”

“Ok, I’ll walk the line on this one.”

“You’d better! Now I’m late for a meeting, stay out of trouble.”

“Ok, bye.” Ray looked at the cell phone for a minute before putting it away. His sweat had soaked into the display causing it to cloud up, and he was still sweating. With each second he grew more impatient. Every breath came with great agony thinking of what could be happening behind that door. Then at long last he saw three unmarked sedans converge on the side door in front of him. Two of the dancers opened the door as soon as the cars stopped and showed the cops the way. After only two minutes Faruk was being ushered into one of the cars in cuffs and in the same instant several other vehicles arrived including an ambulance. Ray couldn’t stand any more and he ran over to see what he could find out. The children seemed to be in good health as they were being helped into the ambulance. And when he got closer he saw the girl that called him standing by the ambulance. She was one of the girls that had opened the door. Several other girls were in the parking lot and all were happy to tell the agents everything they knew. Ray decided to get back to his own business feeling confident that everything would be well-taken care of. He had given them a description of Tree and that was all he could do for now. His lazy morning had turned into a day that he would never forget. And since he had a lap full of coffee he decided it was time to return to his hotel for a long break. When he pulled away from the club, he felt elated. The long months of fruitless investigation had brought nothing but frustration, but right now he felt glorious.

Across the street the parking lot of Mario’s Pizzeria was sparsely occupied but it was busy enough to conceal two men in a rental car. As they approached the XXXperience Taipei noticed the suspicious man next to his car and immediately parked close by, so they could watch. They silently watched each moment with great intensity, each man discreetly taking a turn with the binoculars. Neither man spoke nor showed any outward sign of emotion through the long minutes. It wasn’t until after Agent Hitchcock pulled away that Fudd broke the silence.

“I told you Tree was stupid.”

Taipei rolled his neck around, stretching, “That you did.”

“This presents a new set of problems.” Fudd rubbed his eyes and craned his neck also.

“You want some pizza?”

“Yeh I’m getting hungry…what now?”

“We find Tree before the cops do. I don’t know about Faruk. He’ll probably end up with the Feds.” Fudd rubbed his neck, feeling the stress in his muscles.

“Maybe we should eat later. Tree’s bound to hear about this and haul ass.”

“Maybe…” He thought for a minute considering his options. Meanwhile Taipei started the engine and checked his mirrors waiting for a sign to go. “We should head out to the farm…the back way.”

“As you speak.” Taipei put on his shades and exited the parking lot.

“Did you notice anything familiar about the cop in the parking lot?” Fudd poked Taipei in the shoulder as he spoke.

“There was something, what did you see?”

“A strange coincidence, he looks like that guy, Geezer.”

“You mean Wheezer. The undercover?” Taipei turned to look at him, a surprised look on his face.

“Yes, he disappeared and then this guy appears, I think we should keep an eye out for him as well.”

Taipei spoke up, “I’m gonna have to start a list.”

“No, that won‘t be necessary, but I do want to go back and check out Tree’s friend in the woods. He’s that ugly guy from the leather shop in Bontonville.” Fudd took off the binoculars and put them back in the case.

“Why? He doesn’t even know us.”

“No, but he raises my curiosity. I want to know what else he does back in the woods, and how Tree hooked up with him” Fudd looked at him and grinned an evil grin. “Call it a professional curiosity.”

Taipei smiled back at him as he braked for a streetlight. “Curiosity killed the cat.”

Chapter 18

Mary was waiting by the window when she saw Tree turn off the road and head for the farmhouse. She had heard the alarm clock ring that morning but pretended to be asleep until he left. She was on the phone to Fudd before he left the driveway. Fudd had promised to take her away with him to the Caribbean after she played her part. One that she was more than happy to perform. Her long, loose, boring relationship with Tree was at an all time low and she was ready for a change. So when Fudd baited her hook with the promise of stoned fun in the sun, she couldn’t refuse. Now all she had to do was wait and watch.

She half jogged to the other end of the house, fixed a fresh cup of coffee and took her seat at the table. Everything was arranged to look like she had just woken up and made breakfast. The curiosity inside her about Tree’s big deal was growing with each heartbeat. And in the long seconds before he opened the door, she struggled to look sleepy and disinterested. Hoping against hope that she could carry it off without giving anything away. Fortunately when Tree entered he was in too good a mood to notice anything unusual.

“Hi, you’re up early.”

“Huh?” Mary replied sleepily.

“Well, it’s not noon yet.” Tree quipped sarcastically as he helped himself to her coffee. “OW! That’s hot!”

“Serves you right for that last comment. I just made the pot, why don’t you get you some.” She lit a fresh cigarette and glared at him, adding just one more thing to her list of reasons for leaving him. He hummed to himself and poured a cup, a weighty bulge under his left arm was the cause of his happiness. With eighty thousand dollars he could find a lot to hum about. And right now he was on top of the world. As he stirred in the sugar, he stared at cabinet doors in a daze still humming an unknown tune.

“You’re mighty cheerful, you win the lottery or something?” Mary talked slowly trying to look sleepy.

“Or something more like. I was just thinking about how nice the weather is in Florida this time of year and about spending some quality time with my lover. It could snow any day here and down south they’re still swimming.” He looked back at her with a broad grin. “You ready for a road trip?” He stood up straight and blew on his coffee, his eyes fixed on Mary. She sat stunned, her mouth agape. For what seemed like a full minute she stared at him unable to believe her ears.

“What do you mean, me and you …and Florida?” Her mouth fell open again and both her hands were hanging at her sides.

“How about St. Augustine, you know you can still drive on the beach there…and they still speak English.” He walked over and sat across the table from her, still blowing his coffee.

“How? You rob your savings?”

