Trifecta (16 page)

Bruno suddenly saw his nemesis and began a deep growl. 
Julia jumped up and grabbed his collar, but she wasn't strong enough to hold the
dog and he broke free.  He ran toward Robin, snarling and snapping his jaws, when
Quijada shouted, "Stop."

Bruno was suddenly still as a statue and Quijada grabbed
his collar.  Then he gave another command in Spanish and the dog lay at his feet.

Robin could feel perspiration rolling down his back.  He
said hello to Julia, as though seeing her for the first time that day, and nodded
at Juan Carlos.  Then he turned back to Quijada.  "Julia's family and mine
have been friends for years.  In fact, my parents are expecting Julia for lunch. 
They wanted to express their sorrow about her brother's death."

Julia was picking up her purse and the camera bag.  "Perhaps
Juan can take me to your production office sometime later today, Mr. Quijada." 
She turned to Robin and said, "I completely forgot about our lunch, Robin. 
I was so excited that Juan was going to take me to meet Aaron's co-workers."

She rolled her eyes.  Those 'co-workers' undoubtedly had
lethal plans for the woman who had stolen Quijada's secret documents.  Julia appeared
calm, but she had to be terrified.

"You can leave your things here," Quijada said,
eyeing the camera bag.

Julia smiled at him.  "I want to take some pictures
of Robin's parents.  To send home to my grandmother."  She hefted the bag to
her shoulder.  Robin walked over to her and put an arm around her protectively. 
Quijada would know he had to be careful with Julia if she knew his father, Senator
Chavier.

Robin turned her around and headed out the door.  "Nice
seeing you again, Aaron.  I'll have Julia back here in a couple of hours."

As they walked around the decorative side of the mansion
planted with flowering shrubs, Julia whispered, "He knows."

Robin still had his arm firmly around her and he was moving
her quickly.  "Yes.  Now we have to figure out where to hide you, so you'll
be safe."

They got into Julia's car.

J
ulia drove to the end of the driveway and waited
for

Quijada to open the gate.  She sat impatiently for quite
a while.  Finally, she got out of the car, went to the gate post and pressed the
button to the intercom.  No one answered, but the gate creaked back and Julia returned
to the car.  She shot out of the estate, heading toward Sunset Boulevard. 

"Do you ever ride motorcycles?" Robin asked her
as they went down the curving road.  He was craning around in the small car, looking
behind them.

"No," Julia said, glancing at him.  It was an
odd question and she wondered what he had in mind.  She just wanted to get as far
from Quijada as possible.

"Well, we're being followed.  That's the reason Quijada
took so long to let us out.  Time to place all his ducks in a row.  And we'll never
shake them in your car.  The thing you have to remember, when you're on a motorcycle,
is just to hold on and move with the driver."

The only thing that concerned Julia now was that they were
being chased by Quijada's thugs.  She glanced in the rear view mirror.  There was
a large black Mercedes behind them, closing quickly.  She could see two dark male
shapes behind the windshield of the car.

"Just get to Sunset as fast as you can," Robin
said calmly.  "They can't do anything when we're on a public street.  We'll
go to the Beverly Hills Hotel, pick up what you need, and then we have to lose them."

"How can they be so clumsy?" Julia asked indignantly. 
"Following us like that?  It's so obvious.  Quijada's not a very subtle person,
is he?"

Robin smiled at her and wondered if she thought stealing
secret information was very subtle.  They didn't have to worry about the car behind
them, though.  It was there just for intimidation purposes.  The real people they
would have to worry about were the ones they would never see.  Quijada had an enormous
network.  And his first priority would be to get his property back.  Robin didn't
want to scare Julia, so he didn't remark on the fact that Quijada probably wouldn't
care if people were hurt or killed in his quest for the damning information, now
in Julia's possession. 

"Yeah.  They are being obvious.  Perhaps we should
forget about getting your stuff and just put you on a plane for Boston."

"I need my cameras," Julia said as she streaked
around a hairpin curve.  "And I'm not going back to Boston.  I want to be here
when Quijada is arrested."

"That might take some time."  Even as he was
saying this Robin knew he couldn't just take her to LAX and put her on a plane. 
He would have to hide her and then sneak her out of the state, where Quijada would
be less likely to reach her.  By now Quijada probably suspected that he was helping
Julia.  They were both in serious trouble. 

He decided to stay with her.  It would be complicated with
all the cases he had running at the office, but he wanted to protect her.

Julia glanced at Robin.  "I know it'll take time. 
I want to get the pictures of his arrest.  I'm going to write another book.  It
will be Brian's memorial, relating what really caused his death.  The end will be
when Quijada is proved a drug dealing murderer, and convicted of his crimes.  You're
going to be the hero."

