Corridor Man 6: Exit Strategy

by Nick James

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Bobby went down to the kitchen, took a sip from his wine glass, and began to clean up. He loaded the dishwasher, washed the pot and pans, swept the glass off the floor and then mopped up any trace of wine. He placed the empty wine bottles in the recycling bin then rifled through Emily’s purse in the kitchen. He found her cell phone in the purse, went through her text messages for the past two weeks and forwarded three of the messages to himself. He found another purse in the living room and went through that before he went back upstairs.

  He entered her bedroom and started to rummage through her dresser drawers hoping to find the cash she’d always hidden in the past. He came up empty-handed then sat back, smiled to himself, and returned to the den.

  Emily was out cold, snoring softly. He pulled the combination to her safe from his wallet, punched in the numbers and opened it. He quickly rifled through some paper work, the Title to her lake place, actually her mother along with Emily and Elizabeth were listed and the Title to her home along with some miscellaneous papers that were filed next to it. There were 4 DVD’s and he made a mental note of them, but didn’t want to spend the time looking at them just now. There in the back of the safe, sitting beneath a small pistol, were four, fat, number ten envelopes, all stuffed with crisp hundred dollar bills. He counted the cash in two of the envelopes, ten grand even in each one. He took one of the envelopes, carried it downstairs, and stuffed it into the bottom of his overnight bag. Then he brought the overnight bag and his suit up to Emily’s bedroom. He left Emily on the couch and set his cellphone for three AM.

  When the alarm went off at three, he stretched in bed, rolled his shoulders then tip-toed into the den. Emily was now on her side, and still snoring. He took the vodka bottle and slipped it in-between her arms so that she held it almost like a little doll, then went over to her computer and turned it on.

  He read through her sent emails. She was going down to Chicago the following weekend along with someone who had the email address of Bad-Bear. Bobby figured the trip was another of her blackmail schemes. He typed in Sawyer’s email address, wrote a two-sentence message, and hit send then printed off a copy. He shut her computer down and went back to bed.

  He was up before the alarm went off on his phone. He showered, shaved, dressed, and peeked in the den on his way downstairs. Emily was lying face down on the couch, still snoring. He couldn’t see the vodka bottle and figured it must have been somewhere underneath her. He did a quick check of the room, the computer was off, the safe was closed, and Emily was still passed out, snoring.

  He made a pot of coffee and sipped a cup while waiting for Miguel to arrive. He wrote a short note to Emily. ‘Sorry you were so upset. Hope the head is okay. I cleaned up the kitchen and where you got sick on the stairs. Bobby.’

  At twenty minutes after eight, Miguel pulled up in front. There was someone in the passenger seat and a moment later a black SUV pulled in behind Miguel. Bobby watched out the front window for a moment. Miguel seemed to be joking with the guy in the passenger seat and everything appeared to be okay, so he grabbed his luggage and headed out the door.

  Miguel was out of the car before Bobby was down the front steps. “Everything go all right?”

  Bobby nodded and said, “What’s with the friends?”

  “Just in case we have trouble at your office. I’m still thinking about that Infiniti from last night.”

  “Hopefully we won’t see him,” Bobby said and slid into the back seat.

  It was rush hour and slow going. They hit just about every stop light along the way which didn’t help. As Miguel turned the corner to come alongside the building, they spotted the dark blue Infiniti sitting at the curb. The guy in the passenger seat spoke Spanish into his cellphone. Miguel pulled in front of the Infiniti then slowly rolled toward the corner.

  “Wait until I tell you,” he said. “Go in the front door and don’t look back. I’ll drive around the corner once you’re out. I’ll be back in your office before nine. I’ll,” he suddenly stared into his rearview mirror. “Okay, go, go, don’t run, don’t look back,” he said as Bobby slid out of the back seat and tried to walk as calmly as possible toward the front door.

  “Custer…” a voice yelled, then just as suddenly was cut off.