“No but I might. I just made a big deal and with what I’ve got in the bank we could start a business of our own. Something legal you know, so you can retire at a ripe old age and spoil our grand kids.” He looked at her with a dreamy gaze she hadn’t seen in a long time and she suddenly forgot every negative thing he ever did. Her heart jumped in her chest at the prospect of having a real home all her own.

“You mean you want us to move to Florida and start a normal life? A real house and all?” Her excitement was immeasurable.

“Yeh, what do you think? I mean we been together for a long time. We might as well just get married, buy a bike shop and have a few curtain climbers” He scooted his chair over to hers and pulled her close. “I haven’t always treated you nice before but maybe we can change that too.” He kissed her long and passionately. She couldn’t believe her ears and the sudden romantic surge in Tree had completely swept her off her feet. When she woke up this morning, she wanted his head on a platter and right now she would walk across broken glass for him. Most of her adult life she had dreamed about having a house and a family. They embraced for several minutes in silence until Tree noticed she was crying. “Oh don’t cry. I ain’t lying.” They laughed and kissed again. “Or maybe Tampa.” They laughed again and as they parted Tree noticed an unfamiliar car coming up the drive. He stepped up to the window and watched it park. “It looks like Fudd and Tai. I wonder what they want.”

Mary jumped in her skin suddenly remembering the calls and her deal with Fudd. “Um…maybe you shouldn’t mention your deal.” He cut her a serious glance and she reacted quickly, knowing what that look meant. “Well …they might be upset.”

“Why?” Tree looked back out the window.

“Well you now how he is, he might not like it. If he mentions it, you might tell him it fell through.” She started to fidget and lit another smoke.

“What’s going on here? You told them something, didn’t you? You knew they were coming?” Tree stood at the window, his face a mask of disgust.

“NO! I just know how serious Fudd can be. Just get them to go away and we’ll split for Florida today. OK?” She started to light another cigarette when she noticed she had one in her mouth.

“What the hell is going on here?” Tree’s booming voice could be heard outside and Fudd listened with interest. Through the window he could see Tree yelling at an unseen Mary somewhere behind the wall.

“Looks like our lovers are at it again, let’s keep this short and sweet.”

“I’ll flip you for Tree.” Taipei grinned and feigned reaching for some change.

“No you can have him. I should be able to get my hands on Mary without too much struggle.” Fudd reached in his pocket for a pair of tailored leather gloves and pulled them tight onto his hands.

“Too bad she had to be here.”

“Why?” Fudd answered without lifting his head.

“No reason.” And without another word they walked up to the door and entered without knocking.

Chapter 19

The whole of Randy Street knew of Faruk’s arrest within the hour and it was obvious that no one was surprised. Agent Hitchcock had found a few talkative shopkeepers that had no love for the likes of Faruk. It would indeed seem that there is a modicum of honor among thieves and other criminals. And the big smelly Indian hadn’t any friends along the strip. All the conversations he’d had and those he’d overheard contained almost the same dialog. Everyone seemed to know Faruk was dealing in human cargo but until now, no one had said a word. The Feds had publicized the fact that one of the girls had called them to keep suspicion off the rest of the investigators. Every other girl at the XXXperience had her own tale of abuse and violence to tell.

Before sunset the media had a small force camped in the parking lot. For the next twelve hours there would be a flurry of special reports and personal interviews from every one of interest. Then one by one the vans would leave in search of more fresh news. Before another sunset the parking lot will be empty, and business will continue as usual. If anyone had any inkling of a larger ongoing investigation, there had a remarkable way of concealing it. Ramone felt confident that their secret had been kept and he was very satisfied that he had saved the two girls. Several hours had passed since the arrest and he was anxious to hear about the girls and about Tree. Jenkins said he would call by nine p.m. But Ramone couldn’t wait.

“Jenkins.”

“It’s me Ray.”

“You’re early, you feeling impatient?” Conrad prodded him without emotion.

“Only by ten minutes, and yes I’m a bit anxious. Have you heard about the two young girls?” His voice betrayed his emotions.

“They are going to be fine. They haven’t found out much yet because they’re still fairly traumatized. All I know so far is, their parents were killed by a maniac and they were locked in a truck with a corpse for a while. It’s amazing they are still alive.” Jenkins took a sip of water from a bottle that had long since lost its chill.

“Well. Who are they? Have they I.D’d the parents?”

“Hang on now! I’m getting my information from a third party so it’s a little slow in coming. The doctors say they will be fine but it may take some time to get a believable story out of them. So far we haven’t even gotten a full name. You are going to have to be patient.”

“Well…ok.” Ramone sighed heavily trying to ease the tension he felt. “What about Tree? Have they picked him up yet?”

“Yes and no. It seems that your old friend met with foul play. That old black pick-up was found in a remote spot with two bodies in it. Tree had a broken wrist and a nearly decapitating slice across his throat. The coroner said that a person or persons unknown probably held his arm behind him while he struggled then cut his throat.” Jenkins took a short pause to sort the change in his pocket, hoping for enough for a fresh bottle of water.

“Ouch! A very large person or persons would be required for that job, Tree was a healthy boy.” Ramone’s mind was already working on a possible list of subjects. “What about the other body? A woman?”

“A long haired blond female in her mid thirties. Slender, slight figure, she was probably his girlfriend. The coroner said she didn‘t show any defensive wounds. Just a broken trachea which caused her to suffocate slowly.” Jenkins pushed back from his desk and rubbed his eyes, the strain of another long day wearing on him.

“That sounds like Crazy Mary. She was mostly his girl, when she wasn’t partying with some one else.”

“Anybody you know of that might want to kill them?”

Ramone stared straight ahead with great intensity. “I got a gut feeling about those two high rollers that I told you about. They have got to be mixed up in this somehow.”