Robin looked at her.  "It's a good idea.  But I don't
want my name associated with this."

"It wouldn't be believable if I used a pseudonym in
a work of non-fiction.  I won't reveal the fact that you took heroin to catch the
drug dealers," Julia promised with a naughty smile.

"Julia," Robin said, smiling and shaking his
head, "you don't understand everything that's going on here.  I don't want
to be in a book."

Julia glanced at Robin as she finally reached Sunset Boulevard. 
Her mind was in a kind of expeditious over-gear, from the exhilaration of the theft
and getting away with Quijada's possessions.  She couldn't believe how perfect Robin
was.  He already had a slight growth of beard which made him look very masculine. 
In the small car his chin was almost touching his knees because there was not enough
space for his legs.  He appeared enormous, powerful and very male.  He was close
to her in the small car, and she liked it.

A fantasy set in to override the fear Julia was experiencing. 
Robin was intelligent, fun, and kind; not even mentioning what a gorgeous man he
was.  She didn't care if he was a mechanic.  This was the man for her, and in this
particular moment, she was sure of it.  He would never have to work as a mechanic
again, anyway.  She was extremely wealthy.  They could travel together and do anything
they pleased for the rest of their lives.  If he wanted to work on cars, why she
could buy him a whole fleet of old relics so he could get grease under his fingernails,
if that's what he liked to do.

Julia realized this daydream was just a passing fancy her
mind was indulging in, because she was scared out of her mind.  The fantasy she
tried to ignore was one in which the men in the car behind them opened up with an
Uzi and sprayed them with bullets. 

She turned left onto Sunset at the first break in traffic
and the big Mercedes followed her closely, cutting off another driver, who had to
screech into the slow lane to keep from being sideswiped.  Whoever was following
them was driving like a maniac and Julia picked up speed, zig-zagging around the
cars ahead of her, trying to outrace the large Mercedes.  She had the maneuverability,
but he had the power.  It was a race she could never win.

"Take it easy," Robin said, holding on to the
dashboard.  "You're acting guilty as hell."

She nodded and slowed down imperceptibly.  The car was
right behind them and she thought it would crush her if she didn't keep her speed
up.

The thought of being with Robin permanently had an odd
appeal.  She remembered their hug this morning and wondered what he would be like
in bed, really.  Would he be kind and sweet, or would he turn into a selfish oaf? 
It was an interesting thought.  Just a passing idea to while the time away, as she
was driving at breakneck speed, trying to outrun murdering maniacs.  She thought
she was out of her mind.  It was also thrilling and exhilarating.

"When we get to the next corner, take a left,"
Robin directed.

Julia didn't have time to ask why.  She braked quickly
and swerved into the turn lane.  The big Mercedes was going too fast to slow down
and overshot them.  She watched in disbelief as it stopped, right in the middle
of traffic and tried to back up.  That proved impossible; the normally aggressive
Los Angeles drivers were thoroughly outraged and honking, so the Mercedes hurled
forward to the next corner to make a U-turn.

Julia raced up a winding hill, past luxurious homes.  She
hated driving so quickly in a beautiful residential area where there could be children
playing, but no one was on the street and she relaxed a bit.  She didn't want to
get stopped by a policeman, though.  She was a thief.  If Quijada accused her of
stealing from his house she was guilty.  It was a daunting thought.  She was an
outlaw. 

She reminded herself Quijada no more wanted the police
to have this information than he wanted her to have it.  She and Robin would not
be arrested at his instigation.  Quijada would be more likely to murder them.

When she was only a few blocks up the street, she saw the
black Mercedes again in her rear view mirror.  It was gaining fast, hurling up the
hill.  She wanted to ask Robin why they had gone up here, but he was on his cellular
phone directing someone to open a gate.  He stated he would be visiting in a moment
and told the person to close the gate immediately when a little blue BMW came inside.

Robin pointed to a house situated right at the top of the
hill and said to turn in there.  The gate was open and as Julia passed through,
into a circular drive, the gate started closing behind her.  It was a good thing
because the black Mercedes was practically on their tail, but couldn't get onto
the property with the gate shutting.

Julia was aware that the home was one of the most beautiful
she had ever seen, but Robin was pointing at a garage, situated to the right and
back of the house.  Julia drove down a pathway, between flowering orchid trees toward
it.  She could see the house was immense, with graceful palm trees fanning the front
of the serenely white, majestic place, which was decorated with stately columns
and large windows topped with beautiful oval shapes.