  Bobby heard what sounded like a partial scream and a number of thumps and then he was in the building. He took the elevator alone up to the twelfth floor. He glanced up and down the hallway to make sure it was clear before he hurried down the hall and into the office. He was tempted to look out his office window, then thought better of it.

  He heard a siren maybe five minutes later and another one a short time after that just as Erin buzzed the intercom and he let her in.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “Busy day out there.”

  “Oh?”

  “You don’t know? Bunch of cops all over, they got the street blocked off. Must be four or five cars. What’s going on?” she said.

  “No idea. Didn’t even know they were out there. I’ve been here for at least an hour,” Bobby lied. “Car accident?”

  “I don’t think so, at least it didn’t look like it. But they had someone on a gurney and were putting him into the back of an ambulance. Must have been a heart attack or something. You make any coffee?”

  “I was just about to. Say, were you able to send that email last night? The one…”

  “The one about the firm’s office being closed in honor of Bennet Hinz? Yeah, sent it out a little after midnight. Most folks probably won’t even see it until they get in there this morning, but it’ll still cause some headaches. I’m guessing a bunch of them will read it and tear out of there before they have a chance to change their minds,” she said and chuckled.

  “I wonder if you could do me a favor?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Emily deliberately over-served herself last night, then to make matters worse, she sent an email to Charlie Sawyer.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “Because she was drunk and bitchy. Any chance you could get into his email site, get the damn thing out of there, and make a copy for me? I’m sure she doesn’t even remember doing it.”

  Erin hurried past to her desk and turned on her computer. “I work a lot better with some coffee under my belt,” she said and gave him a look.

  “Coming right up,” Bobby said and hurried back to the break room. He stood there drumming his fingers on the counter top while the coffee pot slowly filled. Finally, there was enough in the pot for two. He filled a couple of mugs and hurried back to Erin.

  She looked up and smiled as he came around the corner. “Perfect timing,” she said as he handed a mug to her. She took a sip, set the mug down, and reached under her desk. “Here you go,” she said and handed him a copy of the email he’d sent off at three that morning.

  The intercom buzzed and Erin looked at her security screen. “You know this guy?”

  Bobby glanced at Miguel out in the hallway. “Yeah, Miguel, a friend. He helps me out sometimes.”

  “Looks familiar,” Erin said and buzzed him in.

  Miguel nodded at Bobby as he stepped into the room, then smiled when he saw Erin and said something in Spanish.

  She replied with a few quick words and grinned.

  “So, you know one another,” Bobby said.

  “Been way too long. How have you been?” Miguel said.

  Erin just smiled and nodded. Her eyes seemed to be tearing up slightly.

  “You want some coffee?” Bobby asked.

  Miguel glanced at Bobby, nodded, then returned his gaze to Erin.

  “I’ll get you a mug. You two catch up for a minute then join me in my office.”

  When Miguel finally knocked on the door frame to join him, the coffee was at best lukewarm. Bobby had been listening to the doctored phone conversation between Emily and Charlie Sawyer a half-dozen times. After Erin’s manipulation Emily now asked Sawyer if it was all right if she taped the phon
e conversation and after a pause, Sawyer answered, “Yes”.

  Bobby nodded at the mug sitting on the edge of his desk and said, “It might not be hot. There’s more in the break room, feel free to help yourself.”

  “This will be fine.”

  “You and Erin catch up?”

  “A little, it’s been a long time since I saw her last. We were friends, her husband and I.”

  Bobby remembered the shoot-out. God, how could he forget it? He remembered fleeing the scene as Miguel and the others hurriedly loaded bodies in the back of a pickup before the police arrived. Erin’s husband must have been one of the bodies. “I like Erin, she’s smart, nice, doesn’t take any shit, and she’s already been a big help.”

  Miguel nodded, then sipped more cold coffee so he wouldn’t have to say anything.

  “Everything okay outside?”

  “The problem has been solved.”