Someone must have been observing from inside because the
garage door started opening automatically and Julia drove into a four car garage. 
As the garage door closed, the lights came on inside.  There was a jeep, a small
Lotus sports car and the big yellow truck, Make-My-Day.  A fancy, large Harley-Davidson
motor cycle was parked in the rear.

Julia turned and looked at Robin.  "Where are we?"

"A friend lives here," Robin said shortly.  "We're
going to take the Harley and lose those bastards.  But first we have to get rid
of your camera bag."

They got out of the car.  Robin hurried to the side door
of the garage and looked out.  "We only have to go a few feet, to the side
of the house.  I want them to see us go in, so take your time."

Robin opened the door and walked slowly with Julia toward
the house.  The big black Mercedes was parked directly in front of the gate, barring
exit to the property.  When they got in sight of the car, it's engine revved loudly,
like a growling beast.  It was so theatrical it was almost funny.  It was also 
menacing.

"Ah hell," Robin said, glancing at the big black
car with annoyance, "let's go in the front way, if they insist on behaving
like bullies."

Julia almost laughed at his peeved tone, but she didn't
like walking within bullet distance of that growling engine.  Robin had his arm
around her and was walking on the outside, as though protecting her, and she was
grateful.  She felt like running to the car and throwing the camera bag to them,
just to assure herself that she was not a thief and to rid herself of the menacing
information and the danger.

Robin turned and led Julia around the side of the house
to the front and they climbed up the rounded stairs.  They didn't have to ring the
bell.  The door opened and a woman stood there.  She was middle aged with short
grey hair, dressed in jeans and a sweat shirt.

Julia had all sorts of questions in her mind.  Whose house
was this?  How did Quijada know Robin, the mechanic, and why did Quijada act in
a differential manner when they met each other few minutes ago? 

Quijada had let them go, with what could prove to be damning
information about him, because of Robin.  There was no doubt in her mind she never
would ever have escaped without him, and it didn't make sense. 

Before she could even turn to Robin and start to question
him, a fluffy white dog came hurtling over the white marble tiles of the beautiful
entrance hall.  When it got about five feet from Robin it seemed to bounce straight
up and forward into Robins arms.

"Scooter!" Robin said as he caught the dog in
mid-air.  He kissed it right on the black nose.  The dog responded with a very pink
tongue.

The grey haired woman was smiling indulgently. 

"Sandy, this is Julia," Robin said.  He was smiling
back at the woman who stood before them.  "If you would please take her bag,
go to the office and copy all the material inside, I'd be grateful."

Robin had placed the dog on the floor, and now it was jumping
up and down enthusiastically in front of Julia.  She handed the bag to Sandy, who
was evidently a housekeeper, and sat down on the floor.  Scooter jumped into her
lap.

The dog seemed large, but it was very light weight, composed
mostly of fluffy, curly white hair.  Scooter swiped Julia's face several times with
her tongue.

"Scooter evidently likes you," Robin said.  She
could tell he was pleased.

"This is the most darling dog I've ever seen,"
Julia said, petting the soft white fur.

"I'm going to help Sandy copy that stuff.  Then we
can take off.  If you want anything to drink, the kitchen is over there," Robin
said, pointing vaguely past an enormous living room, to the right.  He left her
there on the floor with his dog, running quickly up beautiful curved stairs off
of the entrance hall, after Sandy.

Julia got up, but Scooter was still jumping up and down,
so Julia scooped her up and started in the direction that Robin had indicated. 
Her mouth was dry as a bone from being so terrified.  She went through a majestic
living room, decorated in a beautiful motif of complimentary pastel colors.  She
could see through the windows into the back yard.  There was an Olympic size pool
and a bath house for changing off of the covered patio area outside.

Julia found the kitchen behind a formal dining room.  When
she looked in the refrigerator there were several soft drinks and she took two. 
She drank most of one of them, and then went looking for Robin.

Scooter had made it very clear that she wanted to be held
and Julia picked her up and carried her like a soft, warm teddy bear as she retraced
her steps and climbed the stairs.  She could hear voices and went in the direction
of the sounds until she stood at the entrance to a home office. 

Robin was sprawled in a chair, feet on an enormous desk,
talking on the phone, while he took the bindings of the ledger books apart and handed
pages to Sandy, who was working quickly at a copy machine.  Julia could hear the
whirring of a VCR, attached to a television across the room, making a copy of one
of the videos she had taken from the safe.

She walked over and handed a soda to Robin.  He glanced
up and smiled.  She listened to his side of the conversation, while she took over
from Robin, handing pages of the ledger books to Sandy. 

Julia tried to read bits of the material, but it was all
written by hand in Spanish.  There were lots of large sums of money, at least the
dollar signs were legible.