  “In about a half hour, I want you to take me to a funeral. It’s at House of Hope, over on Summit Avenue. I’m going to try and talk with two gentlemen, hopefully in the car. I may have you wait for me outside the car so they feel the conversation is private. I might need you to ask them to join me, I don’t know. We’ll just have to see what the situation presents.”

  “Whatever you want,” Miguel said.

  Bobby nodded, then said. “That’s all I got. Go on out to the lobby and catch up with Erin. I’m pretty sure she’d love to talk some more with you.”

  Miguel almost jumped out of his chair, took a couple of steps, came back and grabbed his coffee mug then hurried out the door.

  More going on there than just friends with her husband, Bobby thought.

  He pulled out his cellphone and sent a text message to Emily, playing the concerned lover and asking if she was okay. He guessed she’d be asleep for a few more hours and then wake with one hell of a headache. He replayed the doctored recording of Emily and Sawyer a half dozen more times, straining his ears to see if he could pick up a hint of Erin’s adjustment, thankfully he couldn’t. He reviewed the three text messages he’d forwarded from Emily’s phone last night, wrote down the name and phone number, then turned off his computer and headed toward the lobby.

  Miguel and Erin were speaking in Spanish, and Bobby lingered back around the corner in the hallway for a moment. He didn’t have to understand Spanish to get the gist of what was beginning.

  “You all set, Miguel,” he said standing back in the hallway. He stepped around the corner a few seconds later. He had the feeling he had interrupted an embrace, they were standing close together, very close. Erin’s face sort of flushed and she absently tugged at her blouse to straighten it.

  Miguel grinned and nodded.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Bobby and Miguel rode down in the elevator together. As they arrived on the lower level, Miguel extended his hand and sort of held Bobby in place for a brief moment before he stepped out into the lobby. “Let me get the car and I’ll pick you up.”

  “Where are you parked?”

  “Down about a block.”

  “Let me walk with you, the exercise will do me good,” Bobby said.

  Miguel didn’t look to happy but nodded and shrugged.

  Once out on the street Bobby glanced around the corner, but didn’t see any police presence. Blake Finch’s dark-blue Infiniti was still parked at the curb, only now there was a parking ticket resting on the windshield. Miguel headed down the street in the opposite direction and Bobby had to take a couple of quick steps to catch up.

  “Hey, Miguel, thanks again for dealing with that asshole this morning. I was hoping he wouldn’t show, but apparently, I underestimated just how much of a stupid bastard he is.”

  Miguel sort of scoffed and said, “Someone who used to be very impressed with himself. I think that may have changed after this morning. What in the was he trying to accomplish?”

  “Probably a combination of being a bully and more than a little desperate. How bad was it?”

  Miguel gave him a quick look, then sort of scoffed. “He’s not going to die, if that was your question. But he won’t be the pretty boy he was earlier this morning and I think he might have a new respect for people he thought he could intimidate. He’ll have plenty of time to reconsider his behavior while he recovers in the hospital.”

  “You know where we’re going?”

  “This Home of Hope church…”

  “House of Hope,” Bobby corrected.

  “It’s the large stone church on Summit, right? Has the square tower that plays bells?”

  “That’s it. The place will probably be pretty crowded so see if we can find a parking place nearby where I can talk to these two fools in the car that would be great. You may have to drive around the block and double park until I get them in the car. Don’t hit either one of them, there’ll be too many witnesses, and it’s too soon, but feel free to intimidate them.”

  Miguel pulled into a parking place almost in front of the church not more than ten minutes later.

  “God, I’m sure I have the time right. At least I think I do. I’m sure it was scheduled for today,” Bobby said. “I wonder where the hell everyone is?” There were just a handful of cars parked on the street. He didn’t see anything that looked like a hearse. The church parking lot that sat across the street behind a neatly trimmed hedge was virtually empty. There were only two cars sitting in the lot and they were parked in the far corner close to a Caribou Coffee, suggesting the occupants were drinking coffee rather than listening to a sermon. “Let me go inside and see if I’ve got this right.”

  It had been at least a decade since Bobby had darkened the door of the church. The massive oak front doors were unlocked and as he reached for the brass handle to pull the door open, organ music suddenly thundered from inside. He stepped inside and crossed the vestibule. The sound of his footsteps was covered by the funeral dirge blasting from the massive pipe organ at the front of the church.

  The inside of the church consisted of a large center aisle that seemed to go on for the better part of a mile up to the altar. The backdrop to the altar consisted of hundreds of silver pipes of various sizes for the organ that just now was booming out the funeral dirge. A minister and an assistant sat off to the side of the altar in velvet covered chairs opposite the organ player. They stared blank-faced and unmoving as the organ thundered on and Bobby figured they’d both be deaf if there was a third verse.

  He had expected the church to be full, but instead, only a handful of people sat on either side of the main aisle taking up just the first four or five pews. He guessed the sparse crowd totaled no more than thirty people in attendance. The very small group was dwarfed even further by the massive church and beamed ceiling. Clearly the circumstances of Bennett’s death had led to the sparse attendance.

  Just in front of the altar, a large, copper-colored coffin sat in the middle of the main aisle. Silver handles on either side of the coffin seemed to gleam in the sunlight shining through the red and blue stained-glass windows. He spotted Sawyer and Allen sitting next to one another toward the back of the small group on the right-hand side of the church. As he watched, Allen looked over at Sawyer and seemed to shake his head. Sawyer glanced down for a moment and Bobby guessed he was checking his watch.

  He stepped back outside and walked to the car. “They’re in there, a lot smaller crowd than I thought, it’s gotta be just about all family with the exception of Sawyer and Allen. I’m going to try and catch them inside the church and bring them over. When you see us coming, get out and open the rear door for them. Then wait just up at the front of the car. I want them to be able to see you and feel threatened.”

  He headed back into the church, waited another ten minutes, then just as the closing prayers began, he hurried up a side aisle and quietly slipped into a pew maybe a half-dozen rows back from Sawyer and Allen.

  The pallbearers, there were six of them, all looked similar and Bobby guessed they were related, cousins or nephews of Bennett�
��s. The minister led the small procession down the aisle followed by the funeral director pushing the coffin. The pallbearers filed out behind him and then the few attendees. Everyone exited their pews in an orderly fashion, the front pew with family headed out first. The meager congregation all stood as Bennett’s coffin was wheeled out.

  Allen gradually turned his head, following the coffin down the aisle until his eyes came to rest on Bobby. He stared for just a brief moment then quickly turned and faced the front of the church. Based on the face Sawyer suddenly made Allen must have passed on the news that Bobby was behind them. They waited as long as was prudently possible, letting the small group head into the vestibule while the two of them knelt and pretended to say a final prayer. When they could wait no longer, they reluctantly stepped into the aisle and focused on the floor as they slowly headed toward the rear of the church. They wore sad faces, apparently somehow hoping they could get past Bobby without making any sort of contact.

  Bobby smiled as they passed, gave a brief nod as they passed then stepped into the aisle and sort of wedged himself between the two of them.

  “Custer,” Sawyer grunted and looked the other way.

  “Morning,” Allen half whispered.

  “Gentleman, I wonder if I could get just a minute of your time. I think I have some information that might help put things to rest in the current situation you’re dealing with.”

  “Montcreff?” they said in unison and looked up at him.

  “We can meet in my car, I’m just out front.” He sped up slightly, staying just a couple of steps ahead of them until he reached the vestibule of the church. A small receiving line had formed next to the coffin and people were giving their condolences to a heavyset woman who had probably been attractive forty-five years ago. Bobby guessed she was Bennett’s wife and he jumped ahead of two couples engaged in a quiet conversation. They didn’t seem to react and he heard the couple in front of him refer to the woman as Marsha. They spoke quietly for a brief moment, wished her the best, then seemed to hurry away as quickly as possible.